A Small Farmer Girl 's Story of Making a Fortune by Farming

42

　　The weather in July was extremely hot. Not only people, but also livestock and poultry had to hide under the shade of trees to avoid the sun.

　　On summer afternoons, farmers rested in their houses, but the workers on the docks were reluctant to rest, enduring the scorching heat and high temperatures, and continued to move goods.

　　Therefore, the Shen family's lunch box business did not decrease due to the hot weather.

　　However, the original pig intestines and lung slices can no longer be sold.

　　In ancient times, there were no refrigerators and food was difficult to store, especially meat, which would spoil and stink within half a day, attracting flies.

　　Cleaning and cooking the pig intestines and lung slices takes a lot of effort. If you cook them for home, it's fine. You don't have to worry about them going bad if you buy them and cook them right away. But Shen's lunch boxes only sell lunch at noon. If you cook them right away, you won't have enough time. If you prepare them in advance, you're afraid they'll go bad.

　　When doing business, especially a small food business like the Shen family, word of mouth is the most important thing. Therefore, the Shen family would never dare to sell food that has gone bad.

　　I can't sell pig intestines and lung slices, and the cost of other meat dishes is too high and not cost-effective. I'm afraid the lunch box business will be difficult.

　　Fortunately, Shen Yao was smart. If he couldn't sell meat, he could sell river food. In addition to the big pond where fish were raised in the village, there were many small rivers and lakes around. There were no big fish there, but there were countless snails and clams. If you were lucky, you could even catch some small fish and shrimps.

　　At first, Shen Laosan and his wife helped to pick the snails, but they had to work in the fields, so Shen Yao came up with an idea to let the half-grown children in the village to pick them. After picking them, they would sell them to her at a price of one penny for three catties.

　　Snails and clams have more shells than meat. A pound of snails only yields three ounces of meat. Three pounds for one penny is not a bargain. Besides, the kids have nothing to do anyway.

　　Originally, Shen Hongmei only told this matter to her two good sisters, asking them to go with her to catch snails, and her family would pay for as many as they caught.

　　Country children under the age of ten had rarely seen copper coins, let alone owned one.

　　The first two times, when other people saw the little girl rubbing some river clams and snails, they thought she was going to take them back to satisfy her cravings. But she came to touch them every day, so someone asked about it. One of the girls was simple-minded and told her the story directly.

　　The adults who heard this thought, "Is there such a good thing? Can you earn money just by picking up snails and clams?" They hurried home and asked their children to pick up snails, since they also go to the river to play with ducks every day, so they might as well earn some pocket money.

　　Just like this, you can always see the children of Dalui Village carrying small buckets by the streams and rivers in and outside the village.

　　"Sister Hongmei, next time my mother asks you about it, can you say that I only touched three kilograms?" Hu Lei looked straight at Shen Hongmei with pleading eyes.

　　Yesterday he was lucky and found a stream, the water was clear and shallow, and it was full of snails. He was so happy to pick them up, and when he took them to Shen's house and weighed them, he found that they weighed a total of 8.7 jin. Grandpa Shen counted it as 9 jin and gave him three cents.