Jiang Mantang returned home, carrying a gong and ringing it throughout the village. Villagers who heard the sound made their way to Jiang Fuzheng’s house. Jiang Fuzheng’s house was located in the center of the village, and before long, everyone had gathered.

Seeing Ye Li there, they all greeted him one after another. Ye Li smiled in response, addressing everyone by their respective titles—Uncle, Aunt, and so on.

Jiang Fuzheng glanced at everyone, confirming that every household was represented, then cleared his throat and said, “Here’s the situation.”

“I’m sure some of you have heard: Ji Xiaozhi has a classmate whose neighbor runs a noodle shop. Ji Xiaozhi’s family recently sold their latest batch of preserved eggs to that shop.”

“The shop owner’s surname is Gong. He turned the preserved eggs into a cold salad dish, and business has been good.” 

“So, he’s come to our village again today to buy preserved eggs.”

“If you’re willing to sell your preserved eggs to him, he’ll pay an extra 150 wen per 500 eggs on top of the original price.” 150 wen.

As soon as that figure was mentioned, everyone present couldn’t help but gasp in surprise. That’s no small sum!

What’s more, the preserved eggs aren’t even ready yet, and someone’s already offering a higher price. What a stroke of luck!

Ever since they got involved with these preserved eggs, nothing but good things have happened. First, we got free money, and we didn’t have to worry about selling them.

And now someone was offering to pay more!

Jiang Fuzheng saw the look of delight on many faces and knew that, for the moment, no one had thought too deeply about it.

So he added, “If you’re unwilling to sell the preserved eggs to him, you can all load them onto your carts yourselves and head to the county town to hawk cold preserved eggs.” 

“He’s selling them for seven wen a serving… and in the end, you’ll make two wen a serving.”

“Two wen?!”

No sooner had Jiang Fuzheng finished explaining than the villagers let out another gasp of surprise.

Two wen per serving—so selling five hundred eggs, or two hundred and fifty servings, would net an extra five hundred wen. Selling a thousand eggs would mean a thousand wen!

Many people’s minds immediately began to race.

If this kept up, it wouldn’t be a small sum—no, no, no!

This is a huge sum of money!

Many felt their hearts racing; their faces flushed with excitement, and they unconsciously shifted their stance—whether standing or sitting. Jiang Fuzheng took in the expressions of the crowd; he wasn’t surprised.

In his eyes, this was a substantial sum as well.

So he said, “Those who don’t want to sell their preserved eggs to the noodle shop can push their carts into town and sell them themselves.”

“Our village is close to the county town, and everyone here is familiar with the county town. If you have connections to sell them for a higher price, that’s what you deserve.”

“The facts have already proven that our preserved eggs are in high demand.”

“But selling them individually won’t bring in money as quickly as selling them to the noodle shop. Moreover, the price difference amounts to at least 100 wen and up to 350 wen for every 500 preserved eggs.”

“Selling them individually can earn us an extra 100 to 350 wen. If we sell them all at once to the cold noodle shop, we won’t get that money.”

“This isn’t a small sum—everyone should think it over carefully.”

“But if anyone wants to sell to the noodle shop, come back at this time the day after tomorrow to sign a contract with Mr. Gong.” 

“He’ll pay a 300-wen deposit in advance.”

“Once you’ve received the deposit, you can’t back out. They’re paying in advance, so we should keep our word.”

After these words were spoken, the villagers immediately began discussing the matter again. The price difference was at least 100 wen.

If anyone could sell it for a higher price, they’d make even more money!

For a moment, Zhang Shi felt a wave of excitement wash over him, as if the scorching sun overhead had suddenly landed right in his heart. He looked intently at Jiang Fuzheng: “Clan Chief, since these preserved eggs are so popular, do you have any connections we could use to sell them to the Drunken Immortal Restaurant?”

“Drunken Immortal Restaurant is the biggest restaurant in the county town. We’d definitely get a higher price there!” 

“Drunken Immortal Restaurant?”

Jiang Fuzheng was taken aback.

Ye Li was also taken aback.

The others, upon hearing the name Drunken Immortal Restaurant, were instantly excited as well.

That’s right—Drunken Immortal Restaurant is the largest restaurant in Beiyang County. If we sell the preserved eggs there, we’ll definitely get a better price!

“That’s a great idea, Clan Chief. What do you think?”

Wang Qiumei said cheerfully.

Jiang Fuzheng pondered for a moment, then shook his head. “We’ve been selling preserved eggs for quite some time now. Before, we focused on volume, so the prices were low. Now we want to sell them at a high price to Drunken Immortal Restaurant—but Drunken Immortal Restaurant isn’t a sucker. Why would they pay a premium?”

“We could just sell exclusively to Drunken Immortal Restaurant! We won’t sell to anyone else from now on—from now on, only Drunken Immortal Restaurant will have these magical eggs!”

Zhang Shi immediately suggested.

But Jiang Fuzheng shook his head: “Every household in our village produces at least a thousand preserved eggs a month. That adds up to over twenty thousand.”

“Judging by everyone’s enthusiasm, they’ll be rolling up their sleeves and working full steam ahead on making preserved eggs starting today. The number of preserved eggs is likely to triple or quadruple. How could Drunken Immortal Restaurant possibly handle that on its own?”

Drunken Immortal Restaurant’s business was indeed thriving, but it catered to the wealthy.

Beiyang County is no ordinary county town; besides the county government office, the Commissioner of the Grand Canal is stationed here.

But at the end of the day, Beiyang County isn’t one of the wealthy regions of Jiangnan, and the current permanent population of the county town is just over 400,000. The vast majority of these are ordinary people; there are only a limited number of high-ranking officials and millionaires.

How could these people possibly consume that many preserved eggs in a single month?

If we assume 100,000, that would mean selling over 3,000 a day.

That’s over 1,600 servings.

Fewer than 1,600 people visit Drunken Immortal Restaurant each day.

Preserved eggs aren’t that appealing; they aren’t a necessity.

It’s just a dish—refreshing and delicious, with a unique flavor—but in the summer, in terms of popularity, it can’t even hold a candle to cold noodles.

“Well…”

Zhang Shi furrowed his brow.

Well, he had indeed made up his mind to head into the county town to buy eggs later.

He’d been timid before, afraid to invest too much silver, but after being spurred on by the 150 wen today, he no longer batted an eye at that amount!

He was going to invest all his savings! If that wasn’t enough, he’d even dare to borrow money!

But if he ended up with too many preserved eggs, the Drunken Immortal Restaurant wouldn’t be able to use them all.

If Drunken Immortal Restaurant couldn’t handle them, he’d have to sell them to a lot of people, and in that case, he couldn’t just charge exorbitant prices.

Besides, he’d already been selling the preserved eggs for a while. Places like Drunken Immortal Restaurant weren’t fools—why would they pay extra for them…

Wang Qiumei and the other villagers could see the logic in this as well. Jiang Fuzheng’s cold shower of reality had truly hit home, and everyone calmed down.

“But Clan Chief, we’ve finally found a way to make money. We’re not willing to settle for just this little bit.” Someone said.

“Yeah, what if we ask Mr. Gong to pay us a little more? Or maybe we should go ask at Drunken Immortal Restaurant first?” 

“Or maybe we could push our carts into town and sell them ourselves?”

Another person suggested.

“Going into town to hawk our wares ourselves would be such hard work. Let’s just ask Mr. Gong to pay us a bit more.”

Someone quickly shot down one of the suggestions.

Jiang Fuzheng raised his hand, signaling everyone to hold their tongues: “First, tell me how many preserved eggs you plan to make next. If Drunken Immortal Restaurant can’t handle that much, then I won’t bother haggling.”

The crowd: “……”

Oh, what a great opportunity—only for Drunken Immortal Restaurant to turn it down!

But to get Drunken Immortal Restaurant to take them, they simply couldn’t make that many preserved eggs!

Ye Li took in the expressions on everyone’s faces. He said nothing, merely sitting on a small stool, his gaze darting back and forth.

After all, preserved eggs are just eggs; they can’t command the price of pork.

Even if they were served at Drunken Immortal Restaurant, with a touch of luxury, the price per serving would be much higher—but few people could afford to dine there. So, to make more money, they still needed to focus on volume and cater to the masses, making it affordable for more people.

Relying solely on the small number of wealthy people in the county town, the silver earned would ultimately be limited.

Zhang Shi added, “Why don’t we check out a few more restaurants and inns? To be honest, seven wen per serving is too cheap; we should be charging eight or even nine wen per serving.”

“Mr. Gong doesn’t know how to run a business.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Fuzheng shook his head: “Then fewer people would buy it. Two eggs simply can’t compare to a pound of meat.” At Gong Lisheng’s shop, a small serving of cold noodles costs seven wen.

This price actually hits the sweet spot for customers. Any higher, and it would be on par with meat.

Live chickens cost only eight or nine wen per catty; if they were truly as expensive as meat, there would certainly be far fewer customers willing to buy them. The same goes for preserved eggs.

Even if they were a rare commodity—the only one of its kind—they couldn’t possibly be priced the same as meat. After Jiang Fuzheng finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Almost everyone was frowning.

Having been consistently poor for so many years, they’d finally found a rare way to make money. Now, they were racking their brains, trying every trick in the book to maximize their profits.

Wang Qiumei instinctively glanced at Ye Li.

The idea for making preserved eggs came from Ye Li. Yet, despite the significance of the matter, Ye Li remained silent.

She asked, “XiaoLi, what do you think? How do you plan to sell your preserved eggs?” As soon as she said this, everyone’s eyes turned to Ye Li.

Ye Li gave a shy smile and said, “Auntie, I understand how everyone feels, but I think Uncle Jiang is right—preserved eggs won’t fetch the price of meat.”

“If we want to make more money, we have to sell in bulk.”

“Our village is close to the South-North Canal. Besides people from the county town, there are also merchants and travelers from out of town. While winter hasn’t arrived yet, we should focus on selling to those out-of-town merchants.”

“As long as we make enough preserved eggs, we’re sure to make more money.”

“So, here’s what I think: everyone should do as they please. Whether you sell to Mr. Gong or to someone else, it’s up to you. It’s entirely up to each of you.”

His words amounted to saying nothing at all.

The crowd exchanged glances, and finally, one of the women previously singled out by Jiang Fuzheng—Aunt Lu—asked, “Brother Li, can Boss Gong pay us a little more?”

As soon as she spoke, several others chimed in in agreement.

Pushing a cart to set up a stall in the county town was too exhausting; they only really had free time in the winter. There was plenty of work to do in the fields.

But come winter, when the air is already a biting northwest wind mixed with ice shards, how many people would be willing to buy cold-served preserved eggs then?

Maybe even the noodle shops would be struggling for business!

If the preserved eggs don’t sell well, then choosing the noodle shop now might help build some goodwill.

“Auntie, I can ask him what the highest price he’s willing to pay is. I don’t have time to set up a stall myself, but my family’s preserved eggs will supply the noodle shop. Don’t worry, I’ll definitely try my best to get you a good deal.” Ye Li said.

“Oh! That’s so kind of you. You’ve been acting as the go-between and worrying about this all along. As it happens, I have plenty of pumpkins at home—I’ll bring you a few later.”

Aunt Lu said with a smile.

Seeing this, the other households chimed in as well.

In the summer, every household grew plenty of vegetables—all sorts of them—and they were all willing to send some to Ye Li. Zhang Shi, seeing this, asked, “Sister Lu, don’t you want to earn a little extra?”

“Of course I do, but there’s still winter coming, isn’t there? Few people eat cold salads in winter!”

Aunt Lu explained.

As soon as she said this, before Zhang Shi and the others had a chance to worry, Ye Li hurriedly said, “Everyone, don’t worry. Preserved eggs can be used to make congee, and they’re delicious in congee too.”

“But if we use them in congee, we might not be able to use up all those preserved eggs. After all, making congee takes time.”

The flavor of preserved eggs differs slightly from that of preserved eggs, but they’re just as delicious in congee.

But even with a large pot of congee, how much could Gong Lisheng’s little shop possibly cook in a day? Besides, winter is the season for stir-fried glass noodles—the couple still had to sell those. But there was no shortage of buyers for preserved eggs.

Just one classic dish of preserved egg and lean pork congee would be enough to use up all the villagers’ preserved eggs.

“When the time comes, we’ll rely on selling them individually or to other shops. But rest assured, everyone—we’ll eventually sell them all.”

Ye Li’s words felt like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone’s heads.

Those who hadn’t considered this possibility before now furrowed their brows, their faces filled with reluctance. So, all things considered, is selling to Boss Gong really the best option right now?

Seeing that everyone was still undecided, Jiang Fuzheng summarized the discussion:

“With preserved eggs, volume is key. If we only sell to Drunken Immortal Restaurant, we’d have to limit our production to a small batch each month.”

Additionally, they must consider that in the cold winter months, preserved eggs might not sell well. After wrapping up his summary, he told everyone to go home and think it over carefully.

Gong Lisheng won’t be back until the day after tomorrow.

If they still hadn’t made up their minds by the day after tomorrow, they could keep thinking about it—after all, it would be another eight or nine days before everyone’s preserved eggs were ready. However, going back on one’s word is not good.

Since this matter had passed through his hands as clan chief, everyone should be careful to draw up a contract, lest they change their minds later and cause him to lose face. The crowd quickly dispersed.

Ye Li also went home.

When he arrived home, Jiang Ji hadn’t returned yet.

Ye Liang was standing by the stove, sweating profusely as he fried tofu puffs. Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya were standing under the shed, munching on watermelon.

From the watermelon they’d just cut open, he’d set aside four slices especially for the two little ones. As soon as they woke up, Ye Liang called them over to eat. To be honest, this was actually the first time they’d ever eaten watermelon.

Both were overjoyed, carefully nibbling at the watermelon slice by slice with their little hands. Even when watermelon juice smeared their cheeks, they didn’t want to wipe it off, but instead stuck out their little tongues to lick it away.

Just then, seeing Ye Li return, the two hurriedly called out, “Li-ge!” Their voices rang out loud and clear, their little faces still beaming with smiles.

Infected by their joy, Ye Li smiled too and walked over to ask, “Did you like the watermelon?” 

“It was delicious!” the two little ones answered in unison. It was so delicious!

Jiang Ya was grinning from ear to ear. After lunch, he’d been patting his little belly, wishing for watermelon. And now, when he woke up, there it was!

So happy!

“Then, when Brother Sheng comes over next time, you two should thank him properly,” Ye Li said with a smile. The two little ones quickly agreed.

Hehe, according to Big Brother Liang, Brother Sheng bought a total of eleven watermelons. He sent one to the Village Chief Grandpa’s house.

He sent one each to Brother Datong and Sister Liu.

They just had a bite, and there are still seven left!

Seven! If they eat one every two days, that’ll last then half a month.

It’s hard to believe—it’s one thing to eat meat regularly, but now they can even enjoy such a precious fruit all the time. After finishing those watermelons, the two of them couldn’t help but run to the mill to check out the remaining seven watermelons.

They patted this one and felt that one, their little faces beaming with uncontrollable joy.

Just as they were enjoying themselves, they heard Jiang Ji’s voice from the courtyard, and they immediately ran out of the millhouse. Seeing Jiang Ji standing under the shed talking to Ye Li, they ran toward him: “Big Brother!” Once they stopped in front of Jiang Ji, they chattered away about the watermelons.

Jiang Ji smiled and ruffled their little heads, then sent them out to gather firewood.

Once the two of them had picked up the rope and left, Jiang Ji picked up where he’d left off and asked Ye Li if things had gone smoothly. Ye Li gave a rough summary of their earlier discussion, and Jiang Ji was somewhat surprised.

It seemed he and Ye Li were too naive. The two of them hadn’t even considered these things before.

Ye Liang had already heard the details from Ye Li, and now he looked calm. After all, he planned to sell the cold-dressed preserved eggs himself.

Jiang Ji quickly shook off his surprise; he could understand the villagers’ mindset.

They were all terrified of poverty; normally, they’d be so stingy they’d split a single coin in two to stretch it. Now that manna had fallen from the sky, it was only natural that everyone was both delighted and flustered by the sudden windfall. He asked Ye Li, “Do you think Brother Sheng will raise the price?”

“Of course he will. Even if he does, he’ll still make a profit.”

Ye Li spoke with absolute certainty.

Mainly because the recipe for cold-served preserved eggs is so simple. It requires no effort or hassle—it’s easy money.

“Why don’t we go ask him tomorrow?” Jiang Ji suggested. “Go to the noodle shop?” Ye Li was a bit surprised.

“Yeah, and we can take a stroll through the county town while we’re at it,” Jiang Ji nodded. He was still a bit annoyed about what happened last night.

He wanted to buy something for Ye Li.

Ye Li saw right through his thoughts and felt a bit helpless. It was all in the past, after all.

Come to think of it, though, Ye Li hadn’t been to the county town for a long time.

Besides, after Jiang Ji’s vacation next month, he’d be heading off to the Prefectural Capital. Tomorrow would be a good day to go shopping in the county town.

Having made up his mind, Ye Li smiled sweetly at Ye Liang and said, “Brother, you should come over early tomorrow. If Jiang Ji and I aren’t back by the time you arrive, please cook for Xiao Mai and Ya-ger, and fry some tofu puffs while you’re at it.”

“Alright,” Ye Liang replied with a smile.

Li-ger used to love going out, but ever since he started making tofu puffs, he’s been cooped up at home. It’s about time he got out and about more.

Especially with Xiao Ji.