“This granddaughter has always been muddle-headed. For the sake of her nephew’s schooling, she forcibly cut off her own son’s chance to study.”
Back then, the old lady had tried to persuade her both openly and subtly, but Shen Yunzhi always replied with the same line:
“I think Hai-ge studies better than Ci-ge. If he truly succeeds in his studies, wouldn’t he take care of me, his aunt?”
Shen Yunzhi knew she had been terrible in the past. Her face flushed with embarrassment. “It was my fault before. Grandmother, please help me.”
The old lady didn’t fully believe Shen Yunzhi had truly let go of the Shen family. But seeing that she was finally planning for herself and her children, she was willing to lend a hand.
“I’ll talk to your mother and stop her from coming to cause trouble again. And since the severance document has been signed, from now on just live your life with your children. Don’t meddle in matters that aren’t yours.”
After chatting a bit longer, Shen Yunzhi stood to leave. The old lady insisted she take back the things she had brought. After some back and forth, Shen Yunzhi pretended to agree. But once she walked about a hundred meters from the gate, she quietly set the items down and hurried away.
The elderly couple exchanged helpless smiles.
This time, Shen Yunzhi truly seemed to have grown up.
Because of the delay, Liu Lihua had gone ahead to set up the stall. By the time Shen Yunzhi arrived, everything had already sold out and they were preparing to close.
The wonton-selling auntie had been waiting for her.
And not just her — the manager of a restaurant also wanted her recipe.
Following the script Song Yinuo had taught her, Shen Yunzhi said:
“There are two options. One, you buy the recipe and make it yourselves. Two, I supply the goods. I only sell the basic ice jelly recipe, fixed price — three hundred taels. If I supply, the basic ice jelly is two wen per serving, and the premium version is five wen per serving.”
The manager frowned.
Three hundred taels for the recipe was indeed expensive. It looked profitable now, but what if she sold it to someone else later? Once too many vendors in town started selling it, profits would shrink.
Supplying was different. If she handled production, it would save them trouble. Their restaurant mainly sold food and wine. Making ice jelly would mean hiring extra hands — another hassle.
After weighing the pros and cons, the manager chose supply.
The wonton-selling auntie couldn’t make up her mind for the moment.
Selling only the basic ice jelly recipe would still taste good — but compared to the premium version, the flavor was slightly inferior. If she truly wanted to make money, the premium version was the way to go.
But if she supplied in bulk, she worried the distance might be too far and delivery might not be timely. In the end, she decided to go back and think it over.
That very day, the shopkeeper placed an order for two large barrels — one basic ice jelly and one premium — and paid the deposit in advance.
Liu Lihua felt a little disappointed. The family could only produce a limited amount of ice jelly each day. Once they began supplying wholesale, they wouldn’t be setting up their own stall anymore, which meant losing half their profit. Selling directly seemed far more worthwhile.
“If we want to grow this business, we have to rely on volume,” Shen Yunzhi said. She had no intention of spending her entire life earning hard-earned pennies from a street stall.
“But can we really produce that much?” Liu Lihua knew exactly how labor-intensive making ice jelly was.
“If we can’t manage, we’ll hire more workers. We’ll just handle deliveries. It’ll actually be easier.”
“For supplying goods… we’ll need a cart, right?”
When they had only a small amount, they could push it themselves with some effort. But once the goods increased and the distance grew longer, relying on their own legs and manpower would no longer work.
Shen Yunzhi smiled. “Since we’re done closing the stall today, let’s go buy a mule and a cart.”
Liu Lihua’s eyes lit up. “We’re really buying one?”
“With a cart, not only will deliveries be easier, but autumn harvest will be much less exhausting too.”
The harvest season was fast approaching. In previous years, Shen Yunzhi would always take Su Jingci back to her natal family to help. The Shen family’s fields were relatively flat, and even so, each harvest left her feeling like she had shed a layer of skin from exhaustion.
The Su family’s land was even worse — some of it lay halfway up a hillside, making the harvest far more difficult.
On the way, Liu Lihua’s smile never faded.
Mules were gentle in temperament and more suitable than donkeys for hauling goods, though they were also more expensive. The asking price was thirty taels. After lengthy bargaining with the broker, Shen Yunzhi managed to lower it to twenty-five.