"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven......"

In winter, when the sky is still dark, the old cave courtyard of my father is lively, and the courtyard is lit with good lamps, and a few fires are made to strengthen the light. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 infoAt this time, my dad no longer worries about the cost of lamp oil.

The courtyard of dawn is full of a basket of freshly steamed yellow buns.

Uncle Zhao and Uncle Wang's two government soldiers, as well as Ke Xiaoba, Ke Thirteen, two descendants, and Ke Shan Ke Wu, two of Zhang Chao's big disciples, even Daddy and Zhang Chao, the eight of them were constantly busy.

All day yesterday, the eight of them were preparing for this morning.

Pull a stone mill to hull the millet and grind the millet into flour with a stone mill. Then the noodles are sieved and kneaded, the red beans and red dates are steamed, and finally made into bean paste and date paste filling. When the noodles are fermented, they are busy making steamed buns.

One stone of millet seeds, plus yeast and water, noodles, plus bean paste and date paste, almost finally made a two-stone steamed bun.

One stone here is a unit of volume, one stone is equal to ten buckets, and one bucket is ten liters. In the Tang Dynasty, one liter was equal to three small liters, while one small liter was only two hundred milliliters. Therefore, this large liter is only 600 milliliters, and the density of millet is about the same as flour, about 520 grams per liter of millet.

Zhang Chao converted in his heart, and one liter of millet noodles in this Tang Dynasty was only 312 grams. And Datang is 16 taels per catty, about 680 grams, and the average one tael is only 42.5 grams. In fact, a liter of millet noodles, if changed to a weight unit, is only a little more than seven taels.

With two stones, Zhang Chao finally made 2,000 buns.

Zhang Chao's yellow buns are not too big, about fifty grams per bun, a little more than one or two. This size is about the same as a white-flour steamed bun in later generations.

One stone of millet noodles, and finally steamed a full 2,000 yellow buns.

Looking at the baskets of yellow-flour steamed buns, everyone was very tired, but they were all very excited.

"One stone of millet noodles costs 3,000 yuan, steamed 2,000 yellow steamed buns, and one steamed bun costs half a penny." Ke 13 wrenched his fingers and said seriously.

"Guawa, red beans and jujubes are also the capital." Ke Wu taught his nephew that he was too young.

"Red beans and jujubes are not worth much, and the red bean paste is mainly red beans, and red beans are cheap. The cost of the bean paste here is less than 1,000 yuan, and even if it is 1,000 yuan, such a bun is only two dollars. ”

Beans belong to coarse grains, which are not worth much compared to millet seeds. Even the big red dates, that's an extremely cheap thing.

"San Lang, how much do we sell for a bun?"

Everyone looked at Zhang Chao. Such a delicious yellow bun must not be sold too cheaply. But just now, the cost of this yellow steamed bun is actually very low, even cheaper than ordinary steamed cakes.

Now the price of grain is so expensive, a bucket of millet costs 300 yuan, a bucket of rice costs 500 yuan, and a bucket of beans costs 200 yuan. Eating a meal outside, even if it's just a bowl of soup and cakes, it will cost fifty yuan if you can't get it right.

Usually, Qi Niang also buys steamed cakes in the shop, which are about the same size as yellow buns, and they are all sold for five cents.

The yellow flour bun is so delicious, not to mention selling more, at least it has to be at the same price as ordinary steamed cakes.

The cost of materials is one or two cents, and if you sell it for five cents, the profit is indeed very high. However, Zhang Chao is not satisfied, and in his opinion, the cost is not more than two pennies.

The labor cost has not yet been calculated.

Eight people worked for a whole day, and it would take a day for these buns to be sold. Therefore, the labor cost actually has to be counted for 16 days.

How much should the labor cost be calculated for one day?

There is a rule in the Tang Dynasty that the common people need to serve for the state for free for 20 days a year, and if those who cannot serve, they need to pay for the service according to the amount of two feet of silk per day. A piece of silk is now worth five hundred, and two feet of silk is one hundred dollars.

One hundred dollars is only two liters of rice, which can be exchanged for three liters of more millet seeds.

This standard is definitely higher than the income of ordinary people.

Sixteen days of labor is equal to 1,600 dollars. It was folded into 2,000 buns, and the cost of each increased by 0.8 cents.

This is not counting the cost of alkaline noodles, an exclusive secret seasoning.

The cost of secret seasonings is not cheap, and things such as alkali stone are sold in pharmacies, so the price is not cheap. For this stone millet noodles, Zhang Chao used one liter of alkaline noodles, which is equivalent to one percent of the proportion. The cost of materials used in this liter of alkaline noodles, not counting Zhang Chao's technology and labor, also costs 500 yuan.

Zhang Chao also has an exclusive secret method, and the value of this thing is hard to say.

The top secrecy of this family alone makes Zhang Chao even if he is worth anything.

If you don't talk about the value of this secret recipe, only the actual cost of the secret recipe, then when converted, the total cost of each steamed bun is 3,000 yuan for millet noodles, fermented heads, alkaline noodles, bean paste and labor, and even counting firewood, the total cost is 3,000 yuan for millet noodles, 2,000 yuan for red beans and jujubes, 1,600 yuan for labor, and 500 yuan for alkaline noodles, a total of 7,100 yuan.

The whole instinct of a steamed bun can be folded to more than three and a half dollars.

"Why don't we sell ten cents each?" Zhang Chao said tentatively to his father.

Daddy put a basket of freshly steamed buns into a bun box, "It's expensive." ”

Usually, the buns sold outside are all five wen a piece, and everyone dares to get used to this price. Even if there are fluctuations, it will follow the rise and fall of grain prices, if other buns sell for five wen a piece, but you buy ten wen, then everyone will definitely not come to buy yours. Not to mention that the price has doubled to ten yuan, even if it rises by one yuan, it will be sold for six yuan, but I am afraid that everyone will not necessarily come to buy it.

After being reminded by his father, Zhang Chao also realized that he had indeed ignored the psychology of his sales targets.

"I said, I'll sell it for five cents." Daddy's word. Dad is the kind of person who is relatively simple, he will not be as shrewd and calculating as Zhang Chao, thinking about how to maximize profits. He thought, the book of three and a half cents also includes labor, and sells five yuan. One will earn one and a half dollars, and two thousand will earn three thousand dollars.

Take a stone of millet and less than half of the red beans to make a bun, but in the end the net profit can still buy a stone of corn, this profit is already very good.

To be a man is to be content, to be content and happy.

Zhang Chao is not so simple, but he considers a new thing, and what he needs at the beginning is fame. As long as everyone accepts it and has fame, everything else will naturally come. Now to make less money, it is regarded as advertising. People have to make money when they lose money, and their profits can reach more than 50 percent, which can be regarded as huge profits, and there is nothing to be satisfied with.

"Okay, just five cents."

Five copper plates and one bun, it is estimated that such a sky-high price will not last long. This year, Datang has captured the Central Plains, and even entered Hebei, following the pacification of Hedong, Datang took Henan and Hebei, although Hebei is now repeated, but in general Datang has occupied most of the north.

Li Jing also accompanied the clan Li Xiaogong to the south this year, and it only took two months for Li Jing to assist Li Xiaogong to pacify Xiao Mill, the largest separatist force in the south of the Yangtze River.

And now, it is said that Li Jingdu has crossed the Nanling Ridge and led the army to Guizhou, and the chieftains of the heroes and chieftains in Lingnan have surrendered one after another.

The north and the south are almost calm, the world of Datang has stabilized, the war has decreased, and production has resumed, especially after Datang got the Central Plains, Hebei and Jingxiang, Jiangnan and Lingnan, a large number of grain and other special products in the south will definitely be continuously imported into the north of the Central Plains, and even directly into Guanzhong.

At that time, it will certainly be impossible for grain prices to maintain a sky-high price of a few thousand wen per stone. At that time, perhaps as soon as the new grain was put on the market, the grain ships from the southeast would go north with Yang Guangxiu's Grand Canal, and the price of grain would definitely drop like a roller coaster.

Now the doumi is 500 wen, and the doumi 100 wen and 50 wen may not be able to sustain it by then.

Therefore, from this aspect, historical experience has told Zhang Chao that there is actually a lot to be done in this steamed bun business now. Turn the steamed bun into copper money, and when the grain falls, the copper money will return to its original value, at that time, Zhang Chao has a lot of copper money earned from selling steamed buns, but it will greatly appreciate in value, which is equivalent to being able to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune.

When it was dawn, Zhang Chao and the others also prepared 2,000 buns, all of which were packed in willow baskets covered with wheat oranges, and covered with jackets to keep warm.

Dad divided a group of jobs for everyone, Ke Xiaoba and Ke Thirteen in a group, Ke Shan Ke Wu in a group, Wang Shu Zhao in a group, Dad and Zhang Chao in a group, each group with 500 buns.

Daddy and Zhang Chao went to Chang'an, while the other three groups went to Ningmin County, Yushan and Lantian counties to sell.

It was agreed that this time it was mainly to sell to various restaurants, restaurants and inns, and by the way, it was also sold in bulk in the market, and tried to play the name of yellow buns.

In order to encourage their enthusiasm, Zhang Chao first paid each of the six of them a day's wages. One hundred yuan per person, a lot of money, as if it was the money to make a day's steamed buns yesterday. I also told them that I would go out to sell steamed buns today, and when I came back, I would be the same as 100 yuan per person.

Uncle Zhao, Uncle Wang, and Little Eight Little Thirteen and Fourteen were all sent by officials to serve with their fathers, so they didn't have to be paid, but Zhang Chao gave them, and Dad didn't object. The four of them excused themselves for a while, and finally accepted it happily.

As for Ke Shan Ke Wu and the two, they listened to Master Zhang Chao's words very much, and let them accept it.

However, when they got a string of yellow and clear copper coins, the effect was still obvious, and the six of them were obviously more motivated.

However, for Zhang Chao, this money has been included in the cost, and it does not affect the final profit. And the salary for three liters of millet noodles a day is actually very cheap. It's worth spending a little money to keep everyone so motivated. This is his own veteran employee.

Zhangjiagou is only thirty miles away from Chang'an City.

However, in this era, there are no cars or horses for these thirty miles, and you can only walk on a pair of feet. Zhang Chao and his father also carried more than 200 steamed buns, and even the basket was twenty or thirty pounds.

Daddy carried the basket on his back, did not carry his own iron gun, but only carried a horizontal knife.

The soldiers are qualified to travel with swords, and no one can make it difficult.

"Dad, you are also a military attache now, let's go back and sell buns and make money to buy you a horse first."

"This is not in a hurry, after making money, we will make a good new kiln first."

Carrying nearly thirty pounds of things, my father was as relaxed as empty-handed.

Promoted to team vice-president, Dad is actually qualified to be given a horse by the imperial court. However, according to the convention, the imperial court will not give him a horse directly, but directly give 25,000 money. This money is the money to buy horses, and Dad has to buy his own horses and saddle them. In the future, there will be a subsidy of horse feed money every month.

The current price is not much at 25,000 yuan, but you can still buy a horse, but you can only buy a relatively ordinary horse. Now the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Turkic people in the steppe is still good.

When the Tang Dynasty raised troops, it reached an agreement with the Turks, and the content of the agreement was somewhat humiliating, and the payment of tribute to the Turks was supported by the Turks, and the money and children were exchanged for the support of the Turks' horses and cavalry. Moreover, when the Turks went to the Central Plains to fight, the money, grain and population of the places they fought belonged to them, and only the land belonged to the Tang Dynasty.

The humiliating agreement, but in order to be able to compete for the world with the rebel kings at the end of the Sui Dynasty, it was only this way, and it was not only Li Tang's family that reached an agreement with the Turks at that time, but many families. The Turkic Khan followed the example of Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui, and also wanted to take advantage of the internal strife of the Han people in the Central Plains, and then support the Han princes to fight with each other, so that the Central Plains has been falling apart, and the Turks are good at reaping the benefits of the fishermen.

Therefore, a large number of Turkic horses now flow into the Tang Dynasty every year.

Going to Chang'an is easier than going back to Zhangjiagou, so there is a long way to go downhill, and the downhill road is much easier.

After walking for a long time, Chang'an was already in sight.

Zhang Chao couldn't help but get excited.

"Datang Chang'an, I'm here!"