Chapter 144

Hearing his mother say that she wanted to use the shop to expand the snack shop business, Luo Tangping felt a little regretful. He regretted that he should not rent out the shop so quickly. But since it was already rented out, he must discuss it with his mother first to see if he can ask the tenant to return the rent and give him more compensation to get the deed back. If the tenant is unwilling, he can just look for another bigger shop for his mother to use for business.

But Luo Tangping knew in his heart that it was not easy to find a six-story shop like his in the capital. It would probably take a while to find one, and he would have to be lucky.

Luo Tangping shook his head and said, "Mother, I'm afraid it's too late. I just posted this notice and someone came and rented the shop at noon today. The rent has already been paid."

Zheng was also stunned. She didn't expect that the shop of her stepson would be rented out for a day so quickly. It was only after she heard from the purchasing manager of the restaurant that she learned that her stepson no longer planned to continue running the restaurant and was preparing to rent out the shop. She thought that her snack shop was a little small after all, with a monthly profit of only a few hundred taels. She also knew that making food could make money, just like the barbecue shop opened by the Queen's uncle, which was always crowded with people, selling barbecue skewers, barbecued vegetables and some drinks. She also wanted to expand her business and make more money. Although she already had three hundred thousand taels of silver in her hand, all of which were left by her stepson's biological mother, and she had found ways to deduct it from her husband over the years.

Her husband spent money lavishly and she had no idea how much he spent every month. If she hadn't kept this little bit of silver, the remaining one million taels of silver in the Wei family would have been gone long ago.

In addition, there are a dozen shops that Wei left to her stepson, and several of them are still in his hands and used for business. In addition to the cake shop, there are two shops and a rice shop. The four shops are not big and the business is just average. Adding all the shops together, he can make a profit of two to three thousand taels of silver a month.

Seeing other people running restaurants and bakeries and making tens of thousands of taels of silver in profit every month, it is natural not to be jealous and naturally want to expand and become stronger.

There are many kebab shops in Beijing that imitate kebab dishes. I have eaten there before. After eating them many times, I can also distinguish some of the seasonings.

Our tongue has been quite sensitive since we were little. After eating delicious food a few times, we can distinguish most flavors and seasonings.

In addition, Zheng's family background was very ordinary. Even though the Changshan Mansion had fallen into decline, the Zheng family was still out of reach. It was because Changshan studied in the same school as his brother when he was young and was a good friend of his brother that he got to know Changshan. He would often visit Changshan Mansion with his brother, so they could be considered childhood sweethearts who grew up together.

At the beginning, Duke Changshan had not yet inherited the title, and was still the Prince of Changshan. She thought that she and the Prince of Changshan were childhood sweethearts, and they loved each other. The Prince of Changshan also said that he admired her and would marry her, but she didn't expect that Duke Changshan would suddenly have such a thing, and he would find a merchant to be the Prince of Changshan's wife. In the end, she had to marry someone else because her family background was not good enough, and the family she married was also ordinary. She also thought that she would live like this for the rest of her life, but she didn't expect that her fate with the Prince of Changshan had not ended. After she got married, her husband suddenly fell seriously ill. In order to treat her husband, she spent all the money in the family. In order to support her husband's family, she also learned to make a living and started selling snacks.

Later, her husband died of illness. She had no children with him, so she returned to her parents' home.

What was unexpected was that the first wife of the Prince of Changshan died of illness within two years of giving birth to a child, so she resumed her relationship with the Prince of Changshan.

After marrying the prince of Changshan, she wanted to be nicer to her stepson at first, but slowly, after giving birth to her own child and starting to make plans for her own child, her heart grew colder and colder, and she became greedy and wanted more. Perhaps it was because she had lived too hard in her previous husband's family, and she was obsessed with money. After her husband inherited the title, she used the name of housekeeper to secretly withhold money, and also used several shops left by her stepson's biological mother to make a living.

But these shops are owned by that old lady, so I can’t put them under my own name.

I think I have been pretty good to my stepson. I have given him the best food, clothing and other necessities, given him whatever he wanted and have never been too harsh on him.

But now, my heart is bigger and I want more. Not only do I want these shops to be in my name, but I also know that as long as the grandmother left by my husband's original wife is not dead, these shops will not be taken away.

But I'm not in a rush for these things now. I just want to expand my business and make more money.

He even wanted his son to inherit the title of Prince of Changshan.

Although the stepson is a little stubborn sometimes, he has a good heart and would not do anything to bully other boys or anything too bad, so all he could do was give up.

No matter what, she had never thought of killing her stepson. She just hoped that he would be safe. After all, she had raised him for more than ten years, so there must be some thoughts that she would naturally favor her own child over her own son.

Zheng thought that she had eaten grilled skewers before, so she tried to come up with her own recipe. Finally, she came up with a recipe that tasted pretty good. She also planned to expand the snack shop and start selling grilled skewers like the Queen's uncle did.

In the capital, there are already shops that have imitated this kind of barbecue. Although their business is not as good as that of the queen's uncle, it is still pretty good.

But I didn't expect that I was still a step too late.

It is difficult to rent a large shop, and I don’t want to waste two or three thousand taels of rent every year.

Zheng thought for a moment and said, "Tang Ping, how long did you sign the contract for? How long do you plan to rent it for? If you want us to do this, we have already paid the rent. Tang Ping, take a look at how much rent there is. Mother will give you this rent and some more. Tang Ping, we will return all the money to them, and the rest will be used as compensation. In this way, they should be willing to return the contract. What do you think?"

Luo Tangping said, "The rent of the shop is two thousand taels of silver a year, and you also spent ten thousand taels of silver to buy the chairs, benches and kitchenware in the restaurant. I will return the money to you. Mother doesn't have to give it to me. I will add another two thousand taels of silver as compensation to you."

After all, he was in the wrong, and he should definitely pay one year's rent as compensation.

Zheng heaved a sigh of relief, thinking it was not a big problem. Most people would not go against money. Moreover, he had not lost anything and had not even started a business, but he had earned two thousand taels of silver, which was just enough for himself.

Zheng smiled and said, "Okay, then you go first, Tang Ping. When the time comes, you can talk about how to run our shop. We will split the money we earn in half."

Luo Tangping said, "No need, mother can keep it herself when the time comes. I am not short of money, and I don't seem to be very good at doing business."

The mother and son chatted for a while, and after Luo Tangping finished his sweet soup, he returned to his yard.

The next day, he started looking for someone to negotiate according to the address on the deed.

The one who signed the contract with Luo Tangping was Lianhua. Lianhua also had a house in the city, which she lived in by herself. She was an old woman who guarded the gate. When she was in the palace on weekdays, she was the only one at home.

And after all, they are black-armored guards, not palace maids. When Xu Qinyu is in the palace on weekdays, she doesn't have to follow him all the time. There are other secret guards in the palace. She can go back or continue to go to the black-armored guards, but she usually likes to live in the palace. The meals in the palace are delicious, while the meals cooked by the old woman in the house are not that good.

So when Luo Tangping came to the house, Lianhua was not in the house.

Xu Qinyu also started looking for people to do repairs in the restaurant.

The restaurant has been temporarily closed and the signboards have been taken down. Although the restaurant is relatively new, it still needs some simple renovations and it will take at least a month to prepare before it can open. By then, my brothers and the others will have returned to the capital.

Luo Tangping didn't find anyone, so he decided to try his luck in the restaurant.

When I came to the restaurant on the third day, I found that the plaque had been taken down.

At this moment, Xu Qinyu and Lianhua were in a private room above the restaurant, looking through the restaurant's previous staff list and account books.

Lotus is a secret guard, and she can help investigate if she can find out anything. If the waiters in the restaurant were ordinary people, they would definitely be kept. If they are related to Lady Changshan, they will naturally not be used.

Luo Tangping didn't even take the restaurant's account book with him, so it was thrown on the counter. When Xu Qinyu was packing up today, she picked it out.

I ran a hotel in my previous life, and I have been running a restaurant and wine shop for almost seven years in this life. I am very good at looking at the accounts.

The entries in this account book are obviously false. They are obviously false.

Not only that, the purchasing part was a mess. These purchases did not match the monthly turnover of the restaurant. It was obvious that a lot more was recorded as being purchased, but the actual amount of ingredients used in the restaurant's turnover was not that much.

Xu Qinyu couldn't help but sigh as she watched, "I said that even if the food in the restaurant can't compare to the famous restaurants like Jixianglou, as long as it tastes good, it can at least make some money. Such a big restaurant, even if it makes money, can at least make a profit of one or two thousand taels, or two or three thousand taels of silver every month. But look at the accounts in this account book, they are all losses. No wonder Prince Luo can't make a living and wants to rent out the shop. The accounts in this account book are so fake, and Prince Luo can't see it."

Lianhua also looked over there. She had never run a restaurant before and actually didn't know how to read the account book. Even if she let him take a look, she couldn't see any problems with the account book. She just knew that it was losing money every month.

After reading it, Xu Qinyu threw the account book aside and started to look at the list of the waiters who had worked in the restaurant before. She found the purchasing manager and said to Lianhua, "This person must not be used. The amount of ingredients purchased in the account book exceeds the limit every month. The purchasing must have swallowed up a lot of money from the restaurant. Lianhua, please help me find out whether this purchasing manager is the man of Prince Luo or the wife of Duke Changshan."

Although it is speculated that he is definitely the wife of Changshan, it is possible that he is from Prince Luo's side.

Lianhua was flipping through the account book and nodded immediately after hearing this. "Okay, don't worry, Madam. I'll check it out this afternoon."

As he was talking, someone came in and said, "Boss, someone's looking for you outside."

Xu Qinyu raised her head, and Lianhua stood up immediately, "Your Majesty, please sit here. I'll go out and take a look."

When Lianhua went downstairs, she saw Prince Luo waiting in the hall on the first floor. She walked over and asked, "Boss, what are you doing?"

When Luo Tangping saw Lianhua, he shook his head and said, "Young lady, this is what happened. Someone in my family wants to use this shop, and I want to ask you. I am willing to return the previous rent of 2,000 taels of silver and 10,000 taels of silver to you, and I am willing to give you another 2,000 taels of silver as compensation. Can you return the contract we signed before?"

Lianhua smiled and said, "That's not right. We have already started to renovate it. And according to what is written in the contract, if the owner regrets after five years and wants to take the shop back, he will have to pay us a compensation of about fifty thousand taels of silver."

Luo Tangping froze, it seemed that this was indeed the case, but this young lady hadn't even started her business yet, and it wasn't like she refused to rent the property to us halfway through. We didn't suffer any loss, so why was she being so unkind to her?

Luo Tangping could only say: "Please help me, young lady. It won't cause any loss to you now. It's my mother who wants to use the shop, and as her son, I naturally want to keep it all."

He couldn't even come up with 50,000 taels of silver.

As for 50,000 taels of silver, it would take an unknown amount of time to make a profit. Of course, it was impossible for him to really pay back 50,000 taels of silver. 50,000 taels of silver could almost buy a four-story shop on the same market street.

Lianhua shook her head, "I'm sorry, I don't really want your fifty thousand taels of silver, but we really like this shop, we've already started to renovate it, and the plaque can be customized, we really don't want to continue looking for a shop, and to be honest with you, it's very difficult to find a shop with a six-story attic in this area."

Luo Tangping sighed, "Well, I'm sorry to bother the young lady." He also knew that the young lady was telling the truth.

Lianhua nodded, turned back to the private room upstairs, and told Xu Qinyu what happened.

Xu Qinyu really didn't want to change the location. Not to mention that this location was good and it was also relatively close to the palace. If she really wanted to continue looking for a similar shop, she didn't know how long she would have to wait.

Fortunately, this Prince Luo is not a troublemaker and is a nice person.

When Luo Tangping returned to Changshan Mansion, he told Zheng about it. Zheng couldn't help frowning after hearing it, "This young lady is so arrogant that she actually asked you to pay 50,000 taels of silver."

Luo Tangping said quickly, "Mother, you misunderstood. It's not that she really wants the fifty thousand taels of silver as compensation from me, but the young lady can't find another shop. The restaurant has already started to be renovated and the plaque has been custom-made. She doesn't want to change the location."

Zheng Shi hesitated and couldn't help asking, "Does Tang Ping know who this young lady belongs to?"

There are many noble families and officials in the capital, and they are also worried that the young lady's family background is relatively prominent. If the young lady has no family background, perhaps they can think of a way to get the contract returned. But if the young lady has a prominent family background, and she is the daughter of a noble family, there is definitely no way.

"I don't know." Luo Tangping shook his head. "I went to her home once, and there was only a grandmother guarding the door. It seemed that there was no one else, and the young lady was not at home either."

Zheng said, "Okay, I'll send someone to ask around and see if there's any other way. If there is, it would be better to talk them into giving the deed back."

Luo Tangping said, "If mother really wants to expand the dim sum shop business, I will go to the streets more often to see if there is a similar shop and rent it."

Zheng shook her head. "That's not necessary. I'll send someone to find out first."

Otherwise, the rent of two to three thousand taels of silver a year is also money, and it is also clear that it is not easy to find a large shop in such a location as the one owned by my stepson. Besides, my stepson’s shop can be used for a long time, and after my grandmother passes away, this shop may be the one that I own forever.

Luo Tangping did not insist any more. He planned to look for other shops on the street and rent them directly when the time comes.

Zheng quickly found out Lianhua's address and status.

This is not a difficult task. Lianhua often goes in and out of the palace. If she asks people about the person's name, she will be able to find out that he is from the Queen's side.

So naturally, it was to do things for the Queen.

Zheng was shocked, for she had never expected that the person who rented her stepson's shop would be the queen.

This queen was no simple matter. She followed the new emperor through hardships in the border town for seven years. After returning to Beijing, the new emperor doted on her. She was the only one in the entire harem. It was said that before the emperor and empress got married, the new emperor often went out of Marquis Dechang's Mansion. It was obvious that the new emperor did not dote on her because she accompanied him through hardships for seven years, but because he truly loved this queen and loved her so much that he did not want her to suffer the slightest bit.

This is unheard of in any dynasty.

It would be a lie to say that I am not jealous. After enduring seven years of hardship, I can become the queen and even enjoy the exclusive favor of the emperor.

I am willing to change.

Zheng was also aware that Jizi obviously had no idea that the person who rented his shop was the Empress.