Guo Dali knew that He Wenlin was busiest in the morning and at noon, so he deliberately avoided those times.
At nine o'clock, he came looking for us on his motorcycle.
When He Wenlin saw Guo Dali arrive, she knew that things were going to work out. However, in business, it's best not to show all your thoughts on your face.
"Boss He, about what you mentioned yesterday, I discussed it with my wife, and we've decided to give it a try. Instead of commission, we'll do wholesale. If we can't sell them, we'll bear the cost ourselves. But you'll have to lower the price a bit more," Guo Dali said.
"Uncle Guo, this is already the lowest price I've offered you."
"Two yuan and fifty cents a pound, I'll take thirty pounds of each to try first."
"Two yuan and fifty cents is definitely not enough. We have to provide materials, labor, rent, and utilities. We won't make any money at two yuan and fifty cents. Uncle Guo, two yuan and eighty cents is the lowest price. You have to think about it. One pound, I sell nine cooked ones for one yuan and fifty cents. There are about thirty or so in one pound. I really can't make any money at two yuan and fifty cents. Besides, I'm using good meat, unlike some unscrupulous ones who use lymph node meat. Two yuan and eighty cents is the lowest price I can offer."
The carrots in the dumpling wrappers and filling are not expensive, but the meat He Wenlin uses is expensive, so the price has to be high no matter what.
He went back and sold it for three yuan and fifty-six yuan a pound, making a profit of seven or eight mao a pound.
The two haggled for a while, and finally, seeing that He Wenlin wouldn't budge, Guo Dali knew that there was no way to lower the price, so they finally settled on a price of 2.8 yuan.
Since both dumplings and steamed buns need to be made fresh, both parties agreed to deliver the goods the day after tomorrow: 30 jin of dumplings and 20 jin of steamed buns. He Wenlin would arrange for someone to taste them the morning after that.
Although there was no formal contract, a receipt was written, and Guo Dali gave a deposit of one hundred yuan.
Seeing Guo Dali leave, He Wenjun and He Shan, who were washing vegetables outside, rushed in and asked, "Linlin, did the business deal go through?"
He Wenlin nodded and smiled, "It's settled, so everyone will have to work hard these next two days. If this business goes well, I'll give everyone a bonus at the end of the month."
He Wenjun said excitedly, "There are so many people at the market, there must be a lot of customers, business will definitely be booming, and I want to get a bonus too!"
He Shan was also happy: "Yes, it will definitely be a great success, and we'll win a bonus!"
A few days ago, He Wenlin gave Lin Fei, He Shan, and the Ruan siblings a bonus of 100 yuan each. Later, He Wenjun, his grandmother, and He's father, who was fired, did not receive a bonus.
The bonuses were a huge morale booster!
One hundred yuan.
The deal was struck, and Grandma He was very happy, but she was also worried that she wouldn't be able to make it happen.
"Linlin, I'm a little worried that I won't be able to make it." The main problem is that currently only He Wenlin knows how to prepare the filling and knead the dough.
“These next few days will be a bit tough. If business can stabilize, we’ll hire another helper to make dumplings for us,” He Wenlin said. “If anyone comes to buy raw dumplings or steamed buns from us, we won’t sell them by the portion; we’ll weigh them all and sell them at the same price as Boss Guo, 3.5 yuan per jin (500g). Since many of our customers are from our hometown and my mom’s colleagues, we must keep our wholesale price a secret to avoid making them feel resentful. If they find out the wholesale price and ask me to pay them the wholesale price as well, my mom, who is easily embarrassed, will definitely feel awkward refusing. For regular customers, we can weigh them a little higher, but the price must be 3.5 yuan, understand?”
He Wenjun: "Linlin, don't worry, we definitely won't tell."
He Shan: "We're not as smart or capable as you, but we're not stupid either."
“You are working for others now, but in a few years, you will be your own bosses, so you must be aware of business confidentiality.”
Many good things are actually ruined by what we say.
He Wenlin will not suffer the same losses she did in her past life, and she hopes that those around her will not suffer the same losses either.
He Wenlin quickly called Boss Liu and asked him to send over another ten pounds of meat the next morning, and to come early.
There's enough meat today for cooking, dumplings, or xiaolongbao; we don't need to add more for now.
Grandma He was more anxious than anyone else. He Wenlin was thinking of going back to take a nap at noon. Grandma He was afraid that she wouldn't be able to deliver the goods on time, so she asked He Wenlin to prepare some fillings first before going to rest.
The old lady doesn't know how to knead dough or prepare fillings, but she has already learned how to make dumplings. She just can't keep up with the pace yet. There are dumpling wrappers at home, and she's thinking that He Wenlin will prepare the fillings so she can make some for lunch.
"Everyone else go and rest. I'll prepare more filling and go home to rest early tonight. Second Brother, Brother Lin Fei, come over tonight to sell late-night snacks and make dumplings while you're at it."
With the tasks divided, everyone can finally have some time to take a nap.
Neither He Wenlin nor her grandmother took a nap. The two of them worked together to prepare more than six pounds of dumpling filling and more than two pounds of xiaolongbao filling.
He Wenlin had also kneaded a bowl of dough and was letting it rest.
Around 2 PM, everyone came to the store.
The afternoon snack consisted of spicy and sour konjac, eggplant, green beans, minced meat, and half a salted duck egg.
"Lin Fei and Second Brother, you stir-fry the minced meat, eggplant, and green beans. Xiao Min and Ling Feng, you help wash the vegetables. Get ready. Everyone else, wash your hands and start making dumplings."
Hongda isn't working overtime tonight, so time isn't as tight as at noon. Also, compared to usual, I made one less vegetable dish, substituting half a salted duck egg for it, which saved He Wenlin some time.
At 4:15, everyone stopped making dumplings, put the filling and dumplings in the refrigerator, and started packing them up.
He Wenlin and her father were cutting salted duck eggs, while Lin Fei and He Wenjun were stir-frying minced meat, cowpeas, and eggplant.
Now that He Wenlin and Lin Fei have been able to take over, it has greatly relieved He Wenlin's pressure.
After delivering Hongda's goods at 6 PM, everyone started eating.
After dinner, Ruan Lingfeng and Ruan Min, siblings, went home, while He Wenlin and the others continued working.
He Wenlin made xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), while the others made dumplings.
It was already past 8 p.m. when we finished making the xiaolongbao.
She, her grandmother, and her father went back to sleep first, leaving the shop in the care of He Wenjun, Lin Fei, and He Shan.
He Wenlin woke up early in the morning and didn't sleep well at noon, so she was very sleepy and kept yawning.
After taking a shower, I went to bed.
That night, He Wenlin dreamed that she lived in a villa and drove a Mercedes-Benz.
Just when I was feeling happy, oh dear, it was time to get up and do chores.
At 4:30, when I arrived at the shop, they started by steaming glutinous rice, as always.
Mr. He and Mrs. He peeled the potatoes and cut them into shreds.
After steaming the rice, He Wenlin continued to work on the dough for the steamed buns, letting it rest.
Around five o'clock, Mr. Ma and Mr. Liu delivered the vegetables, and Mr. Tang also delivered ten pounds of dumpling wrappers.
Steamed dumplings and xiaolongbao require not only meat, but also ginger, scallions, and carrots, so He Wenlin ordered a significantly larger amount of vegetables and meat today.
The bosses who supplied He Wenlin were also very happy, because if He Wenlin's business was good, their business would also be good.
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