Chapter 55: Chapter 055: Grand Opening
Translator: 549690339
The tofu was sold out early, and Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui had bought a few items and were on their way home.
By the time they reached their front door, Mrs. He was already waiting for them.
“Miss Ning, Miss Sui.” Seeing the two sisters return, Mrs. He greeted them from afar and took two steps forward: “You two are finally back.”
“Auntie.” Zhuang Qingning smiled: “What brings you here? By the way, where’s Uncle He? How did the tofu sell today?”
“I’m waiting here just to mention this.” Mrs. He’s face was beaming with a smile, almost overflowing: “Your uncle went to sell tofu today, using your method of ‘try before you buy’, the tofu sold quite well. He didn’t even finish going around another village outside of ours, and it was sold out in just over an hour.”
“Looking at this situation, we won’t have trouble selling tofu in the future!”
As she spoke, Mrs. He led Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui forward: “You two hurry back and put the things away. I bought a large intestine to stew today. Let’s go to my house for lunch.”
“Coincidentally, I have something to discuss with Uncle He and Auntie. Let’s go to Auntie’s house for lunch.” Zhuang Qingning took out a fish she bought in town: “I bought this fish in town a while ago. Auntie, you can stew it for lunch. We can eat it together.”
“Keep this fish for dinner. You’re being invited over for a meal at our house, you shouldn’t have to provide food.” Mrs. He said while pushing Zhuang Qingning’s hand down, and casually put the fish in the basin in the kitchen.
Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui came back by bullock cart, not too much time was wasted, so the fish wasn’t quite dead yet. Shortly after it was placed in the water, it flicked its tail and began to swim.
In this case, it could be eaten at night or even the next day.
Seeing Mrs. He insist, Zhuang Qingning didn’t say much more. She simply put things away before heading to Mrs. He’s house with her.
Seeing Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui come home, Zhuang Yonghe quickly stopped weaving his half-finished straw sandals, slapped the dust off his hands: “Miss Ning, Miss Sui.”
“Uncle He.” Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui both greeted in unison.
Zhuang Minghao brought over small stools and poured a cup of tea for the two: “Big Sister Ning, have some tea. Sister Sui, have some tea.”
“Minghao seems to be growing up.” Zhuang Qingning said thanks and laughed.
Zhuang Minghao looked at Zhuang Yonghe before laughing: “If you ask me, it’s Big Sister Ning who has good eyesight. She can tell at a glance that I’ve grown up. I’m not a little kid anymore. Yet, my parents still think I’m a child and worry about everything.”
“Dad, you heard that, right? Big Sister Ning says I’m a grown-up now, so in the future, whatever chores there are at home, let me do some. My build is no worse than my elder brother’s.”
“Alright, I’ll let you do chores.” Zhuang Yonghe glanced at Zhuang Minghao without enthusiasm.
This second son was not bad, but his character was somewhat lively and full of laughter, though he was well-liked, he lacked the steadiness of Zhuang Mingliang, always giving people a sense of unease.
“Stop whining and fetch some peanuts and sunflower seeds for Miss Ning and Miss Sui. Also, go to the kitchen and help your mother with the fire.”
“Alright.” Zhuang Minghao quickly handed over the peanuts and sunflower seeds, then went to the kitchen to help.
In his comings and goings, he moved like a whirlwind.
“This child always complains that people don’t trust him, yet with his impatience, who can feel reassured?” Zhuang Yonghe laughed and handed peanuts and sunflower seeds to Zhuang Qingning and Zhuang Qingsui.
“We aren’t strangers, Uncle, so there’s no need to be so polite.” Zhuang Qingning accepted the peanuts and sunflower seeds, saying as she did so.
“I’m just afraid that if I’m not polite, you will be.” Zhuang Yonghe sat down and said, “Today, your Auntie invited you over for a meal. Firstly, to thank Miss Ning for entrusting the tofu business to our family. Secondly, to celebrate the success of our first day.”
“Thirdly, to settle accounts with you. This is the money we made from today’s tofu sales, a total of thirty-five coins. Count it.”
Thirty-five coins, going by the agreed twenty percent to Zhuang Yonghe, Zhuang Qingning left seven coins and put the rest into her purse.
At the same time, she laughed and said, “I heard from Auntie that business was good today.”
“Yes.” Zhuang Yonghe nodded, “Miss Ning, your method is really good. Letting people try before they buy. It makes customers feel reassured, and even more so when they buy. One household bought up to six jin of tofu.”
In one day, she made seven coins. This was much more than what she could earn from weaving straw sandals, and even more than working in town. The ease of making money made Zhuang Yonghe excited to the point that his nose turned somewhat red.
“Opening day went well, and the business is good, which is a great thing. But, there are some things I also wanted to discuss with Uncle.”
Zhuang Qingning smiled, “Concerning the tofu, you should keep to the daily quantity of forty jin for now. Whether it sells fast or is not enough, doesn’t matter. If it sells out, simply return home early.”
“Doing this serves two purposes. Firstly, it lets the customers remember us so that our tofu will sell faster in the future. It prevents us from struggling to sell the tofu when the quantity increases.”
“The second point, which is also very important, is that I plan to use this opportunity to establish a good reputation for our tofu and make it well-known, letting others recognize that the tofu we make tastes good. Gradually, people will come to buy from us, so we don’t always have to traverse the streets and alleys, which can be exhausting.”
“I understand what Miss Ning is saying.” Zhuang Yonghe, who was in his thirties, understood what Zhuang Qingning was talking about and nodded: “People are generally lazy. If you shout at them every day to buy, people don’t want to travel. They just wait for you to bring it to them. But if there is a shortage, people will remember to come to us to buy.”
“In the future, when our tofu is well-known, we can make it booming even just by sitting at home.”
“Exactly.”
Zhuang Qingning smiled, “Additionally, there’s another matter I’d like to ask for Uncle’s assistance.”
“Just tell me what it is, there’s no need to make it seem like a major inconvenience,” Zhuang Yonghe said.
“Given the large amount of tofu we’re now producing, we also use a lot of beans. I previously bought them directly in town, but now if I continue to buy from the town, it’s inconvenient to transport back, and the price is also high. So, I think it’s better to directly buy beans from our village, which is faster and cheaper.”
Zhuang Qingning continued, “I’m thinking of asking you, Uncle, to help me. Gather some beans from the village from time to time for daily tofu production.”
Purchasing beans is a simple matter as long as you have money, there is always someone selling. But Zhuang Qingning, although she has her own household, is still a young, alone child. She fears that others might take advantage of her youth and cheat her in pricing or measurements. Therefore, she entrusted this task to him..
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