in2ebook Chapter 158 Profits from Setting Up a Stall
Chapter 158 Profits from Setting Up a Stall
"This cage of iron generals weighs at least 15 to 18 kilograms." Li Erlang said as he weighed the weight in his hand.
"More than that! The iron general weighs ten kilograms at least." said old man Li.
Li Meir scooped seawater into the bucket while packing up her things. "Get it out quickly and put the crab cage back in. Won't we have another harvest tomorrow? Now we have enough lotus crabs. We can have another dish on the stall tomorrow."
Li Yuer said, "We are short of manpower, Third Uncle, call Datou and the others to the market tomorrow. Jiaqueer will learn to solicit customers from Second Brother, and Datou will do the accounting. We can also take turns. Brother Laizi will be in charge of loading the dishes. Pay them 40 cents a day each. If school starts in the future, you can also work in two shifts, and the other shift can go to class."
Li Laosan felt warm in his heart and said, "Thank you."
Li Yuer patted him on the shoulder and said, "Why thank me? They do a good job and are loyal to you. It's not easy to find such capable people who have a sense of belonging."
Old Man Li and Li Erlang rushed to get off the crab cage, "Erlang, you teach your grandfather, and I'll teach your uncle later. We'll be in charge of the crab cage, so you can save some effort."
Li Erlang thought it made sense, so he started teaching patiently.
"Hahahahaha!" At this time, Li Dalang caught a big black carp that came to the ice hole to breathe. "How is it? Is it fat?"
"Fat! Perfect for making fish balls!" said Li Meir.
"Let's go! Let's go collect the next crab cage!" Li Erlang was in high spirits and urged them to hurry up while holding a bucket of water.
The second crab cage caught more crabs than the first one, and there were also a few abalone and oyster snails in it.
"Good! Good!" Old Man Li's eyes were so happy that they turned into crescents. "With this method, I can save a lot of money. Now I don't have to worry about losing money."
Several people looked at Old Man Li indignantly.
"Grandpa, what do you mean by not afraid of losing money? We didn't lose any money, okay?" Li Erlang said indignantly, "When we go back, we will count the profits of the past few days in person. I guarantee that you will be convinced. What's wrong with looking down on us?"
"Oh? Really? That's fine!" Old man Li said happily. He had always been unsure in his heart. He was worried that he would lose money, that they would be troubled by customers, and that they would be troubled by gangsters. In short, a father always worries about his son even when he is far away.
After catching the crabs and putting them back in the crab cage, they went back. The knife wind at the seaside was really cold. As the name suggests, it feels like a knife cutting people.
With the Iron General, Li Laosan and Li Meir started to make lotus crabs, while Li Dalang continued to make braised seafood. Li Erlang's cooking skills were not good, so he could only help.
Now that he has the motivation to make money, Li Erlang is no longer as lazy as before, and he is full of vitality.
In the evening, there was an additional dish of crab with lotus leaves on the table. This time the portion was large and plentiful, and everyone enjoyed it very much.
Mrs. Fan had just come out of confinement and was ordered not to eat too much. Her resentful look made Li Laoer dare not eat too much either.
After dinner, Li Yuer brought over the wicker box containing the money.
“Since everyone has invested in the company, it is not a matter of excluding others from the equity. You also have the right to know how profitable the seafood business is. Of course, the income from the stalls these days has nothing to do with your share of the money, so it will not be distributed to you.
Let’s calculate our income for the past two days.”
After the dishes were cleared away, Li Yuer poured out the money.
"Oh my God! This, this is too much! Are you selling seafood?" Li Laoer couldn't believe his eyes.
The more Old Lady Cai looked at Li Yuer, the more satisfied she became. He was the grandson who looked most like her and was a capable man.
Li Yuer said, "One hundred in a string, and we can all string them together."
Li Yuer took the twine and scissors from the fishing net and said, "Everyone, start counting quickly."
"I can't count to one hundred." Li Dalang said embarrassedly.
Everyone was stunned, and Boss Li realized that he, like his son, could not count to one hundred.
Li Yuer thought of a way and said, "You count by tens, and then ten by tens equals one hundred coins."
"This is a good idea!"
Then, everyone began to count money happily. Due to their poor counting ability, no one spoke, and only the crisp and pleasant sound of copper coins colliding could be heard.
Li Yuer counted the fastest, followed by Li Erlang, then Li Laosan, and finally, in order to train their counting abilities, Li Yuer simply stopped doing it himself and just supervised them counting the money.
While she was supervising and guiding, she was also checking what they had counted previously.
In the end, it took a full half hour to count the money.
"Oh my god! How come counting money is more tiring than cooking!" Li Dalang was actually sweating. He was afraid that he had counted wrong, so he kept highly concentrating. In the end, it was more tiring than pounding fish balls.
Li Lao Da and Li Lao Er are not much better. The two of them have even fewer people than their wives. It's really a sign of a lack of husbandly authority!
Li Yuer looked at the strings of copper coins and said happily, "I calculated it, the total is 2,215 coins!"
"How much?" Old man Li thought he was old and his hearing was not as sensitive as before.
Li Yu'er said it again clearly: "Don't be so surprised, okay? Be more confident! Really! The total is two thousand two hundred and fifteen coins!"
"Oh my God!" The quiet Zhang was so shocked that she couldn't close her mouth. "Two, two taels!"
Mrs. Fan looked at Yu Baoer and said, "My girl, did you calculate correctly? How many days did you earn this?"
"Why are you so unconfident?" Old Mrs. Cai said bluntly, "Yu Baoer said two taels, so it's two taels! And it's two days, so it's earned in two days."
Everyone seemed to feel relieved and happy.
Li Yuer went on to say: "There are also costs involved. We have to deduct the costs. The price of spices is not cheap, and we have to deduct the wages later.
And, you forgot, this is the New Year temple fair period, and many people are willing to spend money, but you may not get such good returns in a few days.
But it’s hard to say. We just started selling this product and many people don’t know about it. Once they try our product, they will definitely find it delicious. Maybe our customer base will increase!”
Li Erlang couldn't wait to ask: "How do we divide the money?"
Li Yuer said, "After deducting the cost, let's divide the rest equally! I'll keep the public account for now, and you can check it at will later."
Although Li Yuer could not establish a complete account book like that of later generations, he could make clear the basic borrowings and debits.
After deducting the cost of 400 wen, because sugar is needed in the marinade, star anise and other medicinal materials are also relatively expensive, and there is also the cost of purchasing seafood and paying labor costs of more than 300 wen, the cost of 400 wen is about the same.
The rest was divided equally among five parts, and each person earned several hundred coins. In just two days, the Li family's surplus of the past ten years was saved up.
Old man Li smoked his pipe to calm himself down, "Business, make money!"
Old Mrs. Cai said, "Is that a profitable business? It's because Yu Baoer had a good idea that we made money. With our cooking skills in the past, do you think anyone would buy it?"
Boss Li agreed and said, "Aniang is right. You may not know that Yu Baoer and his men have prepared crab cages. All they have to do is to drill a hole in the ice and put the crab cage inside. The crab will crawl in by itself, and once it's in, there's no way it can get out."