"Five strings of coins. Little brother, you want to pay five strings of coins. There are 24 of us, so we have 120 strings of coins. Let's talk about what to do first."
When Liu Pan heard that he needed to pay five strings of coins, he was stunned. Five strings of coins was five thousand coins. In the past, it was considered not bad to save two strings of coins a year. Now, everyone had dozens of strings of coins, but five strings of coins was definitely not a small amount.
Zhang Xiaobao nodded and said, "Okay, I actually want to take you to make cold jelly."
"Little brother, I just make cold jelly. I don't need that much money." Gui 'er began to wonder if the other party was a swindler. How much would 120 strings of coins be needed to make cold jelly?
"Sister-in-law Gui 'er, you're selling it for two copper coins per serving. How much is the cost?" Xiaobao asked.
"Capital? I use broad beans and mung beans to make cold jelly. Usually, it's half a catty of mung beans and half a catty of broad beans, which makes four catties of cold jelly. A lot of dregs have to be filtered out. I sell two batches a day, each batch is 30 catties. One batch of cold jelly can be scraped out about three taels.
"Two hundred batches, the ingredients are 7.5 catties of mung beans and 22 catties of broad beans. According to the current grain price in Yizhou, one catty of mung beans is five coins, and one catty of broad beans is about two and a half coins. That is to say, the cost of beans is about 94 coins. You're making 306 coins a day based on beans."
Zhang Xiaobao saw that the other party was slow in calculating, so he said it out loud.
Gui 'er nodded repeatedly, "But I don't make that much money."
"Of course, because you need sesame paste, garlic juice, sweet and vinegar soup. Especially the sesame paste and sugar, the price is not low. In a few days, the cucumber will be ready. I don't know if you'll put it in. If you put it in, the cost will increase, but the price won't go up.
If the price is high, you can't sell 200 batches. You're using a higher cost to attract customers. Apart from this money, you don't need to spend money on water. Brother Liu and the others will pay for you. You don't need to spend money on firewood either. Brother Liu and the others will send it to you directly. "
Zhang Xiaobao analyzed and summarized some of the situation.
Liu Pan had been frightened by Zhang Xiaobao's analysis before, and now he was still very scared. He asked, "How do you know that firewood is free?"
"That's because many goods at the docks are packaged with wooden boards. Some goods have to be wrapped with wooden boards at all times, while some are directly dismantled on the spot to take out the things inside. That way, the boards are useless. Since you helped them dismantle the boards for free, they'll naturally be left to you.
When the time comes, you can take a portion of it home and give the majority to Sister-in-law Gui 'er to make cold jelly. Other people don't add soup when they sell cold jelly, but Sister-in-law Gui' er purposely adds soup to quench your thirst, and it's cleaner than drinking raw water.
Oh, this cost isn't right, because when Sister-in-law Gui 'er sells it to you, she always scrapes it a few times, not three taels per serving. However, you don't have to worry about Sister-in-law Gui' er selling things at the docks. If someone comes looking for trouble, you'll settle it. At the same time, you don't have to pay any fees. "
It was as if Zhang Xiaobao had seen it with his own eyes. He explained everything.
"You … little brother, are you in the intelligence business?" Liu Pan asked with his eyes wide open.
Wang Juan chuckled and said, "No, we have to care about these seemingly small things. For ordinary people, every needle and piece of thread is a treasure. We need to know the approximate total income and average income, and at the same time, we need to understand how ordinary people live. Every small family, when put together, forms a big family. It's different from money, and it can't be expressed with just numbers.
It's not a joke to worry about the people and think about the people. If you don't know the price of oil and salt, how can you pacify the people? The two of us look like we're from a rich family, but we care more about trivial things than you. "
Liu Pan and the others were stunned. They really couldn't understand why these two people from rich families knew so many things that had nothing to do with wealth.
Listening to this girl's tone, there was a sense of superiority, just like when an official spoke. The difference was that compared to the official's words, it was more realistic, as if their lives had a lot to do with these two people.
"Brother, since you know, why do you still want us to make cold jelly? Gui 'er can't sell it alone, and we can't help her sell it. "Liu Pan mentioned the cold jelly again.
Zhang Xiaobao nodded, "Of course, sister-in-law Gui 'er, just tell me how much profit you make in a day. It's your net profit after deducting other money."
Gui 'er counted with her fingers, lowered her head and said, "About, about 120 copper coins. The main thing is that sugar, vinegar, and sesame paste are expensive, but there's not much salt. If you eat too much, it'll be too salty. The big sauce can be used many times. I put it in a gauze bag and cook it.
They work and sweat, so if I don't put soup, they have to drink other water. Since I put it in, I'll just sell it. Anyway, more people will eat it. "
Zhang Xiaobao smacked his lips, "The sesame paste is expensive because the sesame seed production is low. What is the Sinongsi thinking? Do they think it's enough to just increase the grain production? With the improvement of the people's living standards, the demand for other goods is also … Forget it, let's get down to business.
Sister-in-law Gui 'er, the cost is really high. Brother Liu and the others have to help you carry water, help you transport the soup, and be responsible for helping you split the planks. They only need to put in half an hour every day, which is 11: 15 hours, or they can split the money to help.
In other words, basically, you're working for two people every day. This is because the imperial court is helping you bear part of the cost of raising the children. Because of your identity, you're exempted from any taxes, which is equivalent to one person earning 60 copper coins.
According to the normal income, it's not a small amount, but you have the convenience of the docks. Do you want this little money? There are many other snacks at the docks. What a good location, what a good opportunity. If I do it myself, I can integrate the entire docks within half a year. If I don't earn 600 copper coins a day, I'll feel like I'm losing money. "
"Even if you earn, you'll still lose money." Wang Juan interrupted. To make Xiao Bao waste so much time and only earn 600 copper coins a day, how much of a waste of talent?
Liu Pan and more than 20 people were stunned again. What kind of person is this? He's too arrogant. He even wants to integrate the docks. Do you know how deep the waters are in the docks? 600 copper coins a day. It might be possible in dreams, but when you wake up, you'll be shocked.
Liar, definitely a liar.
Liu Pan's gaze towards Zhang Xiaobao changed. He looked like he was going to catch him at any time. If he ran away when he saw through him later, he would definitely catch him back. He would cause him to lose a lot of wages.
Zhang Xiaobao casually glanced and saw through the other party's thoughts. He took out 200 copper coins and slapped it in Liu Pan's hand. "I'll give you 200 copper coins to cooperate with you. When you earn enough money, pay me back."
"Uh … You don't want interest?" Liu Pan didn't believe it.
"No, let's see if the money is real." Zhang Xiaobao waved his hand.
"You don't want to invest?" Liu Pan observed the money carefully. It was real, and it was very new. He rubbed it gently and it made a clattering sound.
Zhang Xiaobao shook his head. "No."
"Then what are you after?" Liu Pan now didn't treat Zhang Xiaobao as a liar, but as a fool.
"I'm really not short of money. I'll help you. I'm kind-hearted, okay? I do good deeds to accumulate merit, okay? I'll leave a good reputation, okay? "Zhang Xiaobao continued to ask.
"Okay, okay, okay." Liu Pan shook his head up and down. "Then, let's start making cold jelly now?"
"Prepare the ingredients first. With your 120 copper coins, a total of 320 copper coins. Buy a lot of fava beans and mung beans. Just buy a little bit. Do you have highland barley?" Zhang Xiaobao asked the highland barley barley.
"Yes, it's fed to animals now. It's only eaten in the northwest, where other things don't grow well. It's very cheap. Do you want to buy it?" Liu Pan asked in confusion.
"Buy it. Even if you want to grind it, you have to change it. A small grind is too slow. If you have someone selling bean cakes, go buy them. In this season, there are pear eggs on the mountain. Buy them, change them to a big pot and build a big stove. The rest of you do carpentry and make wheelbarrows and wooden wheels. Buy the beans and soak them first. We'll come back in two days at noon. By then, you'll be almost ready, so don't sell it yet."
Zhang Xiaobao finished his instructions and was about to leave.
Liu Pan stopped him. "Little brother, where do you live? If you don't come, how can we find you?"
"Don't look for me. I promise I'll come, unless there's a special accident. In that case, I'll send someone to tell you. Don't worry, I've put in 200 copper coins. I haven't asked you for a receipt. If I don't come to pay, you can sell it anyway."
Zhang Xiaobao naturally wouldn't leave his address for them. His identity would be exposed.
After he finished speaking, he and Wang Juan strolled out of the door. The sky was already dark, and only the crescent moon of the third day of the lunar month was hanging in the sky. It couldn't illuminate anyone at all.
Liu Pan and his group sent Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan out of the door with various thoughts. They followed the two of them to the main road outside. When they saw the yamen runners patrolling the street, they turned around and went back.
Zhang Xiaobao took out a small flashlight, turned it on, and shone it on the ground in front of him. He said proudly, "Fortunately, I'm prepared."
As soon as he finished speaking, a flashlight covered the ground in front of him. People came out from various places to guard him and Wang Juan.
After turning off his flashlight, Zhang Xiaobao smiled at Wang Juan. "Fortunately, I prepared a group of guards. When the flashlight signal was sent, the road became bright."
"Just now, you were using the flashlight to send a signal?" Wang Juan asked with a smile.
"Absolutely." Zhang Xiaobao nodded with a serious face. Under Wang Juan's stare, he finally couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I actually wanted to experience the tranquility of the night with you. Well, I actually didn't want to experience any tranquility. I just wanted the guards to be more prepared than me. Give me some face. Others are watching."
"Who's watching?" Wang Juan asked.
The road suddenly turned dark. There wasn't even the sound of breathing around them.
"Tomorrow, we'll be doing weight training." Zhang Xiaobao's angry voice sounded in the night sky.
*****
Liu Pan and his group sent a few people back to each family to report that they would be back later. The torches were lit in the courtyard, and the rest of the people sat quietly around the 200 strings of coins.
"Even now, I still feel like I'm in a dream. Why did a good person have to take out money for us to buy things without asking for any benefits? What was he thinking?" Liu Pan seemed to be talking to others, but also seemed to be talking to himself.
Without waiting for others to speak, he said, "Could it be that a spy from another country has infiltrated Yizhou's docks and wants to bribe us? Now, he wants us to lower our guard so that he can lead us to rebel in the end?"
"Brother Liu, don't think blindly." Gui 'er said, "How could there be a spy? Xiao Bao, Cuckoo, and Xiaobei are all in Yizhou. How could they let a spy live? Didn't you see a lot of outsiders at the docks? They're probably the intelligence personnel they sent. There were the most at noon today, and I felt like they were surrounding us.
I don't think that person is bad. Maybe he's from a rich family and is looking for something to do. Especially that girl, I can tell from her eyes that she's a kind person. Maybe she's afraid of others killing a chicken. How could she be a spy? "
Liu Pan still couldn't convince himself. He patted his leg with his hand and said, "That guy said that he would sell me a set of the Tang's best cosmetics for a few hundred copper coins. What's the internal price? The original price is more than 700 strings of coins. Do you believe it?"
"Why did you buy cosmetics?" Gui 'er caught the main point and asked.
"I … I …" Liu Pan was at a loss for words.
"Sister-in-law Gui 'er, do you still need to ask? Of course it's for you. Brother Liu is alone, why would he put on makeup? The best ones are waiting for the time to use. I have to ask Brother Zhang Xiaobao and ask him to get me a set next time. A few hundred copper coins for a few hundred strings of coins. It's cheap. I'll give it to my wife later. "
Someone in the crowd spoke loudly, and there was no lack of teasing in his words.
"Shoo shoo shoo, stop fooling around. Gui 'er, don't listen to his nonsense. I … I just want to see you …"
"Brother Liu, it's fine as long as you don't get cheated." Gui 'er blushed and lowered her head. Fortunately, the light from the torch illuminated everyone's face.
The atmosphere became awkward. Liu Pan didn't know how to speak.
"Mother, mother, we're back." At this moment, a girl's voice came from outside. The courtyard door opened and a girl and a boy ran in holding hands.
"It's so lively." When the girl saw a group of uncles, she called out happily. The boy also showed an excited expression. It was good to have more people.
"It's late today?" Liu Pan finally found an opportunity to speak.
"Today, Xiaobei and the rest came. We ate a lot of canned food at night. Then, Xiaobei and the rest sang a song. Not long after it ended, she sent someone to send us outside and gave each of us three cans of food. One is fish from the sea, one is lamb chop, and one is braised pork."
The girl said happily and took out cans of food from the two people's school bags. Each person had three cans, a total of six cans. She put them in a row to show off.
"It's not easy for Xiaobei and the rest to earn money. Why did you ask them for food? She said she would give it to you. Their family will definitely not pay for it. Their money is very useful." Gui 'er said to her child.
The girl pouted. "I didn't ask for it. Someone said it was delicious, so she gave it to them. She also said that it's best to spend the money on us. They don't need to spend money at home."
"Yes, the girl is right." Liu Pan quickly protected her and pulled the girl to his side. He wrapped an arm around her and said, "Just take it. Remember to study hard and repay them in the future."
"Father, how do we repay them?" The boy ran over and leaned on the other side of Liu Pan.
Everyone directly ignored the way the boy addressed Liu Pan. One by one, they started to talk. Some said that they would repay him by becoming an official, some said that they would go to the Ministry of Works, and some said that they would become teachers in other schools. There were too many to enumerate. The courtyard became lively again.
Liu Pan concluded, "Anyway, the two of you have to study hard. In the future, if I need you to do anything, you have to do it. Don't think that Xiaobei and the rest are stupid. They gave you things for free. They are good to you, so you have to repay them. Otherwise, how could they be stupid enough to give things to others … He said that his name is Zhang Xiaobao?"
Liu Pan, who was educating the child, suddenly understood many things and was stunned.
"Brother Liu, what is Zhang Xiaobao?" Gui 'er asked.
"It's, it's the two people who came to our house. The man is called … Zhang Xiaobao." Liu Pan swallowed hard and replied softly.
"Isn't his name Zhang Xiaoyu?"
"Yes, no. At first, when I asked him, he said that his surname was Zhang and his name was Xiao Bao. I didn't believe him, so he changed it to Zhang Xiaoyu. When I was eating cold jelly, Gui 'er, you said that there were suddenly many people at the pier at noon. They seemed to be surrounding us. He casually took out 200 strings of coins and threw them away. He said that he had cosmetics that were priced internally. He said that he could make us rich. "
Liu Pan began to summarize all the things.
"Brother, you mean …" One of Liu Pan's brothers asked, but he couldn't finish his sentence.
Another one continued, "Didn't Sister-in-law Gui 'er say that the girl's eyes are kind?"
Liu Pan nodded, "No wonder his hands are so strong. I heard that he is very good at fighting. That's right, kind. Of course Cuckoo thinks that we are kind. Previously, when I heard their words, I felt that something was wrong. It seemed that no matter what, they could take care of everything.
Heavens, such a huge meat pie has fallen on our heads. Quick, let's go back and rest. Tomorrow morning, we'll do as he says and buy whatever he tells us to. Gui 'er, we've encountered an extremely good thing. "
"You are the one who encountered it. Brother Liu is the lucky one. Did Xiao Bao ask you anything else?" Gui 'er's eyes lit up. She felt that the night air was so comfortable to breathe.
Liu Pan hugged the two children tightly, "There is no need to ask. Xiao Bao directly guessed it. He said that I squatted there to eat. One was to give up his seat, which means that we have a good relationship. The other was to look at you from the side. At that time, you were the most beautiful. He said that I like you.
He is so good. "" Good, good. Brother is also good. "Someone started to shout again, but the others followed suit.
"Go away, a bunch of stinky men. I won't talk to you anymore. Come, girl, let's go back to the house. Ignore them. Study well at night, but don't be too tired."
Gui 'er stood up and pulled her daughter into the house.
Liu Pan only had one child by his side. He glared at them, "All of you go back. We have to wake up early tomorrow. Whoever dares to slack off will be punished."
"Brother, aren't you going home? It's late, and the road is dark. "A person ran two steps to the door and turned back to shout.
"Yes, I will follow you back to your house." Liu Pan got up and chased after him. The group of people laughed and walked out.
"Let's go. I will send you to the house. I will come over early tomorrow morning." Liu Pan said to the boy in his arms.
"Father, everyone else has a father. You stay and send me and my sister to school tomorrow. I will have one too." The little boy was indeed more sensible because he was born in this era.
Liu Pan hesitated, shook his head, and said, "Wait a few days. I will send you to school after I earn more money with Xiao Bao."
*****
Two days passed quickly.
While Liu Pan and the others were waiting, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan came in the afternoon.
Both of them brought things. Zhang Xiaobao carried two millstones in each hand. The millstones were not big, and each weighed about 15 kilograms. An ordinary person would be tired of carrying them, but it was not a problem for him.
Wang Juan carried a few gears and triangular belts, as well as the shaft of the millstone.
"You are all here. We brought some things for you. Actually, you can do it yourself. I was afraid of wasting time, so I asked the inner courtyard of my house to do it. There are also a few parts. They are made of wood, so you will have to forge them. After forging and assembling them, the two millstones can be stepped on and turned."
When Zhang Xiaobao saw them, he smiled and said.
Wang Juan followed with a smile and said, "Two men, the gears in my hands are very heavy. My eyes are so kind. Don't you feel embarrassed to let me be tired? Be careful not to suddenly become unkind. "
The first reaction of Liu Pan and the others was to look around. Sure enough, they found a person waving his hand in a tree about 30 meters away from the courtyard. There was also a mirror-like reflection on the eaves of other people's houses about 50 meters away. They immediately guessed what it was.
Immediately, someone ran in front of Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao, stretched out his hand cautiously, and took the things.
"Compared to your family's children, you are far inferior. They will definitely not be afraid of Xiao Bei," Wang Juan said with a smile.
Liu Pan slapped his thigh and said, "Yes, what are you afraid of? If you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to be afraid of ghosts. Xiao Bao, Cuckoo wants to see him even in her dreams. Whoever has a guilty heart will be afraid. Brother Xiao Bao, I didn't expect it to be you that day. I figured it out later. Everything has been prepared, and we are waiting for you to bring us rich."
"Good, first get rich, then get married. No matter what, we have to do a good job, right, Brother Liu?" Zhang Xiaobao said as he patted the dust on his hands.
"Yes," Liu Pan said firmly.
Then everyone started to get busy, especially the new wooden parts. After two hours, they were all done, waiting for Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to assemble them.
The two quickly installed two small grinding stones with gears, and then began to let everyone grind the cooked broad beans, mung beans, and barley.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were in charge of grinding the sesame seeds they brought. The small grinding stones turned quickly, and the sesame seeds were ground into fine powder, which was a mixture of sesame paste and sesame oil. After a while, there was a layer of sesame oil on top, and sesame paste at the bottom.
The steamed bean cakes were also ground into powder, and mixed with sesame paste and sesame oil according to a certain ratio.
"Xiao Bao, are you faking it?" Liu Pan couldn't help but ask.
"Why would I fake it? The bean flour is also very delicious, and there is sesame oil in it. It is more nutritious than normal sesame paste. I am lowering the cost while improving the nutrition and taste. How much would it cost to put all the sesame paste? If you don't believe me, you can try it. It tastes better, and there is no poison in it. "
Zhang Xiaobao explained.
"What about the barley?" Liu Pan asked again. The barley was cheap, very cheap.
"There is starch in the barley, and it doesn't taste good because it is too smooth. But the starch jelly is smooth. I want to use rice, but it is too expensive. Who said that starch jelly can only be made from mung beans and broad beans? In the future, I will make different kinds of starch jelly, and I will use whatever is cheap as the raw material. "
Zhang Xiaobao still had to explain, otherwise, it would be easy for others to suspect that he was cutting corners. The information was not balanced, and of course, the profit would be less. The principle of starch jelly was to form the starch, and if it was not formed well, add a little bit of alum.
Liu Pan smiled as if he had been taught a lesson. He looked around and asked again, "Will the starch jelly we make be delicious and cheap in the future?"
"Absolutely. Why would I lie to you? What about the pears? Boil them so that there is no need to add sugar and vinegar. They are sweet and sour, so there is no need to spend so much money. "Zhang Xiaobao didn't see the pear eggs, so he was afraid that they wouldn't buy them.
"They are piled up in the backyard. Who knows that they can replace vinegar and sugar? I thought they were used for something else." Liu Pan waved his hand, and immediately two people ran to the back to carry the basket of pears.
Zhang Xiaobao was satisfied and said, "Very good. You will find that the soup boiled with pears is better than the one mixed with sweet and vinegar. I don't want to nag you, but you should use your brains more often."
"We are not as smart as you. No wonder you dare to say that you can make at least 600 strings of coins a day by consolidating the trading of the dock. You are really capable. Even if you don't show your identity, we believe you can do it. You are Zhang Xiaobao, and we think 600 strings of coins is too little for your identity."
Liu Pan said very seriously. He was not flattering. The person opposite was not a stranger, but a legendary figure. Was 600 strings of coins a money for him?
"Well, then I have to show my skills. When I made it before, there was a lot of dregs, and it was a waste to throw them away. Today, I will tell you how to reduce the dregs." Zhang Xiaobao accepted the flattery calmly and began to "further" process the raw materials.
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