In the evening, Xiaoli returned home, cooked the meal, fed the children, and put them to bed before Wang Mazi returned home.
Xiaoli couldn't help but ask, "Husband, is business slow lately?"
"How can things be going well?" Wang Mazi said with a long face. "I was hoping that Yingying's marriage would help me out, but I didn't expect that Boss Zhao to be such a useless person. He ruined our biggest business."
He made no mention of how much of a role his sister played in it.
Xiaoli said, "I heard them say that the Zhao family opened a shop near the tavern."
“I knew it all along,” Wang Mazi said, his triangular eyes narrowing, making him look even uglier. “Zhao Yi’s family just doesn’t get along with me, and they even came here specifically to steal my business.”
“I was thinking, why don’t we ask Yingying where Grandpa Zhao’s family gets their milk from? If it’s a good match, we could just take over the milk supply from this branch.”
Xiaoli's words stunned Wang Mazi. He asked, "Would Zhao Yi be willing?"
"What does this have to do with Zhao Yi? It's his parents' business, how could he possibly control it?" Xiaoli gritted her teeth and said in a low voice.
“Okay, okay,” Wang Mazi clapped his hands, “I’ll go ask about it tomorrow.”
Wang Yingying and Wang Mazi were bound together by a shared destiny, and Wang Mazi didn't want to see her fall from grace.
The next day, Wang Mazi asked about it.
Although Old Master Zhao was old, he was not senile. Upon hearing this, he raised his eyelids and asked, "Why are you asking this?"
“I was thinking that my brother-in-law also runs a dairy farm. We’re from the same village, so we see each other all the time. I don’t want you to be fooled by unscrupulous merchants and waste your money on milk.”
While Grandpa Zhao was still pondering, his second daughter-in-law blurted out the price and quantity of milk she needed.
Upon hearing this, Wang Mazi realized that the price was indeed not expensive, even lower than the price Jiang Bai and Boss Zhao had initially agreed upon. Considering the demand, the dairy farm supplying them was barely making any money.
That's for sure. Since Jiang Bai agreed to open a shop for the Zhao family, he wouldn't cause trouble behind their backs. The milk came from the dairy farm that Li Xinxiang and she jointly owned, and it was sold at cost price. They didn't make a penny and even had to pay for transportation. Because of this, Jiang Bai's shop reduced the supply of some milk tea items that were not limited to unlimited quantities.
Li Xinxiang's dairy farm now exclusively supplies the two milk tea shops, and she doesn't take on any other business.
Wang Mazi gritted his teeth and feigned surprise, saying, "Why is this price so high? Isn't this a rip-off?"
"Really?" The second son's wife jumped up and down. "I knew Jiang Bai was up to no good."
Old Master Zhao had lived for decades longer than his second son's wife, so he didn't believe it entirely. Instead, he frowned and said, "The villagers go to get milk, which is much more expensive than this."
“That’s for individual purchases. How can the price be the same as buying in bulk?” Wang Mazi said with great enthusiasm, trying to fool the two people in front of him. “You’re buying such a large quantity. My brother-in-law will only ask for this much at most.”
He gestured to a number, which was the number his second son's wife had just mentioned, but at a 30% discount.
"That's a huge difference?" Old Master Zhao tapped his pipe, added some tobacco, and started smoking.
“Isn’t that right?” Wang Mazi leaned forward and whispered, “This is the internal price I’m giving you. Of course, it’s more expensive for outsiders.”
The second son's wife leaned over and pulled Old Master Zhao a little away, saying, "Dad, at this price, our daily costs will be reduced quite a bit!"
Grandpa Zhao coughed lightly a few times and turned his head: "Is the milk your brother-in-law makes reliable?"
“It’s reliable, absolutely reliable. If you don’t believe me, I’ll take you to his dairy farm, it’s not far away.” Wang Mazi pointed into the distance. “They’ve leased an entire mountain to raise cattle. The cattle eat pasture, and the milk they produce is fragrant and rich.”
“Okay,” Old Master Zhao gritted his teeth and immediately agreed. He asked, “Wang Mazi, are you free now?”
Even if Wang Mazi is busy, he should say he is!
He quickly nodded: "Yes, I'll go find a car now and take you there, Grandpa."
Grandpa Zhao said to his second son's wife, "Call your husband out and come with me to take a look."
"Okay." The second son's wife turned and ran.
When the two returned in the evening, the six members of the Zhao family held a small meeting at home.
The second son's wife didn't dare ask Old Master Zhao, so she whispered to Zhao Lao Er, "You and Dad went to see it, what did you think of the place?"
"That's good." Zhao Lao Er nodded.
He couldn't tell if it was good or bad, but there was indeed a slope where cattle could graze, and there were several men watching over them. There were quite a few cattle, and he even drank a few sips of the milk that had been squeezed out; the quality seemed acceptable.
Grandpa Zhao closed his eyes to rest, and Grandma Zhao spoke first: "Grandpa, what do you think?"
"I think it's a good idea," Grandpa Zhao nodded.
The milk from Boss Zhao's shop is not much different from that from Li Xinxiang's, but it is much cheaper.
but--
Zhao Lao Er hesitated and said, "Boss Zhao said that the quantity we ordered was too small and did not meet the delivery standard. He said that unless we order more, we can get free delivery."
"How much more do you want to order?" the third son's wife asked.
She and Zhao Laosan were both busy in the kitchen this afternoon, and they were a little resentful that Old Master Zhao had something to do but hadn't called them.
For this milk tea shop opening, Grandpa Zhao contributed thirty taels, and his two sons each contributed ten taels. All together, it was just enough for the milk tea shop to operate for half a month. If they couldn't break even after half a month, they would have to spend more money to keep the shop running.
Zhao Lao Er said, "Order an extra fifty catties."
"Fifty jin?" the third son's wife exclaimed. "That's equivalent to ordering twice the amount."
They now have more than 50 jin (25 kg) of milk a day, and the five children drink a large bowl of leftover milk from the previous day every morning. After a few days, they have all become much plumper and fairer.
Zhao Lao Er said, "Sister-in-law, you should think of it this way: our milk tea shop is doing better and better. Once the market opens up, it will only get better. Maybe even 100 jin won't be enough."
Since opening the shop, business has indeed been getting better day by day. From only selling three cups on the first day, now most passersby are willing to buy a cup to try.
Zhao Lao Er turned to his younger brother and asked, "What do you think?"
"I'll listen to you." Zhao Laosan had no idea what to do; he was just a fence-sitter.
The group discussed it in hushed tones but couldn't come to a conclusion, so they turned to look at Old Master Zhao again.
Grandpa Zhao made the decision decisively: "We'll go with Boss Zhao's place. I'll talk to Zhao Yi later and tell him we don't need to send milk to Jiang Bai's place."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the result.
At night, everyone's dreams are filled with fantasies about the future business of the milk tea shop.
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