"Ciliang, I'll go this time. You stay here with Second Mom and Second Dad!" Su Shouwen offered.
Su Ciliang didn't stand on ceremony and thanked Su Shouwen with a smile.
Yang Shulin's money had doubled again, and he was so happy his mouth couldn't close. He calculated that he could make five trips in total, and if each trip earned this much, he would have a large sum of money by the time he returned. He had to thank his old leader for giving him this opportunity. At first, he thought he was thanking his old leader by helping his family's children, but now he realized his old leader had silently helped him again. He would never be able to repay the debt he owed his old leader.
Everyone hurried back to the guesthouse. They didn't have time for a proper meal and just grabbed something to eat. Su Xiaotian prepared meat buns, oil cakes, meat sauce, tomatoes, and cucumbers for her brothers to take on their journey. Su Xiaotian and Su Ciliang had planned to see the others off at the train station, but they were refused.
"You've also had a busy day. Get some rest early. There's still a lot of goods left, and we're counting on you," Li Mumu said with a smile, waving his hand as he and the others set off.
When Su Lao Er and his wife returned to the guesthouse, they learned that everyone else had already departed for Rongcheng.
"Why did they leave so soon?" Qi Liangying asked. Although her son had stayed, she felt a pang of heartache that her nephews had left.
"It takes six to seven days for a round trip. We can't afford to waste time," Su Ciliang explained. "We are students, and a vacation is only forty to fifty days. If we don't make good use of it, we won't earn much."
After hearing her son's words, Qi Liangying sighed, "You all said you made money last year, but now I realize it's not easy money." She had thought things were simpler before, believing that money was readily available in Beijing. Now she knew that wasn't the case at all. That money was earned through the children's hard work, running around day and night.
"Xiaotian, are you working just as hard as your brothers?" Qi Liangying asked that night as they lay in bed, looking at Su Xiaotian.
Su Xiaotian closed her book and replied, "Second Mom, I'm actually fine. My brothers take care of me!" Her brothers were very considerate of her, and she was always the one who had the easiest time with whatever they did.
"If there's anything, let your brothers handle it. You're a young girl, the only one in our family. You should be taken care of!" Qi Liangying advised. Su Xiaotian could feel that Qi Liangying was sincere in this regard. For so many years, both Aunt Wang Xianghua and Second Aunt Qi Liangying had taken good care of their only niece.
"Second Mom, thank you!"
After a few more words, the two of them went to rest.
The next day, Qi Liangying took the initiative to offer to help Su Xiaotian sell goods. Her reason was simple: with so many goods, how could just two children manage? Since Qi Liangying had volunteered, Su Lao Er had no objections and busied himself helping his son and niece sell the goods.
Three days passed in a flash, and all the goods were sold out. Qi Liangying rubbed her shoulders and said, "This is really tiring. Making money is truly not easy!" For the past few days, working alongside her son and niece, they hadn't even had a moment to rest. They worked until it was completely dark every night and had to get up before dawn the next morning. Even Qi Liangying, who was usually energetic, was exhausted. She thought her two children must be even more tired and felt very sorry for them.
"Fortunately, everything is sold. Second Mom, let's rest for a bit. We'll start setting up the new shop tomorrow. I happened to meet someone who could calculate dates the other day and said that in three days it would be a good day for opening. So, shall we choose three days from now to open?" Su Xiaotian claimed to have consulted someone, but in reality, she had asked the system to find a suitable date from the perpetual calendar. The day after tomorrow was auspicious for the grand opening. Everyone in the Su family knew that Su Xiaotian was someone favored by the Dragon King. Qi Liangying didn't doubt that the date Su Xiaotian mentioned would be good, so the matter was settled.
The family worked together, and in two days, everything in the shop was set up. The night before the opening, Su Xiaotian was very satisfied with the beautifully decorated little shop. Su Xiaotian took out several pre-mixed seasoning packets, each wrapped in gauze.
"Xiaotian, what is this?" Qi Liangying asked.
"Second Mom, these are seasoning packets. This triangular packet is for braised eggs, this round one is for braised dishes, and this four-cornered one is for braised meat." She continued, "This packet of specialized seasoning for braised eggs can braise three hundred eggs, the braised meat packet can braise thirty catties of meat, and the braised dish packet can braise fifty catties of vegetables."
Qi Liangying was very curious. She had seen Su Xiaotian braise eggs at home, but she hadn't seen Xiaotian prepare the seasoning packets these past few days. "Xiaotian, are these seasonings valuable? If they are, did we set the price a bit too low?" Qi Liangying asked.
"It's about right, Second Mom. I've calculated that if we use one of each seasoning packet per day, and all the braised meat, dishes, and eggs are sold, we can earn fifty to sixty yuan." Qi Liangying hadn't calculated it carefully, and she was surprised that Su Xiaotian had already done the math.
"Xiaotian, can we really earn that much?" she asked, extremely excited. She had only earned fifty to sixty yuan a month working in the factory, and that was after working hard.
"We'll know tomorrow when we try it. However, since we're just opening, the income might not be very high at first. It will get better after the initial period," Su Xiaotian said, reminding her in advance that business might not be great initially due to lack of reputation.
Qi Liangying nodded, "I understand that. We need to build up a customer base." She wasn't expecting much at first; if she could earn ten yuan a day, she would be content. After deducting rent and firewood costs, she would still make eight to nine yuan. Su Xiaotian was very pleased with Qi Liangying's mindset. This was what she liked about her Second Mom; although she was careful with calculations, she was very steady when it mattered.
"Xiaotian, are we going to start braising tonight?"
"Yes, Second Mom. If we don't braise them tonight, they won't absorb the flavor by tomorrow morning." Qi Liangying was distressed. It was almost dark, and they hadn't bought the meat, eggs, or vegetables yet. "Husband, go with me to the market. We need to buy the meat, eggs, and vegetables quickly," Qi Liangying urged Su Lao Er anxiously.
Su Lao Er glanced at Qi Liangying and said, "Xiaotian has already prepared them. They're all in the kitchen." This woman, always busy, how could she not know anything?
"What?" Qi Liangying asked in surprise.
"Why don't you go and see for yourself?"
The couple went to the kitchen and found a large basket of eggs neatly arranged, two large pieces of premium pork belly, and a basket of various vegetables. When were these prepared? Qi Liangying thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out. She decided to stop thinking about it, as there was still so much to do.