Chapter 287: An Auspicious Start
"Xiang Nuan," Teacher Wang didn’t clink glasses, but said somewhat sheepishly, "I’ve discussed it with your aunt, and we’ll run the business, but we don’t know how to begin. How much rent should we pay you?" They had already agreed on this before coming. They weren’t going to mention other expenses, but they definitely intended to pay rent.
"No need for rent," Qin Xiangnuan had known their purpose for coming and didn’t say too much, to avoid making them anxious.
"I sell flatbreads with vegetables. If aunt could sell porridge at my stall, I could sell more flatbreads. All aunt would need to do is help tidy up each day, since I still have classes," she quickly added this last part, fearing that Teacher Wang might overthink and feel like he was taking advantage of her.
"You can rest assured about that," Xie Yonghong quickly took over the conversation, "My family is from the countryside, and we can do anything. So what shall we sell? What kind of porridge?"
"That’s simple."
Qin Xiangnuan took paper and pen from her backpack and organized a shopping list for what "aunt" needed to buy the next day.
Rice, white sugar, pumpkin, millet, peanuts, a couple of small stoves, a few small tables, and some bowls and spoons. That’s all for now; anything else needed can be added later.
These items could make two big pots of porridge. The bowls shouldn’t be too big; small ones will do. If sales are good, she felt confident they could make twenty yuan a day.
Currently, rice is very cheap, only several cents per jin.
For porridge, selling it at 30 cents a bowl would be acceptable. As long as the porridge tastes right, she’d sell flatbreads for 40 cents, and with porridge at 30 cents, the meal would cost 60 cents total—affordable for most people. Perhaps in a few years, these items would increase in price, but right now it’s the early ’90s, so prices shouldn’t rise too quickly. In fact, it’s not so much that things are becoming more expensive but that the value of money is constantly depreciating.
The main reason is that staples like rice and flour are cheap, so the price of her flatbreads hasn’t increased much, from 35 to 40 cents, which is a price level that people can accept. Fried dough sticks and spicy soup both sell for 20 cents, so selling congee for that much, especially with a generous portion of ingredients, should look attractive enough.