Chapter 78: Five Hundred Wen, a Conscience Price
Zhu Qi was a man of decisive action. Once the decision was made, he immediately asked Xiao Douzi to take Zhao Zhilan and her two grandchildren to see the shop.
Xiaodouzi responded, pulled the towel on his shoulder to wipe his hands, and without saying a word, took Zhao Zhilan and the others away.
He often went to the Yun family to pick up goods. Xiaodouzi and Zhao Zhilan were also familiar with each other and chatted all the way.
The three of them followed Xiaodouzi through the streets and alleys of Ping'an Town, and finally arrived at Nanjiao Street.
Xiaodouzi led a few people into a narrow alley on Nanjiao Street, and a small shop suddenly appeared before their eyes.
"Auntie, we're here."
When Zhao Zhilan saw it, her heart sank.
Zhu Qi is a very down-to-earth person. When he said that the shop was in a bad location and couldn't make much money, he meant it was really bad, without any modesty or pretense.
This place is really remote, with many twists and turns. The shop is at the entrance of the alley, and there is an old locust tree blocking the door.
The shop didn't have a plaque, only a sign hanging at the door that read Zhu's Noodle House.
Baoya peeked inside and saw only an old woman in her fifties or sixties sitting against the wall, looking drowsy. There was no customer in the store.
"Tsk," Zhao Zhilan smacked her lips. "Boss Zhu, these five hundred coins are really a fair price."
It's not a fair price. For a restaurant in such a remote place, it's good enough to earn 500 wen in rent a month, not to mention other costs. It also takes time and energy to run a shop.
Seeing her disappointed face, Xiaodouzi smiled and said, "Don't worry, old auntie. The boss said that after you look at the shop, go home and discuss it first. It doesn't matter whether you open the shop or not."
"Hey, first, thank your boss Zhu for me," Zhao Zhilan said. "Then let's go back and discuss it. Tomorrow morning, you come to my house to pick up the goods, and I'll tell you the result of the discussion."
"Okay." Xiaodouzi said readily.
After a long walk, they returned to Kelaixiang. Xiaodouzi went back to continue his work. Zhao Zhilan and the others said hello to Zhu Qi and drove their donkey carts back to Feishui Village.
Along the way, Zhao Zhilan and Xiao Baoya started a "chat" about this small shop.
"Baoya, how about we not open this shop for now?" Zhao Zhilan asked tentatively.
It’s not that she is reluctant to invest money, but it’s too difficult to do it in these narrow streets and alleys.
The sign on the restaurant said Zhu's Noodle House, so it must be owned by Mr. Zhu. But it was so deserted. She had no confidence in the shop at all.
Baoya sucked her little finger, thought seriously for a while, and said solemnly: "Grandma, I think we should open it."
Zhao Zhilan: ...
"What do you mean?" She was also a little curious about what new and good ideas Xiao Baoya could come up with.
"This shop used to be a noodle shop, so of course there's no one here," Baoya said. "Grandma, think about it, there are so many noodle shops out there that serve decent food. Who would come to a small place like this just for a bowl of noodles?"
"That's right." Zhao Zhilan nodded. "But if we opened the restaurant, why would customers come to eat there?"
"Because we don't run a noodle shop," Xiao Baoya smiled, "we run a breakfast shop."
"Breakfast...shop?" Yun Chenglu's face was also full of question marks.
"Yes! Let's make fried dough sticks, fried cakes, fried tofu pudding, soy milk, and soy juice!"
Little Baoya's eyes sparkled with excitement: "Grandma, the people in town are different from us. They get up early to go to work, go out to do things, and come over to have breakfast in a hurry."
"Look, there are so many residents here, and there will be a lot of people coming!"
After hearing what she said, Zhao Zhilan felt that her restless heart finally settled down.
This breakfast shop seems to be quite reliable.
She thought for a moment, clapped her hands, and said, "That's fine. The rent is only five hundred coins a month, which isn't expensive. Let's open the shop!"
The matter of opening a shop has been settled. The remaining issues to be resolved are the renovation of the shop and who will run the shop.
This shop is not big, so there is no need for the whole family to come together.
In Zhao Zhilan's opinion, Bao Ya's mother's cooking is the most delicious, and the idea of opening a shop, and even the money saved by the family, are all thanks to little Bao Ya. It is natural that the shop should be run by the third wife.
The work of grinding beans and making tofu at home would have to be done by the first and second wives.
She is not worried about her three sons, as they are all reasonable people. However, she thinks Wang Cailian may require some effort.
During this period of time, Wang Cailian's attitude towards Baoya has improved a lot, but this does not mean that her greedy and petty nature can be changed all of a sudden.
Seeing Zhao Zhilan frowning and not saying anything, Yun Chenglu patted her hands and said, "Grandma, don't worry about my mother. If you can't convince her, I'll talk to my father."
Zhao Zhilan looked at Yun Chenglu's sensible appearance and smiled with satisfaction: "Good children, you are all good children."
When it was getting dark, the three generations of grandparents and grandchildren arrived home driving a donkey cart.
As soon as she heard the rumbling of wheels, Wang Cailian was the first to come out from the back door: "Mom, you're back!"
"Yeah." Zhao Zhilan responded and called Dalang, who came out after hearing the sound, to drive the donkey cart to the front yard and tie it up.
Wang Cailian kept leaning over to look at the car.
"Don't look at it. I didn't buy anything when I went to town this time. I just went to get medicine for Chunxiu." Zhao Zhilan said.
She then closed her eyes and said, "Well, mother, let's go in first and don't stand at the door."
After several people entered the house, Zhao Zhilan did not delay for a moment and explained to everyone everything about the trip back to town.
"I took five packets of Chunxiu's medicine. It's for her to take care of her body during this period. The treatment for her leg will have to wait. Five packets of medicine cost me five taels of silver." Zhao Zhilan said.
"Also, I've discussed with Baoya that we're going to open a breakfast shop in town."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Cailian interrupted: "Mom, are we going to open a store?!"
Zhao Zhilan glanced at her and said, "It's not us, it's the third family. The shop is not big and the location is not good, so it doesn't need too many people to run it."
Wang Cailian's face immediately fell. "I think, with Third Brother's wife's health, it's better for her to recuperate at home. Where are the medicines I just brought back?"
Zhao Zhilan glared at him and said, "Don't say that. It's just making breakfast. Doesn't she make it at home just as well? Besides, we have a big family here."
"Mom, I'm not worried about my third brother's wife's health. I'm afraid she can't bear running back and forth to the town." Wang Cailian's words softened suddenly.
He Chunxiu sat quietly aside, looking down at little Baoya in her arms, and Baoya also looked up at her with a smile.
In fact, she doesn't care who opens the store, nor does she fight for the money.
She always felt that whoever earned the money would get it and it would be of no use arguing about it.
But this time, she suddenly wanted to fight for it.
The money for opening the store was earned by Baoya, and it was Baoya who suggested opening the store. Baoya must have wanted to open this store very much, and she didn't want to disappoint Baoya.
"Sister-in-law, this is an old illness of mine. How can a peasant woman be so delicate? Besides, we can just take a bus to the town. It's no big deal," she said.
As soon as He Chunxiu said this, Wang Cailian was speechless.
Although her third sister-in-law wasn't as quiet as her second sister-in-law, she was also a soft-tempered person. How could she actually start an argument today?!
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