Chapter 330: One can earn a hundred times the profit
A restless day passed, and at dusk the door of Hezhongxiang's shop closed. Three candles were lit on a wooden table that was moved out. Under the leaping candlelight, the sounds of counting and shuffling of abacus could be heard one after another.
Xu Yu listened and wrote quickly on the account book. Xu Minghui just happened to move the last bead. When he stopped, he couldn't help showing a bit of surprise on his face.
"Today is only the first day of opening. Excluding the orders we sent our servants to buy, the store's revenue today alone is 382 taels and 6 cents."
"If you add them all up, it's eight hundred and thirty-six taels."
The number of eight hundred is nothing to a truly wealthy family, but the key point is that this is only the first day of opening.
Moreover, the amount of money that could be spent in such a tiny shop in one day far exceeded everyone's initial expectations.
After all, there are still a lot of soap flowers left in the store, and every piece sold can be exchanged for real money.
This is just the beginning.
Xu Yu quickly made his final calculation, comparing it with the cost previously calculated by Sang Zhixia. He chuckled and said, "Let's ignore the fact that the shop was purchased all at once. The cost of the fragrant soap flowers in the box, plus the wooden box and handkerchiefs that contained them, totals one thousand six hundred and seventy taels."
After Xu Yu finished speaking, he winked at the smiling Sang Zhixia and jokingly said, "You're not worried anymore now, are you?"
Sang Zhixia wanted to be modest, but when she saw the pile of silver coins on the table, she couldn't help but laugh.
"It cost me five hundred and twenty taels to buy the shop, so the total capital is just over two thousand. At this rate, I should be able to pay it off in less than five days."
Even though Xu Minghui had seen many ways to make money quickly, he couldn't help but sigh when he thought of today's grand occasion: "This makes money much faster than farming."
Farming requires spring planting and autumn harvest, which requires waiting for the whole year.
It takes more than a month to slaughter a pig and boil the oil for ventilation and saponification. Even if you add the time spent on packaging into boxes, it will take at most two months to make a batch of soap flowers.
You can make a hundred times the profit in one go, and it won’t take much effort.
It is no exaggeration to say that this can even be said to be a good deal with huge profits.
It's just a bit difficult to deal with those sisters-in-law and aunties who are hesitant in choosing soap flowers. After all, if they don't look good, they will be rejected and have to be rearranged again until the aunties are satisfied.
Xu Yu rubbed his aching wrist and leaned back in his chair, saying slowly, "It makes money faster than farming, but if you don't take good care of the crops first, how can you raise big fat pigs on the farm?"
The business of wineries and box fragrances both rely on farms. Without the crops in the fields, none of these quick-profit businesses can continue.
Xu Minghui smiled but didn't respond. Sang Zhixia carefully reviewed the account book in her hand and said seriously, "The popularity of the store will definitely decrease after today, but it also gives us time to prepare the stock."
"There aren't many pigs left on the farm that can be slaughtered. I'm afraid it'll be too late to wait for the next batch. When I get back tomorrow, I'll have someone find a way to buy some more large pigs and slaughter them first to prepare for the second batch."
One batch of soap can provide enough for export for about three months. The excess can be kept in a cool place without going bad. There is no need to worry about overstocking, but there may be shortages.
Xu Minghui was about to agree when he caught Xu Yu's raised brow from the corner of his eye. He gave Xu Yu a silent look and said, "Sister-in-law, how many soap flowers are you planning to make this time? Will there be any changes compared to the first time? Can you tell me more?"
Sang Zhixia didn't quite understand why this was so unspeakable. After pondering for a moment, she grabbed the pen Xu Yu had put down, calculated on paper for a moment, and said, "Too much to make all at once would only waste the material. Too little wouldn't be enough to bother with. Just add 30% to the last number."
"But the pens on the farm have expanded a lot, and we don't have that many livestock now. We can buy as many pigs as possible from other places. If we can't finish them all at once, we can keep them first and slaughter them when we need them."
In addition to the use of oil, there is also the base material of soap flower.
Sang Zhixia had previously only thought of changing the color of the soap flowers by adding rouge, but Yang Er's boasting gave her a different hint.
Sang Zhixia picked up her pen and wrote a few words on the paper, explaining, "You can actually try adding herbs like Poria cocos, pearl powder, and even ginseng powder, Ganoderma lucidum powder, and Polygonum multiflorum to the soap solution."
"When the soap liquid is being stirred and formed, different auxiliary materials are added in batches. Then, based on the different auxiliary materials added, you can separate out flower soap, medicated soap, or even pearl powder beauty soap. Wouldn't there be more variety this way?"
Flower soap can not only be mixed with rouge and powder, but also with dried and crushed flower petals. The soap and flowers are integrated, which naturally looks more pleasing to the eye.
You can ask people who know medicine for advice on medicated soap. If you add some tonics that are beneficial to the human body and sound impressive, the price will naturally go up.
As for beauty soap, there is no need to worry.
Sang Zhixia thought back to the maids and servants who had come to place orders for her mistress and daughter today, and laughed, "Women naturally love beauty and are willing to spend a fortune on it. As long as they have a good reputation, they have a lot of hope."
But these things were not prepared before, so if we want to start, we have to take the trouble to purchase them first.
It is also necessary to first clarify whether there are any conflicts between the added auxiliary materials, so as to avoid making things worse and causing a joke.
Xu Minghui listened carefully and wrote down everything. He looked at the paper in Sang Zhixia's hand and said, "What about the price?"
"Sister-in-law, do you have any idea about the price of these newly made soap flowers?"
Sang Zhixia didn't expect him to be so thoughtful. After a pause, she said with a smile, "I haven't had time to think about this in detail."
"It's just an idea right now, and I'm not sure how much all these things will cost. I have to wait until I can make a batch and verify the cost."
Xu Minghui understood, nodded, and couldn't help but say, "I see that the soap flowers displayed in the store today are priced 80% higher than the cost. Can newcomers follow suit?"
"Actually, 60 to 80 percent is fine."
Sang Zhixia thought for a moment and explained, "If the supplementary materials are expensive, then we can keep the price around 60% of the excess. Otherwise, if we raise the price too high, what if we scare the customers away? If it's not less than half, then there's no problem."
After all, the original purpose of soap flower was to empty the pockets of the rich, so there was no need to be too polite when doing so.
Xu Minghui then asked a few questions that others might not have noticed, and Sang Zhixia answered them as detailed as possible.
When Xu Minghui finally finished answering, Xu Yu could no longer bear it and knocked on the table and said, "It's getting late. Can't you ask me another day?"
Sang Zhixia has been busy all day, and if she continues, she will hardly be able to open her eyes.
Xu Minghui squinted at him with a forced smile: "Brother, I'm not idle either."
If Xu Yu wasn't such a bastard, would he have to ask all these questions here?
Xu Yu didn't feel guilty at all about ordering people around. He said confidently, "You're tired too. Wouldn't it be nice to go back and rest?"
Xu Yu said, waving his hand to send the person away. "There's no room here. Go to the embroidery shop. See you tomorrow. Be careful on the road."
Xu Minghui snorted angrily, but when he stood up, he did not forget to nod and say goodbye to Sang Zhixia.
After Xu Yu fastened the bolt on the gate, Sang Zhixia rummaged through the small change on the table and suddenly looked up: "I have an idea about the farm and the income from the box of incense. Do you want to hear it?"
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