After Lin Jing and Tigerhead finished discussing tomorrow’s lessons, it was already getting late.
They had been so busy that they had ended up putting off their visit to inspect the workshop at Afu Square. The three young proprietors present could not help feeling worried, their brows furrowed.
After Liang Peilan finished checking the accounts, she looked up at her three anxious partners and said, “Around noon, Sparrow happened to pass by the shop and said she had time today, so she was going to supervise things at the workshop. With her there, nothing should go wrong.”
Only then did the others relax and finally agree to go home.
After Lord Han rose and left, Shen Zhongming also took Tigerhead and Qi Lang with him as he bade them farewell. The shop immediately seemed much quieter and more spacious.
After resting for a short while, everyone briskly got to work again, cleaning up the day’s mess. The floors had to be swept, the tables, chairs, and stove wiped down, and the back kitchen still needed to be tidied. Lin Wu carefully checked whether they had enough of the ingredients required for the next day.
Once everything was in order, the sky had darkened further. Lin Wu rubbed her neck, feeling soreness in every bone. She had been busy on her feet all day, far more exhausting than usual.
She took out several red paper packets she had prepared earlier and walked to the dining area. Seeing everyone there, she smiled and said, “You’ve all worked hard today. It’s the first time the shop has been this lively, and we owe it to every one of you for taking such good care of things inside and out. Thanks to you, we got through the day smoothly without any mishaps. Here’s a little bonus for everyone. I hope our shop will prosper day after day, with business booming and everything going smoothly.”
Mrs. Sun was not shy about it. She wiped her hands on her skirt, then accepted the packet with a beaming smile. “Shopkeeper Lin, you’re too kind. It makes us happy and gives us peace of mind to work somewhere with such thriving business.”
Fourth Sister He had initially been somewhat reserved and wanted to refuse, but seeing how frank Mrs. Sun was, she accepted hers with both hands as well and politely expressed her thanks.
Liang Peilan watched eagerly until it was finally her turn. She accepted the packet and tucked it into her clothes. “Thank you, Shopkeeper Lin.”
Even Lin Jing received one. Putting on an exaggeratedly solemn expression, the little boy held out both hands to accept it and even bent at the waist. “Thank you, Shopkeeper Lin!”
The way he addressed her as “Shopkeeper Lin” made Lin Wu burst out laughing.
After locking up the shop, Lin Wu and Lin Jing headed toward Clear Water Alley. Smoke from cooking fires drifted through the streets, and only when Lin Wu smelled it did she realize how hungry she was.
Little Shopkeeper Lin Jing was still absorbed in the day’s business, chattering away with endless questions.
“How much money did we make today?”
“Did we sell all the wontons and rice noodles? I saw that all the baskets were empty.”
“And there’s more! I think some people might be like Tigerhead—they want rice noodles and wontons both. So we could sell rice-noodle wontons!”
Holding his little hand, Lin Wu answered each question in turn. All in all, thanks to the fine spring weather and their regular customers bringing in new ones, the first day after expanding the shop had been lively and enjoyable for both hosts and guests.
The only problem was that once business picked up, everyone found themselves unable to keep up.
On the surface, everything seemed well organized. Mrs. Sun handled steaming and boiling in the back kitchen, Fourth Sister He took care of the pancakes and rice pockets, and Liang Peilan managed the counter and the accounts, each person doing her own job. But Lin Wu had seen clearly from beside the stove that Mrs. Sun had truly been run off her feet all day.
She had to keep an eye on the fire, making sure the steamed buns went into and came out of the baskets on time. She had to watch whether there was enough water and enough bowls and chopsticks. Most importantly, whenever customers in the dining area placed orders, she had to pull herself away to carry the food out to them. If they ran short of water or firewood, she also had to go outside and call for peddlers to deliver more. She had been rushing back and forth inside and out, barely able to rest for even a moment.
Fortunately, Mrs. Sun had plenty of energy and great strength, so she had just barely managed to keep everything in order without any mistakes.
Lin Wu therefore thought it would be best to hire someone specifically to wait tables and carry dishes. Such a person could also fetch water and call for firewood when needed. That way, Mrs. Sun could stay in the back kitchen and focus on the stove instead of constantly running between the front and back.
Still, whether they should hire another worker would depend on how much they had earned that day. If their income turned out to be no better than before the expansion, then they would have gone through all that effort for nothing.
Thinking about it, Lin Wu realized that she had been running around the shop all day and still had no time to rest at home that night. She had to plan and calculate every little matter concerning the business. As Lord Han and Old Master Shen had said, running a business was no simple task. There was a great deal going on behind the scenes.
Under Lin Jing’s eager gaze, Lin Wu lit the oil lamp on the table, took out the abacus and account book, and began checking the figures one by one. After listening to Lord Han and Shen Zhongming’s explanations earlier that day, the little boy had become exceptionally interested in the accounts. He leaned his small head over and stared at them without blinking.
Lin Wu thought of things to tell him and chatted on as she worked, almost as if she were talking to herself.
“Now that we have dining-in, our shop is much livelier. Some customers eat their wontons or rice noodles and then take a few steamed buns or pancakes with them when they leave. Our Twin Wood Pancake Shop is no longer just a little stall where people buy something and leave right away. We’re a proper eatery now, and even the number of customers buying food to take home has increased.”
Lin Jing puffed out his little chest with pride. “Twin Wood Pancake Shop is a big shop now!”
“That’s right. A big shop!” Lin Wu agreed with a smile.
But the expenses of a big shop rose just as quickly. With the additional storefront came another thirty copper cash in rent each day.
Lin Wu continued working the abacus, the beads clicking softly as she reported the figures to the little proprietor beside her. “Now that we offer dining-in, with hot water and hot food, the stove burns almost all day, so we use much more firewood. Washing bowls and chopsticks and cooking wontons and rice noodles also requires far more water. And of course, we’re buying considerably more ingredients.”
“What?” The moment Lin Jing heard that, his little face fell. He rested his chin on the edge of the table and said in a muffled voice, “Then… does that mean we’ll earn less?”
Lin Wu did not answer immediately. Her fingers moved back and forth across the abacus as she quietly recited the figures. At last, her fingers came to a stop.
“After deducting all those costs, today’s profit comes to roughly one string and two hundred copper cash.”
“One string and two hundred copper cash?!” Lin Jing cried softly, jerking upright. “We can earn that much in a single day? We’re going to be rich!”
“That’s right. Business is doing well.” Lin Wu smiled too, stroking his little head. “Everyone worked hard today. We can’t simply fob them off with a few red packets as a bonus. We should raise their wages as well.”
Lin Jing nodded, full of swagger. “Everyone’s going to get rich together!”
They had agreed a while back that wages would be paid once a month, on the day before their monthly rest day, rather than daily, since that was more convenient. The red packets given out today were merely extra rewards. But now that the shop had grown and the workload had increased, their wages would have to go up too. Their employment contracts would need to be rewritten as well.
At present, Mrs. Sun earned eighty copper cash a day, while Liang Peilan earned sixty. When Fourth Sister He had first arrived, her skills had still been unpolished, so she had also been paid sixty.
Now Fourth Sister He could independently handle the pancakes and rice pockets, while Liang Peilan, though young, had never made a mistake taking orders or keeping the accounts, both of which were vital. Mrs. Sun, meanwhile, had taken on nearly all the physically demanding work. So, for the time being, Lin Wu decided to raise each of their daily wages by twenty copper cash.
Yes, that would do for now. This meant that of the additional three hundred copper cash in daily profit, sixty would have to be set aside for the increased wages. If they hired another worker specifically to wait tables and carry dishes, paying seventy or eighty copper cash a day, their expenses would rise even further.
By the time they finished calculating everything, the shop had indeed grown larger and livelier, but the surplus in their hands was not nearly as much as they had imagined.
Lin Jing was counting on his fingers beside her, muttering, “I thought the shop would make lots and lots more money now that it’s so much bigger. I didn’t expect that earning more money would also mean spending more.”
Lin Wu smiled. “We’re short-handed at the moment, and we only have a limited number of tables and chairs for dine-in customers. If we hire a waiter, we can set up two more small tables outside the shop and serve more customers. Then we’ll naturally earn a little more.”
She was actually quite satisfied. Even after factoring in the cost of hiring someone, they would still earn about a hundred more copper coins a day than before. A hundred copper coins was nearly the higher end of a strong laborer’s daily wage. If she worked those hours herself, wouldn’t that amount to doubling her pay? She thought it was a pretty good deal.
With that in mind, she counted out another five copper coins from the cash box, took Lin Jing’s little hand, and placed them in his palm. “This is Shopkeeper A Jing’s wages for today.”
“But I went to school today and didn’t help at the shop. Besides, I already got a red envelope.” Lin Jing even pulled out his own red envelope and waved it around.
“After school, didn’t you help greet your classmates? Tigerhead and the others came because of you. That was a great help to the shop. If you did the work, you should be paid.”
Lin Jing thought that made perfect sense and happily accepted the money. “I’ll give a little of it to Tigerhead, too. He helped invite his classmates.”
“A Jing really is thoughtful. I forgot about that.” Lin Wu wrapped another five copper coins in red paper and placed them in Lin Jing’s hand. “This is Tigerhead’s pay. I’ll trouble Shopkeeper A Jing to give it to him tomorrow.”
“Okay!”
Lin Jing couldn’t help recalling how Lin Wu had handed out red envelopes to everyone at the shop. Now he would be giving Tigerhead his wages too!
Once they had finished balancing the accounts, the overall conclusion was that the first day after the Shuangmu Pastry Shop expanded had gone smoothly, with gratifying takings. Although they were short-handed and their expenses had increased, they had nevertheless taken a major step forward.
Early the next morning, Lin Wu went out carrying a lantern.
The sky was still dark, but the streets were already awake.
The shops on both sides of the street were preparing to open, while vendors carrying shoulder poles streamed past, hurrying toward the morning market.
The starch-sheet shop was not far from the morning market. It was an old establishment that had been open for more than a decade, and its proprietor’s surname was Li. The shop made its starch sheets fresh to order. They were uniform in thickness, resilient, and pleasantly chewy. Because the shop supplied large quantities, its prices were fair as well. Many food shops and stalls were regular customers.
When they reached the shop, they saw Shopkeeper Li behind the counter, settling an account with a customer. The customer was carrying a large bamboo basket filled to the brim with neatly stacked starch sheets. After paying, he turned and walked out, brushing past Lin Wu and Mrs. Sun. Judging by the amount he had purchased, he was probably the owner of some food stall.
“Shopkeeper Li, I’ll trouble you for the same amount as yesterday. We’ll need both mung-bean starch sheets and rice starch sheets,” Lin Wu said as she stepped forward.
Shopkeeper Li looked up and saw Lin Wu. A smile immediately spread across his face, though he seemed much more enthusiastic than usual. “Oh, Shopkeeper Lin, you’re here! And so early, as always. Come, come inside and rest your feet. Sit down and have some water.”
Lin Wu’s expression did not change, but she began calculating inwardly. She had been buying starch sheets from this shop for quite some time and was fairly familiar with Shopkeeper Li. Since she was always in a hurry to return and open her own shop, they had always paid and exchanged goods without further fuss. When had he ever been this courteous?
Without revealing anything, she merely said, “There’s no need to stand on ceremony, Shopkeeper Li. We still have to hurry back and open the shop. The starch sheets should already be prepared, shouldn’t they?”
Shopkeeper Li let out a heavy sigh and put on a troubled expression. “Alas, Shopkeeper Lin, that’s exactly what I wanted to speak to you about. I’m truly sorry, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to supply you with the usual amount of starch sheets today.”
Lin Wu frowned. “What happened? Did you make too few today?”
“It isn’t that we made too few…” Shopkeeper Li lowered his voice and leaned closer. “The workshop at home—the useless thing—has run into a bit of trouble. To be honest, the starch sheets we’ve made these past few days haven’t been right. They either crumble too easily, or they turn sticky when boiled and don’t have that smooth, springy texture. I’ve thought it over again and again, and it must be that the batch of beans we bought a few days ago was defective and ruined everything!”
The beans were defective…
Lin Wu thought of the customer who had just carried away such a large quantity of starch sheets. She understood at once. The problem was probably not with the beans themselves—but it was certainly related to them.
