If asked which ingredient goes best with fermented black beans, Qi Jiao would first recommend mud carp.
"In cold weather, when you're hungry, having a big bowl of steaming white rice and a piece of fermented black bean and mud carp is definitely the most wonderful and satisfying meal. There's nothing better than this humble can."
Mud carp is originally a ferocious fish.
Qi Jiao observed for a while and found that mud carp was not a popular fish here.
Sometimes when Pei Xia caught mud carp, he would rather release them.
Because mud carp has many small bones, it's not easy to sell.
People prefer sea bass, hairtail, pomfret, or ribbonfish.
When Pei Xia bought a big basket of mud carp from the fishermen at a low price as Qi Jiao suggested, a smile played on Qi Jiao's lips.
Seeing the lively mud carp in the basket, her eyes sparkled as if she had seen a fortune.
She believed that the canned mud carp that filled the supermarkets in the later generations would surely be very popular in this era.
In order to have her own shop as soon as possible, Qi Jiao was full of motivation.
She asked the three brothers of the Ye family to buy a set of stoneware for high - pressure dehydration for her.
Then she and Pei Xia went to the An family's workshop and took the stack of patterns she had drawn before.
The second shopkeeper examined them one by one and was overjoyed. He looked at Qi Jiao as if she were a precious treasure. "I wonder if Mrs. Qi would like to cooperate with our An family in the long term? We will surely treat you with the utmost sincerity."
Qi Jiao thought for a moment. "I'm afraid not. I have other things to do. I can only draw occasionally."
The second shopkeeper said regretfully, "An important person like you must be very busy. Otherwise, I really want to invite you to be our master craftsman."
Qi Jiao quickly waved her hand. "You're overpraising me, shopkeeper. I can only scribble. I'm not capable of such delicate craftsmanship."
The second shopkeeper smiled and raised the stack of drawings in his hand. "I'll take all these patterns. I'll give you this amount. What do you think?"
The second shopkeeper made a gesture. Qi Jiao was surprised but remained calm on the surface.
She slightly shook her head.
The second shopkeeper sighed and added a little more.
Qi Jiao glanced at Pei Xia but said nothing.
Pei Xia said, "To be honest with you, shopkeeper, my wife is in poor health. Because we've had a long - term relationship with the An family and she values our friendship, she managed to draw so many patterns in her busy schedule, and none of them are the same. If your sincerity is only this much, I think we'd better forget it."
The second shopkeeper was a middle - aged man with a round face and a round belly, but his features were quite shrewd. His chubby little hands could work the abacus so fast that it made people dizzy.
He didn't want to let go of the unique patterns drawn by Qi Jiao. He knew he should take a long - term view. What if there were opportunities for cooperation in the future?
So he asked his confidant to bring a small box with a pained look on his face.
The three of them were behind the screen. The second shopkeeper opened the box and said to Qi Jiao and Pei Xia with a smile, "I wonder if this amount will satisfy you two?"
There were three rows inside, with three gold coins neatly placed in each row.
There was also a layer of silver ingots under the gold coins.
It looked like there were more than a hundred taels.
Qi Jiao was excited. This was the power of art and knowledge payment!
In business terms, if things were analyzed in detail, Qi Jiao was sure that the An family's workshop would gain greater benefits from using her stack of patterns. Advertising was so important!
This was what she deserved.
Pei Xia also didn't expect the second shopkeeper to be so generous.
But in his heart, he thought that the patterns drawn by Jiao Niang were worth any sky - high price.
Qi Jiao was such a smart girl. She immediately closed the box and said calmly, "Thank you, second shopkeeper, for your kindness. As long as I draw new patterns in the future, I will send them to you immediately."
The second shopkeeper nodded repeatedly. "That's right, that's right."
Then Qi Jiao ordered three hundred small jars from the An family's workshop and replenished a large number of snack gift boxes and other packaging boxes.
The second shopkeeper told the shop assistants that from then on, Qi Jiao was the master pattern - drawer of the An family's workshop, though she wouldn't be stationed there regularly.
Since she was a long - term big customer, they naturally gave Qi Jiao a big discount.
Qi Jiao and Pei Xia looked at each other, both satisfied.
On the other side, Ye Yun had been active in the county town and found three shops for rent.
Just in time, Qi Jiao and Pei Xia came to the county town and took the opportunity to check out the location and environment of the shops.
Ye Yun's friend, nicknamed Shi Er, was with him.
Shi Er had been hanging around in the market all year. He had worked as a fortune - teller, a matchmaker, and a broker. His resume was very rich.
This time, when looking for shops, Ye Yun asked Shi Er to help find out.
True to his wide - ranging business experience, Shi Er found three places in just ten days.
The first one was on Yuchang Street, where many common people lived. There were two small shops with a shallow depth.
This used to be a pancake shop. But since the owner had made a fortune and opened a shop in the prefectural city, he no longer focused on Lingle County. The pancake - making apprentice he hired couldn't make the original flavor, so the business declined and the shop closed.
Shi Er had a cloth bag slung over his shoulder and said quickly, "Although this place is not very prosperous, it's in a residential area. If you sell food here, the business will surely be good."
"The original owner's surname is Chen. He owes me a favor. He said that if you really want to rent it, the annual rent will only be eighteen taels."
Qi Jiao and Pei Xia went inside to take a look. The house was quite old. The wall plaster, yellowed by the smoke, was cracked and pieces had fallen to the ground.
The lighting was not very good. There were only two wide - open doors.
Although the rent was acceptable, it was still a bit disappointing.
Pei Xia gently squeezed Qi Jiao's hand.
Qi Jiao didn't express her opinion. She just said to Shi Er with a smiling face, "Please lead us to the other two places, Brother Shi. Then I can make a decision."
Shi Er had never been spoken to so softly by such a beautiful woman.
Even though he was good at talking, he couldn't help softening his tone. He laughed and said, "We're all family. You don't need to be so polite, sister!"
Qi Jiao didn't notice. Only Pei Xia tightened his grip on her hand a little more.
Qi Jiao looked puzzled, while Ye Yun was snickering beside them.
The group ordered four bowls of scented drinks at a sweet - water stall by the roadside, took a short rest, and soon arrived at the second shop.
The second shop was located on Qing'an Avenue, where there were many shops. It was the most prosperous place in the county town.
As soon as Qi Jiao saw the huge gilded plaque that hadn't been removed yet, she felt a bit nervous.
The rent here must be extremely high. She wasn't sure if the little money she had earned could afford it.
Pei Xia saw that she was hesitating. Knowing her concerns, he said softly, "Let's go and have a look first. We'll talk about it after we see if it suits our needs."
Qi Jiao nodded. After the landlord came to open the door, she lifted her skirt and stepped inside.
The landlord's name was Zhang Yi. He was wearing a satin robe with a lot of silk pouches and other accessories hanging on his belt.
Zhang Yi had two small moustaches on his lips. He looked relaxed, with an air of weariness that came from a life of plenty.
After Qi Jiao and the others had finished looking around, he sat down on the armchair in the outer room, straightened his sleeves, and said bluntly, "To tell you the truth, I have no less than dozens of such shops. I have them in this county, in neighboring counties, and even a few in the prefectural city. Unfortunately, there aren't many people in my family, and there are no outstanding descendants. When I entrust the business to my servants, they all just muddle through."