Chapter 136 [VIP]
The moment Chen Qingyan and his group entered the mansion, it immediately became quiet.
With nothing to do, Old Liang decided to go out for a stroll. He didn't go far, but took Liang An and Chen Guang to wander around the towns and villages surrounding the prefectural city.
He could go wherever there was beautiful scenery and delicious food. The old man had enough money and had people protecting him, so he naturally left in a carefree manner.
Both Li and Fang Ling are rather introverted women. Back in their hometown, things were a bit better. Li had many friends she had known for years, and they would get together to chat and pray to Buddha in their spare time.
Having arrived in the prefectural city, the two were unfamiliar with the place and were unwilling to go out and make friends. They spent most of their time at home coaxing Yuanbao, preparing Qingyun's dowry, and making clothes for the children.
As May (lunar calendar) arrived, the weather gradually warmed up. People on the street changed into summer clothes; wealthy families wore gauze robes, while ordinary people without money wore short shirts made of hemp cloth, which were cool and breathable.
Wang's Vegetable Shop, which had been closed for half a month, has reopened.
Wang Ying had started preparations several days in advance with her servants, first having Uncle Chen bring back the fruit from the experimental field in batches from outside the city.
The peaches, grapes, cherries, and tangerines in the experimental field are all ripe, perfect for making popsicles and iced drinks.
Next, they prepared the syrup for the popsicles. Er Shun and Tian Ju set up a stove in the yard and boiled several pots of syrup. Because sugar was relatively expensive, they used only the most common coarse sugar instead of refined white sugar to reduce costs.
After the boiled sugar water has cooled, it is poured into a bamboo tube that has been prepared in advance.
The idea for this bamboo tube came from Wang Ying's experience buying water from the mountain. She realized that if she wanted to sell it for a good price, the packaging had to be perfect. If there was nothing inside, the popsicles would melt and become watery, and customers wouldn't want to buy them.
Bamboo is cheap; a section of bamboo tube costs less than a penny, but it took some effort to cut it.
The bamboo tubes not only need to be cut into pieces, but also branded with the words "Mixue" (蜜雪) using a small branding iron. The purpose of branding this is to create a brand effect.
When someone is eating ice from a bamboo tube, and they ask, "Where did you buy this?"
If you can't remember, just see the words on the bamboo tube and say it out loud: "Mixue Ice Smoothie!"
That's right, Wang Ying changed the name of the shop to Mixue Ice Cream. He originally wanted to call it Mixue Ice City, but the words "Ice City" were too big, and Wang Ying was afraid that he couldn't handle it, so he changed it to Ice Cream. It just so happened that he also planned to sell this.
The cost of living in the prefectural city is slightly higher than in the town, but to establish a foothold, the consumer base must still be the general public. Affordable, delicious, and affordable prices are the keys to long-term success.
Secondly, ice is different from vegetables. Selling vegetables in winter is unique, but ice is not. He went out to inquire a few days ago and found that there are at least four ice vendors in the city now.
They were all big ice merchants, with ice cellars in their homes, where they stored tens of thousands of kilograms of ice, waiting to sell it to wealthy families in the summer.
Therefore, Wang Ying's target consumer group cannot be these people. Once a competitive relationship is established, resistance will definitely arise. Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. In the end, not only will Wang Tongzhi's fake nephew not fare well, but even his own son will not be spared.
The popsicles in the syrup froze solid overnight in the experimental field. Wang Ying didn't dare make too many on the first day, only three hundred. She planned to price them at ten coins each, which would be enough to sell for three strings of cash.
The main reason is that the number of bamboo tubes is limited; otherwise, even if several thousand more were frozen in the experimental field, they could still be frozen.
In addition to this, there are also frozen ice cubes, which are reserved for making shaved ice. Pour the ice cubes into a pre-washed stone mortar, pound them into shaved ice with a wooden mallet, drizzle with prepared honey milk, and sprinkle with raisins, red beans and fresh fruits. A bowl of shaved ice is then ready.
A small cup, about the size of a palm, costs thirty coins, while a larger one costs fifty coins; these are specially prepared for wealthy families.
On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, Wang Ying led a group of people to take down the old trinkets from the shop and replace them with new sky-blue ones.
The words "Mixue Ice Smoothie" were written in black on top, and a simplified version of an iced drink was drawn in oil paint next to it, which was quite eye-catching.
As soon as the banner was hung up, the owners of several nearby shops came over to see what was going on.
"Manager Wang, are you no longer selling vegetables?"
Wang Ying said, "I'm not selling anymore. Vegetables are hard to sell in the summer and they don't keep well. If they're not sold within a few days, they'll all rot."
"That's true. Onions and garlic are already several coins a bunch, so you really can't make much money."
Speaking of selling vegetables, they had been envious of Wang Ying for a long time. All winter long, they saw long queues outside her house. She sold vegetables at exorbitant prices, yet everyone was scrambling to buy them. They wondered how much money she had made.
Now that the weather is warmer, the vegetables aren't selling, and everyone feels a little better.
"I see you've changed your business tactics; are you planning to start a different business?"
Wang Ying smiled and nodded, "It's getting hot, so I'm planning to sell some iced drinks."
"Oh, you even have an ice cellar at home?"
Where would he get an ice cellar?
However, he couldn't tell anyone that he had frozen this thing in the experimental field, so he just smiled and nodded to cover it up.
Others unloaded baskets of bamboo tube popsicles from the carriage and put them into "insulated" boxes filled with straw. They then covered the boxes with a thick cotton quilt, and the popsicles would stay warm for a whole day.
Everyone stood at the door watching the commotion, completely baffled as to what this young man from the Wang family was up to this time.
After settling the popsicles, Wang Ying took the cut fruit out of the car, and everyone's eyes widened instantly when they saw the bowl of fresh fruit.
"There are grapes now?!"
"Is that a peach? Where would peaches come from in spring?"
What's that orange fruit? I've never seen it before.
Wang Ying explained with a smile, "Our village is located by a warm spring, and the fruit trees nearby bear fruit early. However, the fruit yield is too low. A tree only produces a few dozen peaches, which is too meager to sell. So we simply chop them up and put them in iced drinks for our guests to try."
Everyone suddenly realized why they had fresh vegetables to sell in winter; it turned out they owned a farm with a warm spring. Luckily, the fruit harvest wasn't plentiful; if it were like vegetables, he would have made a fortune!
As they were talking, Wang Ying had Tian Ju pound some shaved ice, sprinkled it with honey and fruit pieces, and served each person a small bowl about the size of their palm.
"Please come in, shopkeepers, and have a taste. We've just started selling here, so we don't know how business is going yet."
Some people are shy and wave their hands, saying they have a bad stomach and can't eat cold food, and then they leave. Others are thick-skinned and pick it up to try.
The owner of the sesame oil shop next door was shameless; he both disliked Wang's vegetable shop and was always looking to take advantage. Wang Ying had given him plenty of vegetables before, but behind his back, he still cursed the shop for being greedy and charging such high prices.
He took the iced drink from Wang Ying, glanced at it with a smirk, thinking it was just some ice, but as soon as he took a spoonful and put it in his mouth, he sat up straight instantly.
The crushed shaved ice is poured into the prepared honey milk, which is sweet and delicious. Adding fresh and refreshing fruit pieces awakens the taste buds that have been dormant all winter, as if you are under a cool fruit tree.
He couldn't wait to take a second bite. The red beans and raisins added a new texture, and the sweet and sour taste left a lingering aftertaste.
He finished the small bowl of iced drink in just a few bites, drank the last bit of melted soup at the bottom of the bowl, and sat on the stool with a somewhat lost look in his eyes.
He recalled that many years ago, when his parents were still alive, they took him to the street to buy things. It was a hot day, and his mother saw that there were iced drinks for sale. She secretly took out her savings and bought him a bowl.
The taste seemed similar to this, yet completely different, but it reminded him of the image of his mother taking out money from her cloth bag at her waist. The little boy held up the ceramic bowl, wanting his mother to try it too. His mother stroked his head and said, "I'm not hot, son, eat quickly."
"Manager Song, Manager Song?"
"Huh?" Manager Song snapped out of his daze, quickly wiped his eyes with his sleeve, and handed the bowl back to Wang Ying.
"Is the taste alright?"
"It's...it's alright, it should be able to sell."
Wang Ying smiled and said, "That's good. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to sell them."
How much does one bowl of this cost?
"This small portion costs thirty coins."
"Thirty coins?!" Manager Song's voice trembled. "Why don't you just rob me?!"
"You know ice is already expensive, and this also contains honey, milk, raisins, and red beans, plus diced fruit. I really don't make much money."
All these things were indeed not cheap, but thirty coins was still too expensive. It was okay to eat them once in a while, but eating them every day would probably bankrupt the family. He reached into his sleeve pocket, took out thirty coins, and handed them to Wang Ying.
"This bowl is free; it's for you to try."
Manager Song said somewhat apologetically, "Give me another one..."
"Alright, Xiao Tian, make another one for Manager Song!"
Before long, Manager Yang from across the street arrived. He was wealthy and generous, and seeing the shaved ice, he thought his husband would definitely like it. He immediately ordered three large portions and asked the waiter to deliver them directly to his home.
Business picked up quickly, but most of the customers who came to the shop were old customers. Ordinary people, even though they could afford to buy, did not dare to come in and inquire.
This is when "Strychnine" showed his skills. He had sold popsicles in the village before. He was good at business and had a good voice. He drove a mule cart loaded with a box of bamboo tube popsicles and started selling them from street to street.
"Popcorn, sweet popsicle! Icy cold and refreshing, ten coins for a big one~"
The hawking calls quickly attracted many people to come forward and inquire.
"Young man, what are you selling?"
"Whoa~" Ma Zhandong stopped the car, took out a popsicle from the box, and handed it to the customer, saying, "Bamboo tube popsicle, have one to cool off and beat the heat, would you like to buy one and try it, sir?"
Ten coins weren't expensive. The man counted out the money from his pocket and placed it on the cart, then picked up the bamboo tube and asked, "How do you eat this?"
“Look here, there’s a stick. Hold the bamboo tube in your palm for a little while, then turn it like this, and you’ll be able to take it out and eat it. If you can’t finish it, you can put it back in.”
The man took a lick of the popsicle; it did indeed taste sweet. "It's quite interesting. Do you sell it every day?"
Ma Zhandong said, "Not necessarily, but we have a shop. You can see the words 'Mi Xue' on the bamboo tube. That's the name of our shop. It's on Zhengyang Street. You can buy one for ten coins."
"Okay, I'll go check it out next time!"
After receiving the money, Ma Zhandong continued to hawk his wares. In just one morning, all one hundred popsicles were sold out, which also served as free publicity for his shop.
Nowadays, many people know that there is a newly opened ice drink shop on Zhengyang Street, where bamboo tube popsicles are sold for only ten coins each, and they are sweet!
You should know that ice was very expensive at that time. It cost about three strings of cash to buy a foot of ice, which would cost several tens of coins. They only sold it for ten coins, which was really a bargain.
The next day, Wang Ying prepared 300 popsicles as usual, but they sold out before noon.
Even the iced smoothies were sold out, and for a time, Mixue iced smoothies once again became a popular trend in Jizhou Prefecture.
A note from the author:
Wang Ying: Doing business by standing on the shoulders of giants.
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