This was still under Plum's limited situation and couldn't make big profits.
As expected, thin profits but quick turnover was the way to go.
When they rented the house, they thought 800 taels a year was expensive. But now, they had earned back the cost in just a few months and had a net profit of over 1,000 taels. This was really beyond everyone's expectations.
Jiang Sheng stood at the door of the main hall, her eyes slightly wet.
She remembered when the siblings used to deliver vegetables and mushrooms, they would only earn a few taels of silver a year.
Later, Zheng Ruqian dared to hire people to deliver vegetables, and could barely earn a few dozen or hundreds of taels.
After that, when they opened the workshop, the net profit could maintain 200-300 taels per year. Added up together, it was not a small amount of money.
Unfortunately, before it could heat up, Zheng Ruqian bought another yard and ice blocks, opened the Jiuzhen Store, and also brought a Wen's Clinic for the Fourth Brother along the way.
It seemed like the family had been making money all along, but they never managed to save anything.
Until now, they finally saw real, tangible silvers.
In just three months, there was a net profit of over 1,000 taels. One could only imagine how much they could earn in a year, and the thought was exhilarating.
Zheng Ruqian also noticed Jiang Sheng at the door. He put down the abacus, pushed the two banknotes forward, his straight face full of seriousness, "Little Jiang Sheng, I've earned back all the money Second Brother spent."
Jiang Sheng took two steps forward and grabbed the cold banknotes. Although her nose felt sour, she still curved her round eyes into a crescent.
How nice. They also had a lot of money now.
There would be even more in the future, more and more that they couldn't count.
By the time the dishes were served, Jiang Sheng still hadn't recovered from the huge pleasant surprise. She held on to the banknotes and refused to let go.
Zheng Ruqian smiled beside her. What could they do when there was a money fanatic in the family?
The other brothers also laughed, except Wen Zhiyun's face showed a trace of bewilderment.
It was almost time for the dishes to be served, yet he was still fiddling with his sleeve and said softly, "Second brother, Jiang Sheng, my clinic hasn't earned much money."
Jiang Sheng's smile suddenly faded.
She had calculated the workshop's earnings, the Jiuzhen Store's earnings, the huge earnings from the Shan brothers who delivered vegetables, even the earnings from the beans in Xieyang County. The only thing she forgot to calculate was the Fourth Brother's Wen's Clinic. No wonder she felt something was off.
"Little Four, it doesn't matter if the clinic didn't earn much," Zheng Ruqian was unusually generous. "As long as you can still earn a little without losing money, that's fine."
Wen Zhiyun pouted and said nothing.
It was then the servant girl Wang Xiaozhu who had served dishes walked over and blandly said, "Whenever Little Doctor Wen sees poor people, he gives free treatment. Sometimes he even provides medicine at a loss. It would be weird if he could earn any money."
His embarrassing shortcoming was exposed just like that. Wen Zhiyun was too ashamed to lift his head. He kept fiddling with his handkerchief.
Before opening the clinic, Little Four Wen didn't know there were so many poor people in Fengjing.
It was all because of the free clinic he provided in the first three days of the grand opening. Many commoners with chronic illnesses came for treatment but didn't take any medicine. They only wanted to know when they would die.
Wen Zhiyun felt bitter inside, but remembered his father's earnest teachings. So he picked some extremely difficult cases from the commoners and provided free medicine for them until they recovered.
"I originally intended to let the female physicians earn back the money through massage, but Wen's Clinic didn't have a famous reputation yet and no one asked for the female physicians. In these days, whatever money the clinic earned, apart from buying new medicine, almost all went out as subsidies." He explained softly.
Because he felt guilty towards his brothers, sisters and siblings, Wen Zhiyun's voice got smaller and smaller until he was ashamed into silence.
Everyone else was working hard to earn money. Second brother even went far away to Hebei Commandery and became skin and bones.
His little sister was the youngest, yet bargained with You Ran House several times just to get better profits.
Whereas he was so useless. Not only were his mediocre medical skills lacking, the clinic he opened couldn't even earn money. He was a completely useless waste.
But could Wen Zhiyun regret it? Whenever he remembered the dying commoners regain vitality and the poor having a chance to get treated, he couldn't regret it.
Kindness ran in the family.
Not knowing who, someone sighed as they recalled the past.
Back then, Doctor Wen could treat Mr. Xu's leg even when wearing patched up clothes. Why couldn't they provide free treatment now? Why couldn't they provide free medicine?
It wasn't that they were so poor they couldn't put food on the table or afford meals.
Zheng Ruqian was the first to realize this. He walked to the frail Little Four and patted his shoulder, speaking boldly, "Little Four, just go ahead and do as you see fit. Second Brother will earn money behind the scenes for you all to spend."
What was the meaning of family?
It meant when you were flustered, someone made plans for you. When you were in trouble, someone helped you through. When you were poor, someone took out money to tell you -- don't worry, I will always support you from behind.
Even the little money fanatic Jiang Sheng earnestly nodded her head, "That's right, Fourth Brother. We never intended for the clinic to earn money in the first place. It was mainly for you to improve your medical skills."
Wen Zhiyun almost burst into tears.
The anticipated criticism didn't appear. What replaced it was trust, reliance and support.
He lifted his head. The emotions he had locked away inside him poured out torrentially, and his nose turned sour and throat tight.
"Little Four, go ahead and do as you see fit. The clinic belongs to you. Just boldly do whatever you think is right. Your brothers won't make baseless comments," Xu Mo added in a deep voice.
Zheng Ruqian believed that if Third Old Fang knew about this, he would also lift his stick, yell loudly "Third brother always supports Little Four!"
Wen Zhiyun smiled through his tears again. As he kept smiling, his sight blurred once more. He clenched his fists tightly and admonished himself -- he must not fail his family's trust and could no longer let Wen's Clinic operate at a loss.
After some time, Auntie Zhang and Wang Xiaozhu brought over the last two bowls of soup to see a group of children standing separately. They hurriedly called out, "Sit down quick, time to eat!"
Wen Zhiyun sat back down beside Jiang Sheng and bashfully accepted the soup Auntie Zhang ladled for him. He took a small sip and tasted the flavor of home.
After the meal with its five flavors, everyone was full. Jiang Sheng was even patting her stomach. It was only then that Chang Yan, who had been silent all along, sidled up to the Fourth Brother and softly said, "Want the clinic to earn big money so you can continue subsidizing the poor?"
Wen Zhiyun turned back in surprise.
Chang Yan didn't say anything, just quirked his eyebrows.
In an instant, time flowed back as if to when they used to trick Zhou Zhiqiang.
One dared to goad while the other dared to act.
But back then, the villagers were easy to fool and their targets were all wicked people.
Here in prosperous Fengjing, who could they target? And whose money could they earn?
But out of trust, Wen Zhiyun nodded without hesitation.
The two smiled at each other knowingly.
Two days later, the Gao brothers drove two horse carts fully loaded with Plums and rushed to Fengjing, barely replenishing the depleted Plum stock at Jiuzhen Store, allowing sugar-roasted Plums to continue shining brightly in Fengjing.
Zheng Ruqian also packed up and bade farewell to his brothers in a serious manner, "I have to leave again for some time."
Jiang Sheng tilted her head and asked, "Big brother's exam is at the end of February. You're leaving at the end of January for such a short period. Will you be back in time?"
Zheng Ruqian was silent for a bit before softly replying, "I won't be coming back."
The whole family simultaneously lifted their heads.
Their eyes were filled with shock.
