Rebirth in 1980: The Farm Wife Makes a Comeback
Chapter 287: An Auspicious Start

Chapter 287: Chapter 287: An Auspicious Start

"Xiang Nuan," Teacher Wang didn’t clink glasses, but said somewhat sheepishly, "I’ve discussed it with your aunt, and we’ll run the business, but we don’t know how to begin. How much rent should we pay you?" They had already agreed on this before coming. They weren’t going to mention other expenses, but they definitely intended to pay rent.

"No need for rent," Qin Xiangnuan had known their purpose for coming and didn’t say too much, to avoid making them anxious.

"I sell flatbreads with vegetables. If aunt could sell porridge at my stall, I could sell more flatbreads. All aunt would need to do is help tidy up each day, since I still have classes," she quickly added this last part, fearing that Teacher Wang might overthink and feel like he was taking advantage of her.

"You can rest assured about that," Xie Yonghong quickly took over the conversation, "My family is from the countryside, and we can do anything. So what shall we sell? What kind of porridge?"

"That’s simple."

Qin Xiangnuan took paper and pen from her backpack and organized a shopping list for what "aunt" needed to buy the next day.

Rice, white sugar, pumpkin, millet, peanuts, a couple of small stoves, a few small tables, and some bowls and spoons. That’s all for now; anything else needed can be added later.

These items could make two big pots of porridge. The bowls shouldn’t be too big; small ones will do. If sales are good, she felt confident they could make twenty yuan a day.

Currently, rice is very cheap, only several cents per jin.

For porridge, selling it at 30 cents a bowl would be acceptable. As long as the porridge tastes right, she’d sell flatbreads for 40 cents, and with porridge at 30 cents, the meal would cost 60 cents total—affordable for most people. Perhaps in a few years, these items would increase in price, but right now it’s the early ’90s, so prices shouldn’t rise too quickly. In fact, it’s not so much that things are becoming more expensive but that the value of money is constantly depreciating.

The main reason is that staples like rice and flour are cheap, so the price of her flatbreads hasn’t increased much, from 35 to 40 cents, which is a price level that people can accept. Fried dough sticks and spicy soup both sell for 20 cents, so selling congee for that much, especially with a generous portion of ingredients, should look attractive enough.

She knows how to make pumpkin porridge and can teach Xie Yonghong. As for sweet red bean porridge, it’s not difficult either; anyone who can cook home-style dishes can learn these recipes quickly.

Teacher Wang took the list and didn’t stay long; he and Xie Yonghong went to get prepared.

Tables are easy to make, just a couple of long ones and some small stools. The carpenter finished them in one day, and they were delivered to the store the next day. Qin Xiangnuan’s shop space is quite large, and it seemed wasteful for just one person to use it. It would be better to share it with others selling their goods.

Moreover, by adding porridge to the menu, her flatbreads indeed sold much better, and having Xie Yonghong take care of the shop gave her some relief.

Early in the morning, she went to the store, only to find that Xie Yonghong had arrived even earlier. She wondered how long she had been standing there, and if she had gotten cold.

Qin Xiangnuan really liked people like her. In business, one shouldn’t fear hard work or fatigue, and of course, one must also be smart. And Xie Yonghong clearly had all those qualities.

Qin Xiangnuan opened the door, planning to provide Xie Yonghong with a key the next time she came—she couldn’t believe she had forgotten to do this.

After entering, Qin Xiangnuan taught Xie Yonghong how to cook the pumpkin porridge and how to make it taste good. Xie Yonghong paid close attention, not daring to miss a single word.

"Eh, do we have porridge today?"

Customers coming for flatbreads saw the porridge and eagerly came in.

"Yes, uncle, just freshly made, only 20 cents a bowl, quite cheap."

Qin Xiangnuan handed a flatbread to the regular customer, "Delicious sweet pumpkin porridge and soft, fragrant red bean porridge."

"Give me a bowl of pumpkin porridge," the person bit into a pancake, and there went another 20 cents, Wei Hong held the 20 cents, her hands trembling with excitement, she quickly scooped up a bowl of pumpkin porridge and set it in front of the customer. The customer took the spoon and started eating.

"Mmm, this taste is pretty good," the customer smiled and took another hearty bite. "This pancake paired with the porridge is a perfect match."

After eating a pancake and downing a bowl of porridge, feeling warm and full, it was really quite comfortable.

And throughout the morning, Xie Yonghong never stopped; the money kept filling her pockets.

Jian Zhiqing didn’t need to come over early in the morning anymore, his presence would actually make Xie Yonghong feel embarrassed.

Xie Yonghong naturally recognized Jian Zhiqing.

Around 8 o’clock, Jian Zhiqing came over.

"Oh, Zhiqing, you’re here." As soon as Xie Yonghong saw him, she hurriedly greeted him.

Jian Zhiqing smiled, "How’s business?"

"Well, not bad," Xie Yonghong sincerely expressed her joy; she hadn’t stopped smiling all morning, her hands and feet even more agile, and the money she had earned was still here.

He took the pancake from Qin Xiangnuan’s hands and sat himself down, "Big sister, give me a bowl of pumpkin porridge."

"Alright, coming right up," Xie Yonghong hurriedly served a bowl in front of Jian Zhiqing. She felt that she might need to prepare two stoves by tomorrow, or maybe two big pots, as there wasn’t enough to sell; one pot was already nearing empty, she had to quickly cook another pot.

Never would have thought that the business would be so good, almost everyone who bought pancakes would come over for a bowl of porridge, and there were also those elderly people doing their morning exercises, who seemed to quite like drinking porridge. Once they arrived, the table would be packed full; some people would even stand and drink it up. Between serving porridge to others and finding the time to wash bowls, she was indeed very busy.

Jian Zhiqing took a sip of the pumpkin porridge and knew it must have been made by Qin Xiangnuan. He gave Qin Xiangnuan a meaningful glance, and Qin Xiangnuan made a funny face at him before continuing to cook pancakes, never idle.

After finishing, Jian Zhiqing took out six yuan and gave it to Xie Yonghong.

"Zhiqing, you don’t need to pay," Xie Yonghong quickly refused, "How much can it be worth? Big sister is treating you, and a bowl is just 20 cents, truly not that much."

"Sister-in-law, just take it," Jian Zhiqing stuffed the money into Xie Yonghong’s hand.

"This is the meal cost for one month, I come here to eat every day, if I don’t show up one day, you can just note it down for me. When those two little brats of mine come over in a few days, we’ll talk about the rest."

Xie Yonghong held the six yuan, neither accepting nor refusing it with ease,

"Madam, you take it," Qin Xiangnuan always respectfully called Xie Yonghong ’Madam’, she was very persistent about this.

"He gives me the money every month, he never owes debt, otherwise, I couldn’t let him eat for free."

"Yes," Jian Zhiqing put his hands in his pockets to warm them, "It’s been a year, and he’s never shorted me for a meal."

Qin Xiangnuan snorted in her heart, "I’ve never shorted you for a meal either, which dinner of yours have I missed?"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.