"We only have thirty catties today. Once they're gone, they're gone. If you want some, you'll have to line up first!" Stone and Sanlang worked together seamlessly.
Customers who hadn't even tasted it yet saw that there were already many people queuing to buy it, so they didn't care too much and quickly squeezed into the queue.
If you hesitate even a little longer, the line will become incredibly long.
"Come on, come on, don't miss out! We're having a cheap seafood feast with gravy, but quantities are limited, so first come, first served!"
Shi Tou was still shouting his wares, but an old man behind him waved his hand vigorously, "Stop shouting, the people at the back won't be able to buy any!"
Saburo smiled and took over the conversation, "Grandpa, we can accept pre-orders. You can place your order with us in advance for any quantity you want."
Upon hearing this, a customer leaned over and asked Sanlang, "Kid, are you sure you can place orders? I need ten pounds of this seafood; could it be delivered here tomorrow?"
Sanlang nodded and said crisply, "Yes, we can! But we need to collect a deposit first, five coins per catty, and then collect the remaining balance when the goods are delivered."
A woman passing by noticed that the portion of seafood in broth was limited and that it was unlikely to be her turn, so she discussed with Shi Tou: "Little brother, could you bring it over earlier tomorrow? My brother is heading to the capital to study tomorrow morning, and he gets carsick and seasick, so he probably won't be able to eat anything on the way. I'd like to bring him some flavorful food so he won't go hungry."
Stone turned to look at Saburo, and the two exchanged a silent glance.
Sanlang thought for a moment and said, "Auntie, if it's convenient for you, please wait for us in the alley of Mao'er Hutong at 5 a.m. tomorrow. My brother and I can't go out too early, and our elders at home will worry!"
The woman nodded happily, "Then it's settled, I'll be there on time! You don't need to prepare too much, they can't eat that much. Here's one tael of silver, it's all for you, thank you for your hard work!"
After a moment of silence, Saburo accepted the first large sum of money.
After selling the seafood, the two carried their empty baskets on their way home.
Shi Tou's voice trembled slightly, "San Lang, we made a full two taels of silver today! After deducting three hundred coins, we made a net profit of more than one tael! Right? I'm not mistaken, am I? It's true, isn't it?"
Sanlang nodded and said, "Brother Shitou, that aunt gave us one tael of silver. We can't just make her seafood with gravy. Make her some steamed cakes tonight too!"
Stone was shocked. "Steamed cake? That's so expensive, we can't afford it!"
“They gave me a tael of silver! The seafood in broth isn’t worth that much. The steamed cake is sweet and soft. Even someone with no appetite would want to eat it just by smelling it. It’s perfect for taking on the road.”
"But there's only a little milk left at home, and the eggs are for you to eat to help you recover!"
"We'll buy milk and eggs after we've made some money. Right now, we can't break our promises, and we can't let others look down on us! Besides, we're not just doing one-off business; reputation is the most important thing!"
"Fine, fine, you're in charge!"
Mr. Xunmei ate rather casually for dinner tonight; it's been a long time since Shitou has eaten so carefree!
Seeing that the two children seemed a bit distracted and not as talkative as usual, I didn't think too much about it.
After dinner, Mr. Xunmei deliberately did not assign any more homework to Sanlang, but only told him to rest early.
That night, the kitchen lights were on early in the morning.
Just as dawn broke, Sanlang and Shitou wrapped the seafood in oil paper, which they had prepared early that morning, layer upon layer, and placed it in a ceramic jar. They then covered it with another layer of oil paper and placed four neatly arranged steamed cakes on top.
The two sneaked out of the bamboo hut and headed straight for Cat Alley.
The woman, accompanied by a maid, was already waiting there. Upon seeing Sanlang and Shitou, she happily came to greet them.
"You actually delivered it! Thank you!"
Saburo smiled and said, "Auntie, I put a layer of ice in the seafood sauce inside. It won't spoil even if it stays for another day, but it won't be edible if it's left for too long. It's easy to get an upset stomach."
"Oh, thank you so much!"
The woman, accompanied by her maid, boarded the carriage in the alley. She carefully opened the lid of the earthenware jar and was surprised to smell an extremely pleasant, sweet aroma.
"What is this?" She picked up the top layer of oil paper and smelled it. After confirming that the fragrance was coming from inside, she opened it to take a look.
The steamed cake was still warm, and four square pieces were neatly arranged. It was fragrant and soft, with a yellowish-white hue, and you could tell at a glance that it was no ordinary cake.
"These two children...!" the woman murmured, overwhelmed with mixed feelings.
Inside the bamboo hut, Mr. Xunmei followed the sweet aroma in the air to the kitchen, where he indeed found the steamed cake in the bowl.
But why are there only some scraps left of the steamed cake?
Mr. Xunmei searched the bamboo hut thoroughly, but found neither the diligent little stone nor the obedient little apprentice.
I didn't cook breakfast this morning, I just left him a bowl of leftover steamed cake and a bowl of seafood. I don't know where the two kids have gone off to.
After finishing the steamed cake and seafood in broth, Mr. Xunmei licked his lips with a hint of lingering satisfaction, then left the bamboo hut with his hands behind his back.
In a corner of the street, Stone and Sanlang sat side by side, counting the copper coins in their purses one by one.
After counting for a long time, Sanlang finally let out a long breath and held up three fingers. "Three taels, and three hundred and two copper coins!"
"Really!" Stone jumped three feet high, his eyes shining with excitement.
Sanlang said with some melancholy, "Even if I can earn one tael of silver a day, when will I ever earn two thousand taels of silver?"
Stone's eyes widened in disbelief as he asked, "Two thousand taels? You want to earn two thousand taels of silver? Are you out of your mind?"
“My sister needs to rent a shop, which will cost two thousand taels of silver a year. Our family doesn’t have that much money, so I want to help my sister.”
"But two thousand taels is too much. You won't be able to earn that much money when you grow up!" Shi Tou scratched his head, looking troubled.
"That's right! But my sister is coming here soon to open a branch!"
Shi Tou was a few years older than Sanlang, so his perspective as an outsider was much more insightful.
"Sanlang, have you ever considered that since your sister is going to do business in Yuzhou City, she must have already made some preparations. She probably doesn't expect you to raise money for her to rent a shop!"
Saburo had also thought about this question, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't believe that his sister would have enough money to rent a shop.
He frowned, rested his chin on his hand, and pondered deeply, but still came up empty-handed.
"Let's go back first, the teacher must be getting impatient!"
Mr. Xunmei was not at the bamboo house, so the two brothers quickly tidied themselves up and returned to their usual selves. One diligently washed and prepared vegetables to cook dinner, while the other held a book and read attentively.
Stone is alright; he's used to working, so nothing can stop him from doing his job.
But Sanlang was different. He was still young, and after staying up for most of the night, he was exhausted. He fell asleep on the table after reading only a few sentences of his book.
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