Su Qingyu smiled. She had never done business for ordinary people, and selling vegetables was just the first step, just to attract traffic.

“Dad, let me ask you if I buy vegetables in the countryside at the same price as in town, do you think the villagers will sell them to me?”

“Of course, they will! They have to carry it all the way there, which is tiring and hard. They may have to spend money to get to the town, and they may have to pay protection fees. There will also be damage on the way, and some people may pick through the items and leave them unsold. If they can sell it to you at the same price, it will save them trouble and they can make a little more money. Anyone would be willing to sell it to you.”

Su Qingyu smiled after hearing this: “Then Dad, now that you said that, we don’t have to worry about not receiving the goods this time.”

Father Su was still a little confused: “No, you still didn’t say whether we can make money. If we receive so many goods and can’t sell them, won’t we lose money?”

Su Qingyu was just coming out of a village with her father. After hearing this, she smiled and said, “Dad, the business I run is not that of ordinary people.”

“You don’t want to do business with ordinary people? Then you want to do business with the rich and powerful? They have fields, farms, and servants, and they don’t have to worry about these things, but you can’t even get through the door. You are such a careless kid, you still want to do business with the rich and powerful.”

Father Su was worried again.

Su Qingyu smiled and said, “Of course, I want to do business with the rich and powerful, but not at this stage. At this stage, I will do business with the people between ordinary people and the rich and powerful.”

“The people in the middle?”

“Well. Dad, let me ask you, what kind of people are my father-in-law and mother-in-law?”

“What kind of people are they? Are they the people in the middle that you mentioned?”

Su Qingyu smiled and nodded: “Dad, think about it, my stepmother-in-law is such a stingy person. She calculates every penny when she gives Aunt Zhou the money to buy vegetables, and she interrogates her again and again when she comes back. If there is a shop that sells vegetables at the same price as outside, do you think she will go to the shop to buy them herself?”

“Will she?”

“Yes. She thinks the market is dirty and will stain her dresses, shoes, and socks, and the smell is unpleasant. But if there is a store like this that can solve these problems for her, she is willing to go there to buy things herself. And Aunt Zhou becomes the one who carries things for her. She also enjoys the grand occasion of having maids following her around and serving her.”

Father Su frowned. Were there really people who would buy food in the store?

Then Su Qingyu said, “Father, if there are few people in the family but they have some money and want to eat good food every time, how do you think she would buy the food for the table? Would she buy a whole chicken, duck, goose, or a big fish? It’s summer now, and there’s nowhere to store it. If she doesn’t finish it and put it aside for the next meal, it might go bad.”

Father Su thought: “It’s really hard to arrange with so few people. We have a big family. If your grandma kills a chicken, we have to eat it over two or three days. And it’s really hard to store food.”

“Yes. Eating a whole chicken or duck is expensive and you can’t finish it. If you leave it alone, it will go bad. If there is a store that will kill and clean it for you, and you can buy it in portions, half, or half of a half, or just one or two taels to satisfy your craving, Dad, do you think anyone will buy it?”

Father Su was stunned. Was it possible to buy chickens and ducks like this?

Didn’t people buy them whole? They were all fur-free, so they could be killed when they got home.

Then he heard his daughter say, “There are also those special families. For example, the family is average, but there is a scholar in the family, and they want to give him good food; or there is a confinement in the family, and they want to give her good food, but they feel bad to cook a chicken for every meal. For families like this, Dad, do you think they will choose to buy only half or some portions for two or three taels? Like a meat stall, the rich buy more, and the poor buy less. Or buy some offal to satisfy their cravings?”

Father Su said uncertainly: “If there are women in the family who are in confinement, they can eat the whole thing together if they can’t finish it.”

“What if the family is not well off? Dad, don’t you feel bad for eating a chicken for one meal?”

He felt bad! How could he not feel bad!

A whole chicken, including the hair, costs 25 cents per pound. They weigh more than 5 pounds, and the big ones weigh more than 10 pounds. If he ate one in one meal, his heart would hurt.

When Su Qingyu saw her father’s expression, she understood what was going on.

The middle class wanted to eat well, but they didn’t have enough money and were reluctant to eat well every meal. Even if they wanted meat every meal, they didn’t necessarily want a lot of it. Or they wanted a variety of ingredients on the table, so they didn’t ask for a lot of each item.

There was a big market for selling meat in pieces.

Moreover, chickens and ducks were sold whole with feathers. Some families who were particular about the quality of the products did not dare to kill them when they took them home, or they thought they were dirty. After the cleaning, the house had to be cleaned up, and the smell in a small place would not go away for a whole day.

So Su Qingyu wanted to take part in this split market.

At the market, she saw that fish were being killed, but no one was helping to kill or pluck the feathers from chickens, ducks, or other poultry.

Seeing her father was thinking about something, he continued, “Our town is still big. Not to mention the villages under the town, there are hundreds of households in the town. Even if I only make one cent per catty of vegetables a day, I can earn one tael of silver if I sell one thousand catties of vegetables. Even if I sell less, only five hundred catties, I can still earn five hundred cents, which means more than ten taels a month. After deducting five taels of rent and three labor costs, I can still have a few taels left a month.”

“For example, if I sell twenty chickens and ducks a day and earn five coins from each chicken and duck, I will earn a hundred coins a day, which means three taels a month. Right, Dad? If I calculate this way, I dare not say too much, but I should be able to earn ten taels a month.”

Father Su was not very good at arithmetic, so after hearing these words, he quickly calculated in his mind.

Su Qingyu laughed.

She added, “10 taels a month, that’s why I say it’s a small business. And I don’t even have to go to the countryside to collect them, the villagers will deliver them to my door, saving the transportation costs, just the rent and labor costs. So a few taels a month is enough for my expenses. I’ll plan for bigger ones later.”

Father Su stared at his daughter. How did she suddenly become wise without saying anything?

She actually knew so many things!

Seeing her speak so clearly, he was stunned.

After hearing what she said, if she doesn’t stock up or buy too much, she could sell it in a day or two, so she shouldn’t lose much money. She could see the daily turnover in a day, and if she saw she was losing money, she could stop in time.

So, this business could actually be done?

Su Qingyu comforted him, “Don’t worry, Dad. I know what I’m doing. I’ll pack the vegetables in small portions so they don’t have to pick and choose, and it can also avoid waste. Customers can take them and leave. If they have bad ones, they can come back to exchange them. Even if my vegetables are more expensive than the vegetable market, because the store is clean and the service is good, there will be people coming to the store.”

“And I can customize and match food for them. I can find what they want to eat in advance, and some people will be willing to come and buy it.”

“For example, for widows, widowers, or the elderly, the sick, or widows and women who can’t go out, I’ll deliver to their doorsteps and charge an extra cent or two. Dad, do you think they’d be willing?”

What she wanted to sell was a service that gave customers a good experience, saved them trouble, and was not expensive.

She believed that there would be business, and if she lost money, she could stop in time. She also had other plans.

(End of this chapter)