Chapter 14 Is Sister Yang really going to open a shop?
When she woke up that day, she was finally not accompanied by the sound of rain. Seeing the alley outside becoming noisy, Lu Qiong got out of bed and changed her clothes without lingering.
It had been raining for several days in a row, and the clothes wouldn't dry. They started to smell when left indoors. She piled the clothes she had accumulated over the past few days into a basin, stuffed a few soap pods inside, and then carried the basin to the Cai River.
Lu Qiong wasn't the only one who got up early; she met other women on the way who had bought boiled water from her stall before.
Aunt He, carrying a bamboo basket, smiled and said, "Going to wash clothes? Why isn't Xuan-jie with you? She's always following you around."
Lu Qiong laughed, "I was so busy last night, I haven't gotten up yet."
"Only you spoil her like this. Everyone has to work alongside their parents," Aunt He said jokingly, not really scolding her. After saying that, she ordered five servings of yam and jujube cake from Lu Qiong, saying that they would be used to entertain guests tomorrow, and that they would have thin crusts and thick fillings.
People in the neighborhood went out to work one after another. Lu Qiong also walked to the Cai River. The wharf was still bustling. The cargo boats were docked, the boatmen were pulling the boats, and the shouts of the boatmen rose and fell.
There were quite a few families washing clothes by the river, some of whom were women I often encountered. As they beat their garments, they would lament their troubles to others. An old woman also lived in Tongji Lane; her son worked in a restaurant, and her daughter was an embroiderer. She worried constantly about her young wife's marriage, saying she hadn't yet found a suitable match…
Lu Qiong didn't have many clothes, and while listening to their chatter, she slowly finished washing them, wrung out the water, and put them back in the basin.
As she hung the clothes to dry on the bamboo poles in the yard, a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen—it was scallion pancakes!
Not long after she left, Lu Xuan also got up to make breakfast. There was still some flour left at home, so she simply used it to make pancakes. When she saw Lu Qiong come in, she quickly told her to eat while it was hot: "Sister, Jin Niang just brought some soy milk, saying that there was some left over from making tofu."
Lu Qiong then noticed two large bowls of soy milk on the table, still steaming, with a delicate texture and a rich, mellow appearance.
I got up early this morning and hadn't had a chance to eat anything yet. I was already starving, and now I was even more craving something. As soon as I sat down, I couldn't resist taking a sip of soy milk. It was fragrant with soybeans and had a sweet taste. It made me feel much better after drinking it.
"It's a bit sweet, but did they add sugar?"
Lu Xuan held the scallion pancake in her hand, nodded and mumbled, "The original flavor was too bland, so I added sugar."
Given their family's previous circumstances, they used oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar sparingly, let alone adding sugar to their soy milk. Seeing her eating with relish, as if adding sugar was just an ordinary thing, Lu Qiong felt gratified, and their lives were getting better and better.
I want to earn even more money in the future!
After breakfast, it was time to prepare the candied fruit. After marinating overnight, the fruit had released a lot of water. Lu Qiong put the marinated apricots on the table, rolled up her sleeves, and went to boil water.
Once the water boils, put the apricots into the water and simmer for a while. Then, take the apricots out and place them on a bamboo sieve, where drops of juice will drip down.
Luckily, the weather cleared up today, so I can leave it in the yard to dry for a few days. If it had rained, I would have had to use charcoal to dry it and keep an eye on it.
Lu Xuan helped move a few stools outside and lay them flat. Lu Qiong clipped bamboo sieves to the stool legs so that the juice wouldn't drip onto the stools and would dry faster.
“Sister,” Lu Xuan squatted on the ground, her face contorted from supporting her hands, “we’ve run out of flour at home. Let’s go buy some later, otherwise we won’t be able to make any pastries this afternoon.”
Lu Qiong spread the apricots apart, her fingertips still sticky with apricot juice. After hesitating for a while, she finally spoke up: "Alright, but we still need to go and check out that soup noodle shop. The fishmonger said yesterday that they were transferring ownership. We were thinking of opening a shop before, and now that we have some spare money, we might as well take over that shop as soon as possible."
Lu Xuan's eyes lit up at these words, somewhat incredulous, and she raised her voice, "Really? We're really going to open a shop?"
She had heard her older sister mention it before, but she thought it was a joke. Who would have thought that her family was still collecting herbs in the mountains a month ago, and now they were talking about opening a shop? It sounded a bit unreal.
Seeing her mouth agape in astonishment, Lu Qiong chuckled, "Of course it's true. I've already calculated the money. That shop will cost two taels a month. If we set up a stall, we'll earn three hundred coins a day after deducting costs. We'll make at least six or seven taels a month. Business will definitely be even better when we open the shop."
Lu Qiong managed all the money in the house, and Lu Xuan had never calculated how much money they could earn. Now, hearing that it was six or seven taels of silver, she found it even more unbelievable, as it was equivalent to the annual income of several people in the village.
Even after leaving the house, Lu Xuan was still in a daze, only able to follow behind Lu Qiong and do the hard work, carrying things.
Lu Qiong first bought yams from a street vendor, then went to a general store to buy flour. As usual, she took out thirty coins, but the shopkeeper said the price had gone up and it was now twenty coins per dou, and two dou would be forty coins.
Lu Qiong was still holding the copper coin, which felt a little rough on her hand: "Why did the price suddenly go up?"
The shopkeeper sighed and said that the harvest in some places was not good this year, and the price of many grains had risen accordingly. Unless the autumn harvest came, the price would only continue to rise.
Hearing this, Lu Qiong felt a chill in her heart. This would significantly increase her business costs.
But I still have to set up my stall tonight, so I have to buy it even if it's expensive, because I'm afraid the price will go up later. I bought a few more bushels than usual.
Carrying a bamboo basket, Lu Xuan's excitement about opening the shop vanished instantly, replaced by worry: "Sister, if things continue like this, will we still have money to open the shop?"
After all, it cost nearly a hundred coins, and there were other ingredients to buy later. I don't understand why the older sister would buy so much even after raising the price.
Lu Qiong didn't answer her, but went to buy some yams, red beans, and red dates. Seeing that candied hawthorns were still five coins a skewer, she bought two, intending to bring one to Shuang-jie later.
After wandering around, they finally stopped at the soup noodle shop. The soup noodle shop was only separated from Tongjifang by a bridge. While the surrounding shops were packed with people, the soup noodle shop was deserted. Even flies wouldn't bother with it. The signboard on the door was the same as before, and the tables and chairs inside were sparsely arranged.
That makes sense. Their son is a government official with a monthly salary, so why should they, as elders, have to worry about him? They might as well relax and enjoy their retirement at home.
The door was wide open, and inside sat a couple who looked to be in their fifties or sixties; they must be the owners. A young woman was wiping the table; when there were no customers, one needed to find something to do so as not to appear useless.
When Lu Qiong and his companion entered, the couple didn't react much. Only the young lady stepped forward to greet them: "What would you two like to eat?"
Lu Qiong wasn't there to eat at a restaurant. She explained her purpose to the couple and waited for their response. To her surprise, they demanded that Lu Qiong pay the full month's rent, which meant that with less than half a month left, she had to pay two taels of silver—a truly outrageous demand.
She wasn't about to let them take advantage of her. She smiled calmly and said, "At most one or two taels. The longer your shop stays open, the more you'll lose. Anyway, I'm not in a hurry."
Lu Qiong wasn't in a hurry, but the couple was. They had originally thought the shop would be a good business, which was why they had taken it over. They not only hired people but also spent a lot of money buying various ingredients. Apart from the first few days when there were many customers, the flow of customers gradually stopped, and the shop had no income at all.
Lu Xuan stood next to Lu Qiong, speaking at a distance: "Sister, will they agree?"
"Don't worry, it definitely will. No one but us would dare to take this shop."
Sure enough, the woman glanced at her and whispered in her husband's ear. At first, they argued and she blushed, but later she agreed. She told Lu Qiong that she would give him an ounce, and then she couldn't wait to call over the young lady who lived nearby.
Yun Jie'er is the daughter of the original owner of this shop. She felt bad that this family had ruined such a good shop. She always felt sorry for her mother, since she had rented the shop out without her mother's knowledge.
Now that I hear they're going to transfer it to someone else, I'm secretly pleased. It seems like her shop is finally coming back to life.
Unexpectedly, when she arrived, she was met by two young women. The older one looked younger than her, with clean and delicate features. They seemed to be women who had never done any housework and probably thought this was a joke.
Sighing inwardly, she could only politely ask, "So, you two young ladies want to rent my shop?"
Lu Qiong stepped forward and said with a smile, "That's right. I just discussed it with the manager. I will pay them half a month's rent, and the lease will be renewed. I will pay you the rent for next month later."
After thinking for a moment, Sister Yun understood. She retrieved the lease agreement, rewrote it, and registered it with the government. Each person received a copy of the red lease agreement, and the matter of transferring the shop was temporarily put to rest.
After everyone left, Lu Qiong finally had time to examine the shop. The stove was right next to the door against the wall, with two stove openings and a large water vat. There wasn't much lacking; oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and other household items could all be bought at a general store, as could pots and pans. To the right of the entrance were tables and chairs. Actually, the shop wasn't very big; five tables would be a bit crowded, seating only about twenty people.
Wanting to take a few more glances, Lu Xuan tugged at her sleeve and whispered, "Sister, there are still people here."
The young woman who had been there stood alone at the door, looking about the same age as Lu Xuan. Lu Qiong asked and learned that since the shop had been rented to them, she had no one to hire.
Seeing how pitiful she was, they asked her how much she needed per month.
Sister Yang's eyes flickered slightly, thinking there was hope: "Not much, two hundred coins."
Only two hundred? Lu Qiong paused for a moment, then saw Yang Jie'er become nervous. Thinking that she would need help in the future, and that she had just seen that Yang Jie'er was efficient and not lazy, Lu Qiong decided to keep her: "Three hundred coins a month. If she does well, she can get more money. If she doesn't do well, she can only leave."
Yang Jie was overjoyed to hear that she could stay, and she was even more surprised to receive a hundred coins more. She excitedly thanked her.
Lu Qiong had to go back to make boiled water, so she told Yang Jie'er to go home first and come back tomorrow morning. But Yang Jie'er became even more uneasy upon hearing this, and hurriedly picked up a broom, saying that she wanted to do chores. No matter what Lu Qiong said, she wouldn't listen. Only after Yang Jie'er explained repeatedly and Lu Xuan also persuaded her did she finally put down the broom.
On the way back, Lu Xuan thought of Yun Jie'er's troublesome relatives and hugged the candy jar in her arms tightly: "Sister, do we have such difficult relatives?"
Speaking of relatives, Lu Qiong wasn't very clear either. In her memory, her original parents had never left Shangyuan Village, but there were no relatives in the village, and they had never visited any relatives. By the time she transmigrated, her original parents had already passed away, so she knew even less about them.
However, she couldn't say these things to Lu Xuan: "There shouldn't be any, but we should still be careful so that no one can find fault with us."
When they arrived home, it was just noon. Smoke was rising from every household, and the streets and alleys were filled with the aroma of various dishes. Lu Qiong and the others unloaded their things and prepared for lunch.
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