Planning
Taishi Zheng respected his elder sister-in-law, so naturally, he listened to her words. Hearing this, Zheng didn't look at Song Mingyue, but simply pointed eastward. "Okay. Sister-in-law, please follow me."
Cang Yi knew what was going on.
These two people, one is straightforward and the other speaks quickly. They have no bad intentions, but they are bound to "not get along".
She looked at Taishi Zheng walking forward, then turned and tugged at Song Mingyue's clothes. She couldn't help but mutter, "Mingyue, when it comes to business, location is indeed a very important factor, but it's not absolute. I think Zheng has some truth to it. Do you think we could die from holding our urine? It's never too early to make conclusions about anything before we've even started. Zheng is so determined to make this happen, so we should just help her think carefully and offer some advice. Don't be so cold-blooded."
Song Mingyue knew she hadn't thought much before she said that. But when she heard Cang Yi say that, she immediately said sarcastically, "Sister-in-law, I feel like you're leaning more and more towards her now—you mustn't be partial."
As soon as these words were spoken, Cang Yi looked at Song Mingyue in front of him and burst out laughing.
How can I still be jealous?
Cang Yi thought that the third son's wife was just like the third son, with a childish temper. It was really hard to be awesome.
Turning his head, Cang Yi replied, "How can I be biased towards Zheng? After all, you two are both my sister-in-laws. I treat you both as my own sisters. Since you say you are my sisters, how could I be biased towards one? I am just discussing the matter with you objectively."
Song Mingyue curled her lips and refused to listen.
Zheng looked back and saw that no one was following her, so she shouted, "Sister-in-law, what are you two doing—"
Cang Yi quickly put his arm around Song Mingyue's shoulders and tried to comfort her. After all, no one dared to mess with her now. "Come on, stop being so mad. From now on, just tell me what you want to eat during your pregnancy. Even in the middle of the night, I'll get up and make it for you. Is this a partiality for you okay?"
Song Mingyue was really easy to coax in front of Cang Yi. She responded without thinking: "Be partial to me? Okay."
-
Afterwards, the two sisters-in-law followed Tai Shi Zheng to a shop facing the sun on the east side and stopped.
Cang Yi looked around and saw that to the left of the shop was a store that only sold malnutrition medicine, to the right was a clinic specializing in pediatrics, and across from it was a herbal medicine shop that could decoct Chinese medicine for him. As Cang Yi looked around, he saw nothing but medicine-related businesses.
The reputation of Baohe Medical Clinic is well-deserved.
It is indeed much more difficult to break the deadlock here than in a busy place like Anningfang.
Has Zheng really thought it through?
Zheng raised her hand and waved it in front of Cang Yi's eyes. "Sister-in-law, what are you thinking about? Is there something wrong here?"
Cang Yi drew his gaze closer and said, "Nothing, why don't we go in and take a look?"
"Come in, let's go in right away. Sister-in-law, please wait a moment."
Zheng said as she pulled a bunch of keys from her pocket. The keys rang out with a jingle. Song Mingyue, who had just been arguing with her, turned around and looked at her in shock. "Second... Second sister-in-law, these can't be the keys to your shop!"
Zheng nodded and pointed outside with the key.
"Look, from here to there, there should be fifteen shops. I didn't pay much attention to it."
There are so many shops, don’t you care?
Song Mingyue and Cang Yi exchanged glances, thinking the Taishi family was incredibly wealthy. Their daughter's dowry was a street-long shopfront! How would Cui Zhijun feel if he knew he had such a wealthy wife?
Ke Zheng said, "Don't be fooled by Baohefang's current state. In fact, these shops were very cheap back then. My father was deceived by the person who sold him the shop. The man said that if he bought all these, he would give him two more small shops. My father was greedy for a bargain, so he sold all the money he had saved over the years just to buy these two half-dying shops. But at that time, Baohefang was not a street dedicated to the medical business. No one dared to stay there at night."
"So, after my father bought these shops, they were effectively a waste of money in his hands."
"But my father wasn't willing to give up. He was looking for ways to make this place work. Later, he met a few outsiders who wanted to start a medical business. My father thought it was feasible, so he waived the rent for a year and handed over several shops near Anningfang to them. Unexpectedly, they actually made this street work. That's why I tell you, as long as you are willing to think of a way, everything will work out when the time comes—"
Zheng proudly turned the iron ring of the key. "Like father, like daughter. I'm sure I can do it. But if I really can't, I won't ask you to take the risk."
Cang Yi nodded, "That's true, but..."
Zheng asked, "Just what?"
Cang Yi stepped forward and held Taishi Zheng's hand. "Just don't show off your wealth. Zheng, open the door quickly."
Zheng said "oh" and raised her hand to open the door.
But when she raised the key, she was in trouble again. Cang Yi looked forward and said, "What's going on?" Zheng turned away awkwardly, "Sister-in-law, you really have to wait a moment this time... I don't know which key is the one to open this door."
-
So, even though it was such a simple matter of opening the door and entering, the three sisters-in-law spent a full quarter of an hour without getting in. This caused passersby to stare at these three people acting suspiciously in broad daylight. Song Mingyue stood awkwardly behind the two of them, and said to the passersby who wanted to watch, "Come on, what are you looking at!"
But before she could finish her words, Taishi Zheng put her arms around Cang Yi's neck and said excitedly, "Oh my God, it's finally opened—"
Zheng seemed to have done something extraordinary.
Cang Yi smiled and moved her arm away. "Alright, alright. From now on, remember which key opens which lock. Come on in. The three of us have to look twice at anyone who passes by outside. We're almost like street performers."
"Sister-in-law, I'm sorry. I will remember it next time. Please come in." Zheng hurriedly let go and pushed the door open, inviting Cang Yi in.
When Cang Yi entered the room, it was Song Mingyue's turn to lift her leg.
But when Song Mingyue met Taishi Zheng's gaze, she coughed awkwardly and said, "Second sister-in-law... I really didn't mean to curse you. You know... I just said it casually, don't take it to..."
"I know, I won't bother with you two." Zheng laughed heartily.
How could she care about Song Mingyue? If she was really the kind of person who cared about things, she would never have let her go like that when it was reported in the tabloids last time.
Song Mingyue was puzzled, "Two?"
Zheng smiled when she heard that and said, "You and Little Third."
-
Cang Yi took the lead and walked around the room.
The shop she saw Zheng in wasn't big, but it had plenty of light. The front room was bare except for two tables and a few worn wooden chairs. Covering her nose with her hand, she lifted the dusty curtain and peered toward the small room at the back, deciding it would be perfect for a kitchen.
As she was looking around, Zheng came in from the door and poked her head in to ask Cang Yi, "Sister-in-law, what do you think? This shop used to sell tofu, but the owner went back home and closed it two months ago. I was in a hurry to get married to Erlang, so I didn't pay it any attention. Now it's perfectly free. We won't have to pay rent anymore, so we can save a lot of money, and Sister-in-law Bao Nian will also be relieved of a lot of pressure."
Cang Yi nodded and said, "It's good. A noodle shop doesn't need a big space. A good stove will be enough. You have a good place."
"So, sister-in-law thinks it's feasible?" Zheng was overjoyed.
Cang Yi hesitated to speak, and Zheng saw why, so she asked, "Sister-in-law, if you have anything to say, just say it. There's nothing to worry about with me."
"Then I'll just say it straight."
Cang Yi put down the curtain in his hand, turned his head and looked out through the open wooden door, expressing his concerns. "Zheng, you also said that this was originally a tofu shop. Let's not talk about why the shop owner returned home and didn't open it. If the business is booming, I think the shop owner will not give up this shop easily. Since others have blazed the trail, we have to think carefully about our own fate."
Cang Yi spoke with great sincerity, and Zheng also thought seriously after hearing her words.
Song Mingyue blew the dust off the chair and sat down. She rubbed her aching waist and said to Taishi Zheng, "Yes, second sister-in-law, your worries are not unreasonable. Let's first talk about the pedestrians walking on Anningfang Street across the street. Who isn't strolling leisurely and contented? Or take our Baohefang. There are indeed many people coming and going, but these pedestrians are either hurried or look hesitant. Everyone's attention is on seeking medical treatment and medicine. Who would buy your products? You can't keep customers there at all."
Zheng watched the people coming and going outside, sniffing the aroma of herbs, and subconsciously replied, "Yes, Baohefang is far more prosperous than Anningfang, and the people coming and going seeking medical treatment and medicine are even more hurried. So if we can turn these people into our own customers, won't we have no worries about business?"
Song Mingyue looked up at Taishi Zheng, remembered Cang Yi's instructions, and did not answer.
Cang Yize took over the conversation and continued, "But Zheng, we're just running a noodle business. How can we turn those people who go to drugstores and clinics into our customers? We sell noodles, not medicine."
Zheng seemed to have an idea. "Sister-in-law, I know noodles aren't medicine. But they won't take medicine every day, but they do need to eat noodles every day, right? I think since we're opening a shop in Baohefang, we have to make it special. Otherwise, if we just open an ordinary noodle shop in Anningfang, we'll be quickly replaced by other new shops."
"A noodle shop with special features?" Cang Yi was puzzled. She didn't know what could be done with a small steamed bun.
Zheng only said two words: "Food supplements."
Tai Shi Zheng always had his own ideas, but Cang Yi and Song Mingyue didn't understand what he meant and looked at each other in confusion.
Zheng explained her idea to them, "If we add ingredients that have both medicinal and edible properties to our noodles, making them into various kinds of special nourishing noodles, wouldn't that be attractive? Forget about anything else, just think about what this shop next door sells."
"Medicine for malnutrition?" Cang Yi answered.
Zheng clapped her hands and said, "That's right. What are malnutrition medicines? They're specifically for treating vomiting and diarrhea, and helping to digest food. So most people who buy this kind of medicine have a poor appetite. But what do you say now that I've just been through this and can't eat greasy food, but I'm still hungry if I don't eat?"
"What should we do?" Song Mingyue asked.
Zheng slammed the table excitedly, but her hands instantly turned black. "Just buy our noodles! We can make steamed buns with hawthorn and yam. Hawthorn helps with digestion and strengthens the stomach, while yam nourishes qi and yin, which is just what he likes. And so on. We can also cook according to his condition like a 'doctor'! So, what do you say... should we try it here in Baohefang?"
Zheng's words were well-reasoned and her two sisters-in-law nodded repeatedly.
Look, it was Song Mingyue who threw the coldest water, but she was the one who responded most enthusiastically, "Second sister-in-law, don't say it. You really have some ideas, and you even understand medical principles. After hearing what you said, I actually think it's feasible."
Zheng didn't believe her. She turned to look at Cang Yi, who was always worried about the future, and called out softly, "Sister-in-law."
Unexpectedly, Cang Yi answered straightforwardly, "Okay, I think it's good."
Zheng was in disbelief at the recognition, "Really? You mean it's possible?"
Cang Yi nodded. "Really? But since you've decided to do it, Zheng, I'll tell you in advance that the real difficulties lie ahead. For example, putting the shop back together and repairing it, applying to the government office to open it, and even hiring staff. There are so many things here that can't be accomplished by sheer courage. It could take three months at the shortest, half a year at the longest. You need to be prepared and patient."
Cang Yi gave a kind reminder, and Zheng understood.
But in Zheng's eyes, these things don't seem difficult.
She looked at Cang Yi and smiled slightly. She only said: "Don't worry, sister-in-law. I will feel at ease if you say a word of approval. As for the things you mentioned, I think they are probably not that difficult to handle. As the saying goes, many hands make light work. If there are difficulties, we can..."
"Call someone."
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