133 Selling Candied Haws
“Grandma, we’re not selling the fruits directly. We’re selling candied haws and something called preserved fruits.”
“Yes, yes, yes. The candied haws are made with sugar from Qin Huai next door. We’ll produce the fruits and get Fourth Aunt to help make the candied haws. Then, we’ll sell them in town.”
“Yes, yes, yes. When the preserved fruits are ready, we’ll sell them too.”
“Also, we’re going to find more wild fruits to grow. When the time comes, we’ll plant more on the mountain. Perhaps when our business improves in the future, our fruits won’t be enough!”
Everyone spoke one after another and roughly explained the situation to Old Madam Wang.
After Old Madam Wang heard this, she did not splash cold water on them, but she did not agree easily.
The grandchildren were originally in high spirits, but when they saw that Old Madam Wang did not relent, they were a little discouraged.
The impatient Wang Sanlang even asked, “Grandma, why don’t you agree? We won’t trouble you!”
“Business is not as simple as you think. Have you gone to town to take a look? Even if it’s just a small town in Blue River Town, there are more than three shops selling candied haws. You’re going to snatch business from them. Everyone is used to eating candied haws from those three shops. Is it really that easy to sell them?
Moreover, how can you guarantee that your candied haws will definitely taste better than others’? If they don’t taste good, how can anyone buy them? How can you do long-term business?
Also, you said that you want to do it with Qin Huai, the kid next door, and he will give you the sugar. This means that you want to cooperate. The premise of cooperation is that this matter is profitable. But what if you lose money? Do you need to compensate him? If you don’t compensate him, will he suffer for nothing?
Have you thought about how you’ll bear the consequences of failure?”
This was the first time Old Madam Wang had spoken so much to her grandchildren. She did not mock them because she had already realized that these grandchildren really wanted to do something.
However, these children were too young. Naturally, their thoughts were not that comprehensive.
Old Madam Wang’s words indeed had a calming effect. The grandchildren of the Wang Family fell silent.
That’s right. They only thought of the prospect of success. But what if they failed? Could they really withstand the consequences of failure? Could they really handle it well?
If they had to ask the adults to help clean up their mess later, wouldn’t they have done something wrong?
Seeing that her brothers had become dejected, Little Ah Yu roughly knew that they had been dealt a blow.
“But we have to try before we know.” Little Ah Yu said word by word, “It’s just like when we eat every day. I don’t know if that dish and rice are hot or warm, so I have to try before I know. Just because I’m afraid of the heat, I won’t not eat. Instead, I’ll blow on it before eating. Can’t we do things like this?”
Wang Erlang was enlightened. “That’s right. If we’re afraid of failure before we even start, we’ll never succeed. Even if we might fail, let’s be prepared first. In that case, we won’t fall very badly even if we fail, right, Grandma?”
Wang Dalang also continued, “Grandma didn’t object to us doing business, right? She’s just reminding us to do it well. We can’t treat it as a game.”
Wang Wulang muttered in a low voice, “We’re prepared to do it seriously.”
Although they were young, they also wanted to share their family’s worries. They had planted wild fruits casually, but they had only decided what to do after discussing it for half a day. The idea of doing business was something that they had thought of at the spur of the moment, but they would not give up so easily.
Seeing that her grandsons were quite determined, Old Madam Wang waved her hand and said, “Alright, since you’ve made up your mind, go ahead and do it. But I’ll say this first. You can’t delay the work at home, especially the adults’ official business. You have to do what you should do well first. Don’t think that you can hide and be lazy just because you have a business.”
Before her grandsons could be happy, Old Madam Wang added, “Also, you can’t delay your academics and martial arts. Go and discuss with your teachers how to arrange the time. No matter what your aptitude is in the future, you have to take the exam. Everyone has two chances. If you really can’t pass, you can think of other ways to find success in life. Do you understand?”
The grandchildren looked at each other, not knowing what Grandma meant by this rule, but they still understood that Grandma would not harm them.
“We understand!”
With Old Madam Wang’s approval, it was much faster to advance.
The children were preparing in a hurry. Liu Shi originally planned to teach them how to brew sugar syrup, but these children were really not very talented. Perhaps it was because they were too young and could not control the fire well.
After wasting a lot of sugar, Old Madam Wang said, “Alright, go and help them with this since it’s their first time. If you can really make a profit, let them study the technique themselves!”
She did not give the newly bought sugar she had bought for the children to practice with. Instead, she used Qin Huai’s. The early-stage practice materials were also considered an expense of their business collaboration.
Old Madam Wang planned to use the sugar at home to compensate Qin Huai if their business failed.
However, the children did not know about this.
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
Old man Wang made a few bamboo baskets for them. The preserved wild fruits that they wanted to sell were all laid in them. The fruits used to make the candied haws would have to be harvested fresh from the fields.
That night, the children yawned as they began to make candied haws. They could not boil sugar syrup, but they could still help Liu Shi with the other tasks. Even Little Ah Yu was helping wash and wipe the fruits at the side. She was very busy.
Among the group, Little Ah Yu was the most energetic because she rested in the spatial pocket at night.
By midnight, they had made more than 30 candied haws. The children endured their cravings and did not eat a single bite.
When dawn broke, they were prepared to go to town to sell the candied haws.
The children woke up early and were all yawning. Wang Dalang said, “This time, only Third Brother and Fourth Brother will go with me. The others will go back to sleep. We’ll be back in the afternoon.”
Little Ah Yu raised her hand high. “Big Brother, Big Brother, I want to go. I want to go!”
She specially asked Meatball to wake her up so that she could follow them. In the end, she was not allowed to go now. That was too sad!
Wang Dalang originally wanted to insist on his arrangements, but when he saw Little Ah Yu’s pitiful eyes, he really could not refuse. Who asked his sister to be too cute?
“We might not be able to take care of you then,” Wang Dalang said. “Doing business is very boring.”
Little Ah Yu shook her head. “Ah Yu isn’t afraid of boredom. Ah Yu can also help sell candied haws. Ah Yu is very powerful!”
She raised her small fist and seemed like she was cheering herself on, making Wang Dalang’s heart tremble.
Wang Sanlang and Wang Silang pleaded at the side, “Big Brother, let Sister Ah Yu go. With her by our side, perhaps our candied haws can really be sold!”
What if those customers saw how cute their sister was and bought the candied haws?
“Alright, alright, alright. Come with us.”
He had no choice. He really didn’t know how to refuse her.