Chapter 6: First Day of Business
Early the next morning, when Li Yi woke up, he found his parents had already gone out to work in the fields!
After washing up and having a light snack, Li Yi got to work!
Since Nianzishan Village was a full 15 kilometers from the county seat—a journey that would take at least two hours by mule cart—he had to prepare the liangpi and chop the toppings within two hours to arrive before noon.
Fortunately, he was well-versed in all of this, and it didn’t take long for everything to be ready!
After loading everything onto the mule cart, Li Yi drove straight toward the county seat.
Traveling along the dirt roads of the countryside, gazing at the lush green crops lining both sides of the path, and breathing in the freshest air of nature, Li Yi felt incredibly happy.
Although he was currently poor—he didn’t even have a single penny in his pocket—his inner world was rich.
Thinking back to his previous life, although he had built his own business empire—with assets reaching tens of billions at its peak—whenever the night was deep and quiet, the guilt he felt toward Tang Xue and the child who had never been born would constantly gnaw at his heart. Even though he possessed the entire world and was adored by thousands, he could not overcome the loneliness within his heart, and he spent his entire life struggling with guilt and solitude.
But now, Tang Xue was still alive, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, she was carrying his child. There was still a chance to make amends for everything.
At 11:00 a.m., the mule cart arrived in the county seat, but instead of heading to the town center, Li Yi drove it to the entrance of the sugar factory on the outskirts of the county.
Although the county seat was bustling with people, the reforms had only just begun. Moreover, Qing Shan County was a small, remote inland county where people held conservative views and were not yet fully receptive to the private sector.
If he were to openly sell liangpi in the city center, he might very well end up getting arrested.
The situation at the sugar factory, however, was different. Although it was located on the outskirts of the county, the factory employed seven or eight hundred workers—all of whom were permanent staff earning thirty to forty yuan a month—giving them strong purchasing power.
More importantly, Li Yi knew that the sugar factory didn’t have a staff canteen; the workers had to go home for dinner after work or bring their own meals to work every day.
With a safe environment and a ready consumer market, this was definitely a prime spot for a street stall!
After finding a suitable spot, Li Yi arranged the prepared liangpi and all the various toppings and condiments neatly on his cart, then waited patiently for customers to arrive!
At 11:50 a.m., as a crisp electric bell rang out, the workers were off duty!
Li Yi immediately perked up—his business empire was about to set sail from this mule cart right outside the factory gates!
A few minutes later, workers began streaming out of the sugar factory gates!
Seizing the opportunity, Li Yi called out loudly, “Authentic Shaanxi-style liangpi, 20 cents a serving—first come, first served!”
“Don’t miss out—authentic Qin Province Liangpi, delicious and perfect for beating the heat!”
“For just two cents, you can’t go wrong—you’ll get a refreshing, delicious serving of Liangpi…”
The novel cries quickly drew a crowd of onlookers. When everyone saw the liangpi and various toppings and condiments laid out on the cart, they couldn’t help but swallow hard!
Finally, someone couldn’t resist any longer. A middle-aged man turned to Li Yi and asked, “Young man, what kind of food is this? I’ve never seen it before.”
“Bro, this delicacy is called liangpi. It’s the most famous and classic summer treat in Qin Province—guaranteed to have you coming back for seconds after your first bite!” Li Yi replied with a smile.
“How much is it?”
“With broth and toppings, it’s 20 cents plus two liang of grain coupons per serving!”
“Two mao plus two liang of grain coupons? That’s so expensive!”
“Bro, it takes a pound of white flour to make one serving of liangpi. Right now, the supply and marketing cooperative sells white flour for 16 cents a pound. Add in all the seasonings—is 20 cents really too much?” Li Yi explained.
“I guess that makes sense. Give me one to try!”
“Sure thing! Just a moment!”
Li Yi deftly peeled a large sheet of liangpi off the tea tray, then sliced it into strips on the cutting board, tossed it with various seasonings, and drizzled a small spoonful of chili oil on top.
He placed it in a bamboo tube and handed it to the middle-aged man, tossing him a pair of bamboo chopsticks as well.
The middle-aged man, in turn, deftly pulled out two 10-cent notes and a 2-liang local grain coupon, then squatted down beside the mule cart and dug in!
After just a couple of bites, the middle-aged man couldn’t help but exclaim, “You’re something else, kid—this tastes absolutely amazing!”
“Thanks for the compliment, big guy. In the summer, I wouldn’t trade this liangpi for a pig’s trotter!” Li Yi said with a smile.
“Is it really that good? Give me a serving too…”
“I’ll have one too…”
With the middle-aged man leading the way, Li Yi sold out all 62 portions of liangpi in less than ten minutes—the turnout was absolutely staggering.
After agreeing to come back tomorrow at noon to sell more liangpi, Li Yi finally managed to break free from the workers’ enthusiastic “surrounding”!
On the mule cart, Li Yi counted the loose change in his hand while sorting out the grain coupons.
After tallying his earnings, a satisfied smile spread across Li Yi’s face.
12 yuan and 40 fen, plus 12 jin and 4 liang of flour coupons!
The profit was simply off the charts!
Keep in mind, a jin of white flour costs 16 fen, which makes five servings of liangpi. Li Yi sells each serving for 20 fen—five servings total one yuan—and the garnishes and chili peppers are all homegrown, so they cost him nothing.
In other words, he was selling at a sky-high price of 1 yuan for a cost of just 16 fen—a 625% profit margin!
Plus, this business required no rent, utilities, or employees—it was practically like scooping money into a sack!
Furthermore, judging by how popular the liangpi was today, selling just a few dozen portions a day clearly wouldn’t meet the workers’ demand, so Li Yi decided to make more tomorrow.
However, he’d already used up most of the seasonings at home—oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and the like—so Li Yi decided to make a trip to the supply and marketing cooperative first to stock up on ingredients.
The supply and marketing cooperative was located in the main downtown area of the county seat, five or six li away from the sugar factory!
Along the way, looking at the low-lying houses lining the county town’s streets and the dirty, muddy roads, Li Yi found it hard to connect this place with the “Top 100 Counties in China” of the future—a place filled with towering skyscrapers, wide roads, and clean, orderly streets.
But then again, it was just the beginning of reform and opening-up; the shackles of the planned economy were still in full force. Most importantly, Qing Shan County’s mainstay industry—coal—was still buried underground, so it was only natural that the local economy hadn’t taken off yet.
When he arrived at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, the place was absolutely packed—the entrance was lined with mule carts and bicycles!
After squeezing his way inside, Li Yi found a sales clerk and asked about the prices of cooking oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Price-wise, things were genuinely affordable in this era, but the fact that you needed ration tickets for just about everything was a real pain in the ass.
Even though he had money in his hand, there were many things he simply couldn’t buy.
With no other choice, Li Yi spent two yuan and eight fen to buy 12 jin of flour and two large twisted doughnuts, then left the supply and marketing cooperative.