Chapter 197: Today is not as good as the next day
Chapter 197: Today is not as good as the next day
Li Changle listened to the discussions of the old ladies, picked up the oilcloth bag and moved it into the house. When she went in, she found that Zhou's mother had already copied out the storefront.
We also hired someone to make shelves, and in the middle of the room was a set of rectangular display cabinets that were separated by wooden boards and looked like cubicles, and were covered with glass lids.
He didn't expect that his mother-in-law would do so much with just one sentence from him. He was glad that he started preparing the food when he returned, otherwise he would have been too embarrassed to even enter the house.
Zhou Ruonan took the net bag containing chickens and ducks and the bamboo basket containing duck eggs, picked up the yellow bag, and went to move the backpack full of things. Zhou's mother hurried forward to help.
"Why are there chickens and ducks? Oh, and you took so many eggs, why don't you let your mother-in-law keep them for herself?"
"I told them, they insisted on giving it to me, I had no choice!" Zhou Ruonan said happily, "The duck was given by A-Le's friend's grandmother, and the duck eggs too. Those things were given by my mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law."
"My two sisters-in-law also took things? How can I be so embarrassed?"
"My sister-in-law asked me to help sell some dried food. They are all dried at home. Let me send them to you to try."
"If I don't help you sell dry goods, I'll also sell side dishes!"
"That's different. Selling small dishes only takes a whole morning, and you'll be tied up in the store all day. You won't have time to play cards with your old sisters."
As soon as Zhou Ruonan entered the door, she was stopped by Li Changle, "Anan, look, mother has done all the preparations, and we can display the goods today."
"Ah! Mother is so fast!" Zhou Ruonan looked at the shelves and containers in the room in surprise, then turned to look at Li's mother, her eyes feeling a little hot.
"The house is empty anyway. If you want to sell dry goods to make money, of course I will support you." Zhou's mother happily carried the chickens and ducks to the backyard.
"Mom!" Zhou Ruonan hurriedly followed with a backpack, and Li Xiaohai and his brother also ran into the house.
Li Changle paid the fare to the driver, went back to open a bag of dried goods, took out the dried mackerel inside, put it in the display cabinet, and closed the lid.
There are only six varieties in total: water chestnuts, green mullets, horse mackerel, dried shrimp, dried eel, and dried oyster meat. It will take some effort to fill all the cabinets.
Li Changle tied the bag of dried oyster meat, intending to save half of the bag for her mother-in-law to eat slowly.
All the oysters in the cave, except those that are out of reach, have been chiseled out. It is unknown how long one will have to wait before eating such delicious and thick dried oyster meat.
Li Changle laid out the dry goods before Zhou Ruonan and her mother came out of the house.
She looked through several varieties of dried goods one by one and nodded with satisfaction.
"There are too few dried mackerel, dried eel, dried water bream, and dried shrimp. Only dried oysters can be sold for a while. Go back and dry some yellow croaker and cuttlefish. You need to get more dried and send them over."
These days, after closing her stall, she takes her two children to the stalls and shops selling dried goods and finds that dried yellow croaker, mackerel heads, dried shrimps, dried eels, and dried cuttlefish are all selling well.
Li Changle nodded. "These are the fish that we caught before the typhoon and are now drying. I kept several hundred kilograms of silver pomfret from the fish that I caught yesterday, and I also peeled and dried the mantis shrimp."
"My eldest and second brothers are out fishing today. Let's go back to the dock and take a look. If we find something suitable, we can collect some other species, dry them, and send them to us."
Zhou Ruonan smiled and said, "Mother, those silver pomfret are great. They were all caught that day. They were killed and marinated last night. This morning, they were all dried in my house and Awei's house."
"If you can ensure the quality, I will be confident to help you sell the products." Zhou's mother happily opened the door. "There is no better day than today. Let's start selling today."
"Okay!" Li Changle saw that the cabinet had wheels on its legs, "Should we put it in the house, or pull it out?"
"Pull it outside, and people who go to the market to buy vegetables will see it at a glance."
As soon as the container was pulled outside, several neighbors came over when they saw they had set it up.
"Ah Xia, are these from your son-in-law's family?"
"Yes! Their boat is a small wooden boat and cannot sail far into the ocean. All these dried goods are fresh goods caught that day and then dried in the sun."
"This is good. The ones on ocean-going ships have been frozen for days and are not fresh at all. It's a pity that your son-in-law's home is too far from Lucheng, otherwise it would be convenient for us to eat fresh food."
Zhou Ruonan smiled and said, "Grandma Yan, what kind of seafood do you like? I'll bring it to you next time I come back."
"That's great. Sea bass, octopus, blue crab, cuttlefish, yellow croaker, sea bass, etc. are all fine."
"We catch these all the time, and we'll bring them to you next time we come."
At this time, the neighbor A Xiang Po came over and asked, "A Xia, do you have dried shrimps?"
"Yes, A Xiang Po." Zhou Ruonan scooped up a few dried shrimps with a spoon and handed them to her. "I didn't bring much this time, just over 20 kilograms. They are all fresh shrimps that have been dried in the sun. The shrimp whiskers and shrimp threads have been cleaned up."
After seeing this, Aunt Xiang nodded with satisfaction, "Okay, weigh one pound for me." Then she added, "We have been neighbors for decades, so the price should be more affordable!"
"Don't worry!" Zhou's mother said with a smile, "Two yuan a pound, the same price you saw yesterday but didn't buy. This one at my son-in-law's house is much better than that one."
As she spoke, she took the net bag and put it in, weighed it and put two more in, "My son-in-law dried them at home, and the old neighbor bought them, so he had to give a full amount on the scale."
Aunt Xiang smiled and gave the money. "You and I don't believe it, do you?" Zhou's mother grabbed a handful of dried oyster meat and said to the other old ladies, "Look, the dried oyster meat from my son-in-law's house is thick and bright in color. It's perfect for cooking noodles or porridge."
“This oyster jerky is really good!”
"It's pretty good, much better than what I bought yesterday."
Several old ladies came over and nodded in praise after seeing it.
Li Changle smiled and said, "Grandma, you can buy these dried oysters without worry. There are only four or five hundred kilograms of dried oysters of this quality. Once you sell all of these, you won't be able to find such fresh and good dried oysters anywhere else."
Zhou's mother took it and said, "The price is the same as the good ones in the fresh food shop on the street, one dollar and twenty cents per pound."
"Really? Weigh a pound for me to try at home. If it tastes good, come back and buy more."
"Okay, I'll pack it for you." Li Changle and Zhou Ruonan hurriedly took the net bags to help pack the dried oyster meat.
I sold one pound for 20 cents more than expected, and I could earn an extra 100 yuan from 500 pounds. It's a pity that such good goods will be gone once they are sold out.
A grocer on the street saw a few old ladies gathered there buying dried goods. He went over to see what was going on and bought some mackerel heads, dried eels, and dried oysters.
Li Changle was happy to see that there was finally a buyer who was not a neighbor. He took the net bag and helped to pack and weigh the goods. In total, he sold them for five yuan.
For swordfish and eels, it takes three to three and a half pounds to produce one pound of dried goods. Four to five two-pound eels are sold at 20 cents per pound, and three two-pound eels are sold at 30 cents per pound.
On average, the cost of one pound of dried goods is eight cents, and one pound of dried goods costs one dollar and fifty cents, excluding labor costs, and sells for seven cents more than fresh goods. The price of eels is the same, and one can earn one dollar and fourty cents more for two pounds of dried goods.
Li Changle felt that this deal could be done.
A few grandmas also bought some for a few dollars, and in a short while they sold more than ten dollars. The couple were so happy.
I plan to go to the dock to collect some eels, fresh shrimps and other species to sell in the dry condition when I return.
After seeing off the customer, Li Changle said to Zhou's mother, "Mother, I'll give you the money you paid for the carpenter to make the container."
"You mean these cabinets?" Zhou's mother laughed, "I bought these second-hand shelves and containers from someone, and hired a painter to repaint them twice.
After it was swiped, it looked like new. It only cost me 80 yuan in total. I'll give you the shopping list later."
Li Changle didn't expect that so many cabinets cost so little money. "Old people are more experienced. If it were us, we would have to buy wood and hire someone to make new cabinets."
Zhou's mother said cheerfully, "There are plenty of old cabinets in the supply and marketing cooperative. It won't cost much to buy one from someone you know."
"That requires someone you know well!" Li Changle said gratefully, "Also, my brother and Awei both said that if you help us sell the goods, in addition to the rent, we will also give you a commission..."
"Ah Le," Zhou's mother interrupted him with a smile, "We are all family, so you don't have to give me a cut. The rent for the nearby shops is now thirty yuan a month."
She paused, pointing at a few items of dry goods, "You only have these things, so you don't have to pay me rent this month. Go back and stock up. Starting from next month, you only need to pay me fifty-eight dollars a month, including the rent."
"No, it's too low!" Li Changle shook his head repeatedly, "Except for the rent, the monthly salary is only 28 yuan, which is not even one yuan a day. It should be at least 35 yuan a month."
Zhou's mother laughed and said, "Workers only make about 30 yuan a month, and Anan only makes a little over 10 yuan even if he shouts at the top of his lungs. 28 yuan a month is not a small amount."
"Let's do this for a month. Once you have enough goods, I may not be able to handle it alone. By then, you will have to hire someone to help me."
Li Changle felt that twenty yuan a month was really too little. Besides, it was not his family's business, and he felt really bad about letting his mother-in-law suffer.
"A Le, I have a pension and my medical expenses can be reimbursed. What do I need so much money for? As long as you and An Nan live a good life, I don't want a penny. I will be happy to work for free."
Anan just told her that after Ale's house was renovated, he was very lucky and got a lot of oyster pearls. He earned back all the money he lost for building the house in just one day yesterday.
After making money, he didn't go out to hang out. He was more considerate to her and cared more about his family than before.
As a mother, everything she does is for her children. As long as they are well, she will be happy even if she suffers a little bit.
Li Changle rubbed his sore nose and nodded heavily, "Okay, I'll listen to you. Business is good at the end of the year, so I'll give you a big red envelope."
"Then I'll be waiting!" Zhou's mother said cheerfully, "You guys stay at the shop, I'll go make some snacks for you."
Li Changle said hurriedly: "Mother, we will leave in the afternoon. We have to go to Li's Gold Shop to sell those beads."
"Then you go sell the beads. Anan will watch over the shop while I go knead the powder and make them into round shapes. They will be almost done when you come back after selling them."
"Okay!" Li Changle looked at the time. It was already ten o'clock. He quickly asked Zhou Ruonan to take out the beads and took them to Li's Gold Shop.
(End of this chapter)