Chapter 44: Qin Mahua Pays a Visit

Bai Xiaotian put on an official, businesslike air as he walked into the courtyard, replying, “I’ll buy at five cents per jin. As long as you store it according to this standard, I’ll always pay this price. But if you cut corners or don’t seal it properly, then it’s the same price as fish heads—thirty cents per dan.”

When everyone in the yard heard the price, they all gasped in surprise. Who would have thought that properly processed fish livers were actually worth more than skinned fish!

They couldn’t help but admire Chu Xuan’s foresight.

Bai Xiaotian squatted down by the pile of fish heads, inspecting them. They were quite dry. “Not bad.”

If they weren’t dry, they’d weigh more and he’d be at a loss if he bought them.

Looking up, he noticed the strings of fish skins hanging on the wall and continued, “I’ll buy these fish skins too, one cent per jin.”

Dried fish skins are extremely light.

Even a thousand or two thousand dried fish skins together weigh less than ten jin, so let’s count it as ten jin.

The fish heads totaled 310 jin and 2 liang, so let’s round it to 310 jin.

The livers from the skinned fish are quite large, and over the past few days, they’d stored 199 jin and 6 liang—let’s call it 200 jin.

After weighing everything, it was time to settle up.

The total came to 11 yuan, 9 jiao, and 3 fen. Bai Xiaotian handed Chu Xuan 12 yuan.

Chu Xuan gave him a few jin of clams and snails as a gift.

She had people help load all the goods onto his cart.

Even the big vat used to store the fish livers was loaded up; he’d bring it back next time.

After watching Bai Xiaotian and his cart leave, Chu Xuan put all the money into Chu Feng’s hands. “Go record the accounts. Also, today when we sold goods in town, Boss Yuan bought on credit for 240 yuan. Make sure to note that down too.”

When Gao Meijuan heard this, she almost cut her own hand with the fish knife.

“Xiao Xuan, you’re really brave! You’re taking on such a big risk with this business. You can’t do that…”

Chu Xuan knew Grandma Gao was worried about her, so she went over and took her hand. “Grandma Gao, take a break. Let me explain my thinking.”

She led her into the kitchen.

There, she explained her business logic.

If you want to grow a business, there’s no way to avoid risk.

Gao Meijuan repeatedly reminded Chu Xuan that next time she saw Boss Yuan, she must sign a contract.

Chu Xuan readily agreed.

She also took the opportunity to ask Grandpa Wang about buying a shop.

The shop was already settled, just waiting for payment. The total price was 3,200 yuan. The family could put together 2,900 yuan, still short by 300.

Without a second thought, Chu Xuan went to her younger brother for money and lent it to Grandma Gao…

After a quick wash, Chu Xuan went back to her room to catch up on sleep.

They’d need to buy another big vat to store fish livers, otherwise there wouldn’t be enough for rotation.

They also needed to buy salt, sugar, and other seasonings.

No one bothered her with these things. Gao Meijuan sent word to the person in town who sold vats, asking them to deliver another one—payment on delivery.

As for salt and such, Chu Feng gave the money to Wang Depin.

Wang Depin could have someone buy it, since there were tractors going to the county every day from the village.

At that moment, Mu Chenze came home carrying a bag of pears.

Qin Mahua came up to greet him. “Xiao Ze, did the delivery go smoothly today?”

She took the bag of pears from her son.

Mu Chenze pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and stuffed it into his mother’s hand, yawning. “It went fine. Count the money, and help me top it up tonight. I want to invest five thousand yuan in seafood.”

Qin Mahua knew what that meant. If her son put in five thousand yuan, barring any surprises, he could make more than two thousand in profit.

But if he lost money, that would be five thousand gone!

Profit and risk go hand in hand.

How is this making money? It’s nerve-wracking.

But she didn’t dare say that in front of her son.

Thinking about how, when a typhoon came or it rained for days, they’d have to stay home with no income, she gritted her teeth.

“Alright, I’ll make sure you have five thousand by tonight.”

As she spoke, her hand holding the money pressed to her chest, and the hand holding the net bag trembled a little.

Mu Chenze noticed this and knew his mother was worried.

“Mom, don’t worry! I’ll check the goods carefully before I buy.”

So far, he hadn’t made a mistake.

Qin Mahua told herself, “A grown son can’t be controlled by his mother.” “Alright, I’m not worried! I’ll put these pears in the kitchen.”

Mu Chenze scooped a basin of water and washed his face as he said, “Take out four pears for you all to share. The rest, put in my room. If you want more, I’ll buy some for you tomorrow.”

Qin Mahua was thoughtful. Normally, Xiao Ze never hid fruit in his room. What was up today?

“Did a girl give you these pears?”

Mu Chenze answered right away, “A buddy gave them to me. Mom, you know I love pears the most. Oh, and I’ve already had breakfast.”

“Got it.”

Qin Mahua didn’t ask further. She took out four pears for the kitchen and put the rest in his room.

Soon after, Mu Chenze went to his room to catch up on sleep.

Qin Mahua didn’t nag, but she’d occasionally listen at the window to check if her son was sleeping well.

Only if he slept well could she be at ease. If not, she’d rather he not do this late-night, long-distance, high-cost business.

A mother’s heart aches for her son!

Around 1 p.m., Chu Xuan woke up.

The big vat had already been delivered and placed in the mud-brick room.

Salt, sugar, and seasonings had also been bought.

The house was filled with the aroma of grilled fish fillets.

Gao Meijuan and Miao Dacui were getting more and more skilled at grilling fish. Widow Niu was diligent in chopping wood and carrying water—she was supposed to bring at least two loads of firewood a day, but she brought three.

Chu Xuan didn’t have to worry about the fire at all.

Wang Shasha, Liu Zhaodi, and Erleng were busy processing fish livers.

Chu Xuan felt her little workshop was finally getting on track.

She went into the kitchen to help Chu Feng with lunch.

If people worked overtime, they had to be fed.

Stir-fried clams, boiled snails, pork belly stewed with eggplant, mixed-grain steamed buns, and mung bean soup.

By two o’clock, everyone had finished eating.

Widow Niu, Wang Shasha, Gao Meijuan, Liu Zhaodi, and Erleng went home to rest and would be back after five.

Miao Dacui and Chu Xuan stayed in the kitchen to tend the fire.

Chu Feng went to his room to rest.

At five in the afternoon, Ji Ping delivered a thousand jin of skinned fish.

“Chu Xuan, there’s a lot of fish today. If you can’t take it all, I’ll just sell the rest at the dock.”

Chu Xuan was about to say it was a bit much, but suddenly remembered that at the end of this month in her previous life, there was a typhoon and days of rain. Better to grill more and stock up.

Grilled fish fillets could be stored.

“Unload it all in the yard! For the next ten days or so, I’ll need a thousand jin a day. Even if there’s an extra hundred or two, it’s fine.”

Ji Ping looked at her with admiration. “You’ve got guts!”

He pulled his cart into the yard and unloaded the goods.

When he finished, he helped himself to a bowl of mung bean soup as usual.

Not long after Ji Ping left, Gao Meijuan, Liu Zhaodi, and the others arrived.

Chu Xuan called everyone together for a meeting, explaining that they’d need to work overtime for the next few days to process fish and grill fillets. There would be overtime pay, and they’d get time off during the rainy spell.

Everyone understood—after all, July and August were typhoon and rainy season here.

While the weather was good, they wanted to work more and earn more. They were all happy to do so.

Still, Gao Meijuan worried about Chu Xuan’s health. Staying up late all the time and not getting enough sleep during the day would take a toll.

She suggested Chu Xuan hire another person to help with the fish.

Chu Xuan asked her to keep an eye out for someone suitable.

Widow Niu knew her limits and didn’t volunteer for the fish work.

For now, Chu Xuan had to fill in.

After an hour of gutting fish, Chu Xuan was exhausted.

These big fat fish were just too much!

Just then, Qin Mahua came by to ask Gao Meijuan something. After she finished, seeing everyone busy, she didn’t care at all about what had happened between her son and Chu Xuan before—she just sat down and started helping.

And what help! She showed her true skills, gutting 130 fish in an hour.

Gao Meijuan was thrilled. “Xiao Xuan, I found the extra help you needed! It’s your Auntie Qin!”

But… Chu Xuan didn’t dare agree to that!"