Chapter 98 Settlement of Accounts
"Today's profit should be around 190 wen."
After counting the copper coins in the money box, Chen Chunxing recorded them in the account book and soon got the answer.
"How many?"
Diao was able to sit still, but when she heard this, she stood up in shock.
One hundred and ninety a day, wouldn't that mean you can earn several taels of silver in a month?
You have to know that an ordinary farmer may not be able to save this much even if he farms for a year.
"Did you calculate it correctly?" She couldn't help but ask another question.
Even though she saw the copper coins fall into the money box with her own eyes, Diao still couldn't believe it in the face of such a huge surprise.
"That's right." Chen Chunxing appeared calm as he calculated the amount for her. "Today, we sold over forty bowls, which is over two hundred taels of silver. After deducting the cost of the mutton and spices, I'm left with about one hundred and ninety taels of silver."
"Even though we grow the vegetables ourselves and don't spend any money, we still have to factor in the costs, including labor and material resources...it looks like we're making a lot of money, but it's actually just that."
His tone didn't sound very satisfied.
Diao sat down, clutching her chest, and rolled her eyes at her. "Don't think I'm easy to fool. If I took those vegetables directly to the city and sold them, I could only get a few dozen coins at most. Now that the price has increased several times, it's enough to cover all the labor costs."
"Yes and no." Chen Chunxing kept pouring cold water on him. "Don't forget, this is a temple fair. We can only sell for ten more days at most. After the Lantern Festival, it will be difficult to find such a lively place to set up a stall again."
Cooking the vegetables is not faster than selling them directly.
Only a dozen kilograms are consumed a day, but you should know that there are thousands of kilograms waiting in the ground.
Vegetables are not as filling as grains, so diners certainly cannot eat here every day.
That is to say, it is cold now, and the cellars in the north are like natural cold storages. Otherwise, the food would rot before it is sold.
"Then why do you let everyone grow vegetables? Where are we going to sell all these vegetables..."
The joy on Diao's face disappeared in an instant. She frowned and thought worriedly for a while. When she saw the eldest maid laughing, she came to her senses and slammed the table in dissatisfaction.
"You're always making fun of your grandma! With your quick-witted nature, how could you not have thought of this? Come on, tell me!"
Chen Chunxing felt very aggrieved.
When did I ever pluck the hair? I always ate meat with everyone!
She groaned, "If Honglu County can't handle it, then there's still the entire Chiling. If even Chiling can't be consumed, then there's still the entire Xiayuan Kingdom."
Diao was confused. "What do you mean? You really want to expand your business to the capital? I'm afraid the goods will break down on the way before they can be delivered."
Chen Chunxing said nothing, moved the jar on the low cabinet, picked up a dried radish from it, threw it into his mouth, and chewed it a few times.
The freshly picked pickles were still crispy and made a "crunching" sound in the quiet room.
Diao's expression changed from confusion to enlightenment.
Fresh vegetables cannot travel long distances, but if they can be made into pickles, wouldn’t this trouble be avoided?
Pickles are actually quite common, especially in the north, where every household makes some.
The strange thing is the hands of the big girl who prepared the ingredients. I don’t know how she made it, but the taste is sour, spicy and delicious, without any smell of mud or rot, which is very popular among the locals.
At first, when Diao heard her granddaughter say that she wanted to give dried radish as a gift, she was a little reluctant. However, she didn't expect that just a few pieces would arouse the diners' addiction. If the newly castrated pickles had not yet reached the jar time, she would have sold dozens of kilograms today.
Thinking of this, Diao Shi felt relieved. She took the money box away, stood up and opened the door: "Then I will not care about it anymore. You can do whatever you want."
After working for most of the day, the little food in her stomach was gone. She took the last cured pork ribs from the bamboo pole and prepared to make steamed rice for her granddaughter.
Chen Chunxing was still sitting in the room fiddling with the abacus beads.
It's easier said than done.
If one really wants to expand the business, the manpower, freight, sales channels... even the jars used to package the pickles, all need to be confirmed one by one.
There is still a long way to go.
Fortunately, she is a person who is not used to making preparations.
By the time the three of them had eaten the delicious steamed rice with cured pork ribs, almost all the villagers had returned and came in groups to knock on the Shen family's door.
"How's business today?"
Diao wanted to eat the remaining half bowl of rice, but as the village chief, she couldn't leave everyone out in the sun, so she had to go outside to deal with it herself.
Chen Chunxing was standing behind the door frame holding a bowl, and saw several women excitedly holding Diao's hands, their eyes filled with tears.
"Business is booming! This is the first time in my life that I've realized how easy it is to make money."
A hundred articles a day!
Not to mention the women, even the few remaining men in the village had red eyes with joy.
They truly saw hope.
Although a large part of the money will be used to pay off the Shen family's debts, he felt relieved.
When the Shen family eats meat, I can always drink the soup, right? It's meat soup!
"As long as business is good, thank you all for your hard work. Let's work harder tomorrow and just get through these ten days."
Diao smelled the faint fragrance behind her, and her mind became a little distracted. She wanted to quickly coax the person away so that she could go back and continue eating.
“It’s not hard, it’s not hard!”
Everyone was busy expressing their opinions.
"What's so hard about this? There's no rain or wind, and not only can I eat a hot meal, but I can also listen to a great opera. I wouldn't trade it for anything!"
"It's just that... there's not enough mutton to sell."
So that's why you came here.
Seeing everyone looking at her expectantly, Diao just said "wait" and went back to the house to call Yang Yi out.
Divide the meat!
When they came back today, Chen Chunxing specially asked for half an extra mutton.
Shen Mingqiu was also driven out by her, squatting beside her with a pen in his mouth, keeping accounts.
Although everyone has money now, it is not enough to pay off the debt, so they simply buy on credit until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and pay it off in one go.
It's very busy outside.
In the yard, Chen Chunxing finished a bowl of rice and suddenly realized something was wrong. He waved to Zhixia.
"Where are those two old men?"
Before Shen Zhixia could grab her hand and scratch it, a little old man emerged from the haystack and said mysteriously: "The old man went to find the old lady. The old man was unhappy, so the old man went to find the old lady too."
Chen Chunxing was rarely stunned.
What the hell?
The fourth child was slapped on the butt by the angry Shen Zhixia and let out a roar.
"Two old men are arguing!"
"Not good!"
"Second sister spanks them!"
"I'm good, I won't hit you!"
Shen Mingqiu poked his head through the door, shook his head, and explained to Shen Chunxing, "Huzi came this morning, and Doctor Chang went with him to visit Granny Jiang at home. Old Wang, who had nothing to do, also went along. I don't know what went wrong, but they both came back with sour faces, neither refusing to talk to the other."
"Right now, one of them has returned to his own home, and the other is sleeping in Yang Yi's room."
"I didn't even have time to eat lunch. I guess there's something wrong."
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