Song He'er followed his gaze and saw that the steamed bun shop that had been smashed to pieces was now completely destroyed.

"You're thinking of having me take over that shop across the street?"

Jiang Huaifu pondered for a while and nodded. "You've been there before. There's a courtyard in the back, an accounting office in the front, and two tiny private rooms. It's much better than here. I've already calculated it for you. The steamed bun shop across the street has renewed its lease for three years, and it's in its second year now. If you take it over, the price will definitely be lower than usual."

Song He'er was slightly taken aback. How did he know everything? It turned out that he had been doing all these days, checking the rent of various shops in Xiaoye City and figuring out their backgrounds.

How do you know more about this than I do?

"Don't worry about how I know this; just consider whether this method is feasible."

“Of course it’s feasible, but we haven’t rented this shop for very long. If we terminate the lease now, the three strings of cash will be wasted…”

"We're not asking you to terminate the lease right now. Instead, we're suggesting you consider the shop across the street. You can take over that shop first and continue operating this one as well. You can run them separately and sell different things. Isn't that a good option?"

Song He'er immediately understood Jiang Huaifu's meaning: he was thinking of having them open a branch store?

Song He'er had considered this idea, but the money they had was limited, and they couldn't manage two shops at the same time. If they wanted to, they would have to hire a few helpers, which would significantly increase their expenses.

"I know what you're worried about. You can tell them that I'm paying for it, and all your profits within a year will belong to me." Jiang Huaifu said casually, as if they could turn things around in Xiaoye City within a year.

"Well, that's a compromise, but the shop owner is like a mouse seeing a cat now. He definitely won't negotiate with me properly. Let's send someone over. You can ask A-Lu to go and ask. I'll give him a reward after it's done."

Jiang Huaifu suddenly laughed and said, "You've actually learned to bribe my people with money. It seems your skills have improved quite a bit in the past few days."

"I'm just seeing that your men are working hard. If you don't want to, I have no objection to you taking the money out of your own pocket."

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic. If none of you have any objections, I'll have Ah Lu go and ask."

Song He'er can make the decision on this matter. After all, Zhang Xiu'e and Song Xiaoyu don't offer any opinions on business matters; they just lend a hand.

Thinking this through, Song He'er nodded. "Then you can go and ask. As for the money, I'll give it to you once we've agreed on a price."

"Hmm." Jiang Huaifu responded indifferently, then turned to leave.

But she hadn't gone far from the shop when she turned back to remind him, "If it's convenient for you, we need to go to Jiangning after noon. There are still some things to take care of there."

Song He'er then realized that she hadn't paid attention to the workshop for quite some time and didn't know if Zhao Ru had handled things properly, or if they had started working normally again.

"Okay, I'll take care of things here and then go with you."

"Um.'

After saying that, Jiang Huaifu left with Aqing and Alu.

Watching his departing figure, Song He'er couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. Since meeting him in Xizhou, she had received countless favors from him along the way. It wasn't that she was afraid she couldn't repay them, but rather that if this continued, it would become a habit, and habits are not easily broken. If one day, there was no longer such a person lending a helping hand at every turn, where would she go in this unfamiliar place...?

"He'er!" A bright voice pulled her out of her reverie.

Song He'er turned her head and saw Qin Xiaoniang standing behind her, holding a bowl of steaming noodles, quietly watching her.

"Mother, what's wrong?"

"I've called you three times already. What are you thinking about? You're so lost in thought. I made a bowl of noodles for Young Master Jiang, where is he?"

"I have to go now..."

"Gone? They came all this way, and we didn't even treat them to a meal. Why are they leaving in such a hurry?"

Song He'er shook her head helplessly. "If he doesn't eat, it means he's not hungry. Mother, don't always treat him like a VIP. He's just a friend of mine. We should treat each other normally. There's no need to always be so respectful to him. It makes him uncomfortable."

Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoniang breathed a sigh of relief. After a long while, she replied listlessly, "I just feel that we owe them a lot of favors, so we should show them more respect."

"Alright, you and Third Aunt stay in the shop. I'm going to Jiangning with him to do business. I always have to travel around. Don't worry about me. If it gets late, pack your things and go back to the manor to wait for me."

Qin Xiaoniang placed the noodles on the table and nodded. "I understand. You must be careful in everything you do."

"Um."

After noon, Jiang Huaifu had someone hitch up a carriage and waited at the street corner of Xiaoyecheng.

When Song He'er arrived, there was only Jiang Huaifu in the carriage besides the driver.

"Where are Aqing and Alu?"

"It's better to go to Jiangning when there are fewer people."

“But we should be careful going to such a heavily guarded place. We should bring more people with us just in case.”

"Bringing too many people would be bad. I've already arranged for someone to get us passes to enter and leave Jiangning. You and I will be fine going in. But if we bring attendants, we'll inevitably be searched. It's better to skip all that hassle and have some peace and quiet."

Song He'er remained silent, indicating her agreement with his proposal.

The car slowly drove into Jiangning City, which was as bustling as ever.

The streets were bustling with people, and all sorts of things were being sold. Most of the pedestrians were traveling by horse-drawn carriage, unlike in Xiaoye City, where carriages were rarely seen.

In comparison, Jiangning City does indeed have more wealthy merchants than Xiaoye City.

Is the workshop far from here?

"In a quiet place."

"It's a pity. If we were in a bustling city, we could open a silk shop outside the workshop. That way, we could sell our own products and make a considerable amount of money."

“A workshop is a workshop. If every person who comes to buy silk can enter our workshop to see it, the craftsmanship will inevitably be lost, which will not benefit us. It is better to keep it separate.”

"It's just that transporting goods is inconvenient."

“What’s inconvenient about that? We’ll just hire a few cars and take you there.”