novelhk Page 73
Page 73
Xu Hui certainly had concerns, and his family had discussed it and did not agree to Xu Huizhen opening a tavern to sell alcohol.
Hearing He Yuzhu say that the initial losses were all He Yuzhu's responsibility, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but still said:
"up to you."
He Yuzhu knew that this meant he had agreed, so he smiled and said, "Please sit down, brother."
Xu Hui then sat down on the brand-new stool and looked at the remaining stool surfaces, legs that hadn't been installed, and other items like an eight-person table, and asked curiously, "You know woodworking?"
"Yes, I learned it for a while when I was a kid." As she spoke, she poured him a bowl of tea.
Then they went to the back and told Xu Huizhen that her older brother had arrived.
Xu Huizhen dropped the fire poker in her hand, then ran straight to the front and asked with a smile, "Brother, what do you think of this shop?"
Xu Hui said irritably, "It's not good. Your family doesn't approve of you opening a small bar."
Xu Huizhen walked up to her older brother, took his hand, shook it, and said in a coquettish tone:
"Are you still my brother?"
Xu Hui sighed: "I'd rather not have a lively younger sister like you. How old are you? You're already thinking about opening a tavern?"
Xu Huizhen said softly, "Brother, I'm all grown up now. In the past, someone my age could have gone out and gotten married."
"The young girl isn't ashamed at all; she says whatever comes to mind."
Xu Hui turned his head and glanced at He Yuzhu, who hadn't followed. With only the two siblings in front of him, he asked in a low voice, "What's so good about this He girl? She looks older than me, and you've already taken a liking to her?"
Xu Huizhen was extremely shy, her pretty face flushed red all the way to her neck, and she said reproachfully:
"Brother, what nonsense are you talking about? Who has a crush on him? You can't spread rumors, especially not to Dad and Mom, understand?"
Xu Hui sighed again. This younger sister was no longer his own. He muttered, "What's so good about him?"
"He's really talented. His cold dishes are so fragrant, and his stir-fries are delicious too. He only worked in the kitchen for three months and he became a master chef, earning 40 yuan a month."
Xu Huizhen was still young and, without careful consideration, thought it was a normal question and began to list He Yuzhu's good deeds on her fingers.
As I continued talking, I realized something was wrong.
She shook her brother's hand again, and said playfully, "Brother~"
"Okay, okay, you've shaken my arm until it's all shattered."
Xu Huizhen asked playfully, "My brother loves me the most in the family, right?"
"Alright, I give up."
"Then you promise not to mention He Yuzhu when you get home?"
"I promise I won't mention He Yuzhu once I get home, okay?"
"Yes, that's my good brother. Go move the bar!" Xu Huizhen said with delight.
Then he instructed, "If Dad and Mom ask, just say that I introduced you to a new tavern and you ordered the drinks. Don't say that I run this place."
"You've really wasted your time raising me."
Xu Hui left those words behind and went out to fetch the wine and deliver it to the backyard.
He Yuzhu quickly came out to help, carrying more than ten jars of wine, as well as some funnels, wine scoops, and other things.
Xu Hui introduced the cheapest sweet potato wine to He Yuzhu, which is made from sweet potatoes. The wholesale price is only two cents, and it can usually be sold for three and a half to four cents.
Then there's sorghum liquor, which costs 60 cents on the market and 40 cents wholesale.
Even better are grain-based liquors, which come in various grades, ranging from two, three, five, six, to eight kinds of grains.
There are also different alcohol strengths. Xu Hui delivered the varieties that sell well, totaling two thousand catties of liquor.
"Can you sell all of these at once?"
Xu Hui was a little worried that if business was bad, He Yuzhu might want to back out, and he would have to pull him back.
He Yuzhu said, "It's alright, just let it go. It can be stored for many years anyway."
Modern grain-based liquors are not adulterated with alcohol, and they can be stored for 8 to 10 years without any problems.
Besides, I still have room, so how could I let the wine cause any problems?
After chatting about alcohol for a while, He Yuzhu asked Xu Hui to stay.
After hesitating for a while, Xu Hui nodded in agreement and worked with Xu Huizhen to tidy up the tavern.
China has many types of alcohol, but in Beijing, the most common type is baijiu, also known as "shaojiu".
In the south, it is called Gaoliang Shao, Bengbu Shao, and Niuzhuang Shao. It is a liquor welcomed by people from all walks of life.
Xu Hui delivered this kind of liquor and then told He Yuzhu, "You can't just sell baijiu; you also need to buy some huangjiu. The best is Shaoxing huangjiu, followed by Shandong and Shanxi huangjiu. But you can't buy too much, as they use it less here."
We also need to go to the tobacco and alcohol company to get some bottled liquor, like Fenjiu and Wuliangye. We need to have those too; we can sell quite a bit during holidays and festivals. Ordinary people buy these kinds of good liquors as gifts.”
"Okay, I understand. I'll go get the goods this afternoon."
The profit margins for tobacco and alcohol are the highest; don't underestimate them, almost every household needs them.
Xu Hui then introduced the tavern culture in Beijing. Although he was not from Beijing, he delivered alcohol to taverns every day and was the most familiar with the industry.
Before liberation, there was a large wine vat, which was a great place with a strong Beijing flavor. It was mainly run by people from Shanxi, and mainly sold liquor in small quantities.
There are two types of vats used for storing baijiu (Chinese liquor). The vats with red lids are used as tables.
As dusk settles and the north wind howls, groups of friends gather around wine jars for a quiet drink. Old Beijingers believe that drinking directly from the jar diminishes the enjoyment.
The "Big Wine Vault" business model primarily targets ordinary people in the lower classes.
He Yuzhu had seen many such taverns in Dashilan before; they also sold homemade cold dishes, a mix of meat and vegetables. Their business was always booming.
These are mostly open-air stalls. The slightly better ones are yellow wine wine shops, which are also divided into Shandong yellow wine, Shanxi yellow wine, and Beijing yellow wine. They are collectively called yellow wine wine shops.
Most of the customers were people who rode in grand carriages and wore red shoes. In particular, there were elderly and virtuous men who gathered with a few friends to talk about unrelated topics from 800 years ago to 500 years later.
Shaoxing wine is divided into Huadiao and Nuzhen Chenshao. The cheapest is 8 cents a pound, while the more expensive can sell for four or five yuan a pound.
Besides these, there is another type called Lujiu (露酒), which is wine made from various medicinal herbs or flowers and fruits, and is generally called mixed wine.
Another type is the He family's tavern in the TV series, located at the entrance of a hutong (alleyway), selling various bulk wines, as well as cold dishes and meat dishes. This is actually an advanced version of the large wine vat, but instead of using wine vats as tables and chairs, they chose octagonal tables, and the space was moved into the house, making it very popular among ordinary lower-class people.
He Yuzhu is currently running a similar business, selling breakfast in the morning and alcohol and braised meat at noon and in the evening.
This storefront can be fully utilized; braised dishes and bulk liquor complement each other perfectly, boosting business for both.
After chatting about various interesting stories from the taverns, we took advantage of the availability of mule carts and went to the tobacco and liquor company together.
This is a government-owned storefront, mainly selling various bottled wines and cigarettes, as well as white sugar, brown sugar, maltose, etc.
He Yuzhu wanted a lot; he took over 100 cartons of various cigarettes, 20 cases of liquor, and a bag each of white and brown sugar, all at wholesale prices.
He Yuzhu didn't have much cash left, so he took out a large yellow croaker to weigh and pay for it. He also gave the rest of the money to Xu Hui on the way.
I hadn't calculated how much money I would need before opening the shop, and it wasn't until I actually started that I realized I didn't have enough money.
If it weren't for these two large yellow croakers, He Yuzhu would have had to develop slowly and wouldn't have been able to purchase such a large quantity.
When they returned, it was already noon. He Yuzhu put in all his effort to cook two stir-fries, two stews, and a bowl of spinach and egg soup.
He opened a bottle of Fenjiu liquor to entertain Xu Hui, which made Xu Hui feel quite embarrassed.
When Xu Hui tasted He Yuzhu's cooking in person, all his unhappiness vanished.
No wonder his younger sister came out of Taifeng Restaurant, wanting to open a tavern with He Yuzhu.
If I could eat He Yuzhu's cooking every day, I'd be willing to pay half the wages.
I couldn't help but admire my sister's good taste; she had discovered a great treasure.
While chatting with He Yuzhu, I couldn't help but feel much closer to him and started calling him "brother."
Xu Huizhen rolled her eyes, knowing that it was He Yuzhu's skill that had impressed him, and she was secretly delighted and extremely happy.
No sooner had Xu Hui left than people, out of curiosity, peeked inside the newly opened storefront in the afternoon.
Right now, only the tavern has prepared the drinks, but there aren't any side dishes to go with them. They can only sell cigarettes and alcohol for now, and can't provide food.
Not long after the door opened, several men dressed in silk gowns, who looked like business owners, rushed in and congratulated He Yuzhu.
He Yuzhu quickly invited them to sit down, offered them cigarettes, and Xu Huizhen brewed tea for them.
Fortunately, all these utensils were available, and the tea used was the finest jasmine tea bought from Zhang Yiyuan Tea Shop.
One of the older men put down his teacup and said, "This must be Mengshan Yunwu tea. Back in the Qing Dynasty, this was all tribute tea."
"Yes, you are the best," He Yuzhu said, giving a thumbs-up in praise.
He could only say "good" when he tasted the tea, but he couldn't figure out exactly why it was good, let alone distinguish what kind of tea it was. That was his blind spot in knowledge.
The old man smiled and said, "I've experienced a lot and seen a lot."
"Mr. He, is this a rented house inside the Military Control Commission?"
Chapter 81 First Meeting with Qin Huairu
"Yes, this house belongs to the military control committee."
The group exchanged glances and nodded slightly, all wondering what connections He Yuzhu had to get the house, though they certainly wouldn't ask directly.