Chen Xiaolai bought all the shops and vacant land around the county government office, planning to hire a few people to start construction and build a commercial street.
Following behind Chen Xiaocai, Chen Chi asked with some concern, "Have you thought about what you're going to do with all these shops?" Chen Xiaocai's purchase of an entire street of shops made Chen Chi's heart skip a beat.
Although these shops aren't expensive in total, it's not good for them to be vacant. Moreover, Chen Chi thinks that it's very easy to resell shops in Liuzhen. As long as the price is lowered, someone will come to buy them at any time. But it's different in Shaxian. It's easy to end up with unsold shops.
If a border war breaks out, the trading houses here will probably be completely destroyed.
Chen Xiaocai shook her head and said, "Not yet."
Chen Chi looked at Chen Xiaocai with a strange expression and said, "Not yet? Have you asked Brother Lin?"
Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, "I asked him, and Brother Lin said that what I did was good. He even praised me as a talented person and said that I have the potential to do great things."
Lu Lin strongly agreed with Chen Xiaolai's idea of buying up all the shops near the county government office.
According to Lu Lin's plan, he intends to develop a commercial street here to revitalize the county's economy. Before the commercial street takes off, it would be good to make a move and buy the entire street.
Who knows, after a while, the value of the shops here might double, or even triple.
When it comes to housing prices, there's nothing you can't imagine that won't rise.
Lu Lin thought Chen Xiaocai was a person with dreams, but Lu Lin didn't know if Chen Xiaocai would fail. Although real estate speculation had a large profit margin, the possibility of failure was also very high.
Although Lu Lin wasn't entirely sure himself, he still gave Chen Xiaocai a lot of affirmation.
Chen Chi blinked and said, "So that's what Brother Lin said!"
Shen Chi greatly admired Lu Lin. Chen Xiaocai told Shen Chi that the Chen family was able to earn so much money to buy official positions because of Lu Lin's various ideas. In Shen Chi's mind, Lu Lin was a genius. If Lu Lin knew Shen Chi's thoughts, he would definitely be embarrassed.
"The shops here are still quite cheap," Chen Xiaocai said.
Chen Xiaocai's shops in Liuzhen were worth hundreds of taels of silver, but buying more than a dozen shops here would only cost him a few hundred taels.
The shop that Chen Xiaocai bought has already started operating. The shop mainly sells curved plows, and also sells various farm tools. Lu Lin also had a few carpenters make some tables and benches to sell in the shop.
This curved plow is only sold here. After its reputation spread, many people from other places came to buy it, and the business of several snack shops nearby also increased as a result.
Chen Xiaomi glanced at Lu Lin and said, "Xiao Cai bought up all the shops around here, did you know?" Lu Lin nodded and said, "I know Xiao Lai has the potential to be a big boss." What is the most profitable business in modern society? Lu Lin didn't expect Chen Xiao Cai to have such a mind, and he couldn't help but feel gratified.
Chen Xiaomi rolled her eyes and said worriedly, "This guy buys so many shops, isn't he afraid they'll rot in his hands?"
Lu Lin smiled and said, "It's alright, we can always start over. This kid has a lot of guts and the air of a great general. I underestimated him before. This kid might be a rising star."
Chen Xiaomi said helplessly, "All you do is praise him. You'll make that kid lose his bearings in no time..." Although she said that, Chen Xiaomi was still very satisfied to hear Lu Lin praise Chen Xiaomai.
Lu Lin rubbed his chin and said, "Doing business always involves risks. If you fail, you can always start over. Judging from the current situation, Xiao Cai's business should be a sure thing."
In the military camp.
A new recruit looked under his bed and let out a scream.
Liu Yun came over and asked, "What happened?"
The screaming recruit, looking pained, said, "It's nothing."
Liu Yun asked suspiciously, "Why are you shouting for no reason?"
The new recruit, Zhang Lin, couldn't help but hang his head dejectedly and said, "Mr. Liu, someone drank all my wine, and then replaced it all with water."
Zhang Lin scratched his head, feeling utterly dejected. He had long known that the other veterans living in the same room were all very slick, so he bought the liquor and hid it under the bed, covering it with something. He would also shake it whenever he had the chance to check if there were any problems.
Today, Zhang Lin finally made up his mind to drink the wine he bought, only to find that it had long been replaced with water.
He usually just shook the wine jar to see if it was empty, but he never imagined that the contents of the jar had long been replaced with something else.
Liu Yun: "..." Drinking is usually prohibited in Sugawara. Although that is the rule, the soldiers below can drink a little on weekdays, as long as they don't get drunk and affect their duties, it's fine.
Liu Yun said helplessly, "Drinking is not allowed in the camp. How did you bring alcohol in?"
The new recruit was even more annoyed after being scolded by Liu Yun. He had his things stolen and then got yelled at; it was truly unfair.
Liu Yun shook his head and returned to his military tent.
When Ji Chengkang saw Liu Yun come in, he asked, "What were you doing just now?"
Liu Yun gave a wry smile and said, "One of the soldiers had his wine stolen."
Ji Chengkang shook his head and said, "These days, the soldiers in the camp go to Lu Lin's newly opened tavern on their days off." Liu Yun felt a little helpless. Buying a jar of wine and some snacks from the tavern was a good choice. Liu Yun had also gone there a few times to relax.
"General, shouldn't we bring the young general back? He's been staying at the county office, what if he falls behind in his studies?" Liu Yun asked.
Ji Chengkang shook his head and said, "That kid is probably going to be so happy that he'll forget about home."
Liu Yun: "..." The young general has been chattering about the benefits of working in the county government ever since he came back, as if he's really enjoying himself so much that he doesn't want to leave.
Ji Chengkang glanced at Liu Yun and said, "How about we find a tutor to send to Lu Lin?" As far as he knew, the county magistrate had also been looking for a tutor for his children recently, but had not found a suitable one.
Ji Yun'an came out, looked around, and asked Tian Zheng, "Uncle Tian, have you seen the magistrate?"
Tian Zheng smiled and said, "They're probably in the kitchen."
Ji Yun'an rolled his eyes speechlessly. It was too much of a burden for the county magistrate to spend all day in the kitchen.
Ji Yun'an looked at Chen Xiaomai and said, "So, which one tastes the best?" Chen Xiaomai tilted her head and said, "They're all pretty good."
Lu Lin: "..." I really shouldn't have let Xiaomai provide the reference!
Ji Yun'an came over and said, "Sir, you're here!"
Lu Lin nodded and said, "Yes!"
"What are you doing, sir?"
Lu Lin casually said, "I'm planning to open a restaurant and I'm currently working on recipes."
Ji Yun'an said with some delight, "You're opening a restaurant? That's great news."
Lu Lin seemed to know how to cook many dishes, and the dishes he made were all delicious. Lu Lin was not a stingy person, so when the cook came to learn how to cook a few home-style dishes, Lu Lin gave him money without asking for any. As a result, the army's meals improved a lot. However, the army was still eating communal meals, so the dishes were still somewhat lacking in terms of refinement.
The soldiers in the camp had long wanted to try the food served at the county government office, so whenever there was a problem, they would rush to help, all for the sake of a meal.
Ji Yun'an glanced at Lu Lin and thought to himself: If we're talking about studying food, that should be the cook's job, but it turned out that Lu Lin did it for her. Lu Lin looked at Ji Yun'an and said, "Are you hungry? Would you like to try some and give me some feedback?"
Ji Yun'an nodded and said, "Okay!"
"Brother Lin, what is this?" Ji Yun'an asked.
Lu Lin smiled and said, "This is mala tang. Just prepare the broth and put the ingredients in to cook."
Ji Yun'an nodded and said, "I see!"
Lu Lin nodded. He had originally wanted to make hot pot, but then thought that hot pot would be too expensive, so he made mala tang instead. The most important part of mala tang is the soup base. If the soup base is well-made, anything you put in it will taste good.
Ji Yun'an and Chen Xiaomai tried several dishes, and both of them ate until their bellies were round.
Lu Lin looked at Ji Yun'an and thought to himself: It's one thing for Xiaomai to eat, but Ji Yun'an is a young master from a prominent family! I didn't expect him to eat so much. Ji Yun'an looked at Lu Lin's expression and vaguely guessed what Lu Lin was thinking. He blushed without realizing it.
Lu Lin opened a mala tang (spicy hot pot) restaurant. The supplies here were not plentiful, and the ingredients available for the mala tang restaurant were limited. However, even so, there were still many people who came to eat there, many of whom were soldiers from the patrol battalion.
The soldiers of the patrol battalion had already found out that Lu Lin was going to open a spicy hot pot restaurant.
The soldiers didn't know what mala tang was, but they had been wanting to try it for a while.
On the first day the mala tang restaurant opened, it welcomed many people from the military camp.
These tall, burly men intimidated the entire village.
The few tables inside the shop were all full, so Chen Xiaocai had to set up a few tables outside.
There were a lot of customers on the first day of opening, and Chen Xiaomai was also drafted to help serve dishes in the store.
"Young boss, this spicy hot pot tastes really good!"
Chen Xiaocai smiled and said, "I'm glad you like it, Uncle."
The price at the mala tang restaurant is based on the ingredients you take. Meatballs are relatively expensive, while the rest of the vegetables are inexpensive. A handful of noodles only costs two coins. Most of the soldiers who come here take a handful of noodles, some vegetables, and two meatballs. With both meat and vegetables, they can eat a big bowl for five coins.
The aroma of spicy hot pot wafted from the shop, attracting many passersby to watch, including some children from the countryside.
Some people couldn't resist the temptation and pestered their families to buy them a bowl.
Some families are well-off and can afford to add two meatballs if they grit their teeth; others can just grab a handful of noodles and buy a bowl.
This mala tang (spicy hot pot) shop just opened, and many people came to try it out of curiosity, so business is booming.
Chen Xiaolai earned one or two taels of silver that day, and after deducting costs, he could still make a few hundred coins.
Lu Lin taught Chen Chi the recipe for the hot pot base. As long as Chen Chi prepared the base every day, the rest was easy; he just needed to find a few helpers.
Over the years, following Chen Xiaocai, Shen Chi's status has also risen accordingly.
What's even more remarkable is that, despite having money, Shen Chi is still very hardworking, and he can help Chen Xiaocai a lot when she's busy. Lu Lin is quite pleased that Chen Xiaocai has found such a capable wife as Shen Chi.
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