I'm dressed up as the timid eldest daughter, and the whole family has to listen to me!

Erzhuzi laughed as he poured the water out of the large basin.

"When Shi Yan left, he went to my house and told me to come over and help take care of you. He said he was worried about leaving the three of you women at home alone."

Su Banxia nodded. Now that the candied hawthorn business was starting to get on track, they definitely needed a capable helper.

When Su Banxia went out to sell candied hawthorns, Wang Guihua would be busy at home by herself, which Su Banxia really couldn't bear to see.

However, Su Banxia didn't want Su Mo to help her, lest Su Mo use this as leverage to ask her for money in the future. It was easier to use an outsider than one of her own people.

Thinking this, Su Banxia said to Erzhuzi:

"Erzhuzi, I'm going to start doing business in the city from now on. You can come and help me as a long-term laborer. I'll pay you twenty coins a day, paid monthly. Is that okay?"

Upon hearing this, Erzhuzi's eyes reddened.

"Okay, whatever you say, I'll listen to you, Banxia!"

Su Banxia nodded and said to Wei Kezhi:

"You stay here and string hawthorns with Erzhuzi, I'll go to the backyard to help my mother."

Wang Guihua, who was stir-frying the filling, was delighted to see Su Banxia return and said happily:

"Are they all sold out? I made a little extra today."

Su Banxia smiled and said:

"They're all sold out. Young Master Lou ordered another fifty skewers from us tomorrow, so let's prepare 150 skewers first. Go and find Aunt Wu tomorrow and have her help you with the work. Tomorrow I'm taking Erzhuzi to the city to sell goods and see if he's cut out for it."

Wang Guihua nodded.

"Alright, thanks to Erzhuzi for helping out today, don't blame your mother for being nosy. How about we keep Erzhuzi here and pay him a little wage every day?"

Su Banxia nodded with a smile.

“Mother, you don’t need to tell me. I’ve already made an agreement with Erzhuzi. We’ll give him twenty coins a day. When you come to help, tell Aunt Wu the same thing. We won’t use her for free. We’ll pay her twenty coins a day.”

As Wang Guihua ladled out the filling, she replied:

"My daughter is so thoughtful."

After everyone finished making 150 strings of candied hawthorns, it was already dark. Wang Guihua cooked a simple meal for everyone to eat before going home.

Su Banxia went to her room and checked on the strawberries and grapes she had planted earlier. She saw that the grapes and strawberries had already borne fruit and that new products would be available in a few days. Su Banxia then went to sleep peacefully.

The next day, Erzhuzi and Wei Kezhi arrived early. Su Banxia handed the three straw saddles to the two of them, while she stood empty-handed beside them, teaching them her experience in selling candied hawthorns as she walked.

"Whether or not anyone buys, you have to know how to promote your products; at the very least, you have to make sure people can see you."

"Oh, and expressions too. Wei Kezhi, stop always wearing that grumpy face. Kids won't even want to eat their candied hawthorns when they see you. Smile at me, yes, smile!"

As she spoke, Su Banxia glanced again at the candied hawthorns they were holding.

"We need to be flexible in business. If you encounter a woman who is particularly good at bargaining, you should encourage her to buy more skewers and tell her that she will give you a discount if she buys more, because it is not worthwhile for her to buy less."

"Also, when we're selling goods on the streets, we can't walk too fast. If you turn around and leave right after you've finished calling out your wares, the little kids have short legs, and by the time they come out with their coins, you'll have already disappeared. Wouldn't that mean losing another sale?"

As Erzhuzi listened to Su Banxia's eloquent explanation, he wished he could take out a small notebook and write down all these business tips. Don't underestimate the power of just setting up a stall and doing business; there are actually quite a few tricks to it.

Seeing that the two were listening attentively, Su Banxia continued:

"In business, we need to make our customers feel like they're getting a good deal; only then can we build a long-term business."

As she spoke, Su Banxia paused, leaned closer to the two of them, and whispered:

“Look at those regular customers who always patronize you. Every now and then, give them a skewer or two of new flavors they haven’t tried before, or save them a few coins.”

Su Banxia smiled mysteriously:

"Don't underestimate these small favors. Customers remember them and always feel that you treat them differently from others. They will come back to you to buy the same things next time."

Erzhuzi nodded repeatedly.

"Banxia, ​​you're amazing! I had no idea there were so many intricacies to setting up a stall and doing business. Now that you've explained these things to me, I'll avoid making the same mistakes."

Seeing that Erzhuzi was studying diligently, Su Banxia was quite satisfied and turned to Wei Kezhi to ask:

"Have you learned it all?"

Wei Kezhi smiled at Su Banxia.

"I'll follow you and sell for now. Once you've trained me, I'll go out and sell on my own, okay?"

Su Banxia sighed helplessly and reached out to tap Wei Kezhi's ear.

"Look how eager Erzhuzi is to learn. He's already learned almost everything on his first day setting up a stall. You still need to practice!"

Erzhuzi, hearing Su Banxia praise him, quickly scratched his head shyly, while Wei Kezhi said with a helpless expression:

"There's no school to run, it's because I'm stupid, you have to teach me more."

The three of them arrived in the city chatting and laughing. Su Banxia instructed Erzhuzi to take a straw saddle to the market and set up a stall, while she took Wei Kezhi to Wangyue Tower to deliver the candied hawthorns that Lou Wangyue had ordered.

When the servants saw there were candied hawthorns to eat, they swarmed forward and snatched them all up in no time.

"These candied hawthorns are really delicious. I didn't have any yesterday."

"That's right! Our boss is so generous; he's treated us to candied hawthorns for two days in a row!"

"Yes, mainly because this girl is not only beautiful, but also makes delicious candied hawthorns."

"I've tried the candied hawthorns from that peddler before, and it seemed like he was stingy with the sugar; they were so sour they made my teeth ache!"

Hearing everyone's endless praise for her candied hawthorns, Su Banxia was very happy. Lou Wangyue, seeing Su Banxia arrive, forgot about checking the accounts with the accountant and came downstairs to talk to her.

"Banxia, ​​your candied hawthorns are really delicious. My friend is having a banquet tomorrow, and I'd like to order another hundred candied hawthorns to send to him as an after-dinner snack."

Su Banxia pondered for a moment and then said:

"So much food, can we finish it all?"

Lou Wangyue nodded.

"It's all gone, it's all gone. He's entertaining a lot of guests, so it's fine to share the leftovers with the servants so they can have a taste."

Su Banxia smiled and said:

“Alright, if it’s for the banquet, I’ll make some more fancy candied hawthorns and send them to you. I won’t make such big skewers. The guests have already eaten a lot of delicious food, so they won’t be able to finish such big skewers.”

Su Banxia paused and continued:

"I'll make them into pretty little skewers of candied hawthorn later, so that it's easier for customers to eat and they'll feel happier looking at them."