Promoting Employment

Since off-season vegetables appeared for the first time in the market right around the New Year, all the well-off families wanted to buy some to try. Sam Evans and his sons sold their vegetables quickly, and many people missed out and had to reserve theirs for the next day.

Because the vegetables were pricey, each wealthy household only bought half a pound or a pound, but with so many buyers, sales were naturally brisk.

The next day, Susan Evans brought her husband and son to Evans Manor, paid off their vegetable debt, and happily chatted with Lily Evans about their vegetable sales.

“Turns out ordinary folks want to buy vegetables just as much as the wealthy,” Lily Evans asked Sam Evans for details about selling vegetables, thinking to herself that the retail vegetable market had huge potential. In the future, when she sets up vegetable plots all over the country, she won’t just supply restaurants—she’ll have to get into retail too.

Don’t underestimate retail vegetables—even if each sale only makes a little money, it all adds up. In the end, it’s a big profit!

Most importantly, retail vegetables can be sold wholesale directly to villagers like Sam Evans, creating job opportunities for a whole bunch of people! Maybe they won’t become wildly rich, but reaching a comfortable life is totally doable!

Building the academy certainly benefits the community, but studying doesn’t immediately improve a family’s situation. Even to become a bookkeeper, it takes at least three years of learning. If you want to earn a scholarly title, you’re looking at a decade of hard work.

But once you lead the villagers into vegetable retail, everyone can have enough to eat and wear right away! Lily Evans instantly started making plans in her mind.

Thanks to yesterday’s booming sales, this time Lily Evans gave Arthur Evans ten pounds of one kind of vegetable to sell.

After Arthur Evans left, Lily Evans immediately headed to the village chief’s house.

"Oh, Lily, you’re here!" The Village Chief now greeted Lily Evans as if she were his own granddaughter, absolutely delighted.

Lily Evans got straight to the point: "Village Chief, I’ve come up with a way to help the villagers get rich."

The Village Chief’s eyes crinkled with joy at the news, and he quickly pulled Lily Evans down to sit and discuss the details.

Lily Evans explained her vegetable retail plan to the Village Chief, who was so thrilled he slapped his thigh: "Lily, your mind is just brilliant! If we do this, our villagers can carry vegetables everywhere to sell, and each could earn dozens of copper coins a day!"

Lily Evans smiled, "Village Chief, to avoid any problems when we sell vegetables, we need to set the rules ahead of time. For example, we’ll divide up territories—each area belongs to one family, and others can’t sell there. Prices must be unified; no one should slash prices just to sell faster. If we only chase short-term gains, our vegetable prices will drop and no one will profit. And about collateral for the vegetable money: I let my third uncle sign an interest-free IOU because we’re family, but if more people buy my vegetables, I can’t let everyone just sign IOUs. To join my vegetable retail business, they’ll need collateral. Otherwise, if someone takes my vegetables and doesn’t pay, where would I go to complain?"

The Village Chief stroked his beard and said, "Lily’s right. It’s wise to be cautious. If we set the rules clearly from the start, there won’t be any disputes later on."

As soon as he finished, the Village Chief rushed into his house, rummaged through his things, and slapped his own property deed down in front of Lily Evans. "Lily, your Village Chief grandpa will be the first to join! Your vegetables are expensive, and I don’t have the capital, so I’ll use my property deed as collateral. Is that alright?"

Lily Evans was both amused and exasperated. "Village Chief, you can join, but why the property deed? You’re the head of the village—of course I trust you!"

The Village Chief waved his hand, "Lily, I know you trust me, but our rules are set in stone—no exceptions. Once word gets out, if those village rascals want to join, and even the Village Chief put up his property deed, who would dare object?"