From the next day, Li Zhuzi began collecting eggs from house to house.
Every household in the Hongxin Brigade had some eggs stored. However, the quantity was not large in any single home, making a trip to the county town to sell them not cost-effective. They were happy for Li Zhuzi to purchase them. Especially since Li Zhuzi was limited by funds and did not buy a large quantity. This was the effect of scarcity marketing. Some people who were still observing became anxious upon hearing that Li Zhuzi had only collected three hundred eggs.
"Zhuzi, you can't do this. We're all from the same brigade. Why would you buy from others and not me?"
Li Zhuzi, being an honest person, felt embarrassed and said, "Auntie, it's not that I don't want to buy yours, but I genuinely don't have any more money."
Hearing that Li Zhuzi truly had no money, the woman carrying over a dozen eggs had no other recourse. She had to take the eggs back home. Before leaving, she couldn't help but ask, "You really have no money?"
Li Zhuzi said with a wry smile, "I really have no money, Auntie. Why would I lie to you?"
"Then if you collect eggs again another day, remember to think of me first!" the middle-aged woman added as a reminder.
Li Zhuzi quickly agreed.
Zhuzi's wife saw that her husband had spent all their savings to collect three hundred eggs and was somewhat worried. "Husband, what if they don't sell?" Although the Su family members were all good people and treated Li Zhuzi well, she was still concerned. Spending so much money based on the words of a little girl, what if they lost money?
"It's alright, I'll take them to the county town, and they should sell," Li Zhuzi said without much thought. Although he wasn't entirely sure, he had heard that the Su family listened to Su Xiaotian, and that her words brought good fortune.
Zhuzi's wife still didn't quite believe it but ultimately said nothing. She harbored a sliver of hope that it might work out.
Li Zhuzi went to the Su family's house again that evening. Grandma Su had also heard about Li Zhuzi spending money to collect eggs and asked why he was doing so.
"I was thinking of earning some money. We have two children at home, and my father-in-law, so the expenses are not small," Li Zhuzi said with a simple, honest smile. "Auntie, I've come today to ask Xiaotian where would be a good place to sell these eggs in the county town."
Su Xiaotian, Su Xiao Si, and Su Xiao Wu had gone to the cowshed. As soon as they returned, they heard Li Zhuzi's words.
"Uncle Zhuzi, I heard you collected a lot of eggs today."
"I took out all the money we had and only managed to collect three hundred eggs," Li Zhuzi said sheepishly.
Su Xiaotian thought Li Zhuzi was a man of great courage, someone who would surely achieve something in the future. However, selling eggs seemed to be beneath his potential; perhaps he could do something else.
"Uncle Zhuzi, I have an idea. Listen to it and tell me if you think it's feasible."
"What idea?" Li Zhuzi was indeed very interested.
"Eggs are easy to sell, but I heard you bought them at market price. While selling them at a higher price is possible, the profit might not be much." Li Zhuzi had also considered this problem, which was why he came to Su Xiaotian.
"I've calculated it. After deducting travel expenses, I probably won't earn much in a day." This was assuming the eggs sold smoothly. If they didn't sell, they might even lose money.
"I think you should process the eggs and sell them at the county train station. Our county's train station opened last month. If you go to the train station, they will definitely sell."
Li Zhuzi didn't quite understand Su Xiaotian's meaning. Processing the eggs? Did she mean cooking them into fried eggs?
"How should we process them?" Grandma Su asked before Li Zhuzi could. The old lady was quite interested in this matter.
"Process them into tea eggs." Su Xiaotian had recalled the saying from her past life, "Those who research bombs are not as good as those who sell tea eggs," which gave her this idea. It was said that among the first people to get rich, there were tea egg vendors.
"Can this work? But I don't know how to cook tea eggs!" Li Zhuzi said with a troubled expression. He could manage plain boiled eggs, but tea eggs, he really couldn't.
"I can. I learned from someone before, but I haven't had the chance to cook tea eggs in years," Grandma Su immediately offered. Her skills had been dormant for many years. Thinking about tea eggs made her feel a craving.
Su Xiaotian was surprised that her grandmother had such skills. Her eyes darted around as she said, "Grandma, why don't we cooperate with Uncle Zhuzi?" She didn't want to give away a profitable venture. She had been thinking about how to make money, and here was an opportunity.
Li Zhuzi and Grandma Su asked in unison, "How do we cooperate?"
"Uncle Zhuzi will be responsible for collecting the eggs and bringing them to the county town. Grandma, you will be responsible for cooking the tea eggs, and my brothers and I will sell them at the train station."
"Can this work?" Grandma Su asked hesitantly. Tea eggs were delicious, but the price would certainly not be low. Eggs were currently nine fen each. If they could sell them for ten fen each, they would make one fen profit per egg. If they were processed into tea eggs and sold for ten fen, they might even lose money.
"Whether it works or not, let's try it!" Su Xiaotian was bold. "One tea egg will be fifteen fen, and one plain boiled egg will be twelve fen. If possible, we can also steam some buns and sell them together, which would earn even more." The more Su Xiaotian thought about it, the more feasible the idea seemed.
"No, no, what do you and your brothers know? You'll get cheated!" Grandma Su felt that her grandchildren hadn't seen much of the world and worried they might be deceived. Even more frightening, what if they encountered kidnappers and were taken away? Where would they find them?
"Grandma, it's okay, we'll go together," Su Xiao Si said excitedly. He felt this was something worth doing because it could make money – a great thing.
"You little rascal, what do you know?" Grandma Su glared at her grandson and scolded him. Su Xiao Si dared not speak.
Su Xiaotian stepped forward and hugged Grandma Su's arm, saying, "Grandma, please let us try." As she spoke, she swayed Grandma Su's arm like a toffee. Grandma Su couldn't refuse her granddaughter's persistence.
"Your Uncle Zhuzi hasn't agreed yet." Li Zhuzi knew that Grandma Su couldn't resist Su Xiaotian's pestering, so he quickly agreed, "Auntie, I think this can work. I'll be responsible for collecting the eggs."
"Uncle Zhuzi, let's try it first. This should work. If it does, you'll get one and a half fen per egg. What do you think?" Su Xiaotian believed the saying "clear accounts between close relatives" was not wrong. Although the Su family and Uncle Zhuzi's family had a good relationship, they needed to be clear beforehand to avoid future disputes. Hadn't she seen many siblings fall out over money in her past life?
"That's too much, isn't it? How about one fen per egg?" Li Zhuzi felt a bit embarrassed. One and a half fen per egg was a sure profit.
"Let's stick to one and a half fen per egg. If we can sell three hundred eggs a day, Uncle Zhuzi, you'll make four yuan and fifty fen. After deducting travel expenses, you'll still earn over three yuan." Grandma Su also said, "You'll be running around every day, which takes a lot of effort. You deserve this money." Li Zhuzi said no more.
Since they had decided to sell tea eggs, Grandma Su immediately decided to take her grandchildren back to the county town the next day. Grandpa Su was unhappy when he heard Grandma Su was going to the county town again.
"You've only been back for two days, why are you going back again? Is the county town that great?" Grandma Su looked at Grandpa Su's huffy expression and was amused. "Old man, why do you look so funny?" Grandpa Su became even more annoyed. Why was it funny? Why was it funny!
"I'm funny? You tell me, you're a woman, always away from home, what's the meaning of that!" Grandpa Su grew increasingly angry. Why was his old wife so ambitious?
"Old man, don't be angry. How about you come with us to the county town? I'm thinking, it's a bit worrying to just have the children go to the train station. You can keep an eye on them!" Grandma Su understood Grandpa Su's feelings. It was hard on the old man to be alone at home, and their eldest daughter-in-law was busy, likely not even eating on time. That's why she thought of bringing Grandpa Su to the county town.
Grandpa Su had no intention of going to the county town. He had lived in this mountain hollow for most of his life and had no interest in going to the city. "Didn't you just complain that you didn't have anyone to talk to in the county town? Why do you want to go now?"
"Isn't it for making money?"
"You talk about speculation and profiteering as if it's a legitimate business." Grandpa Su did not approve. What if they didn't make money and got arrested?
"Grandpa, don't worry. Many people in the county town are doing small businesses now, and no one is managing them." Su Xiaotian quickly spoke up to allay Grandpa Su's concerns.
Grandpa Su looked at his granddaughter and asked worriedly, "Good girl, are you telling the truth? Is no one really managing it?" He found it hard to believe. They had been managing it for so many years, and suddenly no one was?
"Yes, Grandpa. You can go and see for yourself. Even at the entrance of our school, people are doing small businesses." Su Xiao Si appeared very excited. The thought of making money made his blood boil.
Grandpa Su hesitated, still not believing it. "I'm not going. What's the point of going to the county town? Just looking at a square courtyard all day." Su Xiaotian looked at Grandpa Su's shy expression and smiled. She hadn't expected her grandfather to be so bashful.
"Grandpa, you must come with us. With you there, we'll feel much more at ease." Su Xiaotian began to act cute with Grandpa Su again. Grandpa Su was already tempted, but because he had just scolded Grandma Su, he felt embarrassed. Su Xiaotian provided an opportunity, and Grandpa Su immediately took it.
"Then I'll go with you to take a look, but I don't plan to stay long, just a few days!" Having lived together for a lifetime, Grandma Su knew Grandpa Su's personality well. She said with a smile, "I know, just a few days and we'll be back."
Once the elderly couple had discussed it, they informed their son and daughter-in-law. Second Son Su strongly opposed, "Dad, Mom, you're both so old, and you're still doing speculative business. If you get caught, you'll suffer."
"Exactly, Dad, Mom. It's so good for you two to stay home. We're not struggling to get by now!" Wang Xianghua didn't think much about it, just felt it was inappropriate for the elderly couple to go out and make money at their age.
"Not struggling to get by?" Grandpa Su snorted. "Why don't you think about it? The children are growing up, and Xiao Si and Xiao Wu will be going to college next year. In the following years, two or three will go to college each year, which will cost money." Su Xiaotian couldn't help but gasp when she heard Grandpa Su say this. His words were truly confident. If others heard them, they would likely be shocked. Two or three university students a year, who would say such a thing? It seemed Grandpa had great confidence in his grandchildren!
"After they graduate from college, won't they need to get married? A hundred yuan per child is considered little. Looking at the trend, in a few years, one child might cost three to five hundred yuan."
"The nine boys above will cost several thousand yuan. Our Xiaotian is the only girl, so we can't treat her poorly. She'll definitely be the same as her brothers."
"Perhaps we'll need to buy houses then, which will cost even more! You don't think about anything!" Grandpa Su listed them one by one, looking at his two sons with disdain. They couldn't do anything but have sons. And they didn't prepare bride prices for their sons! Su Xiaotian chuckled. Grandpa was a typical case of "saying one thing but meaning another." He said this and that, but he had thought of so much.
Second Son Su was also stunned. It was true, he had never considered the future expenses of his sons. "Dad, I was wrong!" Second Son Su was almost in tears. Hearing his father say this, he felt he had been too negligent. Why hadn't he thought about his sons? He had four sons! Wang Xianghua hadn't thought of these things either and dared not speak.
Eldest Son Su said, "If people are doing small businesses outside now, we can also try." Since the Hongxin Brigade had established the chicken farm and pig farm, Eldest Son Su's thinking had changed a lot. Relying on farmland, it was hard to even get enough to eat, let alone improve the family's life. One had to be bold. Perhaps this was an opportunity.
"Big Uncle, you agree?" Su Xiaotian asked with delight. She hadn't expected anyone in the family to have such foresight. In her past life, why hadn't the family seized the opportunity to get rich?
"Why wouldn't I agree? However, we need to be careful. If anything is wrong, withdraw immediately. At critical moments, it's okay to lose the goods." It wasn't like before. Before, with Chen Zi'an around, they had someone to look out for them. Now it was different.
Grandpa Su clearly also thought of this. "What Eldest says is right. We need to be careful. No matter what, no one should get hurt!"
"But you are old, and they are young. It doesn't feel right for you to go out and make money!" Second Son Su still felt this matter was not right.
"What's not right? If I don't go, will you?"
"Perhaps I should go!" Second Son Su actually suggested.
"Relying on you to make money is unreliable. You'd better just stay at the pig farm!" Grandpa Su said disdainfully and turned to go back to the main hall. Talking to these two sons was so exhausting! Eldest Son Su and Second Son Su looked at their father's retreating back and exchanged glances. Were they being looked down upon like this? Forget it, let it be. Let Dad and Mom do as they please.
[Author's Note]
Four thousand words. Babies, don't forget your votes!