Manager Liu squinted his eyes and began to reminisce about the past.
"I have been wandering since I was a child, and I came to this capital city with a dream, wanting to make a name for myself."
"After forty or fifty years of hard work, I've finally built up a restaurant in the capital. This is the best I can do, given my lack of power and influence. I'm very satisfied with it and want to continue operating it in the capital, get married, have children, enjoy a harmonious family life, and live a peaceful life with my children around me."
"But things didn't go as planned. A few days ago, I received news from my hometown that my elderly mother is seriously ill and there is no cure. I'm afraid she doesn't have much time left."
When he got emotional, Manager Liu couldn't help but reach out his sleeve and wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes.
“I have been doing business all over the place since I was a child, and I have never been able to fulfill my filial duties to my mother. Now that we are about to be separated by death, I want to stay by my mother’s side, fulfill my filial duties in the end, and make up for my previous regrets.”
Listening to Manager Liu's sincere explanation, Zhou Zhizhi felt a pang of sympathy. She relaxed her guard slightly and momentarily forgot about discussing the shop, following his lead.
"Since your business in the capital is doing very well and you are able to support your family, why not bring your mother to live with you? After all, there are many famous doctors and precious medicinal herbs that are hard to find elsewhere, so the chances of her recovering are much higher than in other places."
Although Zhou Zhizhi's words made sense, every family has its own problems. Manager Liu explained as he refilled Zhou Zhizhi's teacup.
“My hometown is very far from the capital. It takes more than a month to travel by carriage. My elderly mother has been in poor health for many years and is not suitable for long-distance travel. I can only send some money back from time to time so that she can take good care of herself.”
Zhou Zhizhi nodded in understanding. After all, this was a backward ancient time, without advanced means of transportation, and the long journey was indeed very difficult for an old woman.
"Is Manager Liu planning to give up his business in the capital and return to his hometown to develop it?" Zhou Zhizhi asked again, after all, she wanted long-term development and it would be best if she could buy the shop.
“Yes, Miss Zhou, I’m planning to take all my belongings from the capital and go back to my hometown to open a tavern again. My wife and children have already set off.” Looking at Zhou Zhizhi’s sincere expression, Manager Liu hesitated for a moment before finally speaking.
"Miss Zhou, let me tell you the truth, this shop is indeed not easy to run, although on the surface it looks like business is doing well and booming."
“But the raw materials used by all the merchants on our street are almost twice as expensive as those in other places, because all delivery trucks that enter this street have to pay tolls, so the prices are naturally higher,” Manager Liu said, taking a sip of tea.
"There are also various officials who come to collect protection fees. Some shops are run by relatives of high-ranking officials and nobles, so naturally they don't have to pay money to those officials."
"But if that happens, those officials will feel that their interests are being harmed, and they will bully us ordinary merchants even more." This is also a major reason why Manager Liu decided to give up his business in the capital.
Zhou Zhizhi was somewhat shocked upon hearing this, as she had never heard of such a thing, whether in court or in private conversations with other officials.
"When did it start? Why have I never heard of it before?" Zhou Zhizhi asked.
"It was about seven or eight years ago. The one collecting protection money was the Prime Minister's distant cousin. With the Prime Minister's protection, everyone dared not speak out against him," Manager Liu told Zhou Zhizhi truthfully.
It's the prime minister again, doing such heinous and immoral things to exploit the people!
"Shopkeeper, I'm buying this shop!" Zhou Zhizhi wasn't afraid of a distant cousin of the prime minister.
"May I ask if you could show me around your shop, so I can get a feel for the layout?" Zhou Zhizhi said to Manager Liu with a smile.
Shopkeeper Liu never expected that Zhou Zhizhi would change her mind after learning the inside story. He was already happy that the shop could be rented out, but now this Miss Zhou directly said she wanted to buy it! This would save him a lot of trouble.
"Miss Zhou, this way please." Manager Liu quickly stood up and led Zhou Zhizhi to check the layout of the shop.
"Miss Zhou must have seen our first floor just now. It's mainly used to entertain passersby with drinks. The second floor has more than 30 rooms for accommodation. There are five top-class rooms (number one in the highest tier), ten medium-class rooms (number one in the lowest tier), and the rest are ordinary rooms."
Manager Liu gave a general description of the shop's layout and led Zhou Zhizhi to the back of the shop. They passed through an antique-style corridor and entered a spacious and bright hall.
The hall is decorated with traditional mahogany ornaments, and the walls are adorned with exquisite paintings and calligraphy works.
Zhou Zhizhi carefully observed the layout of the hall, her fingers brushing across a guqin in a corner, producing a clear and melodious sound.
With a beaming smile, Manager Liu introduced to Zhou Zhizhi, "Miss Zhou, this hall is a place in our shop specifically for wealthy young men to compose poems and enjoy themselves. It is separated from the front hall, so it offers excellent privacy."
Looking at the scene before her, Zhou Zhizhi nodded to Manager Liu, indicating her satisfaction. "Are the antiques and artworks displayed here also from Manager Liu's collection?"
"These antiques and artworks are not from my collection, but are temporarily stored here by wealthy young men who come here. If these antiques and artworks were mine, they would probably have been snatched away by those officials long ago. Although they are not children of princes and nobles, they still have some say in the capital."
After all, Manager Liu was just an ordinary merchant. He had no connections and no venue to organize a gathering or place for the sons of officials to show off their refined tastes.
In ancient times, with its strict hierarchical system and strong sense of superiority, social circles were extremely fixed and difficult to move up in.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhizhi looked around and was surprised to find that the place outside was just an ordinary restaurant, or even a small shop that combined dining and lodging.
The interior was surprisingly spacious and spacious! She decided to stop delaying and directly ask Manager Liu about the price of the shop.
"I wonder how much silver Manager Liu would be willing to part with it?" Zhou Zhizhi asked politely.
Manager Liu smiled and said, "Today, Miss Zhou and I had a very pleasant conversation. I am grateful that Miss Zhou is interested in this shop. Based on the actual situation of the shop, I think the reasonable price should be four thousand taels of silver."
Zhou Zhizhi frowned slightly, feeling somewhat hesitant.
Four thousand taels of silver was no small sum for her, especially given the current tight finances in her household. If she were to spend four thousand taels now, it would inevitably affect her plans to open the other shops.
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