As soon as Zhao Yuande, Zhao He, and Shao Yun'an arrived at the door of Yizhangxuan, shopkeeper Xu came out, and I don't know if he was waiting here specially. After Shao Yun'an introduced the two parties, the three of them followed shopkeeper Xu to the room where shopkeeper Xu worked behind Yizhangxuan. Zhao Yuande and Zhao He took out four bottles of jam from the back basket, and Shao Yunan explained that these four bottles were all made by Zhao He, and two of them contained sweet-scented osmanthus. Shopkeeper Xu immediately brought a spoon to taste.
The taste of the two bottles of jam without sweet-scented osmanthus was not as good as the one Shao Yunan gave to shopkeeper Zeng, but it was not bad. Shopkeeper Xu still accepted the price agreed yesterday. The jam with sweet-scented osmanthus has another taste, and the shopkeeper Xu accepts it, adding an additional 50 Wen to the original price. After all, sweet-scented osmanthus is also considered a cost. Zhao Yuande and Zhao He had no objections at all, and shopkeeper Xu immediately ordered someone to write the contract. Shao Yunan mentioned preservation again. If Zhao Yuande did the fresh-keeping treatment first, then it would be difficult for shopkeeper Xu to inspect the goods after receiving them; if shopkeeper Xu and the others did the fresh-keeping treatment by themselves, it would be possible to avoid any bottle of jam that did not meet their requirements. , affecting each other's integrity.
After Shao Yunan said that he would provide fresh-keeping methods free of charge, shopkeeper Xu said that they should still do the fresh-keeping. They still have to check the quality of each batch of goods, and let them keep fresh so that they can be easily packed. In addition, they will provide jam jars, which do not require the Rizheng family to pay for them. Zhao Yuande and Zhao Hezhen didn't know how to thank Shao Yun'an. In this way, another fresh-keeping contract was signed, and Shao Yun'an immediately explained the method of keeping fresh. He couldn't write many words here, so shopkeeper Xu wrote them down himself.
The best way to keep jam fresh is definitely preservatives, but there are none here. The method provided by Shao Yunan is to boil the prepared jam in a jar with hot water, cover it with a layer of cloth or paper for about ten minutes, and quickly seal it with paraffin or mud, similar to the preservation of wine. There is also a way to pour paraffin wax on the mouth of the bottle, then slowly invert the jar to expel the air, and finally seal it. Just scoop out the paraffin when eating. Of course, the paraffin wax used here must be edible paraffin wax, but there was no petroleum in ancient times, and the refined paraffin wax was basically non-toxic and harmless paraffin wax.
After the two contracts were written, shopkeeper Xu expressed his hope that the first batch of jam would be delivered as soon as possible. As long as the quality of the jam can meet the standard delivered today, I will charge as much as I can. It was also stated in the deed that Yizhangxuan would only receive jam from Lizheng's house. The jam with sweet-scented osmanthus is half and half with no addition. If the jam with sweet-scented osmanthus is more popular, then increase the order. Shopkeeper Xu immediately paid a deposit of fifty taels of silver.
As soon as he handed over four bottles of jam, he got fifty taels back. Zhao Yuande went out and got into the bullock cart, his hands still trembling. Zhao He is not much better. This time Shao Yunan taught him how to make jam directly, and Zhao He was grateful for it. He is a husband and wife with only one child. Although Zhao Yuande loves him, he will always feel sad. Now he is mainly responsible for making the jam, and Zhao He has gained a lot of self-confidence.
Back in the village, Shao Yun'an explained the matter to Li Zheng and his wife again, and then went to guide Zhao He to make jam in large quantities. Aunt Zhao Liu, Zhao Yuande and Li Zheng handled the fruit. There are too many fruits received, so we must deal with them quickly. Lizhengjia didn't plan to ask others to help with this batch of fruit, they got tired when they were tired, and when this batch was sold, they really had a bottom line in their hearts, let's talk about it.
The steward of the land department came in the morning, and it happened that Shao Yun'an was at home. Leading by Lizheng, the steward led people to measure the land. The two homesteads plus ten acres of mountain land, the total was only ninety-eight taels, which was much less than Lizheng estimated. The life of the people is not easy. In those places that have suffered from disasters and wars, many lands are barren and there are no people to cultivate them. So now the land is selling cheaply, and the court also hopes that the people can return to their hometowns to farm with peace of mind. Seeing this, Shao Yunan immediately expanded the new homestead, bought another ten acres of mountain land, and also bought ten acres of dry land not far from the new home, adding an additional forty-six taels. Shopkeeper Xu only gave one hundred and fifty taels of silver as a thank you, even if Wang Shijing's "private house" was not moved, Shao Yun'an was not short of money.
The steward kindly reminded that if you buy so many fields and don’t plant anything, you will be fined, and there is no one-year tax holiday for the ten acres of dry land. Shao Yunan said that they will plant it and pay taxes on time. But seeing him spend more than a hundred taels of silver in one breath without blinking his eyelids, he already knew that Shao Yun'an and the county magistrate seemed to be on good terms, so he didn't say much. Immediately, he went to Lizheng's house to write down the deed in triplicate, which was in charge of the Land Secretary, Lizheng and Shao Yun'an respectively. Wang Shijing was not at home, Shao Yunan pressed his fingerprint and wrote his name, Li Zheng didn't say much. Before Wang Shijing went up the mountain, he said that the land and houses of his family were all written under Shao Yun'an's name, and Shao Yun'an was the master of his family.
The steward took the people away, and before he left, Uncle Lizheng gave a small jar of freshly made jam to return Shao Yun'an's favor. The steward immediately beamed with joy, and his words became more polite. Shao Yun'an was not polite to Li Zheng, he now owns a house and land, and happily brought his two children home. As soon as he entered the house, he took the land deed and house deed into the space while the two children were away.
Wang Shijing came back only in the evening, and when he came back, he was confronted with the "rumours" that "the Shijing family bought a big house site and 30 acres of land for more than 140 taels of silver". Wang Shijing ignored it, and returned home with a group of lads full of baskets. Shao Yun'an saw that they had returned with a full load, and smiled so much that his eyes were crooked.
Wang Shijing asked Wang Qing to borrow the scale, weigh it on the spot, and give the money after weighing. The tea leaves they pick are all Longjing tea. Wang Shijing asked the seven or eight young men who went with him to collect the tea according to the grade. Wang Shijing gave 150 Wen per catty for the best fresh leaves, 50 Wen per catty for the worst ones, and 80 Wen per catty for the medium ones. Shao Yun'an didn't care, he just gave Wang Shijing the money bag.
After everyone left contentedly, Wang Shijing explained: "You said that the tea leaves are best picked in spring, and you will pay more at that time. They just started picking, so there must be some bad things. Don’t give so much. If there is too much difference between the worst and the best, I will pick the best in the future. You said that as long as it is made by you, even the worst tea will be bought. Good fresh leaves After all, it is a minority, so I added the price of inferior tea."
Shao Yun'an kissed his index finger, and tapped on Wang Shijing's lips: "You are very business-minded. I will leave the tea collection to you in the future."
Wang Shijing pulled Shao Yunan over, and imprinted his chapped lips on Shao Yunan's lips. Wang Qing hurriedly dragged Nizi into the kitchen, do not look at evil.
A total of more than 120 catties of fresh leaves were harvested during this trip, and about 30 catties of tea leaves could be produced. This is because the villagers picked tea leaves and sold them in the county. The mountain king Shijing in the west didn’t take anyone there, it was their own—although he hadn’t bought it completely, he took people to run around other safe areas on the mountain in the village, and there were forty or fifty old tea trees scattered here and there. . However, it may be that many villagers picked them, and the crabs had legs, but they were not as good as the ones they found in Xishan, and they only weighed ten catties.
After picking so many fresh leaves, I have to work again at night. Shao Yunan made dinner early, and after eating, the two children went to arrange their own affairs, and he and Wang Shijing handled the fresh leaves. People in the village wondered what the Lizheng family was doing with so many red sour fruits and wild peaches. Some families guessed whether it was for making jam, but it was Lizheng's family, and no one dared to ask. As for Wang Shijing's collection of tea, the villagers guessed that they might make tea and sell it for money, but they all expressed doubts about it. But the tea is easy to make? The tea in the shop is extremely expensive, and the worst tea is not something ordinary people can afford. Can Shao Yunan and Wang Shijing make tea? If it could be done, the Wang family and the Shao family would have already made money.
Wang Shijing and Shao Yun'an closed the gate of the courtyard to isolate any rumors. The two spread out the tea leaves, and Shao Yun'an sprinkled the essence of the Lingquan water with his hands first, and then began to make tea after drying. He didn't sleep all night, Wang Shijing only squinted for two hours in the morning, and left again with the money bag in his pocket. Shao Yun'an refused to let him rest for a day. He was going to Shanyang Village, Zhao He asked him to go directly to his father, and his parents were collecting fruits in Shanyang Village. When Wang Shijing left, Shao Yun'an wiped his eyes, wiped his eyes in turn, brought him two gourds of water, and specially told him to keep the water for himself to drink.
Wang Shijing wanted to finish harvesting and making the tea leaves before the busy season, and then he would find someone to build a house and reclaim the newly purchased 30 mu of land to plant grain. Originally, he wanted to ask the villagers to help build the house after the busy farming season, but it was cold at that time, and now Wang Shijing was afraid that Shao Yun'an would be frozen. Anyway, there are many refugees in the county who have lost their land and come from other places to find work. It is not difficult to find people, and the most is to spend more money. The family is too small and poor now. The big bathroom that Shao Yun was thinking about always weighed on Wang Shijing's heart.
Wang Shijing went out that day and came back that night, so the fresh leaves he harvested could not be released. Shao Yun'an couldn't bear him being so tired. When the tea leaves came back, he drove Wang Shijing to rest, and he took care of it. Wang Shijing went out early and returned late every day, and Shao Yun'an was exhausted. Although there was spiritual spring water and spiritual milk, he didn't dare to drink the spiritual milk directly, because he still felt tired. Within a few days, Wang Shijing became visibly thinner. Several times, Shao Yun'an couldn't help talking about the space, so that the fresh leaves picked could be put in the space and processed slowly without rushing.
In addition to Wang Shijing and Shao Yun'an in the village, Li Zheng's family is the busiest. The day before yesterday, he signed a contract with Shopkeeper Xu, and Li Zheng's family worked all night that night, making three big jars of goat's milk jam and a big jar of peach jam. In order not to attract attention, Zhao Yuande and Zhao He drove cattle and sheep to the county seat when it was dawn. When Zhao Yuanqing and Li Caijuan came back, the couple also joined in the busy work. After discussing with Aunt Zhao Liu, Lizheng called Zhao He's adoptive parents over to help.
Zhao He's adoptive parents are only his son, and Zhao He's adoptive father is also an only son, and the two are also tight-lipped and down-to-earth people, Li Zheng did not hide the matter of their jam, and when they knew about it, they immediately stated that they would never tell others , and Li Zheng was not even allowed to tell them how to make jam, they only did the preparatory work. The attitude of the two reassured Lizheng and Aunt Zhao Liu, and made Zhao He very happy. The attitude of his parents made him feel more comfortable in his "in-law's house".
Just in this busyness, the busy farming has arrived. Lizheng's family also made jams and sold them to Yizhangxuan except for the goat's milk fruit and wild peaches collected by Shao Yun'an. Osmanthus fragrans are not harvested by the villagers, so it is enough to pick some from the mountains. Zhao Yuande has already made a plan to buy a few more acres of land to plant fruit trees in the spring, and then buy all the open space in his backyard, transplant osmanthus, and plant some goat's milk fruit and fruit trees. For the future, Li Zheng's family is full of confidence. And the reason why they are so satisfied is because the final statistics of this transaction made them think that they were dreaming.
They collected more than 300 catties of goat milk fruit, and after excluding the ones given to Shao Yunan, there were still more than 200 catties. They collected more than 100 catties of wild peaches. All the jams made are sold, not counting as a fraction, earning 174 taels, and the cost of fruit collection plus labor is at most 20 taels, which is equal to Lizheng’s net profit of at least 150 taels, deducting 10% of the profit for Shao Yun’an , that also has 135 taels. It only took about ten days of hard work, and I earned 135 taels! The whole family of Lizheng’s family worked hard all year round, and when the years were good, they only paid thirty or forty taels. Now twenty taels a year is not bad, but now, they earned 135 taels in one go! Give Shao Yunan 100 taels, and they still have 35 taels!
Li Zheng immediately felt that he was going to be short of breath, and the two brothers Zhao Yuande and Zhao Yuanqing hurriedly rubbed their father's chest in fright. Aunt Zhao Liu was so happy that she couldn't keep her mouth shut, she quickly asked Zhao Yuande to send him the 100 taels of money owed to Shao Yun'an. This time they really took advantage of Shao Yun'an and Wang Shijing. Shao Yun'an only collected 50 taels first, and Li Zheng's family also received red dates and hawthorns, so he was not in a hurry to spend the money. Zhao Yuande was not polite to him and put down the 50 taels.
The news about the jam will spread sooner or later. Yizhangxuan's jam business has already opened. It is said that it is extremely hot, and the supply is in short supply. But the red sour fruit is gone, and the wild fruit is almost extinct at this time, so shopkeeper Xu has to sell it in limited quantities every day. Because there is a way to preserve freshness, Yizhangxuan immediately sent people to send some of the jam to the state capital after receiving the jam for freshness preservation, and even sent people to send several jars of jam to the capital. Zhao Yuande has been paying attention to the situation at Yizhangxuan. Seeing that the sales of the jam are so hot, he knows that the matter of the jam will not be kept secret for a long time. Zhao Yuande made a plan with his father and brothers. Before the villagers realized that the jam was related to their family, they hurriedly collected the red dates and red hawthorns. This time the price was higher. Wen Yijin.
Wang Shijing and Shao Yun'an were buying a house, land, and cattle and sheep. Mrs. Wang, who was already worried about the money for the stone, was angry and anxious. Wang Zhisong persuaded from the side, but how could he have no idea in his heart. The two spent tens of hundreds of taels. If the family can give him the money, he can buy good pens and inks, go to Fucheng to buy better books, and even make some connections around. Enter the Imperial College in Fucheng. But Wang Zhisong didn't dare to ask his parents to ask for it, so he could only persuade him again and again aggrieved.
Don't worry too much about Wang Chunxiu, with that money, the family is enough to buy a girl. Does she still need to do those dirty and tiring jobs? Moreover, how much good material and jewelry can be bought for her with that amount of money. The only thing she has on her body is a silver bracelet, which she begged her mother for a long time before buying it for her. That little slut Wang Ni is wearing Baiyu's earrings!
The whole family was aggrieved, and Wang Shijing spent so much money collecting tea again. Although it was said that Shao Yun'an sold a good idea and made money, no one in the Wang family believed it. With Shao Yunan's mud-legged background, what good idea can he sell for so much money? If he had a good idea, the Shao family would have made money a long time ago, and he would definitely be reluctant to marry Shao Yunan just like that. The Wang family still firmly believed that Wang Shijing was keeping the money behind their backs, or that they still had stones in their hands.
The more she thought about it, the more unwilling Mrs. Wang went to find the patriarch Wang Wenhe again. She didn't go to Lizheng, she was scolded so badly by Lizheng last time, and she also knew that Lizheng would definitely not make decisions for her. Since Guo Zhaodi was not here, Mrs. Wang took Wang Chunxiu with her. This time, whatever you say, you have to get some money out of the family's hands!