64 Cooperation
“Zhou Yu, what is this all about? Why did you ask me to come over so late at night?”
The village chief walked in with his hands behind his back and a smile on his face.
Hearing the village chief’s voice, Zhou Yu and Liu Liangcai stood up.
Liu Liangcai also smiled and teased, “That’s right. Village Chief, don’t say that you’re confused. I’m also very confused. Brother Zhou has always been mysterious and didn’t say anything. Look, now that the village chief is here, don’t keep us in suspense.”
The last sentence was directed at Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu smiled and invited the two of them into the house to sit down.
At this moment, Zhou Xiaoli and Zhang Lan walked in with two dishes.
Zhou Yu smiled and said, “There, don’t be anxious. My daughter is here. My daughter has to tell you about this. She’s smart and can explain it clearly. I’m not as eloquent, haha.”
In the Zhou family, Zhou Yu and Zhang Lan listen to Zhou Xiaoli. The village chief and Liu Liangcai also knew about this.
Therefore, they did not feel like they were being made fun of by asking them to listen to a little girl.
Instead, they looked over to Zhou Xiaoli, waiting for her to speak.
Zhou Xiaoli did not speak immediately. Instead, she held up the wine pot and poured wine for the three of them.
In the end, she poured herself a cup of tea and smiled at the two of them. “In the past, our family was in trouble and our parents were sick. It’s all thanks to your care that we manage to pull through. Allow me to use tea in place of wine and make a toast to both of you.”
Seeing this, the two of them hurriedly picked up their wine cups and drank it in one gulp along with Zhou Xiaoli.
Then, the village chief laughed and said, “Little Li, you’re too polite. This is what we should do.”
Liu Liangcai also said, “That’s right, that’s right. Not to mention that I’m indebted to your father, we are afterall from the same village so we should help each other.”
However, Zhou Xiaoli said, “Even though that’s what you said, no matter what, our entire family will remember your kindness to our family.”
“Ever since I was young, my mother has taught me about gratitude. As such, I will definitely repay those who have shown me kindness. Naturally, if there are people who want to find trouble with me, I won’t be soft-hearted as well.”
The two of them nodded in agreement. “That’s true. We don’t cause trouble and would repay kindness, but we’re not afraid of trouble and we would take revenge if necessary!”
Zhou Xiaoli went straight to the point and said with a smile, “Therefore, the two uncles are good brothers with my father. As the saying goes, good brothers naturally share blessings and difficulties together.”
“Now that my family has discovered a way to make money, we want to cooperate with the two uncles to earn money together.”
At this moment, both of them looked at Zhou Xiaoli with a serious expression on their faces, waiting for her to continue.
“Uncles, I’m sure you’ve heard that we went to the county city to sell sugar today.”
They both nodded.
The village chief said, “When your aunt came back today, she also said that this is a sign that even the heavens were taking pity on your family for the past sufferings. It’s a blessing.”
Zhou Xiaoli smiled, turned around, and placed two sugar cubes in front of the two of them. She continued, “Uncles, I’m selling this kind of sugar, not the malt sugar we usually eat.”
“This is called cane sugar. The capital had just started selling this thing, but the production is limited. It’s very expensive.”
When they heard that this was something that only existed in the capital, their hands trembled as they picked up the cane sugar.
“This… Isn’t this very expensive?”
Zhou Xiaoli nodded. “Yes, cane sugar is sweeter than malt sugar, so the price is slightly higher. I’ve reached an agreement with the shopkeeper of the county’s sugar shop. They will buy it from us at 60 copper coins per half kilogram.”
The two of them widened their eyes. “If the purchase price is so high, wouldn’t it be even more expensive to sell it?!”
Zhou Xiaoli nodded. “That’s right. In the current market, sugar is being sold at 10 copper coins per 30 grams.”
Hearing that it was so expensive, the two of them could not help but swallow their saliva.
Then, he asked, “So, lass, are you saying that you want to work with us to sell sugar?”
The two of them spoke with trembling voices.
Zhou Xiaoli smiled and nodded affirmatively. “That’s right. After discussing with my parents, I invited the two of you here. I want to work with you to make and sell sugar. What do you think?”
This was a big deal. They would definitely earn a lot of money if they were to join in.
Both of them knew what was going on, so they were naturally happy to join.
However, at the same time, they were touched that Zhou Xiaoli was willing to let them in on such a good business opportunity. They were a little confused and at the same time, felt like they were dreaming.
The village chief was a little uncertain. “Well, Little Li, we don’t know anything. Aren’t we taking advantage of you in this case.”
Zhou Xiaoli could not help but laugh, “Uncle Village Chief, what you said is wrong. It would be the greatest help to us if you could join us.”
“Making sugar is not an easy task. My parents and I can’t manage it all. If we hire workers to make the sugar, trust is an issue.”
“As for Uncle Village Chief and Uncle Liu, you are people that our entire family trusts. We are all very willing to have you join us.”
Hearing Zhou Xiaoli’s words, the two of them couldn’t help but look at each other with obvious excitement on their faces. They clapped and said in unison, “Then, we’ll listen to you. We’re willing to join!”
Zhou Xiaoli nodded and took out a ledger. She then explained the details. “Uncles, I’ll split it into shares for you to invest.”
“Invest?”
The two of them were dumbfounded again.
Zhou Xiaoli did not explain. Instead, she continued, “Hm, this batch of beetroots was paid for by my family. It’s a total of 308 copper coins. Uncles, give me 102 copper coins each as your capital.”
“Moving forward, the three families will pay for the beetroots together. We’ll split the profits 40%, 30% and 30%.”
“Because the recipe and sales channel were provided by my family, my family takes 40% and the two uncles would take 30% respectively. What do you think?”
“30%?”
Their eyes widened upon hearing Zhou Xiaoli’s words.
Zhou Xiaoli: “Mm, do you think it’s too little?”
The two of them quickly waved their hands.
Liu Liangcai said with trembling hands, “No, no, it is because that’s too much.”
The village chief also said, “That’s right. There’s no need for 30%. Just give us 20%.”
Liu Liangcai nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Zhou Xiaoli had her own plans for this distribution.
When their orchard was completed, they would shift their focus to the orchard.
As for the sugar business, it would probably be handed over to the two families.
Therefore, Zhou Xiaoli gave them 30% of the profits.
Hence, she smiled and said, “Uncles, listen to me. My family is small in size and my brother is still young. In the future, I still have to rely a lot on you. 30% is not much.”
After being persuaded by Zhou Xiaoli, the two of them could not persuade Zhou Xiaoli to give up, so they nodded in agreement. However, they secretly made up their minds that they had to do more work to deserve the 30%!
Zhou Xiaoli did not know what the two of them were thinking. She took out the contract that she had prepared earlier and placed it on the table. The same document in three copies.
“Uncles, please don’t take it to heart. As the saying goes, even blood brothers should settle their accounts clearly. In order for our three families to cooperate for a long time, we have to sign a contract.”
“The contract includes the distribution of the shares of the three families, the confidentiality obligations of each family, and the compensation for breach of contract.”