I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 77

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 77. Upgrade (2)
Most people would cheer with both hands if they could live without working, yet here they were, already making a fuss about it.
So Yeon-hui barely suppressed her laughter as she spoke to the twins.
“You two need to come with me to Jin-seong to sell fragrant oil and duhwa. We promised we’d do it that way before, remember?”
“Yes!”
“Really? We’re really going too?”
“Of course.”
After saying so, So Yeon-hui sought her mother’s permission once more.
Since they’d be taking a carriage rather than a cart, safety was ostensibly assured to some degree. But even so, sending three minor children alone on a two-hour journey to Jin-seong and back wasn’t without considerable worry.
Yet Jang responded by encouraging So Yeon-hui instead.
“Frankly, I was never comfortable with you going out alone anyway. Fifteen or ten—to my eyes they’re all the same. Besides, adults from the Shim Household are going with you. That puts my mind at ease.”
Indeed, So Yeon-hui herself had deliberately restructured the mechanics of the business for safety’s sake.
Before, she’d traveled only with the two women responsible for tofu sales, Yu and Song. Now she made sure that at least one adult male—either the Shim Family Eldest Son or Lee—accompanied every trip.
Moreover, she’d adjusted the tofu sales method somewhat.
She’d shifted from the previous consignment model to wholesale distribution to those who wished to retail it.
As a result, every morning once the tofu was ready, various merchants who wanted to carry So Household tofu would gather together in Mangok Village before departing.
What safer business route could there be?
However, not everyone was entirely satisfied with this new arrangement.
* * *
“Everything’s fine otherwise… but couldn’t we go back to charging a commission? That way we could start the work with less burden.”
In the predawn hours, helping make tofu had been wonderful, certainly.
Even though she’d received her wage separately, now that she had to actually purchase the tofu she’d simply been selling before, a sense of regret had crept in—wasn’t that it?
Yu pursed her lips somewhat reluctantly.
“But if we do it that way, it’ll be difficult to increase production volume. The burden of managing inventory will grow too heavy. It’d be far better if we maintained small-scale production and small-scale sales exclusively.”
In fact, when they’d rebuilt the kitchen, production had increased substantially, and the burden along with it.
They needed to sell a hundred and sixty blocks of tofu daily. If any remained unsold, how would they absorb the loss?
There was no refrigerator here, so the shelf life was terribly short.
Perhaps Yu feared the opportunity to buy wholesale tofu might disappear?
Song cried out in alarm and interjected.
“Oh, Miss Yeon-hui! I have no complaints about buying wholesale. In fact, I’ve been carefully saving money because I want to buy a lot and sell a lot!”
That wasn’t all. Even Yang, whom Jeong had introduced when he took charge of the kitchen renovation, and her daughter Jeong Sang-sang hurried to add their own words, worried lest the opportunity slip away.
“Our family is also saving up the wages Father received, wanting to participate in that ‘tofu wholesale’! Isn’t that right, Mother?”
“Of course! At minimum, we’ve decided to buy at least twenty blocks!”
In fact, there was a reason these people were stepping forward with such enthusiasm.
Because the So Household had been providing workers with rice and meat side dishes daily, people had come to think of tofu as “the So Household’s secret to sudden wealth.”
Well, tofu actually was a high-efficiency product with a 20% cost margin—if you bought beans worth five cash, you could make at least twenty-four cash in profit.
The fact that it was a popular item that sold dozens of blocks every day was a bonus.
So how could people who’d heard rumors of the So Household making a fortune through trade not come flocking to buy wholesale from her?
Considering their psychology, So Yeon-hui made one final, careful appeal.
“Wholesale isn’t a bad thing at all, aunties. You can decide yourselves how much to sell each block for. Do it right, and your profit margin will be much larger than before.”
In other words, even if they went to towns farther than Jin-seong and sold each block for five or six cash, she wouldn’t interfere at all!
At that, the Shim Family Eldest Son stepped forward and asked.
“Is there perhaps a limit to the amount of tofu each person can buy wholesale?”
“Minimum ten blocks, maximum forty. One tray holds twenty blocks each, and if one person takes more than two trays, they can’t sell in multiple locations, can they? Some spot will definitely end up with leftover stock, and another will fall short.”
The moment she finished speaking, Song, standing nearby, raised her hand.
“Then we’ll take forty blocks. Twenty blocks don’t even last half a time period—they sell out completely.”
“Our family’s eldest takes twenty blocks. We’re thinking of heading toward Gangha Village.”
Yu quickly chimed in, and just like that, wholesale arrangements for sixty blocks were settled.
Then Jeong and Lee and Yu’s husband began competing eagerly, afraid of falling behind.
“Then we’ll take forty! At minimum thirty!”
“Wait, you said twenty blocks yesterday!”
“That was yesterday! Look, we’ve got the money all ready now, just hand over the goods!”
“Agreed! Then we’ll take forty blocks too!”
“My, this way we’ll automatically win the bid for twenty blocks.”
Amid this fierce competition, So Yeon-hui wrote the quantities on bamboo records and laughed.
‘Just as I thought—people move when they fear missing out on profit.’
She’d briefly worried whether she could wholesale all a hundred and sixty blocks, but by turning it into a zero-sum game, they sold out instantly.
Fear of the cost of purchasing tofu had been defeated by the fear of missing a profit opportunity.
But while they haggled so fiercely over tofu, she made sure the core product—duhwa—remained exclusively sold at the So Household Snack Shop. What better risk management could there be?
“Good. Then let’s all work hard on sales today!”
So Yeon-hui smiled brightly as she distributed receipts to each household.
The So Household’s proper food business was beginning.
* * *
They arrived in Jin-seong just as the Morning Period was ending.
While So Yeon-su and So Yeon-u unloaded cargo from the carriage, So Yeon-hui opened the shop stall.
Unlike before, with its proper signboard, this was no longer a spare corner of the Jang butcher shop—it was the So Household’s own store.
Ju Ha-yoon had found it as compensation for advising on the aqueduct system.
“But wasn’t that settling the tax issue, sir? You said using bamboo pipes had become difficult anyway, so why are you trying to give us a store on top of that?”
“Resolving tax matters is ordinarily the magistrate’s responsibility. Rather, asking compensation for such duties was wrong of me in the first place. I apologize for that. I failed to manage my subordinates properly.”
A man of such character bowing his head so humbly and apologizing—her heart would have to be stone not to waver.
In the end, So Yeon-hui promised to spend time after business each week providing Ju Ha-yoon with separate policy advice.
That would serve as payment for the shop’s rent, she said.
Thanks to that arrangement, she now set down a large pot of duhwa on the counter in a far more pleasant space.
Somehow, word had gotten out.
“Duhwa’s here!”
“Two ladles for me!”
“Me too! Plenty of black sugar syrup, just two ladles please!”
Those who’d been waiting since morning crowded toward the shop, creating a throng.
So Yeon-su’s eyes went wide with excitement even before sales had officially started.
“Sister, this is huge! I think we’ll sell out in less than an hour today too?”
“Of course. It’ll be incredibly busy, so don’t stop moving. We don’t have time to chat, you two.”
“Got it! Don’t worry.”
“Leave the register to us!”
The twins immediately took their positions and answered So Yeon-hui’s directions.
So Yeon-hui would call out order amounts after receiving payment, filling bamboo cups with duhwa. So Yeon-su would drizzle the black sugar syrup, and So Yeon-u would seal them with paper lids before handing them to customers.
Three people moving as one body.
Thanks to that coordination, even the chaotic morning rush orders that would have frazzled a solo operator were handled flawlessly.
But the real test was just beginning. While handling customers in the rush, a small child approached clutching a bundle of bamboo cups.
“Sister So, I brought ten bamboo cups! All cleaned!”
“Oh, already? You collected ten last time too. Just a moment.”
So Yeon-hui took the cups and checked each seal at the bottom one by one.
‘Let’s see. The So Household seal… one, two, three, four… Good. Ten exactly.’
She placed the empty cups in a pallet at the back of the shop, then scooped a generous ladle of duhwa into a fresh cup.
She asked So Yeon-su to drizzle black sugar syrup on it and handed it directly to the child.
“Here’s your duhwa. You did a great job collecting today too! Please keep helping us!”
“Thank you! I’ll keep collecting!”
The moment the child turned to leave, a familiar notification chime sounded and a Good Deed Points alert window appeared.
[Minor Good Deed achieved: You have practiced environmental conservation and charitable campaign initiatives.]
[5pt have been credited.]
[Current balance: 1,045pt]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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