She needed to earn profits for Guilin Residence, but more importantly, she needed to help Guilin Residence to fully open up wider markets for sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu and enhance a more reputable brand name.
Xiao Bei squinted his eyes, semi-understanding as he nodded, "So, sister, you didn’t just make money, you also made a reputation?"
"Of course. Also, even though Guilin Residence is selling with us, their prices are much higher than ours, catering only to the wealthy. Ordinary people will still have to buy from us. In other words, the sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu sold by Guilin Residence won’t affect our business at all," Ji Xinhe explained.
This business was absolutely maximized for Ji Xinhe’s benefit.
Xiao Bei’s eyes sparkled, "So, will our business get better and better?"
"Definitely, when we have enough customers, we can simply open a workshop, a storefront, and so on. Making money in the future will not be difficult," Ji Xinhe had already started envisioning the future, her eyes sparkling with hope.
"Great!" Xiao Bei agreed excitedly.
The bullock cart shook and swayed, finally returning to the village at noon.
Ji Dong had been waiting in the courtyard, arranging firewood. On seeing them return, he hurriedly came out to help with the goods, "Why did you come back just now? I was afraid something had happened. If you didn’t come back, I was about to go to town to look for people."
Ji Xinhe chuckled, "We got a big deal today!"
"What deal?" From the gleeful look on Ji Xinhe’s face, Ji Dong knew it must be excellent news.
"Let’s go inside and talk."
"Well, alright!"
Ji Dong and Mu Houchu carried a pot each while Xiao Bei drove the bullock cart into the courtyard.
Once inside, Ji Xinhe first recorded the day’s earnings and locked it in a small money box. This was the most important thing she did every time she came back.
Having just put away the small box, she glanced at several pairs of cotton socks on the kangtou and was surprised, "Brother, where did these cotton socks come from?"
Ji Dong scratched his head, "I don’t know either. I found them early this morning at the entrance of the courtyard. I thought they were probably sent by the same person as last time, so I brought them in."
Ji Xinhe’s eyes lit up, "You found them this morning?"
"What...what’s the matter?" Ji Dong was puzzled by Ji Xinhe’s surprise.
Ji Xinhe hurriedly shuffled through the newly made socks. They were finely crafted, and the stitches were dense - clearly made with care. Besides Zheng Xiaocui, who else would have such good skill?
She didn’t expect that Zheng Xiaocui would actually deliver them after her deliberate hint last time!
Upon seeing Ji Xinhe’s growing excitement, Ji Dong was even more confused, "What’s going on? Could it be you knew who sent it?"
Ji Xinhe immediately shook her head, "How could I possibly know?"
Xiao Bei scratched his head, looking at the innocent and harmless look on his sister’s face. Why did he always feel that something was off?
However, Ji Dong didn’t think much of it and believed her, "Then what are you so excited about?"
Ji Xinhe put down the socks with a smile, "I’m excited about the big deal we got today!"
"What deal?" Ji Dong was easy to fool, his attention was redirected with a single sentence.
Ji Xinhe then relayed everything about her collaboration with Guilin Residence that day.
Ji Dong’s eyes widened in disbelief, "They actually sold for thirty coins per jin?!"
Xiao Bei chuckled, "Yes! Our sister is so amazing! Anything she handles is guaranteed to succeed! She said that we’re going to make a lot of money in the future!"
Ji Dong’s face was filled with surprise and pride, "Xinhe, you are really incredible!"
Ji Dong had always been protective of his siblings. He was simple and straightforward, without much of the male chauvinism or the mentality of valuing boys over girls. Seeing his sister doing so well and being so outstanding, he was genuinely happy for her.
Ji Xinhe laughed, "In the future, our household needs to increase production. The sour bamboo shoots and fermented tofu we sell ourselves will need thirty to forty jins per day, let alone the thirty jins each we have to provide to Guilin Residence. Just counting these, our workload is already huge, and this doesn’t even include the work that will pile up when our business booms."
Ji Dong also nodded along, "True, we’re already busy with just the ones we sell ourselves. It would indeed be overwhelming if we add so much more."
Ji Xinhe quickly said, "That’s why I was thinking, why not open a small workshop and hire reliable people from the village to help? Then we don’t have to go through so much trouble."
"Open a small workshop?" Ji Dong was surprised. He had lived his entire life without once considering becoming a boss. Opening a workshop would be equivalent to hiring people to work.
"Yes! Otherwise, we won’t be able to handle it ourselves. I’ve thought this through. We should find a few capable village women to help. Then we won’t have to tire ourselves out so much, right?"
Thinking about it, Ji Dong felt there was indeed some truth to it, so he said, "Then let’s do as you suggest."
The smile on Ji Xinhe’s face grew even sweeter, "I think Hong Qin and Zheng Xiaocui are very capable. I’ll go talk to them first, then ask around in the village for trustworthy people. It’s winter now and there isn’t much work in the fields, so the villagers must be idling away their time."
Ji Xinhe knew that Zheng Xiaocui had feelings for Ji Dong, but blockhead Ji Dong was completely oblivious. Breaking the news to him now would inevitably cause resistance, especially since she herself was not yet married, he would certainly not be in the mood to consider his own marriage.
So the most important thing was to let him develop feelings. If she invited Zheng Xiaocui to work at her house, wouldn’t they have more opportunities to interact? With more interaction, how could her blockhead brother not realize?
Ji Xinhe, grinning from ear to ear, ran off to discuss this with Hong Qin and Zheng Xiaocui.
Ji Dong didn’t catch Ji Xinhe’s little scheme at all, instead he laughed, "Xinhe is becoming more and more competent. I underestimated her before."
Because of the workshop matter, Ji Xinhe almost stayed awake all night with excitement. This signaled the start of her small enterprise. It was only now that she felt a bright future was ahead!
Ji Xinhe, grinning from ear to ear, simply turned over in bed again.
Suddenly, she heard a rustling noise.
Ji Xinhe’s eyes widened dramatically. She silently rolled out of bed.
However, when she stepped into the courtyard, she found no one in the pitch-black night.
Ji Xinhe was full of doubt. Had she heard wrong?
Without thinking, she walked to Marquis Mu’s room, stealthily pushed the door open a crack and peeked inside, only to find it empty.
Ji Xinhe pushed the door wide open to confirm it was empty, then puzzled, she wondered, no one? That noise must have been him, what could he be doing outside at dead of night?
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