Chapter 92: The Price Is Too High

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At noon, Shopkeeper Lu stayed with the Qiao family for lunch. The chef prepared six dishes, and she quickly devoured half of them.

“Your chef is really talented. Her cooking is on par with yours.” “Of course. When we live together, you’ll get to eat like this every day.” “We can’t move in when Ruxin is engaged, right?”

“It will be August by then. After the new house is built, it will be the rainy season. We’ll need to let it air out and maybe buy some furniture. Otherwise, moving in with all the moisture will be bad for our health.”

“That makes sense. When it’s almost finished, shall we take a look together?”

“Sure.”

Shopkeeper Lu also looked forward to the new house being completed sooner. This way, Ruxin could get married from there, and although it wasn’t her house, it would be fine as long as everything went smoothly.

On the fifteenth of April, the shop’s renovation was finally completed.

Qiao Mai arrived at the shop and looked at the large signboard – Qiao’s Small Eatery.

It has a black background and shiny gold letters. Inside, the shelves were empty but clean.

In the front was a circular counter where customers could get close to select goods, and workers would fetch the items.

At the entrance was a front desk where the Shopkeeper was stationed.

The goods had all been prepared in advance, and the Shopkeeper oversaw them in the shop. Qiao Mai, along with two assistants and five maids, began moving goods from the family warehouse to the shop.

Seven people made multiple trips back and forth, using carts to transport the goods, indicating the substantial inventory in the warehouse.

All these goods were moved to the warehouse at the back of the shop and were recorded in the accounts by the Shopkeeper.

Qiao Mai guided him, informing him of the cost of these goods.

She wanted everyone to know that these were not obtained through ordinary means; even if someone inquired, the Shopkeeper could explain.

In fact, all these goods didn’t cost a single penny. They were pure profit, and she was well aware of it.

Besides the few items she used to sell at her stall, Qiao Mai had added many varieties of fruits, vegetables, and fried snacks.

In another half month, May would arrive, and many places in the south would have fresh fruits and vegetables available. Therefore, Qiao Mai took advantage of the opportunity to sell the fruits and vegetables from her space.

Shopkeeper Niu, who was experienced, was a bit surprised, but he didn’t say much.

On the sixteenth and seventeenth, she hired workers to set up a sturdy and beautiful canopy in front of the shop. Underneath it, she placed exquisite tables and chairs for customers to rest.

The small eatery provided tea. Although the quality of the tea leaves wasn’t top-notch, it was free.

Of course, this was all done to attract business. Wealthy customers who rest here might visit the shop and buy some items.

When the weather got hot, customers could cut open a watermelon and enjoy some slices or purchase dried fruits and snacks to eat on the road.

In short, everything Qiao Mai had arranged was aimed at boosting the shop’s business.

After finishing the setup, the eatery officially opened for business on the eighteenth day.

Firecrackers rang out, and the town’s regular customers came to show their support.

Seeing so many fresh fruits and vegetables, everyone wanted to taste something new. No one left empty-handed.

Shopkeeper Lu and Mayor Qian also came. They were delighted to see the wide variety of goods inside the shop, and their eyes lit up with excitement.

Although they didn’t bring gifts, they showed their support by buying many items. Naturally, they paid in full.

Shopkeeper Tong of Jingtai Restaurant also arrived. Upon seeing the diverse selection of vegetables, he immediately purchased all the vegetables on the shelves.

They were green without a single blemish. He was so captivated that he could hardly leave the shop.

The chives were bundled in one-pound packages, clean and soil-free, priced at one hundred coins per bundle. Although it was expensive, it was worth it.

Cucumbers. Driced Der root. were thirtv coins each. Two roots were nearlv a pound, making them reasonably priced compared to chives.

Garlic shoots, priced at one hundred coins per bundle; scallions, one hundred coins per bundle per pound; fresh ginger, one hundred coins per pound. When the drugstore owner heard about it, they immediately sent someone to buy ten pounds.

Fresh garlic was one hundred coins per pound. As long as it was a vegetable that had ever appeared in the Capital, Qiao Mai put it up for sale.

The prices were high, and poor people couldn’t afford them. For common folks, they would eat cabbage and radishes. The nobility bought these vegetables, but the servants rarely got a chance to taste them.

Items like boiled corn, roasted sweet potatoes, five-spice quail eggs, five-spice edamame, salted peanuts, roasted chestnuts, watermelons, cantaloupes, strawberries, ice cubes, and more maintained their old prices without any changes.

Qiao Mai brought out the rice pancakes she made before the New Year. With a new home now, she had the space to make more when the season came. Not only that, when things like garlic chives were in season, she would also make chive flower sauce.

She didn’t sell them cheap right away; instead, she waited until the spring and winter seasons to sell them at higher prices.

Furthermore, Qiao Mai ordered Shopkeeper Niu to sell a certain quantity of each item every day. Once the quota was reached, it was gone. For example, with garlic chives, they would sell only twenty bundles each day.

Shopkeeper Niu was puzzled and asked, “Boss, why don’t we sell more?”

“Scarce items are valuable. If people know they can get them anytime, how can we charge a higher price?”

Shopkeeper Niu thought about it. “You are right.”

After deducting the cost of goods, they still made twenty or thirty taels of silver.

Such an inconspicuous little shop could earn nearly a thousand taels of silver a month.

This was just with the townsfolk as customers; many traveling merchants didn’t even know about it. If word got around, what would happen to this shop?

Shopkeeper Niu didn’t dare to imagine. It was no problem at all to feed ten mouths.

Regarding Qiao Mai opening a shop, someone asked if she had repaid her debts.

Shopkeeper Lu had already answered this. “Yes, she has repaid them. Now, the shop belongs to Madam Qiao.”

“What about the house behind the shop?”

“That’s mine. She will live with me from now on.

“It seems Shopkeeper Lu has been making quite a bit of money these years.”

“Yes, thanks to everyone’s blessings, the business is good. My daughter is getting married, so it’s only natural for us to move to the new house, isn’t it?”

She discussed these words with Qiao Mai beforehand. While the debt had been repaid, Qiao Mai still lived at the Lu residence.

It was to prevent the Qiao and Yuan families from causing trouble. The Qiao family would be unwilling, and the Tian family kept coming over to make a fuss. Tian Sanzhuang had been away for almost two years, and whether he was alive or dead remained unknown. If he returned alive, there would likely be further complications.

The Great Ming Dynasty conscripted soldiers every year, and the usual service term was five years. After five years, those who wanted to stay in the army received a monthly salary, while those who didn’t were allowed to return home. The court also provided some compensation.

Most people chose to return home when their five-year service was up.

Tian Sanzhuang had been gone for almost two years. Qiao Mai needed to become stronger within the next three years, economically and in terms of martial prowess.

Her combat skills were decent against ordinary people, but when it came to martial arts, she still had a long way to go.

Thinking about internal energy cultivation techniques, she was worried. Qiao Mai planned to ask Wang Jiaru for help and offered to pay for any information she could obtain.

Her physical condition had already recovered, and her combat skills had returned. Now, the urgent matter was to study internal energy cultivation techniques.

However, Qiao Mai had been hesitant and didn’t want anyone to know she was practicing internal energy, which was why she had not asked Wang Jiaru yet. After the shop’s opening, she went out every five days to “purchase goods.”

The rest of her time was spent at home, either doing embroidery during the day or tending to her farm in the space and preparing goods at night.

Without the need to cook, wash clothes, or care for children, her free time significantly increased.

The news of Qiao Mai’s shop spread to the Qiao family within days.

Upon hearing this news, Qiao Shicheng and his wife were furious. They had just recovered and heard that Qiao Mai had repaid Shopkeeper Lu’s money and obtained her sale contract and promissory notes.

They fainted from shock on the spit. Qiao Jiang and Qiao He pinched their acupoints to revive them.

Qiao Mai was making money by selling goods, and everyone was envious. Previously, she had owed money and had to repay it. The Qiao family was jealous but didn’t dare to make a fuss.

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