Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 237: Widespread Publicity

The woman was quite interested and said, "I wonder what kind of food it is and whether it is expensive. If it is expensive, forget it."

Shen Yu said, "A portion of Jiangxiang pancake costs ten cents, and a portion of Thousand Layer Meat Pie costs twenty cents. An adult man can eat a portion of meat pie with some porridge or soup in one meal."

The woman inquired, "It sounds like the thousand-layer meat pie has more meat in it, but the price is not cheap. What about the sauce-flavored pie? Is there meat in it? Can I eat enough with one serving?"

Shen Yu measured it with his hand and said, "Yes, a portion of sauce-flavored pancake is about this size, fried in oil and topped with meat sauce. One and a half portions are enough to fill you up."

The woman did the math and nodded, saying, "If fifteen cents can fill my stomach, then it's quite a bargain. If you bring it to me, the boat owner will definitely be willing to buy it."

"There are at least three or four people on each of our ships, so a meal requires a lot of food."

"I just don't know if it will go bad if I leave it for two more days. If it doesn't go bad, it's not uncommon to buy enough for two or three meals at a time."

Shen Yu asked, "It will still be crispy and delicious after two days in this weather. I also want to ask you, my lady, are there many ships docking here every day?"

The woman nodded. "It's autumn now, the weather is good, most ships stop to resupply and then continue on their way."

"There are always fifty or sixty ships coming in and out of the dock every day. We are waiting for a convoy to come with a batch of goods. Otherwise, we would all leave now."

Shen Yu thanked the middle-aged woman, said goodbye to Li and left.

Li was worried: "How can we sell these? We can't set up a stall here. If we put them in the store, the boatman won't know about it."

Shen Yu had already made up her mind, and said with a smile: "Mom, let's go back, there will always be a way."

"The food on these ships is indeed simple. If I knew where to buy delicious and long-lasting food, I would definitely buy it. It's just that I don't know now."

"Then let's think of a way to let them know that we sell these in our store, right?"

As they were talking, they returned to the dock and saw that there were yamen runners maintaining order at the dock. It was busy but not chaotic.

Li said, "Can we ask the yamen runners to give us some advice?"

Shen Yu shook his head: "The runners are sent by the government, and they are not in the same faction as the merchants. If they help us sell to the merchants, the merchants will be disgusted."

The two stood and watched the busy convoy for a while, and then Shen Yu pulled Li back.

Walking on the road, Shen Yu looked around.

Li asked her what she was looking for, Shen Yu smiled and said, "I wonder if there is a bookstore here, I want to buy some paper."

Mrs. Li didn't understand why Shen Yu wanted to buy all these, and just said, "We still have some writing paper at home, why would we buy more paper for nothing?"

Shen Yu smiled and said, "I have an idea. What if we write down the prices of the food sold in our store on pieces of paper?"

"If a customer comes to the store to buy food, give him a promotional note like this."

"Whether he brings it back to the store or takes it on the ship or the caravan, then people around him will know that there is such a restaurant in the market and what is sold in the restaurant?"

Li didn't quite understand what he said at first, but after Shen Yu explained it, he immediately understood.

She clapped her hands happily and said, "This is a good idea. Customers may not open the basket to show others after buying food, but if we write it on paper, anyone who can read will know that our restaurant is right away."

At this point, Li suddenly shook her head and said, "It still won't work. Not everyone can read. If you meet someone who can't read, wouldn't it be a waste of a piece of paper?"

"The paper used for the notes needs to be better. It's very expensive."

Shen Yu thought of the colorful advertisements and flyers in the future and smiled: "Anyone who does business or sails abroad, even if they can't read, must be able to recognize the numbers used for accounting."

"The promotional paper not only has the names of the various foods written on it, but also has pictures of the various foods."

“For example, if you draw a meat pie, and then write the word meat pie and the price, even if you can’t read, you can still understand the painting.”

Mrs. Li nodded her head and said happily, "Then every customer who comes to buy food from us will know about our store. This is much better than word of mouth."

Shen Yu nodded, and Li sighed proudly: "Oh, my daughter is so smart. I wonder who will be lucky enough to marry you in the future."

Shen Yu was originally very happy, but after hearing this, he sighed in his heart: "Mom really always keeps finding a good son-in-law in mind."

She just pretended not to hear and continued walking forward, keeping an eye out for any bookstores among the shops along the street.

After walking for a while, I saw a small bookstore on the corner.

This bookstore was much smaller than the one Shen Yu and Yu Cheng often went to. Shen Yu and Li walked in with the mentality of going in to take a look since they were passing by.

I didn't expect that although there were not many books in this shop, there were many kinds of paper.

After asking, I found out that this place mainly sells various packaging papers.

For example, very expensive silk satin materials are wrapped in soft and delicate cotton paper.

Compared to wrapping it with a piece of rough cloth, it looks delicate and will not scratch the fabric.

Li and Shen Yu looked at these exquisite colored cotton papers and flowered papers, guessing the price, and they didn't know how to start.

The owner of the bookstore was a very gentle middle-aged man, thin and with a kind face.

Seeing that Shen Yu and the others were just looking at them but not asking any questions, he stepped forward and said with a gentle smile, "My ladies, how are you? I don't know what you want to buy them for. There are many kinds of paper in the shop, and these are only a part of them. There are also some in the warehouse at the back."

Shen Yu nodded with a smile and asked, "How are you, shopkeeper? May I ask if there is any paper that is a little harder and cheaper?"

The shopkeeper asked, "What do you want to do with it, young lady? To paste windows, to wrap things, or something else?"

Shen Yu measured the size with his hands and said, "Cut it into a piece this big and use it to write the names and prices of the food. When you pack for the guests, take one with you."

The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "Wait a moment, young lady. There is a kind of thick hemp paper in the storeroom that should be suitable. I will go get it for you to have a look."

As he said this, he turned through the small door of the shop and went to the backyard.

Li whispered, "The paper here looks so fine and soft. I'm afraid it's more expensive than ordinary cotton cloth."

"I wonder what kind of thick hemp paper the shopkeeper got and how much it costs. If it's too expensive, let's go to a few more bookstores to have a look."

Shen Yu nodded and whispered, "Don't worry, I'll save it. We'll use a lot of promotional paper, so we'll naturally have to choose the paper that's reasonably priced."