CHAPTER 402: CHAPTER 402 SMOOTHLY

After tending to her son, Yang PeiMin finally sat down to eat.

Yang Peiying had set aside her meal to keep it warm; now she brought it out for her to eat alone, since the others had already eaten. They were discussing the day’s stall sales.

While eating, Yang PeiMin listened to their conversation. Shen Yixiang had helped Yang Peiying count all the money first. They had made 90 servings (including the cost of meals), averaging 50 cents each, resulting in 50 yuan and 20 cents. Then, Shen Yixiang took out the abacus and books and rattled off a series of calculations. Everyone watched as she muttered to herself and went through the numbers again. Finally, she smacked her lips and called out, "Yingzi, you made 8 yuan and 54 cents today!"

Yang Peiying was taken aback, seemingly unable to believe it, "Yixiang, sister, did you miscalculate?"

"I’ve calculated it twice. Yingzi, at this rate, your monthly earnings could be six times what I make..."

Chen Guizhi also marveled, but she was somewhat skeptical, "Gosh, did you get it all figured out?"

"No mistake. Yingzi recorded all the costs of the vegetables in the book. I’ve even accounted for coal, salt, and oil, there’s no error. Subtracting the total income from the costs gives us the profit, right, sister? Is that how it’s done?"

Yang PeiMin smiled as she listened, "It seems so. Making money is good, but we also must be prepared to lose money. However, Yingzi, don’t be afraid. Mother left one hundred yuan for you when she passed away. It’s your share of the help you provided at home making candy. You’re free to use it however you wish. Be bold in your endeavors, our entire family supports you unconditionally." Originally, she had intended to provide the startup funds herself, but Yingzi was stubborn. She insisted on using the money she had saved over half a year to invest, refusing to let Yang PeiMin contribute.

Peiying saved the ten yuan that Yang PeiMin gave her each month for helping around the house.

Yang Peiying nodded, her eyes bright with enthusiasm.

Yang PeiMin took her account book, which showed that she bought the vegetables from the Vice Grain Station. Thinking of lowering costs even further, she turned to Shen Yiguang and suggested, "Ask your coworkers, start with one or two, see if anyone has relatives in the nearby countryside who grow their own vegetables. We could buy vegetables and eggs directly from them. It’s both fresher and cheaper, and they would get a better price than selling to the Vice Grain Station. We’ll be ordering in large quantities, so they might even deliver to us..." She knew that many farmers grew vegetables for their own consumption, seldom with the thought of selling them to supplement their household income, though eggs were available. If they knew someone, mutual benefit could be achieved.

Chen Guizhi was the first to laugh, "That’s a great idea. It’s just like back in our village, isn’t it? The eggs saved up to be sold to the Vice Grain Station for three cents each, but they sell for five or six cents. We can offer a middle price. We buy in bulk, and over time, the savings add up significantly."

Shen Yixiang clapped her hands, "Alright, leave it to me."

Yang PeiMin advised her not to blurt it out to everyone right away; start by discreetly finding out who has relatives in the countryside. They should ask someone trustworthy, as some matters aren’t so straightforward in society, where envy is rife.

Chen Guizhi patted Shen Yixiang’s back, "Did you hear that? These things need to be well-thought-out before acting. Learn more when you can."

Shen Yixiang could only nod in agreement.

The following day they added thirty more servings, which again sold out in under half an hour. Shen Yixiang left work a bit early to help, and both Yang PeiMin and Li Yue lent a hand. It was like a battle, selling out all of the food.

But Yang PeiMin was only busy for a while before they urged her to go back and feed the baby.

Chen Guizhi was also worried that she might be busy until late like yesterday, so she hesitated at the door, holding Lele, debating whether to come over or not, which gave Yang PeiMin, who had just returned, quite a scare. Chen Guizhi had only arrived a few days ago and barely went out. She wouldn’t usually walk through the alley outside, let alone take the bus.

"Mom, how come you’re out here? I remembered today," Yang PeiMin hastily invited her inside.

Chen Guizhi replied with a smile, "Isn’t it because I was worried you might have forgotten?"

Yang PeiMin followed her inside.

After washing her hands and taking her son, Chen Guizhi went to warm up the food. Yang Peiying, who was preparing fast food in the morning, occupied every available stove, so Chen Guizhi had to wait until she finished before starting the family’s meal. Since no one wanted to eat the same few dishes Yingzi sold every day, Chen Guizhi would start cooking after Yang Peiying was done. She placed her grandson in a small bed to play and dragged the bed into the kitchen, managing quite well to cook while keeping an eye on the baby.

By the time she’d finished preparing the meal, Yang PeiMin had also finished feeding the child. While they had not returned yet, she quickly washed the little guy’s diapers in the yard.

Nowadays, babies didn’t use disposable diapers; they were all made from cotton gauze, especially in these months with no set routine, changing almost every two or three hours. So just washing diapers could take up half a day’s work. It wasn’t as bad when the sun was out, but on cloudy days without sunlight, Yang PeiMin had to scald them with boiling water to sterilize them, including his clothes and utensils.

Chen Guizhi was astonished by what she saw and remarked about her meticulousness, but after hearing her reasoning, Chen Guizhi soon became even more diligent than Yang PeiMin.

At that moment, Yang PeiMin couldn’t help but long for a washing machine, wondering inwardly when such electrical appliances would be available for sale.

Just as she thought this, Yang Peiying and the others returned.

Yang PeiMin quickly wrung out and hung the diapers to dry, then went inside to eat.

Seeing the two of them with smiles on their faces, Yang PeiMin knew the day had gone smoothly.

For lunch, Chen Guizhi made stir-fried pork with cucumber slices, bean sprouts with tofu, and a soup with egg and dried vegetables.

Shen Yixiang picked up a couple of bites with her chopsticks, then turned to her mother and said, "Mom, I really can’t get used to your cooking now. I remember it used to be quite good."

Chen Guizhi lightly tapped her daughter’s hand with the chopsticks, "For you, mom is cooking, and now you’re complaining?"

"Mom, I’m only telling the truth, but you should really learn from Peiying," Yixiang replied. "Today, there were many more people wanting to buy her meals. Those who ate yesterday all said it was delicious, and upon hearing, others also wanted to try. You see, if the cooking’s good, the return customers start piling up."

Chen Guizhi looked at her disdainfully, "You should be the one learning from Yingzi. I’m waiting for you to cook for me. Instead, you think it’s the other way around, expecting your mom to serve you. You sure have some nerve."

Chen Guizhi was rarely in the mood for such jokes, but it got everyone laughing.

In the evening, Shen Yiguang came back and brought a letter for Yang PeiMin. She glanced at it, saw it was from Yang Peijun, and couldn’t help but be surprised.