"It smells so good!" Shopkeeper Yu said, picking up a piece of fish and putting it in his mouth. "Mmm, delicious. Miss Yang, your cooking skills are really good. No wonder Xiao Jiang and Xiao He praised it. It truly lives up to its reputation."
"As long as the food is palatable, it's fine, everyone just eats vegetables."
This was the first time Zhou Daqing had tasted Yang Cui's cooking, and he was immediately amazed. He thought to himself, no wonder Yang Cui was able to cooperate with a big restaurant; with this skill, she could probably be a head chef herself.
Looking at the table full of delicious food, An Gousheng felt a little guilty, as if he was embarrassed to face Yang Cui. He had been frightened when he heard that the constables were going to arrest everyone and put them in jail that day, and his wife had dragged him away from the scene. He never expected that Yang Cui would invite him to dinner this time.
An Gousheng felt guilty and said, "Xiao Cui, if there's any heavy work to be done in the future, just let me know. Your uncle doesn't have any other skills, but he's very strong."
Yang Cui didn't actually blame An Gousheng. Fear is human nature. At least An Gousheng came to help her when the Lin family arrived. For that alone, Yang Cui was grateful to him. Of course, she would repay her two other uncles who stood behind her and stayed with her until the end.
As soon as An Gousheng finished speaking, the other uncles and Village Chief An quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, yes, if you need to use your strength, just say the word."
"Thank you all very much then," Yang Cui said with a smile. "I'm so glad I was able to get out of here unscathed this time. I'm grateful for Manager Yu's help, and I also want to thank everyone for their assistance. In the future, my daughter and I will ask the village chief and my uncles for their continued support. I'll offer you all a toast with fish soup instead of wine."
………
The meal was a pleasant one for both the host and guests.
Manager Yu came over for dinner, intending to have a proper chat with Yang Cui, but there were too many outsiders and no opportunity for a private conversation, so he had to give up. In addition, there were many things to do at the restaurant, so after the meal, he took his leave.
The others left one after another, leaving only Yang Cui and the village chief and his wife in the main room.
Yang Cui got down to business: "Grandpa Zhou, has the matter of dividing the village been resolved?"
"Yes, it's resolved." Zhou Daqing's face beamed with smiles as he talked about it. "From now on, I'll be the village chief of Zhou'an Village, hehe."
"Congratulations," Yang Cui said. "Besides the Zhou family, are there any other people in Zhou'an Village?"
“There are a few households that, although Chief Lin is no longer in power and Lin Mingcai is in jail, those outsiders still want to benefit from Lin Shikang's official position, so they are unwilling to join our Zhou'an Village. But it doesn't matter, I don't care,” Zhou Daqing said. “When our Zhou family raises ducks later, we'll include those outsiders and make money with them. Let others see that even though none of our Zhou family members are officials, we can still live a life of luxury.”
Zhou Zhuo rolled her eyes at Zhou Daqing: "Without Xiao Cui, where would you go to eat and drink well?"
Zhou Daqing grinned and said, "So, I have to ask Xiao Cui to give this old man a hand."
"Grandpa Zhou, please don't say that. Since we're all on the same side, we can naturally make money together. I, Yang Cui, keep my word. You can raise the ducks, and when they grow up, I will contact the Star Gazing Tower to buy them."
"Then how should we divide this money?" Zhou Daqing said. "You've helped our Zhou family make money, so there's no reason for you to help us for nothing. Besides, this is originally your network and your business."
Yang Cui was quite satisfied that Zhou Daqing offered to share the profits with her.
She said, "For every duck you sell to the Star Gazing Tower, you will give me two coins as payment. I will not participate in anything else."
Yang Cui received two coins as a commission for each duck sold, which was really not a high price. She felt a bit like a salesperson taking a commission.
"However, I must say this first: doing business involves both profits and losses. If one day I break up with the Star Gazing Tower, or the Star Gazing Tower goes bankrupt, and you can't sell your ducks, don't come after me."
Zhou Daqing got angry: "What are you saying? There are definitely risks in doing business. If that's really the reason, we certainly can't blame you! Don't worry, if you're not, we can draw up a contract in a bit."
"To put it bluntly, you might not be able to do it, but what about the others? Grandpa Zhou, please don't blame me for being petty; people's hearts are unpredictable. Of course, I'm not the kind of person who deliberately makes things difficult for others or is irresponsible. If you can't sell your ducks, I'll also suffer a loss."
"I understand what you mean. Don't worry, I, Zhou Daqing, am a man of my word, and I keep my promises!"
After the two parties reached an agreement, they signed a contract. From now on, Yang Cui would receive a commission of two coins for every duck sold by the Zhou family. If anything went wrong and the ducks could not be sold, the Zhou family would not cause trouble for Yang Cui, and Yang Cui would have to do her best to help the Zhou family sell the ducks.
“Xiao Cui, I heard you’re still building a pigsty and preparing to raise pigs. Aren’t pigs unwanted? Who will you sell them to? The Star Gazing Tower?” Zhou Zhuo asked.
“I read in a book that pigs can weigh around 200 jin (100 catties), and that pork is a treasure from head to toe and tastes very good, so I wanted to give it a try first.”
"Can it really be raised to 200 jin?" Zhou Daqing asked excitedly.
"It should be possible. Why don't you raise a few and try it? They won't eat much of your grain. It just takes effort. You'll have to go to the fields to pick some wild vegetables to cook and feed the pigs. You can also buy swill from restaurants to feed the pigs. It won't cost much. Anyway, the swill will just be thrown away. I think you can get three or five coins for it. I think many people would be willing to sell it."
Yang Cui generously shared information about pig farming with them.
A single tree cannot make a forest. Here, a person who makes a fortune in silence will only attract envy and resentment. It is better to be more generous.
She understood the principle that wealth brings people together but also disperses them.
"We need to think about this."
“I understand, my uncle doesn’t want to try either.”
Yang Cui had tried to dissuade An Dafu more than once, but they weren't very interested. Instead, they advised Yang Cui not to mess around and to just focus on raising ducks. They also had reservations about Yang Cui bringing the Zhou family along to raise ducks and make money, but Yang Cui had her own plans and naturally didn't listen to them. Besides, wouldn't she get two coins for every duck the Zhou family sold?
There are restaurants in Guanxinglou, Wan'an County, and Huangtang Town. The demand for ducks will not be low, so Yang Cui is not worried at all that she will not be able to sell the large number she raises.
However, to avoid any accidents, she still reminded Zhou Daqing: "Grandpa Zhou, for the first time, I suggest you don't raise too many. It's best to keep it to around two thousand. Then, after a month or so, buy another thousand or so and gradually increase it. We currently only have one customer, the Stargazing Pavilion, so we also need to see if the Stargazing Pavilion can handle so many."
"Yes, you're right, I'll take that into consideration."
Zhou Daqing wasn't one to rush things. Yang Cui and An Dafu were also raising ducks, and the quantity was already quite large. He was worried that Guanxinglou wouldn't be able to handle so many at once. Besides, this wasn't just his business; there were other clansmen involved too. Naturally, he had to proceed cautiously.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
