Border Cook

Chapter 6 Business
Soon, a middle-aged woman bought two meat pies and said she would take them back for her parents-in-law to taste. Another elderly woman bought a meat pie to give to her picky grandson at home.

Seeing that the business was about to go on smoothly, a woman with high cheekbones and a somewhat mean face sneered, "This guy is so easy to deceive. This meat pie is nothing more than meat stuffing wrapped in dough. How can it be better than others? It's also two cents more expensive than others. He found someone to act as a shilling, and so many people were fooled. Tsk tsk."

Is there some truth in what you said?
It’s not that the people on West Street couldn’t afford so many meat pies, but they bought nine as soon as they opened their mouths. And they were wearing nothing but ordinary coarse cloth and straw sandals. It was obvious that they were farmers who lived a tight life. How could they be willing to spend so much money on meat pies?

It's obvious at first glance that he's a shill!
After figuring this out, those who were about to ask the price for the meat patties thought for a moment and then tied their wallets again.

But the meat patties in the basket, half covered and half exposed by the basket cloth, looked really good, and the aroma they exuded was really tempting. They looked like they should be delicious...

Just as everyone was hesitating and wondering whether to buy a meat pie to try, the old woman who had bought a meat pie earlier came back.

He looked hurried, almost jogging all the way, so much so that he was out of breath when he arrived in front of Xia Mingyue and Lu's stall.

"You, you meat pie..."

Seeing this, the mean woman who had been causing trouble earlier came over and said, "It must be not tasty."

I told you, it’s just a meat pie, but one of the vendors is a young lady with delicate skin and tender flesh, and the other is a big and strong-looking dark-faced woman, how can its food be delicious?

"What?" The old woman waved her hands and waited for a few breaths to catch her breath before continuing, "My little grandson is usually very picky about food. He won't eat this or that. But just now he ate such a big meat pie in one go and kept saying it wasn't enough!"

"I'll come over and buy a few more!" The old woman took out her purse and counted out the copper coins for Xia Mingyue. "Give me four more meat patties."

"Four meat patties are no problem, but forgive me for saying this, children are greedy and have no restraint. If they eat too much, they will easily get indigestion, which is not good for them. If you can't make it, just take one or two home to eat. I will still be selling meat patties here tomorrow and you can come back to buy more." Xia Mingyue reminded softly.

The old woman laughed when she heard this. "You are a sincere person with a nice voice. Don't worry. I know my limits."

After being reminded, Xia Mingyue did not say much. She just took the copper coins, gave the other party a meat pie, and said with a smile, "Take care, come back for more when you're more delicious."

Seeing the old lady come back and buy again, those who were originally hesitant no longer thought too much and came over to buy one or two meat patties to try the taste.

Gradually, more people came to the stall.

The woman who had sneered at the troublemaker earlier turned pale when she saw this, but she could do nothing but snort, slung the bamboo basket on her arm, and turned away.

Xia Mingyue continued to sell meat patties. About half an hour later, only the last two were left out of the original small basket.

"These two are for Da Hu and Er Hu." Xia Mingyue smiled and covered the cage with cloth, "Sister-in-law, let's close the stall and go home."

"Okay." Mrs. Lu responded with a smile, picked up the small square table and went back with Xia Mingyue.

After returning home, he packed up his things and counted the copper coins. He had sold 22 meat pies and received 176 copper coins.

"My sister-in-law charges about fifty coins for the meat and ten coins for the flour. Thirty coins are added for the onion, ginger, seasoning, oil, salt, and firewood. In total, she can earn more than eighty coins!"

Mrs. Lu counted on her fingers and helped Xia Mingyue calculate the accounts. "This meat pie is selling well. We can make twice as many tomorrow. If we calculate it based on an average of 150 coins per day, we will make more than 400 silver taels in this month, which is much more than the military salary."

"Sister-in-law, I think you don't have to follow me to Sister Wu's house later. Just focus on making your meat patties and selling them. You won't have to worry about anything in the future!"

"The meat pie business is good, but I can't handle it alone. I have to ask my sister-in-law to help me with some work. I will pay her." Xia Mingyue smiled, "But it's not much a month, I can only pay her one or two taels of silver."

One tael of silver!
Mrs. Lu took a deep breath and her astonished look lingered on Xia Mingyue's face for a long time.

I’m afraid Xia Mingyue has some misunderstanding about the low salary!
You know, the job at Yueran Restaurant pays 500 wen a month, and as soon as the news spread, many people would be scrambling to get a job there.

"Sister-in-law, this is too much money." Mrs. Lu waved her hands, "You have to give at least half of it. To be honest, if you need my help, I can give you no wages. This one tael of silver is too much."

"Sister-in-law, don't talk about the high salary. I have a lot of work to do here. To be honest, I have no other skills except cooking. I have to rely on you to help me make this business better."

Xia Mingyue smiled and said, "I still have to ask Dahu and Erhu to help with the daily chores. I hired three people at once with this money. I was very smart in my calculations."

Seeing Xia Mingyue say this, Mrs. Lu had no choice but to nod her head, "Okay, then let's do as you say. Don't worry about this business, I promise to take good care of it for you."

"I'll go around the streets in the afternoon and look for a fixed stall. This way I don't have to go out and look for a spot every day, and it won't be difficult to do business with the stalls next to me."

"Let's not buy the onions, ginger and garlic used to make meat patties in small quantities. Find a farmer selling vegetables these two days and buy more at once. The price will definitely be cheaper, and they can also deliver them to our homes."

"Yes, yes, we have to talk to Hong the butcher about the meat. We have to buy meat every day, and we will need more meat in the future. You have to give us a low price..."

Lu talked incessantly and enthusiastically. Xia Mingyue first widened her eyes in disbelief, then nodded approvingly.

Previously, she wanted to ask Lu to help with the business, because she considered that Lu had a strong personality and was more familiar with the place than she was, so it would be easier for her to do business with her.

Secondly, since Lu Qiyan and Zhao Youcai have such a good relationship, if this business can be successful, it will also allow Lu to earn some money to supplement the family income and live a more comfortable life.

But now it seems that Lu has an active mind and acts prudently, as if she is well versed in business. She has simply picked up a treasure!
"Sister-in-law has thought it through, so I'll do as she says." Xia Mingyue couldn't help but curl her lips, "It seems like you know a lot about small business, have you done such small business before?"

A layman would not be able to think so thoroughly.

　Please collect and recommend monthly tickets~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)