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Chapter 309: The Art of Business

“Why is it that the whole Prefectural City knows about the Consort of the Heir Apparent losing something?” Yan Yu was quite puzzled.

Yan Lao’er couldn’t understand either. “If it were me, I’d definitely investigate quietly. After all, the Prince’s Manor’s reputation is at stake. Having people gossip about it every day doesn’t sound good.”

He shook his head and said, “I can’t figure it out. Let’s go back and talk to your uncle. Let him decide.”

Yan Yu sighed, “We were originally planning to secretly send a message, but now that it’s blown up, it’s hard to handle. If we’re not careful, we might even be accused of being thieves.”

Yan Lao’er agreed, “Exactly, let’s think it over carefully and let your uncle worry about it.”

Yan Yu nodded vigorously, giggling, “It’s great to have an uncle.”

Yan Lao’er felt the same, and the two shared a knowing smile as they left the market.

With guidance from his uncle and his aunt watching over him, Yan Xiangheng sold mooncakes with some skill. He couldn’t match Yan Lao’er’s warm and sincere words, but he was polite, courteous, patient, and honest.

He was also well-liked by the ladies, and the mooncakes they brought were gradually sold out.

Daya cut samples of mooncakes for tasting, assisting Yan Xiangheng, while Li Xuemei seemed to do nothing but was actually keeping a close eye on the oil paper packages on the ox cart. She kept track of how much money was collected and how many packages were given out, guarding against anyone taking advantage of the chaos to steal.

When Yan Lao’er and Yan Yu returned, there were only a few packages of mooncakes left on the cart. He shouted loudly while driving the ox cart slowly.

Before they even reached the city gate, they had sold out all the mooncakes.

Yan Xiangheng admired his uncle immensely.

“Cover it up first. Once we’re out of the city gate, we can sort it out. It’s not good to flaunt wealth,” Yan Lao’er said.

Daya quickly used a straw mat from the ox cart to cover the bundle of copper coins.

Once they left Yongning City, Yan Yu happily counted and strung the money.

This time, she didn’t have to do the accounting. She had taught her brother and Big Sis Daya, so it was time for them to practice more.

Look at her brother Fengnian, managing the accounts for both the Young Scouts and Physician Cui’s household with clarity.

It’s all because of practice.

Seeing her Eldest Nephew and Eldest Niece struggling with the cost of materials, Li Xuemei couldn’t bear it and advised, “We’ll talk about the cost when we get home. First, calculate how much we sold each mooncake for.”

When the Eldest Nephew was about to write off the few packages of mooncakes he took, Yan Lao’er couldn’t help but interject, “What I took should also be counted. We can’t just write it off. The copper coins for these few packages will be deducted from our actual earnings later.”

Afraid they wouldn’t understand, Yan Lao’er added, “Alright, when we get home, I’ll add this money back for you, so it’s easier for you to calculate.”

Yan Xiangheng prided himself on completing the math assignments Xiao Er gave him well. He could quickly calculate addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, but today’s mooncake business taught him a valuable lesson.

Knowing is easy, doing is hard.

Doing business isn’t a simple math problem. It requires practical application, and they missed details from the start by not recording how many sample mooncakes were given out. They could only backtrack from the money received.

Furthermore, they didn’t even know how many mooncakes they brought out…

Yan Xiangheng watched as Xiao Er strung the copper coins and smiled, showing them to his aunt. He asked her, “Xiao Er, how many mooncakes did we bring out?”

“Two hundred and sixty,” Yan Yu replied without hesitation.

Yan Xiangheng was impressed. No wonder she’s their math teacher. Amazing! When they got home, Yan Xiangheng faced another challenge from Madam Rong.

Madam Rong had meticulously recorded the quantity of each ingredient. Because she had been to the Grand Market, she was very familiar with the prices of various materials and casually wrote out the unit prices for them.

Yan Xiangheng blushed, secretly determined to figure out the mooncake accounts clearly.

After consulting his father about the price of oil paper, he buried himself in calculations.

Finally, when he handed it to Yan Yu, he was quite confident.

His brother’s expectant eyes were full of anticipation.

Yan Yu looked away, hesitated, and unable to bear disappointing him, handed the accounting paper back to her father.

Yan Lao’er didn’t think much of it. When he took a look, he immediately spotted the problem.

“Eldest Nephew, we need to count the copper coins we spent entering the city too. We specifically went to Yongning City today to sell mooncakes, so you have to include those coins.”

Yan Xiangheng hadn’t expected that even with such careful attention, there were still omissions.

He almost wanted to find a hole to hide in.

Li Xuemei couldn’t stand seeing the two of them bully the honest boy and said, “Heng’er, don’t listen to your uncle. Even if you didn’t go into the city to sell mooncakes, your uncle would still have to visit various households. The cost of entering the city can’t be saved, so it doesn’t matter if you include it or not.”

“Aunt, I understand. Uncle is right. I’ll pay attention next time,” Yan Xiangheng said, embarrassed.

After Yan Xiangheng left, Yan Yu frowned at the paper.

“What’s wrong? Is there still a mistake? There shouldn’t be any!” Yan Lao’er said.

Yan Yu replied, “No, it’s just as you said, we didn’t earn much.”

Yan Lao’er chuckled, “Not only does Heng’er need to remember this, but you should too. Sometimes, you can’t just calculate the cost of materials. You also have to consider the cost of time. I heard your mother say that the money earned from these mooncakes has to be shared with Granny Rong. After taking away half of it, calculate how much our family earned with everyone working together.”

“Granny Rong’s share is mine!” Yan Yu playfully protested.

“Haha! Say that in front of your uncle too,” Yan Lao’er laughed. “From our perspective, it seems like there’s gold everywhere outside, and making money seems easy, like picking it up. But that’s not true. Take these mooncakes, for example. You know how to make them, and they’re quite tasty. You have the molds, and they’re wrapped in oil paper. So why aren’t we making much money?”

Yan Yu replied, “I know. We sell six pieces for the same price as others sell four. Plus, they have gift boxes, which are high-profit items.”

Yan Lao’er said, “Low-end sells in volume, high-end makes profits. Look at how skillfully they do business. There’s another point you overlooked: they’ve been running this business for generations. The whole family relies on this craft to make a living, so they study it thoroughly.

If you want to do the same, you’ll need to invest more energy. So, we can’t earn every kind of money. We should focus on getting our family’s affairs in order. The rest is just extra, earning a little on the side without taking it too seriously.”

After teaching his daughter, Yan Lao’er left triumphantly.

Yan Yu couldn’t help but complain, “Mom, isn’t Dad the most money-minded person in our family? Yet he dares to say that about me.”

Li Xuemei chuckled, “You and your father are two peas in a pod, not much different.”

She pointed outside, “Did your father go to find your uncle?”

Yan Yu immediately jumped up, quickly getting off the kang.

She tiptoed outside.

If Dad’s looking for Uncle, it must be about the sunken chest.

Li Xuemei watched her daughter naturally crouch under the window. After a moment, she realized and gently knocked on the door, then was smoothly invited in, smiling with eyes curved in delight.

(End of Chapter)