“Uncle Foster, today is just a trial marketing, it can only be considered as a preliminary opening of the market. When the second batch of bean sprouts comes out in a few days, that will be when we really start making money!” Henry Thompson said with a smile. Although William Foster Sr. didn’t understand many of the words he used, he already understood that as long as they followed the master’s lead, there would be good days ahead for them.

The more than three hundred wen earned today was not touched by Henry Thompson at all; instead, he let William Foster Sr. use it to buy beans, mainly mung beans. As for soybeans, they could be introduced later. In addition, since David Bolton and his brother knew some carpentry, Henry Thompson had them make some simple racks. Several women wove flat bamboo baskets, which were stacked layer by layer on the racks. This was Henry Thompson’s idea for sprouting beans: the bamboo baskets were well-ventilated and drained, making them perfect for growing bean sprouts.

Of course, these things couldn’t be made in just a day or two. To get the next batch of bean sprouts ready as soon as possible, while busy with these tasks, Henry Thompson also had William Foster Sr. collect all the broken jars and pots, piling them up in a warm room to sprout beans. Because there weren’t enough hands, even the children were mobilized in the end, watering the bean sprouts every two hours.

Three days later, the second batch of bean sprouts was finally ready. To ensure a continuous supply, Henry Thompson had people start a new batch every day, so there would be a third and fourth batch coming out tomorrow and the day after...

The first batch of bean sprouts had already gained some reputation in the vegetable market, so when the second and third batches hit the market, they were snatched up in the blink of an eye. Some people even waited at the city gate, and as soon as William Foster Sr. pushed the cart through, they would rush up to stop him and buy bean sprouts. There were just too many people in the market, and the current production was still insufficient, so many people simply couldn’t get any.

Thanks to the sales of bean sprouts, the amount of copper coins William Foster Sr. and the others brought back each time grew larger and larger. Although much of it was spent by Henry Thompson on various equipment, there was still a considerable surplus in the end. More and more people were going into the city to sell bean sprouts every day. Now, all the men in the Li family’s village were involved, and even some half-grown boys followed their fathers into the city to sell bean sprouts, counting as half a laborer. The women got up early and stayed up late every day to tend to the bean sprouts. The whole village had already become a miniature bean sprout production base.

Half a month later, Henry Thompson gathered everyone in the village together. This time, it wasn’t at William Foster Sr.’s house, but at the threshing ground outside the village. It was already evening and the weather was very cold, so Henry Thompson lit a bonfire in the open space, and everyone sat around it. Originally, Henry Thompson wanted William Foster Sr. to buy some cooked meat and other food so everyone could eat and chat, but most people objected, saying it was too wasteful.

There were only five households in the Li family’s village, with a total of thirty-seven people, young and old, all present. At first, the threshing ground was noisy, with children’s shouts, women’s chatter, and men’s laughter all mingling together. It wasn’t until Henry Thompson stood up and signaled for everyone to quiet down that the place finally fell silent.

“These days, everyone has worked hard, but your efforts have not been in vain. Now the bean sprout business is on track, and we have several strings of cash coming in every day. No one has to worry about not having money to buy food anymore!” Henry Thompson spoke very directly. When talking to these tenant farmers, there was no need to beat around the bush—just say what needed to be said so everyone could understand.

As soon as they heard they would never have to worry about going hungry again, everyone present cheered with joy. But Henry Thompson wasn’t finished. He signaled for everyone to quiet down again, then continued, “I’ve seen all the hard work you’ve put in, so today I’ve gathered everyone here for just one thing—and that is: to split the money!”

After speaking, Henry Thompson turned and laboriously dragged out a large burlap sack from behind him, finally managing to pull it to the center of the field. Then he continued, “Everyone, over the past half month, we’ve made quite a bit of money selling bean sprouts. After deducting costs and necessary expenses, according to the profit-sharing standard I discussed with Uncle Foster and the others before, I plan to give half of the net profit to everyone!”

“Wow~” As soon as Henry Thompson finished speaking, the whole place erupted. Except for the little children who didn’t understand, everyone stared at Henry Thompson in shock. Although they didn’t know exactly how much half the net profit was, just looking at the weight of the sack in Henry Thompson’s hands, they could guess it was a lot, which made many people excited.

By comparison, William Foster Sr. and the other heads of households were also excited, but at least they could control their emotions, because they had already known in advance. In fact, when Henry Thompson first proposed sharing the profits with them, they had firmly refused, thinking that the idea was Henry Thompson’s and that they had just worked for him these past two weeks. So Henry Thompson only needed to pay them wages, just like working in the winter before: two wen a day for men, one wen a day for women and children. That way, each family could earn over a hundred wen a month, which was already a very generous reward.