Lu Yang smiled and said, “The piglets are all raised, and the day of slaughtering the pigs is just around the corner.”
Miao Qing also smiled and said, “These days are really promising.”
Once the piglets are delivered, it’s time to collect the money.
Lu Yang didn’t hesitate; the price was fair, and he paid what was agreed upon.
Today, he paid for all three piglets at once. Next time he comes, he’ll bring two more piglets.
Lu Yang might not have time to come back, so he said, “I’ll have Lin Ge bring them back instead.”
Lu Lin still had to help out at the shop for a while.
The shop was bustling with people coming and going, and he had learned all sorts of social skills from following Lu Yang around. He had been trained well, and when he returned, his words were pleasant to hear.
Outside, they saw Li Feng’s mule cart and paused. Lu Yang looked inside and saw his younger brother and father shelling peanuts.
He called out teasingly, “Hey, isn’t this Lu Fulang? Why are you here alone? Where’s your husband?”
They shared the same surname, but he couldn’t bring himself to tease himself, so he teased Lu Liu instead, making her face turn red.
Li Feng was building a pigsty in the back and took the time to reply, “I’m in the backyard!”
Xie Yan heard his voice and looked around.
The traces of the pigsty being demolished in the front yard were still there, and he became highly alert, asking, “What are you doing in the backyard?”
He replied, “Building a pigsty!”
Xie Yan’s heart sank.
How could this be? He had even remembered to bring a gift when he returned to the Lu family this time!
Li Feng had gone to build the pigsty again, making him look insensitive and clueless.
He couldn’t sit still and wanted to help. He glanced at Lu Yang, who waved him over.
How Xie Yan ended up causing trouble in the backyard is another story. Lu Yang went back inside, put down the glutinous rice flour, washed his hands, and came over to help peel peanuts.
Lu Liu stared at him closely: “Brother, are you okay?”
He was very generous and didn’t keep a single coin for himself.
This was the truth. Plow oxen held a high status in farming households, and they had to be well cared for so they could work in the fields. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but if you shed a few more tears, I’ll start feeling sentimental.”
Lu Yang, preoccupied with making money, changed the subject and asked Lu Liu, “Have you tried making mushroom sauce?”
Lu Liu had tried it; he followed instructions.
When Lu Yang taught him to make meat-stuffed buns and stewed lamb soup, he always told him to start with a small amount. When he made mushroom and meat sauce, he also started with a small amount.
He had the skills, but what was even more remarkable than Lu Yang’s culinary skills was his ability to control the proportions of the seasonings. He had tried it a few times at home in small quantities, and each time the results were better.
Because the quantity was small, he didn’t bring any with him this time.
He told Lu Yang, ” The mushrooms are already soaked at home. I said we should fry more today, so I brought out the empty pots to soak the mushrooms. Shun Ge wanted to go to Xin Cun to see the lanterns, so we went out to play together and stopped by to give Dad some yuanxiao to eat.”
Originally, we were going to just drop it off and come back, no big deal.
But that day was delayed, so we had to wait until tomorrow to fry the sauce.
Lu Yang was very satisfied with his progress: “Make a large batch; don’t be afraid. My business is doing well, and everyone who has bought the sauce says it’s good. Once I have enough sauce, I’ll set up a tasting stall where people can try it for free. I’ll give everyone a spoonful. In the first two months, I’ll do this three or five times. Once more people have tried it, those who like it will naturally come to buy it.”
His sauce is also made by stir-frying soybean paste, but with additional ingredients, giving it a similar flavor to soybean paste. It can be used for stewing vegetables at home. It’s also affordable.
This homemade product has labor costs. Lu Liu makes it in the village and doesn’t use the store’s inventory. Like wild game, Lu Yang takes a 5% cut of the profits from sales.
Lu Liu felt it was too little. How could he make money with only half a percent?
“How about two percent?”
Lu Yang shook his head: “No, just half a percent. My shop needs a lot of goods and large quantities. I make money by accumulating small profits. What I make money on isn’t how much commission I get from each transaction, but how much I can steadily supply.”
He feared Lu Liu might overthink it, so he smiled and added, “Food is the foundation of life. Since ancient times, selling food—even pancakes—can lead to prosperity. Even thin margins are still profits. I don’t rely on this.”
He aspired to be a major merchant, and relying on snacks wouldn’t suffice; he needed to accumulate capital.
After discussing with Wu Pingzhi, he had formed a plan.
If Xie Yan’s book became a bestseller, he would bring in Lao Ye as a partner and ask Wu Pingzhi if he was willing to invest. The three of them would collaborate on the first edition of the imperial examination answer manual. Out of gratitude for Jin Shiyé’s kindness, they would later seek cooperation with the Proverb Bookshop.
However, the owner of the bookshop, Jin, was not trustworthy, so the collaboration would be limited to this one time. For the second edition of the book, they should have accumulated enough fame and money to collaborate on a large-scale project.
With substantial capital, Lu Yang could then consider planning his future.
Therefore, Lu Yang could give up the small profits from selling food.
He wouldn’t make money off his younger brother either; it was enough as it was.
Lu Liu was deeply impressed. He was still happy about selling a few pounds of wine each day, but his older brother already wanted to become a big businessman.
Li Feng also felt that half a percent was too little.
Taking half a percent from wild game was fine with him. The mountains were dangerous, and not every hunt would be a good harvest. Wild game came in all sizes, and if the price was too low, the hunters wouldn’t come. They would find regular customers and sell at the market instead, even if it was more tiring and troublesome.
But the commission for stir-fried sauce could be higher. Mountain mushrooms weren’t troublesome; paying labor was worth the money. They also planned to find partners, hire workers, and not exert themselves. The labor costs would be recouped with a few jars of sauce, so it wasn’t a big deal.
He said, “I’ll talk to him later.”
Lu Liu felt reassured.
Soon, the yuanxiao were ready, and the family ate them together.
Lu Yang cooked a pot of yuanxiao with various fillings, and what flavor you got was purely a matter of luck.
In the village, when making yuanxiao, they would roll the glutinous rice flour a few extra times, so none of them would reveal their fillings, and you couldn’t tell what was inside from the outside.
Lu Liu and Li Feng had already eaten some, but this time Lu Liu added two more, and Li Feng added five more, just to get a taste.
Lu Yang and Xie Yan had also eaten some in the county. Lu Yang had been eating small meals frequently lately, so he served himself six.
Xie Yan had just finished some physical labor and was exhausted, so he filled his bowl with twelve.
Lu Erbao and Wang Fengnian each had fifteen in their bowls, piling them high.
During the meal, they mostly talked about their plans for the coming year.
Lu Erbao will start collecting manure and plowing the fields tomorrow, and he will also tidy up the vegetable garden.
Wang Fengnian wants to raise pigs properly and wait another month before going to the county to buy some chicken chicks.
Lu Liu also wants to buy chicken chicks, and they have agreed on a date to go together.
Xie Yan was going to start attending a private school tomorrow. He had no plans for the coming year except to study hard and pass the imperial examination to become a juren.
Li Feng confided in them, “I want to find a livelihood. My mother suggested making rice cakes, stir-frying soy sauce, or raising rabbits. I’ll recruit people in the village to join me.”
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