Chu Yu kept thinking about this matter the whole way, and was somewhat absent-minded during the meal. Shu Aiguo thought something had happened to Chu Chu, but when he asked, he found out it was related to the news.
Shu Aiguo is not very educated, and it's not common for people in the countryside to read newspapers. His usual source of information is the village loudspeaker, where the village will announce any important news and read the newspaper to them. This morning, the broadcasting station broadcast this news.
Shu Aiguo was overjoyed and started bragging to the villagers:
"What bird lays golden eggs? That's a quail! My friend raises quails, but they're worthless!"
Chu Yu was stunned. "Second Uncle, does your friend really raise quails?"
"Is that a lie? There's a village in Guanxian where everyone raises quails. He even asked me last time if I wanted to raise them, and I immediately refused. What, you want to raise quails?"
Chu Yu didn't want to raise quails; he just wanted to sell quail eggs. However, Guanxian was more than 100 li away from here, and it was impractical to go to Guanxian every day to buy goods and resell them.
"Second Uncle, how much are your friend's quail eggs?"
"I don't know how much he sells it for. This man is my elementary school friend. After he got married, he moved to his wife's parents' home. I ran into him in the county town last time. He told me that he was raising quails and that I could contact him if I needed quail chicks."
"Are quail eggs expensive?" Chu Yu asked.
Shu Aiguo pondered for a moment and said, "I don't know the specifics very well. Last time he told me that quails are a bit harder to raise than chickens. They are raised on wooden frames, and the indoor temperature cannot be too low. They are fed with pig feed that we usually buy. On average, the cost of one egg is two cents."
Two cents? The egg vendor at the farmers' market said that quail eggs used to sell for 5-6 cents, but recently the wholesale price has risen to 7 cents. The people who raise quail eggs don't necessarily raise prices; the ones who make money are the middlemen who wholesale quail eggs and resell them in the market to earn the price difference. If she can get quail eggs wholesale, after deducting losses, she can make at least two cents profit per egg.
Quail eggs are small, and a basket can hold hundreds of them. Transporting thousands of eggs at once is not difficult, and this round trip can generate a profit of 20 yuan.
If she raises quails and sells them as she goes, wouldn't her profit be even higher?
Of course, if the quail farming scale wasn't very large, and you couldn't collect thousands of eggs every day, you could save them up for a few days and then sell them at the market. When you weren't selling quail eggs, you could sell night-shining sand. You wouldn't be rich, but it would at least be enough for her to make a living in the 1980s.
When Shu Aiguo heard Chu Yu's idea, he didn't immediately object. He and Shu Hui respected their child's thoughts. Chu Yu had been performing very well these past few days, earning several yuan a day. The news about quails was known throughout the country, and the buzz was indeed high. Selling quails might really be a good way to make money.
Shu Aiguo glanced at Deng Fangping without leaving a trace. Deng Fangping was actually unwilling for Chu Yu to take any risks.
Night-shining sand has no cost, so it can be sold first. Once this money can no longer be made, other methods can be thought of. She was worried that Chu Yu was being a bit too rash and wanted to do something else before making any money.
But the family was already so poor. Chu Yu's behavior these past few days gave her a glimmer of hope. Perhaps this family needed someone bold enough to step forward and break the deadlock.
After a long pause, Deng Fangping finally gritted her teeth and made a decision: "Old Shu."
Shu Aiguo awaited her instructions.
"Take Chu Yu to Zheng Laojiu's place tomorrow. If he can raise them, he can. If not, we can buy quail eggs from him and sell them. It's still a way."
With Deng Fangping's instructions, Chu Yu felt reassured.
Chu Xiang, Yunyun, Xiao Jiang, and the others were also quite capable. During the day, they helped her shovel more than a dozen sacks of luminous sand, which were then dried early in the morning.
There were shouts of ice pop vendors outside, so Chu Yu gave each of them a dime, and the three of them ran off to buy ice pops.
"Here you go, sis." Chu Xiang brought Chu Yu a cream popsicle.
Yunyun and Xiaojiang brought gifts for Shu Aiguo and Deng Fangping.
The couple hadn't had an ice pop in many years, and the taste made them feel sweet inside. Since their niece came to live with them, their lives had visibly improved, and the child was obedient and sensible. They really hoped things would stay this way.
The cream popsicles from the 1980s had a rich milky flavor. Chu Yu took a bite and squinted her eyes comfortably.
Red bean popsicles are 3 cents each, and cream popsicles are 5 cents each. Since there are no refrigerators, they are kept cold by dragging wooden boxes covered with quilts on bicycles. Popsicles are cheaper at night than during the day, so the prices are quite reasonable.
After finishing the popsicle, my second aunt took two steamed buns to the neighbor's house to borrow a bicycle. These were white steamed buns made with flour that Chu Yu bought. The family hadn't been able to eat them all, but there was no other way. The bicycle was a valuable asset of the neighbor, and how could we not show some appreciation when using their bicycle to transport goods?
Neighbors need to interact and keep in touch in order to maintain a lasting relationship.
Because of her refined manners, her second uncle's family had a much better reputation in the village than her eldest uncle's family.
Sure enough, when the neighbor saw the two palm-sized steamed buns, he smiled and lent them his bicycle.
The next morning, Uncle Shu took 400 catties of night-shining sand and went to Deyang with Chu Yu. They were the first to be weighed before the Chinese medicine purchasing station opened.
It was the same staff member from yesterday. They must have recognized her, because they didn't skimp on anything and gave her a bill for 690 jin (345 kg).
Chu Yu knew this was a considerable favor, and she smiled and said, "Thank you, brother."
A young, newly graduated employee blushed and felt a little awkward when a pretty girl called him "big brother." He said, "Next time, come earlier, otherwise I won't be able to help you even if I want to."
Chu Yu smiled and thanked him.
The staff member, Xiao Wang, had been somewhat distracted ever since he met Chu Yu. He even dreamed about the girl last night. That's why he specially switched shifts with his colleague to work the early shift today, afraid that he would miss their meeting. Luckily, he bumped into her.
As Chu Yu left, he stared blankly at her retreating figure, which earned him a good scolding from his colleagues.
"Little Wang, she's already gone. You wouldn't have fallen for that farm girl who sells luminous sand, would you?"
Xiao Wang shook his head. He was a native city dweller and a full-time employee at the traditional Chinese medicine station. He could be interested, but if he really found a farm girl, his colleagues would laugh at him. He vehemently denied it.
With her second uncle's help, Chu Yu earned money much faster, making a total of twenty yuan and seventy cents in one go, which put her in a great mood.
Shu Aiguo hadn't expected his niece to be so capable. Although Chu Yu had only brought the Night-Shining Sand to the Chinese Medicine Station and hadn't done anything except exert herself, the problem was that among all the generations of people in Shanguan Village, no one knew that the bat droppings that everyone in the cave disliked were Night-Shining Sand, and no one would bring this stuff out to sell.
Ultimately, it's his niece who's capable; she's bold and competent, and someone like that can succeed anywhere.
Seeing Chu Yu counting money like a little miser, Shu Aiguo smiled knowingly and said, "Alright, stop counting. You're gone now, there's nothing we can do about it if it's less."
Chu Yu knew that she was just obsessed with the feeling of counting money. When she passed by the farmers' market, she went in and bought three catties of meat and a net bag of apples, spending a total of four yuan.
"Just buy two jin of meat." Uncle Shu felt bad about wasting that little bit of meat.
"I know, we'll keep the rest of the meat for ourselves."
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