CHAPTER 148: CHAPTER 148: MADE A DECISION (1)

With the support of their parents, Li Yuzhu and the Second Princess happily returned to the kitchen.

"Da Niu Da Niu, my parents agreed to let me set up a stall to sell crispy pastries, so you have to help me make more," the Second Princess said excitedly.

These past few days, Liu Da Niu mostly kneaded the dough single-handedly, while the Second Princess filled them with stuffing.

Kneading dough is a skillful task; if not done well, the dough won’t rise, and the pastries will be hard and inedible.

Seeing the sisters happy, Liu Da Niu was also pleased, "Sure, let’s make more."

Li Yuzhu said, "The day after tomorrow is the market day again; let’s make more and get up early to sell crispy pastries."

The Second Princess rubbed her hands expectantly.

The Great Princess raised an eyebrow, "How much can you sell them for?"

The Second Princess said, "We can sell them for quite a bit. One coin per crispy pastry. If we make a hundred crispy pastries a day, we can sell them for a hundred coins. If we make two hundred of them..."

She started calculating on her fingers.

"If you make two hundred, your arm will break from exhaustion," the Great Princess rolled her eyes, "and you still have to deduct the cost of flour, stuffing, and stall fees. Not much is left."

She said this, and the Second Princess felt a bit discouraged.

Then Liu Da Niu said, "If you walk around with a basket and shout, you don’t need a stall and can avoid the stall fee. Besides, the stall fee isn’t expensive, just five coins a day."

The Second Princess was happy again, "That’s great."

The Great Princess raised an eyebrow lightly, "Is that so?"

Li Yuzhu said, "I’ve seen many people setting up stalls, showing that there’s money to be made. Let’s give it a try. If it doesn’t work, we’ll come back, and if no one buys, we’ll just eat them ourselves."

The Second Princess thought to herself that if no one buys, she’d eat them herself.

Having hundreds of pastries to eat on her own sounded truly blissful.

She immediately smiled broadly, "Yes, if no one buys, we’ll just eat them ourselves."

The Great Princess glared at her, "Keep eating, and you’ll be too heavy to move."

Being used to her plump body, the Second Princess didn’t mind these comments from the Great Princess anymore.

Kneading dough, mixing the stuffing, the Second Princess and Liu Da Niu got busy again.

Xue Family came to cook and saw the sisters bustling around, speaking dismissively, "Would anyone buy these? Don’t waste your effort."

The Second Princess said, "They’re quite tasty, someone will surely buy them."

Xue Family curled her lips, "They don’t look appetizing at all."

She hadn’t tasted them, so she didn’t know if they were good or not.

But seeing that the Li sisters only gave pastries to Prince Luling and his wife, not to her, she felt a bit unhappy.

"Mom, they’re tasty! I had some from Second Aunt, and they’re so good," Li Jing said, lying on the kitchen doorstep with her head tilted.

"Yes, Jingjing had one and then kept asking for more," the Second Princess added.

Xue Family was still dismissive, "With so many people busy, how much can each person earn on average?"

As she spoke, her eyes glanced at Liu Da Niu.

With one arm disabled, clearly here to share the profits and take it easy!

A bunch of foolish sisters, bringing an outsider back to eat and live for free and even give her money!

Xue Family wanted to chase Liu Da Niu away, but since she was invited by the Great Princess, fearing her, she had to endure it.

"I’m just helping out; I don’t want any money," Liu Da Niu smiled shyly.

Xue Family raised an eyebrow, "Really? Your words better hold true."

Liu Da Niu thought to herself, with the Li family girls helping her, eating and living for free, how could she take money?

Under Liu Da Niu’s guidance, the Second Princess roasted a hundred and twenty pastries using the oven.

Li Yuzhu found a clean piece of coarse linen, wrapped the crispy pastries in it, and placed them in a large ceramic jar.

This jar was exchanged for leopard meat before.

It was meant for storing rice, but with so many people in the house, they never had enough rice to store, so it stayed unused.

The jar was washed clean, overturned to dry in the sun, then flipped again to be sun-dried to sterilize it. The pastries were wrapped in cloth, placed inside, and covered to keep them dry and insect-free.

They made over a hundred pastries in half a day today. Tomorrow, they’ll start early, aiming to make three hundred pastries, and sell them early the day after, hoping for a big income, Li Yuzhu calculated for the Second Princess.

Liu Da Niu had her three meals a day with the Li family.

Tonight’s dinner was the same.

They had moved a stove from Liu Da Niu’s home that morning, and Lady Liu sent plenty of dishes, making tonight’s dinner quite sumptuous.

Eight dishes were set on the table.

Liu Da Niu was shy, always eating in silence, only smiling bashfully.

If no one asked her, she wouldn’t speak a word.

The Princess Consort looked at Liu Da Niu and sighed several times. She thought to herself, her daughter must never marry into a family with a troublesome mother-in-law; how wild would it be to break an arm?

During the meal, it was also a rare gathering moment for Prince Luling’s family.

Everyone was eating while talking about what they accomplished today.

The Second Princess praised herself, boasting about the dried fruit cakes she made, "If you want to eat them, buy them from me. For family, I’ll sell them cheap, two coins for three."

The Great Princess hummed lightly, "Your little brain is sharp."

The Princely Heir laughed and said, "Alright, alright, I’ll buy first. Later, bring six to my room; Jingjing loves them."

"Okay, thanks for supporting my business, big brother." The Second Princess smiled happily and turned to the Second Young Master and Li Xing’an, "Second brother, third brother, what about you? Big brother bought six. How many do you want to buy?"

The two brothers weren’t fond of such dried cakes, but they were willing to support their sister’s business nonetheless.

"I’ll buy six too," said the Second Young Master.

Li Xing’an, considering himself the wealthiest in the family, said, "I’ll buy nine!"

The Second Young Master sneered, "Wow, rich, impressive."

Li Xing’an lifted his chin proudly, "Of course, being rich means buying freely; it’s a feeling you can’t understand."

The Second Young Master scowled, yes, indeed impressive, huh!

One day, when he has money, he’ll drown this damn third brother in it!

"Father, won’t you buy a few?" The Second Princess began her sales pitch again.

Prince Luling laughed and said, "Alright, alright, later bring a few over, and get the money from your mother."

"Thank you, father." The Second Princess was overjoyed; she made several sales today.

Li Yuzhu, sipping egg soup, praised the Second Princess saying, "Second sister, your idea is clever. When someone buys, do the same; buy five and get one free, buy ten and get three free. The more they buy, the more they get."

The Xue Family smiled, "Third sister, if you give away so much, how do you make money?"

The Second Princess also felt troubled, "Yes, third sister, I sold them cheap just now because it’s for the family. If it’s also cheap for outsiders, won’t I lose out? How much would I have to give away?"

Li Yuzhu said, "Second sister, this is called small profits but quick turnover. Sell quickly to make more batch sooner. Look at those who do business in the south and north; if you buy ten pounds or a hundred pounds of dry goods, they even give a thirty or forty percent discount. Why sell like this? Isn’t it to sell more and bring in money quickly?"

"..."

"Selling these dried cakes, it’s the same. At the normal price, two hundred might take a day to sell, but if you give a little away, people looking for a deal will finish them in half a day. You’ll make more in the afternoon and sell again, possibly selling four hundred a day. Which way is more profitable?"

The Second Princess thought for a while, clapped her hands and laughed, "Right, right, third sister’s correct. I remembered when I was in the capital, when I bought a pound of pine nuts, the shopkeeper wouldn’t give any extra, but when I bought five pounds, he gave me half a pound free. For that half a pound bargain, I’d always buy in five pounds."

The Great Princess was surprised, "Li Yu En, you eat that much? Buying in five pounds?"

The Second Princess blinked, "Because it’s cheap, isn’t it?"

The Great Princess glared at her, "Why didn’t you eat yourself to death?"

Li Yuzhu laughed, "Exactly, second sister, that’s the logic. Many people will buy more for a bargain."

The dinner ended amidst lively talk.

The little businesswoman, the Second Princess, indeed went about delivering cakes.

The Princely Heir, Second Young Master, Li Xing’an, and Prince Luling each received their share. In one round, she made a small profit of fourteen coins.

It made her quite happy.

She wrapped the money in cloth and locked it in her little cabinet in the layer belonging to her.

Liu Da Niu saw her joy and went back to the kitchen to knead more dough seriously.

But just then, Li Yuzhu came over and pulled her outside.

"Da Niu, someone is outside the house looking for you, do you want to see?" Li Yuzhu asked her in a steady voice.

Liu Da Niu’s heart skipped a beat, "...Who, who is looking for me?"

She was hopeful yet unsure.

She was flustered.

"Hu Shuangcheng." Li Yuzhu looked at her, "He’s carrying luggage on his shoulder, looks like he’s heading far away."

Liu Da Niu thought of the words Hu Shuangcheng told her in the morning. He said he wouldn’t go back and would leave with her.

Is he... has he made a decision?

"Do you want to see him? If you don’t, I’ll chase him away." Li Yuzhu urged Liu Da Niu, watching her.