They've all separated, so what does it matter to me if they get poorer and poorer?

Chapter 255 Liang Xiaoman's Master
Master Qin's shop is worth around five hundred taels of silver, and Xu Zhichun said he would pay the market price.

Master Qin vehemently disagreed, waving his hands repeatedly, "No, no, Madam Xu is Madam Xu, and the market price is the market price. If we sell to Madam Xu at the market price, our two families won't agree. That's absolutely unacceptable! How about this, Madam Xu can add another twenty or thirty taels."

Xu Zhichun added one hundred taels in the end, and bought the shop for four hundred taels.

Seeing her resolute attitude, Master Qin could only smile and let it go.

Madam Xu is a person I can get along with.

Xu Zhichun also felt that the Qin family was a good match.

A two-way sprint is a valid tactic.

After acquiring the shop, Xu Zhichun told Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er about it, and Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er were very happy.

“We’ll split the profits the same way we did before. Even though we don’t have to set up a stall every day anymore, there are still a lot of other things to do. I can’t manage it all by myself.”

After Xu Zhichun explained, Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er finally agreed.

Both of them felt embarrassed, since Xu Zhichun had invested all the capital in buying the shop and land to expand the konjac cultivation. The two of them only did some simple assisting work, yet they each took two-tenths of the profits, which seemed a bit too much. The same went for the ice jelly.

After discussing it privately, the two firmly refused to take that much, saying that one-tenth each would be enough.

Zeng Xiaoyan laughed and said, "Before, it could be considered a small business. Although we could get several hundred coins a day, it wasn't a lot in total. Now that you've bought a shop and so much land to cultivate and grow konjac, you're probably going to set up a workshop, right? The profit will definitely be more than just a few hundred coins a day. How could we possibly take so much for nothing? Even if we help with some work, it's definitely not worth that much."

Even though Zeng Xiaoyan was not well received at her parents' home, she still learned a thing or two from what she saw and heard. As soon as Xu Zhichun expanded the business, she immediately saw through the tricks of the trade.

Aunt Zhu'er thought what she said made sense, which is why she came with her to find Xu Zhichun.

"That's right, Xiaoyan is right. Zhichun, you're making such a big fuss and opening a workshop, you must be making a lot of money. We've only helped a little bit, you've given us too much!"

"Really? Wouldn't we be the ones getting the better deal? We wouldn't feel at ease taking this money."

"I also think it's not a good idea."

Xu Zhichun felt a lump in her throat, a surge of emotion coursing through her heart.

She wanted to say something, but felt it might be too sentimental.

Finally, it was agreed with them that she would take 70% of the profits, and the two of them would each take 15%, but this was a profit sharing arrangement. If they took charge of things in the future, their wages would be calculated separately.

Zeng Xiaoyan and Aunt Zhu'er then agreed.

Knowing that Xu Zhichun was looking for someone to manage her shop in the city, Liang Xiaoman hurriedly asked Yang Xiaoan to go find her, saying that her master was a good person and perhaps she could give it a try.

Xu Zhichun hurriedly went to Liang Lizheng's house to inquire about Liang Xiaoman in detail.

Liang Xiaoman said, "My master has been very careful and attentive to me for the past three or four years. He has never mistreated me or taken his frustrations out on me. When I left the Qin Family Trading Company, my master went back to Qingyang County. If Aunt Zhichun wants to hire him, I can write a letter and have someone deliver it to him. Aunt Zhichun can meet my master first." Speaking of his master, Liang Xiaoman's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but show admiration. It was clear that he truly respected his master.

If his years of apprenticeship had already made him like this, then his master must really be quite good.

Xu Zhichun smiled and said, "But this is just a small shop, and your master might not be happy to stay here."

Liang Xiaoman quickly said, "No, my master has long felt that working at the Qin Family Trading Company is too tiring, and some people are difficult to get along with. He has wanted to leave for a while and stay in this simpler, more leisurely place. He should feel that Aunt Zhichun's place is just right for him."

I see. Then it's definitely worth a try.
Xu Zhichun definitely needs an experienced manager like Zhong Changkuan, Liang Xiaoman's mentor, to oversee things. Her environment is certainly simple, lacking the cutthroat competition of established large businesses, but it's also leisurely. It's certainly leisurely now, but who knows what will happen in the future.

Anyway, if the person is reliable and suitable, we'll lure them over first.

“Okay, tell me his address, and I’ll write a letter and hire someone to deliver it.”

"Okay, okay!"

Relatives from all walks of life in Liangjia Village came and went, each wanting some sweet potatoes and potatoes to take home as seeds. As in-laws, of course, they would readily agree. Some families paid a small price for the potatoes, while others gave them away for free, giving away several kilograms at a time.

As for other relatives and friends, it depends on the situation.

Aside from keeping enough for themselves, they certainly wouldn't give it away for free; they'd have to pay for it, and credit wouldn't work either.

The practice of owing money and refusing to pay it back is just as prevalent in ancient times. Some people even admit to owing money but refuse to pay it back—they will admit to owing it when questioned, but claim they have no money to pay it back when questioned further.

These sweet potatoes and potatoes are precious items, so it's understandable that they wouldn't buy them on credit, and no one can really criticize them.

If you really want to be critical, then they're the worst kind of relatives. At worst, we can have a fight, and whether we stay in touch or not is another matter.

Lately, there have been occasional arguments and disputes in the village.

Selling to relatives and friends at the government price of ten coins per pound, everyone felt they were losing out big time. This was because landlords and merchants from the city also sent their stewards and managers to the villages to buy the goods. With more monks than porridge, they had to sell to survive. They didn't care about the money and offered much higher prices than ten coins. In just three or four days, the price had risen to twenty coins.

Each family became even more reluctant to sell in large quantities to relatives and friends. Selling to merchants would double the income, so who would be foolish enough to do that?
The village head of Loujia Village finally arrived with several people, and only they were able to get through to Xu Zhichun's door.

The implication was, of course, that it was all about sweet potatoes and potatoes.

At this moment, they were extremely grateful that Xu Zhichun had bought the land in the village; otherwise, they would have had no reason to come to his door.

Lou Lizheng spoke very politely, but there were a couple of impatient people who said some unpleasant things, implying things like, "If you farm in our village, you have to give us potatoes and sweet potatoes, otherwise things will get complicated," "Otherwise, you're being unfair!" "Otherwise, no one can guarantee what will happen to your fields in the future." Before they could finish speaking, Lou Lizheng interrupted them and changed the subject.

Xu Zhichun's expression subtly changed instantly. Although he didn't say anything, he didn't take Lou Li seriously in his words, and his attitude was noticeably more distant than before.

Lou Li glared at the two men with a warning look, then quickly and kindly said many nice things to Xu Zhichun.

Xu Zhichun smiled and retorted in a neither soft nor hard tone, "Those fertile fields are good, but I'm actually quite worried that I won't be able to take care of them. If one day I really can't manage them, it's hard to say what I might have to do with selling them."