"Okay, I’ll go buy it now."
Qin Xiangyang grabbed a handful of money and jumped off the kang (traditional Chinese bed) to go out.
"Brother, it’s still dark outside," Qin Xiangnuan was really helpless with her brother’s impulsive nature.
Soon after, Qin Xiangyang returned, bringing the chilly night breeze with him.
He put all the money they had earned into a cabinet, then took off his shoes and went to bed. However, he couldn’t fall asleep.
"Sister..." He turned over, "You said making money by selling pancakes is just ."
"Mm," Qin Xiangnuan was sleepy.
"Can we really make so much in one day?"
"If we manage to make a thousand pancakes a day, wouldn’t that be 100 yuan?"
"Mm..." Qin Xiangnuan turned over too and bit her blanket, "A thousand pancakes, it’s really tough. Unless we get some help, but now’s not the time. We need to make our first big earnings, save up our initial investment, and it’d be best to rent a place at the station to not worry about the wind and rain."
As soon as dawn broke, Qin Xiangyang got up, pocketing five yuan to buy a stove. The current stoves weren’t very expensive, costing about two or three yuan each. Buying another stove meant another pot; together they cost just a bit more than four dollars. Although these items were large, not many people bought them, as one pot could typically last for decades.
Just like last time, Qin Xiangyang learned his lesson and spent ten cents to hire a tricycle, which delivered it to the village. With three more stoves, their morning pancake-making became much more convenient without any waiting.
Qin Xiangyang could help with stoking the fire, kneading the dough, and flipping the pancakes. If the two of them coordinated well, they could cook the pancakes very quickly. Constantly replacing one pot after another, and borrowing the tricycle, they could make it on time if they left at 4 am without being late.
That day when they returned, the pancakes were sold out again. Qin Xiangnuan had thought about leaving some pancakes for her brother and herself to simply boil some rice at home to eat, but the pancakes sold too quickly. Many people specifically came to buy her pancakes, and some bought enough to last a day.
As a result, they sold out completely and only brought back a pile of money.
Counting it, they had earned 42.7 yuan, which was six yuan more than the day before.
The additional stoves made a difference; not only could they bake pancakes faster, but they could also get more sleep, and the pancakes tasted better.
Qin Xiangnuan understood that doing business required integrity, so the pancakes she made, whether they were scallion pancakes or layered scallion pancakes, were always generously filled. She would not a skimp on ingredients because the business was good. While other vendors’ pancakes kept shrinking, hers did not. The better her sales, the more she focused on the taste and quality of her pancakes.
They only sold pancakes at night and rested at home during the day, making paper bags, so no one knew that the siblings had already earned quite a bit of money. In just over ten days, they had accumulated hundreds of dollars.
"Brother, buy a tricycle."