Chapter 787: Mushroom Harvest

Editor: Henyee Translations

In Chu Village.

After school in the afternoon, Chu Laner, as usual, came to clean the workshop. As she approached the workshop entrance, a young woman stopped her, “Little sister, can you go inside?”

Chu Laner nodded, “Do you need something?”

The young woman smiled, “I want to buy sachima, but it’s not only expensive in the store, it’s also hard to get. Can you talk to Sister Ruyue and ask her to sell us some?”

Chu Laner glanced at the women and elderly ladies waiting at the entrance, “Are you all here to buy sachima?”

Someone else said, “No, I want to buy potato chips; my son loves them.”

“I’m buying peanut candy and pork jerky to take to my maternal home, visiting relatives.” The new products all have their respective packaging, very exquisite. Although the packaging produced in-house keeps costs low, so the new products aren’t much more expensive, ordinary families in the county can afford them. However, these were designed by Chu Qingzhi for the New Year, mainly in gift box form, currently in the promotional phase.

Seeing so many people wanting to buy, Chu Laner naturally didn’t dare to delay and hurriedly said, “Please wait here, I’ll go talk to Sister Ruyue.”

“Thank you, young lady.”

“No problem.” Chu Laner waved her hand and quickly entered the workshop. Da Lang and its mate strictly guarded the workshop’s main entrance, chasing away strangers who approached, so people visiting the workshop always behaved properly, not daring to cause trouble.

Many shopkeepers who came to Chu’s Trade for business saw Da Lang and the others, the wolf cubs, and Da Bai, and couldn’t help wanting to take them home, extremely envious.

Some asked Chu Qingzhi to help them find wolf cubs, but she refused.

One digging would lead to another; she wouldn’t get involved in selling wolf cubs. Otherwise, the wolves in the mountains could be extinct in no more than two years, destroying the forest’s ecological chain, potentially leading to unforeseen consequences.

After hearing Chu Laner’s words, Shen Ruyue didn’t go to the main entrance but headed inside the workshop.

“Sister Ruyue, is there something you need?” The person in charge of pork jerky approached Shen Ruyue as soon as he saw her.

Shen Ruyue asked, “Do we have any leftover pork jerky after packaging?”

The person in charge nodded, “We have twenty pounds left.”

“Have someone put those twenty pounds in a large basket, line it with oil paper, and take it to the entrance; there are people wanting to buy.”

“Right away.”

Shen Ruyue also approached other supervisors, instructing them to package any remaining stock and bring it to the main entrance to sell.

The household had already amassed a dozen to twenty varieties of goods, bringing them outside like setting up a small street market.

Shen Ruyue told everyone, “These items are for sale until sold out. Since you’re coming to our home to buy, saving on transportation costs, we will discount everything two coins per pound for you all. We welcome everyone to buy more from our home.”

Hearing about the discount, everyone’s desire to buy immediately surged, quickly crowding around.

“I want three pounds of pork jerky.”

“I want two pounds of potato chips.”

“I want five pounds of peanut candy.”

Seeing so many eager customers, Shen Ruyue suddenly had an idea.

Since people came to the workshop to buy things every day, why not build a room on the left side of the workshop specifically for selling these items? This could solve inventory issues and, by making things a bit cheaper, allow more people to enjoy Chu’s Trade’s products.

With the idea formed and a strong executive ability, Shen Ruyue immediately went to find Li Qingyu, “Mother, I want to build a room next to the workshop specifically for selling our products. You’ll manage it initially, and later we can hire someone to take over. What do you think?”

Li Qingyu readily agreed, “Sure, there isn’t much to do in winter anyway; I feel restless.”

Shen Ruyue smiled, “Then it’s settled.”

“Okay.”

When Chu Qingzhi returned, Shen Ruyue shared her idea with her, “Qingzhi, what do you think?”

Chu Qingzhi considered, “Build it bigger. We can also sell other merchants’ products in the store, like soy sauce, salt, sugar, vinegar, etc., practically a small supermarket.”

Shen Ruyue said, “Everything else is fine, but selling salt requires a salt permit, which isn’t easy to obtain.”

“No problem, leave it to me.” Selling salt, simply ask the emperor for a salt permit; there’s no difficulty.

Shen Ruyue had no doubt about Chu Qingzhi’s ability but had concerns, “Qingzhi, won’t that be too cluttered?”

Chu Qingzhi replied, “It sounds a bit cluttered, but as long as we organize the store neatly and categorize everything properly, it won’t be. Trust me, a store like this won’t do poorly.”

Shen Ruyue trusted Chu Qingzhi completely, “Okay, then I’ll get things started.”

Chu Qingzhi reminded, “Ruyue, don’t build the store right in front of the workshop entrance. The constant traffic will affect our receiving and shipping, delaying progress.”

Shen Ruyue thought, Chu Qingzhi was always thorough; she originally planned to build at the workshop entrance, “I understand.”

Chu Qingzhi said, “I’ll go find a carpenter for the shelves and think about which specific items to sell.”

Shen Ruyue said, “I’ll arrange for the construction of the building, let’s work separately.”

“Okay.”

After drawing the shelf designs, Chu Qingzhi went to the village to find a carpenter.

The village had a highly skilled carpenter, over sixty years old, known to everyone as Carpenter Chu. Chu Rong had learned woodworking from him. After seeing Chu Qingzhi’s designs, Carpenter Chu said, “No problem, but I need to prepare the wood first. It might take three to five days to complete.” Chu Qingzhi replied, “The store hasn’t started construction yet, so there’s no rush.”

Carpenter Chu nodded, “Alright, I’ll make sure it’s beautifully done for you.” Chu Qingzhi thanked him, “Then I’m grateful, Grandfather Carpenter.” Carpenter Chu waved her off, “No need to be so formal.”

Leaving Carpenter Chu’s house, Wan Haonan approached excitedly, “Miss, come and see.”

Chu Qingzhi was curious, “What’s happened?”

Wan Haonan excitedly said, “The mushrooms you taught us to grow have sprouted a lot. We haven’t checked in two to three days, and they’re already mature.”

“Let’s go have a look.” The two of them quickly headed towards the brick Idin area.

Near the brick kiln, ten mushroom houses had been constructed, all featuring a wooden structure that looked quite quaint and cute. From a distance, the row of mushroom houses resembled actual mushrooms.

Everyone gathered around the mushroom houses, eagerly awaiting Chu Qingzhi’s arrival. Luo Hongping quickly opened the door to one of the mushroom houses, inviting her in, “Miss, please.”

These former soldiers, often seen as rough around the edges by outsiders, always showed utmost respect and politeness towards Chu Qingzhi, treating her with the same reverence as they would Tang Jinghong.

As Chu Qingzhi approached the doorway and peered inside, she was greeted by the sight of nutrient-rich soil packed with white mushrooms. Each one was the size of a baby’s fist, closely packed together, presenting a scene of abundant harvest.

By estimation, this one house alone could yield about ten pounds of mushrooms.