Li Changan carried a bamboo basket on his back with a sheepskin water bag inside.
Although the first order of business was only ten kilograms, Li Changan still valued it very much. He also packed a gourd of sample wine and planned to go to various wine shops and restaurants to sell it.
Maybe someone suddenly ran out of wine, maybe.
"Sister-in-law, don't forget to ask your sisters to come over this afternoon before going to the dinner market."
"There are also icing sugar, hawthorn fruits, sesame seeds, and bamboo skewers."
Li Changan drank the medicine prepared by Liu Zhiyin and did not forget to give instructions before leaving.
Liu Zhiyin was about to continue making wine, "Erlang, what are you going to buy those things for?"
Li Changan didn't say it directly, "It's basically impossible to earn three hundred taels of silver a month just by selling wine like this."
"I know, it's mysterious."
Zhang Ji's Winery, among the 43 wineries in Linxian County, its business is average to below average.
Boss Zhang's name is Zhang Fugui. He is tall and thick, and has a beard. He looks like a rough guy, but he is very polite and never withholds wine money.
Li Changan came to Zhangji Winery and happened to meet Wang Ergou unloading wine.
"Why are you, a consumptive devil, here?" Wang Ergou moved the wine jar and sneered, "I have already bought the wine from Zhang Ji's wine shop."
“If you want to promote it, go somewhere else.”
"Maybe it's not impossible to sell loose wine, haha..."
"Wang Ergou, hurry up and move the wine." At this time, the waiter from Zhang Ji Winery ran out and urged, "Li Chang'an, put your wine in another jar, don't mix it up."
Wang Ergou's eyes widened, "This..."
"Have you accepted this boy's drink?"
"Yes, I received less yesterday, so I asked for ten more pounds." The waiter said, leading the two of them inside.
"Okay, let this kid take advantage." Wang Ergou said, "Next time, you can tell me and I can send it over again."
"Let's talk about it next time. Hurry up. There's a lot going on today, and we have to entertain a group of guests tonight." The waiter urged.
Li Changan poured the wine into the wine jar, took two hundred Wen wine money, thanked the waiter and left.
Soon, Wang Ergou caught up and said, "Consumption ghost, you won't be so lucky next time. I won't give you this kind of opportunity again."
"Next time I will prepare more than ten or twenty kilograms of wine so that you can't sell even one kilogram."
Wang Ergou was very proud. This was how he used to seize the business of Li's wine shop. In the end, Liu Zhiyin couldn't even sell ten kilograms of wine for two or three days.
Li Changan curled his lips, turned and walked into the small restaurant on the street, without saying a word to Wang Ergou from the beginning to the end.
Wang Ergou was stunned and glanced at the street patrol officer not far away. He originally thought to anger Li Changan, it would be best to get him to take action, so that Li Changan could be sent to jail for a day or two.
Unexpectedly, Li Changan, who had been ready to take action if he disagreed with her before, would not even say a word to him.
Soon, Wang Ergou sneered disdainfully. He couldn't even sell wine in the wine market. How many kilograms could he sell by relying on sales promotion?
This kind of useless, sick and consumptive ghost, just wait until he gets sick again.
Li Changan walked into the small restaurant and said, "Boss, do you need more wine here? You can taste it first and then buy it."
"Excuse me, if you need anything next time, you can always come to me. I'm from Li's Winery."
When one family failed, Li Changan went to the family next door.
"Boss, I'm from Lijia Winery..."
…
After wandering around Sanyang Gate for a whole morning, Li Changan was extremely tired and felt weak in his body. It was obviously the end of October, but he was still sweating.
Finally, we negotiated with two families, and each family received five kilograms, which were delivered in the afternoon.
He said that he would wait and see what the situation was, but he didn't dare to ask for more.
back home,
Liu Zhiyin hurriedly came up to him, his eyes full of worry, "Look at you, your body has obviously not recovered yet, why don't you..."
"It's okay, sister-in-law." Li Changan's face turned a little pale, "Help me make a bowl of sugar water."
Liu Zhiyin quickly helped Li Changan sit down and hurried into the kitchen, soon carrying a bowl of warm sugar water.
After a moment of relief, Li Changan breathed a sigh of relief, "Sister-in-law, have you bought everything?"
Liu Zhiyin wiped Li Changan's sweat distressedly, "I bought it, and I've notified him as well."
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. If you walk more, my health will get better quickly." Li Changan smiled, "I'll prepare delicious food for my sister-in-law."
"These hawthorn fruits are very cheap. When I went to Xiaolan, I bought three kilograms for only five cents. She even gave me one kilogram as a gift." Liu Zhiyin supported Li Changan,
"The frosting is a little more expensive, costing thirteen cents per catty, but with bamboo sticks it only costs twenty cents."
"Erlang, what are you going to use them for?"
"You can make a lot of money from these." Li Changan picked up the hawthorn fruits and poured them into the water to wash them.
Liu Zhiyin also squatted aside, "Is it more profitable than drinking?"
"It's hard to say. If everything goes well, I may earn more than wine in the early stage." Li Changan said with a smile,
"Our wine must gradually open up sales, but we don't have this thing in Linxian County."
"What on earth is it?" Liu Zhiyin's tone unconsciously contained a hint of coquettishness,
"You have been secretly asking me to buy these things, and you have also informed my sisters, and you have kept it secret from me until now."
"This is a delicious snack called candied haws."
"Candied Haw Lu? Why have I never heard of it?"
"I saw it in a book." Li Changan took the washed hawthorn fruits and soaked them in salt water.
After waiting for a quarter of an hour, I started to remove the seeds, cut them across the waist, and scooped out the seeds in the middle. "Sister-in-law helped me string them together with bamboo skewers."
"Just pierce eight hawthorn fruits with one bamboo stick."
"Is this the candied haws of sugar?"
"It still needs to be covered with frosting..."
"Icing?"
"Yes, this is a secret recipe. It is called candied haws after having the icing sugar." After Li Changan got used to the seed removal process, his speed became faster and faster.
"A bunch of candied haws can be sold for five cents."
"Five cents!?" Liu Zhiyin looked at Li Changan in disbelief, "A pound of hawthorn fruit only costs less than two cents. A pound of hawthorn fruit costs at least thirty or forty cents."
"Can it be sold for twenty-five cents!?"
"After taking into account the cost, you can earn at least twenty cents!"
Liu Zhiyin's head was buzzing. Looking at the hawthorn fruit in his hand, he couldn't believe that he could make so much money.
"We'll find out after the market tonight."
Li Changan nodded.
"Is this why you are looking for Xiaolan and the others?"
"Well, if there are more people, this matter will be easier to handle."
Liu Zhiyin seemed to understand but still believed in Li Changan's every decision.
After threading the hawthorn fruit, Li Changan began to make the icing sugar.
This is the most important part of the candied haws, and it is also the key to determining the price at which it can be sold.
"It's a pity. It would be better if there was old rock sugar, but this frosting tastes okay."
Li Changan dipped some icing sugar and put it in his mouth.
Pour the icing sugar and water into the pot at a ratio of two to one, add a little white vinegar, bring to a boil over medium heat, melt the rock sugar and turn to low heat.
The step of adding vinegar is extremely important to prevent the sugar liquid from crystallizing.
After the foam became fine and the sugar liquid turned amber, Li Changan dipped a chopstick into the sugar liquid and put it in cold water.
The cooled sugar liquid becomes brittle and hard.
This step is also the key to test whether the candied haws is delicious or not.
If you don't boil the sugar for enough time, the sugar will stick to your teeth; if you boil it for too long, it will become bitter.
It seems simple, but there are little tips for every step.
Li Changan picked up a bunch of hawthorn fruits, rotated it against the surface of the sugar liquid, sprinkled a pinch of sesame seeds, and inserted it into the haystack that had been tied tightly in advance.
"Is this... a candied haws of water?" Liu Zhiyin leaned over to take a look, blinking and asked.
Very much like a curious baby.
Li Changan couldn't help laughing, "Just wait until the icing on the outside becomes hard and brittle. Then my sister-in-law will try it first."
As if aware of the smile in Li Changan's tone, Liu Zhiyin glanced at Li Changan angrily, her pretty face turning slightly red.
"If Candied Haws is really that profitable, will anyone imitate it?" Liu Zhiyin asked,
"It doesn't look like it's very difficult to do."
Li Changan didn't stop moving his hands and continued to wrap the frosting, "There will definitely be people selling it."
"But first of all, there are some tips for making icing. Most people don't get the right taste, so they can't learn the essence in a short time."
"Secondly, it's useless even if they learn it. I hope they learn it as quickly as possible."
"Ah?" Liu Zhiyin couldn't understand again.
How can there be any reason to hand over your business to others?
While the tea was brewing, Li Changan motioned to Liu Zhiyin to take a bite.
Liu Zhiyin was hesitant, she opened her red lips and took a small bite.
"Click."
The sugar coating is crisp, sweet and sour.
Liu Zhiyin blinked in disbelief, and then looked at Li Changan.
"Is it tasty?"
Liu Zhiyin nodded hurriedly.
I didn't even notice that there was a piece of candy stuck to the tip of my nose.
Li Changan subconsciously reached out and took away the broken sugar. He was stunned for a moment, then coughed dryly and concentrated on coating the sugar.
A layer of pink quickly appeared on Liu Zhiyin's neck, and then spread to her cheeks and earlobes.
It felt delicate and smooth as jade, and Li Changan rubbed his fingers unconsciously.
When Liu Zhiyin saw this action, he stomped his feet in embarrassment.
Li Changan felt his throat was a little itchy and coughed again. Seeing Liu Zhiyin becoming more and more shy, he quickly spoke, breaking the charming atmosphere.
"Sister-in-law, do you believe it or not? As long as the candied haws on a stick sell well tonight, we can earn at least one hundred taels of silver within five days."