Jiang Yuwei felt it wasn't enough, so she went to the backyard and picked out a fat rabbit to kill and make a stew of potatoes and rabbit meat.
These rabbits have an extremely high reproductive rate. After building houses and eating them, only two males and two females remained. Unexpectedly, when they were put together, they had more than a dozen more rabbits. Jiang Yuwei had no choice but to divide them into several cages to raise. Ning Wan's workload of cutting grass and feeding the rabbits increased several times over for no reason. So Jiang Yuwei was willing to kill the rabbits to eat, since they could reproduce anyway.
Jiang Yuwei carefully peeled off the rabbit skin and cleaned it. She could save these to make winter clothes for the children. Jiang Yuwei quickly processed the rabbit meat. First, she blanched it in cold water, then poured in a little oil, added scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers to stir-fry until it had a base flavor. Then she added the chopped potato chunks and stir-fried them for a while. Finally, she added soy sauce, cooking wine, and other seasonings and simmered it for half an hour.
After the meal was prepared, Jiang Yuwei went to the backyard to invite Ning Wu and Tie Zhu:
"You two stop what you're doing and come to the front yard for dinner first."
Tie Zhu glanced at the paper drying over the fire, then remembered the pot of tree bark his younger brother Ning Wu had ruined yesterday, and quickly waved his hand, saying:
“We can’t leave this place alone. We’ve come this far, and we don’t want to ruin the paper by baking it. Sister Yuwei, could you please bring us some food from the backyard? Once we’re done with this batch of paper tonight, we’ll just go out through the pond gate, so you don’t have to worry about us.”
Jiang Yuwei glanced at the drying paper and could only nod. She went to the front yard and took some of the food to the back yard. Jiang Yuwei ate a few bites in the front yard and then went to sleep. She was really tired today.
next day
Jiang Yuwei got up early and tidied up the front yard. She also boiled a pot of water and kept the leftover food from yesterday warm in the pot so that Tiezhu and Ningwu could eat it at noon. Only then did she go to the back yard to check how much paper the two of them had made.
"Tiezhu, Ningwu, we won't be back for lunch. I've kept the food warm in the pot in the front yard. If you're hungry, just go to the front yard and get your food."
While busy sorting through the paper that had been dried the day before, Tie Zhu chuckled:
"Okay, Yuwei, you don't need to worry about us. Come and take a look at this paper."
Jiang Yuwei picked up the paper, examined it repeatedly, touched its smoothness, nodded, and smiled:
"Good, this paper is excellent, much better than the paper made by Ge Shi Paper Shop, the most famous shop in town. We'll have no trouble selling this kind of paper in town!"
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei helped Tiezhu carry the bundled papers onto the oxcart. After everything was done, Jiang Yuwei drove the oxcart to the front yard, first helping Ning Huaizhi onto the cart, then carrying Ning Wan onto the cart. The family of three then headed towards Ping'an Town.
Jiang Yuwei first had Ning Huaizhi drive the oxcart to the entrance of Lianxianglou. Today was the day to deliver chili sauce and bean sprouts. Jiang Yuwei took the baskets prepared on the cart and called the shop's employees to help her carry the goods inside.
As soon as I entered, I was stopped by Manager Xu:
"Yuwei, do you have any new recipes to sell lately? My competitors are very envious of my booming business. As soon as I come up with a new dish, they copy it in no time. Although the taste is not as good as Lianxianglou, they have the advantage of being cheaper, so over time, many customers have been lost."
Jiang Yuwei pondered for a moment and said:
"Manager Xu, it's crucial to introduce new products to your shop, but it's equally important to retain customers. Next time, I'll bring you a few more new recipes and teach you a method to use them to keep customers."
Upon hearing this, Manager Xu quickly smiled and nodded, saying:
"Alright, alright, don't forget, I've been waiting for your new recipe!"
Jiang Yuwei took the money and went out to get on the oxcart:
"Huaizhi, let's go to the entrance of Ningzhao Academy. Let's set up the stall first, and we can sell paper after the students leave school."
Ning Huaizhi nodded and drove the oxcart towards the academy. When they arrived at the academy gate, students were already emerging. Jiang Yuwei quickly placed the paper on the oxcart. Thinking about how to name the paper produced by her family's paper mill so that it would have a good reputation if it became popular, she asked Ning Huaizhi:
"I'd like to name this piece of paper in our family. Do you have any good ideas?"
Ning Huaizhi pondered for a moment and then smiled:
"How about we call it Yuwei Paper? We can name it after you, and the name itself makes it sound like the paper is of very high quality, haha."
Jiang Yuwei murmured:
"Yuwei Paper? It seems pretty good. Okay, let's call it that!"
So Jiang Yuwei directly shouted:
"The delicate, smooth, and ink-bleed-free Yuwei paper is here! Only 25 coins per ream! Excellent quality! Don't miss it!"
Just then, a tall, thin scholar happened to walk by. He heard Jiang Yuwei's hawking cries, stepped forward, picked up Yuwei's paper, touched it, and smiled:
"It's indeed good paper, not much different from the top-grade Xuan paper from Ge's Paper Shop. Aren't you afraid of losing money selling it at this price?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"Today is the first day of trial sales for Yuwei Paper. We're definitely going to lose money at this price. You can buy a few more to try it out."
The scholar nodded and said:
"Yes, it's really good paper, and the price is so fair. Give me five dollars."
Upon hearing this, Ning Huaizhi hurriedly began packing. Jiang Yuwei took the silver and smiled at the scholar:
"You have a good eye, sir. If you have any friends who need this, you can let them take a look."
The scholar nodded, and as he looked up, he saw his classmates coming out of the academy in groups. He quickly waved to them and said:
"Quick, come over here and see! We have good paper for sale, and it's very cheap!"
Upon hearing his words, the group quickly gathered around and reached out to look at the papers displayed on the cart:
"It's really good paper. How much is a ream?"
"This paper feels very nice."
"Yes, it looks like it doesn't bleed ink."
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"This is the first trial sale of Yuwei Paper today. It's only 25 coins per ream. Those who need it can stock up. The price may go up in a while!"
"Such good paper, and it's so cheap! Give me four reamers!"
"I'll take ten dollars, to stock up before the price goes up!"
"Yes, give me ten cuts too."
"I use a lot of paper every day, so I need to stock up on more."
Ning Huaizhi and Ning Wan were busy packing, while Jiang Yuwei was busy collecting money. The three of them were working together happily, completely unaware that a shifty-eyed man was standing in Ge's Paper Shop across the street, staring intently at their stall.
Just when the paper was almost sold out, the man seemed to have reached his limit and rushed out with two assistants:
"Hey! What are you three doing here! Who gave you permission to set up a stall here! Move out right now! Don't blame me for not warning you! You'll regret it!"
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