Chapter 1317 Borrowing Money
Instead of going to the dining room to eat, they went to Bai Erlang's study to make tea and wait for the meal, while arguing with each other.
When Bai Erlang's cousin Chen Bo came over, Bai Erlang was sulking with his head turned to the side.
When Chen Bo entered the room, he saw a girl sitting at the table. He was hesitating whether to leave when Bai Erlang, with a softer expression, stood up and saluted, saying, "Cousin, why are you here?"
He turned around and said to Bai Shanzhou: "This is my cousin, Chen Bo, cousin, this is..."
He paused and said a little aggrievedly: "These are my senior sister and brother."
Chen Bo suddenly understood. He wondered why there was a girl in his cousin's study. The three of them greeted each other and Chen Bo also sat down at the table.
Seeing that Bai Erlang looked unhappy, he asked with a smile, "What's wrong, cousin?"
Bai Jilang shook his head, "It's okay."
He touched his stomach and said, "I just haven't had lunch yet, so I'm a little hungry."
Bai Shan and Man Bao were also hungry, so they had already poured themselves two cups of tea. He picked up the teapot and poured a cup for Bai Erlang as well, and then poured tea for Chen Bo. He smiled and said, "I came back late yesterday and didn't know that cousin Chen was coming to visit. I didn't come to visit. It was really rude."
Not to mention that Bai Shan and Bai Erlang were brothers, just the fact that they were from the same clan made them relatives. Chen Bo quickly laughed and said, "No, no, we should go and pay them a visit."
He paused here and smiled, "By the way, my mother took my sister to visit the old lady this morning. You..."
Bai Shan could only apologize and say that they were not at home in the morning, but went to see Zhuangzi.
Chen Bo smiled and said, "I heard from my cousin a long time ago that the three of you have a small farm with only a hundred acres of land, but the annual income is quite high, sometimes even exceeding a thousand taels. If I hadn't known my cousin to be honest, I would never have believed it."
Bai Shan and Man Bao: ...
The two of them looked at Bai Erlang with suspicion in their eyes. Is he honest?
Bai Erlang raised his chin slightly, glanced at them, and puffed out his chest.
Bai Shan could only nod in agreement, then praised Bai Erlang a few words before changing the subject, "We heard from our junior brother that Cousin Chen wants to do business?"
Chen Bo didn't expect that what he had just said to Bai Erlang last night would be known to Bai Shan and the others today. He nodded and sighed, "I'm not like my cousin Shan and my second cousin. You guys are good at studying and want to become high-ranking officials in the future. As for me, I just want to be a country gentleman in the future. I can buy more land and run a few farms and shops like my uncle. I just want to make a living."
This was once Bai Jilang's ideal.
"But we have a big family, and our parents didn't split up, let alone our generation."
Bai Erlang explained in a low voice, "My three uncles are still living with my grandparents."
Bai Shan and Man Bao expressed their understanding.
"So the family's money is hard to move. I want to start a business but I don't have the capital, so I want to borrow some from my cousin." Chen Bo looked at Bai Shan and Man Bao with a sharp gaze, and said meaningfully: "I heard that cousin Shan, Miss Zhou and my second cousin split the profits from the farm equally, so they must have a lot of money, right?"
He smiled and said, "If you have extra money, you can invest in my business like my second cousin did. When I make money in the future, just like you share the profits from the farm, we can also share the profits from the shop."
Bai Erlang said directly: "They have no money."
Chen Bo looked a little skeptical, so Bai Erlang said, "They spent all their money in the capital, and Bai Shan still owes me money."
Bai Shan smiled sheepishly and explained, "We spend a lot of money, so we can't save any. Even if we wanted to buy shares, we can't afford it."
He paused and then asked, "I wonder what kind of business Cousin Chen wants to start?"
When Chen Bo heard that Bai Shan still owed Bai Erlang money, he believed it a little and said with a smile, "He wants to start a cloth shop business."
He said, "Speaking of this business, it's nothing more than food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Food is dirty and tiring, housing requires a lot of money, and transportation is also laborious. After all, clothing is the easiest to make. It's decent, easy, and doesn't cost much."
He pointed at the clothes on the three people and said, "Just look at the clothes you are wearing. Fine cotton, and the better ones are silk, brocade and silk. Different fabrics have different uses. No one can avoid wearing them, right?"
The three of them thought about it, felt that what he said made sense, and nodded.
"We have Shu brocade here, which is popular in both the capital and Jiangnan. But the fine cotton cloth from Jiangnan, the silk from the Central Plains, and the furs from the north are all good things too. In short, this clothing business will never lose money."
Manbao asked, "Do you want to be a traveling trader or open your own shop?"
"Trading is too tiring, and the roads are too dangerous. What if we run into bandits?" Chen Bo said, "The risk is too high, so it's better to open a shop. Although the profits may be lower, it's more stable."
Bai Shan and Man Bao nodded together, thinking that he was quite reliable, and asked with a smile, "Where do you want to open the store?"
"Let's open it in Mianzhou. There are more wealthy families there. It's better than opening it in the county."
The Chen family is from Shenquan County, Mianzhou. Shenquan County is not close to Mianzhou City, but it is a central county with a better economy than Luojiang County.
Because they were afraid that Bai Erlang was being cheated, Bai Shan and Man Bao asked about Chen Bo's shop opening, wanting to know more details.
Chen Bo said he had already found a shop in Mianzhou, which was in the most prosperous area. He said, "I want to buy it. Otherwise, if I rent a shop, what if the business is doing well and the landlord raises the rent or something, it will affect the business."
Bai Shan asked, "How much does that shop cost?"
"Not expensive, eight hundred and fifty taels."
Manbao almost spit out his tea. Eight hundred and fifty taels could buy a shop in a decent location in Yizhou City.
Bai Erlang was also stunned. Last night they only had time to talk about borrowing money and doing business, but did not discuss the price of the shop.
This is... too expensive...
Bai Erlang couldn't help but look at Manbao. Just as he was about to ask how much her shop cost, he heard Bai Shan ask, "The shop is so expensive, how much does it cost for you to buy goods?"
"This isn't expensive. I've calculated that we can start with around two hundred taels of goods."
Bai Shan and Man Bao looked at each other and asked with a smile, "I wonder how much money Cousin Chen has on hand, and how much he still needs?"
Chen Bo smiled and said, "I already have some money on hand. It's part of my own savings, and my mother also gave me some. I'm still short of some, so I want to find my second cousin to form a partnership with me."
Bai Shan was relieved to hear him say this, thinking that he had probably been ripped off by the man who sold the shop. Just as he was about to try to persuade him, Bai Erlang said, "But cousin, didn't you say last night that you were still short of eight hundred taels and wanted to borrow eight hundred taels from me?"
Bai Shan and Man Bao: ...
Good night, see you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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