Dressed as a widow, raising cubs, farming and building infrastructure in Ming Dynasty

Chapter 8 Dumpling Shop

Qin Liu excitedly told Old Man Li the proceeds from copying the books.

Old Man Li was so excited that tears filled his eyes. He slapped Li Dalang's butt several times and said, "Learn how to write from your mother, and you will never starve to death in the future!"

Qin Liu completed the book copying task in a few days. He paid the job to the grocery store owner and received two thousand coins back. He also received new paper, pen and book copying task.

When I went to hand in a few days ago, the grocery store owner looked very embarrassed and said that the books had not been sold out last time, so he would not copy new books for the time being.

But he still happily gave the money to Qin Liu.

He kindly reminded: "Girl, our town is small, and the people who buy books are all passing merchants, so the demand is limited. If you go to the capital or Xuanfu, you will probably have a better future.

However, the money in the capital is good and the rent is expensive, but Xuanfu is a bit colder, and Tatars come from all over the place, each with its own shortcomings..."

The boss thought quietly, but Qin Liu shuddered.

She has an instinctive fear of the capital.

There was a voice in her heart reminding her: "No, you can't go back to the capital!"

This fear does not come from herself, it seems to be inherent in the original person.

She doesn't know what kind of terrible situation she encountered in the capital, which made her so scared that it was engraved in her blood and bones.

The demise of the book-copying plan did not discourage Qin Liu.

There is always a way, and since she can find a way to make a living by copying books, she may not be able to find another way.

At this time, she was still a little grateful to God for giving her such an excellent original body.

Not long after, Ma Ang came over and shared good news with her.

"I belong to Huailaiwei, and our brother-in-law from Baihu is the postmaster of the post station in our town.

The inn has an external facade, which was originally rented out.Now it's empty.

It's facing the street and the location is great. If I can rent it and open a dumpling shop, I think it's a good idea! "

Qin Liu hesitated: "Will the inn be rented to us?"

Ma Ang looked proud: "I mentioned it to our [-] households, and he said that as long as he is treated to meat dumplings every month, the matter will be taken care of by him!"

Qin Liu smiled: "This can work!"

Just do it, Ma Ang immediately took Qin Liu to see the facade.

The weather was much warmer at this time, and it was early morning. There were many more pedestrians walking on the street than in winter.

Qin Liu asked Ma Ang to ask about the rent of the store.

Ma Ang was very knowledgeable. He bought two pieces of meat and two packs of snacks and went directly to Baihu's house.

The family's surname was Zheng. He was a bold man in his 30s. He immediately asked Yi Cheng He Laosi to come over.

He Yicheng found this job with his brother-in-law's help, so how could he not agree to it?And they gave me a very low rent: two hundred cents a month.

Ma Ang was overjoyed and immediately bowed deeply to Zheng Baihu and He Yicheng.

Zheng Baihu waved his hand boldly and said with a smile: "Brothers, why are you so polite?"

He had a lot of paperwork to deal with, but he couldn't read a few characters, so it was very difficult for him to handle it.

There used to be a literate soldier, but unfortunately the Tatar soldiers attacked him years ago and that man died in battle.Now with Ma Ang's help, his errand is much smoother.

However, subduing Ma Ang to follow him wholeheartedly is also something he needs to think about.The current rental demand in Maang is the right opportunity.

For He Yicheng, if the store is idle, it is idle. If the rent is high, it belongs to the inn. If he pockets it, he will easily be accused of corruption.

It's perfect as a favor.The store that was originally rented out was a grocery store that was always losing money. I couldn't get back the two hundred cents a month.

The next day, Ma Ang took half a day off, went to the inn to sign the lease, and then asked Ma Yue and Qin Liu to go there.

The store area is not too big, and four or five long tables can be placed in the front hall.

The stove in the kitchen is built, so you can start a fire if you have firewood. There is also a small yard behind where you can store firewood and sundries.

There is also a well.There is a small cubicle on the second floor that can accommodate people.It is really a small sparrow, but it has all the internal organs.

Qin Liu, Aunt Ma and others cleaned the shop inside and out, bought iron pots, big bowls, tables, chairs and benches, and negotiated with butchers, farmers, grain shops and other channels. In just three days, "Ma Li's Dumplings" Shop" opened.

The signboard of the dumpling shop was written by Qin Liu himself, and Old Man Li chiseled out the words on a large wooden board.

Although there were not many customers on the first day, the post station ordered [-] dumplings and gave them to the officers as tooth sacrifices, which was considered a big business.

Zheng Baihu also brought Xiaoqi and about ten people to support him.

They asked for money, but Qin Liu refused to accept it even if he died.Zheng Baihu didn't say much. He just asked for a large piece of meat to be delivered the next day, which was enough to pay for the first day's meal.

Qin Liu smiled bitterly.This Zheng Baihu really knows how to behave!However, this is also a good thing.Zheng Baihu didn't like taking advantage, so Ma Ang's life in the military camp was much easier.

Qin Liu did the math that night. He bought ten kilograms of meat today for two hundred pennies, ten kilograms of flour for a total of seventy pennies, and vegetables for thirty pennies. The total cost was three hundred pennies.

The income was 150 Wen, but I still lost money.

Fortunately, there are leftover dumplings and meat flour.

It seems that we need to carefully manage the procurement of raw materials, otherwise we will really go bankrupt.

After closing, she dragged her exhausted body back to Li's house. The children had gone to bed, but Old Man Li was still waiting for her.

Old Man Li asked worriedly in his hoarse voice: "How are you today?"

It can be heard that he has always been concerned about the success or failure of the dumpling shop.

Qin Liu was stunned for a moment and said, "It's okay. It's finally open. Is Erlang being good today?"

Erlang can already eat some rice cereal, so she doesn't necessarily need to be there all the time during the day.Qin Liu only had to go home and feed her twice while there were few people around.

Old Man Li is a disabled old man who has lost both legs. He is raising two children at home alone. The hardship and fatigue are no less than hers.

Qin Liu suddenly understood that this dumpling shop was not only hers, but also the hope of old man Li and the expectations of the Ma family brothers and sisters for their future life.

She had to try harder.

Erlang slept soundly, and she peed for him. He just tilted his head and peed smoothly without even opening his eyes.

Qin Liu suddenly felt enlightened.

Once raw, twice cooked.When she first took care of Erlang, she couldn't always grasp his needs. There was always a map drawn by Erlang on the bed.

After just over a month of getting used to it, she was able to accurately grasp Erlang's needs.Bedwetting has not happened for a long time.

In fact, many people came to the dumpling shop today to ask about the price. When they heard that a plate of dumplings cost ten cents, many people shook their heads and left.

Although there are pedestrians passing through this town, their purchasing power is limited.

Instead of just making dumplings, why not sell noodles and brown rice porridge to go with it?

The next day, Qin Liu set up a stove at the door of the dumpling shop, and a large vat on the stove was boiling steaming brown rice porridge.

Pedestrians asked the price, and it only cost one penny for a large bowl, which also came with a small plate of cold wild vegetables.

Brown rice porridge was sold for three hundred coins that day.

The store was too small to seat, so many people stood on the roadside outside the store, blowing air and sucking on the hot and sticky brown rice porridge, squinting their eyes in comfort.

The porridge contains not only brown rice, but also rice, peanuts, etc., which is stomach-warming and delicious. There is also a pinch of salty wild vegetables to chew on, which can not only soothe the hard work, but also warm the body.

Qin Liu did some calculations in the evening and found that the porridge made a net profit of one hundred cents!
However, she did not include the wages of several people. If she had included them, it would have just been a tie.

Qin Liu was inspired and thought of developing more single products.

Can we do some steamed buns?Passers-by can buy them as dry food for the road.

Qin Liu discussed it with Aunt Ma, and Aunt Ma was a little confused: "Everything else is fine, but the kitchen is too small. I'm afraid it won't be able to keep the turnover while steaming steamed buns and cooking dumplings."

Qin Liu pondered for a while and said, "Can you steam it at home the day before, take it over and put it on the stove to heat it up?"

(End of this chapter)