Chapter 106
Chapter 106: Chapter 106 Not a Small Profit_1
Chapter 106: Chapter 106 Not a Small Profit_1
Lin Yue’s steamed buns were so cheap they were tempting, but there were still skeptics, and thus everyone watched with hesitation, no one bought any. Lin Yue had anticipated this and was in no rush. She took out two different types of steamed buns from the basket, tore them open, and divided them into many small portions.
“Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, look, the steamed buns I sell are different from those at the Bun Shop. There are two kinds, the yellow-white ones are soybean steamed buns, and the golden ones are corn steamed buns. By adding soybeans and corn to the wheat flour, naturally, the cost of the steamed buns is lower than that of plain wheat flour buns. And as we are a small business, not like the Bun Shop, we definitely need to sell them at a reasonable price, earning just labor money. That’s why they are so cheap. Even so, the taste of these buns is not inferior to those of the Bun Shop. Whether I’m telling the truth or not, and whether they are delicious, you will know after you try,” she said.
Dalang saw so many people gathered around the stall, so he quickly finished the steamed bun in his hand, ready to help Lin Yue at any moment.
“How do you find the steamed buns? I didn’t lie to you, did I? I plan to do this business for a long time; I won’t ruin my own reputation,” Lin Yue said with a sweet smile, very pleasant to hear.
“Indeed, they are good. Even better than those in the Bun Shop, fragrant and soft, and you can taste a hint of corn when eating. They also look nice, with a golden hue. Young lady, I want two corn steamed buns,” said a young woman in her twenties. She had her hair up in a married woman’s bun and wore a silver hairpin on her head, and was dressed in a fresh-looking sky-blue fine cotton skirt, holding the hand of a five or six-year-old boy.
“Alright, big sister, two corn steamed buns for a total of ten coins. Here you go,” Lin Yue said deftly wrapping the two corn steamed buns. In ancient times, there were no plastic bags, and the wax paper used to wrap the steamed buns was borrowed temporarily from Chunxi. She planned to buy more later at the general store to repay Chunxi.
With the first purchase made, everyone else tasted the steamed buns and found them indeed delicious, and more people started to buy. Fortunately, Dalang was there to help, and they weren’t too overwhelmed. Dalang took care of wrapping the steamed buns while Lin Yue handled the money; the mother and son worked together happily.
Dalang, seeing Lin Yue collecting more and more money, couldn’t stop grinning, his hands getting faster at wrapping the steamed buns. Lin Yue found it amusing watching him. No matter how steady Dalang usually appeared, he was still just a child at heart.
As the steamed buns sold well, other goods on Lin Yue’s stand began to attract attention, particularly the bean sprouts which looked tender and fresh. There weren’t many people selling wild vegetables at this time, and many city-dwellers hadn’t tasted any throughout the winter. Although people in the city weren’t as destitute as farmers in the countryside, and most had some spare money, not many were willing to pay the price for vegetables from the heated beds of the big households. It was like burning money, so seeing Lin Yue’s bean sprouts for sale was a delightful sight.
Lin Yue priced the bean sprouts at six coins for a handful, which weighed about seven or eight taels. This price was neither too cheap nor too expensive. Chunxi’s wild greens sold for only three coins per handful, but wild greens were not the same as bean sprouts. In people’s eyes, wild greens were considered cheap goods, something exotic to try once or twice, but bean sprouts were fresh and delicious, something they had not seen before. Even at a higher price, there would be buyers. Lin Yue set the price at six coins aiming for a small profit but high volume. Soybeans only cost five coins per pound, and one pound of soybeans could grow into ten pounds of bean sprouts, which was already a considerable margin.