Chen Xuan was busy with strawberry business and had no time to care about Miss Qin. April and May were the months when strawberries bloomed. Chen Xuan planted strawberries in batches, and the fertilizer application time was different for different batches of strawberries. At the end of May, some strawberries began to bear fruit. Wei Nian started selling strawberries from last year. Chen Xuan was afraid that if too many strawberries were planted, the price would drop. After all, Chen Xuan had read books and knew the truth that "scarcity makes things valuable".
For this reason, Chen Xuan privately consulted Wei Nian. Wei Nian smiled and said, "Do you know how many rich people there are in Beijing? How many kilograms of strawberries do we have? Now the two yards together are about one acre. However, the hotel sells one acre of strawberries to the rich and powerful. It is far from being common. Only when that time comes, these strawberries will be worthless."
Chen Xuan was relieved. She still had something to discuss with Wei Nian. Chen Xuan said, "I was thinking of sending a pound of rice to Mr. Wen. Brother An Nian, do you think it's okay?"
"That's fine. Pick them and I'll deliver them myself." Wei Nian liked Chen Xuan's character of not being stingy and willing to give away things. He thought Chen Xuan was generous and knew how to treat people. Chen Xuan herself was reluctant to eat any of these strawberries. She was thinking that Mr. Wen was a man of extraordinary character and knowledge, and he had helped her a lot. Now that she knew him, she should treat him as an elder.
Chen Xuan treated Old Madam Wei and Old Grandpa Wei the same way. When the new strawberries were ripe, Chen Xuan picked a big bowl and gave it to the two old people first. She didn't say many clever words to please the elders, but Chen Xuan was very down-to-earth. If she picked them and brought them over, I'm afraid Old Grandpa Wei and Old Madam Wei would just taste one each. Chen Xuan washed them directly in well water. The strawberries that the hotel wanted couldn't be washed, and washed strawberries had a short storage life. So, after washing, the family had to eat them themselves. Old Madam Wei ate while muttering, "This thing that costs a pound of silver now, just wash three or two and let everyone taste it. You really don't mind spending money." But she knew Chen Xuan was a good person in her heart, at least she wasn't stingy.
Chen Xuan said, "Last year we planted too few, so my grandma and grandpa didn't eat many. This year we planted more, so we can try more."
Old Mrs. Wei sternly warned Chen Xuan, "Don't pick them like this and eat them at home in the future. This is not our family tradition. Sell them when you can make money. The smaller ones that are left over later, the less good ones, are just as sweet."
"Well, I'll listen to the old lady." Chen Xuan didn't eat any.
Old Mrs. Wei privately said to Old Mr. Wei, "It's not in vain that we have spent the money on the car rental every month."
Old Master Wei nodded slightly.
Wei Jin was dissatisfied with Chen Xuan for only inviting the old lady and grandfather to eat strawberries without even mentioning her. Wei Jin said to Chen Xuan, "Everyone can see that, but you don't care about me, your elder sister-in-law."
Old Master Wei said to her, "With your mouth, who would dare to look at you?"
Wei Jin was choked by his father and rolled his eyes.
Old Master Wei only ate two, and the rest was shared by Old Lady Wei and the children. When he saw his eldest daughter eating strawberries with her chubby cheeks, and then looked at the gentle eldest daughter-in-law Li, and the increasingly capable second daughter-in-law Chen Xuan, even Old Master Wei, as a father, thought for a moment that it was a good thing that his daughter was married.
Wei Nian delivered strawberries to Mr. Wen and unexpectedly got a business. Mrs. Wen liked to eat strawberries very much. I heard that the strawberries were grown by the Wei family themselves and picked freshly in the morning. The strawberries in the small bamboo basket were covered with a few green strawberry leaves. When they were delivered to the Wen residence, the strawberry leaves were very fresh and you could tell what the strawberries tasted like.
Mrs. Wen asked about the price and asked Wei Nian to send someone to deliver a basket every day.
Wei Nian was embarrassed. "It was my wife who made the fruit ripe, and asked me to send the newly picked tips to my husband and wife to taste. This has turned into a business deal. My wife will definitely blame me when I go back."
Mrs. Wen smiled and said, "I won't pay for your basket of strawberries. I'll start calculating the payment from tomorrow. Otherwise, I won't feel comfortable eating them if you keep giving them away for free."
Mr. Wen would not listen to these things. Mrs. Wen's family, the Rong family, had been businessmen for generations. The Wei family was also a small business family, and even if they did this business, they both felt it was normal. Wei Nian naturally could not calculate it according to the price given to the hotel, so he calculated a wholesale price for Mrs. Wen. Mrs. Wen said, "Your price is too low." Then, Mrs. Wen said a price, and Wei Nian naturally listened to Mrs. Wen.
Mrs. Wen is a very knowledgeable person, and the Rong family has been doing business for many years. Mrs. Wen can tell at a glance that this strawberry is a good thing. However, I am afraid that the production is not high now, otherwise, Mrs. Wen has not seen it on the market. Moreover, although this business is profitable, the scale is small. In Mrs. Wen's eyes, the strawberry business is still a little small.
When Wei Nian went home to settle the bill this time, he only paid the hotel price slightly higher by 3%. Wei Nian said to Old Master Wei, "I really didn't expect that my wife would remember to send some of the good things at home to those she knew. I thought that Mr. Wen's place was no different from other places, so I went there in person. Mrs. Wen was really knowledgeable. She recognized that these were strawberries at first glance, and immediately arranged for us to deliver the business once a day. I couldn't refuse, so I accepted it." He handed a month's salary to his father.
Old Master Wei did not accept the money and said to Wei Nian, "Let your wife manage it. I think she has a clear account."
Wei Nian said, "Last year it was just a minor incident, so it was okay for her to take care of it. This year, after all, we have planted a lot, so it's better for you to take care of the harvest, Dad."
Old Master Wei leaned against the quilt and took a deep puff of his pipe. After exhaling a puff of smoke, he said slowly, "This is our family's private account. Your mother can save money, but she doesn't know how to keep accounts. Ah Yin is a girl. These strawberries were originally planted by your wife. Let her take care of the accounts. She knows it."
Only then did Wei Nian agree.
When I talked about asking Chen Xuan to collect the money from selling strawberries, Chen Xuan said, "This is too much, it's a lot of money."
Wei Nian gave Chen Xuan today's money, "That's not much, you're surprised by the lack of it. Now I'm just letting you practice, just keep it and make sure you have a clear account. When you have enough for 100 yuan, you can pack it up, so it will be easier to count it. When a month is up, go and report the account to dad."
"Okay." After Wei Nian said this, Chen Xuan had an idea in her mind. She learned how to use an abacus last year, and now Chen Xuan is in charge of Wei Nian's private accounts, so she would practice with Wei Nian's private accounts from time to time. Wei Nian would listen to Chen Xuan playing with the abacus beads every now and then, so when Old Master Wei mentioned this, Wei Nian immediately agreed on behalf of Chen Xuan.
Chen Xuan found another small box to store the money for the strawberries.
Old Mrs. Wei actually had some opinions on this matter, but the man always made the decisions in the family. So even if she had some opinions, she just muttered, "Although I can't count, Ah Yin is young, and Ah Jin is good at moving the beads on the abacus."
When Old Master Wei heard what the old lady said, he was really glad for his decision. Old Master Wei snorted, "If you want Ah Jin to move all our business to her husband's house and let her manage the accounts, that's fine."
Old Mrs. Wei thought carefully about her eldest daughter's temper and could not defend her against her will, so she had to lower her head to spread the mattress and prepare for the old couple to go to bed, without mentioning the account again.
Chen Xuan is an honest person. When Old Master Wei asked her to manage the accounts, she did it very meticulously.
Since starting Mrs. Wen's strawberry business, although this was completely beyond Chen Xuan's expectations, she was inspired and planned to pack some more for Smith to taste. After all, Smith often did business with Wei Nian and looked quite rich. Chen Xuan specially made a very beautiful little bamboo basket for this purpose, and asked Wei Yin to use those colorful pigments to paint a western deer on the bamboo basket, and then asked Wei Nian to send it to Smith.
Wei Nian discovered that Chen Xuan was very good at packaging.
Wei Nian also said with emotion, "I originally thought that painting was useless, but I didn't expect that it would be quite useful."
"How can there be useless things in the world?" Chen Xuan pursed her lips and smiled. She used to live with her uncle and aunt. During the slack season in the farmland, she would string pot curtains, weave bamboo baskets and take them to the market to sell. Now that she thinks about it, the skills she acquired at that time are now of great use.
Wei Nian bought a card and wrote a few words in foreign language on it before sending it to Smith. Smith ordered 20 baskets directly, but he had a request that he wanted both the strawberries and the baskets. When Mrs. Wei heard about this, she said, "These useless bamboo baskets have become treasures."
Chen Xuan smiled, "It's mainly because Sister Yin's deer is so well drawn. It was originally a very ordinary basket, but with a deer drawn on it, it immediately becomes something different."
"I've just learned this. When I bought paint before, my mom said it was a waste of money. Now look, I'm using it now." Wei Yin was very happy to be able to help his family.
Wei Nian bought three women's hats and gave one to Chen Xuan, one to Wei Yin, and one to his eldest sister-in-law Li. He bought one for his little niece Yun Jie'er. It was a new fashionable round little hat with a lace brim. Wei Yin liked it very much at first sight. She put on the hat and looked at herself in the mirror for a long time. Everyone praised Wei Yin for looking good in the hat.
Chen Xuan also said, "It's very Western."
Wei Yin asked Chen Xuan to wear it together, but Chen Xuan was embarrassed, so she quickly said, "I'll leave my hat in the house," and ran back to the house with the hat.
Wei Yin looked around while wearing a hat, and teased his second brother with a smile, "Second sister-in-law and second brother have been married for so long, yet she is still so easily shy."
Wei Nian said, "That's enough, you're getting more outspoken." He then went back to the house. Wei Nian went back to the backyard and first looked through the window. He almost laughed out loud. Chen Xuan was also wearing a hat and admiring herself in front of the mirror. Chen Xuan heard the footsteps and quickly took off her hat. She gently stroked the fine gauze lace on the hat and asked Wei Nian, "This hat must be expensive."
"It's not that expensive." Wei Nian asked her, "Do you like it?"
Chen Xuan nodded, "How can I not like this? It's so beautiful." She couldn't bear to put down anything she liked. However, seeing the slight sweat on Wei Nian's face, Chen Xuan knew that he must have been tired from going out. She quickly put down her hat and poured water for Wei Nian. In summer, Chen Xuan would put boiled water. Wei Nian took it and drank most of the cup in one breath. It tasted a bit of mint, so he asked Chen Xuan, "Is there mint in this?"
"Well, the mint seedlings that grow in our yard, once they grow they can form a large patch. Last time I accompanied A Yin to paint, there was a man selling mint syrup on the way. He just put a few mint leaves in the syrup, and it is very refreshing to drink in summer. I didn't put any sugar in it, and it was still very cool to drink." Chen Xuan asked about Smith's business again. She heard that twenty baskets were ordered, and the price given to Smith was different from that given to Mrs. Wen. As for Mrs. Wen, Wei Nian and Chen Xuan had never thought about making money from the beginning to the end. Smith was different. They were business partners, and they both felt at ease making money from Smith.
Chen Xuan always kept a clear account. She asked Wei Nian how much the hat cost that night. She wanted to keep a record so that she could return it to Wei Nian later. Wei Nian leaned against the kang and read a book. He turned a page carelessly and said, "Come here. I have to tell you about the principle of interpersonal relations."
Chen Xuan sat in front of the table on the kang and waited to hear. Wei Nian rolled up the book and gently hit Chen Xuan on the head. Chen Xuan rubbed his forehead and asked, "Why are you hitting me?"
"I wonder if a beating will open your eyes." Wei Nian sat up straight and said to Chen Xuan, "If it was just for a debt of one or two dollars, why would I go to the hat shop in the hot weather to buy you a hat?"
"Of course I know that Brother Anian treats me well. It is precisely because Brother Anian treats me well that I cannot take advantage of you with money again." Chen Xuan said solemnly. On this point, Chen Xuan would never be vague.
"I know, I know." Wei Nian said, "But if you want to repay my favor, you don't have to keep a record. I give you something, and you can find a way to give me something, isn't that enough? When giving gifts to others, it depends on the thought. It doesn't have to be equal in value, we are not strangers. As long as you prepare it for me with your heart, I will like it. If you do this, you will keep a clear record of everything I give you, which is really a waste of my efforts."
Wei Nian was a little sad at the end. Chen Xuan didn't hear Wei Nian's sadness at all. She frowned and thought for a while, then asked Wei Nian, "Is it like last year when we gave each other New Year gifts?"
"Yes." Wei Nian said, "I wouldn't mind if you wrote me another letter."
"How can I always write letters?" Chen Xuan laughed and thought for a moment, "Then I will also give Brother Anian a gift, but it won't be as good as the one Anian gave me."
"It's okay, I like it as long as it's from you."
Then, Chen Xuan gave Wei Nian a hat. However, this hat was not bought. Chen Xuan went to the market and bought processed straw from someone else, and then wove it herself. Wei Nian liked to be fashionable, and in winter he would wear a Western-style fedora hat and a round top hat. Chen Xuan went to the hat shop in the city and wove a round top hat for Wei Nian. She also made a wide black brim in the middle of the brim. Chen Xuan didn't know whether this was fashionable or not. It was Wei Yin who said that this was more fashionable. Since Wei Nian liked to be fashionable, Chen Xuan decorated him like this.
Wei Nian thought the hat was well made, so he asked Chen Xuan to make a few more, all with black wide brims. They were all sold out in two days. It was not cheap, either, at 50 cents each, which shocked Chen Xuan, who wondered if the people in Beijing were mentally ill. The round-top wide-brimmed straw hats sold at the market were so affordable, you could buy three for 10 cents. The hat she made was just a nice-looking one, but why would anyone buy it at such a high price
Chen Xuan said to Wei Nian in private, "I find that Beijingers are always being taken advantage of."
Wei Nian choked on a mouthful of mint water and nearly died.
The author has something to say: ps: The second update is here, the third update will be a little later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~