Chapter 36

Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan returned to Osmanthus Alley.

Madam Wen had already prepared dinner. She steamed a pot of polished rice, reheated some meatballs and radish balls that Xu Qinyu had fried during the New Year, and stir-fried some bean sprouts.

For Shao Ge’er from the Xia family, Xu Qinyu had previously sent over plenty of fish balls, meatballs, and radish balls. Since Xu Qinyu wasn’t home to cook dinner today, Madam Wen went to the Xia family to inform Madam Wu, who smiled and agreed. After Madam Wen left, Madam Wu reheated the balls Xu Qinyu had sent and made steamed meat with soda water for Shao Ge’er.

Steamed meat with soda water was a dish suitable for children, taught by Xu Qinyu. Although Madam Wu’s cooking wasn’t as good as Xu Qinyu’s, Xu Qinyu said that the taste wouldn’t be too bad if the seasoning and heat were right. Madam Wu had made it several times, paying attention to the seasoning and heat, and Shao Ge’er enjoyed it.

Back home, after eating the dinner Madam Wen had prepared, the family washed up early and prepared for bed. Xu Qinyu placed the two small ingots she earned today at the bottom of the chest and locked it. After cooking for over two months, it was the first time she received small ingots, and they felt different to the touch!

The next day, Xu Qinyu went to the dock to check. As expected, the two merchant ships and two official ships had already left.

However, there were still some small merchant caravans coming and going at the dock. But since it was still the New Year period, there weren’t many merchant caravans, and the number of people was much fewer than before. The iron and coal mines were also temporarily closed, so there weren’t many people setting up stalls at the dock, and few were buying food. Xu Qinyu decided to stop her breakfast stall at the dock for now, focusing on selling more fish each day. Once Concubine Gui’s situation was resolved, she would set up a breakfast stall on East Street.

Xu Qinyu returned to South Street and went to buy fish from Uncle He. She had arranged with Uncle He before the New Year that she would need fish starting from the seventh day of the New Year.

After buying fish from Uncle He, Xu Qinyu went to inform Butcher Tian that she wouldn’t be setting up her breakfast stall at the dock in the mornings, so she wouldn’t need the intestines for now.

Butcher Tian hesitated, and Xu Qinyu smiled, “If you have something to say, just say it.”

She had been buying pig intestines from Butcher Tian for over two months and knew he was an honest man. Even after knowing she sold the meat buns with intestines for eight wen each, he hadn’t raised the price of the intestines, always giving her a discounted price of twenty wen per set.

Xu Qinyu had previously saved two meat buns for Butcher Tian to try.

Butcher Tian still remembered the taste of those meat buns. He hadn’t eaten them himself but took them home for his wife and children. His wife had shared half with him, and the taste was truly delicious, with the intestines being oily and fragrant.

Butcher Tian scratched his head and said, “My wife says Young Lady Xu’s fatty intestines are delicious. I was thinking, if you can’t run your breakfast stall at the dock for now, why not make some fatty intestines for my wife to sell? She has a braised meat stall and sells braised meat every day.”

Butcher Tian knew that Xu Qinyu bought intestines to make meat buns and sticky rice intestines to sell at the dock. During the deep winter to early spring, there weren’t many people at the dock, and few stalls were set up. Since Young Lady Xu wasn’t continuing her breakfast stall, it was likely because there weren’t many people at the dock. However, her fatty intestines were delicious and could be sold on their own.

Xu Qinyu’s eyes lit up at the idea. She thought it was a good one.

“Alright, let’s do it as usual. I’ll need two sets of intestines today. After braising, they should weigh about eleven or twelve jin. Let Madam Tian sell them tomorrow at thirty wen per jin. We can offer samples to start.”

Braised meat wasn’t cheap, and even though pig intestines cost only one wen per jin, Xu Qinyu didn’t plan to sell them too cheaply.

After braising, one jin of intestines would yield about half a jin. But half a jin of braised intestines was enough for a plate, and fifteen wen for a plate was reasonable, given the rich flavor.

Moreover, her fatty intestines had a unique taste, probably unmatched in the entire Great Sheng Dynasty. Thirty wen per jin seemed just right. Too expensive, and people on South and North Streets wouldn’t buy it; too cheap, and she wouldn’t make a profit. She still needed to earn money.

Butcher Tian grinned, “Alright.” Having tasted the fatty intestine meat buns, he knew how good they were. Selling them for thirty wen, he even wanted to buy some occasionally to improve his family’s meals.

Braised fatty intestines would sell for thirty wen per jin, with Madam Tian earning two wen per jin sold.

Butcher Tian was naturally willing.

After buying the ingredients, Xu Qinyu returned home.

Today, Fourth Brother didn’t accompany her. The weather was warm, and she only went to the dock to check, so she went alone.

The fish and intestines she bought were delivered to the Pei family by Uncle He’s donkey cart.

Naturally, they prioritized preparing the fish for dinner. Pei Weixuan and Xu Qinyu cleaned the fish, while Ning Jie’er and Madam Wen were not asked to help with the fish due to the smell. A few days earlier, Xu Qinyu had told them to make bags and consign them at the Xia’s fabric shop.

The two didn’t know what bags were. It wasn’t until Xu Qinyu explained that they understood bags were similar to pouches women carried but much larger, capable of holding various items. They could be carried by hand or slung over the shoulder, making them very convenient. Both of them were amazed by Yuniang’s creative ideas. However, they couldn’t quite visualize the bags at first. So, Xu Qinyu used a half-burned stick from the kitchen to sketch a rough design on the ground. She drew two types of bags that could be carried by hand or slung over the shoulder.

Both were cute, fluffy winter bags, and most people couldn’t resist fluffy things!

The fur scraps they bought from Madam Wu included white and gray rabbit fur. The white rabbit fur bag was designed as a small bag with a pair of drooping rabbit ears, while the gray rabbit fur bag was simpler, a triangular fluffy bag with a detachable strap, making it a crossbody style. Although Xu Qinyu’s drawings on the ground weren’t very neat, Madam Wen and Ning Jie’er understood them.

For the past two days, Madam Wen and Ning Jie’er have been making these two bags. Unlike Xu Qinyu, they are skilled in needlework.

Xu Qinyu also suggested they embroider a logo inside the bags. If the business grew, it could become a brand. This was to prevent future counterfeits!

Unlike food, these items were easy to replicate. They decided to embroider a logo resembling the character “Yu” inside the bags.

Even though it was sunny after the New Year, it was still cold, and these bags were perfect for the season—playful and cute.

So, Xu Qinyu didn’t let Madam Wen and Ning Jie’er help with cleaning the fish, as the smell could easily transfer to the fur, affecting the price.

Madam Wen and Ning Jie’er were good at needlework, and Xu Qinyu didn’t plan to sell these bags cheaply. She intended to price them higher.

After finishing with the fish, Xu Qinyu pointed to a basin of intestines and said to Pei Weixuan, “Fourth Brother, these need to be cleaned too.”

Pei Weixuan glanced at Yuniang and nodded in agreement.

Xu Qinyu touched her nose, feeling quite adept at directing Fourth Brother.

Fourth Brother was very accommodating, always following her instructions without question.

Switching from the breakfast stall to selling braised intestines made things easier for Xu Qinyu. With Fourth Brother helping to clean the intestines, she only needed to prepare the spices and water for braising, which was quite simple.

Selling the braised intestines at thirty wen per jin, with Madam Tian earning two wen per jin, Xu Qinyu could make a profit of over twenty wen per jin.

Currently, she processes two sets of intestines a day, yielding a net profit of over two hundred men. If sales went well, she could increase the quantity to four sets a day.

Of course, everything depended on whether the intestines sold well.

In the evening, neighbors from Osmanthus Alley and Laixi Alley came to buy fish. They all said they missed her fish after not having it for ten days.

In less than half an hour, Xu Qinyu’s fish balls, braised fish, and fish head tofu stew were sold out.

The next day, Xu Qinyu delivered the braised intestines to Butcher Tian. She hadn’t met Tian’s wife and didn’t know what kind of person she was. If Madam Tian were dishonest, this business wouldn’t last long. But if the business succeeds, it will save Xu Qinyu a lot of effort in the future.

In the evening, Butcher Tian and his wife visited the Pei family, bringing three sets of intestines.

Butcher Tian was in his early twenties, and his wife was about the same age. They had been married for only a few years. Madam Tian was a straightforward woman.

Madam Tian’s braised meat stall was at the North Street market. Her braised meat was quite popular, especially the braised pig trotters, which she sold in various quantities: one liang, two liang, and three liang. After braising, it weighed about eight liang per jin. Raw trotters cost thirty wen per jin, so the cooked ones sold for forty-five wen per jin, mainly using soy sauce and ginger for flavor. It was hard-earned money.

Today, some regular customers noticed a new item on her stall that smelled incredibly fragrant and couldn’t help but ask about the price.

Madam Tian explained that it was braised pig intestines, and they tasted great.

When people heard that pig intestines were being sold for thirty wen per jin, they thought she was crazy for charging that much for something that usually cost one or two wen.

Madam Tian wasn’t pleased and cut a piece for them to taste.

Even cold, it was very fragrant.

She added, “Although this ingredient is cheap, do you know what it takes to make it taste good?”

“What?” someone asked.

“Spices! They’re expensive. Otherwise, how could it taste this good? This is someone else’s craftsmanship, not mine. Doesn’t it taste better than fatty meat? Have you ever tasted something this delicious? I haven’t. They said it tastes even better when reheated or cooked with cabbage and radish.”

Indeed, it was delicious. After tasting a small piece, people were hooked and ended up buying it.

Some bought two or three liang, others half a jin, and some even bought a whole jin. The intestines sold out quickly before the afternoon.

In total, she sold eleven jin of intestines, giving away about one jin for tasting, and earned three hundred wen. After paying Madam Tian twenty wen, Xu Qinyu made two hundred eighty wen.

In short, this business was viable.

…

Xu Qinyu continued to focus on making fish and braised intestines.

After Madam Wen and Ning Jie’er finished making the two bags, Xu Qinyu took them to Xia’s fabric shop for consignment.

Recently, Madam Wen only occasionally went to the Wen family to wash clothes. After finishing, she would spend a short time with Concubine Gui before leaving. This was part of their plan to make the Wen family think Madam Wen was becoming less concerned about Concubine Gui.

Xu Qinyu heard her mention that Concubine Gui’s cough had worsened, and her symptoms were becoming more noticeable.

Xu Qinyu was indeed worried that the medicine might harm Concubine Gui’s health. However, Fourth Brother assured her that the symptoms would disappear immediately once the medicine was stopped, so there was no need to worry. Although the medicine might cause some minor harm, it was better than letting Concubine Gui continue to suffer in the Wen family, where she might not survive another year or two. Once she was brought back and properly cared for, the effects of the medicine would quickly dissipate.

Meanwhile, Concubine Gui’s cough worsened in the Wen family. Old Madam Wen was extremely annoyed by her constant coughing. Even Old Master Wen couldn’t stand it and, feeling irritated, spent money to hire a doctor.

The doctor treated it as a common cold, as the symptoms were similar. However, her cough showed no improvement after taking several doses of medicine. Half a month passed, and her condition worsened. She coughed more severely, her cheeks turned red, she sweated constantly, had a poor appetite, and lost significant weight.

With no other option, Old Master Wen spent more money to hire another doctor to treat Concubine Gui.

The new doctor examined her thoroughly, taking her pulse and asking questions. After diagnosing her, his expression changed.