Speaking of Bai Shopkeeper, the cured meat that he had delivered to him in mid-May hadn't moved until June.
Zheng Ruqian thought this source of money was blocked, so he didn't think much about it.
Who would have thought that Bai Shopkeeper took the initiative to find him today, smiling and asking, "Little Zheng, this cured meat of yours, it was really bought on the road to Anshui County?"
Zheng Ruqian was about to nod at first, but suddenly thought of something. He stared with wide eyes.
Was it possible that the reason Bai Shopkeeper hadn't moved for a month was that he thought the cured meat Zheng sold was expensive, and wanted to purchase it himself?
As a result, he didn't find any, so he could only look for Zheng Ruqian again.
"Yes... yes." He nodded, his gaze changing from honest to probing.
Bai Shopkeeper frowned as expected, "It seems the place is quite hidden."
Of course it was hidden, because no one in Anshui County made cured meat at all. All of this was handmade by Pang Dashan.
Zheng Ruqian felt a little heartbroken.
From selling mushrooms at the beginning to now, Bai Shopkeeper had always been a benevolent, kind-looking good person in his heart. As a grateful person, Zheng Ruqian thought of giving him cured meat as soon as he got it. Pulling vegetables diligently for half a year without bringing any rotten leaves.
But at this moment, the image of the good person shattered and overturned.
Zheng Ruqian's eyes were a little moist, but he forcibly held it back.
"That place, I accidentally found it too." His gaze returned to honesty, "Uncle Bai, if you want it, I'll take you there."
There was a flash in Bai Shopkeeper's eyes, and he smiled again soon, "Then that's great."
"At first, I couldn't sell this cured meat at all. I thought no one liked it. Fortunately, a few gourmets who had been to Sichuan ordered it, and others followed the aroma and ordered it too. The five catties of cured meat sold out in a few days."
"This time, just deliver five hundred catties first."
Twenty wen per catty of cured meat, five hundred catties was ten taels of silver.
It was a pretty big deal. In the past, Zheng Ruqian would have just passed on the message and left.
But now, after discovering Bai Shopkeeper's ulterior motives, he hardened his heart and said, "Then Uncle Bai, pay a deposit."
With two taels of deposit in hand, Zheng Ruqian walked out of You Ran Ju, looking up at the blue sky and sighing.
Big brother always said there were no purely good people in this world, nor were there purely bad people.
Now he understood.
The most common thing in this world was people driven by self-interest.
After figuring out this link, Bai Shopkeeper's actions were no longer upsetting.
Zheng Ruqian sniffed and began to think about how to make the cured meat.
If it were before, he would definitely have let Pang Dashan do it.
But the amount of five hundred catties was too large. And You Ran Ju would continue to order more in the future. To steadily produce such quantities for a long time, he had to have someone steadily making it.
So he could only...open a workshop.
When Zheng Ruqian was in Shili Village, he had seen small workshops. Usually several older women steaming buns, or some aunties sewing handkerchiefs. After gathering a batch, they would be purchased wholesale.
Auntie Zhang was like this. Sewing handkerchiefs was already arduous, and she was underpaid by middlemen. She could only earn meager wages.
If pork in Xieyang County was also five wen per catty, Zheng Ruqian would be happy to open a workshop in Shili Village.
Unfortunately, only pork from Anshui County had this price.
"What? You want to open a workshop in Anshui County?"
Jiang Sheng siblings exclaimed in unison, their faces full of surprise.
Oh no, second brother's landlord dreams were too big. Not only did he start signing labor contracts, he also wanted to open a workshop.
Workshops needed workers and space. Without several dozen taels of silver, it couldn't be done. If it earned money that would be good, but if it didn't, those dozens of taels would be sunk costs.
Jiang Sheng covered her little purse and refused to part with it no matter what.
"Just You Ran Ju in Xieyang County ordered five hundred catties. If I cooperate with You Ran Ju in Anshui County, I can make a thousand catties. Calculate how much profit that is." Zheng Ruqian patiently persuaded, "If I don't open a workshop, I'll work myself to death and still can't make thousands of catties of pork."
Even if the whole family, including Big Brother, abandoned his pen to cure pork, they couldn't do it.
"But you don't know anyone in Anshui County. Who would you hire?" Jiang Sheng refused to give up and wanted to advise again.
Zheng Ruqian had also considered this issue. The people he knew were all in Xieyang County. He had a few enemies but no acquaintances in Anshui County.
"What do you think about Uncle Zhang?" Fang Heng, who had been practicing martial arts, suddenly interrupted.
Zhang Qiquan.
It had been half a year since he last caught a tiger in the mountains. There had been no movement in the traps on the mountain.
Jiang Sheng had suspected Zhang Qiquan embezzled the prey for a time. But Fang Heng deliberately went up the mountain to check, and the traps were still the ones he had set, with no signs of being moved.
It was clear that hunting was a very unstable thing. Zhang Qiquan was a man with brains, ideas and some knowledge. He would certainly find other ways to continue earning money to support his family.
"I don't like how he stole Little Jiang Sheng's business. " Zheng Ruqian said honestly, "But he treated Aunt Cui Er well. I think a man who is good to his wife probably won't be cruel and ruthless."
"But Anshui County is very far after all. It's still a question whether he's willing to go or not."
The Jiang Sheng siblings were go-getters. Since they were already considering hiring Zhang Qiquan, they would go to Shili Village and find out.
But before that, there was something even more important to do.
Zheng Ruqian coaxed and coerced, "Little Jiang Sheng, Pang Dashan took the donkey cart to deliver vegetables. We can't walk back to Shili Village, can we?"
Moreover, this was a glorious return home, it wouldn't be appropriate to take a donkey cart. At least they needed a carriage.
Zheng Ruqian would still need it to go to the county seat in the future.
Although reluctant, Jiang Sheng also knew this was the truth. She shakily took out ten taels of silver and bought the cheapest carriage.
The six siblings, with Fang Heng whipping the horse, rode from Xieyang County to Shili Village.
This was the first time they had returned since their humiliating departure.
Jiang Sheng was relatively calm at first, but slowly became anxious, nearly biting her lower lip swollen.
"What are you afraid of, Little Jiang Sheng?" Wen Zhiyun gently asked.
Was it homesickness?
Jiang Sheng didn't know either. There were actually few good people to her in Shili Village. The only one worth missing was Auntie Zhang.
But she did beg here for many years, growing from an ignorant little girl to a graceful young lady.
"Don't be afraid." This time it was Wen Zhiyun comforting his sister, "We're all here."
Only then did Jiang Sheng calm down, lying on the carriage window staring blankly outside.
She didn't know how long passed before she saw the familiar Shili market, the uncle selling meat, the auntie selling vegetables.
After another half an hour, the dilapidated temple was within reach.
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