Meng Zhao smiled and nodded, then followed Xiao Zheng into the yamen. These brokers already had acquaintances in the yamen, so the process was quick. After about half an hour, they all came out of the yamen together.
At this point, the box containing the money had been switched with Boss Chen.
"Mr. Chen, it's fate that we met. I wish you all the best in the future."
He sorted out his own family's mess, and Meng Zhao's shop was also at peace.
After receiving the money, Mr. Chen felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders, and his complexion improved considerably. "Thank you for your kind words. I also hope that Mr. Meng's business will prosper and his wealth will increase in the future."
Xiao Zheng was overjoyed after signing a big deal. He kept saying auspicious words to Meng Zhao and congratulating Boss Chen. He hoped that they would remember to contact him if they needed to buy or sell anything next time.
After Meng Dashan escorted Meng Zhao back to the courtyard, he gave her a few instructions and then left. In the past two days, Meng Zhao had been inquiring about the shop, which naturally could not be kept from Gu Shi and Aunt Feng'e.
So as soon as she entered the courtyard, Madam Gu asked anxiously, "Zhaozhao, how did it go? Did you buy it?"
Meng Zhao curled his lips into a smug smile, but he was in no hurry to speak. Instead, he calmly took out a piece of paper from his clothes and waved it gently in front of them.
Gu's eyes lit up immediately, and she eagerly took it. During this time, they had been learning to read and write with Shen Qinghe. They could recognize most of the characters on the contract, if not all of them. The two of them read it line by line, and when they saw Meng Zhao's name at the end, they were very excited.
Aunt Feng'e said excitedly, "My God, Zhao Zhao, you are amazing! You are the first person in our village to buy a shop in the county."
A shop in this county costs at least a hundred taels of silver, more than many people could earn in a lifetime.
Madam Gu excitedly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, "Zhao Zhao is really capable. With this shop in her hands, she will never have to worry about being kicked out of the business again."
This is not just unfounded worry; similar incidents have occurred frequently in the county. Some shop owners would first rent out their shops, and once the tenants had built up their businesses and secured a stable customer base, they would first evict them and then start the same business themselves.
Some shameless ones don't even change their signs, and customers who don't know better might think it's the same shop as before.
Seeing that the two of them were genuinely happy for him, Meng Zhao said with a smile, "We still need to prepare for the opening of this new shop, which will cost a lot of money. We can't wait any longer. Let's open the braised pork shop tomorrow."
Aunt Feng'e nodded quickly, "Okay, the snow is starting to melt now. I'll go back and tell Chen Yun and the others that we'll open for business tomorrow."
"Alright, Auntie, when you go back, take the donkey cart. When you come back tomorrow, please pick up some vegetables from the village these days."
The weather is getting colder, and there aren't many vegetables in the village, but they're still cheaper than in the county. After buying the shop, she'll have to start being more careful with her money again.
I thought that since the snow hadn't completely melted, there wouldn't be many people at the shop, but shortly after it opened, quite a few people came in.
"Young boss, it's just snowing, why did you close the door? I stayed inside thinking about your braised pork, so I braved the snow to come here, but there was no one here."
Meng Zhao smiled broadly, "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. The workers at my shop all live in the village, so it's quite inconvenient for them to come and go. I've been resting for a few days. What would you like to eat? I'll cut it for you."
The man ordered quite a lot of food, filling a bowl to the brim. "It'll be 25 coins in total. I'll give you an extra spoonful of soup. Please be careful when you serve it later."
As noon approached, more and more customers came to eat potato noodles. With more people, the stove kept burning, and the shop gradually became warmer.
"Boss, deliver three bowls of golden broth hot and sour to the fish market at the end of the street, and two bowls of red oil spicy to... to... oh well, never mind, just deliver five bowls of golden broth hot and sour, two bowls of red oil spicy, and two bowls of original broth to the fish market."
The roads were covered in snow. Those old guys didn't want to come themselves, so they just kept ordering him around. They reported so many fish at once, how could he possibly remember them all? Anyway, it's nearby, so we just delivered it to the fish market and let them pick it up themselves.
Meng Zhao quickly agreed and asked Aunt Su Yun to make it as soon as possible. Because she was worried that it would be slippery on the road, she did not ask Shen Qingze and Shen Qingyu to come and deliver it this morning. However, Xiao Chuan heard about it and insisted on coming along, saying that he had grown up and could help with the work.
Meng Zhao initially wanted to refuse, but seeing his uneasy look, she agreed. She could understand Xiao Chuan's thoughts; he was just living under someone else's roof and wanted to try to make himself look more useful, so Meng Zhao was willing to cooperate.
She put the prepared potato noodles into a food box, handed it to Xiao Chuan, and instructed him, "The roads are slippery in the snow, so don't walk too fast and be careful."
"Don't worry, Sister Meng, I won't spill the food."
Meng Zhao sighed, "I'm not afraid of spilling the food, I'm afraid you'll break it. It's just a bowl of rice. If you feel like you're going to break it, just throw the food container further away so you don't burn yourself."
Xiao Chuan looked up at Meng Zhao, his eyes sparkling with emotion, then turned and left the shop.
Although Sister Meng said it was okay if it spilled, Xiao Chuan still walked very carefully. When he came back, he ran very fast with the empty food box in his hand, afraid of delaying the time.
There were so many delivery orders today, one after another. Luckily, Shen Yun came over to help with the deliveries after finishing her chores in the yard, which kept us busy.
In the afternoon, Meng Zhao suddenly saw Gu Changwu and Gu Yun appear at the shop entrance. He quickly welcomed them in, "Second Uncle, Gu Yun, have you eaten yet?"
Seeing that Meng Zhao was about to get them some things, Gu Changwu quickly said, "Zhao Zhao, we've already eaten, so don't bother us."
Hearing that they had already eaten, Meng Zhao turned around, picked up a pot of hot water, and took two clean teacups, then walked back and handed them to them.
"Second Uncle, Gu Yun, it's just that this matter is really urgent, otherwise I wouldn't have troubled you to make this trip in this cold weather."
Gu Changwu waved his hand gently, "It's nothing, we're all family, just tell me what's wrong."
Meng Zhao took out two lists. "I recently received an order for braising spice packets, and I'm also planning to open a branch before the New Year, so I don't have enough of these seasonings. Could you please go out and get everything I need?"
Meng Zhao handed over one of the two lists to each person. Some of the seasonings on the lists were for braising meat, while others were not. Meng Zhao would buy a few special spices himself and they were not listed on the lists. Therefore, even if someone with ulterior motives got their hands on both lists, they would not be able to piece together the real braising recipe.
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