Making money, taking exams and supporting the family

chapter 28: Profitable business

Over the next few days, Lin Ze and Zhang Xiu’s husband and wife started a busy life, working from dawn to dusk.

In the early morning, they would get up early to bake bread, and at night, they would stay busy until very late before going to sleep.

Though their schedule was quite packed, they did not feel overly tired. The main reason was that their business had just begun, and there were many trivial matters to sort out. Once things got on track, it actually became easier.

As Lin Ze had anticipated, the townspeople quickly accepted and loved their bread.

The key was the freshness and variety of the bread. With three different flavors, they catered to consumers of all ages. Not only children loved the bread, but many adults could not forget its taste once they had tried it.

The people in the town were wealthier than those in the village. While they did not buy bread every day, purchasing it every other day was still feasible.

As for the more affluent families, they did not have any reservations. They almost came to buy bread daily. Within a short time, many well-to-do ladies and young ladies in the town had developed a habit of having the bread as breakfast or afternoon tea.

Lin Ze had already anticipated all of this, as the bread business he was running followed modern business practices. He could estimate the possible scenarios he might encounter.

Among the three flavors of bread, the “Jam-filled Little Breads” sold the most because they were not only delicious and cute in appearance but also the most affordable.

Compared to the 6 wen regular bread, people could easily afford the 3 wen Jam-filled Little Breads. Buying just one could soothe a crying child at home, making it the best-selling item.

Lin Ze was delighted to see this success, and what others did not know was that the Jam-filled Little Breads, despite being cheap, actually brought him the highest profit!

Of course, the other two flavors also had many buyers, mainly among wealthier families.

Regardless of the flavor people preferred, his profits were objective and significant in the end.

Despite the limited manpower at home, Lin Ze did not plan on saturating the streets with bread. Therefore, based on the town’s population, they set a limit on the number of bread they would sell each day.

They decided to sell a total of 800 loaves of bread per day, and once they were sold out, they would stop selling – a modern form of hunger marketing.

After implementing this rule, the sales of their bread noticeably increased. Previously, they would sell until the afternoon, but with the limited quantity, they could sell out by noon, which resulted in great success.

Selling 800 loaves of bread per day brought in about 2 taels of silver after deducting the costs!

Zhang Xiu wished he could spend the whole day on the street selling bread. He was willing to endure the fatigue because the business was so profitable.

However, Lin Ze needed time to study, and even half a day was already quite limited. While money was important, passing the imperial examination was even more crucial. He could not have such a narrow vision.

But the temptation of earning a few taels of silver in a day was hard to resist. Zhang Xiu felt it was a waste to sell for only half a day. Since Lin Ze could not spare more time, why not hire someone to help with the selling?

With this approach, Lin Ze could focus on studying in the morning and only be responsible for making the bread.

“This idea is feasible. However, let’s take a closer look. We should wait until we are fully on track before hiring someone. The time is too short, and there might be some minor issues we haven’t noticed yet. Now is the crucial time to establish our reputation and brand. Rarity makes things valuable, so we must make the people in town feel that the bread is a rare and excellent item…”