eurekapd Chapter 160 Going on a Long Trip?
Chapter 160 Going on a Long Trip?
Song Jiaojiao thought that it was impossible for a hunter's entire family to buy her.
“Madam Song, this family almost starved to death on the road last year when they were fleeing famine. They came from the prefectural government. As you can see, this family has to stay together. There are only two able-bodied people in the family, and the younger children are still young. They haven’t been able to sell them in a year.”
Granny Xu explained.
"You're treating me like a sucker!" Song Jiaojiao said helplessly.
"How could that be? I know you're kind, Madam Song. Although he has a lot of family members, this hunter is quite skilled. If we hadn't run out of food, we wouldn't be in this situation."
Upon hearing Granny Xu's words, Song Jiaojiao glanced at the man.
"What's the biggest game you've ever hunted? And you had to hunt it alone."
"Reporting to Madam, I once hunted down a lone wolf."
The man answered in a loud voice.
Song Jiaojiao: Are all hunting sounds this loud?
The man looked no different from an ordinary farmer, but it seemed that he had lost muscle mass because he hadn't hunted for a year.
"Alright, Granny Xu, you calculate it, and after the transfer is completed tomorrow, send it directly to the estate."
“Well, these two will be 20 taels, and as for this family…” Granny Xu glanced at them, “40 taels will do, that’ll be 75 taels in total.”
Song Jiaojiao took out eighty taels and gave them to Granny Xu. "Keep the change. There's something else I need to trouble you with. I want to buy carriages, about three of them. Could you help me find out and let me know when you have any news?"
"Okay, I'll let you know as soon as I have any news," Granny Xu said with a smile.
Song Jiaojiao left after buying the servants.
Back at the food stall, all I saw was Mu Qing pacing back and forth at the entrance, glancing out with a serious expression every now and then.
"Mu Qing, what's wrong?"
Song Jiaojiao stepped forward with the book in her hand and asked.
It was quite late, and curfew was approaching. Most of the customers had left, with only two or three tables left with takeout orders.
"Mother, you're back. I went to look for you just now and no one was in your room. I thought you must have gone out, but curfew is coming soon, so I'll wait for you here."
Mu Qing breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Song Jiaojiao return.
"I couldn't sleep, so I went out for a walk and bought a few books. How's business tonight?"
Song Jiaojiao raised the book in her hand as she spoke.
"There are even more people than at noon, but the discounts with coupons are still quite substantial," Mu Qing said after thinking for a moment.
"That's normal. Once these few days are over, it won't be this busy anymore."
"It's perfect that you're back. Let's go calculate today's earnings." Mu Qing took Song Jiaojiao's arm and walked into the store.
After the last customer left, Meng An closed the door.
"Meng An, you've had a hard day," Song Jiaojiao said to Meng An with a smile.
Meng An, who had been grilling skewers in the kitchen, still had a rosy blush on his wheat-colored face.
Meng An chuckled sheepishly, “It’s not hard work at all, it’s much easier than hunting.”
"Perfect timing, let's calculate today's revenue."
Mu Qing poured the silver onto the table in the main hall, creating a large pile with a clatter.
A mountain of silver coins came into view.
It was mostly loose silver and a small amount of copper coins; large silver notes were very rare.
Song Jiaojiao distributed the tasks to everyone in the shop. She had already sent the two waiters home, and the rest of the staff were all her own people, so she wasn't worried about them doing anything wrong.
“I have 45 taels, 6 mace, and 28 cash here.”
“I have 67 taels, 9 mace, and 93 cash here.”
“Mother, I have 55 taels and 3 mace here.”
……
After everyone had finished counting, the total came to 267 taels, 8 qian, and 52 wen.
I never imagined that a street food stall could earn so much in a day. This is more than half a day's income I used to make. Keep in mind, this isn't a county seat, it's just a small town.
After deducting the cost, the profit is about 200 taels of silver. No wonder Wang Ziyi and Liu Xuewen both want to open a barbecue restaurant together.
"This is just the income from the first few days after opening; it will decrease later," Song Jiaojiao said with a smile.
Everyone knows that customers might enjoy the novelty at first, but they'll get tired of it after a while. However, we should retain a group of loyal customers.
"Meng An, this place will be in your hands from now on. Also, train a few more barbecue chefs as soon as possible; they might come in handy later."
Considering how determined Wang Ziyi was to find cumin today, perhaps he really will be able to.
"Don't worry, Madam, I will manage it well," Meng An said, patting his chest.
Song Jiaojiao nodded. "Alright, everyone has worked hard. You've already eaten, so get some rest. There's another tough battle ahead of us tomorrow."
After Song Jiaojiao finished speaking, everyone went about their own business.
There's still a lot of work to be done, and we need to plan ahead for things like preparing ingredients for tomorrow.
The next morning, Song Jiaojiao and Mu Qing got up early.
After having breakfast, the two went out to prepare what they needed for the day. Today they not only needed to prepare hot pot, but also to make new drinks.
The dairy cows were brought to the village last time, but they weren't of much use in Qingshui Village. Unlike oxen, dairy cows can't plow fields or haul goods; they're only good for drinking milk.
Yesterday I sent a message to the village saying that we needed milk for a few days, and the people from the village delivered it early this morning.
Song Jiaojiao bought all the ingredients she needed for the hot pot early in the morning, when the vegetables and meat were very fresh.
Then, Granny Xu from Fengtang sent someone over to say that the servants Song Jiaojiao had bought last night had been arranged, and she gave Song Jiaojiao the indenture before leaving.
"Mother, you bought more servants last night? But we already have enough servants, why are you buying more?"
Mu Qing watched the people from Fengtang walk away and asked Song Jiaojiao in confusion.
"I plan to go on a long trip in a month. I'll buy some people now and train them so that I won't be caught off guard."
Song Jiaojiao truthfully told Mu Qing about her plans. Mu Qing was all grown up now, and there was no need to hide anything from her.
"Going on a long trip? Mother, where are you planning to go?" Mu Qing looked at Song Jiaojiao with concern. Although the Great Jin Kingdom was in a peaceful era, there were still many bandits who ruled the mountains in some places.
"Let's go around and see what's going on, without any particular destination. Muqing, you can think about whether you want to come with me or stay at home. This time I'll bring Muxue with me."
Song Jiaojiao looked at Mu Qing, and no matter what choice Mu Qing made, Song Jiaojiao would support her.
Hearing this, Mu Qing fell silent. She really wanted to be with Song Jiaojiao, but her older brother wasn't home right now, and the house needed someone to be in charge; otherwise, when they returned, they wouldn't even have a place to stay.
Especially since Mother runs so many workshops and estates, if she doesn't take care of them for a long time, there will inevitably be instances of servants becoming too powerful and bullying their masters.
Song Jiaojiao looked at the silent Mu Qing and said nothing more. Besides, there was still a month left. What would happen next? Now was not the time to think.
The main dishes were hot pot and sago pudding for lunch.
"Alright, it's too early to talk about this now. Let's go back first, take care of what happened at noon, and then we can talk about what comes next."