Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 411: Firewood is always available in winter, and the ladies are all big customers

Lu Lang said as if he was coaxing a child, "If you feel that the food here is not good, wait until the servants finish their meal and start working, and then you can take out the meat buns to eat. Just try to avoid them."

Shen Yu originally thought that she could eat the buns she brought from home, and the money would not be charged to the construction site's account, so it would be a clear thing to eat at any time, and she didn't even think about avoiding people.

After hearing Lu Lang's explanation, I felt that eating on the construction site was indeed inappropriate.

She quickly covered the bamboo basket and put on the basket cover and said, "Thank you for your reminder, Mr. Lu. I didn't think it through enough."

"When there are many people, there are many ideas. We should indeed be more cautious."

She thought for a moment and handed the bamboo basket to Lu Lang: "Mr. Lu, please don't despise it. You can take this basket of buns back to the county government office and eat them with the yamen runners. These cakes and soup are enough for us."

Lu Lang looked at the seemingly sufficient amount of flatbreads and a large bowl of Chinese cabbage and tofu soup on the table, and nodded, "I'm sorry to inconvenience you. I'll take it away."

He also instructed: "If you are not full, you can eat some more at your restaurant when you transport the firewood to the restaurant later."

"You three are working on the canal repair project. All the money spent will be recorded in the county government account. I will let Master Qian settle the bill when the time comes."

"After breakfast, you'll have to work for at least two hours before you can have lunch. You don't have to rush back."

Shen Yu agreed, and Lu Lang then picked up the bamboo basket and went back to the county government office with the runners who had just changed shifts.

Shen Yu and the other two had been busy all morning. Although they were not too tired, they were already hungry.

Seeing Lu Lang leave, the three of them took their bowls and chopsticks, and ate their breakfast in warmth by the burning stone stove.

Shen Yu ate half a pancake and a small bowl of vegetables and felt full.

Just as I put down my chopsticks, I saw Wang Dazhuang rushing in with three others.

When Wang Dazhuang saw that the three people had the same food in front of them as he had just eaten, his face was moved and he didn't know how to start for a moment.

Shen Yu stood up with a smile and asked, "My dears, you want some water. I'll go get you some bowls."

Wang Dazhuang waved his hands quickly, his face slightly red, and after grunting twice, he explained his purpose.

Shen Yu didn't expect that this group of people would send a representative to thank her and apologize to her. She was a little surprised and a little happy.

It is a good thing that these people can put aside their prejudices, recognize what she does, and are willing to cooperate with her requests. It is better than forcing them to do it all the time.

Shen Yu hurriedly smiled and said a few polite words, and Wang Dazhuang then put down the baskets of bowls and chopsticks and left with his men.

The three of them worked together to pour some hot water into the basin, wash the dishes, and clean the stove and table.

After everything was packed, Shen Yu put on a long coat over his short coat, put on a hood and gloves, and drove the mule cart into the city with Liu Shun and Qi Xi.

When we arrived at the restaurant and stopped the car, we saw Li and several ladies walking out of the store.

Shen Yu and Qi Xi jumped off the car, and the women gathered around them, looking at the neatly bundled loads of firewood on the car and starting to pick them up.

Because the laborers lived in different places, the types of firewood they chopped were also different.

There are soft firewood such as shrub twigs that are easy to ignite but not durable, and there are also hard firewood that are difficult to ignite but can burn for a long time when thrown into the bottom of the stove.

When Shen Yu and the others were bundling and sharing the firewood, they had already separated the soft firewood and hard firewood according to daily usage. Naturally, there was a difference of about ten to twenty cents in price.

The ladies asked about the price, and Shen Yu quoted them the price according to what he had already thought of, based on the price in autumn when the price of firewood had not yet increased.

After all, she didn't make a profit from selling firewood. She would be satisfied as long as she could sell it successfully to supplement her food.

The ladies were very surprised to hear Shen Yu's offer. They all said that this price was five cents cheaper than the firewood sold by the woodcutters these days.

Four or five ladies circled the mule cart and divided the firewood among themselves, some with two loads and some with three.

Among these ladies, Madam Lin is the oldest and has the largest number of people in her family.

With the advantage of being allowed to order first by the ladies, Madam Lin unceremoniously ordered the only two loads of hard firewood on the mule cart, and then ordered two loads of soft firewood before stopping.

In a blink of an eye, twenty loads of firewood had buyers.

Shen Yu took out a pen and paper and quickly wrote down the quantity and amount of firewood ordered by the ladies in the account book.

After recording the accounts, she counted the total number and confirmed that all twenty loads of firewood had been sold out. She was so happy that she kept thanking him.

Hearing Shen Yu's thanks, Madam Lin waved her hands and said happily, "Miss Yuzhi is wrong. We are the ones who should say thank you."

"I can save five coins by buying a load of your firewood."

"My family has many people and we need a lot of firewood. Four loads of firewood were burned in two days."

"Will you bring in firewood to sell tomorrow?"

"My neighbors in the alley all burn firewood. If you want to sell it every day, I will talk to them and ask them to buy your firewood."

"Your firewood is so small that our neighbors can buy it all every day. You don't have to worry about not being able to sell it."

Shen Yu's eyes narrowed into slits when he heard this, and he quickly nodded and said, "Thank you, Aunt Lin."

"It will take more than a month to complete the canal construction. During these days, firewood is brought in every day for sale."

"Auntie Lin, please ask the neighbors to let them make an appointment so that they can deliver firewood to your door. It's very convenient."

Mrs. Lin agreed and said she would tell them when she got back while she took out her purse.

Shen Yu hurriedly asked Qi Xi to collect the money, while he wrote down the amount of firewood ordered by the ladies on a piece of straw paper.

After paying the money, the ladies exchanged a few words with Li and went home, waiting for the firewood to be delivered to their doorstep.

Zhou Dalang had already harnessed Xiaobai to the carriage and was waiting in front of the store.

Seeing that Shen Yu had collected the silver and money, he took the list that Shen Yu had copied, piled the firewood on the list, and went to deliver the firewood to each household.

These ladies were all neighbors who lived not far away. It would only take a cup of tea to deliver firewood to two or three families at a time.

It was a rare opportunity for Xiaobai to go out for a run, so he ran out excitedly at a trot.

Shen Yu didn't have the time to wait for Zhou Dalang to deliver firewood to each family.

She and Liushun worked together to move the remaining firewood from the mule cart and piled it under the tree in front of the restaurant.

After moving all the firewood away, Shen Yu planned to say hello to Li, go buy some ingredients, and prepare to return to the construction site to cook lunch.

When Jiang saw Shen Yu was about to leave, she quickly took off her apron and put on a thick, double-breasted long jacket, ready to go with Shen Yu.

Shen Yu, Liushun and Qixi cooperated well when cooking in the morning. After the three of them cooked a big pot of rice together, they felt confident.