146 Chapter 146: Selling Water for Profit?
Madam Liu nodded.
“It was the family who owned this courtyard dwelling previously,” she replied.
Qin Xiaoyao was shocked.
“Selling water to earn money?” she asked.
At the same time, she imagined herself standing by the well, selling water and collecting money.
It seemed like… this money was very easy to earn…
“Yes!” Madam Liu replied.
Seeing that her daughter-in-law seemed to be tempted, she continued, “At that time, this family was selling a bucket of water for ten copper coins, and everyone in the whole alley was furious. But there’s no other way. Since their own house lacked water, they could only come here to buy.”
“Although they earned money, they also offended the people nearby.”
“During the great drought, no one said anything. But after the incident, many people complained. In the next few years, almost no other family had any contact with this family.”
Madam Liu looked at Qin Xiaoyao. “When we first moved in, didn’t you say that some neighbors were very cold to us? This is one of the reasons.”
Qin Xiaoyao was stunned.
“Ten copper coins for a bucket of water is indeed a little expensive. However, this is a transaction between willing parties, and the family didn’t force them to buy it. It’s a little unreasonable for them to be angry, right?”
“We can’t just ask them to give people water for free, right?” Qin Xiaoyao didn’t quite agree with Aunt Sun’s words.
“They don’t have to give it away for free, but they were neighbors. How could they do that?” Madam Liu said.
“At that time, other places in town were also short of water. Some families with wells also sold their excess water, but the price was generally only five or six copper coins per bucket.”
“At that time, someone came to this house and told them about this. In the end, the family threw him out directly. The wife of the family head also said that it was up to everyone to buy or not.”
“At that time, all the households were short of water. Even if they could go to other places to buy water, they might not be able to get a place in the queue. And the trip back and forth would also take up time. Therefore, most people still gritted their teeth and came here to buy. But they also bore a grudge after that.”
Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes flickered.
So, it was not that she wasn’t allowed to sell water to make money, but she had to take a light touch?
“Mother, then what you mean…” Qin Xiaoyao looked at Madam Liu.
Madam Liu looked at the well in the courtyard.
After a while, she turned around to look at her daughter-in-law.
“You’re in charge of the house, so I’ll listen to you. I just happened to hear about it and wanted to give you a reminder.”
Qin Xiaoyao was so amused that she laughed.
“Alright! I understand now, Mother!” She smiled and tugged at Madam Liu’s arm.
She led Madam Liu to the kitchen.
They were just in time to see Song Yun and Wang Xiaomei coming out of the kitchen with the dishes for dinner.
Thus, the Song family began their dinner.
The weather was hot, so the Song family’s dinner was relatively simple.
There were congee, pancakes, and some cold dishes.
Speaking of cold dishes, they were the most popular dishes in the Song family recently.
As there was no lack of seasoning at home, Qin Xiaoyao told her family about the method of seasoning cold dishes after trying it once.
Cold dishes were easy to make. Whether it was a meat dish or a vegetable dish, as long as the seasoning was mixed in, the taste was refreshing and delicious.
Therefore, the Song family would make cold dishes practically every night.
Everyone liked them too.
Even Song Que would eat two more pancakes or an extra bowl of porridge when he saw cold dishes.
After dinner, Madam Liu and Wang Xiaomei washed the dishes.
The rest of the people waited for the two of them to finish up the kitchen chores before they went out to the streets together.
Qin Xiaoyao supported Song Que and was soon left behind.
Seeing that Madam Liu and the rest were almost out of their sight, Qin Xiaoyao wanted to stop them but was stopped by Song Que.
“Why are you pulling me? If we don’t call out to them, we’ll lose sight of them.” Qin Xiaoyao looked at Song Que.
A look of speechless helplessness flashed across Song Que’s eyes.
“Mother deliberately left us behind, so it’s useless to shout.”
Qin Xiaoyao was caught by surprise.
Then she recalled something.
Immediately, a look of embarrassment flashed across her face.
“Oh,” she replied sullenly.
Seeing Qin Xiaoyao’s expression, Song Que’s mood lifted.
Then, he asked Qin Xiaoyao, “You want to walk with Mother and the others?”
“No. It’s fine if it’s just the two of us,” Qin Xiaoyao said quickly.
A smile appeared on the man’s face.
“Let’s go then,” he said and limped forward.
“Wait for me!” Qin Xiaoyao laughed as well and quickly went to help Song Que along.
...
She caught up to him and supported him.
“By the way, Hubby, I have something to tell you,” Qin Xiaoyao said with a beaming smile.
“Yes?” The man was in a good mood, and he leaned onto Qin Xiaoyao without any reservation.
“It’s regarding the well in our courtyard…”
Following that, Qin Xiaoyao told Song Que about the situation of the well at the end of the street, as well as what Madam Liu had told her.
“Based on this situation, I’m afraid that in a few days, the town will face a shortage of water. Do we sell the water in our well? If we’re going to sell it, what price should we set?” Qin Xiaoyao asked.
After all, this courtyard dwelling was bought by her attractive husband. She wanted to discuss the matter of selling water with him.
“What do you think?” Unexpectedly, Song Que did not reply but asked her in return.
“Sell it. We can’t use up all the water in the well anyway.”
“Also, there was a great drought five years ago, so there should be many people nearby who know about our well. Even if we don’t sell it, I’m afraid someone will come looking for us.”
“It’s just that we have to consider the price.”
...
Song Que nodded.
“How much are you going to set?” he asked.
“How about four copper coins per bucket?” Qin Xiaoyao replied.
“Ten copper coins is too expensive. Although we can still sell at this price, we will inevitably incur the hatred of the people around us just like the previous family.”
“If the market price is five or six copper coins, our price of four copper coins is not much lower. We can also gain a good reputation.”
Song Que turned his head to look at Qin Xiaoyao.
“Set it at three copper coins,” he said.
Qin Xiaoyao was very surprised.
“Three copper coins? Isn’t that too low?” She didn’t quite agree.
Looking at Qin Xiaoyao’s expression of heartache, Song Que wanted to laugh.
“It’s not low. The water in the well did not cost us anything. It is already a pleasant surprise to be able to sell it for money.”
“Since you want to do the neighbors a favor, why not give them a discount of one more copper coin and let everyone understand our family’s good intentions.”
“Other families are selling for five or six copper coins, but we’re selling for three copper coins. Who will have any objections?”
“Even if someone gets jealous, other people will help to teach them a lesson. Do you believe it?”
Qin Xiaoyao thought about it and nodded.
Song Que smiled slightly and continued, “In addition, we have to set another rule. Our water is only sold to the people in the alley and the street outside, and each household can only buy four buckets a day.”
Qin Xiaoyao was quite puzzled.
“This way, they will feel that we are really taking care of them and not just selling more water,” Song Que added.
Qin Xiaoyao suddenly understood.
“This is… wonderful! Only by comparison can we show our benevolence. Hubby’s idea is good!” she immediately praised him.
He certainly lived up to the expectation of being the base’s brains. The Prophet was indeed very smart.
“This way, Mother shouldn’t have to worry about our family’s relationship with the neighbors turning sour,” Qin Xiaoyao said with a laugh.
“I’m afraid that not only will the relationship not turn sour, but it will get better.”
It just so happened that if their relationship was good, she could also buy some chicken eggs, duck eggs, and so on from them and sell some goods at the same time.
Although they lived in town, each family had their own courtyard, and there were many families who raised chickens and ducks.