It is said that heaven helps those who help themselves.
Since Zheng Ruqian left after the new year, Jiang Sheng has been busy scheming to get the pastries from Jiuzhen Store onto the dinner tables of the madame of prominent families, running around in circles until her little face sharpened.
Fortunately, the results were not bad. With some overt and covert assistance, pastries from Jiuzhen Store were gradually ordered by prominent families.
As a wanderer who grew up eating bitterness, Jiang Sheng did not have any thoughts of getting rich overnight. She was very satisfied that the custom pastries could sell this well.
At the end of February, Jiuzhen Store started taking inventory. Jiang Sheng tiptoed and leaned on the table, her plump little fingers nimbly flipping the beads on the abacus, making a crisp sound.
Da Ya and Miao Zhaoying stood on the side and stared at her from time to time in astonishment. They were obviously still not used to the days of earning money with their own hands.
Only Zhang Xianglian smiled gracefully as she tidied up.
First take inventory of the candied chestnuts. As the icon product of Jiuzhen Store, they are always in short supply every day and only limited quantities are sold.
The root cause is still that Hebei Commandery is too far away. With the Gaos running back and forth day and night with a carriage each, even with such hustling, it still takes thirty to forty days for a single trip.
Fortunately, the carriages were changed to grain carriages for transporting food. The two carriages can carry a total of four thousand catties. After deducting expenses like oil, sugar, labor etc, there is still a profit of about a hundred or so taels. It can be considered a break-even business.
The glutinous rice date cake and the rock sugar haw candy maintained a profit of two to three hundred taels as usual.
The profit margin of the pastries made in cooperation with You Ran House is quite high instead, reaching about five hundred wen per serving. But the quantity is limited. This month, it earned about fifty taels of silver.
Then comes the most exciting custom pastries. Jiang Sheng took a deep breath and calculated even more carefully.
The price of custom pastries is exorbitant, with one tael of silver only able to buy one serving. After deducting the cost of raw materials and custom molds, the net profit per serving is around eight hundred wen. If there are customers who order repeatedly and the custom molds can be exempted, then the raw material costs can almost be ignored and the net profit is close to one tael of silver.
After calculation, more than eighty servings of pastries were custom made and sold in the past twenty days, with a net profit of no less than seventy-seven taels of silver.
In comparison, custom pastries and pastries specially supplied to You Ran House make more profit, but ordinary pastries have a larger sales volume and are more tiring.
After Zhang Xianglian prepares breakfast for her children every day, she comes to Jiuzhen Store. When Miao Zhaoying and her daughter wake up from sleeping on the floor mat, they start getting busy, stir-frying brown sugar, steaming pastries, and frying fruits.
They stay busy until the sun is high in the sky. They need to prepare about three hundred catties of goods before they can officially open for business.
After that, the pastries are consumed little by little. Zhang Xianglian is responsible for replenishing goods, Miao Zhaoying is responsible for stir-frying chestnuts. They can take a breather after all one hundred catties of candied chestnuts are sold.
In contrast, custom pastries and pastries specially supplied to You Ran House take up half an hour at most each day, which can be said to save time and effort.
After Jiang Sheng closes the books, she starts planning the bonus and wages.
Miao Zhaoying and her daughter swallow their saliva again, and even their breathing becomes much softer.
Jiuzhen Store’s net profit this month totals four hundred and fifty taels of silver. First deduct the monthly pay of the Gao brothers. They get five taels each year, plus two taels per trip, so four taels need to be deducted in total.
Miao Zhaoying and her daughter’s part is more complicated. Jiang Sheng thought again and again, used scissors to cut off a tael of silver and put it on the small scale to weigh it, then felt its weight with her hands. Finally, under the expectation of all, she cut off another tael.
Although Da Ya didn’t do much work, she did contribute effort after all. And her mother had no money to live on, with all food and shelter provided by Jiuzhen Store. She still owed the store five taels of wages too.
Last month three taels were repaid. This month, the remaining two taels were repaid. Jiang Sheng gave them another two taels.
Of the remaining four hundred and forty-four taels of silver, Zhang Xianglian got ten percent as technical dividend. That should be forty-four taels and four hundred copper coins. Jiang Sheng generously gave forty-five taels.
After distributing the silver to each person, Zhang Xianglian was still relatively calm, while Da Ya was already jumping for joy.
Two taels of silver was not enough to rent a yard in Fengjing, nor enough to have a meal at You Ran House. But it was the foundation for her and her mother’s survival, the reward of life after their brave departure.
“Mother, we have money now. We really have money now!” She yelled happily.
Miao Zhaoying wiped the corners of her eyes, choking up several times. “We have to thank the owner. Without you all, how would we have today?”
Jiang Sheng cradled her cheek and did not speak.
It was Zhang Xianglian who said earnestly, “Our help was coincidental. The key lies in you two having the determination.”
Outsiders can only help you live a little better and more smoothly.
The fundamental choices are still in your own hands. Destiny is always in the hands of the individual.
Only when one truly breaks through, makes choices, lets go, can life have new possibilities.
Like the reborn Zhang Xianglian, the busy but fulfilled Miao Zhaoying and her daughter, as well as the Zhang Qiquan couple who felt lightened all over after abandoning filial piety.
Jiang Sheng fiddled with the nearly four hundred taels of silver left after dividing the bonuses, waiting for Miao Zhaoying and her daughter to calm down before softly saying, “Auntie, we need to hire more people.”
“Also, Aunt Miao can’t keep sleeping on the floor mats of Jiuzhen Store forever. You have to rent a new yard.”
The people Zhang Xianglian helped were all pitiful souls, and the most obvious characteristic of these pitiful people was that they were poor, they had no money.
Jiuzhen Store could not directly give away money, nor could it give away free meals, but it could provide a room for the homeless and provide them with a livelihood sufficient for survival.
Even if profits decrease every year because of this, it is still all worth it to see Zhang Xianglian regain hope, and see Da Ya so happy that she cries.
“Little Jiang Sheng, you are the most conscientious owner I have ever seen.” Aunt Zhang murmured at the side. Her face was filled with gratification and satisfaction, mixed in was pride in glory by association.
Is that so? Conscientious?
Jiang Sheng had not thought so much about it. She put down the abacus, took three steps to the entrance of Jiuzhen Store, and felt the warm and bright sunlight. Then she recalled the wish she had made when she was on the verge of death.
I hope no one will go hungry in the future.
As an ordinary person who struggled to survive, Jiang Sheng did not have the ability to reach heaven, no shocking background, nor outstanding talents. All she had preserved was the kindness in her heart, and five brothers who supported her without hesitation.
That was all.
In the sunlight, the plump little girl seemed to be covered in a layer of gold. Her translucent skin made her look agile. Her simple expression left her without any impurities.
The only thing that brought some dust was that when she looked into the distance, yearning and anticipation would surface in her big eyes.
“Big brother will soon take the imperial examination. Fourth and fifth brother are promoting female doctors. Second and third brother, how are you doing out there?”
Are you okay?
No.
On the carriage, Zheng Ruqian sneezed three times in a row. His spit almost got the horse’s butt wet before he barely stopped.
Wang Xiaosong covered his face with his sleeve and said disgustedly, “Boss, why do you sneeze every day? Who’s cursing you from behind?”
“Bah, it’s because my sister is missing me.” Zheng Ruqian said coldly with a laugh. “You didn’t even sneeze once. Could it be that Little Zhu doesn’t miss you?”
Wang Xiaosong, who was still lively just now, suddenly wilted.
Wuwu, sister doesn’t miss me.
That said, it had been over a month since the two left the capital. They traveled northward, eating wind and sleeping in the open. They stopped in three cities, and purchased ice cellars and hired long-term workers to transport goods to Fengjing in each one. Everything went quite smoothly.
The only problem was when they entered the northern borderlands and tried to locate the stationed army. No matter how they searched, they could not find a trace of them.
After asking around, they finally learned that the army had clashed with the Northern Nomads again and had been fighting for over a month.
