Chapter 82 Chit-chat analysis
In the evening, the sun gradually sets, and an orange-red afterglow appears on the horizon.
In the backyard of the inn, a group of men gathered around a well. The blade of the knife went back and forth on the whetstone, making a crisp friction sound. Butcher Zhao scooped water from the wooden basin, poured it on the knife, and picked up the knife to check the effect of the sharpening. He gently touched the blade with his fingers to feel its sharpness, and the blade flashed with a cold light.
Butcher Zhao stood up with the knife in hand and stepped aside. The eldest son, Zhao Zhuang, took out his butcher knife, squatted down, and placed the knife flat on the whetstone. He held the handle tightly with both hands, pushed the blade back and forth with force, and from time to time scooped water to rinse the knife to check whether the blade was sharp enough.
Several people were squatting by the well, all working hard to sharpen their tools. They had kitchen knives, sickles, hatchets, axes, hoes, machetes, and everything else.
There were only a few whetstones, and after dinner, the men chatted while queuing up, waiting to sharpen their weapons before returning to their rooms to sleep.
Lin Youcai's family of four had enough to eat and drink, and they were chatting in the house while enjoying the heating and drinking hot water.
The family of four had a rare opportunity to relax and chat without being disturbed.
Lin Zisu patted her belly. Today was the day she had the most satisfying and best meal since she came to this world.
In the morning, they had noodles and meat buns in the East Market, and at noon they bought a bunch of snacks in the West Market. In the evening, at Lin Youcai's repeated invitations, more than 20 people from the Lin family went to a restaurant.
We went to an ordinary small restaurant and had home-cooked meals with both vegetables and meat, in large portions and at affordable prices.
At first, Old Lady Wang and Old Man Lin refused to go no matter what. But after they came back from dinner, the corners of their mouths, which were harder to suppress than AK, revealed their feelings.
Lin Zisu enjoyed her meal today. The environment changes people and now she is very easy to satisfy.
Shen Xianglan put down the thermos cup and said, "I heard that you are selling candles today. Whatever price the buyer asks, you agree to sell it for?"
Lin Youcai was lying on the sofa like Ge You. "Well, let others make the most money so that the candles can be sold. We are just passing by here and we are unfamiliar with the place, so we should sell the candles as soon as possible. If you want to make the most money, it is not enough to have good products. If you don't have background and power, you are afraid that the products will be gone without anyone noticing, and you will be gone too. Most of the money we made in Baoyue Building today, we will spend it in Baoyue Building again."
Lin Zisu: "We can only be safe if they can make money comfortably. We can also be regarded as getting what we need. We got grain, salt, and silver. The cost of candles is labor, and labor is the least valuable nowadays. This money is free."
Shen Xianglan: "That's right."
"Then why do you say that the candles were bought by our family and that we took them out to exchange for money when we were in trouble, and that we didn't make them?" Lin Xianwen suddenly had an idea. "If you say that we made the candles ourselves, they will force us to tell you how to make them."
Lin Zisu wiggled her fingers, "It's one of the reasons, but not the main reason."
Lin Youcai looked at his daughter with amusement.
"Candles are expensive, and it's a highly profitable industry. Ordinary people can't get their hands on them, just like salt, which is either in the hands of officials or aristocratic families. Don't think that the ancient times were backward. There were countless good things in ancient times, but they were just in the hands of a few people. The word monopoly is not new. It's the same in modern society. What we can see, know, and use are all allowed to be seen, known, and owned by others." Lin Zisu raised an eyebrow at the elder brother, "After everyone made candles and sold them for a good price, they thought they had a skill to make money. They don't take the nobles, aristocratic families, and wealthy families seriously."
Lin Xianwen: "If we knew that the candles were made by ourselves, and that we made them on the roadside, we would be like a three-year-old child walking on the street with the Heshi Bi in his arms..."
Lin Youcai: "That's right. Another point is that most candles nowadays are made of rosin wax, beeswax, and white worm wax. Rosin wax produces a lot of smoke, and beeswax dissolves quickly. White worm wax produces less smoke and dissolves more slowly, so it is the most expensive. Beeswax is hard to find, so it ranks second. Rosin wax is the cheapest. Ordinary people can't afford the cheapest ones, so they basically use oil lamps."
Lin Xianwen: "White worm wax?"
"White wax is a natural wax, a kind of scale insect that is unique to our land. Their male white wax larvae secrete white wax on privet trees or ash trees. In August, the trees with white wax insects are snow-white, and the branches are all covered with wax. In ancient times, people have been breeding white wax insects to produce wax, just like raising silkworms to collect silk.
Is there any wax made from Chinese tallow tree fruit nowadays? I don't remember it. The white wax made from white worm wax and Chinese tallow wax looks similar. We didn't say anything when we sold the wax.
We sell wax and are considered candle dealers or selling candles at home, but it doesn't matter. They won't say anything if they can make money. But if they know that we make the candles ourselves, that's another matter. It affects their interests.
We can’t let others know that we made the wax. I told the village head about the seriousness of the situation yesterday.” Lin Youcai put his hand to his neck and made a scratching gesture.
The three of them said they understood.
"What about instant noodles? A bag of five packets, two bags of ten packets of instant noodles, sold for 100 taels?! This..." Shen Xianglan held the silver ingot and felt incredible that such cheap instant noodles were sold at such a high price here.
Lin Youcai: "The price was beyond my expectation. But I realized after thinking about it that the valuable thing was not the noodles, but the seasoning packets. The seasonings at that time were very simple, including salt, oil, soy sauce, and the farmers' homemade soybean paste. Cinnamon, star anise, bay leaves and other spices were traditional Chinese medicines and were not popular in stir-fried meat dishes. They were also expensive. Ordinary people were lucky to have salt."
Lin Zisu: "I always put some salt in plain noodles, but when I suddenly had a bowl of spicy beef instant noodles, my tongue was so fragrant that I wanted to lick the bowl clean. I can understand why instant noodle seasoning packets are so expensive! I endured it all the way. If the instant noodles hadn't smelled so strong, I would have finished them long ago."
Lin Youcai: “…Me too.”
Lin Xianwen: “Me too.”
Shen Xianglan coughed strategically.
"Luckily, I stocked up quite a lot when the online store was having a promotion. If I could sell them all... I would instantly become a wealthy woman! Hehehe... Hehehehehe..." Lin Zisu started laughing as she spoke.
Shen Xianglan slapped her daughter on the arm, interrupting her sweet dream.
Lin Youcai frowned and said helplessly: "Did you overlook the most important information..."
Lin Zisu: "I haven't forgotten. The one in the south... is called Heguo..."
Shen Xianglan: "This name... is a bit strange, which character is it?"
Lin Youcai: "Shopkeeper Cao said it was Hekouhe."
Lin Xianwen: "Heguo, the "He" in "peace"? He must be a time traveler..."
Lin Zisu: "Their instant noodles are sold everywhere, so they are definitely not from this era! I don't know what the situation is in this country, and what role this time-travelling colleague plays in this country."
Lin Youcai: "Manager Cao said that many people were going to Heguo. I know in Nan County that those people were going to the south. Could they be going to Heguo?"