The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

The day before the donkey cart business opened, Xia Mianwan distributed 5,000 kilograms of grain, 500 kilograms of bacon, 200 steamed buns and corn bread, and ten large jars of pickles.

Xiaowu also went back to the valley. The valley is now managed by Erdan and Zhang Xiaolian.

Zhang Xiaolian and the children dug a lot of bamboo shoots and wild vegetables, and Erdan also caught a lot of fish. Xiaowu, Zhang Xiaolian and Erdan agreed to come every three days.

If Zhang Xiaolian and Erdan and their younger brothers and sisters do a good job, they will also be given commissions.

When the shop opened, even though the donkey cart business was mobile, Xia Mianwan still set off a string of firecrackers at the door of the shop. This string of firecrackers was found by Xiaowu from his old home. When setting them off, he was afraid that half of the firecrackers would misfire, as that would be unlucky.

The firecrackers were set off in a big way, and many people gathered around the donkey cart. From time to time, someone asked what was being sold. Xiao Wu had been in business for several years, so he knew a lot about it. He clasped his fists and explained to everyone what he was selling.

When people heard that there was food for sale, they gathered around. Some aunties were so surprised to see fresh vegetables. In the past few days since returning to the city, except for the grain shops in the city market that were ordered by the government to be open, all other food shops were closed. There was not even a vegetable stall. I ate pickled vegetables and steamed bread every day. I couldn't tell what the taste was like.

Some neighbors were still a little hesitant and asked Xia Mianwan if the vegetables were expensive. When Xia Mianwan told them the price, they couldn't help but exclaimed, "Wow, your family is doing a good deed."

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "These are all normal prices. It's not easy for everyone. As long as we can recover our costs and let us continue running, we are also happy to contribute to the construction of Yanzhou City."

Xia Mianwan's words were heard by the Yanzhou prefect who came in plain clothes following the sound. The Yanzhou prefect nodded secretly, watched for a while, and then explained to Zhao Erhu that the donkey cart business needed to be taken care of. The business in Yanzhou City is not smooth now, and it is rare to find people who are strong and willing to come out to do business at this time, and they must not be allowed to make trouble.

It was not until the next day when Zhao Erhu went to patrol the streets that he learned that the owner behind the donkey cart business was Xia Mianwan. He couldn't help but have a new understanding of Xia Mianwan.

Madam Xia is indeed a capable person, so Zhao Erhu wondered whether he should help Xia Mianwan and spread the gossip he had heard before to the capital.

Xia Mianwan had no idea about this. The success of the donkey cart business depended on the first three days, and the stock in the first three days had to be sufficient.

Xia Mianwan didn't expect that the people and neighbors in Yanzhou City would be so enthusiastic. Before the donkey cart left Yanzhou City, all the vegetables except the grain were almost sold out.

In order to prevent unscrupulous merchants from buying their goods and selling them at high prices, Xia Mianwan asked Hu Zi to make a batch of marked bamboo sticks, which would be replaced every seven days. Only those who got the bamboo sticks could buy the goods.

Although this slows down the sales process a lot, it does eliminate resellers to a certain extent.

The donkey cart business had only been open for three days, and unexpectedly it became a hit.

If anyone comes to Yanzhou City now, he will definitely know Zhou Xiaowu, the donkey-cart peddler.

Of course, this wind also blew to the villages near Yanzhou City, but Xiaowu's legs were limited, and it was almost noon when he left the city. He could only visit three to five villages a day at most. But the villagers all knew that Xiaowu sold grain and received goods, so those in the family who had little ability to work would go and dig some wild vegetables to exchange for money or a small piece of candy.

All the children around ten years old in Hu Zi's family were recruited by Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu gave the children candies and asked them to help pick more mushrooms and wild vegetables.

The donkey cart business may seem insignificant, but it is actually quite profitable. The most important thing is that it brings a little comfort to the residents living in Yanzhou City.

The donkey cart business was looked down upon by the wealthy families, and those without capital could not start it, so it became very popular for a while.

Later, it was too late, so Xia Mianwan asked for another donkey cart. Xiao Ba and Xiu Xiu worked together on the second donkey cart.

Only when the donkey cart business finally stabilized could Xia Mianwan take a break.

Seeing Xia Mianwan looking so exhausted, Madam Zhou couldn't help but feel distressed. "Look at you, you're so busy."

Xia Mianwan smiled and said, "Sister Zhou, I won't be so busy from now on. I may have to prepare to open the shop."

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhou asked curiously, "Are you serious? Are you still selling jewelry?"

Xia Mianwan shook her head and said, "I haven't thought about it yet. The current situation is not right. If I only do business with women, I'm afraid the business will not be good. But let me think about it again. Although I don't want to only do business with women, I want to only recruit women to work."

"Hey, what does this mean?"

Xia Mianwan said: "It's just a prototype, I haven't thought it through yet, I'll tell my sister when I've thought it through."

Culture needs economic support. In the current Yanzhou City, people can hardly even get enough food to eat, so what choice is there?

"By the way, Chengze's husband has arrived. Chengze asked me to tell you, if it is feasible to bring Chen Ge'er and Yu Jie'er to visit tomorrow?" Madam Zhou did not ask any questions. Over the years, she believed in Xia Mianwan no matter what he did.

Xia Mianwan was delighted and said, "Of course it is feasible!"

Although Zhou Chengze is still taking Chen Ge'er, Zichu and Zifeng to school, he will be going to Beijing for the imperial examination soon. Chen Ge'er is talented and willing to learn, so Xia Mianwan naturally doesn't want Chen Ge'er to delay his studies.

"By the way, Sister Zhou, what did Zichu and Zifeng...say?" Xia Mianwan asked.

"Chengze said that although Zichu and Zifeng work very hard, they are not as talented as Chen Ge'er, so Chengze wants to find other teachers to guide them when the time comes." Xia Mianwan nodded when he heard this.

After seeing Madam Zhou off, Xia Mianwan began to prepare gifts.

Xia Mianwan entered the room, locked the door, and then entered the supermarket space. At that time, almost everything in the general's mansion warehouse was collected, and Xia Mianwan planned to look for any good things in here.

Xia Mianwan opened the boxes one by one. Wow, there were so many good things in the general's mansion. However, the antique jewelry were too eye-catching. However, the inkstone and Hui ink were very good.

Xia Mianwan didn’t know the origin of this inkstone, but he knew it was a good thing at first glance, so he picked it out.

As for the gifts for Madam Yang, Xia Mianwan still picked some silk and a delicate bronze mirror. Finally, she prepared some fresh vegetables, fruits, and cakes, which were urgently needed in the Yang Mansion.