Chapter 134 Preparing for Renovation and Opening

At home, Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er knew that Lin Chuntao had gone to buy a shop today. As the time approached and Lin Chuntao and the others still hadn't returned, the two sisters felt a faint sense of anticipation.

"Third sister, do you think my sisters might have already bought the shop before coming back?"

Lin Chunhe thought that buying a shop wasn't like buying a small trinket; it would cost at least several tens of taels of silver.

"I don't think so, there's that much money."

Lin Duo'er bit her lip, her eyes darting around, "What if my sister sees it and thinks it's suitable, and then just buys it?"

The two sisters chatted back and forth, and Lin Duo'er asked Lin Chunhe, "If we buy the shop, will Second Sister often stay in the county town and not come home?"

Lin Chunhe shook her head, "I don't know, I don't know if we should sell dinner. If we do sell dinner, then my second sister should be staying in the county town."

Upon hearing this, Lin Duo'er pursed her lips, a restless feeling stirring within her; she also wanted to go to the county town for fun.

Seeing the change in Lin Duo'er's expression, Lin Chunhe raised an eyebrow and asked directly, "If Second Sister goes to live in the county town, would you like to go too?"

Lin Duo'er looked at her with a grin, and Lin Chunhe, seeing Lin Duo'er's expression, knew that she had guessed correctly.

Lin Duo'er couldn't help much with the work Lin Chunxing did. She was currently learning to be a tailor from Fan Niangzi, and if she went to the county town to have fun, she wouldn't have the mind to come back and learn tailoring.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Chunhe said, "Second Sister went to the county town to do business. If you go with her, you'll just be helping out. Sister said she'll gradually teach me how to make soy sauce at home. We'll each do our own thing from now on. You said you wanted to learn tailoring, so I paid your tuition. Once you've finished your apprenticeship, if you want to open a shop, I'll definitely help you. But if you go to the county town with Second Sister now, you won't have any skills later."

Upon hearing Lin Chunhe's words, Lin Duo'er's eyes widened.

"Did your sister say you'd be in charge of making the sauce?" Lin Duo'er asked in surprise. Lin Chunhe replied, "More or less, I've been learning to make it every day, haven't I?"

Lin Duo'er swallowed hard and looked at Lin Chunhe, saying, "My older sister taught my second sister how to make rice noodles, and then my second sister went to do business. Now she's passing on the sauce-making skills to you. Has my older sister made any plans for me?"

Hearing Lin Duo'er's words, Lin Chunhe was afraid that Lin Duo'er would misunderstand Lin Chuntao's good intentions, so she said softly, "Yes, I said that you are the youngest, so you can learn whatever you like. That's why I found you a master if you want to learn tailoring, unlike my second sister and me, who have to focus on making money."

"You have no idea how envious my second sister and I are of you. My older sister even favors you."

Lin Duo'er stared wide-eyed and giggled. Lin Chunhe seized the opportunity and continued, "You've seen it too. Second Sister sells soup noodles and makes sauces at home. Although she earns some money, it's very tiring. If you learn Fan Niangzi's skills, you can open a tailor shop in the future. It won't be dirty or tiring, and you can earn a lot of money."

Lin Duo'er was successfully persuaded by Lin Chunhe and was filled with fantasies about making a lot of money by opening a tailor shop in the future.

Lin Chunhe said, "If you go with your second sister, will you still be able to learn your sewing skills?"

Lin Duo'er nodded, "I definitely want to learn."

When Lin Chuntao and the others arrived home, Lin Chunhe and Lin Duo'er had already finished their heart-to-heart talk.

Seeing them return, Lin Duo'er ran over and asked, "Sister, did you buy the shop?"

Lin Chuntao said, "I bought it. It's in Sifang Street. I'll take you to see it tomorrow or the day after."

Wow! You really bought it? How much was it?

Before Lin Chuntao could speak, Lin Chunxing said, "It cost a lot."

Lin Duo'er was extremely excited. Although she no longer went to the county town, the shop was still her family's property, even if she didn't work there. No one in the village had bought a house in the county town yet!

"My third sister just said that with so much money, we might not buy it today."

Lin Chunxing said, "My sister bought it after she negotiated the price and thought it was right. The deed is all done!"

Lin Chunhe looked at Lin Chuntao excitedly and asked, "Sister, when will Second Sister move the stall into the shop?"

Lin Chuntao: "We still need to renovate, make a stove, and set up tables and chairs."

Pei Ying said from the side, "Why don't we continue to ask Brother Sun and the others to make stoves? I think the stoves they make are pretty good."

Lin Chuntao nodded.

“Sure, let’s go there tomorrow or the day after, and while we’re at it, let’s visit Brother Sun’s house to see if they’re free.”

After the decision was made, the next afternoon, Lin Chunhe took Lin Duo'er to the county town, Lin Chunxing took Lin Chunhe and the others to see the house, and Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying went to Sun Hu's house.

Sun Hu went out, and only Yu Meixi was at home.

Upon seeing Lin Chuntao and the others arrive, Yu Meixi greeted them with a beaming smile, "Chuntao, it's been a while! Come in quickly!"

Lin Chuntao smiled and asked, "Sister-in-law Yu, how have you been lately?"

"Still the same as always, busy as ever. What about you? Have you finished harvesting the crops?"

Lin Chuntao: "We just finished collecting them all."

As they were talking, Lin Chuntao and the others followed them into the house. Yu Meixi made them some tea, and after chatting for a while, Lin Chuntao brought up the matter of buying a small house.

Yu Meixi smiled broadly, "Sister-in-law here congratulates Chuntao in advance!"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I came here to ask you and Brother Sun to take a look and help us plan how many stoves we need to build and how many sets of tables and chairs we need to make."

Yu Meixi smiled and said, "Old Sun won't be back until tonight, I'll go with you to see him first."

As soon as Yu Meixi finished speaking, Lin Chuntao and the others went over together. Yu Meixi also took a piece of cloth and an ink block.

Upon arriving at the house, Lin Chuntao led Yu Meixi on a tour of the house. Lin Chuntao explained the layout to her: a kitchen with four to six stoves, which would be convenient if there were many guests. The front of the house could accommodate eight sets of tables and chairs, and Lin Chuntao also made two long tables and chairs, along with single chairs, so that people could sit alone.

Yu Meixi said, "Sister, I feel that your business is doing well, so you should also make some more space in the backyard."

Lin Chuntao said, "Sister-in-law, the backyard needs to be occupied. I feel it's not good to let outsiders in as it is now. We need to replan it."

Yu Meixi looked at the layout of the room again, and then said to Lin Chuntao, "We can adjust it. Sister, you can find someone to take a look at the layout another day, and then we can discuss our ideas."

Lin Chuntao also asked Yu Meixi and the others to make tables and chairs. Yu Meixi said, "Sister, it's the same as always. I'll draw them and show them to you, and then I'll give you a price."

After seeing Yu Meixi off, Lin Duo'er and Lin Chunhe continued running around the room, their light steps revealing their joy.

Lin Chuntao waited until they had played enough and their excitement had subsided before taking them to the market to buy things.

Yu Meixi and her team are very efficient at their work, so they need to prepare the dishes as quickly as possible.

Lin Chuntao bought a pig's head, six pig's trotters, and some pork tenderloin. After buying the meat, she bought some stinky tofu, dried black fungus, daylily buds, and some rice noodles. As she was leaving the market, she happened to see a woman carrying two old hens, and Lin Chuntao bought them as well.

Lin Chunxing was somewhat shocked. She said to Lin Chuntao, "Sister, are we buying all of these to make new flavors?"

Lin Chuntao nodded and then said, "Make one braised pork dish, and then make three flavors of rice noodles. There's one I really like, but I'm not sure if you and the guests will like it. Try it and see."

They listened to Lin Chuntao's words but didn't hear what she said afterward; they only heard the first part: Lin Chuntao liked it.

In their minds, anything Lin Chuntao likes must be delicious.

When she got home, it was still early. Lin Chuntao washed the pig's head and trotters and soaked them in water. Then she called Pei Ying to go to the village head's house to rent a cow.

The cornfields are all empty. This year's corn harvest was very good, and Lin Chuntao and her family have no shortage of food, so they won't plant buckwheat this year. Lin Chuntao plans to plant some radishes and green vegetables, which can be used to make pickled radishes, sauerkraut, and other pickled vegetables, as well as feed the pigs. It's all very convenient.

Two days before the last payment, Lin Chuntao gave her the money for a few more days and signed a contract.

Old Master Zheng thought that Lin Chuntao and her group would never get their money back for the cattle rent, but he was a little unhappy that Lin Chuntao came back. However, since the village head didn't say anything, he didn't say anything either.

After renting the ox, the village head's wife asked Lin Chuntao about selling the sauce. Lin Chuntao told them the truth: the sauce was contracted to the young master of the Chai family to help sell, so only his family could sell it in the county town. However, peddlers in the town or countryside could come directly to Lin Chuntao to get the sauce to sell.

Upon hearing this, the village head's wife inquired about the price. The villagers were buying from Lin Chuntao for fourteen coins per pound, but this was for individual purchases. If they were peddlers selling their wares, the price would be higher than fourteen coins, and those who wanted to buy would definitely come directly to Lin Chuntao.

Lin Chuntao said, "If the peddlers come to buy the sauce, it will cost fifteen coins per catty. I suggest selling it for no more than eighteen coins."

After Lin Chuntao finished speaking, the village head's wife smiled and said, "I have a nephew who asked me to ask you. They want to buy some soy sauce to sell at the town market. I'll come find you on his behalf in a while."

After hearing what the village head's wife said, Zheng Laoda's family finally understood why they were so happy when Lin Chuntao came to take the ox; it turned out she was after the sauce.

The village head said, "Judging from Lin Chuntao's attitude, she might not come to rent our cattle next year."

Old Zheng replied, "She wants to pay rent for raising cattle too? Is she trying to steal our money?"

The village head shook his head with his hands behind his back and sighed.

"She might not be able to rent cattle, but she'll definitely buy them when she has the money."

After the deal on renting the cow was settled, Lin Chuntao and Pei Ying leisurely returned. As evening approached, they went to the vegetable garden and picked some vegetables to bring back.

The soaking pig's head and trotters were almost ready, so Lin Chuntao changed the water and then called Lin Chunxing to wash the vegetables together. Tonight, Lin Chuntao planned to cook a new flavor of rice noodles for them to try.