Carrying two large baskets of peaches, Xichun and her group returned to the city. She couldn't wait to try it out, so she immediately got everyone to help her make them.
"Sister Xichun, this is such a waste of sugar. Will this even sell?" Taozi asked curiously, watching Xichun's steps.
"It's alright, let's make it first and see." White sugar wasn't cheap at this time, so Xichun used rock sugar, which was much cheaper. She washed the peaches, soaked them in water, peeled them, soaked them in salt water for a while, and then cooked the peaches and rock sugar together. That made half of it.
To preserve peaches for a longer period of time, the most important step is the jar used for storage. The jar needs to be cleaned and sterilized. In ancient times, there were no better methods for high-temperature sterilization. Xichun bought a lot of small jars, boiled a kettle of water, steamed all the jars, and then let them air dry naturally. He then poured the fruit pulp and water into the jars and sealed them.
At this stage, we wait for inspection. This step is mainly to check the shelf life of the canned goods, which is essential for them to have commercial value.
Aunt Zhang and the others felt that Xichun was being wasteful, but since it was all Xichun's money that bought the candy, and she was very smart, she must have her reasons.
The remaining fruit pulp was not wasted; instead, it was shared with everyone so they could try it. Who wouldn't love something sweet? Naturally, they ate it happily.
Xi Chun also gave some to the An family and the Guo family, and kept one jar for Fu Changfeng.
"This is homemade canned fruit. Remember to eat it as soon as you get it back. If it goes bad, don't eat it anymore. Remember to use a dry, oil-free spoon each time you scoop it out, so that it can be preserved for the longest time."
"Miss Chen, don't worry, I will definitely keep it safe." Fu Changfeng grinned.
Aunt Zhang's new daughter-in-law is named Zhou Xiaoxue. She is a quick-witted, cheerful, and generous woman. Since her husband and mother-in-law are both in the county town, it wouldn't be appropriate for her to stay at home with her father-in-law. Therefore, Xichun asked her to come and help out as well.
"Sister-in-law, take a break and eat first before you get back to work." After noon, fewer people were eating, so Xichun told everyone to eat first before getting back to work. However, seeing that the dishes were still unwashed, and considering that she had been studying all morning and hadn't done much work, she volunteered to wash the dishes.
"It's okay, there aren't many bowls. I'll wash them in a bit. You guys eat first, I'm not hungry yet." Zhou Xiaoxue said as she started washing the bowls, and soon she had them clean.
"You got a great daughter-in-law, didn't you? Look how hardworking she is. You'll be living a life of luxury from now on," Aunt He and the others joked with Aunt Zhang.
"That's right, this daughter-in-law is a good one, and I'm happy for her." Aunt Zhang thought of the news she had heard a few days ago that the third daughter-in-law of the Jiang family had found a son-in-law to live with her family and was about to get married. Thinking of the mistreatment she had suffered in the past, and seeing such a hardworking daughter-in-law, she felt fortunate.
“If you work with Xichun from now on, you’ll definitely learn a trick or two. Even if you go out to do business on your own, you’ll definitely make money. Look at the Chen family, they seem to have forgotten where they came from. They don’t even come to the village’s banquets. Their business isn’t as good as ours, but they’re already swaggering.”
"Who knows what they're thinking? We should just focus on living our own lives." Xi Chun didn't understand their thought process either; they probably weren't going back to the village anymore.
Not having the energy to meddle in other people's business, after making canned fruit, Xichun successively developed chili oil, chopped chili, and other food products, preparing to sell semi-finished products directly.
That day, Qiangzi walked over dejectedly. Seeing his appearance, Aunt Zhang and Zhou Xiaoxue quickly ran over to him.
"Mother, there are too many people at Zhu's Restaurant now, so they said they're going to reduce the number of people. Two others and I were called back." Qiangzi was still enjoying the joy of his wedding, but then this happened, and his mood was in a mess.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. They have a lot of relatives waiting to work for them. So come back. Think about it yourself: are you going to go back to the village to farm with your father, or do you want to find another job in the city?" Aunt Zhang and the others had already prepared themselves for this.
Because the son-in-law that Jiang San Niang found was from Zhu Zhanggui's hometown, and the two families' businesses were already close by, even Xi Chun and the others heard that Boss Zhu wanted to replace him with someone from his own village. This was a characteristic of this era, and Xi Chun had no way to force Boss Zhu to continue arranging work for Brother Qiangzi.
"Brother Qiangzi, what are your plans? If you want to stay in the city, I'm still short-staffed at my stall. If you want to do other businesses, you can try them out yourself." Xichun had already thought it through. If Brother Qiangzi stopped working at that restaurant, she would be short-handed. Someone like Qiangzi, who had worked as a waiter in the restaurant, was a valuable asset.
“Xichun, you have enough people. Xiaoxue is just a burden to you. If I come, you won’t make any money. I’m thinking of seeing what kind of business I can do.” Qiangzi also wanted to stay, but he knew that it wouldn’t be good if his whole family worked for Xichun.
"Brother Qiangzi, I was just thinking of opening another stall and I was looking to hire more people. You're a perfect fit for me. Don't worry, the business I'm going to do won't conflict with my current one. I just need more people to manage it."
The business Xichun was referring to was naturally selling chili products. She had inquired about the situation in the entire county and even the prefectural city. People there all liked to eat chili peppers. This stall's business could only cater to the people in the county, but other businesses could indeed reach more places and might even be more profitable.
As for the canned fruit, Xichun felt that if she did it alone, she would be an easy target. So she wanted the villagers to do the business. As long as there was fair competition, they might even be able to develop tourism in Taoyuan Village in the future.
"Xichun, are you serious? I would be eternally grateful if you could help me." Qiangzi knew from these words that she was not one to boast. He had heard his wife talk about what Xichun had been doing recently, so it seemed that she already had a plan in mind.
"Of course, I'm not kidding you, Brother Qiangzi, Sister-in-law, you two will be in charge of this business with me from now on. As for the business at this stall, Aunt Zhang, you'll look after it for me for a while. You'll be the manager of our stall until I can handle both."
"Xichun, I'm afraid I can't do this job, can I?" When Aunt Zhang heard that she was being asked to be in charge, she was a little worried and scared. What if she messed it up and ruined the reputation of the business?
"Aunt Zhang, don't panic. Just do it the way we usually do. Everyone has their own role and knows what they should do. I'll come over every day, so don't feel too much pressure." Xi Chun felt that if she were to do more business in the future, she would definitely have to let go in time so that they could adapt to their positions and take on responsibilities as soon as possible.
Besides Aunt Zhang, everyone else also needs to be trained. Xichun also plans to recruit two more people from the village to help out, so that she won't have to worry too much about the business.
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