Jiang Sheng was stunned for a moment. It seemed like their minds were fixed on cotton clothes and mushrooms, only knowing to mess around with mushrooms and cotton clothes. But in fact, anything could be profitable as long as there was a price difference.
Zheng Ruqian suddenly stood up and rushed out with his head down.
Jiang Sheng followed closely behind.
That night, the siblings came back carrying piles of eggplants and beans.
Zheng Ruqian's face was flushed with excitement. "My arms are sore. There will be more villagers sending them tomorrow. I'm sure we'll fill the donkey cart."
Jiang Sheng was so tired she couldn't speak, slumped next to Xu Mo panting for breath.
Wen Zhiyun was the most timid. His brows were tightly knitted now. "Can we really sell them?"
If they couldn't sell them, then they'd be eating eggplants and beans for the next two months.
"Probably..." Zheng Ruqian was also uncertain.
But he and Jiang Sheng had learned to be cautious before. This time they decided to go big.
And there was nothing to lose anyway. Even if they sold the eggplants and beans back at their original price in town, it wouldn't be a deficit.
The next day.
Sure enough, as Zheng Ruqian said, many villagers came carrying the eggplants, beans, and dried soybeans they had planted. Those with bigger yields brought everything out.
Only when the donkey cart was completely full did the villagers leave.
Jiang Sheng sat at the broken temple's door, staring blankly at this scene. She realized she now understood what "turning trivial into significant" meant.
A handful of eggplants and beans were worthless to the villagers, unsellable and uneatable.
But when collected uniformly and delivered in bulk, there was a chance to exchange them for money.
If they could establish long-term partnerships like with the mushrooms, their family could survive just from selling vegetables.
Jiang Sheng grew more excited the more she thought about it. She wanted to set off for the county town immediately.
But when she got to the donkey cart, she was dumbfounded. The vegetables were too full. Not only was there no room for passengers, even the driver had nowhere to sit.
Even if they forced some space, only two or three could squeeze in.
There were six siblings at the broken temple. Deciding who would stay behind was worth deliberating over.
Xu Mo's legs were bad, Wen Zhiyun was timid, and Chang Yan was too dull.
They should stay theoretically, but Jiang Sheng didn't feel assured.
What if Pang Dashan took revenge in their absence? She didn't dare imagine.
"Why don't I stay behind?" After much internal struggle, the young girl finally decided. "Second brother and third brother go deliver goods. Remember to get me some cotton clothes on your way back."
"No, I'll stay behind," Zheng Ruqian said righteously. "Little sister bargains the best. I'm afraid I won't get the cotton clothes cheap."
Fang Heng was about to defer when he remembered he was the only one who could drive the donkey cart, so he shut his mouth again.
Seeing they were about to argue,
Xu Mo laughed softly. "Don't worry. With the three of us here, Pang Dashan won't dare to."
"Besides, this is the village entrance. Everyone passing by are fellow villagers. We can ask for help if needed."
"Go on now. Come back soon."
As expected of big brother, he reassured Jiang Sheng's restless heart in just a few words.
She and Zheng Ruqian hugged their bundles and sat on the cart, driven by Fang Heng towards the county town.
The broken temple and three brothers inside grew smaller and smaller, finally becoming a black dot.
Passing through the town, some people who saw the cart full of vegetables were shocked and wanted to buy some.
But the donkey cart didn't even stop in town, heading straight for the county town.
An hour later, the donkey cart stopped at the doorway of Leisure Residence.
Jiang Sheng jumped down with her bundle, waving vigorously when she saw the young waiter who had served her last time. "Little waiter, it's us!"
The waiter also saw them and came over laughing. "Bringing mushrooms?"
Seeing the cart full of eggplants and beans, his eyes widened. "This is all yours?"
"Yes!" Jiang Sheng smiled sweetly. "Brother, is the owner in? We want to give some eggplants and beans to the restaurant."
In theory, Leisure Residence had no lack of eggplants and beans.
But they had an agreement regarding the mushrooms. Now that Jiang Sheng had brought the vegetables to their door, they could buy as long as the price was suitable.
Soon, the owner came in from outside.
He held some beans in one hand and two eggplants in the other, first checking their freshness before nodding. "What's the price?"
Just as Jiang Sheng was about to speak, Zheng Ruqian covered her mouth...
They had conceded too quickly on the mushroom price last time. For the eggplants and beans this time, they couldn't make the first move.
Zheng Ruqian looked a little shy but finally took the lead. "Owner, tell us what price you can give."
The kids were getting smarter.
The owner looked deeply at Zheng Ruqian, smiling as he nodded. "The county price is 1 coin per catty. If you give that price, I might as well buy directly from the county."
After all, he still needed to bargain for profit.
Zheng Ruqian nodded. "Then what price can the owner accept?"
The middle-aged man thought for a moment. "1 coin for 2 catties. You definitely won't like that. Then 2 coins for 3 catties."
Equivalent to 1.5 coins per catty.
Zheng Ruqian could accept this price, but he still wanted to negotiate further. "4 coins for 5 catties. Cheaper than the county, but the owner should also give us some labor fees."
This tug of war was constantly testing each other's bottom line. The seller wanted to sell more, the buyer wanted a cheaper price.
The owner wasn't lacking those couple coins either, but business had its ways. Leisure Residence had always bought vegetables from the county. Suddenly switching suppliers needed a reason.
For example, a cheaper or fresher new supplier.
The vegetables brought by the two children met both criteria, but they were too young. It made one doubt their ability to be long term suppliers.
The middle-aged owner felt he should play it safe and only take the fresh wild mushrooms.
But facing the two pairs of expectant eyes, he nodded despite himself.
Some are born in the mud and grow in the dust. Without an opportunity, perhaps they could never blossom.
Hopefully these two brats wouldn't disappoint him.
Leisure Residence second floor private room. The owner used an abacus, flipping and clacking away.
"4 coins for 5 catties. Total 95 catties of eggplants and beans, so 76 coins by rights. 10 catties of 4 coin per catty mushrooms, 40 coins. Added together is 116 coins."
After calculating clearly, he took out 116 copper coins. Smiling, he said, "My surname is Bai. From now on, send seasonal vegetables to Leisure Residence every two days. Deal?"
Jiang Sheng tucked the money into her clothes, nodding vigorously. "Deal deal deal. Will definitely send to Owner Bai."
"Remember, if you miss a delivery with no reason, our cooperation ends there." Although Owner Bai had given them a chance, he still had principles.
Businessmen cared about profit first after all.
Leaving Leisure Residence,
Jiang Sheng and Zheng Ruqian looked at each other. They saw excitement in each other's eyes.
If selling mushrooms was child's play, then this moment was when they truly obtained an entry pass for business.
As long as they diligently delivered vegetables to Leisure Residence, they'd never starve again.
"Let's use this money to buy cotton clothes, lots and lots of them." Jiang Sheng's ambitions grew. "We earned a net profit of 50 coins this trip. Turning over another batch of cotton clothes could earn quite a bit too."
But when they arrived at the clothing store brimming with excitement to order 50 sets of grey cotton clothes in bulk, the owner told them:
There were none left.
Not a single one.
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