Sitting on the oxcart, Li Yan recalled the experience of selling charcoal just now and said, "Master, this charcoal sale reminded me that we can't just pull charcoal and sell it all at once!"
Immersed in joy, Mr. Li looked at his granddaughter in confusion: "Second girl, if you have any ideas, why not tell me directly!"
Li Yan explained, "Uncle Wensong just said that our charcoal is of excellent quality, but it's inevitable that some lower-quality stuff is mixed in. We can't mix them together and sell them like this. We won't get a good price if we do!"
Old Master Li slapped his thigh in sudden realization. He had been so focused on making money that he hadn't even considered this: "You mean to sort out the high-quality charcoal?"
Li Yan nodded and said, "We sort out the charcoal into different qualities and sell them at different prices. Whoever wants to buy that kind can choose for themselves."
Mr. Li happily agreed: "Second girl is smart, I'll do as you say!"
The group happily drove the ox cart back to the village. Old Man Li parked the ox cart in front of the house of Patriarch Li.
Patriarch Li, who had been sitting in the main hall waiting for the others, heard the noise and immediately went out to check. When he saw the three people returning with the ox cart, he asked expectantly, "How is it? Have you sold everything?"
Old Master Li smiled with wrinkles on his face as he said to Patriarch Li, "Our trip went very smoothly. We arrived in town, but before we could even speak, all our goods were bought out by a passing steward!"
Patriarch Li hadn't expected it to go so smoothly, and excitedly asked, "Have you bought them all? Then I have to tell everyone so they can be happy too!"
Old Master Li took out a few taels of silver from his pocket and handed it to the clan leader: "The charcoal is sold at two cents per pound. The clan leader should keep this money for now!"
Chief Li asked in disbelief, "Is this charcoal being sold for two cents per pound?"
Li Yan: "Grandpa Clan Leader, Uncle Wensong told us to sell it at three cents per pound! But we left in such a hurry this time that we mixed the high-quality charcoal with the scraps! So we only got two cents per pound!"
Patriarch Li said with satisfaction, "Being able to sell them for two cents is a good start. Now that we understand the market, we'll follow what the second girl said and sort them out and sell them separately!"
Patriarch Li asked his grandson to pull the ox cart back and said to Li Yan impatiently, "I'll go down the mountain and tell everyone the good news. Second girl, go back and help keep the accounts and distribute them to each family later!"
After the group said goodbye at the gate, Chief Li excitedly rushed down the mountain. The villagers saw the chief approaching with a smile on their faces and stopped what they were doing to ask, "Chief, have you sold the charcoal?"
A villager asked anxiously, "How much silver did it sell for?"
Everyone was talking about the situation of selling charcoal!
Clan leader Li found a high ground and raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. "Don't worry, everyone. I'm here to tell you some good news. The charcoal was sold for one or two or three taels of silver! I have the money now, and we'll divide it equally among the households after we sell all the charcoal!"
When the villagers heard this, they were very excited. They didn't have much confidence to begin with, but now that they had really made some money, they were full of energy. The villagers thought that they would definitely ask the half-grown boys in their families to help tomorrow. Although the money would be divided equally at that time, everyone wanted to make more money so that they could get more when it was divided!
Chief Li continued, "Since everyone is here, let me tell you something. We can't just take this charcoal to the city and sell it like we did today. We need to sort it out. That way, it won't be easily picked up by customers, and it will be easier to sell at a higher price!"
They are all honest farmers, how could they know so many things? At this moment, the villagers think that whatever the patriarch says is right!
A villager asked in confusion, "How do you choose the charcoal, Chief? We don't understand!"
This question immediately stumped Chief Li. He coughed lightly and said, "All the charcoal has been sold today. We can talk about it tomorrow when the charcoal is out!"
After hearing this, the villagers stopped worrying and went back to their own business!
After the villagers left, Chief Li put his hands behind his back and hurried to Li Yan's house. In his excitement, he had forgotten to ask the second girl in detail how to select the charcoal!
Li Yan had just returned home and was sitting in the main room warming herself by the fire when she saw the Li clan leader standing at the door with his hands behind his back, calling out, "Second girl, are you home?"
Li Yan quickly stood up and went out to greet him: "Grandpa, I'm home! It's cold outside, if you have anything to say, please come inside and talk!"
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