Li Guizhi's fighting spirit was instantly ignited. She pulled Jiang Xiaoli into the house and took out the shopping list, which showed the weight and price of each item she had bought.
"Come on, Xiaoli, help Mom calculate how much the spicy strips we just made cost!"
Jiang Xiaoli took the shopping list from Li Guizhi: "1.5 jin of garlic, 13 heads in total, 3 mao; half a jin of chili powder, 4 mao; half a jin of cumin powder, 7 mao; Sichuan pepper powder..."
"Let's estimate the cost of the dried tofu skin we just used: 5 cents, garlic 2 cents, chili powder about 5 cents, cumin powder 4 cents, Sichuan peppercorn powder 2 cents, and five-spice powder 3 cents..."
"Adding the soybean oil, sugar, salt, scallions, ginger, onions, and coal briquettes at home, I estimate that the cost of this soup pot is about 1.5 yuan."
Li Guizhi watched Jiang Xiaoli scribbling and drawing until her eyes were blurry. Finally, she heard Jiang Xiaoli drop a number and asked the crucial question, "How many portions can we divide this into? How much will we sell it for?"
Jiang Xiaoli chuckled, "Mom, look at this pound of dried bean curd sheets. After steaming, it will weigh at least three pounds. Let's divide it into portions of about 100 grams each and sell them for 30 cents a portion, or 50 cents for two portions. How about that?"
"Isn't this too expensive?" Li Guizhi hesitated.
Jiang Xiaoli understood Li Guizhi's thoughts and persuaded her, "Mom, look, these snacks are so delicious and shiny. They look like they're made with plenty of ingredients. Trust me, they'll definitely sell!"
Li Guizhi thought for a moment, gritted her teeth, and said, "Alright! Let's give it a try!"
After saying that, she pulled out a stack of plastic bags from the bottom of the bag she had just bought groceries. Jiang Xiaoli was delighted. "Mom is so thoughtful!"
She immediately urged Li Guizhi to prepare lunch early, and they took the trial spicy strips out to try them out at noon.
“Where can I sell things in the middle of the day? I’m thinking of switching my shift to the day shift so I can set up a stall at the night market,” Li Guizhi said.
Jiang Xiaoli chuckled, "The people who buy our spicy strips the most are definitely kids and young people. Right now, the children's palace is in session, so we can go there after they get off school at noon and try it out. With so few spicy strips, we're sure to sell out very quickly."
Li Guizhi thought it over and decided it was feasible. She quickly cleaned and dried the plastic bucket in the house, and asked Jiang Xiaoli to pack the spicy strips into the bucket. She then went to cook.
The mother and daughter, one eager to make money and the other worried about not being able to sell the spicy strips, quickly finished their lunch and headed to the Children's Palace with the spicy strips.
The Xijing Children's Palace is less than 2 kilometers away from Jiang Xiaoli's home, and Li Guizhi quickly arrived with Jiang Xiaoli on her bicycle.
Jiang Xiaoli placed the water bucket on the back of the bicycle and put a price tag on it.
[Super delicious spicy strips! 3 cents/bag, 5 cents/2 bags]
Then, in front of a group of parents picking up their children and older kids who had slipped out early, she took a bag of spicy strips from the bucket and ate them with relish.
The spicy strips coated in chili oil were already tempting, but everyone was instantly captivated by Jiang Xiaoli's dramatic way of eating them.
Soon, a boy, his mouth watering, ran up to the bicycle and asked, "Is it really that delicious?"
Jiang Xiaoli licked the chili oil from her lips. "Of course! This is the most delicious snack. If you don't like it, you don't have to pay!"
The boy glanced at the bag she was almost finished eating from, then pulled out 30 cents from his pocket. "Give me a bag, it's a deal, if it's not good, you don't have to pay!"
"Okay! Mom, get this handsome guy a bag of the best spicy snacks!"
Li Guizhi glanced at her daughter, took the money, and handed a bag of spicy strips to the boy whose face was flushed from being called handsome.
The boy eagerly untied the plastic bag, pinched a spicy strip and stuffed it into his mouth. Seeing him eat it, Jiang Xiaoli quickly asked, "How is it? Isn't it as delicious as I said?"
The boy's mouth was filled with the spiciness, and he nodded repeatedly. After swallowing a bite of spicy snack, he replied, "It's really delicious. I don't usually eat spicy food, but I can't stop eating it!"
The boy's reaction as he ate spicy snacks one after another seemed genuine. Instantly, the crowd that had been observing them gathered around and beckoned, "Give me one!"
For a moment, Li Guizhi was a little flustered. Jiang Xiaoli quickly wiped her hands with a handkerchief. She took over collecting the money, while Li Guizhi was responsible for getting the spicy strips for people.
Within minutes, before the children's palace even let out for the day, all the spicy snacks they brought were sold out!
There were also many people who didn't get to buy any, and others who bought a bag, tried it, and wanted to buy more. They asked the vendors when they would come back to sell spicy strips again.
Li Guizhi happily held the wad of money her daughter handed her. Jiang Xiaoli stood on a stone bench to the side and said in a crisp voice, "Thank you everyone for your love of our spicy strips. We've been selling spicy strips every day before school lets out at noon recently. Friends who like them shouldn't miss it tomorrow!"
After saying that, she picked up the empty plastic bucket, jumped onto the back of Li Guizhi's bicycle, and went home.
When they got home, Li Guizhi counted the money and excitedly said, "Xiao Li, guess how much money we made in just a short while?"
Today was their first time setting up a stall, and they brought a total of 18 bags of spicy strips. Everyone was just trying it out, and only one person spent 50 cents to buy 2 bags. Apart from the bag they opened and ate themselves, there were 17 bags left.
Jiang Xiaoli promptly announced the price, "Five yuan!"
"Haha," Li Guizhi happily hugged Jiang Xiaoli and kissed her, "That's right, we earned 3.5 yuan in just a short while!"
Seeing her mother's happy face, Jiang Xiaoli was also very happy. "Mom, we can prepare more tomorrow. Look, our spicy strips sold out before the children's palace even let out for the day. We'll definitely sell even more tomorrow!"
"Okay, okay! I'll do whatever you say!"
Li Guizhi's mind is now filled with the idea that one pound of dried bean curd skin can make three to four pounds of spicy strips, which would cost 3.5 yuan a day, 35 yuan in ten days, and 105 yuan a month!
If you make ten catties of dried fried tofu skin a day, that's thirty-five yuan a day, three hundred and fifty yuan in ten days, and one thousand and fifty yuan in a month!
Li Guizhi finally understood the financial implications of her daughter's statement that only by starting a business could she afford a house. She became even more determined to work hard and provide her daughter with a better life!
After calming down, Li Guizhi went to work at the factory, while Jiang Xiaoli continued her studies.
Thanks to her almost photographic memory, making spicy snacks in the morning and selling them did not interfere with her studies.
When Li Guizhi returned home in the evening, Jiang Xiaoli had already finished the two days' worth of study tasks.
Closing her math book, Jiang Xiaoli murmured, "It would be a disservice to my astonishing talent if I didn't get into Tsinghua or Peking University!"
Hearing this, Li Guizhi burst into laughter. "What, you've only just started studying hard and you're already getting cocky? No. 20 Middle School is a provincial key school. Have you forgotten that you were at the bottom of your class when you got in? Study hard! Try to get good results in the class placement exam at the beginning of the semester!"
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