“Young lady, this is different. The shop we rented last time was in a very remote location. But look at this shop today, it usually does very good business. If the owner hadn’t gone to the neighboring county with his daughter, it wouldn’t have been rented out.”
“That’s too expensive. Even if his business was good before, I’m in the food business now, so he’s not my customer. Can you ask him if he can get a discount? If it’s five taels of silver like the shop I saw last time, I’ll rent it right away and save myself the trouble of running back and forth.”
The man with the tooth gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I'll go ask around for you again, but it's agreed that if the price is negotiated down, you'll have to pay my commission at the original price."
The broker takes 10%, meaning that if he negotiates a price of five taels, Meng Zhao will have to give him 600 coins, which is equivalent to six taels.
Meng Zhao knew this money couldn't be saved, "Alright, I'll trouble you to mediate. You'll get your cut just in time."
Two days later, the broker sent word that five taels of silver was acceptable, but a year's rent had to be paid in full upfront.
After considering it for a moment, Meng Zhao agreed. She only had a little over a hundred taels of silver at the moment, and this would cost her more than sixty taels. She still needed the remaining money to buy piglets and hire workers, so she couldn't afford to spend it recklessly.
Fortunately, this courtyard is ready for immediate occupancy, so their boxed lunches and night market can continue to be sold, with a steady daily income. The shop's opening a few days later won't affect anything, as long as it's open before winter.
With a location for the shop, Meng Zhao and her friends started advertising in advance whenever they went out to set up a stall. Meng Zhao even had her mother write the shop's address on a banner and hang it in front of the cart.
Although the opening date has not yet been set, we already need to start building momentum in advance.
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