Chapter 105: Huge Profits

what?
Setting up a stall to sell crayfish?
The villagers were stunned when they heard this. For some reason, they suddenly had a bad feeling in their hearts.

Bai Tao continued, "Find a board and write 10 kilograms of crayfish for 1 kilogram of food."

"By the way, the food we exchanged for is dried sweet potatoes or corn kernels."

After a pause, she continued, "For corn, 20 catties of crayfish are needed for one catty, and for rice or flour, 23 catties of crayfish are needed for one catty."

Bai Tao has considered this exchange ratio carefully.

If the exchange rate is high, then ordinary people will have no chance of survival. Once the government intervenes, ordinary people may even have to pay a crayfish tax.

With such an exchange rate, whether it is refugees passing through Qingzhou or ordinary people in Qingzhou, they can exchange a few kilograms of food by picking up 100 to 180 kilograms a day, which can be enough to eat for three to five days.

One hundred or eighty kilograms can only be exchanged for a few kilograms of corn. Those who are rich and powerful do not care about it and will not send people to enclose land and snatch it from the common people.

Only the rich and powerful would look down on this little grain, so it would end up in the hands of ordinary people.

Picking up crayfish is not difficult. People in their 50s and 60s can do it, as can children as young as six or seven years old. It can be said that it provides everyone with a channel to support themselves.

After Bai Tao finished speaking, she saw that the villagers all looked distressed, and couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

"Didn't you eat enough just now?"

"No."

"Auntie, why should we take food and ask someone to collect crayfish? It's not like we can't pick them up ourselves."

You can just pick them up on the street, and you even have to spend food to get people to collect them. If the person who said this was not Bai Tao, the villagers would probably ask if you had been kicked in the head by a donkey.

"Yes, auntie, we don't have any important work to do now, so we can pick it up ourselves."

Bai Tao blinked: "I just don't want you to be too tired."

Of course you should treat people from your own village with care when using them.

Of course, the main reason is the small number of people and low efficiency.

When the villagers heard this, they felt warmed in their hearts and were moved and began to speak.

"Auntie, we are not tired."

"Yes, auntie, we are not tired at all."

"Aunt, if we are tired, we will rest."

"Auntie, this little bit of work isn't even half as tiring as farming."

As they talked, everyone couldn't wait to carry a few large sacks and run back and forth two or three times for her to see.

Bai Tao quickly waved her hands: "There is strength in numbers. The reproduction of crayfish is seasonal. What if they are gone in a few days?"

"Don't worry, Auntie, we will hurry up and pick up more."

"Yes, auntie, we made an appointment with them this morning. They just need to pack the crayfish from their homes and shops into sacks, and we will carry them away in the evening."

In the final analysis, it is because of the harvest that everyone feels the pain.

Bai Tao shook her head: "That's still not enough."

No matter how hard the villagers try to pick up the waste, they can never collect it as fast as those who set up stalls.

Seeing this, the villagers couldn't help but look at Bai Dashan, "Village chief, please give them some advice."

Bai Dashan thought for a moment and said, "Auntie, can we set up the stall tomorrow?"

Bai Tao thought the villagers were tired, so she agreed: "Okay, let's go tomorrow." It wouldn't be a big deal to delay for one night.

"Village chief..." a villager tried to say something.

"Listen to me, don't delay my business." Bai Dashan made the villagers obey with just one sentence. Then he explained to Bai Tao: "Aunt, we are going a day later because we have already made an agreement with the people in the city today."

"It would be inappropriate if we carried away the crayfish and then went to the city gate to set up a stall to collect food."

After hearing this, Bai Tao complained in her heart, is it appropriate to set up a stall to collect crayfish tomorrow? !
Despite all the complaints, Bai Tao still agreed to the villagers' request.

"Okay, then we'll set up a stall at the city gate at 10 a.m. tomorrow."

"But, auntie, your price..."

Bai Tao coughed twice and said, "Do you think the price is too low?"

"No." Bai Dashan shook his head: "It's too high."

Carrying large sacks at the dock for a day only earns thirty-five or thirty-six cents. During the slack season, everyone scrambles for work and the price can be three or five cents lower.

Before the price of grain went up, thirty-five or six cents could buy two kilograms of grain, leaving seven or eight cents left over.

Crayfish are now rampant and have no owner. In Qingzhou, you can just bend down and pick them up.

Given the situation, the price is really too high.

Bai Tao: "Uh..." She felt a little guilty about setting this exchange rate, after all, it was twelve coins per pound when sold to the mall.

Twelve coins can buy six or seven kilograms of dried sweet potatoes, which is a huge profit.

"Then increase the price by two or three pounds of crayfish?"

Bai Dashan: "Let's adjust it to five kilograms."

"Auntie, if you take it too easy, I'm afraid it will make people jealous."

The aunt is still too young, and Bai Dashan and others think it is better not to let her know about some terrible things.

However, the people of Taohua Village had no idea that Bai Tao knew better than they did how cruel and oppressive social classes were.

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

That night, the people in Taohua Village were picking crayfish like crazy.

Everyone was determined to pick up more, and more, so that they could save more food for the next day.

The next day, except for the people who were picked by Bai Dashan to set up stalls at the city gate to collect crayfish, everyone else was still working hard to pick up crayfish.

The main point is that if you pick up one more pound, others will pick up one less pound, which is equivalent to you getting a pound of advantage.

Besides, it is rare to have such an easy job that is also a way to honor my aunt. Any delay would be disrespectful to my aunt.

Zhou Yang heard yesterday about the Baijiabao caravan picking up bugs after entering the city. Although he didn't know what the Baijiabao caravan wanted to do with these bugs, they were all over the ground and it was not difficult to pick them up.

A few large sacks of bugs could bring some good fortune to the Baijiabao caravan, which wouldn't be a bad thing for his family.

So, early this morning, he took advantage of the fact that he had nothing to do and took a few people from his family to pick up a few large sacks.

Zhou Yang said a little embarrassedly: "Manager Bai, I heard that your caravan is interested in this bug. My family picked it up today. I hope you don't mind."

Bai Duojin looked at Zhou Yang, then at the several large sacks behind him, and thought to himself, this old Zhou Tao is a good man, but his stall has been set up for a while.

"I won't take it. You can take it outside the city gate. There are stalls there that collect it."

When Zhou Yang's younger brother Zhou Qing heard this, he couldn't help but want to grumble.

These eight large sacks are not light. Besides, it costs money to go into the city. They don’t have the money to waste. If they had known earlier, they would rather not pick them up.

But the next second, Bai Duojin's words made Zhou Yang and others open their eyes wide.

"These are not bugs, they are called crayfish. Fifteen pounds can be exchanged for one pound of food."

(End of this chapter)