Chapter 34, Building the 34th Inn

Qian Sisi was short, even shorter than Yunyin, but he was well-dressed, wearing a round-necked long robe. Even though the fabric was linen, it was neatly arranged without a single wrinkle.

"So you want to build a house?" Qian Si invited the two to sit down, looked Yun Yin up and down for a moment, and said, "I heard from Madam Luo that you wanted to build a restaurant, is that right?"

Yunyin nodded and said, "That's right, I want to build three rooms, with a main hall in the middle, a kitchen on one side, and a storeroom on the other."

After understanding her needs, Qian Si frowned and said, "If you only plan to build three rooms, I suggest you build only one large room and the remaining two as side rooms."

Qian Si explained to her, "Since you plan to open a restaurant, there's no need to build two more rooms next to it. You can build two side rooms instead of a kitchen and a storeroom. Also, the stable and the outhouse won't cost much, and these can all be built with thatched huts."

"The money saved can be used to build side rooms, so that you will have a place to accommodate guests who want to stay overnight. You will also need to dig a well, which is a considerable expense, but it is very convenient for a restaurant to have a well."

"We can also dig a cellar and an ice cellar to store food in the summer and ice in the winter."

Luo Man nodded in agreement, saying, "Girl, Qian Gong's suggestion is indeed very thoughtful. Our restaurant also has accommodations. Although we don't sell alcohol, some customers bring their own, and sometimes they get drunk easily, so we can only let them stay at the restaurant to rest."

"And you also need a well. Although you use spring water, it's still a hassle to fetch water every day. A well would make things much easier. An ice cellar is also necessary. Winters here are very cold, which is perfect for storing ice. I store a lot of ice every winter for the following summer."

Yunyin thought of their suggestion: selling food and providing lodging—wasn't that an inn? Although she hadn't considered opening an inn before, now that they were both suggesting it, she thought it might not be a bad idea.

Her place was quite far from the county town and the previous post station. In the past, people who passed through would stay temporarily in thatched huts by the official road if they missed the lodging. Those thatched huts are still there now, even after she opened her food stall.

Zhang Lin mentioned that people occasionally stop there to rest, but he always manages to handle it without anything happening.

Thinking about this, she felt even more that opening an inn was a good idea. She nodded and said, "According to what Qian Gong said, I wonder how much it would cost to build such a house."

Qian Si took out his abacus and quickly calculated, saying, "Three rooms and two side rooms. Thatched roofs for the side rooms will save a lot of money. In addition, a well and two cellars will cost a total of 100 guan. This is the price for all our services. If you contact the material suppliers yourself, the price will be different. It depends on your choice."

Yunyin carefully calculated that, according to his construction method, there would be at least 5 rooms, and the main room would be quite spacious, with enough room for guests to dine in. She could even partition off small private rooms. She could also divide the side rooms into 5 small rooms, making it convenient for guests to stay overnight.

She thought Qian Si's plan was good, but then she wouldn't have enough money. She had inquired beforehand and found out that building three rooms would cost about fifty strings of cash, and that was all the money she had prepared.

She looked hesitant and said to Qian Gong, "Please let me think about it."

After saying that, she pulled Luo Man aside and hesitated for a long time, not knowing how to start the conversation.

Luo Man noticed and whispered, "Sister, are you short of money? How much more do you need?"

Yunyin said bitterly, "I only have fifty strings of cash. If we follow his plan, I'll be short a lot of money."

Luo Man said, "The cost of labor is indeed very high, but I guarantee you will get more than your money's worth. If you don't have the money on hand, I can lend you some first, and you can pay it off later with the money from selling rice cakes and cold noodles. You can pay it off quickly."

Yunyin knew she didn't want to put pressure on herself, but fifty guan was not something she could earn by selling bowl cakes and cold noodles. She had saved up money thanks to mushroom sauce and Chinese pastries. Now, only these pastries made a lot of money; the other dishes only earned her a few or a dozen guan.

Yunyin thought about it carefully for a long time and still felt that expanding the store would earn her more money. She nodded and said, "Thank you very much, Sister Aman. I will pay you back as soon as possible."

Luo Man waved her hand and said, "It's alright, you can pay it back slowly."

After resolving the money issue, Yunyin returned to Qian Si's room and said to him, "Then let's do it your way."

Qian Si took the contract from the table and said, "In that case, please sign the contract. We'll go to the county government to register it later. You pay a deposit, and I'll contact the right people so we can start work."

Yunyin carefully examined the contents of the contract, which detailed the start and completion dates of the project, as well as the compensation for breach of contract. After confirming that there were no problems, she saw Luo Man and Qian Si off to the county government office.

After leaving the county government office, Yunyin had acquired another asset. She carefully put away the receipts, bid farewell to Qian Si, and went home.

Building these five rooms will take at least three months. Yunyin doesn't need to worry about meals during the construction period; Qian Si will handle that. Yunyin has also inquired about the material supplier he contacted, and he is indeed a very honest merchant. She hasn't heard of any disputes with him. Although the 100 guan is expensive, it's well worth the money, as it saves her a lot of trouble.

When Yunyin returned home, Zheng Dong had already arrived. She packed her things and said to him, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm going to your village now."

Zheng Dong: "No, no, I just arrived too."

"You went to Linjiang Village and asked what the boatman said?" Yunyin followed Zheng Dong with her basket on her back. "I checked in the county today and the fruit is quite expensive, but there are quite a lot of people buying it. You should take advantage of the fact that there aren't many people selling it yet and deliver the fruit to the county town as soon as possible."

Zheng Dong nodded repeatedly and said, "Thank you for thinking of us, Madam Yun. It costs 200 coins to transport goods. I will discuss it with the villagers and we can split it equally. Each family will only need to pay a few coins, so it won't be too expensive."

Seeing that he had a plan, Yunyin said no more, jumped onto the bamboo raft, and rowed towards the opposite bank.

As the bamboo raft drifted along, standing on the river, she suddenly felt much smaller. Listening to the sound of the water, she couldn't help but close her eyes and enjoy the gentle breeze on her face. Even though the sun was high in the sky, she didn't feel stuffy at all, and her mood became much more cheerful.

Zheng Dong was very fast. Before she could even fully appreciate it, the bamboo raft had already reached the shore. She exhaled a breath of stale air, jumped ashore, and followed him through the woods to the entrance of the path.

Yunyin carefully examined the road. It was overgrown with weeds and dense with shrubs on both sides, and there was only a very narrow path to pass through. Because not many people walked on it, even the road was covered with weeds. If it weren't for the trampling marks, she probably wouldn't have been able to tell that it was a road.

Don't you usually walk this way?

Zheng Dong hummed in agreement and said, "Indeed, we don't go this way. Our village is too remote, far from Pingxi Village, let alone the county town. Many villagers have never been to the county town in their entire lives."

Yunyin tapped the bushes in front of her with a stick and asked, "Are you going to town to buy things like needles, thread, oil, and salt?"

Zheng Dong shook his head: "A peddler will come to our village, but he might only come once a month, and we don't need much stuff."

Yunyin and Zheng Dong walked for a quarter of an hour to the end of the village. There were many fruit trees on the mountain at the end of the village, but unfortunately, because no one took care of them, they did not bear much fruit.

Zheng Dong also saw the fruit trees on the mountain, scratched his head apologetically and said, "The fruit on this mountain doesn't grow very well, but every household in our village grows some, and the fruit that grows is very sweet. Yun Niangzi, come with me to take a look."

Zheng Dong wasn't exaggerating; the apricots his family grew were indeed very sweet. The ripe apricots were golden and shiny, and when you took a bite, you could see the golden flesh inside, which was incredibly sweet and fragrant.

She nodded and said, "These apricots are very sweet. You've grown them well. I'll also take a look at the other fruits."

Zheng Dong called Zheng Xi and asked her to fetch some fruit from other houses in the village. After giving the instructions, he said to Yun Yin, "The grapes are not ripe yet. They will be ready to eat in more than a month."

He took Yunyin to the backyard to see the grapevine, handed her one and said, "The grapes are too sour right now, you can't eat them."

Yunyin tasted it and it was indeed very sour, not only sour but also astringent. She said, "I'll come back to buy it when it's ripe."

She looked at the grapevine in front of her and asked, "Does your village grow a lot of grapes?"

Zheng Dong recalled the situation in the village and nodded, saying, "They've basically all planted it."

Yunyin: "Then it seems that the merchant did not break his promise on purpose."

Yunyin previously thought their grapes were transplanted from the mountains, but now that they've seen the quality, they are indeed different from the grapes in the mountains. Although they are still a bit astringent, it's clear that they will be sweeter than the wild grapes in the mountains when they ripen.

Zheng Dong looked at her, puzzled, and asked, "Why do you say that, Madam Yun? We've spent many years planting these fruit trees, wasting a lot of time and money, and using a lot of fertilizer every year just to get them to survive and bear fruit. But the merchant has never come even once. These fruits are all varieties that are difficult to transport. Apart from peaches, which can still sell for a few coins, the other fruits are very hard to sell."

Yunyin pointed to the grapevine and said, "Do you know how much a pound of grapes can sell for?"

Zheng Dong shook his head: "I don't know. I've only ever eaten wild grapes from the mountains before. Those are really sour and not tasty. These grapes are quite sweet after they turn purple. The kids in our village love them."

Yunyin said, "As far as I know, a pound of grapes can sell for 200-300 wen. If grapes are not grown locally, the price will be even higher."

Zheng Dong's eyes widened as he said, "So expensive? Our peaches only cost two or three coins, I didn't expect grapes to be so expensive."

Yunyin nodded: "That's why I said that the merchant probably didn't do it on purpose, maybe something happened. He must have invested a lot of money to give you such valuable fruit seedlings."

Looking at the vines laden with grapes, Zheng Dong murmured, "Could it really be like you said, that they didn't do it on purpose?"

He sighed and said, "Whether they were really delayed or not, even if these fruit trees are very valuable, we won't earn that money; the villagers can only eat them ourselves."

Yunyin: "You can go to the county town first. If you can find regular customers, it will be easier to sell."

Zheng Dong stopped thinking about these unfounded things and took her back to the front yard. Zheng Xi had already brought over the other fruits. He handed Yun Yin a basket of washed mulberries: "Miss Yun, try these mulberries, they taste pretty good."

Looking at the dark mulberries in the basket, Yunyin took a bite and the sweetness went straight to the bottom of her heart. She praised, "No wonder that merchant wanted you to grow fruit. The fruit you grow here is really delicious."

Zheng Dong blushed slightly upon hearing the praise. He smiled and said, "It's probably because of the good water here. There's spring water from the mountains, which is especially sweet. Fruit trees grown with this water are also very sweet."

Yunyin thought of the spring water she had found in the mountains before, which was indeed very sweet. She said, "What is the price of these fruits? I want a basket of each kind."

When Zheng Dong heard that she wanted so much, he shouted excitedly and ran outside. He turned back to Yun Yin and said, "Miss Yun, please wait a moment. I'll go call the village chief and I'll be back in a bit."

Seeing him running so fast, Yunyin shook her head and looked around at the world. Zheng Xi stepped forward and said, "Wife, what are you going to do with all this fruit? If it's just to help my brother, please don't be too kind. My brother is such a person, he didn't even explain things to you before bringing you here."