Seventies Sweetheart: From Breakup to Billionaire-Chapter 205: Malatang

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: Malatang
With this understanding of time, Lin Xiang had a plan in mind.
Only then did she open the money pouch and spill the money onto the bed.
Most of what she collected were dimes, and though it covered the entire bed, it amounted to only a little over thirty yuan.
But fortunately, this thirty-some yuan was all net profit.
Earning over thirty yuan a day meant she could earn over a thousand in a month.
In the late seventies, earning over a thousand yuan a month was outstanding in the entire Mianyang Town.
However, Lin Xiang understood the principle of not flaunting wealth, so even when Mrs. Lin asked, she only mentioned less than ten yuan.
But Mrs. Lin was still very content.
"I’m making two or three yuan a day just by selling iced tea." Aunt Ge whispered, "It’s much better than when I was selling pancakes!"
Besides, selling iced tea wasn’t tiring. It took only about ten minutes to walk from the Ge Family to the Welfare District, unlike before when going to market fairs. If the place was far, it would take hours to get there, and if she couldn’t attend, she’d have no income for the day.
And selling iced tea wasn’t tiring either; she would brew it at noon, let it cool, and then in the afternoon, just push it to the Welfare District with a cart and sit there while selling.
"Selling popsicles also isn’t bad. Yesterday, Lin Xiang bought 150 popsicles, and there were about five left, earning a total of more than 1.80 yuan."
Wholesale costs for popsicles were high, but the profits were quite substantial too.
When Lin Xiang came out again, Aunt Ge handed her the money from selling ice cream.
She added a little from her own money, and gave two yuan to Lin Xiang.
Lin Xiang only took 1.90 yuan, not because she was greedy for the extra five cents, but because it was hard to manage the change.
"Aunt Ge, why don’t you take over selling popsicles too?" Lin Xiang suggested, "You saw yesterday that once I get busy, I can’t manage this. You can sell both drinks and popsicles together."
The profit of less than two yuan wasn’t worth dividing her attention for Lin Xiang.
Aunt Ge: "Isn’t this the business you planned for your brother?"
"The Welfare District is big, it’s not like only we can sell here."
Even with 150 popsicles, if you calculate carefully, it’s actually not enough to sell.
Just as they discussed this, someone knocked on the door.
Aunt Ge put down the half-peeled potato, "I’ll get the door."
Pulling open the door, she found Fifth Uncle’s family of four standing there, with several aluminum buckets behind them, and their clothes were soaked with sweat.
"Mrs. Ge, we’re here to bother you."
"What are you saying? Come in quickly!"
Aunt Ge lent a hand and helped Fifth Uncle move their things inside.
Lin Xiang’s eyes brightened, "Fifth Uncle, Fifth Aunt, have you decided to come to the town to sell spicy and numbing noodles?"
Fifth Aunt wiped her sweat with the back of her hand, "Yesterday, your Fifth Uncle went back and told me about this. We discussed it and thought coming to the town would be better."
"Nowadays, there are fewer and fewer people going to market fairs, and business isn’t easy. We thought if we came to town, we might earn a bit more."
"Surely there won’t be a problem! Aunt Ge is the best person to speak on this matter!"
Aunt Ge chimed in, "Isn’t that right? I sell drinks for two cents a bowl and can make two or three yuan a day. Your spicy and numbing noodles business will definitely fare well!"
"You get tired of barbecue after a while; occasionally, you can switch between different flavors with spicy soup."
Fifth Aunt was puzzled and subconsciously asked, "What is spicy soup? We’ve never heard of it."
Lin Xiang smiled mysteriously, "It’s exactly what you’ll be selling next."
Half an hour later, everyone in the room stared at the bowls on the table, which were filled not only with sweet potato noodles but also with various vegetables, making the bowls look very appetizing.
"Try it out?"
Fifth Uncle was the first to move, picking up a slice of potato and chewing it before swallowing. Under Fifth Aunt’s expectant gaze, he dryly said, "It’s delicious, much better than the sour and spicy potato slices we usually stir-fry."
Fifth Aunt glared at him, then picked some vegetables to eat, "It still has the taste of spicy and numbing noodles, but the texture changes slightly when the vegetables are cooked together, and most importantly, the dish looks much more abundant now."
Watching everyone competing to grab the vegetables, Lin Xiang leisurely said, "For city folks, spending one or two dimes on food isn’t considered high spending, but the premise is our taste must be good, and the portions must be generous enough to give customers a sense of getting more for their money."
Just like her barbecue, even though six slices of potato were sold for one-cent, those who could only enjoy the taste of barbecue typical of Beijing would find it valuable.
Even though the cost of potatoes is extremely low, almost negligible, spending one dime to buy ten skewers of potato slices could make someone feel very satisfied, leading customers to believe the dime was well spent.
It’s the same with spicy soup.
Firstly, people in Mianyang Town definitely hadn’t heard of spicy soup before, and out of curiosity, they would buy it to try.
Secondly, Lin Xiang was confident in the soup base she developed. As long as Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt were generous with the portions, they might not make a fortune, but they would certainly earn enough to improve their family’s living conditions.
After all, they had firmly grasped the opportunities of the times.
"Girl, you truly are a lucky baby for Fifth Aunt!" Fifth Aunt exclaimed excitedly, clutching Lin Xiang’s hand.
Initially, Fifth Aunt had been anxious and fearful about doing business in town, but after Lin Xiang’s analysis, she couldn’t wait to start earning money.
Since spicy soup required lots of vegetables, the ones prepared by Mrs. Lin and Aunt Ge were not enough, so Fifth Uncle, Fifth Aunt, and Chunya also joined in.
"No rush, no rush, you folks take a shower and change clothes first, rest for a while before picking vegetables. It’s still early, we aren’t in a hurry."
Lin Xiang helped prepare the water, and the four took turns showering.
Since they had some experience from yesterday, Fifth Uncle had specially instructed Fifth Aunt to bring two sets of clothes for everyone to change into, and after the shower, Fifth Aunt washed the clothes and hung them to dry on the line.
"Aunt Ge, I have a premonition that today’s drink sales will definitely be better than yesterday’s. I suggest you cook an extra pot of each type just in case. Even if we don’t sell everything, we can drink it ourselves with so many of us here."
"Alright, once the iced tea in the pot is ready, I’ll cook another pot."
With enough people picking vegetables, Lin Xiang and Dong Sheng were left out.
Dong Sheng was too young to do such meticulous work, and no one wanted him to cause any trouble. As for Lin Xiang, they felt sorry for her because she was too tired at night and wanted her to get some proper rest.
With nothing to do, Dong Sheng sat in front of Lin Xiang, not saying a word, just staring at her longingly.
Lin Xiang couldn’t ignore him even if she tried.