Reborn as a Landlord-Chapter 163 - 81 Business Principles_1

Chapter 163: Chapter 81 Business Principles_1
Before dawn.
.........
"Who’s there?" Lady Zhang answered, careful not to speak too loudly for fear of waking Lian Shouxin.
"It’s Aunt Chunzhu." Xiao Qi crawled to the window and peered outside before speaking.
"Quick, let your Aunt Chunzhu in," Lady Zhang said.
Lian Zhizhi hurried down from the kang and went out to let Chunzhu’s wife in.
"Is Fourth Brother asleep? Oh, perhaps I should come back tomorrow," Chunzhu’s wife came inside and saw Lian Shouxin sleeping at the edge of the kang. She lowered her voice diplomatically.
"What’s there to be afraid of? He’ll sleep, and we’ll talk," Lady Zhang smiled and said, "Look at the state he’s in; even thunder wouldn’t rouse him."
Chunzhu’s wife then smiled and took a seat on the edge of the kang.
"It’s the same with my Chunzhu. The moment he got home, he didn’t even wash his face. Just kicked off his shoes without caring whether his clothes were clean or not and went straight to sleep. Even when I call him for dinner, he won’t respond," Chunzhu’s wife said.
Chunzhu had been with Lian Shouxin the previous evening, and, after having breakfast the following morning, he went out with Lian Shouxin to search all day.
"This time Chunzhu has really gone to a lot of trouble," Lady Zhang said.
"We’re neighbors after all, what trouble," replied Chunzhu’s wife.
"Once everyone has rested tomorrow, the Old Master said we should properly treat Chunzhu and the others," Lady Zhang mentioned. Old Master Lian hadn’t actually said this, but according to custom, it was what should be done.
"We’re all family here, no need for formalities. With Duoduo still missing, you folks in the Upper Room must be worried," Chunzhu’s wife said, suggesting they skip the formalities.
"Even if the Upper Room doesn’t prepare anything, I will have to put together a meal. When the time comes, you bring Chun Yan and Chun Ni over," Lady Zhang said, "They can help me cook. Chunzhu and the others, they’ve worn themselves out following the children’s father. He came back and wouldn’t stop talking about how everyone was so genuinely helpful, it really warms the heart."
Those who went out with Lian Shouxin generally had a good relationship with him. Lady Zhang had already planned to offer a meal herself if the Upper Room didn’t.
Lian Manman listened to Lady Zhang speaking and nodded inwardly. Lady Zhang was always thoughtful about social interactions; in rural vernacular, she was known to value relationships. Such people were well-regarded in the countryside. Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang were both of good nature and enjoyed popularity around Thirty Mile Camp.
"Alright then," Chunzhu’s wife gladly accepted Lady Zhang’s offer, appreciating being considered part of the family.
"What about Second Brother and them?" Chunzhu’s wife glanced towards the east wing. Although she couldn’t see anything, Lady Zhang immediately understood that Chunzhu’s wife had something personal to discuss.
"They’ve just had their meal, they’re all in the Upper Room, discussing the wages for hiring help with his uncle," Lady Zhang shared, "I heard they’ve hired thirty or forty people."
Chunzhu’s wife scooted closer to Lady Zhang.
"...Third Brother and Fourth Brother are good, honest people," Chunzhu’s wife said, "Over there... Second Brother went to West Village to find Old Uncle He, right? Old Uncle He only brought a handful of men, ten at most. They’re all chummy with him."
At this, Chunzhu’s wife fell silent.
Lian Manman immediately realized that Lian Shouyi might be inflating the number of people he claimed to have hired?
But Lady Zhang’s thoughts were elsewhere.
"They’re all close with Old Uncle He? Then, can they be trusted?" Lady Zhang asked.
Old Uncle He did not have a very good reputation; to put it simply, he was known to be lazy and irresponsible.
"Exactly, Fourth Sister-in-law, you may not be aware. Those men, claiming they were going to find Lian Duo, just went outside the village, loitered around the river hollow, and then headed into town to drink," Chunzhu’s wife said.
"Did Second Brother go too?"
"Second Brother didn’t go. He only slept at Old Uncle He’s house from the moment he arrived until sunset, didn’t he? And now he’s back with news?"
"Is that so?" Lady Zhang was taken aback, "Chunzhu’s wife, who told you this?"
"I was buying things at the temple’s general store, and I ran into Zhang Zhong’s wife from West Village. We know each other, chatted a bit, and she told me about it," Chunzhu’s wife explained.
After sighing and chatting a bit more, Chunzhu’s wife left.
......
The next morning, Lian Manman and her siblings got up early. After breakfast, they packed up the peanuts they had prepared the day before in baskets, intending to take them to Qingyang Town.
"Mom, we’re off to the market. Is there anything else you want us to buy?" Lian Manman asked Lady Zhang.
"I don’t need to buy anything," Lady Zhang said, "You go early and come back early, and take care. If... if you can’t sell the peanuts, just bring them back home for us to eat. There’s nothing much we need to spend money on right now."
This was Lady Zhang’s way of managing expectations in case they couldn’t sell the peanuts and felt pressured.
"Don’t worry, Mom, we’ll be fine. Off we go now."
Four kids with baskets of peanuts set off for Qingyang Town. On reaching the market, they saw that many vendors had already set up their stalls; food vendors were primarily located on the eastern side of the market. Lian Manman looked around and placed their basket of peanuts next to a stall that sold sweets and pastries.
As the market got busier, people passed by their stall but none stopped.
"We can’t just stand around looking dumb; we need to shout out and draw attention," Lian Manman suggested.
Lian Zhizhi and Wu Lang exchanged a glance, both feeling a bit embarrassed, and Xiao Qi didn’t know how to start calling out.
"Peanuts for sale! Delightfully tasty peanuts, crisp and refreshing, fifteen wen for half a jin, twenty wen per jin!" Lian Manman started to call out confidently.
Lian Zhizhi found Lian Manman’s calling amusing yet felt a bit embarrassed, so she covered her face.
Xiao Qi, the youngest, learned the fastest and began to call out following Lian Manman. Wu Lang coughed twice and then also raised his voice to join in the calling.
"Big sister, why aren’t you calling out?" Xiao Qi found this novel and asked Lian Zhizhi.
"I, I’m a little shy to open my mouth." Lian Zhizhi said, embarrassed.
"Sister, no need for you to shout. Just watch the scale later." Lian Manman said. Lian Zhizhi was already fourteen years old, and as a shy young girl, Lian Manman decided not to make it difficult for her.
"How much per jin for these peanuts, and are they fried?" A middle-aged man came over and asked.
Lian Manman saw that the man was dressed in silk trousers and even had a gold hairpin in his hair, looking like a wealthy person.
"Uncle, these are fragrant peanuts, tastier than fried ones, and only twenty wen per jin, perfect to go with drinks," Lian Manman said eagerly. "Xiao Qi, grab a handful for this uncle to try."
"Okay." Xiao Qi obediently grabbed a handful of peanuts and handed them to the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man accepted, broke open a peanut, and threw the kernel into his mouth.
Lian Manman watched his facial expressions and took the opportunity to continue her sales pitch.
"...Made with over thirty kinds of spices, uncle, look, boiled peanuts leave your hands wet, and fried peanuts, they blacken your mouth and hands. Look how clean ours are when you eat them, and the taste is guaranteed better than other peanuts."
The middle-aged man ate several more and just when Lian Manman thought he was only "sampling," he finally nodded and threw the uneaten peanuts back into the basket.
"The taste is really not bad," said the middle-aged man.
"Uncle, why not take some home to accompany your drink, or bring some back for your wife and siblings to try for a fresh taste," Lian Manman immediately said.
"You’re quite the clever little girl. Alright, weigh me two jin," the middle-aged man said.
"Certainly!" Lian Manman quickly responded, her intuition about him being a wealthy and straightforward customer was right.
Lian Zhizhi weighed two jin of peanuts, the scale tipping generously. Lian Manman grabbed an extra handful to top it up, and Erlang took a large leaf from a nearby basket to wrap the peanuts and handed them over.
The man counted out forty wen and handed it over, which Wu Lang quickly accepted.
"Take care, uncle. If it tastes good, come back next time," Lian Manman added.
The middle-aged man laughed heartily and walked away.
"So it really can sell for so much."
Looking at the forty wen in the purse, all four children’s faces showed surprised delight. This smooth first sale was a good sign.
"Manman, do we have to let everyone taste the peanuts before selling them?" Wu Lang asked Lian Manman during a lull in business.
"Hmm, it depends," Lian Manman said with a serious tone, "It depends on the person."
Their peanuts were priced at twenty wen per jin, which could be exchanged for two jin of good rice—something the average tenant farmer’s family would surely hesitate to buy.
"...You have to look for someone who seems to have a bit of money, someone who looks like they want to buy, then we give them a little to taste first." It was all about using their eyes to filter potential customers.
"But, surely there are also people who taste but don’t buy," Wu Lang said.
"Of course, there are such people, which is why I had Xiao Qi hand out the peanuts," Lian Manman said, smiling.
"Ah? Oh!" Lian Zhizhi and Wu Lang both turned to look at Xiao Qi, from his head to his hands, and they suddenly understood.
"Among all of us, Xiao Qi has the smallest hands," Lian Manman laughed. A few peanuts in Xiao Qi’s hand already looked like a full handful.
"Xiao Qi, remember, don’t grab too much at once, a few kernels are enough," Lian Manman instructed Xiao Qi again.
"Yeah." Xiao Qi nodded, signaling that he remembered.
"We let people try the peanuts, and I provided a generous measure, so why did you add even more, Manman? Won’t we lose out?" Lian Zhizhi asked.
Buyers all have the mentality of feeling they got a good deal if they receive something extra; even a slight top-up can leave a customer with a quite favorable impression and in return bring many repeat customers.
"Even if we earn a little less from each customer, but they buy multiple times, and more people come to buy, we can earn even more," Lian Manman explained.
All the children were quite clever, and after a moment’s thought, they all understood.
After selling several jins of peanuts in succession, Lian Manman felt that Lian Zhizhi and the others had become proficient. Looking at the time, Wang Youheng should have finished breakfast by now.
"I’ll take some peanuts to Brother Youheng," Lian Manman said, picking up a basket of peanuts she had prepared for Wang Youheng and walking out of the market.
Just as she reached the entrance of the market, she saw Lian Zhizhi hurrying after her from behind.
*******
I’ll release the first four parts as a token of thanks for Ruoyan’s hard work typing, and well, a hint of pink for your viewing pleasure. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, and your support is my greatest motivation.)