Chapter 69: New Ideas

Some people were jealous of her abilities, some envied the money she earned, and some coveted her beauty.

She had clearly worked hard for everything, yet inadvertently left her daughter with psychological scars, leading her down the wrong path.

Overall, what happened to Wei Xiaojun seemed to be a condensed and helpless tragedy of this era.

Xia Li was eating her meal and occasionally chatted with her.

When customers arrived, Wei Xiaojun quickly rushed to the stove, her movements swift and nimble.

The mixed mushroom soup had a faint, fresh aroma; it wasn’t stunning, but it had a simple and comforting flavor.

The soup contained various sizes of mushrooms, all foraged by Wei Xiaojun herself, sprinkled with a few bits of scallions. It was light and flavorful, perfect for refreshing the palate after a meal.

If one could enjoy such a hot soup in winter, that would be quite nice.

Xia Li thought of the vendor selling clay pot soup outside the hospital in the city.

To be honest, that soup wasn’t particularly good, but it was nice to have something warm.

Especially in an age where everyone believed that stewing soup was good for health, the clay pot soup vendor could sell dozens or even hundreds of bowls.

Her eyes brightened slightly, and suddenly a new idea emerged.

“How about specializing in selling soup?”

When Wei Xiaojun heard Xia Li’s words, she widened her eyes and instinctively shook her head, chuckling, “Actually, Li Zi, I’m really not good at making soup. The soup here is just sold alongside the stir-fried dishes. To be honest, there aren’t many customers for the soup either.”

“If you focus on selling soup as you said, wouldn’t that mean my skills would lose money?”

She thought Xia Li was just speaking out of a momentary whim.

Why would Xia Li suggest she specialize in selling soup? Wei Xiaojun had a good heart, but unfortunately, her skills were indeed limited. She could manage to cook home-style dishes at this market, and her soup was decent enough for her own consumption, but selling it specifically would be a laughingstock.

Xia Li wasn’t in a hurry; she knew that Wei Xiaojun lacked confidence in her cooking skills, but now that she had this idea, she naturally wanted to discuss it with Wei Xiaojun after thinking it through.

She asked her, “Sister Xiaojun, you just said that winter is coming and the weather is getting colder. Your stall might have to close down and you won’t be able to do business, right?”

“Yes,” Wei Xiaojun nodded; there was no way around it.

She had to take care of the fields and also look after Sui’er.

When winter comes and it gets cold, it would be even harder to find someone to help out, making it difficult to keep the stall running.

Moreover, business during winter is much slower than usual, and costs increase. To avoid losing money, the only option is to close the stall.

Xia Li said, “Yes, it’s really difficult to run a stir-fry business in winter. The dishes cool down easily, and you have to use more charcoal in the stove than now. If a dish only sells for two to three dimes, with fewer customers, you might end up losing money.”

“Yes, that’s true,” Wei Xiaojun nodded, staring blankly at Xia Li.

What was Li Zi getting at with all this?

“But Sister Xiaojun, you know I’ve been selling goji berries outside the county hospital recently. A bowl of clay pot soup outside the hospital is just a small serving, not even as much as half of your bowl. Do you know how much it sells for?”

Wei Xiaojun really didn’t know; she rarely went to the city for anything important.

Xia Li smiled lightly, “Fifty cents.”

Before Wei Xiaojun could express her surprise, she continued, “Fifty cents a bowl, and they can sell dozens or even hundreds of bowls.”

Wei Xiaojun was truly stunned: “What? They can sell that many? Is the soup that expensive? People in the city are really generous to spend fifty cents on a small bowl of soup…”

“What kind of soup is it? It must be something special to sell for that much, right?”

Xia Li shook her head: “There’s corn chicken soup, meatball soup, and radish pork rib soup, and you, Sister Xiaojun, can also make mixed mushroom soup.”

“I’ve tried all the varieties they sell there. To be honest, the first time I had it, I thought it was pretty good, but after trying a few more, I realized all the soups taste the same. The flavor isn’t outstanding, but it’s not bad either.”

That’s how selling clay pot soup works; people are in a hurry, and in the morning or during lunch, they just want a hot soup to satisfy their hunger.

The taste doesn’t need to be exceptional; as long as it’s familiar and doesn’t taste bad, it’s good enough.

Wei Xiaojun was truly surprised now, her eyes filled with curiosity.

She was still thinking that she worked so hard to run her stall and only earned thirty cents a bowl.

Meanwhile, those selling soup just had to prepare it at home in advance and take it to the city to sell, scooping a bowl for customers who came to buy.

They didn’t have to worry about the fire in the stove, whether they had enough fresh water, or dealing with cleaning tables and washing dishes—those trivial matters.

Of course, selling soup also had its own unique skills, so it wasn’t as easy as she imagined.

But she couldn’t help but wonder, could it really be that easy to make money in the city?

Fifty cents a bowl, and if they could sell a hundred bowls, how much profit would that be?!