A Visit to Her Door

Today, Madam Xie was in charge of managing the courtyard, so her work was much easier. She only had to check if the vegetables were clean, cooked, and sized properly. Once one batch was ready, she would have someone deliver another batch on a cart.

Xu Yongyi specialized in mixing vegetables at home. He had been carrying loads through the countryside for many years and was quite strong. Using a clean large vat and a large iron shovel, he would put the vegetables and seasonings in and mix them, mixing more than ten kilograms at a time without any trouble. As for the seasonings, because they did not spoil easily, he and Madam Xie could prepare them the night before.

"Two hundred catties isn't even enough," Xu Yongyi said, pointing to the couple busy weighing cold dishes for customers. "It's dinner time now, the best time for cold dishes to sell, but their stall only has about ten catties left. I only gave the last batch of cold dishes to the East and West Market stalls because I wanted to build a good reputation; I didn't supply the other three stalls. Otherwise, they wouldn't have anything to sell now."

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" Xu Xi asked.

"I plan to add another fifty jin tomorrow," Xu Yongyi said.

After saying that, he hesitated again. "I think fifty jin is about right. If it's really too little, then we'll sell less; it's better than having some left over and wasting it."

Xu Xi repeatedly emphasized the importance of ensuring the hygiene and quality of the cold dishes. Any spoiled food should never be sold, lest it damage their reputation. Xu Yongyi agreed. Therefore, to avoid waste, they simply preferred to serve smaller quantities.

Xu Xi remained noncommittal and then asked, "When do you plan to open your stall in the capital?"

Xu Yongyi sighed, "I'm already too busy to handle things in the county town. I don't even dare to think about going to the capital."

Xu Xi nodded. "I won't say anything else, I just want to ask you, Uncle, how much does it cost you to prepare 250 catties of cold dishes a day, and how much profit do you make? Once others learn how to make cold dishes, how much will you still earn?"

Xu Yongyi smiled with satisfaction, "I've calculated it; the profit for a day is over two taels."

He had calculated the day's profit in his mind countless times.

Vegetables are cheap to produce, but they become heavier after washing and cooking. A pound of vegetables sells for ten coins; after deducting the cost of raw materials and labor, the profit per pound is five coins. Today, we made 150 pounds of vegetables, netting a profit of 750 coins.

Meat dishes are expensive to produce and require labor to process. They sell for 60 coins per catty, with a profit of 30 coins. Because we were unsure about the market, we only prepared 50 catties of meat today, making a net profit of 1,500 coins, or 1.5 taels of silver.

In other words, he and Madam Xie could earn two taels and two mace of silver a day. After a month, they would have about sixty taels. After deducting the 40% profit given to Xu Xi, they would have thirty-six taels left.

Thirty-six taels! He used to be a peddler, braving wind and rain every day until his shoulders were worn out, and that was all he earned in a year.

Therefore, Xu Yongyi was particularly satisfied.

Seeing the smile on his face, Xu Xi swallowed back the words she was about to say.

She provided the initial capital and analyzed the market for him. At the time, Xu Yongyi also expressed his desire to expand the business. However, he felt pressured if the business became too large and only wanted to operate on a small scale. Xu Xi couldn't impose her will on him.

There's nothing wrong with being content with a modest life. Such people are easily satisfied and find joy in simple things, making them more likely to achieve happiness than those who are greedy and insatiable.

She only offered one piece of advice. "This recipe is easy for others to learn. Anyone with good culinary skills can get the flavor almost perfect after tasting it a few times. If you feel that you're busy enough in the county and can't manage things in the capital, you can sell the secret recipe to someone there. I'm not saying you'll get much, but you can easily sell this chili oil recipe for two or three hundred taels of silver; if the deal goes well, five or six hundred taels is possible."

Xu Yongyi paused for a moment, then shook his head vigorously. "No, no, this secret recipe is yours. What would it look like if I took it out to sell?"

"If you don't sell it, it'll be worthless in a while. Unless you take over the market in the capital as well. If you're going to give up the capital market, you should sell it quickly. If you really feel bad about it, you can give me the money. Don't let it go to waste," Xu Xi said.

She genuinely felt sorry for Xu Yongyi.

If you expand your operations not only throughout the capital but also in restaurants, how much profit could you make in a day? Dozens of taels wouldn't be a problem.

"It's getting late, I should go back. Uncle, please give my regards to Aunt." Xu Xi waved to Xu Yongyi with a smile and was about to walk towards the carriage when Qingfeng ran over anxiously.

"Young lady, an old man just came up to our carriage and started chatting with us, asking Uncle Lu about your situation," Qingfeng said anxiously.

Normally, someone like Xu Xi would have one or two guards accompanying her to and from school. However, the security in the Great Jin Dynasty has always been good, and the capital and Beining are close by, so Xu Xi said that she didn't need so many people to accompany her, and the First Madam did not insist.

At this moment, Qingfeng deeply regretted letting the girl act willfully.

"What old man?" Xu Xi's first thought was Master Kang.

Artists like this are most passionate about their profession. If Master Kang remembers her painting style, it's possible that he might go back and chase after her again.

"I probed him a bit, and he said he was the butler of Proprietor Xu of the Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion Jewelry Store," Qingfeng said.

Xu Xi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"How did he find your way here?" Upon hearing that it was Abundant and Prosperous Pavilion, Xu Yongyi recalled their actions of following them that day and immediately became nervous.

"It's nothing," Xu Xi waved her hand calmly. "They just want the design drawings."

"But sister, you..." Xu Xue remembered that Xu Xi had already made an agreement with Madam Xiao and was about to bring it up, but then she remembered that this was something she had kept from Qingfeng, so she immediately stopped talking.

"It's alright, I'll go and meet them." Xu Xi didn't seem to mind.

She wasn't familiar with the people in the Marquis's mansion before, so she had to be careful and didn't want them to know that she had the ability to make money. But now that she knew for sure that she was the First Madam's child, she only needed to present the evidence to everyone and didn't need to be so cautious. And since the First Madam treated her sincerely, it didn't matter if she revealed a little bit of her secret.

Seeing Xu Xi's reaction, everyone calmed down and surrounded Xu Xi as they led her to the carriage.

At this moment, Xu Xinda also escorted the young masters to the silver shop, and at Fu Yunlang's signal, he came out of the silver shop and went to the carriage.

Seeing Xu Xi approaching, he quickly stepped forward, raised his hand in a gesture of Xu Xi, and said, "Miss Xu."

Qingfeng was worried that these people were there to cause trouble, and had already revealed Xu Xi's identity as the young lady of the Marquis of Suiping's Residence in his words. Therefore, Xu Xinda's attitude towards Xu Xi was more respectful than the other day.

"Master Xu, is there something you need?" Xu Xi didn't have time to beat around the bush and went straight to the point.