Witty Wife, Better Life
Chapter 457 - 447 Extrapolate

Chapter 457: Chapter 447 Extrapolate

The midterm exam period at Agricultural University was when Ma Liguo brought some good news to Shen Yunfang.

"Yunfang, guess what, I went to that print craftsman’s place yesterday, just like we discussed, and as soon as I told him, he agreed right away. He also assured me not to worry about finding anyone else because he could get it all done by himself." Ma Liguo sat down on the sofa, grabbed the water cup, and took a big gulp.

In the middle of winter, he was sweating profusely.

"Pangpang, get your Uncle Ma an ice pop," Shen Yunfang called into the house, "Did you tell him about our requirements? Speed is important, but quality can’t be compromised. Otherwise, we won’t pay."

"I did, how could I not? Master Wang promised me the quality will be top-notch. After it’s done, he’ll let me inspect it, and if I say it’s not up to standard, he’ll redo it." Ma Liguo patted Pangpang’s little head, smiling, "Good lad, you know your Uncle Ma is hot, ah, even in the middle of winter you have ice pops at home, that’s really something." Ma Liguo examined the ice pop before taking a hearty bite.

"Mmm, mmm, not bad, this has a strong milk flavor... hey, what’s this?" Ma Liguo examined the ice pop closer.

"Uncle Ma, that’s strawberry, my sister and I added it," Pangpang said, brimming with pride.

Seeing the puzzlement in Ma Liguo’s eyes, Shen Yunfang smiled and explained, "This term, I brought back a few strawberry plants from the university. They’ve been newly cultivated by a teacher at school. I planted them in pots on the balcony and let the two kids take care of them. I didn’t expect they’d actually manage to keep them alive and even grew a few fruits. When we made ice pops, the kids insisted on putting strawberries in."

At that time, strawberries weren’t a common fruit, and most people had never seen or tasted them, including Ma Liguo.

"Oh, this is really something special. Pangpang, bring a couple of ice pops back with you for Uncle Ma when I go home, so that Chao and your aunt can try this nice thing, they’ve never had it before." Whenever Ma Liguo saw something new, his first thought was to share it with his wife and child.

Pangpang nodded; this time, they and their mom made a lot.

Watching Pangpang run back inside the house, Ma Liguo then continued, "Having ice pops to eat in the middle of winter is really something. Did you make these? Are they easy to make?"

"Easy to make, there’s no technical difficulty. Just add more milk powder and sugar, then freeze it up," Shen Yunfang said. Making ice pops with the kids was a spur-of-the-moment idea. Given the circumstances, they couldn’t make anything too fancy, but their strength was in the pure natural ingredients, without any preservatives—safe for the children to eat. "You don’t need to go home and make them yourself. If you want some, just take more later, we made a lot, and there’s enough to last until New Year’s."

Even though she made ice pops, Shen Yunfang did not let the kids eat to their heart’s content; after all, being too young, consuming too much cold food is not good for their health.

"I don’t want just to eat more, I’m thinking if they’re easy to make, can’t we just freeze more ice pops and sell them? We’re going to be selling New Year’s couplets anyway. It’s like herding one sheep or two, might as well combine the efforts," Ma Liguo had been preoccupied with the thought of selling things these past few days, getting a bit carried away with the idea.

Shen Yunfang smiled and replied, "I don’t think it’s feasible. It’s not that we can’t make them, but whether the market will accept them. How many people, like us, would eat ice pops in the biting winter? Besides, these ice pops are made from pure milk without any additives. The cost is much higher than those from the ice pop factories. If we sell them at the price of regular ice pops, we’ll lose money. And if we raise the price, think about how many people can afford them." Shen Yunfang felt the prospects for ice pops weren’t that great.

"You’re right, hehe, then let’s continue to sell couplets," Ma Liguo thought it over and dismissed the idea.

"Brother Ma, talk to me about that plate maker, has he promised how many plates he can deliver to us next week?" Shen Yunfang brought the off-topic conversation back on track.

"Ah, right, I still haven’t finished discussing the important matter with you." Ma Liguo scratched his head, "I told him we’re in a hurry, that all these couplets must be printed within a month."

Shen Yunfang nodded in agreement, considering that there were just over six weeks until the New Year, they would need at least two weeks to sell the couplets. So, it was indeed necessary to have all the couplets printed within a month.

"He assured me that there would definitely be no problem and we won’t be delayed."

Shen Yunfang pondered for a moment, thinking that just making empty promises wasn’t practical. If the man ended up not being able to deliver, what could you possibly do about it? In the end, wouldn’t it be his own side that would suffer?

"Brother Ma, I think that simply taking his word for it isn’t enough. We don’t know this person. What if he reneges when the time comes? Wouldn’t that delay our business? Why don’t I draft a contract for him to sign? That would be binding," Shen Yunfang could think of was signing a contract with the man. If he couldn’t deliver on time, then he would have to pay compensation. The thought of having to pay out so much money would surely deter him from being slippery.

Ma Liguo thought about it and shook his head, "I’m afraid Master Wang won’t sign."

"Why not?" Yunfang felt it was unreasonable, "Signing a contract protects the interests of both parties. Isn’t it safer that way? He wouldn’t have to fear us defaulting on payment either. It’s a good deal."

"Hehe, I personally wouldn’t sign it. It always feels like signing one’s life away, giving people the creeps," Ma Liguo was speaking from his own perspective.

Because Shen Yunfang had memories from a past life, even after living in this era for many years, there were still times when he thought from the perspective of future generations. He somewhat took things for granted, as people in this time period were not fond of signing contracts. They preferred to rely on personal relationships and favors.

"So, what should we do?" With this path blocked, Shen Yunfang couldn’t think of a good solution for the moment.

"To my mind, we don’t need to go through so much trouble. I’ll just make frequent visits, checking every three to five days. If he can deliver on time, we’ll continue to use him. If he can’t, we’ll find someone else. However, I reckon he won’t let us down. A hundred couplets, that’s a hundred dollars right there, plus twenty or thirty ’Fu’ characters, comes to a total of one hundred and twenty or thirty. That’s the equivalent of three or four months of his salary. Where else could he make so much money at once?" Ma Liguo felt that if he had such skills, he would go all out to earn that money even if it meant not eating, drinking, or sleeping for a month.

Shen Yunfang thought it seemed like a feasible strategy, "All right, let’s do that."

"As for the printing workers, I was thinking of doing the same. You said they print too slowly, right? So, I’ll pay them on a piecework basis, one dollar for every thousand prints. The more they print, the more money they earn. What do you think?" Ma Liguo was now applying a rule across the board.

"Fine, arrange it as you see fit. Don’t worry about spending money. Right now, we’re racing against time. The sooner we print, the more days we can sell before the New Year, and the more money we’ll make," Shen Yunfang nodded in agreement.

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