Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 399: It is better to open up new sources of income, firewood can also be exchanged for silve

"In fact, you don't have to bring your own firewood."

Master Qian, as if he was looking at his own nephews who had never seen the world, said to Shen Yu in a teaching tone: "After a spring and a summer along the canal, the open space outside the embankment is full of weeds and shrubs."

“When repairing, we need to clear the weeds and shrubs near the embankment before we can reinforce the embankment again.”

"I think these hay and branches we cleared will be enough for the charcoal fire when the girl cooks."

"There is no need to ask servants to chop wood and bring it here every day."

Master Qian stretched out his thumb and pinky finger to make a six sign, shook it, and continued, "Sixty people, each with a bundle of firewood, no matter how much charcoal the girl uses, she won't be able to use it all in a day."

"Will it be difficult to get rid of it then?"

Lu Lang was worried that Shen Yu would be refuted by Master Qian in person and would lose face.

I was just thinking about saying a few words on behalf of Shen Yu. She is young and seldom goes out, so she doesn't understand how to help her out.

But Shen Yu looked calm, neither anxious nor annoyed.

She listened to Master Qian's words quietly, smiled slightly, and then said calmly: "Master Qian misunderstood. I asked the gentlemen to bring firewood here, not for cooking and making tea on the construction site."

After these words were spoken, the two people present, although full of knowledge about economics, really had no idea of ​​Shen Yu's intention.

What else can we do with this firewood besides burning it?

You can’t eat it as a meal!

Seeing the two people with question marks on their faces, Shen Yu couldn't help but laugh.

I couldn't help but sigh in my heart: "It seems that no matter how good the knowledge on paper is, it still needs to be verified one by one in life."

Shen Yu stopped keeping the secret, straightened his face, and explained, "You two don't know."

"Once winter comes, the people in the city spend more firewood and charcoal every day for heating and cooking than in summer."

"But the woodcutters who carried the wood into the city to sell did not sell more firewood than in summer because of their limited physical strength."

"Because of the cold weather, the amount of firewood used at home has increased, so the amount of firewood sold in the county town is actually less than in the summer."

"There is often a situation where supply exceeds demand and several families scramble to share a load of firewood."

"The family has a large courtyard and the ladies are good at managing the household. They stored firewood for the winter as early as the autumn."

"But there are also families whose courtyards are narrow or shallow, or who are used to buying firewood and cooking every day."

"Sometimes if the woodcutters haven't come yet when you get up early, or if you buy wood late and don't have any, it will be difficult to prepare meals for the day."

"My family runs a restaurant. We keep the fire burning every day. We use coal to save trouble."

"Coal is easy to burn, takes up little space, and doesn't require people to add more firewood."

"But compared to loads of firewood, it's still more expensive."

“Most of the common people near the market, and the budget-conscious ladies, still buy firewood for heating and cooking.”

"Some people who are particular about this will buy some pre-burned charcoal to heat their homes and boil water. But they still use firewood for cooking."

Shen Yu said this with a sly smile, "It's said that increasing income and reducing expenditure, but reducing expenditure is not as good as increasing income after all, and saving money on coal and fire is limited."

"But if we can find a way to open source it, it will be much better."

"So I thought that the canal repair work must start very early in the morning, so the gentlemen came every day to chop a bundle of firewood."

"Even if this bundle of firewood is less than what a professional woodcutter would chop, two or three bundles should be enough to make up one load."

"In winter, a load of firewood can be sold for 60 to 80 cents. If there is hardwood that burns well, people will rush to buy it for 90 cents."

"Take this firewood and sell it, um..."

Shen Yu began to calculate in his mind how much money it could be sold for and how much each person could get.

I was just thinking about how much should be considered as one load.

Master Qian, an old hand at accounting, began to report with a smile: "If three bundles make one load, then sixty bundles of firewood will make twenty loads."

"Even if these firewoods are all soft grasses, they cost sixty cents a load."

"If we sell all of them, we can get 1,200 coins."

"If we divide it among everyone, that means each person's daily food allowance will increase by twenty cents."

"Haha, that's great..."

When Master Qian said this, he laughed happily, and his beard trembled happily.

Don't underestimate these twenty coins.

These extra twenty cents can improve the food quality of the servants.

Instead of being short of money and not having enough to eat.

Lu Lang thought about it and smiled.

But after all, he was the son of an official and his family was wealthy.

On weekdays, I never asked about the daily necessities of life, let alone how to run and sell them.

He said with some worry: "But how can we sell these firewood?"

"Do we have to hawk our wares on the streets and go door to door asking questions?"

“What if no one buys and we get kicked out?”

Shen Yu and Master Qian both laughed when they heard these childish words.

Shen Yu had already thought of a way to sell it. She said calmly, "Don't worry, Mr. Lu. This is not difficult."

"My restaurant is right at the street corner of the market. Every day, we sort out the firewood and hay, divide it into loads, and use mule carts to pull it to the open space in front of the restaurant. We write a sign and mark the price."

"If someone wants it, just send it over."

"For those who come to eat breakfast in the morning, as long as they don't live far away, the breakfast can be delivered quickly. It won't take long."

Hearing Shen Yu say this, Lu Lang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. For him, this was a huge task.

Shen Yu continued, "This is my second request. Can you provide me with a mule cart to carry firewood and grass?"

"Also, can you please take turns to select one of the servants every day to do some work for me in the morning?"

"For example, we shared the firewood, loaded it onto the truck, drove it to the door of the restaurant, and helped sell and deliver the firewood."

"After delivering firewood, we buy food, fetch water, wash vegetables, and other tasks that require some strength."

Lu Lang agreed quickly this time: "Of course, I've already thought of the manpower."

"You don't need to mobilize laborers. Just let Qixi and Liushun follow you. You can use them as you like during the canal repair period."

Liushun and Qixi are both Lu Lang's personal attendants. Qixi has been following Lu Lang since he was a child, and he helps Lu Lang take care of all the big and small things.

Shen Yu waved his hands: "How can this be possible? The two of them work with me. If you need help, there will be no one available. You should find someone else."

Lu Lang said, "It's all right. Once the construction on the canal starts, I will be supervising the work by the river all day."

"They are just being naughty by following me anyway. They might as well follow you and do something serious."

Shen Yu was still a little hesitant, and Master Qian said, "Miss Shen, you don't have to be polite. The master and I have attendants here, as well as two yamen runners who were temporarily transferred over."