Chapter 79
79
Cheng Yeran's eyes turned gloomy. He leaned over and pinched Shen Yuntang's hand that was unbuttoning his pocket. "Do you know how dangerous you look right now? I won't allow you to show such a seductive expression in public."
"Why would I be like this in front of others? Who do you think I am?" Shen Yuntang was frightened by the oppression in his eyes. "You, please speak properly. Why are you suddenly like this?"
"You said it, I can do whatever I want tonight." Cheng Yeran pinched his chin with his fingers, and gently rubbed his lips with his fingertips, playing the role of the evil CEO: "Since you can do whatever I want tonight, you should have fun."
Shen Yuntang then remembered that Cheng Yeran liked to play role-playing games. Now, seeing Cheng Yeran showing him an evil smile with vicious eyes, he wondered what role he was playing.
Cheng Yeran's acting skills are impeccable, he can play any role well. Every time he plays a role, Shen Yuntang seems to be really doing something with a person who looks exactly like Cheng Yeran but has a different soul.
It's a strange feeling to have my sense of morality challenged, but there's also a secret pleasure in my heart.
Cheng Yeran also discovered that he liked role-playing very much. He happened to have bought a box of novels about brothers last time. There were domineering CEO characters, gentle and warm men, evil villain characters, and all kinds of characters. He studied each one and guaranteed to satisfy Shen Yuntang.
…
Shen Yuntang's legs were weak when he got up the next day. He could not indulge himself like this anymore. Cheng Yeran had days off, but he did not.
After opening today, there were obviously not as many customers as yesterday. Yesterday, many people saw that the restaurant had just opened and were attracted by the sound of firecrackers to join in the fun. Even if you think the food is delicious, you can't eat out every day.
It didn't seem like there were many people, but after a day, I counted and sold about 40 bowls. The customers didn't come in groups, but came in scattered groups.
There were more people in the morning and at noon, but most of them ordered vegetarian noodles. The store also added tea eggs, which cost two cents each. They sold ten tea eggs. The vegetarian noodles were cheap, and they made more than two hundred cents a day.
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The period of time afterwards was similar, with slight differences every day. The lowest record was thirty bowls sold in a day, and the highest record was eighty bowls sold in a day, which was very different from Shen Yuntang's previous calculation that he could earn one or two taels of silver in two days.
At the end of the month, he counted the money he had earned that month. He made nine taels of silver from selling noodles, and he made another tael of silver by adding peanuts and edamame to the store, for a total of ten taels of silver.
It was far from the fifteen taels a month he had originally planned.
Previously, we planned to add braised pig ears and pig heads, but most of the people who come to the restaurant to eat buy vegetarian noodles, so adding some edamame is considered good. Most of them eat the free side dishes and will not spend money to buy meat dishes.
Those meat dishes were difficult to store, so he gradually reduced the quantity. If someone wanted to eat them, they would order them in advance and he would prepare them in advance.
He felt that his biggest problem was that his store was too small. Diners with some money would go to larger restaurants where they could eat in a better environment and where it would be more prestigious to treat others to a meal.
But when there are more people on his side, it's too crowded and people just want to finish their meal and leave quickly.
However, even ten taels of silver a month was considered a good income on this street, but he was not satisfied.
Every night after school, Cheng Yeran would deliberately take a detour to the noodle shop to eat at Shen Yuntang's place. After eating, he would not leave but sit in the kitchen reading a book, waiting for Shen Yuntang to get off work, and then the two would go home together.
Shen Yuntang's stove is relatively small, and only one person can stand on it. Every time Ah Xiang washes dishes, she has to carry the basin to the back door to wash them. When Cheng Yeran comes to read, he sits behind Shen Yuntang on a small stool.
He was tall and squeezed in a small corner, looking particularly pitiful.
Shen Yuntang had said to him several times, "It's hot over here at the stove, and summer is almost here. Aren't you afraid of getting sick from the heat?"
Cheng Yeran didn't leave either. He secretly took out a small fan and fanned him from behind. He sat low so no one could see him.
Even if there was a sound, it would be covered up by the sound of the pot and no one would ever notice it.
That day, Cheng Yeran came to him and told him to close the door early so that they could go to Wangchunlou for dinner.
Going to Wangchunlou for dinner has become a secret code between the two of them. In addition to eating, the most important thing is shopping.
There is a curfew here. When the time comes, everyone must go home. No one is allowed on the streets, and no one is allowed to enter or leave the city gates.
Even if it is the largest restaurant in the county, if you wait until the noodle shop closes, Wangchunlou will also be closed soon.
They could only choose to go there at this time. Fortunately, the noodles and soup were ready, so he didn't have to cook them himself. The taste would be the same no matter how others cooked them. He had told Ah Xiang about this yesterday. Fortunately, he was not too busy tonight, so he took off his apron and followed Cheng Yeran.
On the way to Wangchunlou, Cheng Yeran also said: "Actually, you can also hire someone to cook noodles, so that you can have more free time, and you can make the soup base."
"I don't make much now, and hiring another person will cost me money." Shen Yuntang told him how much he made last month. "I only made ten taels of silver a month, excluding the cost of noodles and meat, but not the rent. The rent is thirty-eight taels a year, and it will take me about four months to earn enough to cover the rent. Only after four months will it be considered mine."
"You are too anxious. Actually, you have already earned a lot. You just set the goal for yourself too high at the beginning. Don't forget that the pastry shop next door also belongs to our family. It contracts the pastries for tribute and gifts in the whole city. It earns at least one hundred taels a month. We are not short of money." Cheng Yeran asked him to open a shop because he wanted to make him happy, not to make him more upset.
"I know that I kept all that money. I just felt that I made it too slowly." He had no money before, and he had never touched money either before he got married or in his previous life. After he started managing money in this life, he realized how obsessed he was with making money. The happiness he felt when touching money was irreplaceable.
Cheng Yeran touched his back and said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Take it slow."
Shen Yuntang looked up at him, "You've been busy studying recently, and I haven't paid attention to you. Now I need you to comfort me. I'm such an incompetent husband."
"You are not competent. Is there anyone else in this world who is competent?" Cheng Yeran did not allow anyone to say bad things about her husband, not even Shen Yuntang himself. "You get up early every day to make breakfast for me, and you ask me to eat at the store in the evening. You even wash my clothes. Superman is not as good as you."
Sometimes Cheng Yeran was too lazy to do laundry and wanted to wash several pieces together. In a blink of an eye, Shen Yuntang had washed his clothes quietly. Not only his clothes, but also the clothes of Yuanbao, Fourth Brother and Wild Dog, as if he would never get tired.
When Cheng Yeran found out about this, he was heartbroken and told him not to worry about others. He also said that Fourth Brother and Yuanbao were both boys and didn't know how to wash clothes. Cheng Yeran knew as soon as he heard it that the feudal ideas in his mind were at work.
Later, she specially found a man from the next alley to help her wash clothes, and gave him one penny for each piece of clothing. Only then was Shen Yuntang freed up his hands.
He found that Shen Yuntang was the kind of person who was a good wife and mother, and she took good care of everyone in the family. She would also make clothes for Yuanbao, shoes for her fourth brother, and cook soup for everyone when the weather was cold.
The whole family would feel safe with him around, but he felt that Shen Yuntang himself lacked a sense of security.
"I find that you are very insecure and always afraid and worried that bad things will happen in the future. In fact, you can rely on me, and I also hope that you can rely on me more. Just like I always act coquettishly with you, you can also act coquettishly with me for whatever you want." Cheng Yeran felt that although they had lived together for a long time, he still could not open his heart to her.
For example, when he traveled through time, he immediately told Shen Yuntang, but Shen Yuntang did not tell him about his rebirth. Shen Yuntang valued him very much, so he was very cautious, afraid that if he crossed a line, he would be scared away and lose his current life.
Shen Yuntang became timid because his life in the past was too hard, and he carefully protects the beauty of the present.
However, Cheng Yeran was not in a hurry to change him, fearing that being too hasty would have a counterproductive effect. They had only known each other for a year, and had been together for even less time. This time was not enough for them to get to know each other, and yet they started living the life of married couple. Everything happened too fast, and it was normal that Shen Yuntang could not give everything to him.
He thought so much, and finally looked down and found that Shen Yuntang was looking at him with strange eyes.
"What are you thinking about? I'm just worried about how to increase sales and make more money. I want to make more progress. It's not like I can't survive. Why should I rely on you?" Shen Yuntang raised his hand and poked his forehead. "I'm not as fragile as you think. If you can't even wash your underwear, don't come to lecture me."
"I, I was..." Cheng Yeran was speechless. He didn't dare to show his underwear and socks, which didn't exist in ancient times, to other people. They washed them themselves. He washed them a few times, but Shen Yuntang looked down on him so much that he simply snatched them away and washed them himself.
Shen Yuntang didn't say it, but he thought in his heart that he often used that thing, and his underwear was like the wrapping paper of that thing. If the wrapping paper was not clean, how could he use the thing inside?
Of course, he only thought about such outrageous words in his mind and didn't dare say them out loud because he had to maintain his image.
"I will definitely wash them well next time. I will go back and practice tonight. Not only will I wash my own, I will also practice on yours. If I wash two pairs every day, I will become an expert in washing underwear sooner or later." Cheng Yeran's eyes were firm, and those who didn't know him would think he was going to build a rocket in ancient times.
"You are not allowed to touch mine." Shen Yuntang's voice became weaker when he said this, and his face turned red with panic.
"Why?" Cheng Yeran asked him all the way, but he refused to let him touch him. He felt it was too embarrassing to see Cheng Yeran asking him why on the street. Although they spoke in a low voice and others didn't know what they were talking about, he still quickened his pace.
…
The drawing that Cheng Yeran asked for last time has been completed. He requested not an electronic version but a handwritten version, in the style of traditional Chinese painting, but with both a comic and realistic style, and it had to be done in three colors.
At the beginning, the painter was tortured by his requests one after another. However, when she wanted to refuse, Cheng Yeran said that he would give her more money. And it was not just one or two hundred yuan, but two, three, four, or five thousand yuan.
Cheng Yeran was also affected by the hard life after crossing over. If it was before crossing over, he might have added more. After all, he had 9.9 billion in the bank, and he had to pay everything every month.
Nanfeng
If you don't do it, the interest paid by the bank alone will be an astronomical figure, and the money will only increase, and you will never be able to spend it all no matter how much you squander.
Under his financial offensive, after a month of revisions, I finally completed the final product in an expedited manner.
The painter took a photo and sent it to him. "If it's okay, I'll send it to you by express tomorrow."
"OK." Cheng Yeran finally completed a task and breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around and saw Shen Yuntang selecting books on making sausages.
"You don't need to buy a special book for this. Just buy a sausage stuffer and there will be a production video on the product page." The last time Cheng Yeran made tofu, he searched for brine, and the page selling brine had a complete method of making tofu.
He tried searching for sausage stuffers, and sure enough, the entire production process was on the page. They ordered two, which they could take apart when they got back, analyze the process, and find a carpenter to make a wooden one, which would also be convenient for hiring workers to help make it in the future.
They also bought a manual meat grinder. Although it is manual, it is better than hand-beating.
After Cheng Yeran traveled through time, he ate dumplings at home several times. Each time, they were chopped by Shen Yuntang with a knife. They also went to the butcher shop several times, and the meat fillings sold there were also chopped by the stall owner with a knife.
Although the hand-cut ones taste better, he would rather ignore the slight difference in taste and not let Shen Yuntang get tired.
After buying everything, Shen Yuntang went to look for books on cakes, intending to study them on his own.
Wait until the book arrives and then buy the materials according to the materials in the book.
"There are so many kinds of cakes. Why don't you buy some and try them first? You haven't even tried them, so how do you know if the ones you made are good or not?" Cheng Yeran himself doesn't like sweet things very much, so the ones he sells to Shen Yuntang are all the bagged small cakes from the most highly recommended stores.
There are cheese, yogurt, tiger skin cakes, thousand-layer cakes of various flavors, and so on.
"Buy these first, and buy more later if they are not enough." Cheng Yeran said.
"It's already enough. If I eat it every day, it will take a month." Shen Yuntang felt that he wouldn't have to make breakfast for a month.
The painting was the first to arrive. After it arrived, Cheng Yeran showed it to his family first.
Several people were stunned. Even Yuanbao was stunned when he saw the painting. "Where did this fairy come from? So beautiful? Why does she look so familiar? Is my cousin going to introduce me to a marriage? Did he bring me the girl's portrait first?"
After he said this, the wild dog bared its teeth at the portrait, as if it was going to bite someone.
"This is you, can't you see?" Cheng Yeran laughed at him, "I asked someone to draw you."
Yuan Bao blushed, "I was wondering why this dress looked so familiar, it turned out to be me, but why did you draw me? It must have cost a lot of money to draw it so well, if you were going to draw anything, you should have drawn my sister-in-law."
Shen Yuntang had seen photos of the portrait before, but the photos could not capture the beauty of the manuscript. He was admiring it when he heard Yuanbao say this, explaining for Cheng Yeran, "Your cousin asked someone to draw the portrait to be printed on the soap packaging."
"I'm worried that it will be inconvenient for you to pretend to be a brother all the time. What if you are exposed and get beaten up one day? I'll make a portrait. Anyway, everyone is going to see your face. The real person can only be seen, but the portrait can be taken home and admired slowly." Cheng Yeran said and glanced at Shen Yuntang again, "I should also draw a picture for your cousin's wife and hang it in the house to look at it every day."
"You're not satisfied with the real person? I don't want to paint." Shen Yuntang quickly refused, "Put it away quickly, it will be bad if it gets dirty."
"Our soap is also very useful. I pretend to be a boy just to get someone to buy it." Yuanbao thought it was interesting to set up a stall. He loved talking to people, especially in the county town where there were people from all over the country. He could meet many people. He was afraid that when he had paintings in the future, his cousin would let him stay at home to watch the warehouse and ship them, and would not let him set up a stall. He said with some disappointment: "The truck for the stall is ready. If I don't go out, it will be a waste."
"You continue to sell it for a while. Like you said, people may buy it for the novelty at first. After they buy it and find it useful, they will come back to buy it in the future. But if you want them to develop the habit of only buying our soap, you have to give it a name." Cheng Yeran thought about the name of the soap in the future. There would be no need to even say the word soap. Just saying the brand name would make everyone know it was soap.
"Just call it Cheng Family Soap." Yuanbao blurted out.
"No, this is different from a noodle shop. Noodle shops target the affordable market. If we give them an elegant name, people won't know what we sell and may not even dare to go in. Soap is different. We target the mid-range market. Thirty cents a piece can buy three bowls of noodles. We don't need an elegant name. We can just focus on the function or the fragrance." Cheng Yeran thought he had to open a store, otherwise he couldn't sell at a high price.
"Our soap is white, fragrant, and can wash hands and face clean. Why don't we call it Clean Soap?" Yuanbao said.
"Too straightforward." Cheng Yeran said with disdain.
"Her name is Xiangjie, which means she smells good and can clean." Seeing Yuanbao scratching his head and unable to think of an answer after a long time, Shen Yuntang said it casually, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.
Cheng Yeran, the brainless wife-lover clapped his hands, "Okay, you are worthy of being my wife. The name you gave her is so nice. From now on, I will call her Xiang Jie."
"I just said it casually, don't take it seriously." Shen Yuntang's face turned red with shame, but Cheng Yeran had already entered the room to get paper. He wrote the two words "Xiang Jie" in several fonts on the paper, and asked Yuanbao which one looked better.
Not only would he print their trademark on the packaging, he would also make a seal, and after making the soap, he would print the trademark name on the soap.
The next day was a day off, and Cheng Yeran took the paintings to Painter Zhou's house. Painter Zhou lived in a remote area with a smaller yard, but it was full of tools and some printed books that were drying in the sun.
When Cheng Yeran arrived, Zhou Hua was busy with his father and brothers in shorts. When he heard the knock on the door, he looked up and saw Cheng Yeran, "Why are you here?"
Zhou Hua said to the man beside him, "Dad, this is my classmate from the academy. I told you last time that his family sells soap and wants to print a picture on the wrapping paper."
"Uncle Zhou." Cheng Yeran called him obediently. He often acted like a good boy in front of his elders, and the elders had favored him since he was a child.
Uncle Zhou greeted him warmly, "Come in, come in, let me see what you want to print."
They thought Cheng Yeran was just going to print an ordinary little man, but they didn't expect that when they opened it, it was such a beautiful painting. "It's so detailed and has so many colors. I'm afraid it won't be done in a short time. But after the plate is printed, it will be quick in the future."
"It's okay. Slow work makes fine work." Cheng Yeran took another pack of paper. "These papers are specially made by me for wrapping. They are thicker than the usual papers. Money is not a problem. It's just that this painting can only be printed for me and my family. You can't print it for others without permission."
"Of course, you are Hua'er's classmate. Even if you are just passing by and come to my house to print something, I won't let you know." Uncle Zhou sighed, "It's also because we have a bottom line. If we don't print randomly, we can't make money."
"Dad, why are you telling this to others?" Zhou Hua blushed and assured Cheng Yeran, "Are you still not confident in me? If you see something exactly like this outside, come find me."
"After a long time, it will always be pirated. It's just a matter of time. But I will change the packaging in the future. As long as this new packaging is earlier than others, it will be fine." Cheng Yeran took out two taels of silver from his pocket. "This is the deposit. Zhou Hua has already told me the rules. I will pay the balance after the printing is done. My family wants a lot. I will trouble you, Uncle Zhou, in the future."
Uncle Zhou looked like an honest middle-aged man. "It's no trouble. We should thank you for giving us business."
Uncle Zhou was very meticulous in his work. After working for almost a month, he finally came up with a satisfactory product and asked Zhou Hua to show it to Cheng Yeran.
The two were not in the same class. During lunch, Zhou Hua called Cheng Yeran out alone and showed the printed packaging to Cheng Yeran.
Originally, Cheng Yeran didn't have high hopes. He thought it would be great if it could be 50% similar to the original painting. After all, the ancient technology was there. However, the result looked like it was printed out.
"Great, I'm very satisfied. Just print it as it is." Cheng Yeran was about to pay Zhou Hua, but Zhou Hua waved his hand and said, "Next time you have a day off, come to my house to get your packages. There are a total of 100 sheets. After they are printed, check them and pay."
"Okay, I'll bring some more paper this time." Cheng Yeran happily took the paper and was about to put it in his arms when it was suddenly snatched away from behind.
Zhao Yanlin saw the painting and said, "Wow, where did this beauty come from? The two of you didn't even eat, and sneaked out just for this? Why don't you share good things?"
"Don't talk nonsense. My child is already two years old. How could he possibly look at other people's boys?" Zhou Hua's face flushed red. This was a matter of reputation, so he couldn't make such a joke.
"Don't joke like that. Give the painting back to them." Yang Shiming was like a parent of a naughty child, scolding Zhao Yanlin at any time and telling him not to do anything out of line.
"Why are you so fierce? I was just curious to see them acting alone." Zhao Yanlin returned the painting to Cheng Yeran. "Your husband is so beautiful, why are you still thinking about someone else?"
"This is your family affair, we shouldn't interfere, but you have to take the exam in a few days. If you don't do well, you can't stay in the academy. I hope you can focus on serious things." Yang Shiming looked down on people who were lustful and fickle. Zhao Yanlin had no choice. The friendship between them could not be severed. What's more, Zhao Yanlin had always talked about it but didn't put it into action. It would be fine, but if Cheng Yeran was that kind of unbearable person, he wouldn't have to
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We must continue to have a close relationship with him.
"This is my cousin. Didn't I tell you last time when we were having noodles that I should put it on the soap packaging?" Cheng Yeran showed it to them, "Why can't you tell that this is my cousin? It's just that his movements are more graceful, his eyelashes are more curled, and his clothes are more flowing."
Cheng Yeran handed the painting to them and muttered unhappily, "My true love for my husband is obvious to all. You can't insult my love for my husband with those words just now."
"Did you draw this? The style is very special." It was the first time that Zhao Yanlin had seen such a lifelike painting. What was popular now was freehand painting rather than realism, but Cheng Yeran's painting was so comfortable. It was not completely realistic and a little exaggerated, as if a fairy had descended from heaven and stood on the paper.
Yang Shiming also looked at it a few more times before looking away.
"I asked someone to paint it, but the painter is a low-key person and doesn't want people to know his name. I'm sorry I can't tell you." When Cheng Yeran lived in the village before, the people in their village liked to pry into other people's privacy. He didn't want to tell anyone, but those people didn't understand his tactful refusal and insisted on finding out the truth. If he didn't tell them, they would get angry and quarrel with him, and he got crazy several times.
But it’s different with Yang Shiming and the others. If he doesn’t want to say something, they will never ask. They have a sense of boundaries, so Cheng Yeran feels more comfortable getting along with them.
"Your paper is of good quality and the printing is exquisite. It must have cost you a lot of money. If you just use it as wrapping paper, won't you lose money?" Zhao Yanlin asked him.
"This packaging is more expensive than the soap inside. This is the packaging that we sell. Although our products are also useful, they are too ordinary, similar to the soaps on the market. Since they are almost the same, we have to put more thought into it." Cheng Yeran decided to charge 35 cents for the one with packaging and 30 cents for the one without packaging.
This is just for promotion. It is sold cheaply. In the future, limited edition packaging can be produced and sold for 100 Wen a piece. Small cards can be stuffed inside with different images of ingots printed on them. There will always be people collecting them. By then, what is being sold is not just a bar of soap, but also idol culture.
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