Instead of answering, Juhua asked, "How’s your business going?"

Li Changyu glanced at Qingmu and Zhang Huai and smiled. "I was just telling your brother, I’m only earning a little money. It’s enough to support myself, sure, but I’ve always wanted to make a real success of it. I’ve been at it for two months, though, and I’ve found it’s really hard to earn more. Plus, I don’t have enough capital to switch to something else."

Seeing them start to talk business, Yang Family and Zheng Changhe quickly cleared the bowls and chopsticks and went to the kitchen. As Qingmu and Juhua had taken on more responsibility, most family matters were now decided by the siblings, and the couple no longer interfered.

Juhua decided not to beat around the bush any longer—she didn’t want to wait for Li Changyu to figure things out on his own; that would be far too slow. She asked seriously, "So, what did you think of the spicy and sour vermicelli you just ate?"

Li Changyu nodded. "It was delicious and appetizing. I’m planning to go back and make it just like this to sell."

Juhua shook her head. "It won’t work if you just sell it like your other things. For this spicy and sour vermicelli, you need to rent a small storefront and specialize in it. Serve it in clay pots like these. Unless someone has a particularly large appetite, one pot is a perfectly filling meal." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Li Changyu listened attentively, nodding repeatedly. "This spicy and sour vermicelli would be perfect to eat in the winter. Renting a storefront to sell this would work, too. Besides, I can keep my original business going at the same time."

Seeing that he was listening earnestly but still hadn’t quite grasped her point, Juhua patiently explained, "This spicy and sour vermicelli isn’t exactly a fancy dish, but its flavor is unique, and others can’t copy it—because they don’t have the spicy cabbage and acorn jelly. If you can build a reputation for this dish, you won’t have to worry about making money. The startup cost is low. When the time comes, you can open several small branch locations. Isn’t that safer than opening one big restaurant? Once you have the resources, you could even open a shop for preserved goods, specializing in spicy cabbage, savory paste, cured meat, and sausages. I’m already working on that savory paste, by the way. And for people who want to eat the dish but not in your little shop, you can just sell them the spicy cabbage to make at home."

The more Li Changyu listened, the brighter his eyes grew. Finally, he slapped the table and exclaimed, "Goodness! I’ve been doing business these past few months for nothing. I’m not nearly as clever as Juhua!"

Qingmu and Zhang Huai nodded in agreement. With this plan, as long as they controlled the key ingredients, customers would have to buy from Changyu, regardless of whether they were coming for the spicy cabbage or the spicy and sour vermicelli. And that meant they were ultimately buying from Qingnan Village.

Juhua lifted her legs into the foot warmer, covering them with a small cotton cushion. She then casually pulled over a sewing basket from a stool beside it, picked up a large shoe sole, and began to sew, all while continuing to chat with them.

Zhang Huai watched Qingmu with envy. ’Judging by the size, that shoe must be for him,’ he thought. Qingmu had gotten all new clothes and shoes recently, and Zhang Huai instantly recognized the needlework as Juhua’s—he was familiar with it by now.

’I wonder when she’ll ever make a pair of shoes for me.’

After a few stitches, Juhua smiled at Li Changyu and added, "If you want to boost sales even more, you could copy something my family used to do: braise pork offal with pickled vegetables—even though the price of offal has gone up, it’s still much cheaper than regular meat. When serving, you can put half a spoonful on top of the vermicelli to add a bit of meatiness. You could also bake some sour vegetable pancakes. That way, if someone with a big appetite isn’t full from the vermicelli, they can spend two cents on a couple of pancakes to go with it. Then they’ll be satisfied for sure, right?"

Li Changyu was speechless and could only nod along. He gazed at Juhua and sighed, "Juhua, why don’t you go into business yourself? You’d be sure to make a fortune."

Juhua smiled. "But aren’t I doing business with you right now? Teaching you to sell these things ultimately benefits us, too. That includes the pancakes. You can buy the corn flour and pickled vegetables in Qinghui, that’s fine. But the chili flakes and ginger slices for the filling—you’ll have to buy those from the village. I’m planning on producing them myself. And don’t you worry. Anything I make will taste completely different from anyone else’s."

Zhang Huai nodded and chimed in, "That way, even if other people try making the pancakes, their flavor will never be the same as yours. It’s not a big business, so the most important thing is to have that one crucial element—a unique flavor."

Qingmu laughed. "If other people want to copy it, that’s fine. They’ll just have to come to you to buy the spicy cabbage, acorn flour, sausages, and chili flakes. And later, there will be the savory paste and other things, too."

Li Changyu stopped nodding, a smile playing on his lips as he sank into thought. After a moment, he looked up at Juhua, who was sewing quietly. The way she concentrated on her needlework filled him with puzzlement—’How is she so familiar with business?’