The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Liu Shuisheng replied, "Brown rice is 13 wen per jin, and the better rice you bought before was 25 wen per jin."

"So expensive? I only bought it for eight cents a pound before," Zhang Pingan exclaimed, then frowned: "Who can afford to eat this?"

Liu Shuisheng sighed and said, "Only poor people can't afford it. There are so many wealthy families who can afford it. The food in our store has now been changed to brown rice and kidney beans, and they give us a 100-wen food allowance every month, but it's actually not enough for anything!"

"Your boss is really calculating," Zhang Pingan commented.

Liu Shuisheng, on the other hand, didn't really care. After taking a bite of his rice, he continued, "That's why they say they can make money. We have more than a dozen employees in our store, and almost twenty people including the accountant. We spend a lot of rice every month, so how can we not be calculating? If you resell two or three hundred kilograms of the grain you bought before, you can make three or four taels of silver."

Zhang Pingan shook his head when he heard this: "The more this situation happens, the less we can sell it. Combined with what you said, I estimate that the price of grain will have to go up. Do you still remember the earth dragon turning over in August? I have read the official report at the prefectural school before. The impact here is not too big. The hardest hit areas are in Shanzhou and Ningzhou in the north. The crops in the fields are not completely harvested, but they are not far off. Houses have collapsed, and most of the people are displaced. The harvests in the surrounding states are not very good either. Merchants are profit-driven, and the well-connected big merchants will definitely transport the grain to the north to sell. I estimate that the soaring grain prices are also closely related to this. In addition, the city gates are closed due to the epidemic, and transportation is inconvenient, so the price naturally goes up."

After saying that, he sighed: "I thought that food prices would rise, but I didn't expect it to rise so much!"

Liu Shuisheng suddenly realized, "No wonder. I mean, our boss hasn't come to our store to check the accounts for a long time. He has some connections in the capital, and his rice business is quite big. We even have a branch in Yingzhou City."

"Shuisheng, if there is any big change in grain prices, please tell me in time. Food is the foundation. If there is a big change in grain prices, there must be a big problem," Zhang Pingan instructed.

Liu Shuisheng was a smart guy, so he immediately understood what was said and nodded, "Okay, don't worry!"

Zhang Ping'an took the lunch box back only after Liu Shuisheng finished eating.

Although I am on vacation and have no classes, I cannot fall behind in my studies. After doing my homework in the study for a while, someone suddenly knocked on the door.

As usual, Xiaohu ran over to open the door, then came back in a moment later. He leaned over the study window and shouted, "Brother Ping'an, they're looking for you. They said they're the servant of the Yuan family, and their young master asked them to deliver some duck down."

Unexpectedly, Yuan Ziang was so efficient. Zhang Pingan smiled and replied, "Here I come!"

The servants of the Yuan family were very well-behaved. When they saw Zhang Ping'an coming out, they bowed and said, "Master Zhang, my second young master asked for some duck down to be sent over. Please take a look."

Zhang Ping'an took the bag, looked at it, and touched it with his hands. It was all high-quality duck down, but it also had a hint of poultry. He nodded and said, "Go back and tell your second young master to come and pick it up the next afternoon."

The servant nodded and said, "Okay, Master Zhang."

Zhang Ping'an called his fifth sister, sixth sister and Xiaohu to come and help. They had to wash and disinfect the duck down. Although it was not very heavy, only more than three pounds, it filled a bag and took three large wooden basins.

"Son, what are you doing? Why are you washing these duck feathers?" Xu asked in confusion.

"Mom, this is duck down, which is the layer of fur closest to the duck's abdomen and neck. It is very warm. I plan to do duck down business with Yuan Ziang. This winter is cold, and fur is expensive and in short supply. It is just right for us to make down jackets and down quilts to sell," Zhang Pingan explained.

Mrs. Xu didn't understand all this, but she always supported her son unconditionally and came to help wash the duck down.

Zhang Laoer asked, "How much capital does this business require? How is the profit sharing calculated?"

"Dad, Yuan Ziang and I have discussed this matter. I don't need to invest any money. I will mainly be responsible for processing the duck down. He will be responsible for purchasing it and hiring an embroiderer to make it later. There happens to be an embroidery workshop in his grandmother's dowry, which is very convenient. After deducting the purchase money, fabric and labor costs, the final profit will be split 40% and 60% between us, 60% for him and 40% for me." Zhang Pingan replied with a smile.

Zhang Lao Er nodded when he heard this and said, "Just keep this in mind. You're all classmates, so don't ruin your relationship because of money."

After saying that, he squatted down to help.

First, use soap nuts to clean the duck down to remove the dust, dandruff and mildew. After cleaning, add a small amount of sesame oil to the water to increase the gloss and prevent insect damage. It will be cleaned in a short time.

The next step was to find a way to dehydrate and dry the duck down. Xu took out all the cotton towels in the house to help absorb the water. After it stopped dripping, she spread the duck down on a dustpan.

"Son, what should we do next?" Xu asked after wiping her hands.

Zhang Ping'an dried his hands and smiled, "Well, next I'm going to go out with my dad to buy some good smokeless charcoal and incense."

"That must be a lot of money," Xu said with a pang of pain.

Zhang Laoer had been doing business for a few years and had gained a lot of experience. He said, "Since we are selling it to wealthy people, this thing must be made better."

After saying this, he drove out the cart, and the father and son went out together to buy charcoal.

It is the middle of winter now and charcoal is in short supply. I spent almost one or two taels of silver to buy a 20-jin bag of smokeless charcoal and a small piece of incense the size of my thumb.

When I got back, it was already dark. There was no extra room in the house, so I could only light a brazier in the study and dry it slowly.

After finishing, Zhang Ping'an asked his family to go out first to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning, and come back after two hours to see the results.

Xu had already prepared dinner. As she was busy late today, she simply cooked a pot of dried tofu skin, but added lard to it, which tasted quite delicious when eaten with pickles.

Zhang Pingan praised: "Mom, your cooking skills are getting better and better!"

Xu's eyes narrowed with a smile when she heard this. "If it tastes good, eat more. Our family is getting better and better now. Fifth and sixth daughters are enjoying a good life now. They can even read storybooks like the ladies from wealthy families. But eldest daughter worked hard when she was little. The food at home was not good either. We could only afford a jar of oil a year."

Wu Ya smiled and said, "Yes, Sixth Sister and I are lucky, it's all thanks to my younger brother. I wonder how the eldest sister and the others are doing now?"

"I'm not worried at all about your eldest sister. My eldest son-in-law is a good man. With him protecting your eldest sister, she won't have to endure any hardship. Your second sister's family also has no worries about food and drink. She herself has a strong personality and can't bear any loss. What I'm most worried about is your third sister. Both of them are not stable, alas," Xu sighed.

Zhang Lao Er knocked on the bowl and said in a deep voice, "Eat, don't talk about these nonsense."