21 The sales are quite good.

People always show more respect to those who demonstrate capability. Shopkeeper Niu was no exception.

In his eyes, Qin Jin had previously been just an ordinary country lad struggling with a small business—and it truly was small, so small that he could only afford to buy enough ingredients for the next day, lacking the capital to buy even one day’s worth more.

But gradually, this young man began buying more sugar. Last time, he had bought two hundred wen worth of sugar in one go. Niu had been surprised then; the lad only set up his stall at the city gate where the customers were mostly local farmers, yet in just over a month, he had managed to turn his business around. He was a capable one.

However, Niu never could have imagined that only two or three days later, this young man would come to his shop to pitch a new snack, nor that the small handcart that had the whole town scrambling to buy from him was also his brainchild.

In truth, after tasting the fruit leather, Niu had been intrigued but also had his share of concerns. Most of his shop's customers were townspeople; even if he didn't mind the fruit leather, what if others did? But now, since Young Master Qin was indeed quite talented, and combined with the fact that Young Master Gu, a local resident, was a regular customer for the pea cakes, he decided to take on this business deal.

With his mind made up, Shopkeeper Niu praised Qin Jin, explained Qin Jin's intentions to Gu Nan, and gestured for Qin Jin to let Gu Nan have a taste.

Gu Nan was surprised to hear this: "Qin Jin, you’ve come up with a new snack so quickly?" As he spoke, he popped a piece of the fruit leather into his mouth, chewed it a few times, and nodded: "The taste is good." It was just a bit sticky on the teeth.

Having received Gu Nan's approval, Shopkeeper Niu’s concerns dissipated significantly. He said to Qin Jin, "Young Master Qin, let's talk in more detail later. Wait a moment, I need to attend to Young Master Gu."

Qin Jin nodded and stepped aside. Gu Nan swallowed the fruit leather and said, "I just came by to buy some sugar; we’ve run out at home." He hadn't expected to run into Qin Jin here; it was quite a coincidence. After having Shopkeeper Niu weigh two catties of sugar for him and offering a few more compliments about the handcart, he left.

Once Gu Nan was gone, Shopkeeper Niu asked about the cost of the fruit leather. Because apples have a low pectin content, adding extra sugar was necessary to make it set. Fresh fruit was expensive, and so was sugar; combined, the cost of the fruit leather was indeed not low.

Qin Jin had made one catty of fruit leather this time, using three catties of apples and half a catty of sugar. At five wen per catty, the apples cost fifteen wen, and the sugar cost twenty wen. This meant, excluding fuel and labor, the cost was thirty-five wen per catty. Including those, it was forty wen. He only wanted a profit of five wen for himself, so he set the price for Shopkeeper Niu at forty-five wen per catty.

After calculating it in his head, Shopkeeper Niu nodded: "Fine, let's start with ten catties to test the waters." The sugar and preserved fruit in his shop were priced around the same; this fruit leather had the advantage of being fresh and tasted good, so it shouldn't be hard to sell. Before Qin Jin could even celebrate, Niu warned him to be careful during production, insisting that no debris should end up in the product. In the food business, cleanliness was paramount. He did not want his reputation ruined.

Qin Jin repeatedly promised that no such issues would occur, adding that if they did, Shopkeeper Niu was free to reject the goods. With business settled, Qin Jin bought more sugar and returned to his village. Shopkeeper Niu stroked his beard, watching Qin Jin's retreating back with great satisfaction. The sugar Qin Jin needed for his snacks came from his own shop; by selling the fruit leather, he was effectively earning money from Qin Jin twice over.

The night passed without incident. The next day at noon, Huang Chunlan returned, accompanied by two brothers from her maternal family. She brought back two hundred and fifty catties of apples, which Qin Jin bought in full at five wen per catty, totaling one thousand two hundred and fifty wen. These apples could stay fresh for ten to fifteen days, so there was no immediate fear of them spoiling.

Shopkeeper Niu had ordered ten catties of fruit leather, which required thirty catties of apples. Qin Jin wanted to sell some at his stall and keep some for his own family to enjoy, so he made thirteen catties in total. They only had one large iron pot at home, but since making bean curd sheets didn't require it, and the pea cakes were made in the early hours of the morning, it didn't conflict with the fruit leather production.

Ye Miao and Qin Jin worked together, and by the end of the afternoon, the thirty catties of apples had been turned into apple puree. Next was the drying process. Qin Jin moved all the cupboards out and borrowed tables from his three older brothers; the fruit leather needed to be spread flat to dry, which took up a lot of space. Their home was indeed lacking in furniture. When they divided the family property last year, he had been a bachelor, lazy and unmotivated, and living next to the old courtyard, so all the household goods were prioritized for his three brothers. The only large iron pot they owned had only been acquired last winter; Old Man Qin had spent half a year weaving baskets and carrying crates just to trade for that one pot before the New Year.

If they weren't running a business, their current belongings would suffice, but now that the business was growing, it was time to find Carpenter He to make some tables, cupboards, and chests.

The weather was clear, and the thirteen catties of fruit leather were dried within a day and a night. Qin Jin peeled them off the oiled paper, rolled them into long scrolls, cut them into segments, and delivered them to the sugar shop. Shopkeeper Niu inspected them carefully, found no issues, and paid him promptly. At forty-five wen per catty, ten catties came to four hundred and fifty wen.

Back home, he sent some to his brothers' families. When he went to set up his stall the next day, he brought half a catty of fruit leather with him. Many people from the town visited the market at the city gate, and their purchasing power was higher than that of the rural farmers. Qin Jin secretly prayed that they would like the fruit leather.

Reaching the city gate and pushing his handcart, he lifted the burlap cloth from the basket. Just as he was about to take out his wooden knife to cut some sample pieces of bean curd sheets and pea cakes, someone approached the stall. Looking up, he saw a familiar face and greeted him with a smile: "Shopkeeper Chen, you're early today. What can I get for you?"

The middle-aged man was named Chen, and he ran a small inn called Fulai. The inn was less than a hundred meters from the city gate, so Shopkeeper Chen usually bought his vegetables at the market there. Because of the flooding in the south, there were far fewer travelers in town this summer, and business at Fulai Inn was mediocre; Shopkeeper Chen didn't buy much fresh produce daily. However, ever since Qin Jin started selling bean curd sheets, Shopkeeper Chen had been buying three to five catties every day, making him a major customer.

At the break of dawn, with visibility just clear enough to see, Shopkeeper Chen leaned over and noticed the small red rolls in the clay basin that held the pea cakes. He asked curiously, "Young Master Qin, what are these?"

"This is called fruit leather, made from apples. It's sweet and sour. Would you like to try some?" Qin Jin cut a thumb-sized piece with his knife and handed it to Shopkeeper Chen with a pair of chopsticks. The cost of the fruit leather was high, so he hadn't planned on giving out free samples, but Shopkeeper Chen was a major customer and a potential buyer, so he didn't mind being generous.

Shopkeeper Chen put the fruit leather in his mouth and chewed slowly. His expression didn't change, but after swallowing, he said, "Pack it all up for me." His eldest son was already at the age to be married, but his husband had unexpectedly become pregnant again. At thirty, this pregnancy was quite difficult; for a while, he couldn't keep anything down. Though the vomiting had stopped recently, his appetite was still poor. This fruit leather was sour and fresh—something he had never seen before—and his husband might just like it.

To have the whole lot bought up made Qin Jin very happy. He took out oiled paper to wrap the half catty of fruit leather. Shopkeeper Chen also bought five catties of bean curd sheets, totaling fifty-three wen—a great start to the day.

Qin Jin felt a bit regretful; had he known, he would have brought more. There was only about a catty left at home. Unfortunately, there were no telephones; if he wanted to sell more, he would have to wait until tomorrow.

After packing up and returning home, Ye Miao saw him and said happily, "Sister-in-law Chunlan came this morning; she bought half a catty of fruit leather, and Brother Yucheng bought two taels. Now there's only half a catty left."

"Then we'll make more this afternoon." Qin Jin felt even more regretful. Had he known it would sell so fast, he would have made twenty catties at once. Although the weather was hot, the fruit leather contained a lot of sugar and could be stored for a week.

After the meal, the two did not rest but brought out the apples to prepare the fruit leather. Ye Miao held a kitchen knife, skillfully peeling the apples, a smile on his face: "Brother Jin, our business choices are excellent. I finally have proper work to do in the afternoon." They had three lines of business that didn't interfere with each other. His Brother Jin was truly amazing.

Qin Jin nodded. Indeed, he had carefully chosen these based on his family's situation and the primary customers at the market. However, even with three streams of income, the daily earnings were limited. He only earned five wen of profit per catty of fruit leather; the ten catties delivered to the sugar shop only netted him fifty wen. And this wasn't even daily income; if those ten catties took two or three days to sell, that fifty wen had to be spread out, meaning his daily income was only a dozen or so wen higher than before.

Now that there was An Ge'er, he had to pay him wages, so the dozen wen earned from the fruit leather wasn't enough to cover those costs. Still, with An Ge'er around, he could free up his hands to help Ye Miao with the fruit leather and even have time to chat with him, so he paid the wages willingly. Even with debts, one couldn't live life with their nerves constantly frayed; living life, after all, was better with a bit of ease.

Just as he was pondering this, a knock came at the courtyard gate. He turned to see Shopkeeper Niu standing there with a mule cart. Startled, he quickly stood up: "Shopkeeper, why are you here? Miao Ge'er, hurry and pour a bowl of water for Shopkeeper Niu."

Shopkeeper Niu waved his hand with a chuckle: "Young Master Qin, don't trouble yourself. I'm just here to say a few words and then I'll be off; my shop is still open. The fruit leather is selling well; there are only two catties left now. Make some more and send it over as soon as you can."

"It sold that fast?" Qin Jin was surprised.

"Indeed. It tastes good and it's fresh, so it sold quickly," Niu nodded. The County Lieutenant's son was holding a small banquet for his birthday, and his maid had come to the shop to buy preserved fruit. Niu had recommended the fruit leather, and the maid liked it so much she bought five catties in one go. Another three catties had been sold in bits and pieces this morning, leaving only two.

Seeing it sell so well, and knowing that apples were only in season now—once they were gone, the business would be over—he couldn't sit still. Knowing Qin Jin lived in Wuli Gully, which was close to the county seat, he hitched his mule cart and came to find the Qin family.