Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 1160 I'll do it, I'll do it

Zheng Xiaoqiu was a little unhappy and said, "I paid you a lot of money when I was learning, didn't I? What did you promise me back then? You promised to teach me everything, right? You'd help me open the shop, make samples and stuff, right? And all these materials, you said you'd get them for me. I can pay for that myself, but you should at least give me some."

The shop owner shook his head and said, "A sample demonstration will definitely cost extra. I'll have to close the shop for several days. If I don't charge, I'll go bankrupt. It's not right for me to charge you tuition for learning the skills, is it? I haven't been holding back what I should have taught you, have I?"

"Did I stop you from practicing back and forth? All that oil, sugar, rice, and noodles—it all costs money, doesn't it? How much butter did you use? Right? I tried my best; I didn't hold back anything I was supposed to teach. I can't control how well you learn it, right?"

Zheng Xiaoqiu said, "Yes, I've been learning how to use the tools, so that's only right. How can I learn if I don't use the tools? It's not a waste, is it? We agreed that you would help me open the shop, and you promised."

The boss said, "I did agree, but how much tuition did you give me, my brother? I have to close the shop for several days to help out. Nanfen is so far away, and it will take three or four days to go back and forth and close the shop."

"If I leave, the shop will have to close, and I can't bear that loss myself, can I? Then I'll refund your tuition, and you can give me the money for the oil, sugar, flour, eggs, cream, and stuff you used. It'll be as if I never taught you, okay?" He flicked his cigarette ash and looked at Zheng Xiaoqiu with a grin.

Zheng Xiaoqiu said, "How can you talk like that? How can you pretend you never taught me?"

Chen Degang pulled Zheng Xiaoqiu aside and said, "Don't argue, don't argue. Boss, don't say that. You see, he learned from you, didn't he? We don't have much money. Opening a shop isn't easy, and we don't know what the future holds, right? You should still help him."

He's clearly the type of person whose mind works faster than his mouth; it feels like his language can't keep up with his thoughts, and he stumbles a bit when he speaks, needing gestures to fill in the gaps.

"We don't necessarily want Liangzi to contribute money to help, but there has to be a reason for this, right? If you have anything to say, just say it, and we'll discuss it, okay? You can't say things like that."

The boss said, "Three thousand yuan, I'll stay for five days, is that okay?"

Zheng Xiaoqiu slammed her hand on the table: "Are you crazy? Do you even know how much three thousand is?"

Chen Degang waved his hand and said, "Liangzi, Liangzi, three thousand is a bit too much. Our monthly salary is only about a thousand yuan, and you've got three months' worth."

The boss pointed to the side and said, "Look at this. You know I learned it from the Wenzhou people in the city, right? I even took you to see it. They came to make a sample for me for just two days and charged me five thousand yuan. I had to go to Xiaojing's house to borrow the money, plus her uncle and everyone else chipped in."

"Opening a shop doesn't cost money, does it? You want to open a shop and make money without spending any? There's no such thing as a free lunch! Are you only thinking of yourself? Alright, I won't say anything more. Two thousand, that's the lowest I can go. If you don't want to give me two thousand, then forget it, do whatever you want."

Qin Xuemei leaned close to Xiao Hong's ear and whispered, "It doesn't taste good. Will anyone buy it like this?"

Xiao Hong nodded with a pout and said, "You can't tell the difference if you haven't been in contact with them before."

Qin Xuemei picked up a piece of cream with a small fork: "Look, it hardens when it's cold, doesn't it look like wax?"

Xiaohong said, "Yeah, it looks just like it. Our family used this at first too, and we even got scolded for it, with people saying we were just fooling people with wax."

Qin Xuemei took a sip of fruit juice: "Why? What gives you the right to insult me?"

Xiao Hong said, "That idiot ate the real wax on top. It was the peach-shaped one, that was real wax, it had a wick on it."

Qin Xuemei covered her mouth and laughed. Xiao Wei felt that Qin Xuemei seemed particularly happy today, but he didn't understand why. Anyway, it was good.

"Is she lying to me? Is she just trying to make me laugh?" Qin Xuemei asked Xiaowei.

Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "No, really. We argued for ages and almost smashed the counter. In the end, Li Wen called the police."

Qin Xuemei asked, "So what happened next?"

Xiao Wei said, "They did an experiment. They took a piece of whipped butter, left it in the snow for a while, brought it back for her to see, and then took out a candle and lit it. The police took her away. There are all kinds of people."

Qin Xuemei pushed the cake in front of her: "Why isn't his as delicious as ours?"

Xiao Wei said, "The baking method is different. This one is denser, like a honeycomb cake, so the cost is lower. The ingredients are all flour, sugar, eggs, and oil."

Qin Xuemei forked a piece of cake, looked at it, put it in her mouth, and said, "I want to learn how to make this too. Can I bake it at home?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay. I'll teach you when we get back."

there.

Liu Xiaodong said, "Alright, stop arguing. If you want to do business, you have to be willing to invest money. The boss has a point. Two thousand it is. They've been closed for several days."

Zheng Xiaoqiu said, "You have to give me some of that box, including the coloring and additives. Is this okay?"

The shopkeeper said, "Okay, I'll get you some. These aren't anything expensive, just a hundred or two in total. The most expensive thing is the emulsifier; I'll get you a whole bucket of that, it'll last you a while."

Zheng Xiaoqiu asked, "Where's the cake box?"

The shopkeeper said, "That set costs two or three yuan. Do you think you can get enough from me? Is that even possible?"

Zheng Xiaoqiu said, "Okay, then I don't want the box. Can you give me one set of your original cake molds? You have several sets anyway."

The shopkeeper licked his lips, thought for a moment, and said, "I'm truly speechless. A set of those things made from thin iron would only cost a hundred or so yuan. Fine, here you go. If I ever take on any more apprentices, I'll get myself hit by a car. Seriously, I'm impressed. You don't need me to bring the soybean oil and sugar, right?"

Chen Degang chuckled and said, "Okay, okay, that's settled then. We'll call you when our place is ready, and then you can come over, alright?"

The boss said, "Okay, a few days in advance, a week in advance. I need to prepare too, since we'll be closed for several days."

Liu Xiaodong stood up, dusted himself off, and asked Xiao Wei, "Is there anything else?"

Xiao Wei said, "It's okay."

Liu Xiaodong asked, "Want to come together?"

Xiao Hong said, "Let's go, we're full. Brother Wang, are you full?"

Wang Jiwei finished his fruit juice, put down the cup and said, "That's enough, just have a little something to tide me over, this stuff is too sweet."

One-third of a 32 cake is still left.

Xiao Hong took out the money to pay the bill, but Liu Xiaodong said, "I'll pay, I'll pay."

Xiao Wei smiled and said, "It's not a big deal. You can pay for dinner tonight."

Liu Xiaodong said, "Okay, it's something I should have paid for anyway."

One hundred and forty-four, they collected one hundred. As everyone left the store, Chen Degang asked, "How much for a cup of fruit juice?"

Xiao Hong said, "Eight yuan."

Chen Degang scratched his head: "Damn, this is outrageous! Eight cups for 64 grams, can we even use a third of the bag?"

Liu Xiaodong said, "Come on, people aren't making money from their shops? Are you trying to emulate Lei Feng?"

Chen Degang curled his lip: "You heartless capitalists."

Liu Xiaodong said, "Fine, you're not shady. Let's see how much you sell it for in the future. If you're so capable, why don't you just give it away for free instead of making a profit?"

Chen Degang thought for a moment and said, "I'll charge at most five yuan. It's just for boiling some water, five yuan is fine."

Little Red asked, "Where are we going?"

Liu Xiaodong looked around and said, "How about we go sing karaoke? Let's go to a karaoke bar. My place is too small, and the song selection isn't as complete as other places."

Liu Bin said, "Then we might as well go play cards somewhere else. What's the point of singing?"

(End of this chapter)