My wife and I are both time travelers.

Chapter 28 Calculation
In the evening, after helping Lin Ying pack up her stall and return home, the two of them busied themselves for a while cooking the tea eggs they would be selling the next day before going upstairs.

"hiss……."

As soon as she put her feet into the basin, the hot water made Lin Ying frown.

"Is the water too hot? Should we add some cold water?"

"No need, it's more comfortable when it's hot." It was indeed a little hot when she first put her feet down, but she quickly got used to it, and Lin Ying's brows gradually relaxed.

Don't be fooled by the fact that selling tea eggs involves sitting for twelve hours a day; it's tiring. Lin Ying also has to serve customers, watch the stove, and add water and tea eggs to the pot from time to time. By the end of the day, she's exhausted. Soaking her feet before bed helps relieve the fatigue and makes her feel much better.

"Was the market fair going smoothly today?" Lin Ying asked, soaking her feet.

Because he was selling old hens, Zhou Jiye was not at the movie theater today except to deliver lunch to Lin Ying. The old hens he collected yesterday were sold out in half a day. After returning home at noon, he cooked lunch and delivered it to Lin Ying. In the afternoon, Zhou Jiye made a special trip to the suburbs by bicycle and this time he brought back seven old hens.

Having a bicycle is indeed much more convenient. It would have been impossible to take the bus back and forth like before. By the time they got home, it was already dark. After putting away the chicken coop, Zhou Jiye didn't even have time to cook dinner before he hurriedly helped Lin Ying pack up her stall. The two of them ended up just eating two steamed buns for dinner.

"Selling well, all of yesterday's eggs are sold out. The ones I bought this afternoon will probably only last until tomorrow morning," Zhou Jiye said with a smile, lighting a cigarette. He had earned five yuan today, and he estimated he could earn seven yuan tomorrow. This was because he hadn't bought many. If he could buy about ten at a time, he would earn ten yuan a day, which would easily bring him over three hundred yuan a month. Although it was still less than what Lin Ying earned from selling tea eggs, it wasn't a small amount either.

Zhou Jiye talked animatedly about today's business, and even mentioned the funny story of two old ladies arguing over prices at his stall when he first opened. Lin Ying laughed and teased Zhou Jiye for not stopping them.

"Why are you stopping them? I'm the seller, and they're the buyers. No matter how much they argue, as long as the old hens are sold, that's all that matters. Besides, their arguing is good for me. This commotion has brought a lot of people to watch the show, otherwise these chickens wouldn't have sold so quickly today."

"Hehe, could this be considered a blessing in disguise?"

"Luck, hehe..." Zhou Jiye said with a smile, then told the story of Lao Wen and shared his guess.

Lin Ying tilted her head, pondered for a moment, and nodded: "I guess you guessed right, this Lao Wen is probably just like you guessed. He's quite quick-witted. You said he sells eels and slices eel? No wonder..."

"No wonder?" Zhou Jiye asked, puzzled.

Lin Ying asked Zhou Jiye with a smile if he remembered the dinner they had at the hotel on their first day in Shanghai. Of course, Zhou Jiye would not forget. He had fallen asleep in the hotel that day and was startled when he woke up to find Lin Ying not there. Just as he was about to go out to look for her, Lin Ying returned with some plain noodles for him.

"Yes! It's plain noodles." Lin Ying asked with a smile, "Do you remember asking me why these plain noodles are so delicious?"

"I remember, but what does that have to do with this matter?"

"How can it be okay?" Lin Ying shifted her feet, which were soaking in the basin, to a more comfortable position. "The key to Yangchun noodles is the soup, which is made by simmering beef bones, chicken carcasses, and eel bones. Where do you think the ingredients for the soup come from? Old Wen sells eels. Slicing the eels into strips not only makes it convenient for customers but also allows him to make a little extra money. Besides, customers won't want the eel bones after the eel strips are sliced, so they all become his."

"I understand!" These words were like a wake-up call. Zhou Jiye suddenly realized why no one else came to him on his first day of setting up his stall, but it was Lao Wen who came to greet him. So that's why!

Just as Lin Ying said, Lao Wen originally did this business, and he probably resold the leftover eel bones from slicing eels to people who needed them.

If selling eels can be done this way, what about selling old hens? The extra scraps from killing an old hen are much more than those from an eel. Moreover, as long as Zhou Jiye sells old hens here every day, the more old hens he sells, the better his business of helping to kill chickens will be, and the greater his profits will be.

“He’s a smart man and knows how to conduct himself. Since he asked you for help, just lend a hand. Anyway, our interests don’t conflict, and we can all earn money based on our own abilities,” Lin Ying said.

Zhou Jiye thought for a moment and agreed. Just as Lin Ying said, Lao Wen's interests did not conflict with his own. Although he benefited from helping to kill the chickens, he could also make his chicken business better because of this service. In short, it was mutual care, which was beneficial to both parties.

There's no need to be jealous of Lao Wen's gains. He earned them through his own abilities and intelligence. If Zhou Jiye were to do it, let alone the fact that he couldn't do it, even if he could, he wouldn't have the same connections as Lao Wen. Why go through all that trouble?

"By the way, since the old hens sold well at the market today, what are your plans for the future?"

"Plans? You mean the old hen thing?" "Yes, that's it."

Zhou Jiye said, "I have indeed thought about this. On the way there this afternoon, I thought about it and realized that since the old hen business is indeed good, it would be inappropriate to pick up the eggs along with it."

"That's not appropriate. Are you planning to collect them specifically?"

"It's not really a specialized business. Just like today, I set up my stall in the morning, and after lunch, I go to the suburbs to collect old hens. I also collect the eggs while I'm at it. Now that I have a bicycle, it's much more convenient to go back and forth. It won't affect my ability to sell chickens at the market the next day. Plus, the eggs I collect that day are fresh, which makes up for what you lack here."

Listening to Zhou Jiye's words, Lin Ying thought about it carefully and shook her head: "The timing is a bit hard to grasp. What if you sell the chickens slowly that day? It's not a big problem now that there are few chickens. But if you buy a lot and can't sell them all in one morning, are you going to wait until you sell them all before going to the suburbs?"

"Really?" Zhou Jiye hesitated. "These old hens are selling very well. A few chickens will be sold out in no time. And even if they sell slowly, I can bring the unsold chickens back first, and it won't affect the next day..." At this point, Zhou Jiye suddenly felt it was inappropriate and swallowed the rest of his words.

His stall is for the whole day, but now he's paying for a whole day's work for only half a day. Although the stall fee of one cent isn't expensive, it's still not worth it. Besides, if he doesn't sell out in half a day, the chickens will have to stay overnight. Keeping live chickens is a bit of a hassle; he has to feed and water them overnight, and they get listless and look tired after being in a cage for so long.

Lin Ying was right. According to his original plan, the time was too tight, and if something went wrong, it would delay the next day's business.

At this point, Lin Ying gave him an idea: since the situation was like this, why didn't he go to the suburbs earlier every day?

It takes only half an hour to cycle from where they live to the suburbs. People in the countryside get up early and start working in the fields before dawn. By the time they finish collecting chickens and eggs, it's only around eight o'clock, just in time to set up their stall at the market.

This way, the stall can stay open all day at the market. If sales are fast, they can close early; if sales are slow, they can close late. If they close early, they can go home for a nap, and then make dinner in the evening and deliver it to Lin Ying. They can go home together after the tea egg stall closes.

"What will you do if you have to set up your stall?" Zhou Jiye asked.

Lin Ying said easily, "Setting up a stall is not difficult. I've been setting up a stall for so long, and it's not far away. I can manage it by myself."

"What about lunch?"

"I'll prepare everything in advance before I set up my stall, and I'll also prepare it for you. But you'll still have to come for dinner, so it won't be a problem."

“This…” Zhou Jiye hesitated. According to Lin Ying, this arrangement was more reasonable, but it would mean that Lin Ying would have to run the stall alone, and he was a little worried about that.

"Listen to me, this arrangement is the most reasonable. Besides, I'm not a child, nothing will happen since we're so close." In the end, it was Lin Ying's words that settled the matter. Moreover, Lin Ying reminded Zhou Jiye that since they were now collecting not only eggs but also hens, they should talk to the farmers in the suburbs in advance. If the farmers were willing to have several or even a dozen households collect their goods in advance, then Zhou Jiye wouldn't have to go to each household individually each time he went down. He could just collect the goods and leave, which would be much more convenient.

Listening to Lin Ying's suggestion, Zhou Jiye thought it made more and more sense and felt that this method was good. Although getting up early every day was a bit tiring, it was nothing. Anyway, there was not much entertainment in this era. After closing up shop, the two of them would make tea eggs for the next day and then rest. In addition, they usually didn't get up late these days. It was just a matter of getting up more than an hour earlier, which Zhou Jiye could accept.

After soaking her feet, Lin Ying dried them, took the basin downstairs to pour out the water, and then filled a kettle for Zhou Jiye to soak in as well. After finishing everything, the two went to bed.

Lying in bed, the lights were off, the stars twinkled in the night sky outside the dormer window, and Zhou Jiye beside her was already snoring softly, but Lin Ying was still not asleep.

Compared to Zhou Jiye, Lin Ying appears carefree on the surface, but in reality, she thinks much deeper.

Although they are currently making a good income from selling tea eggs, earning over 600 or even 700 yuan a month, Zhou Jiye is now also selling old hens, which, if done well, can earn 300 or 400 yuan a month.

In this way, the two of them can earn nearly a thousand yuan a month together. Compared to the era when the average wage was only thirty-six yuan, they are definitely a high-income group. Earning ten thousand yuan a year is not difficult at all.

Even so, Lin Ying still felt a deep sense of crisis.

(End of this chapter)