Chapter 288: Even Siblings Must Settle Accounts
A customer sitting and waiting for his food called out, "Shopkeeper, what’s that smell? Did you come up with a new dish? It smells amazing."
Gu Fei pursed her lips. "They’re selling roasted lamb skewers outside."
"Roasted lamb skewers?" The customer looked out the window and waved Xing’er over. "Go buy a few for me to try."
Xing’er took the money and went out.
Gu Erlang had just finished grilling a few skewers, so he gave them to Xing’er to take inside.
The customer picked one up and started eating right away. He finished several skewers in no time. He wanted to buy more, but since he had already ordered other dishes, he held back.
Someone next to him asked curiously, "How is it? What does it taste like?"
The man smacked his lips. "One word: delicious!"
After that, several other customers in the shop also bought lamb skewers.
They all thought they were quite tasty.
Gu Fei watched from behind the counter.
’He’s lucky he’s my brother,’ she thought. ’When the customers in my shop eat his lamb skewers, they naturally order fewer dishes. He’s stealing my business!’
’Still, there’s nothing to be done for now. I have to let Gu Erlang sell here for a few days. Once he gets his business established... Hmph. Then I’ll kick him out and make him sell somewhere else.’
Gu Erlang sold quite a few at noon, then sold a few more sporadically in the afternoon. When dinnertime came, the restaurant’s customers once again helped him sell out the rest.
After selling out, Gu Erlang cheerfully packed up his stall and hid under the counter to count his copper coins.
Gu Fei shot him a sideways glance. Seeing him finish counting, his face full of joy, she asked, "How much did you make?"
Gu Erlang was grinning from ear to ear. "Over five hundred cents!"
"Sis, am I going to be rich?"
"Five hundred cents in one day... that’s five taels of silver in ten days, and fifty taels in a hundred days!"
Gu Fei glanced at him and held out her hand. "Brother, then you can give me the money for the chili powder."
Gu Erlang’s mouth fell open. He said, a little dejectedly, "Fine, I’ll pay. How much?"
Gu Fei held up one finger. "One hundred cents."
Gu Erlang’s eyes went wide. "You only gave me one bag of chili powder! Why is it so expensive?"
Gu Fei snorted. "Brother, it’s full of spices. Go ask around and see how expensive spices are. Besides, that one bag will last you for two days."
Gu Erlang reluctantly counted out one hundred cents and gave them to Gu Fei. Gu Fei pressed her lips together to suppress a laugh. ’My brother is so amusing.’
She reminded him, "You have to subtract what you spent on ingredients today, plus the cost of the charcoal and the chili powder. What’s left is your profit."
Gu Erlang froze for a moment, then nodded. He started doing the math, muttering to himself.
After a good while, he said, "I spent two hundred cents on ingredients. That lamb is so expensive."
"I don’t know how much the charcoal cost, so let’s say fifty cents. It’s probably not even that much. The chili powder will last another day, so that’s fifty cents too."
"Then I still made a profit of more than two hundred cents!"
Gu Fei smiled, pressing her lips together. "Better than driving the cart, isn’t it?"
Gu Erlang nodded vigorously. "Of course! And it’s not as tiring as driving the cart!"
"Alright then. Brother, you should pack up and hurry home."
A hesitant look appeared on Gu Erlang’s face. "If I go back, Lan Zhi... she—"
Gu Fei rolled her eyes at him. "Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, no one will snatch her away. Besides, Mr. Xu said he’s coming tomorrow."
Gu Erlang stood up and glanced toward the back. "Well, Sis... I’m leaving then."
Gu Erlang hadn’t brought the mule cart today. When he reached the city gate, he happened to run into Gu Sanlang, and the two of them went home together.
After dinner, Mrs. Chen and Li Chunhua went to clean up the kitchen. Gu Erlang walked up to his father hesitantly. "Dad, thank you... and Mom."