Chapter 29 Chapter 29 The scary price.

In the carriage in the afternoon, the Linzhi family of three listened attentively to the noise outside, and occasionally lifted the curtains to look out.

As the official road beneath their feet became increasingly flatter and wider, and as the number of motorcades traveling on both sides increased, the anticipation in the eyes of several people grew higher and higher.

The rest of the convoy also noticed their movements. As the outline of Bianjing City gradually became clear in the distance, Tao Yingheng rode his horse to the side of the carriage and shouted, "Uncle Lin, Aunt Song, Miss Lin, Bianjing is ahead!"

When Linzhi heard the sound, she immediately opened the car curtain. The scene in front of her made her gasp: there was a long line of people like ants moving, a black mass all surging in one direction.

Everyone has only one destination, which is the awe-inspiring city of Bianjing, located at the end of the road.

As the convoy slowly moved to the city gate, the tall and thick city walls made people open their mouths unconsciously and feel unable to breathe.

Several officers came forward to check and verify. Even though they saw that most of the people in the team were officials, they did not slack off at all and only let them go after checking carefully.

The wheels rolled over the bluestone slabs, and the white light at the end of the passage gradually faded, revealing the true appearance of the city.

When the carriage drove into the city, Lin Zhi couldn't help but exclaimed: "Wow..."

On both sides were rows of buildings, and the colorful pavilions and gates were dazzling. The shop assistants wore square-topped cloth scarves and crimson purple shirts and shouted. Linzhi felt as if she was in the painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival". Her heart beat faster and even her fingertips felt a little hot.

Brother Lu San rode his horse beside the caravan. Seeing Lin Zhi's astonishment, he couldn't help but puff out his chest with pride and shouted, "Welcome to Bianjing City!"

The triumphant atmosphere barely faded as Lady Xie and the others slapped him on the back, shouting insults and laughter one after another: "You're such a good pretender, you idiot!"

"Welcome to Bianjing City! I wanted to say that too." Someone else imitated Lu San's tone and made faces.

"Why are you pretending?" Madam Xie scolded with a smile. "I remember when someone came to the city that year, he drooled as he rushed into a restaurant, but was kicked out!"

"That was all old news from a few years ago!" Lu San's face flushed red, causing everyone to laugh.

Linzhi couldn't help laughing as he listened to the conversation between the people.

Lin Sen and his wife were not paying any attention. They looked at the bustling scene around them, holding each other's hands tightly, with sweat oozing from their palms.

This is Bian Jing!

This is Bian Jing!

The prosperity of Bianjing made them dizzy and filled them with yearning, but this was followed by a heavy sense of urgency. Their ambitions, which had been growing due to their daughter's craftsmanship, were restrained a lot, and they calmed down and observed their surroundings.

But before they could understand, Chen Yan stepped forward and said, "Uncle Lin, let's take you to the inn first."

Soon, the convoy stopped at the Zhangji Inn, which Shen Yan had recommended. The inn occupied three doors, with red banners on both sides reading, "Free food and lodging, double room from 199 wen." As the group walked in, the innkeeper greeted them with a broad smile, "Mr. Shen, why didn't you send someone to tell us before you came?"

"I just came back from outside."

"I see. The people behind—" the shopkeeper glanced at the convoy, "are they all going to stay at the hotel?"

"No, no, it's these three people staying at the hotel, Uncle Lin and his family." Chen Yan said with a smile, "When they asked which inn was good, I immediately recommended yours."

For a businessman, this was the sweetest thing to say. The shopkeeper was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. With a wave of his hand, he gave Lin Zhi's family a discount. The family room, which originally cost 299 wen, was finally reduced to 240 wen a day.

When Lu San and his companions saw that the Lin Zhi family had booked a room, they helped unload the luggage and carried it into the house. Lin Sen also handed the Jiaozi to Chen Yan and said, "Shen Lang, thank you for your help along the way."

"Uncle Lin, we agreed on forty-five strings of cash."

"Take these five coins and treat everyone to tea for me later." Lin Sen smiled. "Once we've settled in, I'll invite you to our home for dinner."

Chen Yan declined briefly before accepting the offer. Lu San then stepped forward and said, "Uncle Lin! You two should take a good rest in the inn first, then go for a walk around the area and think about what kind of house you'd like. When I'm off, I'll take you to look for a real estate agent."

Madam Xie handed Song Jiaoniang a piece of paper and said with a smile, "This is my home address. Bring Sister Zhi over when you're free."

A few men came over and said to Lin Zhi reluctantly, "Sister Zhi, you must tell us when you open a shop!"

The Linzhi family stood at the door and watched the convoy disappear around the corner before turning around and going upstairs.

The family room in the inn has two bedrooms and a living room, with windows facing south, just above the main entrance. Lin Zhi opened the window and could see various tall buildings in the distance and faintly hear the sound of singing.

"This place is quiet in the midst of the hustle and bustle, it's really nice." Lin Sen and his wife also came forward to look at it for a while before turning around and packing their luggage.

You won't know until you see it. Once you see it, you'll be shocked. Song Jiaoniang moved her luggage and exclaimed in surprise. Then she held up two large iron pots and said, "Look at these people... Why did they leave the iron pots behind?"

Ironware is not cheap nowadays. A well-made iron pot like this costs three to five strings of cash. People often use the phrase "smash all the pots and pans" to describe spending all their family fortune.

Lin Zhi was also helpless: "It's more than that."

She found a lot of kitchen utensils and spices in her luggage. These things were very valuable and were worth several strings of cash in total.

Lin Sen was at a loss for words, shaking his head repeatedly. "I thought I was being considerate by giving them an extra five strings of cash, but after all this time... Oh, these people! They really can't let their guard down even a little bit!"

The family of three felt helpless but grateful, and decided that after the shop was opened, they would invite them to dinner more often to show their appreciation.

After the luggage was packed, Lin Sen glanced out the window again before speaking: "Let's take a good rest today. Let's go to the market tomorrow?"

Song Jiaoniang nodded and took out the Jiaozi coins from her bundle. She counted the money she had at home and told the father and daughter, "We have a total of over 500 strings of cash now."

Song Jiaoniang first pushed two hundred strings of cash into Lin Zhi's hand and said, "This money is earned from your recipe, so you can keep it yourself."

Of course Lin Zhi refused: "Mom, we're going to buy a house and open a shop in the future, so this money must be kept at home."

"That's different." Song Jiaoniang shook her head. "You have your own ideas. If you need money or something else suddenly, you can make your own decision."

"We still have three hundred strings of cash at home, which is more than enough." Lin Sen continued, smiling, "From the beginning, we decided to rely on these three hundred strings of cash to make ends meet. You can keep these two hundred strings of cash and take them out when they are really useful."

After hearing this, Linzhi no longer refused.

Seeing this, Song Jiaoniang proceeded to divide the family assets. She divided the remaining money into two parts, one hundred strings of cash being kept in the bottom of the box and not to be used until a critical moment.

"There are also two hundred strings of cash, which I will use to rent a house and a shop, purchase daily necessities, and carry out future imports and exports..."

After Song Jiaoniang finished discussing the arrangements for the money, she turned to the matter of buying a shop: "Let's go shopping on the street tomorrow and ask about the prices of the shops."

"Didn't we agree to wait for Brother Lu San to take us to find the tooth dealer?" Lin Sen reminded her hurriedly, fearing that his wife would be too excited and forget about this.

"We're not settling on anything right away," Song Jiaoniang said with a smile. "Lu Xiaolang also told us to go around first, ask around, and confirm the location and style we want before asking the real estate agent to take us to see the property."

After a pause, Song Jiaoniang continued, "Lu Xiaolang means well, but we should also be prepared in advance. Otherwise, we won't make a hasty decision when the time comes, not knowing the shop's location, prices, customer base, or even the neighborhood. Only to find problems later would it not only waste money, but also damage our relationship."

The father and daughter listened and felt that what Song Jiaoniang said was very reasonable. So the three of them immediately clapped their hands and went out to find out the news after breakfast the next morning.

The street they were on was close to the downtown area, and the entire street was lined with inns of all sizes, from high-end inns that were three stories high and five rooms wide, to medium-sized inns like Zhang's Inn. There were also two shops that occupied a single storefront, and the three of them had to stay in the small inn on the second floor. The sight was dizzying.

After taking two steps, Lin Sen couldn't help but exclaim, "A double room over there is only 150 wen?"

"I even saw one for only ninety-nine wen." Song Jiaoniang was shocked. "The inn we stayed at at Hezhou Ferry was charging two hundred wen a night."

This does not include breakfast and dinner. If you want all of them, a room for three people will cost 380 wen per night, which is actually more expensive than Bian Jing.

"This is a price war." Lin Sen frowned and sighed.

As the family of three walked along the street towards the bustling area, what they saw gradually confirmed Lin Sen's guess.

Linzhi could be said to have witnessed the ancient version of internal circulation. Apart from this alley crowded with inns of all sizes, the streets next to it were not much better. There were seven or eight silk shops next to each other, five rouge shops, and even shops selling cold noodles were facing each other, with four of them on one street.

The inn lowered its prices, and so did other businesses. Lin Zhi and Song Jiaoniang looked up at the price tags hanging in the street food shops and took a deep breath.

After the three of them took two steps, Song Jiaoniang couldn't help but move closer. "Jijie Zhi, did you see that? That stir-fried lamb dish that the shop just sold was only thirty-eight cents!"

You should know that in Taiping Prefecture, the most common mutton dish costs one hundred and fifty-eight coins!

Although Bian Jing was a busy city, so supplies were plentiful here and the price of mutton was much cheaper than elsewhere, but thirty-eight wen was indeed too low!

"How much money can we make at this price? Isn't this just selling at a loss?" Song Jiaonian secretly calculated that even if she used inferior lamb body meat instead of lamb legs, there would be almost no profit from selling it.

Lin Zhi thought for a moment, "Could it be that they're trying to attract customers by dishing out some cheap and affordable dishes? They're trying to get more people in to buy the food. If they only sell one dish, they'll lose money. If they sell more, they'll make a profit."

"Who knows! I don't even know how much it would cost to rent a shop. If it's not cheap, I'm afraid the profit I make in a year after deducting the rent and other expenses will be very little. I'll just be working for the landlord..."

Song Jiaoniang was muttering to herself, full of worry, especially when she saw the various delicious and cheap food around her. The confidence that had risen from her daughter's cooking skills dropped by a large margin, and she even began to doubt: Can her family really gain a foothold here?

"Let's go and ask around first." Lin Sen looked forward after hearing that. There happened to be a vacant shop in a good location that was listed for sale.

He walked up to them, offered his services, and asked, but was immediately shocked by the other party's offer: "What? One thousand two hundred guan!?"