Chapter 33: Blown here by a strong wind?

"Why are you saying that again? You can't go three sentences without mentioning them."

"Then let's not talk about them; it's frustrating enough as it is. The berries you had Ruyi bring over earlier were truly delicious."

"Once sweet melons are available in the prefecture city in a while, I'll bring some over. Sweet melons are also very tasty."

"Different fruits have different flavors. You were really right to go into this business; otherwise, how could our family ever eat so many kinds of fruit?"

"From now on, whatever I sell, you all shall eat."

"After summer passes, what will you sell? There won't be any watermelons then, and you won't need to sell ice cubes either."

"There are plenty of things to sell, don't worry. When the cart reaches the mountain, there will be a road. I'll sell these for now and think about what to sell in autumn and winter when the time comes."

"Big Sister is rooting for you. Whatever you have, Big Sister will eat it and eat you into poverty."

"Hehe, if you want to eat me into poverty, you'll need a much bigger appetite. Be careful about becoming a big fatty."

As the days passed, the business at the small stall was very prosperous. The watermelons sold well, the ice cubes sold well, the strawberries sold well, and even the newly introduced sweet melons were selling quite nicely.

Every wealthy family in the small town came to support her, and it wasn't just out of respect for Shopkeeper Lu.

It was because the goods were truly excellent; even the manager of the Jingtai Restaurant bought fruit from her.

With the addition of this fruit, the restaurant's business improved quite a bit as well.

In a single day, she could sell about twenty watermelons. At eight hundred wen per melon, that was sixteen taels of silver based on twenty melons. Strawberries were five hundred wen a box, and she could sell about ten boxes a day, bringing in another eight taels of silver.

Sweet melons were basically sold by size. Qiao Mai didn't even use a scale. A sweet melon the size of a palm could sell for twenty wen each. Because they were cheaper and tastier than watermelons, she could sell at least fifty or more every day, which was one tael of silver.

Then there were the ice cubes, which brought in another two taels of silver daily. Adding it all up, it was nearly thirty taels. Counting twenty days of operation per month, that was six hundred taels.

Shopkeeper Lu was behind the counter, clicking away on her abacus. When she calculated this for her, she was startled.

My goodness, a small stall is this profitable?

Unexpectedly, Qiao Mai said one sentence that made her lose all her spirit.

"Big Sister, don't my goods cost money? Are those watermelons, sweet melons, berries, and ice cubes blown here by a strong wind?"

"Even after deducting the costs, you can still earn a few taels a day, right?"

"A few taels is still possible."

"Then there you go. That's over a hundred taels a month, and a thousand taels a year. It earns more than most shops. Haven't you seen how many merchants are green with envy over you?"

"Then they can sell them too; I didn't stop them."

"They fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind. They are afraid that if they stock them, they won't sell and will just rot. Such precious goods—they can't afford the loss."

"Then that's that; I can afford the loss."

Speaking of this, Shopkeeper Lu took a cloth bag out from behind the counter.

"Here you go. Those two palace fans sold. Two hundred taels each, four hundred taels for the two. A fifty-fifty split; this is your two hundred taels."

"Seeing small money every day and big money from time to time—this life is truly beautiful."

"When will you embroider a large piece?"

"Next month. These two months are the hottest time, so palace fans sell the fastest. Once the weather cools down, I'll embroider a set of clothes for you. Remember to sell them for a high price for me."

Shopkeeper Lu's eyes lit up. "I'll be waiting."

Where would the clothes come from? They were just the ones on her display rack. That craftsmanship would guarantee to drop the jaws of the ancients.

Whether it was the embroidery or the style of the clothes, wearing them would make one look exactly like a fairy descending to earth.

The fabric looked similar to ancient ones, but if an expert came, they would surely say such fabric only existed in heaven.

She hoped this wouldn't bring trouble to Shopkeeper Lu. She would definitely have to communicate well with her when the time came; otherwise, those clothes absolutely could not be taken out to sell.

There was one thing worth mentioning.

That was that the quails had started laying eggs. Of the seven quails, it seemed two had never laid eggs—they were likely males—and five were females. They laid an egg almost every day. She hadn't eaten these eggs herself.

After Qiao Mai looked up some information online, she found a wooden box, lined it with straw, placed the quail eggs on top, covered them with a layer of cotton, and took them out from the space, placing them in the room where she slept.

The indoor temperature in summer was just right for them to hatch; there was no need to find a mother hen.

They would hatch in about twenty days. Now there were already over a hundred in the space. She planned to start adding quail eggs to her sales list next month.

It didn't matter if people didn't know their value; she would teach the diners how to eat them.

She believed that under the assault of her "three-inch unbreakable tongue," the diners would surely surrender, one after another taking out the silver on their persons to buy some to take home and boil to eat.

Ever since the date-red horse arrived home, it seemed to have become sturdier. It was provided with good food and drink every day. Qiao Mai named it "Date."

For its sake, Qiao Mai even specially planted four fen of forage in the space. It was tender and fresh, and when mixed with bean flour, the horse loved eating it.

Especially when she was happy, she would occasionally get it some fruit, radishes, and the like.

Just by looking at those two warm and moist big horse eyes, one could tell that as soon as it saw Qiao Mai arrive, it would happily frolic. It truly loved this owner.

The black soil in her space would produce a four-fen plot every five days and yield a harvest every five days after that. That meant every ten days, she could plant a new type of fresh seed.

She hadn't had much experience before when she didn't farm, but now that she was farming, she knew how hard it was for farmers.

And this was even with her sometimes using her mind to harvest. If she didn't use her mind, she would be exhausted to death by the space directly.

Four fen, four fen, and another four fen—she already had several mu of land in her space now.

Watermelons, strawberries, sweet melons, forage, corn, wheat, rice, millet, sorghum, and so on.

She planned to plant all of the several hundred types of seeds she had bought.

Qiao Mai calculated silently in her heart: she could plant three types of seeds a month, which was thirty-six types a year. She would have to farm for at least ten years before she could free her hands and feet.

Just thinking about it... crying was impossible, but wanting to laugh was about right.

Ten years later, whatever she wanted, she could take directly from the space. When finished, the black soil, that old fellow, could replicate it. That way, she would have endless resources. She could even laugh out loud in her dreams.

By July, all the quails were laying eggs, and she could collect over a hundred a day.

A jin was about forty eggs, so she could collect about two and a half jin a day.

It seemed a bit little—only two and a half jin. Looking at the number of quails, it really wasn't enough if she were to sell them.

Seeing that the east and west side chambers were both empty, she gave a hehe laugh and decided to just clear them out to raise quails.

After returning from the stall, while the sky was still early, she tidied up the side chambers on both sides and moved all the things onto the kang.

She enclosed the floor with wooden boards to prevent the quails from running out of the room and placed clean, broken straw underneath. One room could raise about a hundred, so four rooms would be four or five hundred.

She would forget about the upper room; she was afraid Shopkeeper Lu would bite her if she found out.

This was someone else's house, and a new one at that; she couldn't be too excessive.

It was July, and it rained from time to time in Tianshui Town. In the span of a month, she spent much more time at home than at the stall.

Usually, besides doing embroidery, she would observe the hatching situation of the quail eggs.

Her two disciples came every few days to ask their teacher for advice. Ruxin and Ruyi's embroidery skills were getting better and better.

They were also very respectful to her as their teacher. In the summer, the two girls each made two sets of new clothes and sent them to her. Sometimes when they went to the county town and saw beautiful jewelry, they wouldn't forget their teacher.

Regarding this, Qiao Mai expressed great satisfaction.

Therefore, she had saved up a batch of small quail eggs and planned to let her two disciples have a taste. She boiled all three jin of quail eggs.

"Come, disciples, have a taste."

The two girls stared at the eggs on the table. "Teacher, are these bird eggs?"

"No, where would there be so many birds that could lay so many eggs?"

"Then what kind of eggs are these?"

"This is a type of small poultry called a quail."

"Where did Teacher get them?"

"I saw them at a flower and bird pet shop in the prefecture city. I spent one tael of silver to buy seven. Eggs hatch eggs, and now there are quite a few."

"Where are you raising them?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 34 =====