My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

Chapter 152: A new store is opening

The Si family workshop has officially started operations. Currently, they produce 3,000 pieces a day, which is not a large number. Si Muyan divides the production process into five steps, with two people responsible for each step.

According to her previous calculations, she could make at least 10,000 servings a day.

Therefore, now, workers only work in the morning, go home for lunch at noon, and then go about their own business in the afternoon.

Some workers saw this and became quite worried, so they pulled the wife of the village head over to ask what was going on.

"The workshop only does so much work in a day. How can it support so many of us?"

The village head's wife glanced at her sideways and said, "I'm letting you get paid for nothing, and you're not happy about that?"

"That's not what I meant. It's just... didn't you say before that you would continue to recruit workers once the business was established? Now the situation..."

The woman has a younger sister on her natal side. Her husband is weak and cannot carry anything. The family relies on her younger sister to farm the small piece of land. Life is too hard. She is thinking that if it is appropriate, she will take her younger sister to do the work.

It's in the next village, so it's convenient.

The village head's wife said, "The workshop has only been open for a few days, yet you're worried about something so far in the future. Let me ask you, when the Si family was selling cakes and porridge last year, did you ever think this workshop could be built?"

"..."

"Our Songji Village workshop was built in just seven or eight days, and it's already operational. What does this mean? It means the Si family's business has made a name for itself, and it's only a matter of time before it becomes prosperous."

It’s no wonder that the village head’s wife is so confident. Two days ago, the headman came over and saw such a large workshop in the village. He was so happy that he gave a thumbs up and praised her husband again and again.

The man also said that if every household in the village could make ends meet, abandonment of the elderly and children would be rare. When everyone has enough food and warm clothes, everyone will be willing to have children.

Children are the hope of a family and a village.

For her husband, if the village develops well, the county will reward him.

Isn’t it a happy event?

Si Muyan arranged for Zhu Laoer and He Laiqian to take a few people to Lingnan City to check out the Feng family's situation. Once they were sure, they could sign the contract. Then they would go to Lingnan City and the surrounding counties to take a look around and see if they could negotiate other business deals.

With their first successful experience, Zhu Laoer and He Laiqian were full of energy and were not afraid at all when going out. They even bought themselves two sets of decent clothes out of their own pockets, just so that they would not be looked down upon when they went out to discuss business.

Seeing this, the younger sister wanted to give them some silver.

Zhu Laoer waved his hand: "The travel allowance that the eldest lady gave us is more than enough. We are so old, and she has negotiated a marriage, and she also gave us extra rewards. How can we ask for money for these two sets of clothes?"

Lai Qian also smiled and said, "Sister Wan'er, we are making money now. We can afford it!"

The younger sister laughed and patted Laiqian's shoulder: "Yes, we all make money, we can afford it!"

To others, the younger sister looked relaxed, but when she returned home and saw her elder sister staying in the kitchen and not coming out, she was worried.

She held Xiaoxia in her arms and walked into the kitchen. She could smell the aroma of the marinade, which made Xiaoxia's mouth water.

"Our Xiaoxia has grown up and wants to eat. Your aunt makes so many delicious foods every day, but she doesn't give them to you. She's really mean."

Xiaoxia followed suit and babbled, as if she was also accusing Si Muyan.

Si Muyan smiled, made a small dish and handed it to her younger sister, then reached out and held Xiaoxiaer over: "Try it."

The younger sister took one look and said, "This is... vegetarian? Weren't you going to make braised chicken and duck before?"

Si Muyan nodded. "Yes, I'm planning to open a new shop specializing in duck products. Duck necks, duck wings, duck racks, duck legs, duck gizzards, duck livers, duck intestines, and duck hearts are all delicious. But if they're all meat, they'll get greasy. If I pair them with some vegetarian vegetables like bean sprouts, they'll definitely sell well."

"..." The younger sister wanted to ask, "Will this thing sell well?" But she also felt that as long as the elder sister said so, it would sell well.

She took a bite of the braised bean shoots and sweet potatoes, and her eyes widened immediately. "Can you eat it this way? It's really delicious! It's so flavorful. Big sis, you are really a genius. The food you braise is much better than what's sold outside."

Si Muyan laughed: "You like it too, right?"

In her opinion, anything the Si family was used to eating would definitely sell. Daddy and her sisters were once from a noble family, so what delicious food hadn't they tasted? Their tastes had become quite sophisticated. Later, they fell on hard times and suffered so much, truly experiencing every aspect of life.

So if the Si family thinks it tastes good, then it must be really delicious.

"I like to eat, but..." The younger sister hesitated and asked, "Sister, our workshop was only built not long ago, and we haven't even received the first payment yet. We rely entirely on the income from the food store to support us. Where will we get the capital to open another store now?"

The food shop only makes a net profit of two or three taels a day. Most of the raw materials needed for the workshop currently have to be purchased from outside, so there is hardly any profit left for the food shop.

Si Muyan said: "Business is booming."

The younger sister also knew that she couldn't stop her elder sister from doing what she was going to do, so she said, "I was just thinking that the time when we actually have a lot of money is really not that often."

It’s really difficult to save any money because it will be spent by my elder sister.

But, my elder sister is right.

It was half a month later that Zhu Laoer and his men returned. They brought back not only three contracts from the Feng family, but also seven others.

"This guy Laiqian is young, but he's very smart, has a quick tongue, and knows how to flatter people. Look, the five families in Lingnan City have all been booked!"

Lai Qian chuckled and touched the back of his head: "I think I'm not suited to staying in the shop, so I'm better off running out. I want to negotiate and close all the deals in all the counties in Lingnan City!"

"Good, you're ambitious!" Si Muyan said, "Then our workshop will need 5,000 servings a day. Keep up the good work."

With work to do, everyone was enthusiastic. Besides the workshop workers, the number of people growing vegetables and raising poultry in the village was increasing. The women, when free, stopped gossiping about other families and instead talked most about the recent large-scale chicken, duck, and goose farming, or how to grow vegetables well.

"The poultry feed that Yan Yatou brought back is very good. After I used it, my chickens and ducks grew well and were less likely to get sick."

"Really? It's only been a month and three chickens and two ducks have died. I'm so heartbroken. I'll go to my boss's house and buy some."

Some people also questioned: "Is the Si family doing this on purpose? They let us raise chickens and ducks and grow vegetables just so we can buy fertilizer and feed from them?"

The woman who spoke first shook her head. "If you don't like it, then don't buy it. The Si family's fertilizer and feed are cheap, so I originally just wanted to give it a try. I didn't expect it to be so good. Look, whose vegetables are as good as mine?"