Chapter 7: Concerns Amidst a Bright Future
During this period, everyone has worked hard, but all the efforts have not been in vain. The bean sprout business is now on the right track, with a steady income coming in every day. Everyone no longer has to worry about not having money to buy food!" Li Xiu said very directly. When speaking to these tenants, there is no need to beat around the bush; one should say what they mean directly so that everyone can understand.
After finishing his words, Li Xiu turned around and laboriously dragged a large burlap sack from behind him. Finally, he managed to pull the sack to the center of the venue, and then continued, "Everyone, over the past half month, we have made quite a bit of money selling bean sprouts. After deducting costs and some necessary expenses, according to the profit-sharing standards that I discussed with Uncle Liu and the others, I am prepared to distribute half of the net profit to everyone!"
Three days later, the second batch of bean sprouts was finally ready. In order to maintain a continuous supply of bean sprouts, Li Xiu had people prepare a new batch every day, so there would be a third batch and a fourth batch tomorrow and the day after tomorrow
The entire Li Family Village consists of only five households, with a total of thirty-seven people of all ages gathered here. At the beginning, the entire granary was in disarray, filled with the noise of children shouting, the chatter of women, and the laughter of men, all rising and falling in succession, until Li Xiu stood up to signal for everyone to be quiet, at which point the granary finally fell silent.
"Uncle Liu, today is just a trial marketing phase, and we can only consider it as a preliminary opening of the market. It will only be when the second batch of bean sprouts is launched in a few days that we can truly say we are making money!" Li Xiu said with a smile. Although Boss Liu did not understand many of the words in his speech, he had already realized that as long as he followed the main family, a bright future awaited them.
After Su Guan Shi finished buying, those who had just tasted the food rushed forward, each taking a pound, completely depleting the more than ten pounds of bean sprouts. In the end, the bean sprouts were sold out, but those who did not manage to buy any surrounded Liu Laoda and his companions, refusing to let them leave. This left Liu Laoda and his two companions feeling both happy and helpless. They shouted that they would definitely return to sell bean sprouts in three days, and that there would be even more available, ensuring everyone would be satisfied. Just then, Wu Hou from the vegetable market arrived, which allowed Liu Laoda and his companions to escape.
"Why can't you sell it to me? Are you not planning to do business?" Su Guan Shi said with a rather displeased expression.
As soon as Li Xiu's words fell, the entire venue was immediately in an uproar. Except for the ignorant children, everyone looked at Li Xiu in astonishment. Although they did not know how much half of the net profit was, just by looking at the weight of the sack in Li Xiu's hand, they could guess that it was certainly a considerable amount, which excited many people.
Su Guan Shi had a hard time encountering such a new vegetable, and what was even more rare was its deliciousness. Therefore, he was ready to buy ten jin at once, after all, the Pei family was large and prosperous, with a multitude of ladies and young masters in the household. Buying too little would simply not be enough to eat, and as for money, there was no need to worry at all; would a dignified prime minister's residence lack money? However, what he never expected was that the other party actually said they could not sell it to him.
Once they heard this, they no longer had to worry about hunger, and everyone present cheered with joy. However, Li Xiu had not finished speaking; he gestured for everyone to quiet down again and continued, "I have seen all your hard work, so the reason I invited everyone here today is for one thing only—dividing the money"
Su Guan Shi was taken aback by Liu Lao Da's words, but soon understood the intentions of the other party's master. It seemed that the other party had considerable ambition. Limited supply would naturally allow more people to taste the deliciousness of the bean sprouts. When they sold them again next time, there would surely be more buyers. It appeared that the other party's master truly knew how to conduct business
Although Pei Ji held a high position and wielded great power, he imposed strict restrictions on the servants in his household, never allowing them to use the Pei family's name to oppress the common people. However, one pound is indeed too little. After considering for a moment, Steward Su suddenly had a clever idea and pointed to the two servants behind him, saying: "We have three people here, each can buy one pound, that should be acceptable, right?"
Today, Li Xiu did not touch the more than 300 wen earned, but instead had Liu Laoda take it to buy beans, primarily mung beans, while the soybeans could be postponed for later. Additionally, Zhang Feng and his brothers had some carpentry skills, so Li Xiu instructed them to make some simple racks. Several women wove flat bamboo baskets, which were then placed layer by layer on the racks. This was Li Xiu's idea for sprouting beans, as the bamboo baskets allowed for ventilation and drainage, making them very suitable for sprouting beans. Therefore, Li Xiu had them make some simple racks, and several women wove flat bamboo baskets, which were then placed layer by layer on the racks. This was Li Xiu's idea for sprouting beans, as the bamboo baskets allowed for ventilation and drainage, making them very suitable for sprouting beans
At present, Li Xiu personally poured the copper coins from the bag and divided them into five portions for Liu Laoda and the others to take away. Each family received more than two guan, which instantly brought the threshing ground to a climax. The elderly laughed, unable to close their toothless mouths, while the children sang and danced. The women excitedly clutched their copper coins, unwilling to let go. Having lived for half a lifetime, it was their first time possessing so many copper coins, and this was only the profit from half a month. If they continued until the end of the year, every household would become wealthy. The children sang and danced, the women excitedly clutched their copper coins, unwilling to let go. Having lived for half a lifetime, it was their first time possessing so many copper coins, and this was only the profit from half a month. If they continued until the end of the year, every household would become wealthy.
Li Xiu looked at the smiling faces around the campfire, and a relaxed expression appeared on his face. As the saying goes, "If you give me a wooden peach, I will repay you with a jade gem." The tenants of Li Family Village brought him two bags of flour when he needed help the most, and in return, he would provide these tenants with a prosperous life. For these tenants, having food and drink is a sign of prosperity, and they would enter an era of abundance years ahead of the other citizens of the Tang Dynasty.
"Master, you did not see how those people were buying things today. At first, no one paid us any attention until my wife finished frying the bean sprouts. Then those people immediately surrounded us and all rushed to buy. After we sold out, they still surrounded us and wouldn't let us leave. It was only when Wu Hou came that we were finally able to depart!" Liu Laoda excitedly recounted his experience of selling bean sprouts to Li Xiu. This was the first time in his life that he had received such attention and welcome from so many people. Meanwhile, Zhang Feng was also sharing their detailed experiences with other tenants, which left them all astonished, clearly indicating that they had never seen such a scene before.
The first batch of bean sprouts has already gained some popularity in the market, so when the second and third batches were released, they were almost instantly snatched up. Some people even stationed themselves at the city gate, ready to rush forward to stop the cart pushed by Old Liu as soon as it passed by, in order to buy bean sprouts. The market was simply too crowded, and the current production of bean sprouts was still insufficient, making it difficult to secure any on many occasions
Observing the joyful expressions of the crowd, Li Xiu once again announced that tomorrow marks the beginning of winter. Therefore, he plans to have someone purchase a pig so that everyone can enjoy a feast of pork, and additionally, distribute some pork to reward everyone. This further ignited the enthusiasm of all, and in the open and free-spirited atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty, many people had already begun to gather around the bonfire, singing and dancing.
When one encounters joyful events, their spirit is uplifted. Liu Laoda and his companions found their steps considerably lighter. Originally, a journey that would take an hour was completed in just over half an hour. At this moment, Li Xiu and several other tenants were waiting in Liu Laoda's courtyard. When Liu Laoda's wife placed the bag filled with copper coins on the table, the sound of the coins clinking echoed, and a hint of a relaxed smile appeared on Li Xiu's face. After arriving in the Tang Dynasty, he had finally resolved his issue of having enough to eat.
The guest misunderstood, as the quantity of bean sprouts we grew this time was not much, totaling only a little over ten pounds. Moreover, our host mentioned that the main purpose of coming to the city this time was to promote the reputation of the bean sprouts, so we can only supply them in limited quantities, with each person allowed to purchase a maximum of one pound at a time. The country man selling vegetables explained apologetically; he was Liu Laoda, along with his brother-in-law Zhang Feng, while his wife was the one cooking. As for the cooking method, it was naturally taught to her by Li Xiu.
Of course, these tasks cannot be completed in just a day or two. In order to prepare the next batch of bean sprouts as soon as possible, while busy with these matters, Li Xiu instructed Liu Laoda to collect some broken jars and pots, stacking them all in a warm room for sprouting the bean sprouts. Due to a shortage of manpower, even the children were mobilized to water the bean sprouts every two hours.
However, amidst the ease in his heart, a flicker of hidden concern suddenly flashed in Li Xiu's eyes. Sometimes, when things go too smoothly, it may not necessarily be a good thing. Perhaps beneath this beautiful prospect lies an unknown danger.
Half a month later, Li Xiu gathered everyone from the Zhuang family together. This time, it was not at Liu Laoda's home, but at the threshing ground outside the village. By this time, it was already evening, and the weather was quite cold, so Li Xiu built a fire in the open space of the ground. Everyone sat around the bonfire. Originally, Li Xiu intended to ask Liu Laoda to buy some cooked meat and other food for everyone to eat and chat, but most people opposed this, citing that it would be too wasteful. Therefore, Li Xiu built a fire in the open space of the ground, and everyone sat around the bonfire. Originally, Li Xiu intended to ask Liu Laoda to buy some cooked meat and other food for everyone to eat and chat, but most people opposed this, citing that it would be too wasteful.
In contrast, although Liu Laoda and several other leading men also displayed excitement, they were at least able to control their emotions, as they had been informed in advance. Even when Li Xiu proposed to share the profits with them, they firmly declined, believing that the solution was conceived by Li Xiu. They felt that for the past half month, they had merely been working for Li Xiu, and thus he only needed to pay them wages, similar to the winter work in the past, where men earned 2 wen per day, and women and children earned 1 wen per day. Calculating this way, each family would earn over 100 wen per month, which was already considered a very generous remuneration.
Although Liu Laoda was a peasant, he had some discernment. He knew that the steward Su, despite being dressed as a servant, commanded a presence that made those around him hesitant to approach when he inquired about prices. It was evident that the master behind him was certainly a prominent figure in the city, so Liu Laoda did not dare to offend him too much. Upon hearing the proposal, he could only nod in agreement and weighed out three jin of bean sprouts, ultimately receiving sixty wen.
Relying on the sale of bean sprouts, Liu Laoda and his group are bringing back more and more coins each time. Although much of it has been used by Li Xiu to purchase various tools, there is still a significant surplus remaining. Moreover, the number of people going into the city to sell bean sprouts is increasing daily. Now, all the men in Li's village have joined the effort, and even some young boys are following their fathers into the city to sell bean sprouts, thus contributing as laborers. The women, on the other hand, rise early and work late to care for the growth of the bean sprouts. The entire village has seemingly transformed into a miniature bean sprout production base.
On the way back, Liu Laoda and Zhang Feng pushed the unicycle while excitedly discussing. His wife was even more thrilled, sitting on the cart, cradling a bag in her arms, counting the copper coins inside one by one. Although it was not her first time seeing so many copper coins, it was the first time she had earned so much money so easily. Previously, when Li Xiu borrowed some beans from her family, she was somewhat reluctant, though she did not dare to express it openly. Little did she expect that those beans, worth only a few coins, would turn into over three hundred coins after a simple transaction. If this business could continue for a long time, how much would they earn?
However, Li Xiu insisted on sharing the profits with Liu Laoda and the others, as selling bean sprouts was originally intended to improve the living conditions in the village, and it could be seen as his way of repaying the favor for the two bags of flour he received earlier. Moreover, for him, the income from selling bean sprouts was insignificant; now that he had capital, he could devise more profitable methods if he wished. However, Liu Laoda and the others felt that this was taking advantage of Li Xiu. After much persuasion from Li Xiu, they finally agreed to accept half of the profits.