Translator: Lonelytree
No one in the Xiao Family had any objection to Third Uncle Xiao handling the tofu business.
They had been educated by Grandpa Xiao since they were young. Their brothers had been united since they were young, and their vision was bigger than that of ordinary rural people.
The main reason they had given the tofu business to Third Uncle Xiao was for the sake of Xiao Lingshuo. Xiao Lingshuo’s results were not bad, and his middle school examination results were not bad either.
However, if his family didn’t have household registration in a big city, he couldn’t go to a good school. Even if he found a school that would accept him, the tuition fee would be high. The tuition fee was at least 30,000 RMB, and that was not counting the other fees.
Based on Third Uncle Xiao’s family’s financial situation, they simply could not afford it.
Therefore, they could only go back to their hometown. They would register their son in Xing Yin County’s No. 1 High School.
The Xiao Family already had two children from No 1 High School, and they were both top scorers.
With Xiao Lingshuo’s results, even if he couldn’t become the top scorer, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to get into a good university.
So the Xiao Family approved Xiao Lingshuo’s decision to come back to Xing Yin County to attend No. 1 High School.
The Xiao family had already produced two university students from No. 1 High School, and they believed that they could produce a third or even a fourth university student.
After the family had discussed it, Third Uncle Xiao spent the next few days looking for shops.
Tofu pudding and soy milk were mainly for breakfast. As long as there was traffic, business should be good.
However, after searching for a few days, he still couldn’t find a location he liked. The shops were either too remote or the rental too expensive. Or the place was too dirty. Of course, he didn’t expect to find a good shop so easily.
Xiao Lingyu also asked Zheng Haiyang to pay attention to see if there were any shops with good traffic and a good environment that was suitable for opening a breakfast shop.
Zheng Haiyang had connections in the real estate business.
While Third Uncle Xiao was looking for a shop, Third Aunt Xiao was learning how to make tofu and other soybean products from Mother Xiao.
This was the first time Mother Xiao made the products with the soybeans they grew. The taste was shocking. The soy milk, tofu pudding, and tofu were mellow and refreshing. They were simply the best delicacies in the world.
“Wow, this soybean milk is really delicious. Even without sugar, you can taste a faintly sweet taste. It is like drinking nectar.” Eldest Uncle Xiao drank a mouthful of soybean milk and exclaimed in admiration.
“Yeah, that’s right. This soy milk is really delicious.” The others echoed. “We’ve tried other soy milk, but they are not as delicious as this.”
Fourth Aunt Xiao said, “Third sister-in-law, you should definitely sell soy milk. With this taste, you’ll have a lot of return customers.”
Mother Xiao smiled and said, “Indeed. The soybeans are delicious, even just with some roasting. I had no idea they would produce such delicious soy milk. Yan Hong, this is a good business idea.”
“The tofu pudding melts in the mouth and leaves behind an alluring fragrance.” Xiao Zhengyang held a bow! of tofu pudding and said, “Third sister-in-law, I also think this is a good business idea.”
“We haven’t tried the tofu. Let’s try one now.” Xiao Lingyun said with a smile. She scooped a bowl of tofu pudding for each of her two daughters.
The tofu pudding and soy milk were delicious, so the tofu had to be delicious too.
After eating a bowl of tofu pudding, Mother Xiao looked at the pot cooking the tofu. “We need to press the tofu for a while longer.”
“Tm so excited!” Xiao Lingyun said with a smile. “After that, we can decide the price for the soy milk, tofu pudding, and tofu.”
After twenty minutes, the tofu was done. Mother Xiao skillfully turned the tofu upside down and poured it out. She took out a cloth and the piece of tofu came out.
The white and tender tofu was so delicious that it made people drool.
“This tofu smells good.” Xiao Lingyun sniffed. “I want to eat one now.”
Mother Xiao took a small knife and cut out a small piece. She said with a smile, “Here. No one is stopping you. You’ve always been an eater since you were a child. You always come to the kitchen to sneak the food to eat before mealtimes.”
After saying that, she put the cut tofu into a small plate and handed it to Xiao Lingyun.
Xiao Lingyun took the tofu, stuck out her tongue, and said with a smile, “Hehe, Auntie, how can you still remember things from so long ago? I’ve never liked tofu because I think they are tasteless. But this tofu smells so heavenly.”
With that, she opened her mouth and took a bite of the tofu. Then, she widened her eyes and said in surprise, “Wow, it’s really delicious.”
Hearing Xiao Lingyun’s words, Lulu and Rourou immediately said, “Mom, is it really delicious? I want to try it too.”
The girls were very happy after they moved in to live with the Xiao Family.
They had all kinds of delicious food.
Xiao Lingyun immediately scooped a spoonful of tofu for them and said, “Come, try it.”
As soon as the two little babies ate the tofu, their big round eyes immediately widened.
Then, they said excitedly, “It’s delicious. Second grandaunt, we want more.”
“Okay, I’ll cut some for you. Be careful.” Mother Xiao cut out two pieces of tofu for the girls.
The others were excited. They said, “I want a piece too.”
“I want a piece too!”
The kitchen became so noisy.
“ah, it’s really delicious.”
“Delicious, it’s really too delicious. The tofu is so delicious even though it hasn’t been cooked. You can serve it directly as a dish. You don’t even need to flavor it.”
Xiao Lingyu nodded. The soybeans products were wonderful.
As for the price, she already had an idea in her mind. She just didn’t know if third uncle and third aunt would accept it.
Gong Tianhao was also holding a plate and trying the freshly baked tofu.
‘Whether it was soy milk, tofu pudding, or tofu, when he took the first bite, his expression was calm, but there was still a hint of surprise in his eyes.
They were completely different from the soy products he had had in the past. Just like what Eldest Uncle Xiao said, they were heavenly delicacies.
Gong Tianhao became more and more confused. ‘Are these things that delicious because of Little Cattle King’s feces?”
Thinking of the feces, Gong Tianhao’s expression froze. ‘Why am I thinking about that when I’m eating”
However, the soy milk, tofu pudding, and tofu would definitely fetch a good price if sold in the capital’s wealthy district.
Not all wealthy people liked to eat western-style breakfast such as hamburgers and sandwiches. Most people preferred to eat Chinese-style breakfasts such as soy milk, fried dough sticks, and buns.
He glanced at Xiao Lingyu’s expression and saw that her eyes were slightly narrowed and her expression was serious. He knew that she must be pricing these things in her heart at this moment.
They only returned to the main topic after everyone had eaten most of the food.
Third Aunt Xiao stared at Xiao Lingyu with a very expectant gaze. She hid her excitement and said, “Yu’Er, you’re right. The soy milk, tofu pudding, and tofu are amazing. At what price shall we sell them?”
Xiao Lingyu put down the bowl in her hand and said in a serious tone, “Third aunt, our food is delicious, so of course, we have to sell it at a higher price.
“Think of the vegetables in our shop. We sell cabbage for three RMB per catty, but we still run out of stock. If we have good quality, we don’t need to worry about a lack of customers.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Xiao Lingyu with sparkling eyes. “So, how do we set the price?”
“ahem…” Xiao Lingyu coughed a few times and continued, “Normally, people sell soy milk for 50 cents per cup and tofu pudding for 50 cents per bowl.
“So, third aunt, I believe we should sell the soy milk and the tofu pudding for 2 RMB per cup and per bowl.”
“Two RMB?”
The Xiao family members were shocked.
This was too expensive.
2 RMB was four times more expensive than the market price.
Third Aunt Xiao was cautious. She asked, “Yu ‘Er, isn’t that a bit too expensive?”
“Is it too expensive?” Xiao Lingyu raised her eyebrows and looked at the other members of the Xiao family.
“Yes!” Everyone nodded. Since the sellers thought it was too expensive, needless to say, the buyers would think the same way.
Xiao Lingyu smiled and asked, “Third aunt, what do you think our price should be?”
Third Aunt Xiao thought for a moment and said, “One RMB. We are doing ordinary businesses. If these things are sold at too high a price, will people buy them?” She was a little uncertain.
“Yes!” Xiao Lingyu said with certainty, “Third aunt, our soy products will be the best in the county. The taste is superb. Many rich and picky foodies will definitely not find them expensive.”
“But those people are in the minority,” Third Aunt Xiao said directly.
“So, we have to sell it in limited quantities.” Xiao Lingyu replied. “Our family only has about two thousand catties of soybeans. We have to persist until the next season.
“In other words, we only have two thousand catties of soybeans to last for four to five months. On average, we can only use ten catties of soybeans each day. And the ten catties have to be made into soybean milk, tofu pudding, and tofu.”
Everyone listened with a serious expression.
“One catty of soybean can normally make four to five catties of tofu. Since we only have ten catties of soybeans, that means we’ll only have forty to fifty catties of tofu. And that is not counting the usage of the soybeans for other products. Yes, our price is high, but we will have limited stock. We will sell
out every day.” Xiao Lingyu added, “The tofu sold by others is a kind of normal food ingredient. But our tofu will be a kind of experience. Therefore, we have to price them differently.”
The Xiao family was a small-scale farmers. Their mindset was limited.
However, Xiao Lingyu had seen the world before. Her worldview was broader, so naturally, she would use her understanding and knowledge to evaluate some things.
Back then, even when she was plying her vegetables on a tricycle, she believed that her crops were different from others. She’d rather not sell them than sell them cheaply. Thankfully, everything went as planned.
As long as the quality was there, people would pay for it. With regards to the pricing, it really depended on the seller.
After Xiao Lingyu’s explanation, the people of the Xiao family had some understanding, After all, Xiao Lingyu had opened a shop, and she had a business mindset.
Therefore, they trusted Xiao Lingyu.
Third Aunt Xiao was somewhat hesitant, but out of trust in Xiao Lingyu, they still decided to follow Xiao Lingyu’s way of doing things.
At worst, they could lower the price.
Third Aunt Xiao nodded and asked, “Yu’er, what about tofu?”
Xiao Lingyu said, “The tofu on the market is two RMB per catty. Then we’ll set it at eight RMB per catty for now.”
“Eight RMB?!” When the Xiao family heard this number, they were shocked again.
It was another four times increase. ‘Is Yu ‘Er obsessed with the multiples of four?”
“Eight… RMB? Yu ‘Er, will people buy them?” Third Uncle Xiao asked in fear.
“Honestly, I think that price is already a little low.” Xiao Lingyu continued, “For now, the price is § RMB. It might increase in the future.”
“Ah?” Third Uncle Xiao widened his eyes in surprise.
Xiao Lingyu explained, “Tofu is something that many people like to eat. Therefore, many restaurants and hotels have tofu dishes.
“Third aunt, once your tofu becomes famous, these restaurants and hotels might book them from you.
“As for the big hotels, their clientele is rich, so as long as the taste is good, no matter how expensive it is, there will be customers.”
The pricing was not that important. The important part was the quality.
Third Uncle Xiao hardened his heart and said, “Alright then, we will follow Yu ‘Er’s price.”
The prices for the soy products were set.
After that, when Mother Xiao made all kinds of delicious tofu dishes, everyone cried out in surprise. Then, they thought eight RMB per catty might be a steal.
