Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper burst out laughing. "I say, young lady, you won't like to hear that you're from out of town and don't understand the local customs, but this is the rule in Xiaoye City of Nanzhao. All farmland and shops belong to individuals and are not under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. They also have no right to collect taxes. We can buy and sell privately without their consent."

Song He'er thought about it carefully for a moment. She remembered that when she took over Zhao Ru's workshop in Jiangning City, the land deeds and documents all had the official signatures. How come Xiaoye City has become an unmanaged area?

"This place isn't far from Jiangning, so why aren't the farmland and shops here under the jurisdiction of the imperial court?"

The shopkeeper smiled again, "It seems that you know about Jiangning City. Since you have been there, you should know what the prices and rent are like there. Although our stall is not big, we only charge you two strings of cash per month, which is the lowest price. If you go to Jiangning, you might have to spend ten strings of cash and still not be able to get a stall selling candied hawthorns in the market."

What she said was absolutely true. Jiangning not only had many merchants passing through, but also wealthy officials and nobles who liked to come here to seek pleasure. There were no fewer than several hundred music halls and restaurants, making it a city that was both prosperous and somewhat extravagant.

Xiaoye City was merely a border town where the Central Plains and Nanzhao met. Usually, it was only used by passing merchants to stop by for a rest and a meal. It was unlikely that anyone would do big business there.

When Jiang Huaifu and I first came here, we were already quite pleased with the sights of Xiaoye City. Little did we know that there were even more amazing places to see, and Jiangning was truly an eye-opener.

“I did go there with friends, so I think the rules here are the same as over there.”

"Some things are the same, but others are quite different. What they have in common is that these two cities have the most contact with merchants from other places. What they have in common is that the business rules are different. The other side mainly deals with the elite, while this side is just small-scale business, just trying to make a living. Don't blame me for being blunt, but you won't make much money doing small business here. Once you've saved up some capital, you should go to Jiangning to see the world."

What the woman said was indeed unpleasant, implying that they lacked ambition, but that was the truth.

Given their current situation, they can only pretend to be friendly here until they figure out their identities before heading to Jiangning.

Right now, the only people who can freely enter and leave Jiangning are probably Song He'er and Jiang Huaifu...

"Thank you for the reminder, madam. We will definitely manage the business well. If we have enough capital in the future, we will go to Jiangning to make a name for ourselves."

"That's excellent." The shop owner handed over the two contracts again.

The other person's fingerprints were already pressed, and Song He'er asked Qin Xiaoniang to press her fingerprints on the other end in the same style.

“We’ll each take one copy. If you want to continue working here at the beginning of next month, we’ll meet again to discuss it.”

Okay, thank you.

Song He'er felt that the female landlord had already given them a lot of face. After all, renting a shop, whether in modern times or ancient times, always requires a deposit, either for a year or a deposit of one month's rent plus six months' rent in advance.

However, the woman was exceptionally straightforward and agreed to rent the place to them for a month without any hesitation. She seemed to be a kind-hearted person who knew that they were from out of town and didn't have much capital, so she was very accommodating.

After the deal was made, Zhang Xiue happily ran into the simple shop, tidying up one side and organizing the other.

Seeing her beaming face, Song Xiaoyu couldn't help but laugh and say, "Don't be too happy yet, you'll be carrying rice and flour all by yourself soon!"

"Are you two grown men just decorations on my head?"

"Of course not. The tables and chairs here all need repair. We have to stay and tidy up the shop, and we also need to change the storefront sign and rewrite and paste a new calligraphy on it. Which of these two jobs would you choose to do?"

Song Xiaoyu hit the nail on the head. The matter of the gate must be taken seriously. Moreover, among them, only Song Xiaoyu, who is a civil official, has the best handwriting. This task can only fall to her.

As for repairing tables and chairs, which women wouldn't know how to do, only Li Qiang could do it.

Song He'er coughed lightly and reminded her, "Third Uncle, rice and flour are really too heavy. I don't think Third Aunt... is she capable?"

"Why not? Didn't your third aunt do all the dirty and hard work along the way? She's strong, she won't miss out on this little bit!"

Song He'er couldn't help but laugh, thinking that it was truly terrifying when a man didn't cherish his wife!

...

My darlings, these two chapters were written in a bit of a rush, so there might be some typos. I hope you'll forgive me!

Sure enough, when I was in a better mood, both my writing speed and plotting speed increased!

This is the second update for today. Please enjoy.