vrcanaries Chapter 129 Wholesale in Progress
Chapter 129 Wholesale in Progress
On a deep winter morning, before dawn, the view outside the window was a heavy gray-blue.
The cold wind howled across the rooftops, making a low, mournful sound.
Thick frost covered the windows, and occasionally a few leaves were blown by the wind and pattered against the windows.
It was bitterly cold outside, but inside Hua Yuansheng's kitchen, a lively and bustling scene unfolded.
The kitchen door was tightly closed, but a sliver of warmth wafted through the crack.
The large iron pot on the stove was bubbling and steaming, filled with bubbling syrup.
In another pot temporarily set up next to it, the fried rice puffs emitted a unique aroma that permeated the entire kitchen.
In front of the stove, Hua and Qiu were busy, their calloused hands holding large iron ladles, constantly stirring the syrup in the pot.
Despite it being the dead of winter, a few beads of sweat clung to her face, and her hair, damp with sweat, clung slightly to her forehead.
Beside her, Hua Lichu, wearing a dark blue cotton-padded jacket with her sleeves rolled up high, was holding a kitchen knife and cutting the rice candy she had already made into equal-sized pieces.
Hua Antao, along with Li Xiangwen and Li Xiangwu, sat at the table and wrapped the cut rice candy pieces into oil paper.
Simple actions, because they need to be repeated a lot, don't seem so easy.
Within ten minutes or so, Hua Antao would stand up and take over from Hua Lichu, letting her wrap the oil paper while she cut it herself.
The youngest, Li Xiangxue, stuffed a thick piece of firewood into the stove, and after making sure the fire was the right size, he quickly ran out of the kitchen to add fuel to the other stove.
It turned out that, in order to meet the deadline, Hua Yuansheng and Li Liangping made jelly and rice candy in front of a makeshift stove during the summer vacation.
Suddenly, Hua Lichu stopped what she was doing and glanced at her watch:
"Oh dear, it's almost 6 o'clock. Everyone's been busy all night. Let's all take a rest and have some breakfast. Otherwise, when the people picking up the goods arrive, we'll be busy again."
Hua Lichu would have been better off not saying anything.
As soon as he said that, several thunderous sounds immediately rang out from the kitchen.
Hua Antao looked at the baskets piled up in the room, each one filled with rice candy wrapped in oil paper, each one seemingly gleaming with gold.
I got up and opened the smallest pot. The pot was filled with white rice porridge. The porridge had been cooked until it was thick and the rice grains were almost dissolved. A layer of fine rice oil floated on the surface, emitting an enticing aroma.
He then bent down and opened the small earthenware pot next to the stove, which was specially simmered in a boiler and contained round eggs.
The Hua Li Chu sisters picked up bowls, filled them with porridge, and gave each person two eggs: "Eat these to fill your stomachs first."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Yan Moli's familiar voice came from outside the door: "Am I coming in?"
She didn't come alone; two little tails followed behind her.
The mother and her two children were carrying loads of food, all of it breakfast.
After putting her things down, Yan Moli went back.
Hungry, Hua and Qiu drank a mouthful of piping hot white porridge and let out a comfortable sigh: "So good!"
Hua Antao smiled and said, "If it tastes good, drink more!"
To be honest, Hua Lichu originally planned to teach Hua Heqiu how to make rice candy, so that she could make it at home and sell it wholesale to the villagers, just like she did with jelly.
But Hua and Qiu absolutely refused.
He insisted on saying, "My family was poor during the summer vacation, and I shamelessly took advantage of you a lot, but I didn't help you much."
Although we are still poor, such a thing doesn't happen now!
"If you're too busy, I'll have to stay and help! I can't always take advantage of you!"
Hua Lichu was stunned. She knew all too well how much her aunt loved money.
"Have you thought this through? If you stay and help out, you'll miss out on a chance to make money! Not just 10 yuan, not just 100 yuan, it could be a thousand!"
Hua and Qiu felt sorry for each other, but they didn't regret it: "Didn't Anshan and his wife also not earn any money from the cold noodles? They helped last time, this time it's my turn!"
Not only that, she also comforted Hua Lichu.
"Who says I'm making less money? If I stay here, I can make a lot more rice candy! You can make money just as much by wholesaling it to the villagers, right?"
It's simply a matter of whose pocket the money goes into.
You can never earn all the money in the world.
But relatives who can help each other are invaluable.
Pear and Peach tried their best to help her earn money and support her; she couldn't be a glutton who only took in money and never gave it back.
Li Liangping also said, "We told our families when we came that we would stay here for a few days and go back after we finished our work."
Having said all that, Hua Lichu stopped being coy.
"Okay! Then I'll pay you your wages!"
Hua and Qiu smiled, their eyes narrowing, and pressed on, "How much?"
Seeing the other person's greedy look, Hua Lichu couldn't help but laugh.
But in my heart, I sighed, "These are true family!"
After breakfast, Hua Lichu and her group quickly got back to production.
A moment later, there was a knock on the door, and Hua Anyan's deep voice came from outside: "Pear, it's your village chief uncle. Are you done with your work? Can we make rice and sugar now?"
Hua Lichu wiped the sweat from her forehead and replied, "You guys go line up at the entrance of the main room first, I'll be there soon!"
After saying that, he quickly called Li Liangping and asked him to help carry the baskets of rice candy piled up in the corner of the kitchen to the main room.
Fortunately, Hua Yuanqing was a carpenter, and the family didn't have much else, but they had plenty of baskets and winnowing trays!
After closing the door leading from the main room to the kitchen, Hua Lichu opened the door to the outside of the main room.
Outside the door, the 12 registered households had already lined up.
Hua Lichu pointed to the basket and said, "This load of rice-soaked candy contains 200 packets. You all still remember the wholesale price, right?"
"I remember, 3 cents!"
"Well, we're all from the same village, so we need to agree on the prices beforehand."
"We sell it for 4 cents."
"Well, but I have a better suggestion."
"If you sell them individually for 50 cents a pack, and then offer a buy-four-get-one-free deal, it's still 40 cents a pack on average, but customers will feel like they're getting a great deal," Hua Lichu suggested.
The villagers' eyes lit up instantly.
Wonderful!
No wonder pears can make money; their minds are much sharper than others!
Hua Lichu smiled and asked Hua Anyan, who was ranked first, "Uncle Anyan, how many letters do you want?"
Fearing that everyone might be unsure, Hua Lichu suggested, "Those of you who are going nearby can take less."
Anyway, I'm staying here and I'm not going anywhere. If it sells well, I'll come back and restock once it's sold out.
But she underestimated everyone's confidence in rice bubble candy.
No, to be precise, it's confidence in her.
Hua An Yan replied without hesitation, "Give me four!"
"I want to take on one!"
"I want to take on one!"
The people behind them were surprised to hear that everyone was picking and choosing.
He snapped, "You bunch of animals, leave me some!"