Starting a new chapter in life

Chapter 144 The Iron Skewers Arrive at the Store

With the staff all in place, Sister Wang and Grandma could finally relax a bit. They no longer needed to work at the shop with Jingyan; they could just drop by and help out when they had time.

The children in the family were finally able to eat normal meals again. When Jingyan received a meal with meat and vegetables delivered by Sister Wang at noon, she was so touched that she cried tears of joy. She missed the taste of home-cooked food so much.

On Friday night, He Zhijun brought back good news: the four thousand iron skewers were almost ready to be delivered to the store. The cost was not as high as he had imagined. His previous estimate was wrong. Each mold could produce fifty skewers, so four thousand skewers could be produced in one day. The mold only cost three hundred yuan, which was considered a friendly price.

This time, the four thousand skewers cost a total of one thousand and twenty yuan. He Zhijun added forty yuan, and the other twenty yuan was for the delivery and handling fees from the factory. It was agreed that the skewers would be delivered directly to the store on Saturday morning.

Jingyan was very satisfied. The price was four or five hundred yuan less than she had estimated, which was a significant difference. "Now that the mold is ready, can we use the one we have now for any replacements later?"

He Zhijun nodded: "The molds are stored in the factory's jig warehouse. We usually clean them out every three years. If we don't make any more within three years, I will buy them back from the factory at scrap prices after three years, and then we can take them back to use when we need them later."

Jingyan smiled: "That's good. Tomorrow, after I go to the dock to get the meat, I'll go to the shop to prepare. After you've had breakfast, you can help me watch the shop. I need to go to Yanjia Village. The two hundred-plus eggs we got from Auntie are almost used up. I think we'll still need about fifty eggs a day."

I just arranged for them to deliver every four days. I also need to contact the meat processing plant's deliveryman and ask him to pick up the eggs at the sea market dock and deliver them along with our meat. That way, I won't have to go through the hassle of taking a boat to the other side. But I should give the deliveryman a little something; it wouldn't be right to let him help me for free all the time.

He Zhijun thought for a moment: "Anyway, their deliveryman has always been the same one. According to the boat ticket price, it costs 40 cents for a round trip, which is 3 yuan a month. We can just give this money to the deliveryman."

Jing Yan smiled and agreed: "Then you can come with me to the dock to pick up the meat tomorrow. The iron skewers have arrived this time. I plan to make 30 catties of mutton every day starting tomorrow, which will be exactly 1,200 skewers. Let's make it for a while and then see if we need to increase the quantity."

He Zhijun naturally had no objection. "Our store has been open for about half a month now, and Xiaoli hasn't made any friends at home, which is somewhat detrimental to his new environment when he starts school in the second half of the year."

I'm planning a party at home the day after tomorrow, around noon. I've invited colleagues with children around Xiaoli's age. I've already sent them invitations. Do you think we should order more meat from the meat processing plant tomorrow? It wouldn't be right to be stingy with the guests.”

Jingyan tilted her head and thought for a moment: "It's not really appropriate to host a banquet just for a small gift. You see, you've been working here for a year now and have a good relationship with your colleagues. Our family has also moved here for half a year. According to custom, housewarmings and new hires are celebrated with banquets. Although we don't care about extravagance, we should still make sure our social interactions are conducted properly."

Since you're hosting a dinner, invite your boss and close colleagues as well. Tell them it's a belated invitation and they don't need to give gifts; consider it a way to maintain relationships. Otherwise, if you're trying to be helpful but the guests are short on money or don't feel the relationship is at the point of giving gifts, then you've done more harm than good.

It's better not to do any of that, just give your heartfelt gift. This way, you can help Xiaoli get to know the children, and you can also strengthen your relationships with your colleagues. Of course, we can't leave out the braised pork dish at the table, which is also a form of indirect advertising—a win-win situation.

He Zhijun frowned: "If that's the case, there will be a lot of people to invite. It's no problem to hold the banquet at our house, but it will be very expensive. Jingyan, we don't need to make it so grand. Your shop has just opened, so we should save money."

Jingyan raised her hand to smooth out the wrinkles between his brows. "Then let's ask Grandma for her opinion. Sometimes my thoughts may be different from many people's. Grandma is very knowledgeable and experienced. Let her help us make a decision. What do you think?"

He Zhijun naturally agreed, and the two of them went out of the house together and knocked on their grandmother's door. Their grandmother was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) watching the three children playing. When she heard the knocking, she asked He Chaoli to open the door. After opening the door, He Chaoli casually greeted his uncle and aunt, and then climbed back onto the kang to play with his younger siblings.

The two went inside, and He Zhijun told his grandmother again about Jingyan's invitation to dinner. He concluded that he thought it was too extravagant and too expensive. His grandmother leaned against the pillows, smiling as she watched him. After he finished speaking, she asked, "Zhijun, let me ask you, how would you feel if your office colleague invited you to dinner but didn't invite you?"

He Zhijun thought about it carefully: "It would be a little uncomfortable. Even if I don't need that meal, I would still feel unimportant if I wasn't informed."

Grandma laughed: "That's right. If you didn't host a banquet, no one would say anything, since everyone is treated equally. But since you're going to hold a banquet to quickly integrate yourself, just like Jingyan said, you might as well invite everyone you have a good relationship with or who have mutual interests with you."

Whether they come or not is their business, but whether we invite them is our duty. As for the cost, no matter how much it is, our family probably won't be holding any more banquets before Xiaoli's college entrance exam. Let's just consider it spending the money we would have spent on banquets for the next ten years in advance. I believe that since Jingyan brought it up, it means that our family can afford it given our current situation, right?

Jingyan nodded: "Yes, Grandma, I estimated the price of the iron skewers to be over 1,500 yuan, but I only spent a little over 1,000 yuan. The 400 or 500 yuan saved is enough for this banquet. Besides, although our shop has only been open for half a month, we have already made a profit of 1,000 yuan, so hosting a banquet is no problem."

He Zhijun looked at Jing Yan in surprise: "You made over a thousand yuan in just half a month?"

Jingyan shook her right index finger at him: "To be precise, it's a profit of one thousand yuan, but the income is more than two thousand five hundred yuan."

He Zhijun gave her a thumbs up in admiration: "If we can make a profit of two thousand yuan a month, wouldn't we be able to earn back the money we spent on the shop in just one year?"

Jing Yan nodded with certainty: "That's right. I didn't expect that the people on the island would have stronger spending power than those in Haishi. This may be related to the fact that there are more single men here. After all, not many people without wives at home are willing to cook for themselves. Eating out will bring in some customers, so business is naturally good."

This time, He Zhijun really had no objections and immediately agreed that he would personally go to each household tomorrow to invite leaders and colleagues to come to his home the day after tomorrow.

The couple said goodnight to Grandma, went back to their room to tidy up, and got into bed. He Zhijun leaned close to Jingyan, put his arm around her, and whispered in her ear, "Jingyan, I'm so glad I have you. Although I don't think I've ever lacked money before, I really feel that being a kept man is actually quite blissful."

My heart feels warm; it's as if I don't need to worry about anything at home. You wouldn't believe it, but when some of my colleagues in the office chat, they complain that their wives' families are a burden. They say they only earn a little salary, not only do they have to support their own families, but they also have to subsidize their wives' families from time to time. Ultimately, it all comes down to not having enough money, causing all this unhappiness.

In our family, thanks to your hard work and dedication to our finances, I've never worried about money. Compared to that, I'm truly very fortunate. Before I met you, I thought talking about money was vulgar, but since meeting you, I find counting money with you to be a joy.

Jingyan chuckled at his words: "Don't you think I've dragged you down from your high-and-mighty self to the mud? You used to be aloof and proud, but now I've made you worldly. If we had just gotten married, you would never have said that it would cost too much to host a dinner party. But look at you now, you're the one who's reluctant to spend money. Don't you feel like you've been taken advantage of?"

He Zhijun hugged her tighter: "What 'high-and-mighty flower'? That's just how I was when I was young and ignorant, clueless about practical matters. I only thought that as long as I had enough money, that was enough. But now, after seeing so many families' dissatisfaction over money, I realize how naive I was before."

If I had married a woman who could only stay at home to be a wife and mother instead of you, I think I would be the one worrying about money right now. I don't know if I would feel resentful when I can't even guarantee my own living conditions.

You think I'm perfect because you haven't given me the chance to unleash the darkness within me. So, Jingyan, you are my light, my safe haven. I don't think you're mercenary; I only feel sorry for your hardships.

Jingyan hugged him back, touched. "You're so good, really so good."

Yes, how many men are not happy because their wives are capable? Instead, they feel that their wives are too capable and that their brilliance will be overshadowed. They will harbor resentment, belittle her with their words, and even belittle her in front of outsiders. Such examples are common in later generations, which can bring the evil of human nature to the extreme. She was lucky to meet a man who appreciated her.

The next morning, Jingyan went to the dock to pick up the meat. She also mentioned to the deliveryman that the amount of mutton she needed would increase from fifteen jin to thirty jin starting tomorrow, and that he would also help bring over eggs every few days.

The deliveryman was quick-witted and readily agreed. After he agreed, Jingyan said she would give him three yuan a month as a service fee, explaining that it was based on the price of the boat ticket.

The deliveryman originally only agreed to help out to make a good connection, thinking that it wasn't a lot of work each month and that he was just helping out by keeping an eye on things, which wouldn't take up much space. But he didn't expect to earn extra income, so he became even more attentive and enthusiastically told Jingyan that if she needed help carrying the goods, she should deliver them to the dock before a certain time and meet him there.

Jingyan carefully noted the time, pushed the meat back into the shop, seasoned the braised meat, put it in a pot to simmer, and then He Zhijun brought breakfast over. Jingyan quickly ate her breakfast and told him when to remove the braised meat from the heat before making the second batch. He Zhijun had done it before, so he just gave him some general instructions.

Jingyan carried her old basket and took a boat off the island, heading straight for Yanjia Village. The old woman was delighted to see Jingyan: "Girl, have you run out of eggs? Do you need us to keep supplying them?"

Jingyan put down the basket she was carrying and nodded: "That's right, Auntie. I plan to collect them every four days, two hundred at a time. Your family is responsible for delivering the eggs to the dock before 4 a.m. on the day of delivery, coordinating with the deliveryman from the meat processing plant to load the eggs onto the ship. I will then pick up the goods on the island, which will save you the trouble of traveling back and forth by boat."

The old woman quickly called her son out. Hearing Jingyan's requirements regarding time and frequency, it was clear her son would handle the subsequent deliveries. Jingyan specifically instructed, "Auntie, there will be some waves when transporting the eggs onto the ship, so make sure to take good protective measures. Put plenty of rice husks underneath to prevent them from breaking."

"And the baskets for transporting eggs, would you prefer I have them brought back every three times a month, or once at the end of each month? We need to agree on a date so you can pick up the baskets at the dock in advance."

The old lady's son thought for a moment: "I go to the dock on the morning of the last day of each month. My family doesn't have much else, but we have a lot of baskets. My dad is a skilled basket weaver, so we can manage to make ends meet for a month. I don't want to go too often."

Jingyan didn't mind and nodded in agreement: "Okay, tomorrow morning is your first delivery. Let's set some rules: will we settle accounts once a month or every two weeks? You'd better give me an account number so I can transfer the money over on time, which will save me the trouble of running back and forth."

The old lady's son thought for a moment and said, "About half a month. We're just a small family and can't afford to delay. I'll give you the address now, and you can send the money over from the post office."

Jing Yan nodded: "Half a month, that's 750 eggs. It's 45 yuan per remittance. Let's write down all of this in a written agreement, have both parties sign and affix their fingerprints, and that will serve as proof."

The old lady hurriedly ran into the house to get paper and pen. As she wrote, her son added, "Let's deliver the eggs every five days. That way, six times a month will be enough. If it's less than thirty days, or even thirty-one days, I'll adjust the amount of eggs for the last delivery of the month accordingly. Does that sound alright?"

Eggs may break during transport. I'll give you ten extra eggs each time as compensation for breakage. You don't need to return the extras, and I won't send replacements for the missing ones. Of course, I'll try my best to take safety precautions to minimize breakage. Is that acceptable?

Jingyan was surprised that this person was so good at business. She smiled and nodded, "No problem, thank you for your understanding."