Phi-Fic Chapter 143 Buying a Shop
Chapter 143 Buying a Shop
As everyone ate barbecue and drank wine, time passed by unnoticed and it was already midnight. Song Jiaojiao only realized it when the sound of firecrackers outside began.
She quickly had Xu Da light the firecrackers, and as the crackling sounds rang out, it marked Song Jiaojiao's second New Year in this dynasty.
Time really flies! Now Song Jiaojiao has no worries about making a living and has further realized her wish to retire at 35.
The next day, just like every year, Mu Qing and Mu Xue received red envelopes after wishing Song Jiaojiao a Happy New Year. This time, Song Jiaojiao gave both sisters a hundred-tael silver note.
After the two sisters paid their respects to each other, Xu Da and Xu Fang arrived with their servants. Song Jiaojiao was in a good mood and gave Xu Da and Xu Fang 20 taels of silver, while the others received 10 taels each.
By the time the process was completed, it was already broad daylight. Song Jiaojiao's courtyard gate opened, and many little heads peeked inside.
Song Jiaojiao greeted them with a smile and invited them in. All the village kids swarmed in, politely offering their New Year's greetings to Song Jiaojiao first.
There were quite a few new faces this time, mostly one or two-year-old children, which suggests that the village added a lot of people last year.
Song Jiaojiao smiled and gave everyone a red envelope. The red envelopes were small, only ten coins each, mainly for good luck.
Xu Fang filled each child's bag with plenty of candy and snacks. Ever since the villagers saw that Song Jiaojiao always carried a small bag across her shoulder, they all started to imitate her.
I never expected that this little bag would make things so much more convenient. Whether it's for storing small items or money, it's very handy.
Especially for children going to school, there is no need to worry about losing or damaging their books and homework.
Song Jiaojiao never expected that the handbag she used to conceal taking money from her spatial storage would actually become popular.
Time flies, and soon it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
Song Jiaojiao originally suggested going to town to play, but everyone in the family said they would stay home.
It seems that last year's events still left a shadow on them. Fortunately, Song Jiaojiao did not go out, otherwise she would have missed the letter from Sifang Escort Agency.
There were two letters in total. One was from Wang Hefan, and it was from last year. It seems that the heavy snow stopped the escort agency, which is why it was so late.
In his letter, Wang Hefan mentioned that he hadn't been able to return to celebrate the New Year with Song Jiaojiao for several years. He also described the local culture and scenery in the north, and mentioned that there was some unrest in the north, with many nomads launching wars against northern towns. However, with the General of the North in command, all those people had failed. There were few plants and fruits available in winter, and this time they couldn't find any seeds they had never seen before. There was only one kind of red fruit, which northerners call "red fruit."
After reading the letter, Song Jiaojiao opened the cloth bag that had come with her, revealing what was inside. She took one out, and it was an apple.
However, due to the long journey, the apple in Song Jiaojiao's hand was no longer plump, and many parts of it were wrinkled.
She cut it open with a knife, and just as Song Jiaojiao had thought, it was rotten inside. However, the seeds were still usable. As long as there were no wounds on the outside of the apple, it was really hard to tell if it was good or bad. She remembered the apples she bought from the shady fruit shop in her previous life. You couldn't tell from the outside at all, but when she got home and cut them open, they were all rotten inside.
Looking at the apples, which weighed about twenty pounds, Song Jiaojiao cut them all open and removed the seeds. None of the twenty pounds of apples were good, but thankfully the seeds were there, so Song Jiaojiao wasn't worried about not having enough apples to eat later.
He planted all the seeds in the space, then looked at another letter.
The letter was written by Wang Ziyi. In it, he expressed his interest in the business proposed by Song Jiaojiao, but he had many things to do in Beijing before the New Year and could not get away. He would only come over after he finished dealing with these matters.
The letter was probably written sometime during the first few months of the month. Wang Ziyi had already set off when he wrote it. The letter said that he would arrive in Yunshui Town in a month at most, and then he would come to apologize to Song Jiaojiao.
After reading it, Song Jiaojiao felt there was still hope for opening a hot pot restaurant. She had originally planned to contact Liu Xuewen in a couple of days to see if he was interested.
It's not that Song Jiaojiao didn't want to open her own restaurant, but mainly that she didn't have the right talent. The most important person in a large restaurant is the manager. A eloquent and persuasive manager can save a lot of trouble. In addition, without a strong background, those with ill intentions can easily shut down the restaurant for any reason.
Especially in restaurants, there are just too many ways to tamper with things. This isn't the era of surveillance cameras everywhere anymore.
With the hot pot restaurant project settled, Song Jiaojiao started thinking about the barbecue restaurant, and another important thing: the chili powder issue.
When the hot pot restaurant opens, the demand for chili powder will be huge. The amount of chili peppers that Song Jiaojiao grows herself will probably not be enough, and it's unlikely that the village will grow more chili peppers.
The fruiting period for chili peppers lasts three months, starting in March and continuing until late June.
Thinking about it this way, we still have to buy land. I believe there is no land for sale near Qingshui Village. In addition, with Song Jiaojiao's workshop in the past two years, which has improved the economy of the villagers, no one will sell land.
The land is the root of farmers; unless there is a major disaster, people generally won't sell it.
It seems we still need to buy a plantation to grow the things Song Jiaojiao needs.
The next day,
Song Jiaojiao took Meng An to town, mainly to look at the shops and the manor.
Arriving at the door of Fengtang, Song Jiaojiao knocked.
"Who is it? Coming, coming!" Granny Xu's voice came from the courtyard.
When she opened the door and saw that it was Song Jiaojiao's old woman, she quickly put on a smiling face, "Oh! It's Madam Song! I haven't seen you for a while."
"Grandma Xu, Happy New Year! I'm here to patronize your business," Song Jiaojiao said with a smile.
"Happy New Year. Come in quickly. Are you here to buy servants again?" Granny Xu warmly invited Song Jiaojiao into the courtyard and asked.
"We can discuss buying people later if needed. The main purpose of my visit today is to look at the shops and the estate," Song Jiaojiao calmly stated her purpose.
Upon hearing this, Granny Xu's mouth practically stretched to her ears in a wide grin. The commission from the shop and the estate was much higher than selling people.
"Oh dear, Madam Song has come to the right place. I happen to have a few good locations that I just came across. Come on, let's take a look at the maps."
Granny Xu pulled Song Jiaojiao into the house, ordered tea and snacks to be served, and brought out two thick stacks of drawings.
"On the left are shops in town that are being rented or sold, and on the right are estates of all sizes surrounding the town."
Looking at the two thick stacks of blueprints gave Song Jiaojiao a headache, and she said helplessly, "Let me tell you my requirements for the shop first."
Song Jiaojiao took a sip of tea and said, "Ideally, this shop should have a courtyard and a well. It would be best if the backyard was large enough, and the front of the shop could fit about ten tables. The location should be close to a place with high foot traffic. We're buying the shop to sell food. Granny Xu, could you look around and see if there's a suitable shop there?"