Starting with selling in the 1980s Chapter 30

Starting with selling in the 1980s

Chapter 30: Fried Chicken

Upon hearing Jiang Ershu praise him, Feng Yi immediately smiled and said, “It’s all thanks to your good teachings, Second Uncle.”

Ershu, feeling satisfied with the compliment, turned to Jiang Lihai and said, “In the future, you should learn more from Feng Yi!”

Jiang Lihai, observing the interaction, was left speechless.

The urgency of building the house aside, Ershu and Feng Yi accompanied Jiang Lihai back home upon his return.

On the way, Ershu inquired about Jiang Lihai’s experiences in the big city.

Jiang Lihai briefly mentioned a few things, leaving out the part about exchanging grain coupons. He only mentioned buying cheap rice and flour in the city.

Ershu didn’t ask for details, as he had no knowledge of the big city: “You should work hard and show diligence at the transportation team. Be more industrious.”

Jiang Lihai rolled his eyes behind Ershu’s back; his second uncle always liked to give the same old advice.

When they arrived home, Jiang Liyun had already woken up from her nap and was boiling tea eggs.

Every day, she would cook dozens of tea eggs because they sold well, mostly to people who were too lazy to cook and used them as a quick lunch.

Seeing Jiang Lihai return, she, like Ershu, inquired about city affairs.

Ershu and Feng Yi went to the field to pick vegetables. Jiang Lihai recounted the process of buying rice and flour, omitting the part where he almost gave up, only highlighting the positive aspects: “The process of exchanging grain coupons went smoothly. I managed to buy a total of one hundred pounds of flour and two hundred pounds of rice, although I had to ask many people since they usually only had about thirty to forty extra pounds of grain coupons.”

While the things Jiang Lihai obtained were not substantial, taking the first step was already commendable. Jiang Liyun praised him, saying, “Brother, you did well! I believe you’ll do even better next time.”

Jiang Lihai didn’t expect to be praised by Jiang Liyun. Feeling pleased, he decided that even if others looked down on him, he would continue with his business.

Thinking this, Jiang Lihai mentioned the prices at which he bought the grains and the local market prices, saying, “Liyun, I can earn seven yuan from two hundred pounds of rice. If I do this more often, I might make twenty or thirty yuan in one trip!”

Jiang Liyun said, “Brother, you have to sell the rice at the market price to earn seven yuan, but you don’t have time to set up a stall in town. You’ll most likely have to resell the rice to those who sell rice. This way, you won’t get the market price, and at most, you’ll earn five yuan.”

Jiang Lihai: “HeHe forgot about that.

“But I bought the flour you brought back. According to the price you bought it for, I’ll give you an extra two yuan as your commission,” Jiang Liyun added.

Even though she gave Jiang Lihai two yuan as a commission, she still saved four yuan because the price Jiang Lihai paid for the flour in the city was six yuan cheaper than the price she would pay in town.

“No need for a commission,” Jiang Lihai said. “You’re my sister. Why would I need a commission for helping you buy flour?”

“Family should settle their accounts clearly.” Jiang Liyun took out a stack of money, counted it, and handed the cash to Jiang Lihai. She even thought about the eggs Jiang Lihai used to exchange for grain coupons. After counting the money, she handed him six tea eggs, saying, “Take these tea eggs, and later, give them to your Linlin. It’s been a while since you’ve seen her; bring her a little gift.”

Initially, Jiang Lihai wanted to refuse the commission, but seeing Jiang Liyun holding so much money and considering the expenses for building the house and getting married, he ultimately accepted it.

After receiving the money, Jiang Lihai used a large enamel cup to pack the tea eggs. He asked Jiang Liyun, “Why is the relationship between Feng Yi and Second Uncle so good now?”

“Feng Yi is likeable; he gets along well with everyone,” Jiang Liyun explained.

Seeing that Jiang Lihai didn’t fully agree, Jiang Liyun continued, “Ershu is actually easy to get along with. Just listen to whatever he says, compliment him a bit, and that’s enough.”

“But what he says isn’t necessarily right.”

“You can choose not to listen; he won’t know!” Jiang Liyun advised Feng Yi similarly, asking him to listen carefully when Ershu spoke, occasionally praising him but not necessarily following Ershu’s instructions.

Some of Ershu’s words made sense, while others didn’t. Ershu had been a lifelong farmer, never even visiting the county seat, so not everything he said needed to be taken to heart.

Jiang Lihai suddenly felt that his sister’s advice made a lot of sense.

At that moment, Ershu was instructing Feng Yi on how to cultivate the land. Feng Yi listened attentively and nodded occasionally.

As for whether he would follow through with the instructions, Ershu wasn’t Liyun’s brother, and Feng Yi listened to Liyun.

After chatting with Jiang Liyun, Jiang Lihai went to borrow a bicycle from Ershu; he needed to bring tea eggs to see He Chunlin.

They were going out on a boat, and he had to keep watch at night, so he stayed up for two consecutive nights. Guard duty was boring with nothing to do, so he wrote two poems and two love letters for He Chunlin. Today, he could conveniently deliver them.

Ershu lent his bicycle to Jiang Lihai and reminded him, “Come back early; Feng Yi needs the bike tonight!”

Is he Ershu or Feng Yi’s uncle? Jiang Lihai silently rode the bike to the He family.

He used to fear the He family, but now, having seen the world in the city, he was much calmer.

Jiang Liyun watched Jiang Lihai ride away, then started preparing the miscellaneous pork brought back by Jiang Lihai.

The meat had lymph nodes on it, so she cut them off and scraped the fat from the pigskin to make lard.

Jiang Lihai seemed more generous this time he came back.

Letting Jiang Lihai go out was beneficial. Maybe in the future, he could help sell the pickled chicken.

As per tradition, the masons would have dinner at home.

Jiang Liyun didn’t insist on them staying, but she had Feng Yi pack two tea eggs for Jiang Lihai.

The masons were quite happy. At this time, many households were reluctant to even eat a chicken egg, preferring to sell them for money.

Not long after the masons left, Jiang Lihai returned with a happy expression on his face.

He didn’t exchange many words with He Chunlin, but even so, he was extremely happy.

However, during dinner, Jiang Lihai was dumbfounded to see his parents constantly serving food to Feng Yi.

Were his parents being too nice to Feng Yi?

Jiang Cripple and Wu Xiaochun’s attitude towards Feng Yi was indeed very good.

They had always wanted to help their son finish building the house, but they didn’t know how to do anything.

In these past few days, although Ershu claimed to have come to help, his work and contributions were far inferior to Feng Yi’s.

They had realised that if they wanted the house to be completed smoothly, they had to rely on Feng Yi. In that case, they certainly had to treat Feng Yi better!

Jiang Cripple used to never serve food to others, but now he learned from Jiang Liyun and serves food to Feng Yi.

Jiang Liyun was pleased with these developments, but Jiang Lihai couldn’t help but feel a sense of crisis.

He decided to come home more often in the future; otherwise, Feng Yi might end up being more like his parents’ son than he was.

After dinner, Jiang Lihai went to his new house, while Feng Yi went to buy pork.

Jiang Liyun calculated the accounts and took out two hundred yuan to return to Jiang Cripple and his wife, saying, “Mum and Dad, this is the money I borrowed from you before. I’m returning it now.”

“No need to return it. You used to bring home a lot of money from work,” Wu Xiaochun said.

“But I have to return it. As for bringing money home… Mum and Dad, I won’t bring money home anymore, but I’ll buy groceries and bring you some good food,” Jiang Liyun said. “Is that okay?”

“Of course, it’s okay,” Wu Xiaochun readily agreed. “Li Yun, you don’t have to cook meat dishes every day. Why eat such good food?”

“Eating better means you won’t get sick. Isn’t that great?” Jiang Liyun said. “You used to be unhealthy because you ate poorly.”

Wu Xiaochun’s health had indeed been very good recently, which Jiang Liyun attributed to multiple factors.

Their family had been eating well lately, ensuring good nutrition. Wu Xiaochun went to the town market with them every day, getting appropriate exercise.

There was also a psychological aspect to it.

Wu Xiaochun was actually someone who liked to overthink things. In the past, she used to sit at home all day worrying, which naturally affected her health.

But things are different now. Wu Xiaochun had been following Jiang Liyun’s instructions completely and didn’t have time to worry unnecessarily. As a result, her health improved.

“So that’s how it is. Then we should eat better,” Jiang Cripple said, surprisingly speaking up.

Jiang Liyun said, “Then it’s settled. I won’t contribute to household expenses in the future; instead, I’ll use the money to buy groceries for the family.”

She knew she would earn more and more money in the future, so contributing to household expenses would be a loss for her.

As for buying groceries… Since she already earned money, she didn’t mind letting her parents eat better.

The next day, Jiang Lihai rested.

He was very excited about his new house. Early that day, he went to the construction site and stayed there all day.

He didn’t even take a break for lunch, helping with a lot of work. By the time he went back to the brick factory to work on the third day, his whole body was sore.

It was November 15th.

Jiang Liyun was reborn on October 15th, so a month had passed since this day. She had been selling pan-fried dumplings for twenty days.

Time really flies!

What made Jiang Liyun happiest was that she had earned back all the money she invested in her stall.

Before setting up the stall, she had bought a lot of things, totalling about four hundred yuan. Now, she had earned it all back. Any money she made from now on would be pure profit.

When she had enough profit, she wanted to buy new clothes for Feng Yi, buy a tricycle, and save some money as capital for future business.

She also wanted to save money to buy a house!

There were really many places where money was needed!

In the morning, after selling almost all the dumplings, Jiang Liyun went to the reading room as usual to read the newspaper.

There were many news articles in the newspaper, and she skimmed through them. In addition…

Jiang Liyun’s eyes stopped on a certain newspaper.

The news was probably about a store called KFC, which opened on November 12th in Beijing, and business was extremely hot.

Jiang Liyun knew from her previous life that when KFC first came to China, business was particularly good, with countless people lining up to buy fried chicken.

But she didn’t remember the opening time of KFC from her previous life. So it opened at this time?

This was actually just an ordinary piece of news, but Jiang Liyun had been thinking about those rampant white feather chickens in Qiaotou Village during this time.

Speaking of fried chicken… She could make it.

The fried chicken she made certainly wasn’t as delicious as KFC’s, but after she got access to the internet in her previous life, she saw people teaching others how to make fried chicken online and learned it on a whim.

When she was young and lacked food, she liked fried food and thought the fried chicken she made was very delicious, so she would occasionally make it.

So… Should she try making fried chicken to sell?

The cost of fried chicken was not low, and it would definitely be sold at a high price. There might not be many people in town willing to spend money on it, but it would definitely be profitable.

She could try selling a small amount first to see how it goes. If business was good, she could sell more. Anyway, she had to try to save up some money by the end of the year.

Jiang Liyun said, “Alright, it’s settled. I won’t contribute to household expenses; instead, I’ll use the money to buy groceries for the family.”

She knew her earnings would surely increase in the future, and contributing to household expenses would be a disadvantage for her.

As for buying groceries, in the current situation where she had already earned money, she didn’t mind letting her parents eat better.

The next day, Jiang Lihai took a break.

He was eagerly anticipating his new house. Early in the day, he went to the construction site and stayed there all day.

He didn’t even rest for lunch, helping with a lot of work. By the time he returned to the brick factory to work on the third day, his whole body was aching.