Zhang Lihua was very happy when she came back and found out that she would be working with Song Qiu starting from tomorrow and no longer had to do household chores.
Just when he heard that Song Qiu was going to pay him twenty cents a day, he couldn't help but worry.
"Ah Qiu, selling tea for one penny per bowl is enough. It's hard to earn twenty pence. You've paid me twenty pence, so what else do you earn?"
Don't earn twenty cents just for a day's hard work. Then she has committed a crime.
"You have something to earn and something to earn, why are you worried so much? You are really afraid that I will lose money, so just work a little slower every day and let me earn more money!" Song Qiu laughed.
When Zhang Lihua heard this, she clapped her chest and said, "No problem, I promise to do more!"
…
Liu Caigui and his two sons stepped up the work, and it still took him two days to deliver all the finished tables and benches.
Not much was done, there were six square tables in total, with four benches on each table.
After the table was delivered, Song Qiu paid the wages. The wood for the table was all from the mountain, which was not very good wood. In addition, the workmanship was simple. Together with the labor cost, Liu Caigui didn't charge much, and it was better than giving it to others. It's a lot cheaper.
Song Qiu moved the table to test its strength. It was not heavy and easy to move.
It was decided that work would officially start tomorrow. In the afternoon, Song Qiu took Zhang Lihua to make preparations.
First, he opened the lid of the pottery basin, and the aroma of wine came out. Song Qiu was overjoyed. Then he saw that the rice grains were all soft and docile, and it was done.
Pour the boiling water in the pot through the hole in the middle until the pot is almost filled and the rice grains are covered.
Song Qiu put the pottery basin aside.
Next, boil water in the pot and start cooking the cold shrimps, which will be ready for use tomorrow.
Zhang Lihua was lighting a fire in front of the stove. She took out the pieces of wood that had been burned with sugar and put them into the rotten jar next to her. The wood pieces were allowed to evaporate and turned into charcoal. It was easy to use on a small stove.
On the first day tomorrow, Song Qiu doesn't plan to make too many cold shrimps. Just make two pots and sell thirty or forty bowls.
If you make too much and there are leftovers, you won’t be able to finish it all.
Her tea stall currently only plans to sell a few items. Song Qiu took the time to carve small characters on the bamboo brand with a knife, just like the ice drink stall, for people to use as a reference to see the price.
There are not many things, just a mint herbal tea, one penny per person, enough to drink.
Chilled mung bean soup, one penny per bamboo tube.
Then there is iced glutinous rice, which costs three pennies a bowl, and ice-cold shrimp, which costs three pennies a bowl.
There was also iced watermelon, which cost five cents a piece. Well, it was two cents more expensive than the ones sold in the town. But she had to go to Xiaojiachang in the middle of the night to fetch watermelons, and she had to go so far to fetch ice cubes. She would suffer a loss because they were sold cheaply.
Shortly after it got dark, Song Qiu went to bed and took a good nap. Around Yin o'clock, he got up, hitched a mule cart, and planned to go to the town.
In the yard next to her, Zhang Lihua came over in the dark and said, "Ah Qiu, I'm with you, I have a companion."
Zhang Lihua is taller and stronger than Song Qiu. With her following, Old Yuan will feel more at ease. She even told Zhang Lihua specifically yesterday.
If two people work together, they will be more courageous if they touch the dark ground.
Song Qiu drove the mule cart and took Zhang Lihua to the town.
We set off at Yinshi and didn't stop all the way. When we arrived at the town, it happened to be a quarter of Mao.
The sun rises early in summer, and it is already bright at this point. When we arrived at Changxingfang, Bingfang had not yet opened its doors.
Song Qiu had no choice but to knock on the door.
The concierge who opened the door yawned and saw that someone wanted to buy ice so early. They were two little girls. He didn't say anything and went to report it to the steward.
Naturally, the chief steward did not come so early.
The young steward didn't recognize Song Qiu. When he heard that he wanted to buy ice, it was just a matter of business. "Twenty cents a piece, you know the price, right? How much do you want, little girl?"
Song Qiu had already asked last time. A piece of ice is quite big and can be used for most of the day, so Song Qiu doesn't plan to buy more, just one piece a day.
"I want a piece."
When he heard that there was only one piece, the steward yawned and asked the waiter to get ice cubes from the ice cellar.
Soon, the ice cubes were brought back, and the clerk directly helped to put them into the ice collector that Song Qiu brought. He also told Song Qiu how to preserve them, and put them in the mezzanine. The lid on top should not be opened at any time, so that the ice cubes
It won't last long.
Song Qiu saw that the piece of ice was indeed very big. Even if it was left outside like this, it would probably take a long time for it to completely melt away.
One day is enough.
After paying twenty coins and leaving Bingfang, Song Qiu drove the mule cart out of the town without stopping and turned onto the west path, heading towards Xiaojiachang.
Ten miles away, we will arrive at the beginning of the hour.
As soon as he entered Xiaojiachang, Song Qiu didn't even need to ask anyone, there were watermelons for sale right at the entrance.
It's time for watermelons to come out right now. The watermelons on the stall are all very big and very good-looking. Just by looking at the lines, you can tell that they are red-flesh, juicy and sweet.
This is an original watermelon, unlike later generations that have been injected with oxytocin.
"Sell watermelon, sell watermelon!" The melon farmer wore a straw hat and shouted when he saw people.
Song Qiu stepped forward and said, "Uncle, is this the watermelon from Xiao's orchard?"
The uncle grinned and said, "The watermelon sold in Xiaojia Market is not from Xiaojia Orchard? In our area, only Xiaojia Orchard can grow such watermelons! Little girl, why don't you get one? Six cents a pound,
Not expensive!”
Six cents?
Song Qiu couldn't help but said: "I heard people say that you can buy it for four cents per catty. Uncle, why are you selling this for six cents per catty? Is it really from the Xiao Family Orchard?"
When the uncle heard that this was someone who knew the market, he had to laugh and said: "This market is still five or six miles away from the Xiaojia Orchard! It will naturally cost four to five cents to buy at the Xiaojia Orchard.
It’s common sense to pay a penny to bring someone over so far, isn’t it?”
It turns out that the goods were imported and sold, not first-hand.
Song Qiu hurriedly waved his hand and said: "Then I'd better go to Xiaojia Orchard to buy it. I'm also doing business. Of course, I can only make money by getting the cheapest."
"That's right." The uncle is not surprised. We are all in business. Who doesn't want to save money?
He put it here just to buy it for some passers-by who rarely go to Xiao's orchard and don't care about it.
Song Qiu drove the bullock cart and continued forward.
In this direction, it will be closer to turning off the small road and returning to the village.
Sure enough, after walking about five miles, I saw a big sign with the words Xiao Family Orchard engraved on it.
From a distance, you can see the orchards with green vines, and you can also see the watermelons lying quietly on the vines one by one.
This orchard is full of watermelons!
Someone wearing a straw hat stood guard at the entrance to the orchard and built a thatched shed. There were watermelons piled inside, so there was no need to go further inside.
"Little girl, where do you want to buy watermelons? The watermelons in our Xiao family orchard are sweet, fragrant and absolutely delicious. They were just picked this morning. They are all ripe. They cost five cents a pound. Little girl, you can have one.
?”
As soon as the straw hat man saw Song Qiu and Zhang Lihua coming over from the mule cart, he greeted them warmly.
"Five cents per catty? Don't you mean four cents per catty?" Song Qiu asked.
The straw hat man pointed at another pile of watermelons that looked smaller, and said, "These are four cents per catty. If you ask me, these five cents per catty are better, just one cent more, meat."
It’s sweet and juicy, so every cut is guaranteed to be a good melon!”