The shops of the two families were just across from each other, so it was quite easy for the second wife to look at the first wife's shop. They originally thought that the first wife also lived behind the shop, but who would have thought that the first wife was so particular and did not live behind the shop. Then the yard behind the shop would be empty, what a waste.
When the first wife's shop was vacant, the second wife didn't ask the first wife to give them the business for free. The first wife's shop wasn't so easy to occupy, and the same was true for the backyard.
The people from the third house work at the second house, so if they want to live, they will live at the second house. It is impossible for them to live at the first house.
"Did they really move in?" Su Qiuya asked Liu Yanbo.
"They've moved here. It's on another street, not too far from here. It's quiet over there." Liu Yanbo picked up the teacup and drank his tea. He had just gone out to take a look and after asking around, he found out that the eldest daughter lived over there.
Liu Yanbo saw from afar that the eldest wife had brought people with her, perhaps to buy servants. The eldest wife really couldn't stand hardship. As soon as she had a little money, she wanted to buy a nice house and servants.
"Qingyun is going to study." Liu Yanbo said again.
"They're willing to spend money. Scholars should spend more money." Su Qiuya said, "Children that young are not like you. Children are easily influenced by external things."
Su Qiuya also wanted to give Liu Yanbo a good study environment, but they only had so little money. They needed to buy a shop and a bullock cart later, so they couldn't spend it freely. The money they had was not enough for them to buy a house in the town, so they had to wait for a while.
"Yes." Liu Yanbo nodded. "They bought the person, probably for Qingyun."
Liu Yanbo realized with a little thought that the money earned by the first wife was just for food and drink, and to buy servants. He didn't know how long the first wife's money could last, and whether the second son of the Chengguo Mansion gave money to the first wife.
They all knew that He Xiyuan went to the eldest wife's house to celebrate the New Year. It was impossible for He Xiyuan to come from the capital empty-handed.
"The money from the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion... isn't that easy to get." Liu Yanbo thought that if the eldest wife really took He Xiyuan's money, then the eldest wife would be in a weak position, but it didn't matter whether she took the money or not, because there were no officials in the eldest wife's family.
"Ignore them." Su Qiuya looked at Liu Yanyuan who was wiping the table, "The guests are coming soon."
The people from the first wife's house didn't expect the people from the second wife to come visit them. Just moving to a new house wasn't something to be proud of. If they were originally from the countryside, they would have treated guests to a new home. But now, they were already down and out, living in a slightly better place, so there was no reason to treat them to a meal.
The Jiang family was a relatively honest bunch, and Mrs. Jiang was also capable of work, such as washing clothes, sweeping the floor, and cooking. Mrs. Jiang knew that it was a great blessing that the family had not been separated, and she must not be lazy or cunning, lest she be sold again.
Last time, it was because of someone else's fault, not because of anything wrong done by the three of them. This time, it was good that they could still be together.
Old Jiang and Mrs. Jiang could do those things together, and it would be much easier for them to help each other. Little Jiang was mainly responsible for taking care of Liu Qingyun. When Liu Qingyun went to school, she would take him to the private school and bring him lunch.
Mrs. Xie was used to doing things, and she also took Mrs. Jiang to cook together.
"Clean up the shop tomorrow. We'll start selling strawberries." Liu Yulian said to her mother after dinner. "Those strawberries are growing well and there are so many of them. If we can't sell so many at once, we can make strawberry jam."
Liu Yulian doesn't really like making pastries. She only sells strawberries, at most selling strawberry jam and dried strawberries, and doesn't sell any other derivative products. If she's in a good mood, she'll make strawberry cake. If she makes too much, she'll sell it. If she makes less, she'll keep it at home.
"Just let the Jiang family clean it." Liu's mother said. They had already hired a servant, so they didn't have to clean it themselves all the time.
"Okay." Liu Yulian nodded, not thinking about cleaning it herself.
Their family spent money to hire servants, paid them wages every month, and asked them to do work, which was also what they should do.
"More people should buy strawberries in the county town, but it's troublesome to go back and forth." Liu Yulian said, "If people buy strawberries and sell them in the county town, that's fine too."
Liu Yulian didn't think about selling it herself. They wanted to expand their business. There was no need to work hard all the time without making much money.
"You really think people value strawberries that much?" Liu's mother chuckled. She had eaten strawberries before, and they were indeed good. But that also depended on whether she met a smart merchant or vendor. If a smart person really knew how to buy strawberries from them and sell them farther away,
Even if the strawberries are not so easy to store, I'm afraid some of them will be lost due to the bumpy journey.
"There are always people with vision." Liu Yulian is not afraid that no one will buy strawberries. If no one buys them, she can make strawberry jam or dried strawberries, which will always sell.
On the tenth day of the Lunar New Year, Liu Yulian opened her shop. In this small town, every second and seventh day is a market day. The tenth day isn't a market day, but Liu Yulian opened her shop anyway. Even without a market day, there were still quite a few people in the town.
Sui Xin Shop, many people in the town know this shop. This shop is always open or closed as it pleases.
Someone saw that Sui Xin's shop was open, went in and found that it was selling strawberries.
The strawberries are big and red, and they emit a fresh fragrance.
My goodness, who can grow strawberries so big?
"How much?" someone asked the price of strawberries.
"Three cents per pound." Liu Yulian said.
"So expensive?" The man was shocked. "No other fruit is this expensive."
"It's not expensive. Look, it's in such good condition." Liu Yulian said, "You usually buy fruits cheaply because they're not strawberries. Different fruits have different prices."
Strawberries are not cheap in later generations. They are not as juicy and not as big as apples. If you buy one pound of them, you still get a lot of strawberries.
"Try a small piece." Liu Yulian cut a large strawberry in half. True, she wasn't so generous as to let anyone eat a whole strawberry. Later generations, those who sold strawberries individually also didn't let anyone eat a single one, as strawberries were expensive.
The town's people were relatively well-off, so some of them were willing to buy strawberries. These large strawberries were delicious, much better than the smaller, less flavorful ones.
This time, Widow Zhang didn't bring anyone to buy strawberries. Such precious strawberries cost money, and once they were eaten, they were gone. She couldn't bear to let the people at home eat them. They were hired to pick strawberries and watch over the strawberry fields. Anyone who dared to steal strawberries would be beaten by them.
Widow Zhang had been a widow for many years. If she had no ability, how could she raise these children? Widow Zhang was also well-known in the village for her viciousness. No one dared to provoke her easily.
Ever since the widow Zhang's family was hired by the eldest branch of the Liu family to guard the strawberry field, fewer people in the village went to steal strawberries. If you were beaten for stealing, you deserved it and there was no way to argue.
Those people didn't dare to go there too often. If people from other branches of the Liu family were guarding the strawberry field, those people would probably dare to steal more strawberries.
Liu Yulian was not a stingy person, and she would pick out some ugly strawberries and give some to Widow Zhang's family. Widow Zhang did not ask for money in exchange for the strawberries. What? They gave you strawberries to eat, and you still want so much.
It’s just a plate of strawberries. No matter how much it sells, the greedy people at home will only eat a few and they’ll be gone.
If I were to sell strawberries for a few cents, what if some unscrupulous person in the family wanted to sell more strawberries that weren't growing well, and then said the Liu family didn't want them? That would be bad, and I wouldn't be able to do this job.
As a person, you must have a bottom line. Don’t touch things that you shouldn’t touch. If you touch things that you shouldn’t touch too often, your heart will become dark sooner or later.
"Everyone, be careful," Widow Zhang warned the family members and their grandchildren. "Don't be greedy and say you only want to eat one. Do you think you can eat such a precious thing just because you are greedy? If I don't give it to you, don't grab it blindly. If I see you, I will break your legs."
When the widow Zhang's grandchildren heard this, they thought to themselves, how dare they eat strawberries secretly? Eating strawberries is clearly something that can kill people.
"Don't just think about eating all day and not working." Widow Zhang had thought about it. The eldest branch of the Liu family had that culture medium, so farming would definitely be profitable. I heard that the Liu family also bought a lot of wasteland in the town. Don't look at it as wasteland, the land that the eldest branch of the Liu family had previously cultivated was also wasteland.
Look at those wastelands, cotton is growing well, strawberries are growing well, and wheat is growing well.
The culture medium was also prepared by the eldest branch of the Liu family, so the cost was low. Other families, those with more land, also hired people, and those people were able to make money, so why couldn't the eldest branch of the Liu family make money?
The Liu family's main branch has a lot of land, and it's impossible for them to look after it all by themselves. They may need to find someone to look after it in the future.
Widow Zhang thought that if the eldest wife of the Liu family thought they were doing a good job, they would let them do other things. Wouldn't that be great? She must not let these people ruin her plan for the sake of the petty gains in front of them. Widow Zhang looked at these people in the family and wondered why none of them were smarter.
If these people were smarter, she wouldn't have to remind them like this.
Widow Zhang had looked down on her family more than once; they were used to it. After all, their family was much better off than some others; at least no one starved to death, and they had new clothes every year.
The strawberries in the strawberry field are growing well, and there are ripe strawberries every day.
Many people in the town bought strawberries, but there were always leftovers, and those people couldn't buy strawberries every day. The pastry shop in the town saw that the strawberries from Sui Xin's shop were good, so they bought some to make pastries.
Just as Liu Yulian had imagined, some people actually came to buy strawberries and sell them in the county town. Some people bought 40 or 50 kilograms of strawberries to try it out in the county town, and found that there were actually quite a few people buying them there, even at 5 or 6 coins per kilogram.
There were many wealthy families in the county town, and some of them would hold banquets and buy fruits. Meat was more expensive in the county town than in the countryside, and other things were more expensive. When people saw the strawberries growing well, they were happy to buy some to take home.
With so many people, if each family bought a few more pounds, it would be sold out in no time.
So some vendors suggested selling the Liu family’s big house at a lower price, hoping to buy more.
Liu Yulian didn't lower the price much. Why would she lower the price of such good strawberries? She didn't lower the price before, and she won't lower the price now.
"There are only a few strawberries in the field." This is what Liu Yulian meant.
The peddler went to Mr. Liu and asked him to lower the price, but Mr. Liu didn't say anything either.
Father Liu had never seen such good strawberries when he was in the capital. He was not a person who was out of touch with the world, and he knew that if those strawberries were sold in a larger place, it would definitely not be possible to sell them for only three cents per pound.
The reason they sell strawberries so cheaply now is mainly because they are sold in small places.
"Not to mention these fresh strawberries, the strawberry jam made from them and sold to places farther away will fetch a higher price." Father Liu told the vendor. If the vendor knew how to resell fresh strawberries, he should also know how to sell strawberry jam and dried strawberries.
The vendor pondered this and realized it was indeed the case. Their area wasn't particularly far from the city, and if they brought their strawberries there, they could get a higher price. The strawberries there weren't as good as these. Further afield, it wasn't easy to sell fresh strawberries, but they could sell strawberry jam and dried strawberries.
"Okay, three cents a pound." The vendor didn't lower the price any further. "But you have to give me more."
"When there is no market, I can sell them all to you." Father Liu said. Anyway, the prices of individual items are the same, so they don't have to go to the shop to watch the sales.
Few people in the Liu family's eldest branch liked to stare at the shop. Father Liu's favorite thing was to go to the wheat field and take a look. He had a hunch that if the wheat grew well and the culture medium was effective, the Liu family would definitely succeed.
If the Liu family can rise, they won't have to focus on just one shop. They should look further ahead and explore other opportunities.
Then, the people from the second branch of the Liu family discovered that the first branch had started to work intermittently again. The first branch was not doing business seriously. The shop door was always closed. During market hours, it would appear to be open in the morning but closed in the afternoon.
Three cents wasn't particularly expensive, and many people in town who had bought strawberries thought it was well worth it. Some also bought strawberry jam and dried strawberries, which they found delicious too.
The eldest branch of the Liu family didn't have a shop, so they picked some strawberries from the fields and distributed some to the other branches. It wasn't much, only about three pounds of strawberries per branch.
Liu Yulian first delivered strawberries to the third and fourth rooms. They lived in the village, close to the strawberry fields.
"We have eaten most of the strawberries in your yard." Lin Xiaowan from the fourth room saw Liu Yulian coming to deliver strawberries, and she thought that most of the strawberries in the field in the yard next door were picked by their family.
The eldest wife didn't come back every day. When the strawberries in the yard next door were ripe, the fourth wife helped to look after the house and it was she who picked and ate them.
"If you like, you can plant some later," Liu Yulian said, "but the culture medium alone isn't enough. You'll also need to weed and so on."
If some people think that they can just use culture medium and leave it alone, they are totally wrong.
Liu Yulian couldn't possibly give them such a misconception. The culture medium was only used as a supplement. After using the culture medium, the plants would have to be buried in the same place after they dried up, or burned and the ashes left there. That was also preparatory work.
"Yes, there is no free lunch in the world. If we can grow it easily, no one will go hungry." Lin Xiaowan nodded.
"Fourth sister-in-law, I will go back to town soon. Please continue to take care of the house." Liu Yulian said.
"It's my duty." Lin Xiaowan thought that the eldest wife was very generous in giving money, and the strawberry field and vegetable field next door were also nice.
After Liu Yulian left, Liu Yanqing came back. When he learned that Liu Yulian came to deliver strawberries, he wondered why the first wife did not let him work in the shop like the second wife did.
Liu Yanqing was still muttering in front of Lin Xiaowan, "The third wife goes to the second wife's shop to work, and brings some food and money home every day. The first wife's shop is just there, and they don't want to stand there to sell things, so why don't they let us go?"
"What are you going to do?" Lin Xiaowan asked, "If you go, you'll probably just eat and won't be able to do any work."
Lin Xiaowan knew what kind of person her husband was. Liu Yanqing preferred to take advantage of others rather than work. It was enough for them to maintain their current relationship with the first wife, and not expect too much.
When the idea of splitting up the family was first discussed, Lin Xiaowan, like the other concubines' wives, had agreed that splitting up the family was the best option. At the time, Lin Xiaowan was also worried about the family being dragged down by the first wife's family, as she thought Liu Yanjing's treatment would cost a lot of money, and that their family didn't have much money.
People are like this, they think about themselves first and then others.
Lin Xiaowan and Liu Yanjing had no blood relationship, so it was normal for her to consider herself. Therefore, she did not think of the first wife helping the fourth wife. The fourth wife had joined others in splitting up the family when the other party was in crisis, so now she could not expect to take advantage of them.
They are born out of wedlock, not legitimate children, so it doesn't matter if the eldest wife doesn't give them much.
"He's a little capable, that's a little capable," said Liu Yanqing.
"Why don't you just let them support you for free?" Lin Xiaowan sneered. "Don't you see how much work those people in the fields do?"
Liu Yanqing chose to keep quiet. Why didn't this daughter-in-law know how to think more about the fourth room? The first room had so many things, so what if they took advantage of it a little?
When Liu Yulian returned to town, she went to deliver strawberries to the second wife. These strawberries didn't look particularly good; the good-looking ones were picked out and sold, and the ones she gave away were the ugly ones, as their appearance didn't affect the taste.
When Su Qiuya saw those strawberries that didn't look very good, she knew that these strawberries were left over by others. That's right, if they weren't left over by others, how could the eldest wife be so generous as to give them strawberries?
When Dafang just started selling strawberries, we didn't give them any. It was only after selling strawberries for many days that we gave them the strawberries. Maybe there were too many strawberries and they were not selling well, so we gave them the strawberries.
Liu Yulian didn't care what Su Qiuya thought. Giving some home-grown fruits to relatives was basic etiquette.
"Why don't you sell it?" Su Qiuya said, "If it doesn't look good, you can still sell it at a lower price."
"There are few fruits like this, and even if there are more, they have been taken away." Liu Yulian said.
The vendors don't just buy the good-looking strawberries; they also buy the less attractive ones. The less attractive ones are priced lower, but still attract buyers, and they can still make money.
The eldest wife kept some of the ugly strawberries and gave them away, which was a common practice in the countryside. The eldest wife of the Liu family also gave some strawberries to the village chief's family. The village chief also had some things he could do in a place.
"Really?" Su Qiuya said, "If there are any unsold ones, we can buy two or three pounds. When customers come to buy food, we can also give them a strawberry."
Su Qiuya didn't want to help Dafang sell strawberries, but she thought that if there were more strawberries per pound, those people would be happy if they ate in the store and had one or two strawberries. It must be said that Su Qiuya was very business-minded. When she saw something, the first thing she thought of was how to make more money with it.
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