Xu Qinyu made up her mind and told everyone, "Then let's open a restaurant."
The cost of opening a restaurant is indeed low, but at the same time, the profit is not much. The investment cost of a restaurant is high, but she is also confident that she can make much more money than a restaurant. What's more, Xu Ji Restaurant is still in business in Yuanbao Town, and the winery can also make her 20,000 to 30,000 taels of silver every year, so she is not afraid of losing money.
Doing business is inherently risky.
Wen smiled and said, "Okay, then we'll open a restaurant. If there's anything you need my help with, just let me know."
Ning Jie'er also hurriedly said, "I have some money saved on me, I'll give it to Fourth Sister-in-law later. The restaurant Fourth Sister-in-law mentioned seems to cost a lot of money."
Although she didn't earn as much as her fourth sister-in-law every month, one or two hundred taels was still easy for her, and she had nearly three thousand taels of silver saved. She didn't have much use for the money, so she planned to give it all to her fourth sister-in-law first.
Pei Weixuan thought about it and decided that after Huo Ye sold the first batch of glassware, he would be able to give some money to Yu Niang, but Huo Ye would definitely nag him again.
Xu Qinyu hurriedly said, "Sister Ning, don't worry about it. I have over 60,000 taels of silver on me, which is more than enough."
It's not a temporary palace, so the floor is not paved with jade. It uses ordinary tiles, which are more antique and elegant, and are mostly made of solid wood.
Even if the furniture is made of solid wood, she would not use expensive rosewood or nanmu. She would use ordinary mahogany or walnut, which can save a lot of costs. If she really wants to use rosewood or nanmu, her money is not enough.
Ning Jieer continued, "If Fourth Sister-in-law is short of money, she must tell me."
Xu Qinyu nodded and did not refuse.
Since she was planning to open a restaurant, Xu Qinyu was full of energy and chattered a lot with everyone about her ideas, such as the place for eating should be separate from the place for accommodation and entertainment.
The houses where male and female guests live must be separated to avoid conflicts with female guests.
Her restaurant still focuses on serving female customers.
In addition, I also massage the shoulders and necks of female guests to loosen their muscles and bones, and also do beauty and skin care, which requires Fourth Brother's creams.
Pei Weixuan said after hearing this: "I will give you the formula for the creams. You can hire someone to make these creams. I also have some formulas for rouge and powder. Do you want them?"
Although he had never mixed rouge and powder, he knew how to mix them. Like creams and ointments, most of them were made with medicinal herbs and could nourish the skin.
Xu Qinyu nodded vigorously when she heard it, "Of course, Fourth Brother, I want it!"
She knew that the creams prepared by Fourth Brother were much better than the most expensive creams in the rouge and powder shop. She thought that the formulas of Fourth Brother's rouge and powder were also not bad. At that time, the rouge and creams would only be used by the female guests living in the restaurant, and they would not be sold to the public.
Xu Qinyu talked a lot with the Pei family, and the next thing was some ideas about the construction of this restaurant.
She also asked for everyone's opinion.
She could draw some small buildings and house decoration, but she was not very good at drawing the entire restaurant, a large-scale building that combines food, drink and entertainment. The scattered drawings she had made before were now shown to everyone.
Wen and Ning Jie'er didn't quite understand, but Pei Weixuan did.
The restaurant that Yu Niang wanted was divided into three parts.
The most important thing is the food. This restaurant, like most restaurants in the city, is located in the most central position. It is a five-story attic restaurant. A large house is built on the left side near the lake for female guests to rest overnight and play by the lake during the day. Another large house is also built on the right side, next to the other side of the lake. There are no lotus leaves or lotus flowers planted here, but a large number of fish fry are thrown in. It is a place for male guests to rest on weekdays. In their spare time, they can fish on the other side of the lake. It does not affect the female guests, and there are people guarding the middle for fear of bumping into the female guests.
Pei Weixuan said, "I understand. When I have time, I will help you draw the overall construction plan. Once you have made your decision, I will accompany you to Raozhou City in two days to buy the land. I will then help you look at the feng shui of the place and see where is the best place to build the attic and the house."
Since he can observe the celestial phenomena and knows something about Feng Shui, he can help to look at the Feng Shui when building the attic and the house, and can also help Yu Niang avoid some Feng Shui matters that need to be paid attention to when building the attic and the house.
Xu Qinyu knew that her fourth brother could observe the celestial phenomena, but she never thought that he could also read Feng Shui.
So what can’t Fourth Brother do?
She happily thanked her fourth brother, and couldn't help muttering, "It would be nice if there were hot springs."
She remembered that the southwest was also an area with many hot springs. Hot springs had also been dug out in other counties and villages, but no one knew the function of the hot springs. Some people even saw hot steam coming out of the hot springs and felt uncomfortable after drinking them, so they thought they were something harmful and even buried the hot springs.
You should know that natural hot springs are a good thing. They can relieve fatigue, open up meridians and calm the mind, and have many other benefits.
Pei Weixuan is a doctor and knows that underground hot springs are actually good for the human body. The hot springs that Yu Niang mentioned are the underground hot springs, right?
"Is the hot spring that Yu Niang is talking about underground hot spring water?"
Xu Qinyu nodded, "Yes, it's hot spring water. Although this spring water is not suitable for drinking, it can be used for soaking, which is good for the body."
Pei Weixuan thought for a moment and said, "I can help explore the area nearby. If there's any hot spring water, I can ask someone to dig it up and see."
Hot springs are mostly groundwater. Although they can sometimes be detected, they are not necessarily easy to dig out.
The southwest is rocky, so there is indeed a lot of groundwater and underground hot water.
Xu Qinyu didn't expect that her fourth brother also knew how to survey hot springs.
She didn't insist on having hot springs. It would be better if they existed naturally. Because of the location, she could only build a restaurant outside Raozhou City. There was indeed a big mountain not far away, but she didn't know there was a natural underground hot spring.
After discussing in the evening, the family went to bed early.
The next day, Xu Qinyu went to Xu Ji to help.
She was busy for two days, and then she went to Raozhou City with her fourth brother again, intending to ask the government how to build outside the city.
The guards in Raozhou City were still as strict as last time.
Seeing this, Xu Qinyu guessed that it might be related to the imperial envoy a few days ago. Her fourth brother said that something happened on the way back, and the court would definitely conduct a thorough investigation.
The two decided to stay at the Bafang Inn first. The inn was not crowded today. When Manager Zhou saw them, he whispered to them, "Some time ago, the imperial envoy who came to Raozhou had an accident on his way back. I heard that an assassin had killed the imperial envoy, so they sent people to investigate. I heard that people from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple in the capital will also be here in a few days. Therefore, everyone in the city is in danger these days. Miss Xu and Brother Pei, you should be a little more careful when you go out. You may encounter soldiers and officials for questioning."
As ordinary people, they only knew that the imperial envoy came to the southwest to investigate a case, but they had no idea what the case was. They did not expect it to be embezzlement of military pay.
Xu Qinyu nodded and said, "Thank you, Manager Zhou, we can save ourselves the trouble."
If it was really because of the assassination of the imperial envoy, Xu Qinyu knew the inside story, but she would never tell anyone about it.
Shopkeeper Zhou handed them the room cards for the "Top" room and whispered, "I heard the Imperial Envoy came here to investigate a case of military pay corruption. Someone had embezzled the pay of the soldiers in the Southwest Barracks. What a sinister heart! Furthermore, I heard a secret memorial was found on the Imperial Envoy. It was a letter he was preparing to submit to the court. It stated that the culprit for the corruption was the Prince of Handong, who had colluded with the Minister of Revenue to embezzle pay from several frontier barracks. It also listed a lot of evidence."
He paused and continued, "So it turns out we misunderstood this Imperial Envoy. Seeing him feasting and drinking every day in Raozhou City, causing trouble, we thought he was a drunkard who knew nothing. We didn't realize it was to hide his identity, afraid that people would find out he was from the southwest. Unexpectedly, he was assassinated in the end. The King of Handong must have noticed something and sent someone to do it."
Half of the people in Raozhou City have heard about this, and no one knows how it spread.
Xu Qinyu was somewhat surprised and glanced at her fourth brother. It seemed that the governor had not only killed Fu Chenghong, but also used him to betray the Prince of Handong and the Minister of Revenue. Now everyone in the southwest knew about it, and it would surely spread to other prefectures. This was good. No matter what, even if Empress Dowager Fu was the Prince of Handong's biological sister, they couldn't ignore the public outrage and not investigate this matter thoroughly.
However, she felt that the purpose of involving the Prince of Handong and the Minister of Revenue was probably not to deal with the Prince of Handong, but to deal with the Minister of Revenue.
The Queen Mother and the Prince of Handong might ask the Minister of Revenue to take the blame.
After Manager Zhou finished speaking, he asked the two to return to their room.
After Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan went to the room, Xu Qinyu whispered her guess, "Fourth brother, was this secret letter arranged by the prefect? In fact, he didn't really want to overthrow the King of Handong, but to deal with the Minister of Revenue?" The Minister of Revenue should also be involved in the embezzlement of military pay this time.
After all, the King of Handong is the Queen Mother's biological brother. The Queen Mother has made him a king of a different surname. She must care about her brother very much and will not let him get into trouble. She will find someone to take the blame. Instead of asking her to find a loyal court official to harm others, it is better to find the Minister of Revenue. After all, the Minister of Revenue is not innocent either. He should have embezzled military pay and is also the Queen Mother's man.
Pei Weixuan chuckled, "Yu Niang guessed right."
This matter itself was intended to deal with the Minister of Revenue.
The Minister of Revenue was also the Empress Dowager's man, and he also had a share in the embezzlement of military pay this time.
As long as we can expose the matter, remove the Minister of Revenue from office, and restore the salaries of the soldiers guarding the border.
He did not want to let the border become chaotic. If the case of corruption of military pay was not thoroughly investigated, it would sooner or later lead to the reduction of soldiers on the border. This would give neighboring countries an opportunity. If the border was attacked by neighboring countries, the only ones who would suffer would be the people living in the border areas of the Dasheng Dynasty. In this way, the people would rebel and create chaos. He could also use the chaos to help the uprising, but his support would not have to be exchanged for the safety of the people of the Dasheng Dynasty, so he only hoped that the military camps in various border areas would be in good condition.
The two chatted for a while and looked outside through the window.
The people from the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court in the capital certainly cannot reach the southwest in the next few days, so the people outside are still the soldiers from the prefectural government and the southwest.
We have to get everything done before the people from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple arrive.
The place Xu Qinyu liked was a little far from the mountains. Now her fourth brother wanted to help her see if there were any hot springs nearby. She had to wait and make a decision after his fourth brother had taken a look. If there was no groundwater, she would stick to her previous plan and choose the address at the location she had liked before. If there was groundwater near the mountains that could be dug out to form a natural hot spring, the location would have to be slightly changed.
Fourth brother was going outside the city to survey the terrain, so it was useless for her to follow him, so she just waited in the inn.
Fourth brother didn't come back until night when the city gates were about to close. When she saw his face, she knew that the underground water must not have been found.
This is also the case. It is not easy to find underground hot springs.
Pei Weixuan said, "Today I only looked around half of the mountain. I'll go look again tomorrow."
Xu Qinyu nodded, "Okay, Fourth Brother, let's go downstairs and have dinner first. You've been running all day and you must have worked hard."
After dinner, the two returned to the room. There was nothing to do and they couldn't fall asleep for a while, so Xu Qinyu asked Manager Zhou for a chessboard to play chess with her fourth brother. It was just ordinary Gobang, with black and white pieces. She was very excited at first and asked her fourth brother not to let her in.
Pei Weixuan hesitated and asked, "Does Yu Niang really not need me to give in?"
Xu Qinyu nodded, "Of course not."
What's the point of letting others give in when playing chess?
She used to like playing Gobang online and was pretty good at it.
Then, Xu Qinyu's smiling face slowly turned into a frown, wrinkled nose and lip biting. No matter how careful she was, she could not beat the fourth brother.
After playing for a full hour, she was already a little dazed. Finally, seeing that it was getting late, she said listlessly, "Fourth Brother, it's getting late. Let's rest early."
Pei Weixuan put away the chessboard and said softly, "Can you give in to Yu Niang next time?"
Xu Qinyu snorted, "What's the point of giving up in chess? Let's play something else next time with Fourth Brother."
Pei Weixuan raised the corner of his lip, "Okay, next time, whatever Yu Niang wants to play, I will accompany you."
Xu Qinyu pursed her lips and smiled secretly.
The next day, Pei Weixuan went to the foot of the mountain and the mountain outside the city to take a look. He actually felt something halfway up the mountain. Even in autumn, he could still feel some heat overflowing from the ground in this place. Others could not feel it, but he could feel it because of his high internal strength.
It should be hot spring water produced by sulfur ore, and the temperature seems to be quite high.
Yu Niang said this is also called a hot spring and can be used for bathing.
Moreover, the hot spring is halfway up the mountain, so it is inconvenient to take a bath there directly. You need to lead it down the mountain and ask Yu Niang when you go back.
Pei Weixuan told Yu Niang about it after he returned.
Xu Qinyu asked in surprise, "Is there really underground hot spring water in the mountains nearby?"
Pei Weixuan nodded. "The temperature should be quite high. It's not a good idea to use it to soak your body directly. It will burn you. But this hot underground water was discovered halfway up the mountain. Can we drain it down and make a pool?"
Xu Qinyu nodded hurriedly. She had the same idea, but she didn't expect that she would actually find a place with hot springs for her fourth brother.
It is not easy to dig out this kind of hot spring and use it for soaking. It can be led down the mountain and built into a hot spring pool. The temperature will be just right. The women's pool and the men's pool are separated, and the houses on both sides are also built along the hot spring pool.
But there is also a possibility that not all underground hot springs can be dug out.
Pei Weixuan seemed to see Yu Niang's hesitation and said gently, "Don't worry, Yu Niang. The underground hot spring water can be dug out because some of the heat has already seeped through to the surface."
If the underground hot spring water does not reach the surface, he will not be able to feel it.
If you can feel it, it means it is not deep. If there is a spring, it must be hot spring water.
Xu Qinyu said, "Okay, then we'll go to the government office and ask tomorrow."
With the governor behind her, she didn't worry about not being able to buy land. The only difficulty she faced was -
Because the hot spring is halfway up the mountain, the restaurant will have to be built closer to the foot of the mountain. The location it needs to move to is not far, but there is a large field at the foot of the mountain, and the house will have to be built on these fields. Otherwise, the previous location of the house would be a bit far away, and it would not be easy to divert the hot spring water there.
So we have to find someone to buy this piece of land first.
Pei Weixuan said, "Tomorrow we'll go to the government office and ask. I'll also find out who owns the farmland at the foot of the mountain and see if we can buy it."
Xu Qinyu nodded. This was the only way.
The next day, the two went to the yamen to inquire.
This matter is under the jurisdiction of the government office of Raozhou City. The prefectural governor's office is the prefectural governor's office. Some of the official business that the prefect has to deal with on weekdays cannot be solved by the government office, and some are sent by the court.
The government office has a workshop, a household office, an official office, a criminal office, a ritual office, and a military office.
Similar to the six ministries in the capital, each department is responsible for its own affairs.
The two of them went to the Hufang, which was responsible for taxes and land.
But because the fields at the foot of the mountain need to be negotiated with someone before they can be purchased, I am just asking at the transfer office first. After asking, I will first find out who owns the fields at the foot of the mountain. After I buy them, I will come to the transfer office to handle other procedures.
The household registration office quickly responded, telling them that they would have to pay a lot of fees for the land outside the city, including various taxes and the cost of purchasing the land, and of course, they would also need a household registration deed from Raozhou City.
In other words, only those with household registration in Raozhou City can buy that piece of land outside the city.
When Xu Qinyu was first exiled to the southwest, he knew that the cost of settling in the southwest was quite expensive. It cost ten taels of silver per person in Yuanbao Town, and one hundred taels of silver per person in Raozhou City. At that time, he thought it was too expensive. They only had more than one hundred taels of silver on them, so of course it was impossible for them to settle in Raozhou City, so they settled in Yuanbao Town.
Now it wouldn't be a big deal for a family to settle down in Raozhou City with just a few hundred taels of silver.
Pei Weixuan also asked if the mountain range could be leased.
Because the hot spring is halfway up the mountain, I'm afraid that once the business becomes successful, someone might become jealous and set their sights on the hot spring, so I'd better make plans early.
This was the first time Hu Fang encountered someone who wanted to rent a mountain, but there was indeed a law about this: natural mountains and lakes could not be bought and sold, but could be rented.
Xu Qinyu understood that this was somewhat similar to the contracting in later generations.
The price is not expensive. During the contract period, no one else is allowed to hunt or catch wild fruits or animals in the mountains, or aquatic products in the lake for enjoyment.
Because even if they are not rented, the prey in the mountains and the fish and shrimp in the water can be hunted and caught for enjoyment, so naturally no one would rent them.
So even though there is such a law, no one has ever rented mountains and lakes.
When the household official saw the two men asking this question, he told them the truth.
The mountain range outside the city is quite large, so it is naturally impossible to contract it all. The contracted mountain range is about 50 acres. In the future, some wild fruits can be planted on the mountain. As for the lake, the lake is quite large and the price is not expensive. If you spread it out, the 50 acres of mountain plus the lake will only cost 100 taels of silver a year.
Since there are not many people renting it, the price is really cheap.
One hundred taels a year, only one thousand taels in ten years.
Xu Qinyu thought about it and decided to rent it for thirty years.
Thirty years later, she will be almost fifty years old. Maybe she has accumulated enough wealth to retire and travel around.
A lease of thirty years is just right.
Xu Qinyu also knew very well that the price was so cheap because she was the first person to rent mountains and lakes. When her restaurant opened and business picked up, others would gradually follow suit and the price would also be adjusted.
The household manager was a little surprised when he heard that the young lady in front of him wanted to rent the house for thirty years.
Although one hundred taels of silver a year is indeed not expensive, three thousand taels of silver for thirty years is still a bit expensive.
What's more, if they rent it for 30 years, what exactly do they want to do?
These mountains and lakes can be used even if you don't rent them.
The two of them are just asking about the process now.
After asking, Xu Qinyu then turned to the official in front of her, "Excuse me, sir, do you know whose land at the foot of the mountain range we want to lease belongs to?"
The official also helped the two of them investigate and told them the owner of the dozens of acres of land at the foot of the mountain.
After saying this, the official couldn't help but ask, "May I ask what you, young lady, are planning to do with the mountains and lakes you rent and the large vacant land you want to buy, as well as these fields?"
Xu Qinyu said gently, "I want to open a bigger restaurant."
The official was shocked and asked, "Restaurant?"
Seeing that the land they were inquiring about was quite large, I thought they were going to build a workshop or a winery or something.
Besides, a restaurant should be a drinking house, right? Opening a restaurant outside the city is crazy! How can it attract business?
The official wondered if the young man and the young lady in front of him were fooling him.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Yes, a restaurant, but we will build some houses around the restaurant so that we can stay overnight and enjoy the mountains and rivers nearby during the day."
The official became more and more certain that the young lady was deceiving him. The young masters and young ladies from wealthy families did not eat in the restaurants in the city, did not play in the city, but went to a remote place outside the city to eat and stay for a few days. Isn't this crazy?
Besides, wealthy families all have farms. If you really can’t make it, you can stay on their own farm for a few days to experience the fun of the wild.
The official felt that the two men were deceiving him, so his face turned unhappy and his tone was also a little bad.
Xu Qinyu felt a little helpless. She knew that the official thought she was trying to trick him, so she didn't say much. She thanked the official and left.
The official thought to himself: They are really trying to trick him. He comes here to ask about land but doesn’t want to rent it, nor does he want to buy land and pay taxes.
Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan left and returned to Bafang Inn first.
They really couldn't handle other matters first, because if they couldn't buy the land at the foot of the mountain, they would have to change to other plans, so they planned to ask the owners of those lands first if they were willing to sell the land to her.
She was also willing to pay double the price.
Although I learned the name of the owner of the field from the household registration office, I didn't know his specific address or who he was.
I can only go back to the Bafang Inn and ask Manager Zhou if he recognizes this person. Manager Zhou is from Raozhou City, so maybe he recognizes him.
Upon hearing Xu Qinyu mention this name, Shopkeeper Zhou stroked his beard and said, "I have indeed heard of this owner's name, but it will probably be difficult for Miss Xu to buy this piece of land."
Xu Qinyu asked, "Why?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
