Chapter 64 Chapter 64 Business is getting better
The price of Yu Jin is set well. Customers can buy rice balls according to their needs. The lowest price is two cents for vegetarian and the highest is five cents for meat.
The price is flexible and customers have many choices.
That night, Yu Jin started to soak the grains and beans, washing them and braising them in advance to make preparations.
Yu Laoer and Liu both came to help. For example, Yu Laoer took over the job of cleaning the drain and let the mother and daughter do some lighter work.
If they wanted to help with the work, Yu Jin would naturally not refuse.
Worried that he didn't clean it thoroughly, Yu Jin also taught him how to clean it and which parts to discard. In order to make the water cleaner, she gritted her teeth and added half a bowl of noodles.
This is something I'm going to sell, so I can't be too careless and must wash it thoroughly.
Yu Lao Er was startled and asked hesitantly: "Jin Niang, isn't this too wasteful?"
Offal is usually cleaned with wood ash, and this is the first time he heard of adding flour to it, since it is food.
Although the flour used was not fine, the farmers still felt very distressed.
"No!" Yu Jin said patiently, "If you want to marinate the offal well, you must clean it thoroughly. Using flour can make it cleaner and there will be no odor. This is what Aunt Zhou said."
If you are eating at home, you can tolerate the smell, but guests will not tolerate it.
Yu Laoer opened his mouth but said nothing in the end.
Yuzhu and Yuyin also came to help.
The whole family worked together and the preparations were quickly completed, and the turmeric began to be braising.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching and the weather is getting cooler. You can braise the offal at night, heat it up the next day and take it to the county town to sell, so you don’t have to get up so early.
That morning, the Yu family got up while it was still dark.
The first ones to get up were Yu Laoer and Liu. They were not afraid of hard work or fatigue, so they wanted to help their daughters do more work so that they could have less work to do.
The two put the soaked grains into the pot and cooked them when they were almost cooked.
Then they went to the vegetable garden in the backyard to pick some vegetables, washed them, picked out large leaves and put them in the basket one by one.
Then Yu Jin and Yu Yin also got up.
Yuzhu was the last to get up. She was still young and had been injured a while ago. Her sisters felt sorry for her and got out of bed quietly so as not to wake her up and let her sleep a little longer.
When Yuzhu woke up, the multi-grain rice had been steamed and the offal that had been braised last night had been reheated.
Following his daughter's instructions, Yu Laoer poured the mixed-grain rice into a clean bucket while it was still hot and covered it with a clean cloth.
There were two buckets in total, one bucket with steamed multi-grain rice, and the other bucket with mashed bean paste and chopped offal. The offal was in a jar, and there was also marinade. The offal was soaked in the marinade to make it more flavorful.
Put the washed green leaves, bowls, chopsticks, spoons and other things in the basket and cover it with a cloth.
Everything was ready, and the sky was already turning pale.
Yu Jin and Yu Yin were also getting ready to go out.
Yu Lao Er asked, "Jin Niang, can you lift it? Do you want me to take you to the riverside to take a boat?"
Yu Li said that they should take a boat to the county town and not be stingy with the few cents.
Taking a boat to the county town is the fastest and safest way. If you get there early, just in time for the morning market, it will be easier to sell your products.
Yu Jin picked up the bucket of mixed-grain rice. She had been doing rough labor since she was young and was quite strong. Although it was a bit heavy, she was still able to lift it. However, her younger sister Yu Yin was young and often sat to do embroidery, so she was less strong and could not lift it very well.
Yuzhu said, "I can bring it up with my third sister."
Yu Yin and Yu Zhu lifted it up together, walked a few steps, and found that it was relatively easy.
Seeing this, Yu Jin asked her two sisters to carry the bucket containing bean paste and offal together. She carried one bucket in one hand and the basket containing bowls, chopsticks and vegetable leaves in the other.
The three sisters walked in the dim morning light to the riverside pier at the entrance of the village.
Wang the boatman set out very early every day and rowed to the county town before dawn.
Nowadays, people only get up early, not late. Many people from nearby villages rush to the county town to work early in the morning. Boatmen like Wang Gong have to go out early to see off those early risers to the county town.
When passing by Qingshi Village today, Wang Yugong saw three people waiting early at the riverside pier. When he got closer, he found that they were the girls from the second branch of the Yu family.
Three girls came on board, carrying two buckets and a basket.
The two buckets were covered tightly with cloth, and no one knew what they were.
While greeting them, Wang asked, "Are you going to the county town? What's in this bucket?"
Yu Yin and Yu Zhu were both a little shy and sat there without saying anything.
Yu Jin replied crisply, "It's mixed grain rice, some braised food, and vegetable leaves. We're going to take it to the county town to sell."
Wang the Fisherman was taken aback. He didn't expect that the three girls from the second branch of the Yu family would go to the county town to sell things, and they were selling food.
In the dim morning light, he looked at the three girls and asked them how they were selling.
Yu Jin said something, and Wang the boatman became interested. With the intention of taking care of their business, he said, "I haven't had breakfast yet. Why don't you give me a two-cent vegetarian rice ball to try."
He really didn't have breakfast.
For people like him who have to go out to row boats early in the morning to do business, it is too troublesome to get up too early to prepare breakfast at home, so they usually eat after arriving in the county town.
It's just a matter of a few cents anyway, and he can still afford it.
Yu Jin smiled and said, "Uncle Wang, I'll treat you to a meal. Tell me how it tastes after you finish eating."
Thinking that they might have to take Wang the boat to go to the county town in the future, they might as well establish a good relationship with him and ask him to take them there early every day.
So she decided to invite Wang Xiegong to dinner.
Before Wang Chengong could say anything, Yu Jin had already taken out a bowl, put two green leaves at the bottom of the bowl, put a layer of mixed grain rice at the bottom of the bowl, added soft bean paste and a tablespoon of marinade, then put another layer of mixed grain rice on it, compacted it, poured another spoonful of marinade on it, and finally wrapped it with green leaves.
This makes a multi-grain rice ball wrapped in green vegetable leaves.
"Uncle Wang, try it." Yu Jin handed over the rice ball.
Wang the boatman wiped his hands, took the rice ball wrapped in vegetables and took a bite.
The texture of multi-grain rice has always been rough, not as good as white rice, but because this multi-grain rice is added with marinade, it tastes very fragrant and the rough texture is not so worrying.
After biting open the outer layer of multi-grain rice and green vegetable leaves soaked in marinade, inside is soft and delicate bean paste and fragrant braised meat. When these things are mixed together, even the multi-grain rice becomes delicious.
Wang Yugong quickly finished a rice ball made of mixed grains.
"Uncle Wang, how is it?" Yu Jin asked.
Yu Yin and Yu Zhu also looked at him expectantly. Although they thought the multi-grain rice balls were delicious, they were afraid that the guests would not find them good enough.
Wang Yugong praised: "The texture of grains is always rough, but the bean paste is very soft, and the braised meat and marinade are really fragrant. Mixed together, the grain rice becomes delicious. This business is worth doing."
He was a countryman, and he knew that the three girls' rice balls were mainly sold to those who did hard labor. They usually ate rice with mixed grains, and they would not mind the rough texture of mixed grains and the difficulty in swallowing. The most important thing was that these rice balls were dry, filling, and you could taste the meat inside. The key was that they were not expensive.
Wang the boatman asked again: "What kind of meat is in the stew?"
The braised meat was very soft, and was cut into small pieces, so he couldn't tell what kind of meat it was at first.
Yu Jin said: "It's going into the water."
Wang Zhougong was a little surprised and said in astonishment: "Can offal be braised so deliciously? How come there is no peculiar smell of offal?" Of course he had eaten offal before. Offal has a strong taste and the peculiar smell is difficult to remove. Therefore, many people regard offal as smelly. Unless they are really poor, they try not to suffer this punishment.
Yu Jin pursed his lips and smiled.
Wang the Fisherman calculated in his mind that the grains were not expensive, and the offal were not expensive either. The only expensive thing was the spices used to marinate the offal. However, one portion of marinade could be used to marinate several dishes of offal and could be reused, so the cost was not high.
If you calculate it carefully, this business doesn't make a lot of money, but it is definitely profitable.
He praised: "I didn't expect you would want to do this mixed grain rice business. You Yu family members are really amazing."
The smile on Yu Jin's face faded slightly.
She knew that Wang the Boatman had always looked favorably upon her uncle and his family, thinking that they were scholars with a promising future. Every time her uncle and his family took the boat back to the village, he never charged them for the boat fare. So her words now seemed a bit like flattery.
But apart from this, Wang Yugong has nothing to do with the first wife. He and his third aunt Wang are relatives, but not his uncle.
Yu Jin didn't respond, but said, "Uncle Wang, we will go to the county town to sell rice balls in the morning from now on. Please give us a ride."
"No problem!" Wang Chengong agreed immediately.
The boat headed towards the county town. When passing some river docks along the way, there would be people waiting there to take the boat to the county town.
But there are not many people here. Including the three Yu Jin sisters, there are only five guests today.
Each passenger had to pay four cents for the boat fare, and Wang the boatman could earn twenty cents per trip. Yu Jin calculated in his mind how much money he could earn by making several trips a day, and felt very envious.
When we arrived at the county town, it was already bright.
After the other guests got off the boat, Wang the boatman took the three sisters Yu Jin to the dock.
They had to set up a stall at the dock, where there was a place specifically for small vendors to sell breakfast. However, they needed to go to the manager of the dock to get a sign and pay some fees, otherwise they would be driven away by patrolling yamen runners and not allowed to set up a stall there to do business.
After the boat stopped, Yu Jin paid twelve cents for the fare.
Wang Xiegong didn't want it. After all, he had eaten their rice balls. For the sake of their relatives, he decided to give it to them for free today, but Yu Jin didn't accept it.
"We will all take your boat to the county town in the future, so we can't take advantage of you."
Wang Yugong had no choice but to accept it and said, "You sisters are all the same."
He was talking about the first time Yu Li went to the county town, he wanted to not charge her the boat fare, but in the end she insisted on paying it.
In comparison, the eldest wife of the Yu family always felt at ease riding on his boat, although he was willing to do it for free, but compared with the girls of the second wife, the people of the eldest wife of the Yu family seemed too shameless.
After getting off the boat, the three sisters came to a place near the pier that specialized in selling breakfast and found that there were many stalls here, selling all kinds of food.
They didn't have time to look around, so they got the sign, paid the money, and hurriedly picked up the buckets to find a place to set up their stall.
After putting the bucket away, the three sisters looked at the breakfast stalls around them and found that they had tables and chairs, as well as small carts for pushing things around. They were very complete.
In comparison, they only had two buckets and a basket, which looked lonely and extremely simple.
You should get a simple table and put buckets and baskets on it.
The three sisters stood there in a daze.
It was their first time doing business and they didn’t know how to start.
The owners of several small food stalls nearby couldn't help but look at them a few more times, and soon they were busy greeting customers as there were many people buying breakfast.
There are a lot of people at the dock in the morning. In order to save time, most of the porters who get up early do not cook at home, but come here to have breakfast. The dock is very lively with people coming and going.
When someone passed by the three sisters' stall, they saw two wooden barrels covered with cloth on the ground and asked them what they were selling.
This was the first person to ask, and the three sisters were extremely nervous.
Yu Jin secretly clenched his fists, his throat was dry from tension, and he tried hard to speak: "We sell multi-grain rice balls."
When that person heard that it was mixed grain rice or something, he lost interest.
Seeing that he was about to leave, Yu Jin hurriedly said, "These rice balls are available in vegetarian and meat varieties. The vegetarian ones start at two cents and come with marinade, while the meat ones start at three cents and have marinated meat inside."
When the man heard that there was braised meat, he immediately said, "Give me a salmon one."
Three cents can buy a meat bun, but the bun is not very big and there is not much meat in it, so one meat bun is definitely not enough to fill you up.
This rice ball is made of mixed grains, which are not expensive, so the portion should be more substantial than the meat bun.
Yu Jin started making rice balls quickly.
She had made it several times since yesterday, and was very familiar and efficient with the process. It only took her a short while to make a multi-grain rice ball with meat.
The man watched her make rice balls with his own eyes and found that there really was braised meat in the jar. Although the meat was chopped up and he couldn't tell what it was made of, when he opened the lid of the jar, he could still smell the aroma of the braised meat, which was quite tempting.
After the rice balls were ready, he saw the rice balls wrapped in green vegetable leaves and thought he could try that too.
After tasting it, the man became happy. The marinade was very fragrant. When poured on the multi-grain rice, the rough texture of the multi-grain rice could be ignored. The mouth was full of the aroma of meat, not to mention that the braised meat inside was even more fragrant.
This man was a porter at the dock. The clothes he wore were very worn, but because he was young and strong, he worked hard and ate a lot.
One rice ball is not enough to eat, it can only make me half full.
He also ordered a two-cent vegetarian rice ball. Although it didn't have meat on it, the marinade still smelled delicious. After eating two rice balls, he felt very full. This meal could last him most of the day.
This is more cost-effective than eating a bowl of shredded pork noodles, which costs five cents but is not enough to fill you up.
With the first guest, there will be a second guest.
Business gradually improved.
Perhaps when the three sisters set up their stall, there was not even a table, just two buckets on the ground. It looked so shabby that it attracted the attention of passers-by, and soon someone came over to ask what they were selling.
**
After delivering the goods, Yu Li came to the dock specifically to see if his sisters' business was going well.
It was their first day setting up the stall and they were worried that someone would cause trouble for them.
When Yu Li came over, he saw people buying rice balls in front of the stalls of his three sisters. The three sisters all had their own things to do.
Yu Jin and Yu Yin are responsible for making rice balls, and Yu Zhu is responsible for collecting money.
She was young and had never learned how to count, but she could still collect money. After all, rice balls were a small business and most people just bought one to try, and paid two or three cents without having to think too much.
Yu Li walked over carrying a bamboo basket.
Knowing that Yu Jin was going to set up a stall in the county town today, she took the delivery job near the dock. After delivering the goods, she was not in a hurry to go back, so she could come over and take a look, and help to calm the situation, so that no one would bully them because they were young girls.
The three sisters were very happy to see her.
"Big sister!"
Yu Li responded, put down the bamboo basket, stood behind his sisters, and watched them sell rice balls.
A boy of about fifteen or sixteen was waiting for rice balls in front of the stall. Suddenly, he saw someone behind the three girls selling rice balls. He turned around and met Yu Li's eyes who was standing there. He then lowered his head with a red face.
When Yu Jin handed over the wrapped rice ball, the boy blushed and said, "I, I want to buy a vegetarian one."
Yu Jin didn't think much about it and continued to make him a vegetarian rice ball.
After the two rice balls were made, the boy took them and left with a red face.
When he walked a little further away, he finally mustered up the courage, turned back and glanced at the stall, his face turning even redder.
Seeing the customer leave, Yu Li asked how business was going.
"It's not bad. We've been here for half an hour and have sold seven rice balls." Yu Jin said happily.
It was their first day setting up the stall. No one had tasted their rice balls and didn't know what they were selling, so it was normal that no one came to buy. Fortunately, they didn't make much multi-grain rice today, so they thought of trying to sell it first to see how the business was and whether people in the county could accept multi-grain rice balls.
Yu Li felt that there were very few people here. Looking at the breakfast stalls around him, there were many customers. Listening to them talking to the bosses, it was obvious that they were regular customers.
She was about to say something when she saw another person coming to buy rice balls.
The three Yu Jin sisters quickly got busy.
But I didn’t expect that more and more people came to buy rice balls, one, two, three... Even though there were people waiting in front, there were still people coming to buy rice balls from the back, and they lined up.
Generally, if there are many customers at a stall, they will go to other stalls to buy breakfast so as not to squeeze in with everyone and waste time.
At first, Yu Jin was a little confused as to why so many people suddenly came to buy rice balls. When she looked at the customers queuing, she found that they were all young men. Their eyes kept glancing behind them, and she couldn't help but look back.
When she saw Yu Li standing there, she immediately understood.
All of this was attracted by her sister's face.
Maybe it was because they lived in the same village, and since Yu Zhu was injured, Yu Li went to see her almost every day.
The sisters met each other often. Although they knew that Yu Li had changed a lot, they didn't feel anything special because they saw him every day.
Sometimes I would sigh and say that my elder sister has become more beautiful. The tonic medicine she takes is really effective.
There is nothing more to say. No matter what Yu Li becomes, she is still their eldest sister, and this will never change.
But she didn't expect that her sister's prettier face would bring such consequences.
It is human nature to appreciate beauty, not to mention that most people in the world are superficial and like beautiful appearance.
Her sister is like this now. Just standing there, even if she does nothing, that special aura will easily attract the attention of others.
As a result, she attracted many male customers, who came to buy rice balls while secretly looking at her sister.
Because today was the first day of setting up the stall, they didn’t prepare much and it was sold out quickly.
There were still a few customers waiting to buy rice balls at the back. When they found out that they were sold out, they looked regretful and asked hesitantly, "Will you come to set up the stall tomorrow?"
"I'll be back." Yu Jin smiled politely, "We'll still be here at this time tomorrow."
After hearing this, the two guests became happy, glanced at the place behind them, and left reluctantly.
Seeing this scene, the owners of the surrounding stalls couldn't help but envy their good business.
However, they were selling rice balls, and there wasn't much mixed-grain rice in the two buckets, so it wasn't like they were stealing their business. So when he saw their business was booming, he didn't think much of it.
It's just that these sisters are just too pretty. Fortunately, the county magistrate's brother-in-law, Manager Cui, was beaten up a few days ago. I heard that he became a disabled person and is lying at home. He will never be able to harm others in the future. Otherwise, if he saw these sisters, he would have taken them back home and abused them.
They really caught the right time.
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