Chapter 153 Site Selection

Song Yushu entered the shop hoping to find a bargain, and the shopkeeper was very welcoming.

"These are some fruits and vegetables, all of which are only available in our area. Would you like to buy some?" The shopkeeper, speaking with a heavy Chinese accent, enthusiastically recommended them to Song Yushu.

Song Yushu could only recognize a few seeds, but the prices were relatively cheap, so he simply bought a small bag of each kind, thinking that he would know what they were once they were planted.

Seeing that she liked them, Xue Huai'an didn't ask her why she bought so many seeds, and simply paid for them for her.

It wasn't convenient for Song Yushu to be carrying more than a dozen bags of seeds while shopping, so the two decided to go back first.

Even at night, Yunzhou City is extremely lively. Looking at the bustling streets below, Song Yushu would have really wanted to go down and take a look if she hadn't been wandering around for so long during the day.

"After you've eaten, get some rest. If you really want to go shopping, I'll take you down for a stroll tomorrow night. The night market in Yunzhou City is quite famous," Xue Huai'an said, seeing that her mind wasn't on eating.

“I’m not a child, I’m just looking. Traveling during the day is too tiring, I don’t want to go any further. I’m too old to take any more of this.”

After saying this, without waiting to see if Xue Huai'an believed him or not, Song Yushu ate his meal and obediently went back to his room.

When she woke up again, she found that Xue Huai'an had already bought breakfast and there were several dishes on the table.

"You're quite a virtuous person," Song Yushu muttered, then sat down to enjoy the meal after washing up.

"There are many vendors in Yunzhou City. I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I chose a stall with a lot of people. How about that?"

"Delicious," Song Yushu naturally wouldn't disappoint, after all, this was Xue Huai'an's thoughtful gesture.

Although there looked like a lot of food, the portions were small, and the two of them were just enough to finish it.

“Let’s go. Boss Xu has already selected a few locations, but he hasn’t decided where to open the restaurant yet. Let us take a look at the situation and hopefully finalize the location,” Song Yushu was eager to get down to business.

"There's a place near the dock, let's go check that out first."

Xue Huai'an led Song Yushu to the canal wharf, where several cargo ships were still moored.

As soon as the new ship docked, the people waiting on the pier to unload their cargo immediately surrounded it.

The dock is bustling with activity right now, and there are many vendors selling their wares nearby.

“This place has the highest foot traffic, but the spot that Boss Xu is eyeing is too competitive. There are quite a few wealthy businessmen eyeing it, so we probably won’t get a chance,” Song Yushu said regretfully.

"The docks are indeed bustling, but most of the people here are ordinary vendors and porters who carry goods. Not many of them can afford to spend money in restaurants. Why don't we look at other places?"

Song Yushu didn't dwell on it for long before going to another place with Xue Huai'an.

“There are three restaurants on this street alone, and four or five smaller eateries. If Bichunlou really chooses to be located here, the pressure will be considerable. Let’s take another look,” Song Yushu said with a headache after even seeing the Xu family’s restaurant.

"Take your time, there's no rush. Bichunlou's dishes are better than others. Even though there are many restaurants in Yunzhou City, it's not impossible for it to stand out," Xue Huai'an comforted him.

In just one day, they visited several places, but only two were tentatively selected. The others were simply not suitable and had to be ruled out.

One of them is the street with many restaurants and eateries, where the price to open a restaurant is exorbitantly high. The other place has moderate foot traffic but reasonable prices.

Song Yushu wrote directly to the prefectural city, explaining the two locations they had chosen, and sent them for them to discuss. She and Xue Huai'an waited in Yunzhou City for Xu Chunming and the others to make their decision.

The two spent several days eating and drinking in Yunzhou City, visiting all the delicious and fun places in the city. It wasn't until they received a letter from Xu Chunming that they began to discuss the matter of buying the shop.

The location they chose had moderate foot traffic, but there were quite a few businesses around. However, it wasn't enough compared to places with high foot traffic. In such a location, it wouldn't be difficult to buy a shop.

Song Yushu and Xue Huai'an directly acquired two adjacent shops, intending to have them demolished and a new restaurant built in their place.

Of course, they didn't need to arrange the reconstruction; Mr. Xu had already found someone to take over.

After finishing his business, Song Yushu bought a lot of things in Yunzhou City before leisurely returning to the prefectural city with Xue Huai'an.

"Finally back," Zhou Chengzhu said, feeling utterly bored. After the restaurant was burned down, she had nothing to do. She planned to tell Song Yushu when she returned that she was going back to the county town to look after the shop with Xue Qingyao, but she ended up waiting for more than half a month.

“Here’s the gift,” Song Yushu knew her nature and told her to find the gift herself.

As expected, Zhou Chengzhu forgot her anger when she heard there were gifts, and went straight to the carriage to see them.

“The things in Yunzhou City are more novel than those in the prefectural city. You can get your goods from there,” Song Yushu reminded her, thinking of their shop.

"Really? I heard that Yunzhou City isn't far from here. How come it took you so long? Was the road difficult to travel?" Zhou Chengzhu asked doubtfully.

"Well! The scenery along the way was nice, so we lingered for a while," Song Yushu said shamelessly. This trip was more like a sightseeing trip than a business trip.

“Sure enough, I knew it would take so long. I’ll have to go and see the world in the future,” Zhou Chengzhu said excitedly as she got off the carriage with two gifts and went inside with Xiong Erni to unpack them.

"When are you going back to the prefectural city?" Song Yushu thought that he had been away for too long, and now only Old Madam Xue and Xue Qingyao were left in the Xue family, which was not quite appropriate.

"I have servants at home, so I plan to wait for you all to go back to the county town for the New Year together," Xue Huai'an said. He had arranged everything since he came to the prefectural city, and now that the New Year was less than a month away, it would be more convenient to go back to the county town with Song Yushu then.

"I almost forgot, it's almost the New Year. I've been in the prefectural city for a year now, and it's been quite a year," Song Yushu sighed.

"It's already very good that you've been able to establish yourself in the city within a year. I'll face the future with you." Xue Huai'an felt a pang of heartache and regret, thinking about how he hadn't been by Song Yushu's side during the past year when she had encountered many things.

"It's a pity my restaurant was burned down. Now that I'm idle, I really don't know what to do." Song Yushu now has enough money saved up from before and the dividends from Bichunlou to live a worry-free life for the rest of his days, so he doesn't plan to make any more trouble. He is actually a little unaccustomed to such a leisurely life.

Xue Huai'an knew she was just expressing her feelings. She knew her own path and didn't need him to help her decide. She only knew that they could accompany each other on this path. The ambition and high spirits of their youth had long faded with the passage of time. Now, being able to grow old together with someone who understood her heart was the best ending.