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 confident that she can make much more than a restaurant. What's more, Xu's Restaurant is still in business in Yuanbao Town, and the winery can 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 help with, just let me know."

Ning Jie'er also hurriedly said, "I have some money saved on me, I will 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 very 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 spare some money for Yu Niang, but Huo Ye would definitely nag again.

Xu Qinyu said hurriedly, "Sister Ning, don't worry about it. I have more than 60,000 taels of silver on me, which is more than enough."

It's not a palace, and the floor is not paved with jade. It's just ordinary tiles. It's more antique and elegant, and is mostly built with 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 cost. If she really wanted to use rosewood or nanmu, her money would not be enough.

Ning Jieer still said, "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 about her ideas to everyone, such as how the place to eat should be separate from the place to stay and play.

The courtyards where male and female guests live must be separated to avoid colliding with female guests.

Her restaurant still focuses on serving female guests.

In addition, I also massage the shoulders and necks of female customers to loosen their muscles and bones, and do beauty care for their skin, which requires Fourth Brother's creams.

Pei Weixuan said after hearing this: "I will give you the formulas for the creams and ointments. You can hire someone to prepare them. I also have some formulas for rouge and powder. Do you want them?"

Although he has never mixed rouge and powder, he knows how to mix them. Like creams and ointments, most of them are made with medicinal herbs and can moisturize 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 formula of Fourth Brother's rouge and powder was not bad either. At that time, only the female guests living in the hotel could use the rouge and cream, and they would not be sold to the outside.

Xu Qinyu talked a lot with the Pei family, and then talked about some ideas about the construction of this restaurant.

She also asked for everyone's opinions.

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. Her previous drawings were scattered, and now she has taken them out for everyone to see.

Mrs. Wen and Sister Ning 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 of the 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 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 without affecting the female guests. There are people guarding the middle for fear of bumping into the female guests.

Pei Weixuan said, "I understand. I will help you draw the overall construction plan when I have time. When you decide, I will go to Raozhou City with you in two days to buy the land. I will help you check 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 of the construction of 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 was good at observing the celestial phenomena, but she never thought that he was also good at feng shui.

So what is there that Fourth Brother doesn’t know?

She happily thanked her fourth brother, and couldn't help but mutter, "It would be nice if there were hot springs."

She remembered that the southwest was also an area with many hot springs. Other counties and villages had also dug out hot springs, but no one knew what their functions were. Some people even saw the hot springs emitting steam 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, unclog meridians, and calm the mind, among many other benefits.

Pei Weixuan is a doctor and knows that underground hot spring water is actually good for the human body. The hot spring that Yu Niang mentioned is the underground hot spring water, right?

"Is the hot spring that Yu Niang is talking about the hot spring water underground?"

Xu Qinyu nodded, "Yes, it is hot spring water. Although this spring water is not suitable for drinking, it can be used to soak the body, which is good for the body."

Pei Weixuan thought for a moment and said, "I can help explore the area nearby. If there is hot spring water, I can ask someone to dig it up and see."

Hot springs are mostly groundwater. Although they can be detected sometimes, they are not always 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 there were some. Because of the location, she could only build the hotel outside of 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 Xuji to help.

She was busy for two days, then she went to Raozhou City with her fourth brother again, intending to ask the government about how to build outside the city.

The defense of Raozhou City is still as strict as last time.

Seeing this, Xu Qinyu guessed that it might be related to the imperial messenger from a few days ago. Her fourth brother said that something happened to the imperial messenger on his way back, and the court would definitely investigate it thoroughly.

The two of them stayed at the Bafang Inn first. Today, there were not many people in the inn. 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 assassinated 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 come in a few days, so 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 on weekdays, as you may be checked by soldiers."

As ordinary people, they only knew that the imperial inspector had come to the southwest to investigate a case, but they had no idea what the case was. They never thought it was about embezzlement of military pay.

Xu Qinyu nodded and said, "Thank you, Manager Zhou. We can save that."

If it was really because of the assassination of Qin Cha, even if Xu Qinyu knew the inside story, she would not tell anyone about it.

Manager Zhou handed them the room card with the number one number and whispered, "I heard that the imperial messenger came here to investigate the military pay embezzlement case. Someone embezzled the military pay of the soldiers in the southwest military camp. This is really evil. I also heard that a secret letter was found on the imperial messenger. It was a secret letter he was going to submit to the court. It said that the person who embezzled the military pay was the King of Handong. It was the King of Handong who colluded with the Minister of Revenue to embezzle the military pay of several border military camps. He also listed a lot of evidence."

He paused and continued, "It turned out that we misunderstood this envoy. Seeing him eating and drinking every day in Raozhou City and causing trouble, we thought he was a good-for-nothing. We didn't expect that he was trying to hide his identity and was afraid that people would find out what he was doing in the southwest. We didn't expect that he would be assassinated in the end. It must be that the King of Handong 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 a little surprised, and looked at her fourth brother. It seemed that the governor not only killed Fu Chenghong, but also used Fu Chenghong to betray the King of Handong and the Minister of Revenue. Now everyone in the southwest knows about it, and it will surely spread to other states. This is good. No matter what, even if Empress Dowager Fu is the King of Handong's biological sister, she cannot ignore the people's resentment and investigate the matter thoroughly.

However, she felt that dragging the King of Handong and the Minister of Revenue into this matter was probably not really to deal with the King of Handong, but to deal with the Minister of Revenue.

The Queen Mother and the King of Handong might let the Minister of Revenue 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 governor? 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 younger brother. The Queen Mother has given him the title of a king with a different surname. She must care about her younger brother very much and will not let anything happen to him. Instead of asking her to find a loyal minister of the court to harm others, it is better to find the Minister of Revenue. After all, the Minister of Revenue is not innocent. 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 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 the matter is cleared up, the Minister of Revenue can be removed from his post and the salaries of the soldiers guarding the border can be restored.

He did not want chaos on the border. If the military pay embezzlement case was not thoroughly investigated, it would sooner or later lead to the reduction of soldiers on the border, which 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. The people would rebel and chaos would be created. He could also use the chaos to help the uprising, but his support did not need to be exchanged for the safety of the people of the Dasheng Dynasty, so he only hoped that the military camps on the borders 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 Dali Temple in the capital will definitely not be able to reach the southwest in the next few days, so the people outside at this moment 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 still 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 inspection. If there was no groundwater, she would stick to her previous plan and choose 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.

It was not until night when the city gates were about to close that Fourth Brother came back. When she saw his face, she knew that they probably had not found the underground water.

That's right, underground hot spring water is not something you can find just by looking for it.

Pei Weixuan said: "Today I only looked around half of the mountain, I will go and have a look tomorrow."

Xu Qinyu nodded, "Okay, Fourth Brother, let's go downstairs for dinner. Fourth Brother has been running all day and 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 give in to her.

Pei Weixuan hesitated and asked, "Does Yu Niang really not want 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 whole 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 in when playing chess? Let's play something else next time, Fourth Brother."

Pei Weixuan raised the corner of his lips, "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 coming out of the ground. Others would not be able to feel it, but he could feel it because of his profound 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 hot spring and can be used for bathing.

Moreover, the hot spring is halfway up the mountain, so it is not convenient to use it for bathing directly. It needs to be led down the mountain and I will go back to ask Yu Niang.

Pei Weixuan told Yu Niang about it after he returned.

Xu Qinyu was surprised and asked, "Is there really underground hot spring water in the mountains nearby?"

Pei Weixuan nodded. "The temperature should not be low. It is not a good idea to use it to soak the body directly. It will burn the body. But this hot groundwater was found halfway up the mountain. Can it be drained down to 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 directly for soaking, so it is led down the mountain and built into a hot spring pool. The temperature will be just right at that time. The women's hot spring pool is separated from the men's hot spring pool, and the houses on both sides are also built along the hot spring pool.

But it is also possible that not all underground hot spring water 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 penetrated 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 and there is a spring, which must be hot spring water.

Xu Qinyu said: "Okay, then we will go to the government office to ask tomorrow."

With the governor behind her, she didn't worry about not being able to buy the land. The only difficulty was -

Because the hot spring is halfway up the mountain, the address for the hotel construction has to be closer to the foot of the mountain. The location that needs to be moved is not far, but there is a large field at the foot of the mountain, and the house has to be built on these fields. Otherwise, the previous location of the house is a bit far away, and it is not easy to bring the hot spring water there.

So we have to find someone to buy this piece of land first.

Pei Weixuan said, "Tomorrow we will go to the government office to ask. I will also find out who owns the land at the foot of the mountain and see if we can buy it."

Xu Qinyu nodded. This was all she could do.

The next day, the two went to the government office 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 resolved by the government office, and some are sent by the imperial court.

The government office has workshops, household offices, clerk rooms, criminal justice rooms, ritual rooms, and military rooms.

It is similar to the six ministries in the capital, with each department responsible for its own affairs.

The two went to the Hufang, which was in charge of taxes and land.

But because the land at the foot of the mountain needs to be purchased from someone first, now I just come to the transfer office to ask, and then ask who owns the land at the foot of the mountain, and then come to the transfer office to handle other procedures after buying it.

The household registration office quickly responded, telling them that they would have to pay a lot of fees for the area outside the city, including various taxes and the cost of setting up the area, and of course, they would also need a household registration deed from Raozhou City.

In other words, only people with a 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 settlement fee in the southwest was quite expensive. In Yuanbao Town, it was ten taels of silver per person, and in Raozhou City, it was one hundred taels of silver per person. At that time, he thought it was too expensive. They only had more than one hundred taels of silver, 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 was afraid that after I started making a living, someone might become jealous and set their sights on the hot spring, so I made plans early.

This was the first time Hu Fang had encountered someone who wanted to rent a mountain, but there was indeed a law regarding this, that natural mountain lakes could not be bought or sold, but could be rented.

Xu Qinyu understood that this was a bit similar to the contracting in later generations.

The price is not expensive. During the contract period, no one else can hunt and catch wild fruits or animals in the mountains or aquatic products in the lakes for their own enjoyment.

Even if they didn’t rent it, the prey in the mountains and the fish and shrimp in the water could be hunted and caught for enjoyment, so naturally no one would rent it.

Therefore, even though there is such a law, no one has ever leased 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 impossible to contract all of it. The contracted area is probably about fifty mu. In the future, we can grow some wild fruits on the mountain. As for the lake, the lake is quite large and the price is not expensive. If we balance it out, the fifty mu mountain plus the lake will only make one hundred 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. She may have accumulated enough wealth to retire and travel around.

A lease of 30 years is just right.

Moreover, Xu Qinyu knew very well in her heart that the price was so cheap because she was the first person to rent mountains and lakes. When her restaurant opened and business was good, others would gradually follow suit and the prices would be adjusted.

The house owner was a little surprised when he heard that the young lady in front of him wanted to rent the house for 30 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, they want to do it by leasing it for 30 years?

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 this question, Xu Qinyu asked the official in front of her, "May I ask, sir, do you know who owns the land at the foot of the mountain range that we want to rent?"

The official also helped the two men to 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 asking, "May I ask what you are planning to do with the mountains and lakes you rented and the large vacant land and these fields?"

Xu Qinyu said gently, "I want to open a bigger restaurant."

The official was shocked and asked, "Restaurant?"

Seeing that the area they were inquiring about was quite large, I thought they were building a workshop or a winery or something.

Besides, a restaurant should be a wine shop, right? Is it crazy to open a wine shop outside the city? How can it have business?

The official thought that the young man and the young lady in front of him were deceiving him.

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Yes, a hotel. But we will build some houses around the hotel so that we can stay overnight and enjoy the sights and sounds nearby during the day."

The official became more and more certain that the young lady was deceiving him. The young masters and ladies of wealthy families did not eat in the taverns or play in the city, but went to remote places outside the city to eat and stay for a few days. Isn't this insane?

Besides, wealthy families all have farms, so if you really want to, you can live on your 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 became a little bad.

Xu Qinyu felt a little helpless. She knew that the official thought she was fooling him, so she didn't say much. She thanked the official and left.

The official thought: They are really trying to fool him. He comes here to ask about land but doesn't want to rent it, nor does he want to buy land or pay taxes.

Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan left and went back 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 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 register, I didn't know his exact address or who he was.

I can only go back to Bafang Inn and ask Manager Zhou if he knows this person. Manager Zhou is from Raozhou City, so maybe he can recognize him.

When he heard Xu Qinyu mention this person's name, Shopkeeper Zhou stroked his beard and said, "I have indeed heard of this boss's reputation, but it may not be easy for Miss Xu to buy this piece of land."

Xu Qinyu asked: "Why?"