Chapter 33 "There seems to be meat in here!..."
"There seems to be meat in this!"
"I'm eating it too, it's so delicious! I'm so silly, I only took one of these good things."
The blame lies with Zhu Mingyue for not explaining clearly beforehand, referring to shepherd's purse and pork dumplings as shepherd's purse dumplings. Many people, finding it troublesome to carry, simply swallowed them whole, only vaguely tasting the meat flavor.
They regretted it! They hadn't expected Zhu Mingyue to be so generous, giving away pork filling. If they had known, they would have taken one more.
Some clever ones turned back halfway, wanting to grab another one. It wasn't that they really wanted to take advantage of the small amount; they just hadn't expected the dumplings to be so delicious that even the steamed buns in their hands didn't taste as good anymore.
Anyone who has ever bought Zhu Mingyue's steamed buns knows that his stall is always packed with people whenever he sets up. Right now, even a three-year-old couldn't squeeze in, let alone an adult. And even if someone managed to squeeze in, the dumplings would be all gone.
Some people noticed the difference as soon as they received the dumplings. They first praised Zhu Mingyue for his kindness and righteousness, and then secretly asked him if the dumplings could be sold.
Zhu Mingyue denied this, stating that the dumplings were a gift for customers and would not be sold.
What? You're asking if you'll continue doing it in the future?
Zhu Mingyue repeatedly declined, saying that the cost was too high and that everyone could only try it out.
Customers were dissatisfied with this response. Those who come to buy steamed buns every day, rain or shine, are true foodies. They are so tempted by dumplings that they can't even afford them. How painful is that feeling?
Someone in the crowd shouted gruffly, "We don't need you to deliver dumplings. If your costs are high, then sell them at a higher price. We'll just buy them."
Everyone immediately realized what was happening and echoed the sentiment.
"Yes, yes, you've whetted our appetites, you can't just shirk your responsibility."
"You've made money and satisfied us at the same time, isn't that a win-win situation?"
Zhu Mingyue feigned a troubled expression, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "May I think about it some more?"
On the way back, we passed through a forest path. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell on Zhu Mingyue's face, warming her heart and making her feel exceptionally good.
"Why did you suddenly decide to switch to selling dumplings?" Xie Pei, who was usually taciturn, suddenly spoke up.
Zhu Mingyue turned his head with a surprised look, "How did you know?" Because there were many uncertainties, it was too early to say anything before things were completely certain. He hadn't even mentioned it to Xie Pei beforehand, and the other party guessed that he was going to sell dumplings based on what he did this morning.
Xie Pei fell silent, his head bowed, his already dark face making it difficult to discern his expression.
Zhu Mingyue scratched his forehead; he would unconsciously do this when he was embarrassed.
“I didn’t mean to hide it from you,” he sighed and continued, “Remember that day after we sold our steamed buns, I said I was going to the cloth shop to buy some cloth? I saw someone on West Street selling steamed buns just like us. I’d seen that guy a few times before and bought his buns quite a few times. His stall was doing good business, so I bought a meat bun and a vegetable bun. I found that apart from the meat filling being slightly more sour than ours, there was no other difference, even…” Before he could finish, he tripped over a tree root breaking through the soil, but Xie Pei caught him in time and took the basket off his back and carried it on his own back as well.
A faint warmth swept through Zhu Mingyue's heart. Xie Pei was always like this; you could tell from his small gestures in daily life that he was a kind-hearted person despite his cold exterior. Although it seemed that this kindness was currently only shown to him. But the more he did this, the more ashamed he felt. They were now one, and there should have been something between them that they could be honest with each other about, but he hadn't done so. He was terribly wrong.
He smiled sheepishly at Xie Pei and continued what he had been unexpectedly interrupted about: "His steamed buns are even cheaper than ours."
Xie Pei listened silently and then said, "Because of this, you think you shouldn't sell steamed buns anymore?"
"Yes and no," Zhu Mingyue frowned, her face showing confusion.
Speaking of this, Zhu Mingyue was puzzled. His family's steamed buns were priced at two coins for vegetarian buns and three coins for meat buns. The price was set based on market prices, but steamed buns weren't expensive to begin with, and lowering the price would leave almost no profit. Meanwhile, that other family's vegetarian buns were three coins for two, and meat buns were two coins each. Even if they were following a low-profit, high-volume strategy, it didn't make sense upon closer inspection. The other vendor only sold two buckets of buns, the only difference being that his buckets were bigger. Selling fewer buns meant lower profits, so how could they make any money? They might as well go out and work for more.
Regardless of the circumstances, it's undeniable that someone else has made steamed buns with leavened dough, clearly aiming to steal his business. He'll likely soon lose his advantage as the first shop in town to sell steamed buns with leavened dough.
Things are alright for now; he still has a group of loyal customers who are used to buying his steamed buns. But who can guarantee that they will ignore the cheaper steamed buns from other places and continue to support him? Zhu Mingyue asked himself honestly, and he couldn't even do that when he was a consumer.
If he wants to continue this business, there is another way: lower his prices along with that other company. This way, he can still gain an advantage by having a better-tasting meat filling.
But he prided himself on being a businessman, not a philanthropist. He worked himself to the bone every day with Xie Pei, selecting ingredients, chopping fillings, and rolling dough, all to earn a little more money. Lowering prices meant nothing to them.
Therefore, the wise move at present is to decisively abandon this business and switch to dumplings and other people's steamed buns as competitors.
He no longer needed to hide it, and after sharing his thoughts with Xie Pei, Xie Pei agreed. He knew absolutely nothing about business, and he supported all of Zhu Mingyue's decisions, except…
Xie Pei seemed to have thought of something, and his expression turned grim: "The steamed buns sold by other people in town are all different from yours. That other steamed bun seller copied your recipe."
"I didn't create these steamed buns. To be honest, I learned them by stealing their recipes." Zhu Mingyue was quite open-minded about this. "He was able to master them just by tasting my buns, so he must have some real skills." Just like how he took away some of the business from the person who sold dead buns, he would soon have his business taken away by others. The market is only so big, and survival of the fittest is normal. He didn't hold a grudge against the other party; on the contrary, he admired him a little.
However, unlike others who are stuck on the same tree, he will not sit idly by and wait for death. If he can't sell steamed buns, he can sell dumplings. If someone steals his dumpling recipe, he can sell wontons, shumai, and so on. His mind is filled with the knowledge and wealth of his past life, things that others cannot easily steal.
His purpose in delivering dumplings today was to give them a heads-up, hoping that customers who had tried them would spread the word about how delicious they were. Were Zhu Mingyue's dumplings really that good? Perhaps not. But some things are like that—give them a taste and then tell them they'll never have them again, and they'll naturally crave them. Those who didn't get to try them, hearing about them from others, will be even more intrigued and hope that Zhu Mingyue will start selling dumplings.
Now that his goal has been achieved, he needs to start preparing to sell dumplings.
Unlike steamed buns, dumplings can't be made at home and taken to town to sell, especially now that the weather is warmer, when you don't need to layer them up to keep them warm like in winter. Today, he intended to give the dumplings away as gifts, so it didn't matter if they clumped together or the dough broke during transport. But if he were to make a living selling dumplings, he absolutely couldn't do it like this. If customers paid money for dumplings of poor quality, no one would buy them in the long run.
More importantly, some people like dumplings without soup, while others prefer dumplings with soup. If we only cater to one group's tastes, we will lose another group of potential customers, which is all money!
Zhu Mingyue understood the situation clearly, but she was quite troubled by this practical problem.
The two remained silent until they entered the village and encountered a group of villagers resting together on the edge of a field.
The group of people were talking loudly and enthusiastically when they saw him and Xie Pei, and suddenly lowered their voices.
Zhu Mingyue couldn't hear clearly, but he felt that these people were glancing at him intentionally or unintentionally, as if they had found an interesting topic of conversation, their eyes full of mockery.
Feeling uncomfortable from being stared at, he quietly nudged Xie Pei's arm and whispered, "Xie Pei, did you hear what they were saying? I feel like they're talking about me."
Xie Pei paused, then shook his head, saying he didn't know.
Zhu Mingyue didn't suspect anything, thinking that Xie Pei's hearing might not be as good as his own, so asking would be pointless. He quickened his pace, trying to get away from this group of strange villagers as soon as possible.
The two were exhausted after a long day. Zhu Mingyue went to the kitchen water tank, scooped a ladle of water, washed her hands, and started preparing lunch. They would have a simple bowl of minced meat noodles for lunch, and then cook something more delicious for dinner.
Xie Pei went into his room after returning, and he was nowhere to be seen until he had finished kneading the dough.
Just as Zhu Mingyue sat down in front of the stove to start a fire and boil water, Xie Pei finally came out and threw the purse in his hand into his arms.
Zhu Mingyue instinctively caught the purse and, under Xie Pei's approving gaze, opened it. Inside were fifteen loose silver coins—one, two, three… Zhu Mingyue didn't know their exact value, but judging by their weight, they were definitely worth six or seven taels of silver.
Xie Pei's sudden action left him speechless.
They kept every penny of the money they earned from selling steamed buns in their money box, and he had even counted it several times last night, harboring a little ulterior motive. So this money definitely wasn't in the box. He looked up at Xie Pei: "Is this your secret stash?"
Xie Pei didn't know what "secret stash of money" meant, but Zhu Mingyue often uttered words that others couldn't understand, so he nodded, "The money from selling snakes."
A snake? Zhu Mingyue shuddered as the scene from that day flashed through her mind again. She hadn't expected that snake to be so valuable.
Zhu Mingyue thought for a moment, put the money on the stove, and gestured for Xie Pei to take it: "You risked your life to catch that snake, so keep the money you earned."
Xie Pei shook his head: "Take this money and the money you've earned during this time, and go to town to buy a shop."
"You mean, we should buy a shop and just go to town to cook dumplings?"
To be honest, Zhu Mingyue had indeed thought about it. He counted the money box yesterday for this very reason, but after counting, he realized he didn't have enough money and gave up the idea. He didn't expect Xie Pei to have the same thought as him.
Xie Pei patted his back and shooed him out of the stove. He then sat inside and quickly lit the firewood. The fire crackled and popped, making Xie Pei's face look both dark and red. He said to himself, "You can buy it for thirty to forty taels in an ordinary shop in town."
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