The teacher and student strolled along the Heavenly Street in perfect sync. In the end, Sanlang fell completely silent, his initial excitement and joy turning into deep worry.
"Are you tired? Would you like to rest for a while before continuing?" Mr. Xunmei asked Sanlang, half-squatting down.
Saburo paused for a moment, nodded, and took Mr. Xunmei's hand to sit down on the stone steps to the side.
Looking at his usually lively, energetic, and mischievous apprentice, who now appeared listless like a wilted eggplant, Mr. Xunmei couldn't help but stroke his beard and laugh.
"Are you worried that your sister can't afford to rent it?"
Saburo didn't speak, and lowered his head even further.
"It is expensive. Shops on Tianjie Street cost tens of thousands of taels of silver. We could spend a lifetime and still not spend it all!"
Sanlang's worries deepened. He gently tugged at Mr. Xunmei's sleeve and asked, "Teacher, is there nowhere else with a good shop?"
Mr. Xunmei looked down at the melancholy on his young face that seemed so out of place for his age, and said seriously, "Aren't the shops here good? Cheaper places aren't as famous as these. Small shops can't do much. Do you trust your sister?"
After a slight pause, Saburo nodded without hesitation.
"Since you trust her, there's no need to worry too much. Your sister has the ability to establish herself here! Let's go take another look ahead!"
Saburo's lips twitched down, he sighed like a little adult, and resignedly followed.
After walking a short distance, Mr. Xunmei stopped in front of an inn, seemingly lost in thought.
Saburo glanced at the inn's entrance and size, and secretly swallowed hard.
This inn is also a three-story building, and it seems to be bigger than the restaurant we just visited, but it doesn't seem to be doing as well as the restaurant we visited, with hardly any customers coming and going.
Saburo seemed to know what his teacher was thinking, and gently tugged at his sleeve. "Teacher, let's go."
Mr. Xunmei, however, started chatting with the shop assistant who was leaning against the door waiting for business.
At first, the waiter looked impatient, but as they chatted, he went inside and brought out a chair for Mr. Xunmei to sit down.
"Hey, you don't know, with Juxianzhuang here, no one can compete with them! It's not that we don't have business, but compared to Juxianzhuang, it's just too pathetic! Just dragging on like this isn't a solution, and the owner is thinking about whether we can find another way to make a living."
“Juxian Manor isn’t the only dominant force in Yuzhou City. I see several restaurants on Flower Street ahead that are doing quite well.”
"They're from the north. Their dishes are so unique that people from other places can find them just by smelling the aroma. We can't compete with them!"
As they chatted, they unexpectedly introduced themselves by bowing to each other, one calling him Brother Cheng and the other calling him Brother Qian.
Saburo stared in disbelief as his teacher tried to get close to someone and build a friendship, a bold idea suddenly making him shudder.
"Brother Qian, remember to let me know if you hear anything! Goodbye!"
Walking on the bustling street, Sanlang's steps were a little unsteady.
"Teacher, are you trying to poach someone's talent?" Sanlang suddenly thought of this phrase, a phrase his sister had used before.
"The teacher is just looking for suitable resources. Maybe they just like your sister's homemade dishes? Anyway, I like them very much."
Saburo didn't understand business, let alone marketing tactics, so he just nodded as if he understood.
"But teacher, that inn isn't cheap, and it's bigger than the one we just had!"
"Yes! If we were to buy it, it would cost at least 25,000 taels! But if we were to rent it out, it would only cost... 2,000 taels a year!"
Two thousand taels... for a year!
Saburo looked up at his teacher with difficulty, wondering how he could so casually utter the words "two thousand taels".
I'm afraid my sister couldn't earn that much money in a whole year!
Sanlang was somewhat indignant.
The teacher and student returned to the bamboo hut. Shi Tou brought out the food that had been heated twice and grumbled somewhat discontentedly, "Teacher, really! You went out without even taking a purse. What will you eat or drink if you get hungry or thirsty? You have to pay for a drink of cold water in that place. You can't get anywhere without money!"
Mr. Xunmei chuckled but said nothing.
What is said unintentionally may be taken to heart by the listener.
Sanlang was worried sick about money, but after hearing what Shitou said, an idea came to him.
After the teacher went to rest, Sanlang pulled Shi Tou aside and whispered something in his ear.
Shi Tou's eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Will this work? I only have seven or eight taels of silver here, which is more than half a year's living expenses. I can't afford to mess this up!"
Sanlang stared intently at Shitou and said, "Brother Shitou, we don't need to spend any money right now. Even our winter clothes sister has prepared a set for each of us. We also have plenty of vegetables at home, enough to eat. You've also pickled so many side dishes and rice. We've given all the meat and vegetables to the teacher. If we're frugal, we'll have enough. We won't go hungry even if we lose money!"
"Besides, we're selling food, why would we go hungry?"
"Don't worry, I've memorized all the recipes for my sister's seafood salad. We can't go wrong if we just follow them!"
While Shi Tou was still hesitating, San Lang showered him with compliments, "How can you not even believe yourself? Your cooking skills are so much better than before. You've made all the recipes your sister sent you very well. Your teacher has praised you many times. What's there to worry about?"
That's true!
My husband is such a picky eater, and I've praised him many times recently, which means his cooking skills have improved a lot. I still have confidence in that!
"Shall we give it a try?"
"Okay, I'll give it a try!"
"We have to keep this from the teacher. If he finds out that you're not making any progress and are only thinking about these things, he'll definitely punish you by making you copy these things!"
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