Counting the days, by summer their whole family would be moving to the prefectural city.
His mother-in-law was fine—she already had two decent sets of clothes. Last year, he had made several outfits for Li Feng, and he himself was not lacking any either. Shun-ge lived in the prefectural city with his elder brother, who would never allow Shun-ge to dress shabbily. Li Feng had also given Shun-ge silver, so there was nothing to worry about on that front.
The only ones left were his father and his daddy. They would definitely be unwilling to buy ready-made clothes. Lu Liu planned to make two new outfits and two pairs of shoes for each of them, so they would look presentable. When everyone lived together, appearances still mattered.
But with just him alone, he could not possibly manage it all—his eyes would go blind from the work.
He had already discussed it with Da Feng: when the time came, he would make one set and buy one set, mix the two together, and say they were all handmade. That way, the two fathers would accept them.
Once Lu Liu started talking about these matters, he simply could not stop.
The babies were growing day by day, interacting more and more with adults. He needed to set aside a lot of time to spend with them. Playing with the children never felt like a waste of time, and the hours passed quickly. Because of this, his free time had become even more limited, and everything else needed longer to finish.
The family was still printing books, yet he barely had time to speak with his cousin’s wife. Since Li Feng often went out, Lu Liu had taken on the vegetable gardening himself, which also needed attention.
Miao Xiaohe: “…?”
He was completely defeated.
“No wonder people keep saying Da Feng has been spoiled by you. You spend every single day at home like this?”
Lu Liu tilted his head and thought for a moment. “Did I even mention Da Feng much just now?”
Miao Xiaohe said, “Isn’t everything you’re doing for him?”
If this were last year’s Lu Liu, he would have smiled shyly and readily agreed.
But this year’s Lu Liu smiled gently and said, “I take care of the household not only for him, but also for myself. This is my home too.”
Miao Xiaohe admired him.
“All the things you mentioned—I can do them too. Before marriage, I did them at my parents’ home. After marriage, I do them at my husband’s home. But if you ask me to keep doing this day after day, I can’t. I need to go out, sneak away for a break, be a little lazy. Some things—if you leave them long enough—you just stop doing them.”
Lu Liu did not understand. “Why?”
Miao Xiaohe was surprised. “Why? What kind of question is that? Who actually likes doing work?”
Lu Liu: “…”
It seemed he actually liked working.
Miao Xiaohe looked at him and suddenly laughed.
“Oh, Lu Furlang, you really are diligent. Truly. I visit other households all the time, and genuinely hardworking people are rare. Most people always let something slide. But every time I come to your place—no matter when—it’s orderly inside and out, clean and tidy. Someone like you is perfectly suited to running a shop. A place like mine here—look at it. It’s just the right size. Busy only in the morning, free in the afternoon. You’d definitely be comfortable here.”
Lu Liu had never run a shop before and did not know whether he would end up feeling as stifled as Miao Xiaohe.
If he were running a shop, he would not just sit around waiting. Even if he lacked the courage to go outside and shout sales calls, he would still clean and organize inside and out.
He had seen his elder brother’s shop. In the early days, there was nothing but a stove at the entrance, heating pots of steamed buns and mantou. What kind of conditions were those?
Since he had seen that it worked, if he were idle, he would imitate it. Whatever food or drink he could make, he would bring some to the shop and try selling it. One or two pots at a time—he could manage that, and they would sell easily. Even if the profit was small, a coin was still a coin. It passed the time and added a little income. If something proved popular, it might even turn into a proper business.
While they talked in the back, Li Feng was chatting with San Miao at the front.
Lu Yang had asked the Luo brothers about a brush-making craftsman and passed the information along. Li Feng entrusted San Miao to send over the animal hides to commission wolf-hair brushes. San Miao followed up on the process—the hair had already been treated, the preliminary work finished, and brush-making would be quick now.
San Miao also said that running a shop was unbearably dull—he could not sit still at all.
He said, “Brother Da Feng, how about this: let Erjun Furlang and Sihou Furlang come over and take my place. The three of them can chat, and if something happens at home, they can go back. If I stay here alone, I’ll suffocate.”
Li Feng scolded him for lacking ambition. “So many people want this opportunity, and I didn’t let them. I chose you because you’re young and don’t have children yet, even pushing others aside for you, hoping you could live a stable life in the future. And you’re still not satisfied.”
San Miao was practically going bald. “Nothing is easy, no matter the trade. Who was it that envied people in the county for having good lives? Brother Da Feng, you don’t understand—this isn’t like staying in a safe house and letting time pass. It’s too noisy here. Sigh.”
Li Feng had never personally run a shop. He thought their family’s small shop was already exhausting enough, needing someone to watch the door all day.
Then he remembered that when Lu Yang ran his shop, he was so busy he had to hire four people and still went over often to check in. How had San Miao and his wife ended up this idle?
Lu Yang was not in the county, so Li Feng had no one to consult.
After a moment of thought, he said, “No, we can’t wait for Wang Meng and the others. This isn’t sustainable. You want something to do, right? I’ve got an idea.”
He remembered that Lu Yang’s shop had once done something like this: whenever they had spare time, they would use scrap paper to package sunflower seeds and peanuts into small bags and sell them. Each bag sold for a few coins—easy for customers to grab and go. Convenient and affordable, and it cleared out slow-moving stock.
Their mountain goods could be handled the same way.
There were some mushrooms at the drying yard that were not very good in appearance. After slicing them and removing the damaged pieces, they could be kept in the county for sale.
These mushrooms could be priced lower. They could package dried mushrooms into small portions—about a bowlful per bag—and set prices according to type.
Pricing could be calculated by the couple themselves. They both knew arithmetic, and Miao Xiaohe even went to audit classes with the accountant. At worst, they could ask Lu Lin for guidance.
They could also make mixed-mushroom packages—several types mixed together. Taken home and cooked, it would make a pot of mixed mushroom soup. They could even add one or two premium mushrooms to boost the flavor. They would not lack repeat customers.
As for the paper to wrap the mushrooms…
Their practice calligraphy paper was not nearly as pleasing as Xie Yan’s discarded drafts. The ink was too heavy and looked shabby.
Li Feng said, “Go to my house and take some illustrated prints. Use those as packaging. Buy enough mushroom packages, and eventually you’ll collect a whole album.”
San Miao: “…”
That was extravagant.
Li Feng added, “Mix the two kinds of paper.”
San Miao: “Still extravagant.”
This project alone would keep them busy for quite a while. Pricing and accounting would take time, and mixing the mushrooms required recalculating costs and sale prices. Then there was the manual labor of wrapping each package.
The existing illustrated paper was too small. When Li Feng got home, he would have his cousin’s wife from the printing shop cut larger sheets. The artwork size didn’t matter—only that the paper was big enough for packaging.
If this worked out, the couple would be busy packaging mushrooms every day. Not easier than making buns—busy enough to exhaust them.
Li Feng and Lu Liu ate a meal in the county. The dishes were all taken from the shop. After eating, they took their leave and detoured to inspect the workshop.
The workshop had already been repaired. Inside, a small drying yard had been added, along with bedrooms and storage rooms, a kitchen and firewood shed, and one large communal sleeping area. If deliveries ran late or bad weather hit, they could stay overnight in the county.
There was no one there yet, and no goods stored, so there was little to see.
Li Feng told Lu Liu about the rents: the shop rent was thirteen taels of silver per year. The workshop was more expensive—sixteen taels per year.
They walked back onto the street. Li Feng went to the broker’s office and found an agent to talk things through.
The cost of doing business in the county was not particularly high, but neither were profits. According to the broker, a net annual income of one hundred taels of silver already counted as a large shop and a very good business.
Ordinary businesses earned around seventy or eighty taels a year. Most shops only made thirty or forty taels annually, after expenses. That was why many small stalls and workshops were just enough to support a family, saving around ten taels a year.
For a stable life, that was more than enough.
You could eat well, dress warmly, rent a house, and live comfortably.
When children came of age, there would be money for marriage arrangements.
But if you were restless and wanted to push further, that amount of silver was nowhere near enough.
A large shop meant large expenses. If business was poor, even breaking even would be difficult.
