Li's Grocery Store
The shopkeeper, Li Jiang, was idly fiddling with his abacus.
He had already lost more than half of his customers because of the brown sugar, but fortunately, his shop had been open for a long time and he still had some customers, so he could barely make ends meet.
However, ever since Ruyilou opened, its popularity has directly affected the business of other restaurants in Qingshui Town, indirectly causing his shop to suffer losses.
He was unwilling to give up and wanted to have a serious talk with the owner of Ruyilou to see if he could purchase goods from him.
But before he could even go, he learned from Butcher Li that Ruyi Tower was run by his enemy, Chen Qingqing.
Upon hearing this news, he was so angry he almost ground his yellow teeth to powder.
The store's business is unsustainable, and if this continues, it will probably have to close down before next spring.
Manager Li looked down and patted the crippled leg that Chen Qingqing had beaten, then let out a heavy sigh.
"Brother, what's troubling you so much?" Liang Fugui walked in with a smile.
Manager Li waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit wherever he liked, and shook his head with a wry smile, "What can I be worried about? It's just that business is bad, and I'm about to be driven to desperation."
"Oh my, I didn't think it was a big deal!"
Liang Fugui didn't stand on ceremony, plopped down, and directly stated his purpose.
"Brother, don't worry. I've come here to tell you some good news. I've come up with a solution, and we can start making brown sugar right away."
"Really?" Manager Li was immediately delighted. "Brother, didn't you say it would be autumn? Could it be that the sugar beets in the field have been harvested?"
"No, it's like this." Liang Fugui explained in detail the plan he and his wife had discussed.
After hearing this, Manager Li's eyes dimmed again. "I have thought of your method before. I went to Zheng Zhong before and said a lot of nice things, but he just wouldn't sell to me. He said that he was an honest and trustworthy person and would not do such a thing as breaking his promise. Tell me, isn't he just stubborn?"
Liang Fugui shook his head dismissively. "Brother, it's not that they're stubborn, it's just that you're inflexible. If you want to make money, you have to be willing to invest heavily."
"Merchants value profit over parting," and Zheng Zhong traveled a long way to our Qingshui Town to do business, all for the sake of making money.
"If we raise the purchase price, who do you think will buy these sugar beets?"
After hearing this, Manager Li suddenly realized, "That's right, there's no such thing as a dishonest merchant; there's no one who isn't greedy for money."
He nodded repeatedly, "How could I not have thought of that? I was so caught up in it that I lost my composure. I'll do as you say."
"But....."
Seeing that Liang Fugui hesitated to speak, Manager Li quickly asked, "Brother, please speak freely."
"Alright, then I won't beat around the bush with you, brother. As you know, I'm just a simple farmer, with no income at all."
Although your sister-in-law works for that man surnamed Chen, she only earns a few hundred coins a month, and after deducting food and drink, there's hardly anything left.
"Since we're going to cooperate, I think you should provide the start-up capital, and we'll provide the technology. Once we make money, we'll split it 50/50. What do you think?" Liang Fugui said, then looked at Manager Li.
Upon hearing this, Manager Li frowned. "The idea is not bad, but as far as I know, a pound of beets costs three copper coins. If the price rises to four copper coins, ten thousand pounds would cost forty taels of silver. If I can't make brown sugar, my losses will be huge."
"Oh, my good brother, don't you know what kind of person I am? I would never act rashly without being absolutely certain of something," Liang Fugui assured, patting his chest.
Manager Li didn't rush to give an answer. After careful consideration, he realized that the shop was barely surviving. If they could really produce brown sugar, it would be a glimmer of hope.
If he could buy the beets, Chen Qingqing wouldn't have any ingredients to make sugar, and he could finally vent his anger. He'd settle the score with her another time...
Thinking of this, he took out forty taels of silver from his pocket. "Alright, I trust you. Keep this silver safe and don't let me down."
"Don't worry, brother, just wait and count your money!" Liang Fugui took the money, chatted for a few more minutes, then got up to leave...
Nanshan Village.
The day's work at the sugar mill was over. Everyone knew it was payday, so no one was in a hurry to leave, and everyone had a smile in their eyes.
Chen Qingqing had already prepared the money and smiled at everyone, "Uncles and aunts, without you, our sugar shop wouldn't be running so well. First of all, I want to thank you all for your help over the past year."
Our sugar mill is now on the right track. I once said that if the sugar mill does well, I will definitely not treat everyone unfairly. Today, I am fulfilling my promise and giving everyone a bonus. In addition, starting next month, everyone's wage will increase to thirty coins a day.
As soon as Chen Qingqing finished speaking, everyone clapped and cheered with joy.
Da Longzi quickly raised his hand and asked, "Qing girl, a raise is a good thing, but what is this 'bonus' you're talking about? Is it tasty?"
"Exactly, what is a bonus? Is it a red pear?" The sixth son's wife also looked puzzled.
Hearing them say that, Chen Dabao suppressed a laugh, coughed lightly, and explained,
"The dividend is neither something to eat nor something to use. It's my sister Qingqing sharing the money she's earned with everyone. That's what we call a dividend. As our sugar shop's business gets better and better, we'll receive more and more dividends in the future."
Chen Qingqing chimed in, "Yes, Da Bao is right. This bonus depends on how well our sugar mill does, so let's all keep up the good work and strive to take the business to the next level."
The villagers understood, and were immediately overjoyed, all speaking up.
"Don't worry, Qing girl, we will definitely do our best."
"Yes, we will spare no effort to double our output next month."
"That's right, we will treat the work at the sugar mill as if it were our own, and we will never hold anyone back."
"Thank you for your support, uncles and aunts," Chen Qingqing said, then called out loudly, "Everyone line up, let's start collecting our money."
Chen Qingqing's distribution of dividends was not a spur-of-the-moment decision; the success of the sugar shop was inseparable from everyone's hard work.
With the added incentive of these benefits, everyone will be more motivated to work, leading to a significant increase in efficiency...
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