In less than a month, Tiezhu and Tiedan will have the dowry money to get married, and finding them wives won't be a problem.
After returning from Zhao Youzhu's house, Zhao Xian told Zhao Xiaoshan that he should deliver pickled vegetables to the town the next morning, and take Tiezhu with him to help him sell preserved eggs at the restaurant.
"No problem. I have a very good relationship with the restaurant owner now. I'm sure I can help Tiezhu promote the preserved eggs."
Another thing is that the kimchi we made these past two days was made with vegetables such as cucumbers, cowpeas, and cabbage. The restaurant responded well, and they hope to offer kimchi with different flavors.
Now we don't use beef offal to make kimchi anymore; all the ingredients for making kimchi are provided by Grandma.
Zhao Xian nodded. Now he basically doesn't interfere with making kimchi anymore, as his family members are able to handle it very well.
"You must include the cost of the vegetables in the money you pay Grandma," Zhao Xian reminded her.
“I’ve already mentioned this, but Grandma said it’s not necessary. She said these vegetables only cost two or three coins per pound, and it’s even cheaper if you buy a lot. Someone will just deliver them to you, so you don’t have to go out and pick them yourself, which makes things much easier.”
"That won't do either. The money for the vegetables must be given to Grandma. How about this, you just pay two extra coins per pound on top of the original amount."
"Okay, I understand."
The next day, Zhao Xian prepared to produce millet wine. He asked the village head to help him hire twenty people, who would be the first employees in the workshop.
The wages for those who participated in brewing were 25 coins per day, with two days off per month. They could earn 700 coins a month, and 8 or 9 taels of silver a year.
The job posting caused a sensation in the village. Many villagers came to see the village head, and some even secretly gave him gifts.
The village head wasn't buying it. Since Zhao Xian had entrusted him with such an important task, he was determined to do it well.
He knew perfectly well who in the village was working honestly and who was cheating and shirking their duties.
The village head quickly selected twenty villagers, all of whom were hardworking and capable. Zhao Xian was very satisfied with these people.
Once the staff is in place, they will need to process over 1,000 jin of barnyard grass every day. After blending the barnyard grass into a liquor that can be sold, they should produce about 400 jin of it.
The market for baijiu is too big; the amount of baijiu we produce ourselves simply cannot meet the market demand. We will definitely need to expand production in the next step.
The village head told Zhao Xian that the granary was under repair and would be completed soon, and it was estimated that it would be ready for use tomorrow. He had already arranged for people to harvest the barnyard grass in the wasteland.
The village head was very efficient, and Zhao Xian planned to buy all the millet at once after it was stored in the warehouse.
Next, Zhao Xian began to work on blending the liquor. Considering that there had never been any high-proof liquor in this era, he planned to adjust the alcohol content to around 30 degrees. Even so, such liquor would still be considered high-proof in this era.
Blending baijiu is quite an art, involving a complex process. Zhao Xian didn't want to make the task too complicated, so he planned to directly add distilled water to the brewed millet wine to lower the alcohol content and make it the baijiu he needed.
While reducing the alcohol content, Zhao Xian purchased some flavorings, bittering agents, and glycerin from the system to adjust the quality and condition of the millet wine, making its taste optimal.
He didn't know how to blend the best liquor, so he tried blending a few different kinds and had the village head taste them.
For the village head, this was a coveted job.
After repeated tasting, Wang Lizheng selected the best ratio, and from then on, the blending of baijiu was carried out according to this ratio.
Around noon, Zhao Xiaoshan brought Zhao Tiezhu back from town. Zhao Tiezhu looked pale and appeared very nervous.
Zhao Tiezhu got out of the car and, without even saying goodbye to Zhao Xian, ran home in a flash.
"What's wrong with Tiezhu?" Zhao Xian asked, puzzled.
"Tiezhu sold all his preserved eggs and suddenly had a lot of copper coins in his pocket. He was very nervous, afraid that someone would rob him."
Zhao Xian was speechless. It seemed that Tie Zhu still needed more training. This wouldn't do; his mental fortitude was too weak.
"How are Tiezhu's preserved eggs sold? Are they all bought by restaurants?"
"We first went to the Yuelai Hotel. After tasting the preserved eggs, Manager He ordered fifty preserved eggs every day."
The noodle shop owner, Mr. Chen, also makes fifty preserved eggs every day. They will adjust the number of preserved eggs they order based on sales.
Later, Manager Jiang of Juxianlou Restaurant specifically sought me out, asking if I could provide him with 100 jin of pickled vegetables every day. I didn't dare agree, so I came back to ask you.
Do you think it's possible to supply him with goods?
“I think it should be okay. He was very polite to me this time and directly said the price was eighteen coins per catty.”
“Since you think it’s feasible, then supply him with the required amount every day. Producing an extra 100 jin of kimchi every day is not a difficult task for you. Tell him tomorrow that you will officially start supplying him the day after tomorrow.”
"Okay, I understand. When I talk to him about this tomorrow, I'll try to sell him preserved eggs."
Zhao Xian nodded. During this time, Zhao Xiaoshan had become very skilled in business. He had not only learned to think things through, but also had his own opinions.
Zhao Xiaoshan continued, "The emergence of preserved eggs should quickly become popular, and the sales market will soon be opened up."
The fifty preserved eggs ordered daily by Manager Chen and Manager He are definitely not enough. If Manager Jiang also orders preserved eggs, I estimate their combined order volume should be no less than three hundred per day. It seems my uncle's family needs to increase their preserved egg production.”
"That's right, your analysis makes a lot of sense." Zhao Xian nodded approvingly.
Once the market for preserved eggs is established, let my uncle's family figure out how to run the business themselves. Tiezhu and Tiedan aren't good at business, but Aunt Liu is quite shrewd. They should be able to build up the business gradually without any problems.
What I need to do now is to sell the millet wine and open up sales channels.
Early the next morning, Zhao Xian took several jugs of millet wine and prepared to go to the county town to find Magistrate Cao and ask him to help him promote the millet wine.
Now, to sell millet wine, one must provide an official permit. Without an official permit, no one dares to sell millet wine.
The carriage sped along, and an hour later, the two arrived at the county government office.
When the yamen runner at the gate saw Zhao Xian arrive, he immediately came forward and told Zhao Xian to wait a moment while he went to report to Magistrate Cao.
Soon, a yamen runner came out and led the two into the inner hall of the county yamen.
Inside the county government office, Magistrate Cao sat in a grand chair, his advisor stood beside him, and two pale-faced scholars sat in chairs next to him.
Upon seeing Zhao Xian enter, Magistrate Cao, all smiles, stood up from his armchair, took Zhao Xian's hand, and invited him to sit beside him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
