Chapter 18, Eight Treasures Workshop
The carriage rumbled as it left the Meng residence at Tongjiang Bridge. Its wheels rolled over the smooth bluestone slabs of the Imperial Street and finally stopped in the middle of the street, next to the famous "Hele Tower".
Sun Sheng, who had been waiting by the roadside, immediately put on a warm smile when he saw Granny Gui lean out. He quickly went to greet her and, together with Granny Gui, steadily helped Meng Yutong down from the carriage.
Sun Sheng was around forty years old, with a lean and agile build. He wore a faded indigo-dyed short brown robe and cloth shoes with multiple layers of soles, dressed neatly and smartly.
He had a thin, long face, and his narrow eyes were always slightly squinted, with a sharp glint in them as they moved. He also had natural smile lines at the corners of his mouth. He was clearly a shrewd and quick-witted man from the streets.
"Greetings, Miss Meng!" Sun Sheng bowed respectfully, his gaze quickly sweeping over Meng Yutong with a professional inquisitive look. "Miss, which gentleman in your household are you looking at the shop for?"
Seeing that Meng Yutong was dressed as a young woman, he instinctively assumed that she was representing the men in the family.
Meng Yutong shook her head slightly, her voice clear and calm: "No, it's for my own benefit."
A flash of surprise crossed Sun Sheng's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and smiled as if he had only heard about something trivial: "Young lady, you have quite the spirit! This way, please. Let me show you the first room."
He led the group to a somewhat deserted shop next to the Hele Tower. "This shop used to be an antique shop called 'Moyunzhai.' Look at this storefront, the location was top-notch! What a pity..."
He lowered his voice, with a hint of regret, "With the restaurant located next to Helelou, the noblemen and young masters who come and go are all preoccupied with banquets, music, and beautiful women. Who has the leisure to appreciate calligraphy and painting? As a result, the manager managed to keep it going for half a year, but he couldn't hold on any longer and had to close down and leave."
What makes Sun Sheng most reassuring is his intelligence and tact in "taking money to do things without asking why".
Meng Yutong nodded and followed Sun Sheng into the shop.
The shop isn't small; it's square and, since it hasn't been vacant for long, it's fairly clean.
A few rows of empty display shelves remain against the wall, and some discarded packaging paper is scattered on the ground.
Sun Sheng enthusiastically pointed out, "Young lady, look how spacious this layout is! It's open and airy, and with a little renovation, it could easily be divided into a clinic and a pharmacy! The most important thing is the rent," he gestured with two fingers, "such a prime location, and it's only five hundred and eighty taels a year! It's truly a bargain that's hard to find even with a lantern!"
Just then, the neighboring Helelou Restaurant was in the middle of its evening dining rush. The sounds of string and wind instruments, the clinking of glasses, and the melodious tunes of singing girls, mixed with cheers and shouts, flooded into the empty shop like a tide, making people's eardrums buzz.
Meng Yutong frowned and bluntly pointed out, "Mr. Sun, this place is too noisy. A clinic needs quiet, and patients need to rest. How can this be acceptable?"
Sun Sheng was taken aback by this blunt remark, realizing that the young woman before him was not easily fooled. He immediately changed the subject, his smile widening: "Young lady, you are wise! It is indeed a bit lively. But think about it, who are these people coming and going? They are all rich and powerful! With the clinic here, its reputation will spread throughout Lin'an City in no time! Then, will we still have to worry about not having customers?"
Meng Yutong smiled faintly and shook her head: "Mr. Sun, you are mistaken. The regulars of Helelou have well-known doctors at home and are accompanied by physicians when they travel. Why would they look down on a small clinic run by a woman who is just starting out?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Sheng slapped his thigh and exclaimed sincerely, "Oh my! Miss, you are truly insightful! I was mistaken! If this place is not suitable, we have another place! Please follow me, Miss!"
The group walked along the Imperial Street, heading north from Helelou, passing Hefenglou, and looked at four or five more shops along the way. Either the locations were too remote and sparsely populated, or the shop layouts were cramped and difficult to renovate, or the rents were outrageously high, far exceeding their budget. It wasn't until they reached the northern section of the Imperial Street, near Xin'an Bridge and the edge of Xiawazi, that they finally found a satisfactory shop.
The shop's location is ideal, neither too noisy nor too deserted. Facing south, it has a spacious facade and ample depth. Originally a silk shop, its layout remained largely unchanged after the move, requiring only minor adjustments. Most importantly, the rent is reasonable at four hundred and twenty taels a year.
After carefully inspecting the place inside and out, and briefly discussing the renovation details with Sun Sheng, Meng Yutong had already made up her mind. She was decisive and immediately decided, "This is it!" She readily paid the deposit and agreed to formally sign the contract three days later.
On the return journey in the carriage, Bai Zhi's face was flushed with excitement as she chattered, "Miss! We're really going to open a clinic! It feels like a dream! Miss, what are we going to do next? Do we need to recruit apprentices? Do we need to buy lots and lots of medicinal herbs?"
"The next step..." Meng Yutong pretended to ponder, looking at Bai Zhi's little head leaning over and her expectant eyes, she couldn't help but bend her finger and gently tap her forehead, and said with a smile, "The next step is naturally to satisfy our hunger. After working hard for most of the day, your girl is starving."
Bai Zhi then touched her head and realized what was happening, rubbing her stomach: "Oh dear! I was so happy that I forgot I was hungry! Now that you mention it, my stomach is really growling!"
The carriage stopped in front of a restaurant called "Zhenweilou". Across the street was the famous jewelry shop "Bazhenfang" at the top of Yujie Street.
The three of them went up to a private room on the second floor and ordered a few light dishes and snacks.
After the food was served, Meng Yutong ate a few bites, then put down her chopsticks and said to Granny Gui and Baizhi, "I'm almost done. I'm going to take a stroll around Bazhenfang across the street. You two can eat slowly. I'll come back to find you after I'm done."
Granny Gui quickly put down her spoon: "Miss, be careful, there are many people on the street, come back early."
Meng Yutong nodded, got up and slowly walked downstairs, through the bustling street, toward the brightly lit Bazhenfang.
By this time, the sky had completely darkened, and the shops on both sides of the Imperial Street lit up their lanterns.
Bazhenfang was the premier jewelry store in Lin'an City, with several large glass lanterns hanging high above the entrance, making the area in front of the store as bright as day.
The shop window was also decorated with light-up signs carefully illuminated with tin foil, making the pearl treasures displayed inside shimmer and shine, creating an extraordinary atmosphere.
There weren't many customers in the shop at the moment. There were only two waiters dressed in decent silk shirts, leaning against the counter on either side. They looked listless and a bit lazy.
This Bazhenfang is a property of Prince Rong's mansion, and is now managed by the heir of the mansion, Li Jing.
This young master was a notorious playboy in Lin'an City.
Although his family had secured him a sinecure of the sixth rank, "Patentee of Medicine," at the Imperial Medical Academy, he himself knew nothing about pharmacology or medicine and was merely a figurehead who relied on his family's influence to hold a position without doing any work.
In her previous life, due to the somewhat roundabout cousin relationship between the Ji family and the Rong Prince's Mansion, Meng Yutong had met Li Jing several times at banquets.
In this life, their most recent encounter was not long ago at Qingfeng Teahouse. Li Jing, standing up for Ji Yun, had loudly mocked him in front of a group of young gentlemen, saying that Ji Yun was "losing out big time" by marrying her, a "merchant's daughter"!
Recalling this sentence, Meng Yutong's forehead twitched involuntarily. A hint of disdain flashed across her face. It was not surprising that such a brash and arrogant playboy could do such a despicable thing as tricking out-of-town merchants into signing a deed of yin and yang.
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