Chapter 52 Shopfront

“That’s settled then. Since you’re so agreeable, I’ll introduce you to someone,” said Madam Xu. A few days later, she brought over a sturdy young woman.

"Xiong Erni, don't underestimate her just because she's from the countryside. She's incredibly strong; she could easily be a bodyguard. If I could afford to support her, I wouldn't be willing to introduce her to you," Madam Xu was also worried. This was the first time she had ever seen a girl who could eat so much. Her business wasn't doing well these days, and she simply couldn't afford to hire her.

"You said all that just to get me to hire your shop's employees, didn't you?" Song Yushu asked, half-believing and half-doubting.

"How could that be, Erni? Let her see what you're capable of!" Seeing that Song Yushu doubted her judgment, Madam Xu suddenly felt a competitive urge.

Xiong Erni hadn't said a word since entering the restaurant. Upon hearing this, she glanced around and saw a large stone mill in the courtyard. She went over and picked it up, looking quite relaxed.

"Alright, I'll take him."

Seeing that she had carried the load for quite a while without her face turning red or her breath coming in short gasps, Song Yushu finally believed that she was a capable person.

"It doesn't matter how much this girl earns each month, the main thing is that she gets room and board and is well-fed. You can decide what to do," Madam Xu said, relieved to see that she had accepted the girl.

After all, Xiong Erni was a woman with a tragic fate. She had a big appetite at home and, although she hadn't married, she could do the work of several people and managed to get by. But then there was a drought, and she almost starved to death. She was even sold by her family. Luckily, she escaped, otherwise she would have been a servant for life. Madam Xu took her in out of kindness, but she simply couldn't afford to feed someone who could eat so much.

As for how much she can eat, Song Yushu has a lot to say. On her first day at Haowei Restaurant, Xiong Erni was afraid of being disliked, so she only ate five bowls of rice and didn't dare to pick up any vegetables.

Seeing this, Song Yushu told her to eat as much as she wanted. He was running a restaurant, after all, and he couldn't let his employees go hungry. So Xiong Erni ate ten bowls of rice.

Song Yushu had only ever seen a big eater like that on the internet in her previous life, but she didn't mind. At least that person was strong, could work, and could act as a bodyguard, so she had gained something from it.

"Mother, our restaurant has earned more than three hundred taels of silver. Let's buy the shop!" Zhou Chengzhu said excitedly to Song Yushu after tapping the abacus at night.

“I’d forgotten all about it until you mentioned it. We should take over the shop,” Song Yushu thought, realizing that the restaurant was doing well and the money left over after buying the shop would be enough.

However, Song Yushu underestimated the methods of Manager Zhu of Taixing Restaurant. When she found the broker who had been looking for the owner of the shop to buy the house, the broker looked apologetic.

"Madam, I'm so sorry, but the two people in front of that shop have already bought it."

"What? But my lease hasn't expired yet..."

"The gentleman who bought the shop said you can move out when your lease expires. If you want to renew the lease, you can talk to him about it."

The broker looked at Song Yushu with sympathy. He naturally recognized Song Yushu, who rented out the shop, as the owner of the thriving restaurant in town. He also knew that someone had deliberately bought the shop, but he couldn't make the decision himself; it was entirely up to the owner.

"So this is where they were waiting for me," she thought. It was her carelessness that led her to buy the shop earlier when she had made her money. Now she had given those with ulterior motives an opportunity to make their move.

"Why do you look so pale?" Wei's mother asked quickly when she noticed that something was wrong with her.

"Didn't Mother go to buy a shop? Could it be that the seller wouldn't sell it to her?" Zhou Chengzhu had been so excited since last night when she learned that her mother was going to buy a shop that she couldn't sleep. Now that she saw her mother coming back so early, she found it strange.

"Alas! It's even worse than that. Manager Zhu of Taixing Restaurant bought the shop before us, and the lease has less than three months left. We need to find a way to change shops," Song Yushu explained the situation, and the atmosphere in the restaurant became gloomy.

"At worst, we can just find a new shop. Anyway, we have many old customers here. We can just make it clear to them when we move," Song Yushu comforted them. Although she was quite reluctant to give up this shop, the people from Taixing Restaurant were going against them, so it was impossible not to move.

On the other side, Manager Zhu was feeling quite pleased with himself for having bought the shop of Haowei Restaurant. He was waiting for Song Yushu to come to him with the recipe, but unfortunately, half a month passed and the man did not come even once.

"Hmph! When the lease expires, we'll bring people and kick them out. I want to see how tough she is!" Manager Zhu was furious, but he calmed down afterward.

"Who angered Manager Zhu?" A fair-skinned young man in brocade robes suddenly entered.

"Young Master is here! What are you standing there for? Quickly brew him a pot of good tea!" Manager Zhu immediately wiped away his anger.

"No need. I came here today just to see how Taixing Restaurant is doing," Xu Qingyan said. Since getting married three months ago, he has been learning about the Xu family's businesses. Among them, Taixing Restaurant was suffering serious losses, which is why he came to check on it several times.

"Young master, I have done everything you instructed, but the restaurant's business just won't pick up. All our customers have been snatched up by that delicious eatery. We can't let this continue!"

Manager Zhu still felt that this young master was too young and too soft-hearted. With the Xu family as a backer, dealing with that small eatery would be a piece of cake.

"In business, there are times when you make money and times when you lose money. You haven't reached the end of your rope yet, so why be in such a hurry?"

Xu Qingyan is not some clueless rich young master. He came here to prove his abilities with Taixing Restaurant. If he can't even run a small restaurant well, how can the elders of the family entrust him with such a large business?

"I brought two cooks from the prefectural city. Make sure they are well taken care of. I paid a high price to hire them, so they can't be neglected."

Manager Zhu, who had initially disagreed with Xu Qingyan's approach, perked up immediately upon hearing this. How could a renowned chef from the prefectural city compare to a country bumpkin?

Song Yushu was unaware that Taixing Restaurant had hired a famous chef. Recently, whenever she finished dealing with the restaurant, she would go out to inquire if there were any shops she could buy.

It was just that someone was deliberately messing with her. Every time the broker took her to see a shop, it would be bought by someone else. Once or twice was fine, but it happened every time. It was hard for her not to be suspicious.

"Are you going to do a business deal?" Song Yushu was furious and naturally wanted to retaliate against the person who had secretly sabotaged the deal.

"What does Madam Wei want? I'm just a gofer. This shop sale is entirely up to the owner. I have no intention of playing tricks on you!"

The ivory maker knew that if this happened too often, even the clay figure would lose its temper, so he could only politely express his apology to Song Yushu.

"This isn't your fault. You got a commission after the shop was sold."