Opening Rice Noodle Shops
The situation would be different if the junior sister gave shares to the senior brother. It would mean the senior brother would also have a stake in the business. It would be his duty to manage his own business, even if it was troublesome.
It wasn't just the eldest brother; it was the same with Master and the second brother.
"Alright, I'll go ask Lord Zhang eldest brother for you," Wu Zong said. "Also, I don't want a 10% share; I'll just take the same amount as my eldest and second brothers. We'll stick to the original rules and each pay you three thousand taels of silver as principal; otherwise, I wouldn't feel comfortable taking any dividends from you."
Seeing that Zhao Ruxi was about to speak, he raised his hand to stop her. "Don't say anything about refusing. This iron cabinet of yours is guaranteed to make money. We've only just invested money and are already taking advantage of you, waiting to pick up the profits. What would it be like if we didn't even give you the principal?"
"Alright," Zhao Ruxi had no choice but to agree, "Then you help me persuade Lord Zhang and my eldest and second senior brothers."
Wu Zong tapped Zhao Ruxi's forehead with his finger. "You're always causing me trouble."
He stood up. "Lord Zhang is busy, and my senior brother is no less so. We won't find an opportunity to speak with them right away; we'll need a suitable time. Give me a few days, and I'll send someone to inform you when I have news."
"No rush. But it's not good to ask for help for nothing, and it's also difficult for you, Senior Brother, to ask for it. If Lord Zhang is willing to agree, I can give up 10% of the shares. Lord Zhang can keep them himself, or the Court of Judicial Review can keep them. They don't need to put up any capital; it's just a free share. What do you think?"
Wu Zong stared at Zhao Ruxi for a moment, then smiled and tapped her with his finger, saying, "I don't know what kind of discerning eyes Master had back then, recognizing such a clever little thing like you. Alright, I'll talk to Lord Zhang."
Wu Zong didn't need to manage his own household affairs, but he dealt with cases and interacted with all sorts of people every day, so he had a general idea of prices.
A metal cabinet like this, if made at a blacksmith's shop, would only cost a few dozen or a hundred taels of silver. The lock, though formidable, shouldn't be too expensive if you know how to make it. The entire cabinet would cost no more than two hundred taels of silver at most.
But Zhao Ruxi wanted to sell it for eight hundred taels, making a profit of six hundred taels from each cabinet. Counting the wealthy families in the capital, hundreds or even thousands of such cabinets could be sold, not to mention merchants from other places.
A thousand iron cabinets equal 600,000 taels of silver. A 10% profit is 60,000 taels. Most people would be reluctant to give away even a 10% profit. But my junior sister gave it away without hesitation. Her magnanimity and worldly wisdom are truly unlike those of a fourteen-year-old girl.
Once Zhang Changshen Zhang Changshen the Court of Judicial Review Court of Judicial Review have received the profits, they can simply declare that the iron cabinet is their business. In the entire capital, who would dare to touch this business? Even the Crown Prince and princes would have to think twice.
By spending tens of thousands of taels of silver, she can secure multiple allies and shields to ensure the business continues smoothly. Junior Sister's calculations are truly remarkable!
After agreeing on the terms, Wu Zong went off to find a solution, while Zhao Ruxi busied herself enjoying the rice noodles prepared by the cook.
Although she provided the method, due to the competition, the chefs who wanted to win over her had to think for themselves and use their own ideas and experience to make the rice noodles with the best texture and taste.
So some of them add glutinous rice paste or wheat paste to the rice flour batter, while others focus on the ingredients and soup base of the rice noodles. The resulting rice noodles have all sorts of different textures, sweet, salty, savory, spicy, and many more.
Of course, only the dishes presented to Zhao Ruxi were ones that the chef himself had tasted and found satisfactory. Anything that was too unpalatable or inedible was rejected outright by the chef.
Zhao Ruxi not only tasted it herself, but also let Qingfeng, Dianjiang, Zhou Chun, and Sister-in-law Li taste it together. Those who thought it tasted good wrote it down and recorded their tasting experience.
In the end, everyone chose the rice noodles with the best taste.
"Have them make it and dry it in the sun, then see how the dried rice noodles taste. If it's good, use this recipe," Zhao Ruxi said.
"As for the ingredients or recipe, I have an idea; you can have them try it again," Zhao Ruxi said.
To win her favor, the chefs went to great lengths to ensure the ingredients and broth tasted the best.
However, when doing business, cost must be taken into account. Those methods that use seafood, mutton, or beef as a base, even if they taste good, are not the best choice.
Besides cost, convenience should also be considered. Overly complicated methods are not suitable for large-scale operations.
Ancient people's thinking was often limited by their own experience and knowledge. Zhao Ruxi had eaten and seen too many good things in her previous life, so it was necessary to point them in the right direction in terms of taste.
"Have them make a broth with spices, it needs to be salty, savory, and fragrant. Just a small spoonful is enough to make the rice noodles in the bowl fragrant and flavorful. And the meat braised in this broth can be sliced and placed on top of the bowl, a few slices of braised meat per bowl."
She wanted the chefs to recreate the flavor of the braised rice noodles she had eaten in her previous life, just like the ones in Guilin.
"Yes." Zhou Chun went to relay the message.
After trying various kinds of rice noodles prepared with different braising sauces, Zhao Ruxi finally found the taste from her previous life.
"For this bowl, have him add fried peanuts, soybeans, stir-fried pickled green beans, a little scallion and cilantro, and the flavor will be even richer. You can also fry the pork and use it as a side dish with the braised dishes." Zhao Ruxi gave the final ingredients, and the bowl of braised dish noodles was ready.
"Make another soup-based rice noodle dish. Using seafood, mutton, or beef as the base is too expensive. I'll teach you a method: have the boys in the village go and collect snails. Use those snails to make the soup, and add some pork bones. The soup will be just as delicious as seafood, but the cost will be negligible. With lower costs, the price of the rice noodles will also decrease, and business will naturally be easier."
"Girl, you're amazing!" Zhou Chun exclaimed in admiration.
After the raw rice noodles were dried, Zhao Ruxi tasted them and felt that the texture was even better. The taste was no worse than that of raw rice noodles, and they were even a bit chewier. She was finally satisfied.
She instructed Zhou Chun: "Have all the cooks learn how to make this dried rice noodle. Then go to the estate and have the women and children sign up, paying each ten copper coins a day. Each cook should be assigned ten women and children to supervise, and the cooks should guide these women and children in making qualified rice noodles. The group that makes them the fastest and best will receive a reward of ten taels of silver. As for how to distribute the rewards, you can decide."
"Yes."
"In addition, go and buy four more shops. Adding to the two we already have, I want to open six rice noodle shops in the city, and each of these cooks will manage one. They can sell not only rice noodles, but also the snacks they used to specialize in. The profits can be shared among them. Find six capable people from our people who can manage things and keep accounts, and then pick two capable women and children from each group in the village to help out at the shops."
Another business opportunity! Zhou Chun was filled with excitement, and his voice rose considerably as he agreed, "Yes, miss."