Yang Ruqing had prepared a lavish feast to entertain Zhou Wang and Xiao Huan.

After dinner, everyone gathered together to drink tea and chat after clearing the table. Luo Tiejiang told Yang Ruqing and Luo Fengtang about Zhou Wang's plan to partner with someone to raise fish.

"Qing'er, Tang YaZi, you two are well-traveled and knowledgeable, especially Qing'er, a master of commerce. Give your cousin some advice!"

After assigning the task to Luo Feitang and Yang Ruqing, Lu Tiejiang took up his pipe and sat aside puffing away on it.

Zhou Wang then straightened his posture, looking at Yang Ruohqing and Luo Fengtang with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness on his face.

Luo Fengtang scratched his head and grinned, "Brother, let Qing'er give you some advice. I'm a complete layman when it comes to business."

But if you're short-handed at that time, and if I happen to be free, just give me a call, and I'll come lend a hand.

Zhou Wang was a little surprised and said, "Little Tang, you shouldn't say that. You are a general! Your mind is for strategizing and commanding troops. And your hands are meant for wielding swords and leading thousands of soldiers."

Luo Fengtang smiled but said nothing.

Here, Yang Ruqing pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Zhou Wang, cousin, I want to ask you, have you found a market for your fish?" Yang Ruqing asked.

Zhou Wang was taken aback for a moment and said, “That's what I plan to do. On the one hand, I’ll collect some and sell them in the Wa market during my free time, or go door-to-door selling them in the nearby villages.”

On the other hand, I'd like to find a restaurant that has a similar arrangement as your Uncle Fish's pond. Just like how the fish in his pond are exclusively supplied to Tianxiang Restaurant, I want to find a restaurant with that kind of relationship.

The third aspect is to talk with fish vendors in our town, nearby towns, and even the fish market in the county seat.

"Qing'er, what do you think of my plans in these three aspects? These took me three days and three nights to figure out, hehe..."

Zhou Wang scratched his head a little embarrassedly.

Yang Ruqing listened intently, then pondered seriously for a while before saying: "You've considered these three aspects very thoroughly. It's clear that Uncle Zhou Wang, you have really put your heart into it over the past three days and nights."

This is just a placeholder.

"Hee hee, Qing'er praised me..." Zhou Wang glanced at the others at the table and said a little embarrassedly.

>

Xiao Huan glared at Zhou Wang and said, "Don't interrupt. Listen to Qing'er finish her story before you wag your tail."

Zhou Wang nodded hurriedly, nervously looking at Yang Ruohua, waiting for her next words.

Yang Ruqing continued, "However, of the three aspects you mentioned, the first one is that the target audience is too small. Most villagers can only afford to eat fish twice a month. Relying solely on going door-to-door to sell fish would result in the fish dying or spoiling before they could be sold, and the earnings wouldn't even cover the costs."

"Secondly, if you talk about it at a wine house, that's like a piece of fat meat, but many fishmongers are eyeing that piece of fat."

"Let's just take Tianxiang Building as an example. Before we had our own fish pond to supply the fish, all the fish vendors in town would flock here,"

"In order to ensure a stable and long-lasting fish business at the restaurant, they are fiercely competitive. They lower their prices and even offer bribes, either to me or the procurement staff of the restaurant. This is nothing unusual."

"So, cousin, if you're going to compete with them, it will be more difficult, unless you have good connections."

With this second aspect, there's no need to discuss the third.

"And as for our Tianxiang Building, the fish supplied to our establishments in Wanghai County town, Hu Guang County town, and Qinghui Town are all from my uncle's fish pond. It's enough to meet our needs, and every year there are still some surplus fish sold to villagers for New Year's preserved fish, etc. While the two large restaurants in Qingan County and the south have a larger demand for fish,"

"But, the fish was transported from your Zhoujia Village pond to those two places a long time ago and had already gone bad, so our Tianxiang Building can't take on your fish!"

After hearing Yang Ruqing's words, Zhou Wang felt like he had fallen into a basin of cold water.

He and Xiaohuan looked at each other, both at a loss.

Zhou Wang cast his pleading eyes upon the blacksmith Luo Tiejiang again.

The blacksmith, Luo Tiejiang, pulled the dry tobacco pipe from his mouth and said, "Qing'er makes a good point. Fish can't survive out of water."

"If you can't sell it in time, you'll end up losing money by holding onto it."

“Wang’er, if you really can't make it on your own, just stop doing this and come help your uncle manage the fish pond. I'll give you 40% of the profits. What do you think?” asked Luo Tiejiang.

Yang Ruqing's eyelids twitched slightly.

Forty percent?

Oh my, my uncle is really good to his nephew.

This fish pond at home, the net profit for a year is almost one hundred taels of silver.

Forty percent, Brother Zhou could get forty taels a year!

In the Tianxiang Building, the highest paid positions are the deputy manager of each restaurant and the head chef of the kitchen. They each earn two taels of silver per month.

Like Chef Zhou, one person supporting a family of six, with two ounces of silver each month, he could still save almost an ounce.

Over the course of a year, she would earn about twelve taels. Adding in the red envelopes Yang Ruqing gave out during festivals and special occasions, she could save nearly twenty taels by the end of the year.

While Zhou Wang ge followed his uncle to raise fish, he earned forty taels of pure silver in a year. Wow, that's a tempting offer!

With this forty taels of silver, both Xiao Huan and her aunt Dada could enjoy a comfortable life at home.

Just when Yang Ruqing thought Zhou Wang would readily agree, Zhou Wang shook his head.

"Dear uncle, your unexpected kindness is deeply appreciated. However, as your nephew, I wish to earn my living with my own two hands!"

Zhou Wang clenched his fists tightly, gritting his teeth and saying:

“If raising fish doesn't work out, I'll find another way. If that doesn't work either, I'll come back to Qing'er's work team in the spring and earn money to support my mother and wife and children!”

"...clicking sounds..."

Yang Ruqing clapped her palms.

"Brother, well said, you have ambition!" Yang Ruqing praised.

"Where there's a will, there's a way. I've come up with a way to make money, it'll be harder than raising fish, but it all depends on whether you can stomach the hard work!" she said.

"As long as I can make money, as long as it's an honest way to earn money, no matter how hard it is, I can endure it!" Zhou Wang said.

Yang Ruqing smiled and said, "Cousin, rest assured, I've always done business the right way."

If we had taken the wrong path, we would have become a business empire long ago.

She operates on the principle that "good enough is good enough" in business. She believes that expanding her business too much would attract unwanted attention and potentially lead to trouble. Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Besides, what our family lacks the most right now is money. The cave at the back of the mountain is full of gold and silver treasures.

It can be said that this is a fortune from heaven.

The more you do this, the more you need to be low-key!

"Qing'er, you'd better hurry up and tell me. What good idea is it?" Zhou Wang couldn't help but urge again.

Yang Ruqing came back to her senses, glanced at the crowd, then smiled mysteriously.