Chapter 137: Spreading Joy 3/4

They all said the braised meat was delicious, and since the magistrate, Magistrate Gou, and others were eating it, they definitely had to try it too. And after trying it… such delicious things had to be bought multiple times!

As for ordinary folks… Those with a bit of money would buy some braised meat, or perhaps braised chicken, duck, along with braised tofu, chicken liver, pig’s head, and various other options.

Those who didn’t have much money could still afford some braised tofu and duck intestines, and it could at least let their families taste something good.

Now, when people in the county chatted or greeted each other, they would often ask, “Have you tried the braised dishes from Juewei Zhai?”

Li Qingzhi named his shop “Juewei Zhai.”

And his shop’s name spread throughout Chongcheng County in just three days, even reaching the villages around Chongcheng County.

Every village had people working on the new pier.

These people could earn one or two taels of silver a month, and they had been earning for several months… Most of them were willing to spend some money to buy something delicious to take home!

And when they brought such delicious things home, people in their villages naturally learned about Juewei Zhai.

But the people from Miaoqian Village talked about Juewei Zhai the most: “I don’t know where Li Qingzhi got the recipe for the braised dishes, but the braised dishes he makes are really delicious!”

“Business at Juewei Zhai is especially good, and Li Qingzhi must have earned a lot of money!”

“I heard that there are dozens of people helping him slaughter chickens and ducks in his shop!”

“The Li family has really prospered!”

…

The villagers were full of envy, and when Jin Liushu returned to the village carrying a large wooden barrel, they all gathered around him: “Jin Liushu, do you still have braised dishes left? I want to buy some.”

“I want to buy some too!”

“Me too.”

Jin Liushu said, “Those who made arrangements with me yesterday to get braised dishes have already taken them. I couldn’t leave them overnight in this hot weather, and I dare not keep too many! Besides, the braised dishes from Juewei Zhai were snatched up as soon as they were made, so I couldn’t get too many.”

Some people in the village had made arrangements with Jin Liushu yesterday to bring back some braised dishes for them. Now, they happily went to buy the braised dishes. As for those who hadn’t arranged with Jin Liushu, they could only watch eagerly and ask Jin Liushu to bring some back for them tomorrow.

Seeing that there was a little left, someone asked, “Jin Liushu, can you sell the remaining to me?”

“No, that’s for my children at home,” Jin Liushu replied as he went home carrying the wooden barrel. His children saw him from afar and ran toward him, shouting, “Dad!”

Seeing them, Jin Liushu’s face was full of smiles, feeling all the fatigue of the day disappear.

Without a boat, he couldn’t carry too much braised meat, and he didn’t earn much either. But even so, it was more than what he earned from selling rice!

Selling rice, he and Jin Moli could only earn sixty or seventy wen in a busy day, and when divided in half, he only got thirty wen.

But now, things were different. These days, he could earn two hundred wen a day.

But it was really too tiring… he wanted to buy a boat.

With a boat, he could sell other things besides braised meat, and he could even earn money like Jin Xiaoshu.

When tired, he could even take a nap on the boat.

While Jin Liushu was contemplating his future, Jin Sangshu, who had a boat, had already decided to go buy some braised meat tomorrow and then sell it everywhere.

Who didn’t want to make money?

Not long after Jin Liushu returned to the village, Jin Xiaoshu also came back rowing his boat, accompanied by Jin Dajiang.

When the villagers saw Jin Xiaoshu, they couldn’t help but take a deep breath—Jin Xiaoshu really smelled delicious! He was permeated with the aroma of braised meat from head to toe.

“Xiaoshu, why did you come back so late the past few days?” some villagers asked curiously when they saw Jin Xiaoshu.

Some of them hadn’t asked Jin Liushu to bring back braised meat for them because they initially intended to ask Jin Xiaoshu to do it. However, for the past two days, they couldn’t see Jin Xiaoshu at all and didn’t know when he would come back.

“Yesterday, I was helping out at my brother-in-law’s shop, and things got a bit busy, so I came back late,” Jin Xiaoshu said.

These past few days had been quite hectic at Li Qingzhi’s place, and when he called for help, Jin Xiaoshu ended up busy from early morning till late at night.

Even his dad, after finishing work at the new dock, would go to Li Qingzhi’s shop to help out.

But they were all willing to do it.

Li Qingzhi had said that he would open a shop in the county town in the future and let Jin Dajiang and his wife sell braised meat there!

Li Qingzhi also mentioned that all the internal matters like purchasing raw materials for making braised meat for Juewei Zhai would be handled by Chang Zhan, but the external affairs would be managed by Jin Xiaoshu!

What were the external affairs? Going to the prefectural city or nearby counties to open shops and deliver braised meat to these shops—these were the external affairs!

Jin Xiaoshu used to be just a boatman, but from now on… he would become like his sister and become the manager.

With his brother-in-law valuing him so much, wouldn’t Jin Xiaoshu have to work harder?

After chatting with the villagers for a while, Jin Xiaoshu and Jin Dajiang went home together.

Jin’s mother andFang Jinniang  had lit the lamp and were waiting for them. Seeing the two return, Jin’s mother was somewhat happy. “You came back so early today?”

“Everyone is already skilled, so we can come back earlier. Mom, make our meal tomorrow, and we’ll come back to eat,” Jin Xiaoshu said.

“Alright, alright,” Jin’s mother hurriedly agreed.

Jin Xiaoshu then took out a covered clay bowl from the basket he was carrying on his back. “I brought you some braised meat to taste.”

“Give it to Jinxiang, I don’t need it,” Jin’s mother quickly refused.

Jin Xiaoshu felt helpless. “Mom, Jinxiang can’t eat that much! If you don’t eat it, I’ll throw it away.”

Whenever there was something delicious at home, his mother always refused to eat it and wanted to save it for others.

But their family didn’t lack food now!

At first, Jin Xiaoshu tried to persuade his mother to eat nicely, but later he found it too annoying, so he simply threatened to throw it away.

After saying this, his mother finally ate it.

Dividing the things he brought back into two portions for his mother andFang Jinniang  to eat, Jin Xiaoshu said toFang Jinniang , “Jinxiang, I’ve been a bit busy these days and didn’t have time for you. Once things calm down in a few days, I’ll take you to the prefectural city.”

Fang Jinxiang looked at Jin Xiaoshu with pleasant surprise.

Fang Xiuniang had been in the prefectural city for about twenty days… She had received letters from Fang Xiuniang, but she hadn’t seen Fang Xiuniang.

She had been worrying about it and had wanted to go and see her for a long time, but she had been avoiding the hustle and bustle of the county town due to her feigned illness, so it hadn’t been convenient for her to go out…

“My brother-in-law is planning to open a braised meat shop in the prefectural city and intends to let Xiuniang manage it! Embroidery is too hard on the eyes; it’s better to let her sell braised meat in the future,” Jin Xiaoshu explained Li Qingzhi’s plan.

With the new shop opening these days, people in Chongcheng County were scrambling to buy braised meat. They couldn’t spare any to sell elsewhere, but in a few days, when business stabilized, they could open branch stores.

Fang Jinxiang said, “Selling braised meat sounds good, but Xiuniang is introverted. Maybe she won’t do well in business.”

“What’s there to worry about? We can just hire someone to help,” Jin Xiaoshu said. “My brother-in-law said that the braised meat from Juewei Zhai can be sold at a higher price in the prefectural city, and we can definitely make money.”

They would transport the braised meat from afar and sell it at a slightly higher price, which was normal.

“Alright,”Fang Jinniang  agreed.

Jin Xiaoshu felt like kissing her, but his own parents were there… “Jinxiang, you should rest in the room. I’ll go take a bath.”

It was better to go back to the room quickly.

In Chongcheng County, at the Jin Xiaoye Embroidery  Workshop.

It was already dark, but the people in the embroidery workshop hadn’t gone to bed yet.

There was a thatched house in the courtyard of the embroidery workshop for the female workers to use, as well as a bathroom for them to take turns using.

As for Li Qingzhi and the others, they used the bathroom next to the kitchen, and there was also a toilet in the house.

After Zhang Yunquan was gone, those sanitation workers in the county town not only emptied their chamber pots but also washed them for them, which was quite convenient.