Chapter Eighteen: Changing Business

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Liang Yunqing steadied her again.
“You’re badly injured. What if something happens to Yuanbao? Besides…”
Before she could finish speaking, Granny Miao suddenly knelt down. Yuanbao, frightened, rushed forward but was pushed away by her.
“Miss, you once said you wished to adopt Yuanbao. Now, this old woman asks for no payment—only that you feed her.”
Liang Yunqing avoided her prostration and circled behind to pull her up from the ground.
“Granny Miao, you’re trying to shorten my life. I haven’t even finished talking, why are you so eager to kneel?”
After finally helping her up, Liang Yunqing hurriedly said,
“I’ll cover the medical expenses, but don’t think I’m some great philanthropist. From now on, both you and Yuanbao will work with me.”
Hearing this, Granny Miao’s face was full of surprise. Her lips trembled as she said,
“I’m just an old woman… I can’t do much.”
“You can. Once you’ve recovered, I’ll tell you what needs to be done.”
Liang Yunqing said this and quickly supported her toward the clinic. When they came out in the afternoon, Granny Miao’s wounds had been treated and Yuanbao was holding the wrapped herbs.
“All right, go home and rest your wounds. In two or three days, I’ll come back to discuss what needs to be done. Here, take this.”
She slipped twenty wen into Yuanbao’s small pocket. Granny Miao hurriedly tried to return the money, but Liang Yunqing just turned and waved her off.
“It’s a loan. Buy some sweets for Yuanbao. Let’s go—see you later.”
Granny Miao’s cheeks trembled as tears trickled down her wrinkles. She quietly knelt and bowed deeply to Liang Yunqing’s retreating figure. Yuanbao imitated her and knelt beside her.
The elderly and the young leaned on each other for comfort.
Back at their stall, Chu and Li Pinghua had already packed up and sat anxiously waiting.
Seeing Liang Yunqing finally return, they hurried over to ask, with Chu looking at her worriedly,
“Qing’er, where have you been? Why are you only back now?”
“Yes, yes, we were about to come find you,” Li Pinghua added, rubbing her hands together. She wasn’t so much concerned for Liang Yunqing as she was afraid their stall business might be interrupted.
“We’ll talk about it at home; there’s something I need to explain clearly,” Liang Yunqing said, linking arms with Chu to reassure her not to worry too much. A Yan and Xiao Hong obediently sat by the wooden table.
They lifted the table onto the cart and by the time they arrived home it was evening. Several family members sat around the table waiting, sighing in relief at their return.
Liang Mingxue asked curiously,
“Why did you come back so late today? Was business bad? Couldn’t you sell the steamed dumplings?”

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Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wang immediately thought herself very clever. Business was naturally risky; luckily, she had at least recovered her capital.
Liang Zhiyan glanced nervously at Li Pinghua, but seeing her calm expression, he relaxed somewhat.
“Father, Grandmother, business is fine, but there will be some changes going forward.”
Li Pinghua immediately grew displeased. She grabbed Liang Yunqing’s hand and said,
“Yunqing, what do you mean? You’re not planning to kick us out, are you? We’re family; it can’t be like that.”
Liang Yunqing withdrew her hand and sat down at the table first. The others gathered around, and she cleared her throat to begin.
“Today, a manager from the Xike Restaurant in the county town came looking for me at the stall. He’s interested in our steamed dumplings and wants to buy the recipe.”
“Xike Restaurant?”
Liang Zhiyan jumped up. He had heard from his eldest son that Xike was the largest restaurant in the county, backed by influential figures in the capital city.
Curious, Liang Yunqing looked at him and asked,
“Oh? Second uncle, you know Xike Restaurant?”
Liang Zhiyan nodded, then after a pause shook his head, saying,
“Cai told me before, Xike is the biggest restaurant in the county. If their manager wants to buy the recipe, it must be for a good sum.”
At the mention of money, Li Pinghua’s interest peaked. She looked at Liang Yunqing and asked,
“How much did they offer?”
“It’s not settled yet. They need to take some dumplings back for their boss to taste, but I don’t think there will be a problem.”
Liang Yunqing didn’t mention that what they actually sold was the Sichuan pepper powder; she already had a plan in mind.
“That’s wonderful, wonderful!”
Li Pinghua was nearly jumping for joy at the thought of getting a cut.
At this, Mrs. Wang’s expression darkened. Holding the 200 wen she had taken back yesterday, she felt uneasy.
Liang Yunqing ignored their various expressions and continued with the arrangements.
“There are two options. If Xike’s price is acceptable and they want to buy the recipe, I won’t agree. I’ve already told the manager we will supply them instead.
So from now on, you will make the dumplings at home and deliver them by cart to the county. This way, you won’t have to endure the hardship of vending. I’ve already found someone to take over the town stall business.
Everyone’s compensation will remain the same: Aunt Er’s family will continue receiving dividends, while Grandmother, Father, and Youyong will earn wages. This way, no one will be overworked.”
Li Pinghua lowered her head to ponder and then asked,
“If we supply Xike, will it still be three wen each?”
“That’s the right question,”
Liang Yunqing praised her. Aunt Er was actually the most business-minded in the Liang family.

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“We will supply Xike at two wen each. The county and town markets won’t interfere with each other, so we can continue business in town without issues.”
“Then who will run the town stall?”
Chu also asked.
“I already have a plan for that. I’ll let you know once it’s finalized.”
“Maybe I should take it over. I’ll go to the town to run the stall,”
Li Pinghua leaned in slightly. She wasn’t afraid of hard work; as long as the money was good, she had all the energy in the world.
Liang Yunqing directly refused.
“Aunt Er, don’t bite off more than you can chew. You’ll have plenty to do later, including buying supplies. You won’t have time if you have to make dumplings at home too.”
Li Pinghua was about to say she could manage, but when she heard she’d be in charge of purchasing, she happily nodded.
That was a lucrative position; she could skim some profit from it.
Liang Yunqing didn’t need to guess what she was thinking, but that was exactly what she had planned.
She continued,
“We’ll wait for news from Xike about the details. Tomorrow we can rest, and today I’ll settle everyone’s wages.”
They sold 300 dumplings for a total of 884 wen. Adding yesterday’s 582 wen, they now had 1 tael and 466 wen.
After deducting 530 wen spent on raw materials, the net profit was 936 wen.
She took out 25 wen each for Liang Mingxue and Liang Youyong, 20 wen for Grandmother, and kept the rest with herself.
Liang Yunqing felt the money pouch still held over a tael. Since they were out of raw materials, she intended to rest tomorrow and not set up the stall.
Unexpectedly, Li Pinghua was displeased. She grabbed a bag, preparing to buy supplies herself. Liang Youyong collapsed on the ground, wailing,
“Mother, please, I want to rest tomorrow.”
“You lazybones, as the head, you’re coming with me,”
Li Pinghua shouted at Liang Zhiyan sitting nearby. Usually submissive to his wife, he was too tired to get up after last night’s work.
“Wife, making dumplings isn’t easier than working the fields. How about we rest for a day?”
“You! You all…”