Chapter 54 Chapter 54 Finding a way to manage
Being swept up by the crowd, the distance between the two of them was much closer. Baozhu's mind was still on the stage at first, but after a while, she didn't know where else it had drifted.
After watching the comedy, I happened to meet Jiang Shi when I came out of the tile house. After watching the puppet show and eating snacks, he was wandering around with nothing to do.
Seeing that he didn't have to go back to look for someone, the three of them just went back together. Baozhu knew that Pei Yanqing was coming today, so she left a message to Zhen's father in the morning, asking him not to leave her food in the evening, and she would take Jiang Shi to eat at the night market.
As she entered the alley, she happened to see Madam Xu opening the door to see if they had returned. Seeing that Lord Pei was also there, Baozhu snatched the lantern from Pei Yanqing's hand, raised it, and said,
"I ran into Lord Pei on his way off duty, and it happened to be dark at night, so we returned together."
Madam Xu muttered something, saying that she felt that Master Pei was everywhere lately. No one could hear her muttering. It was dark and cold, so Madam Xu urged everyone to go home quickly.
Because Pei Yanqing had informed him, and he hadn't seen him come to the store for several days, he knew in his heart that he had gone out.
Originally, the rent for next year had been set aside, but now that Pei Yanqing had bought the shop, he was unwilling to collect rent, so Baozu had less rent expenses every month.
Once the money was freed up, Baozhu wanted to rent the shop next door, so that the two could be connected to make it easier for her to run her business.
The shop next door sells rice, flour, grain, oil and the like. Baozhu noticed early on that the shop's business was not very good. She was afraid that the shop could not even get back the capital after paying the monthly rent, and it was now at the end of its strength.
However, if she went directly to the store to rent the shop, the owner of the grain and oil shop would definitely not give her a good face. After all, his own business was bleak. If someone rented his place at this time, and it was the restaurant next door, he would definitely be angry if he knew that the other party's business was better than his.
Baozhu had her own thoughts and often asked Liu Si'er and the owner of the grain and oil shop to send some snacks and drinks. Originally, Baozhu often sent some snacks to both shops. She thought that by building up relationships, she could be taken care of if anything happened. With the foundation she had laid before, she only had to make a few more trips and nothing would arouse suspicion.
After they got to know each other well, Baozhu often complained to the old shopkeeper about how difficult it was to do business and make a living in this world.
The old shopkeeper of the grain and oil shop was already having a hard time making a living, and the two of them shared their troubles with each other, which made their relationship much closer. Baozhu also learned from him that she would not rent out her shop after the New Year.
Baozhu wanted to take over the shop in the next few days, do some renovations, and then open the shop during the peak season at the end of the year.
It was not easy to rent a shop in this area, and it was even harder to rent two adjacent shops. Even the shop Baozhu was running now took a lot of effort to rent.
The old owner of the grain and oil shop was planning to return to his hometown when the lease expired in February next year, so the original owner would naturally rent the house out again.
If the landlord knew that Baozhu rented this room to run the restaurant next door, he would definitely not rent it to her easily. Even if he rented it to her, he would ask for a few more strings of cash before he would agree. But if the old manager of the grain and oil shop could mediate, this matter would most likely be accomplished.
"We lose more than ten strings of cash every month when we open the shop, and there is still a lot of stale rice and flour in the warehouse." The old shopkeeper sighed. Originally, the business of this shop was good, and it often supplied rice and flour to wealthy families. But later, those wealthy families asked for more and more money when purchasing, and the shop could not afford it, so it gradually declined.
Thinking that he would not be able to rent the shop after its lease expired, he had not purchased any new goods since the autumn. He only wanted to sell this year's rice, flour and oil as well as last year's so that he could return home.
Baozhu nodded in agreement after hearing what he said, and added that her own shop had been bullied before, and had no choice but to close for a month or two, and the rent for these one or two months was wasted.
"In that case, why don't you sublet this shop?"
"This shop only has a few months left on its lease. If I want to sublet it, the price will naturally not be high. Those merchants who rent the shop will definitely bargain down the price. It's better for me to hold on for a while. Once the warehouse is cleared, I won't have to worry about anything else..."
When Baozhu heard him say this, she knew that this deal was likely to succeed. After making inquiries and making several trips, she finally told the old shopkeeper that she wanted to rent his shop and would sublease it at the same price as he was currently paying. She also said that the Zhen family would also accept the rice, flour, grain and oil in the shop.
"There's only one thing I need to do. I'd like you and the landlord to come here as witnesses. Also, uncle, your shop lease only has two or three months left. Even if I rent it, it'll take a lot of time to renovate it. I'd appreciate your cooperation. I'd like to renew the lease for another two years."
When the old shopkeeper heard that she was willing to accept the rice in the warehouse and rent the shop at a certain price, he was very reluctant and immediately nodded in agreement.
"If the landlord is willing to renew the lease for another two years at the current price, then our agreement will remain as is. I'll take all the remaining grain, oil, rice, and flour in your shop, and I'll pay you the rent as originally agreed. But if the landlord refuses to renew the lease or raises the rent, then we'll have to call it quits."
Baozhu wasn't really doing a good deed. "After all, my restaurant is a small business. I earn money through hard work, and I have employees to support. You know as a restaurant owner yourself, if the rent is too high, I have to cut back on other areas. After all, running a restaurant is a long-term business. Don't cut back here and there and end up damaging your reputation."
The old shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, young lady. I've rented this shop for four or five years, and I have some good feelings for the owner. I will do my best to help. If this goes through, I can go back to the countryside early to celebrate the New Year with my family."
Baozhu wasn't worried about not being able to sell the rice, flour, grain, and oil she'd bought from him. She'd already paid a bit below market price, so she could use the regular rice and flour for her family and the finer ones for the shop. She could also help sell some to Madam Xu, too. This year, all the produce from the Zhen family's fields had been brought to Bianjing by Ah Zhong.
As for the old rice, there was no need to worry about sales. Baozhu bought some of the old rice that was piled up in the old storekeeper's warehouse at a low price and sold it at a lower price. Even if he didn't make much money, selling it could at least help feed some hungry families. It was also a profit.
After discussing it with the grain and oil shop owner, they just waited for the landlord to come and discuss it. The old grain and oil shop owner had the pearl as a guarantee, so he wouldn't lose much and could still get some money back to celebrate the New Year, so he was naturally very concerned about this matter.
Anyway, there was not much business in the store, so I just closed it and went to discuss it with the owner.
The landlord had heard of the Zhen family's reputation and wanted to raise the rent by a few more strings of cash per month. However, upon hearing that he was going to raise the rent, Baozhu immediately shook her head.
"If our two shops weren't adjacent, I would never rent your shop. If you raise the price, I might as well rent a bigger shop across the street."
The old shopkeeper saw Baozhu's serious expression, as if she really didn't care about renting the shop. He immediately said, "Now that there's a good market, why not rent it out quickly? If Shopkeeper Zhen doesn't accept, outsiders will just see my shop as bankrupt and will hesitate to rent it. Now that someone has taken it over, the price will remain the same. If I continue to rent it, you will definitely continue to rent it to me at this price. Why bother him now?"
"That's exactly the point. If you're just asking for a higher price because I want to rent it, then I don't think there's any need to discuss this matter today. My restaurant is indeed a bit small now, and I want to rent your shop because I think it's been here for quite some time and it's not easy to move." Baozhu followed up, "To be honest, I've seen the shop across the street. If I rent a larger shop across the street, the rent will be much lower than these two shops. And it's not far away, so customers won't have trouble finding the new shop."
When Baozhu finished speaking and was about to leave, the owner immediately stood up and said, "Okay, okay, just do as you said!"
"The rent remains the same. You know how hard it is to make a living these days. Our contract is for two years, but the rent will still be paid annually. I hope you will understand."
It doesn't matter to the landlord whether the rent is paid once a year or twice a year, because he can get it back eventually. Besides, the Zhen family has a man who has won the third place in the imperial examination, so there is no need to worry that she will default on the debt.
"When the lease is finalized, you'll have to pay next year's rent in full, and another month's rent as a deposit."
Baozhu sat down again. "That's no problem, of course. I just need to renovate the shop. And since I'm going to rent it out, I have to merge the two shops. When I do that, I'll definitely have to break through the wall to create a door."
The homeowner immediately said that they would have to seal the door when they returned the house.
After the few people agreed, Baozhu asked A Niang to come and sign the contract. One was the sublease of the old manager, and the other was a lease of one or two taels. The matter of opening a door in the wall was also written into the contract.
The shop rents for more than 400 strings of cash a year, and the old shopkeeper's lease expires in February next year. This shop is larger than the one his family currently runs. Baozhu measured it and found that it can accommodate eight square tables. There is also a warehouse inside that was originally used to store grain. Baozhu wanted to open the shop in the twelfth month before clearing out the things in the shop, so he quickly hired people to renovate it, hoping to connect the two shops before the twelfth month.
The new shop has custom-made square tables, which are specially reserved for diners who eat stir-fried dishes. The old shop only has long tables and small double tables, which are reserved for diners who eat soup noodles and fried rice noodles.
It looks much neater when the two sides are separated, and you won’t make mistakes when serving the dishes.
Baozhu worked hard at the restaurant during the day, and would occasionally go next door to supervise the work, fearing that something might go wrong. The interior of the restaurant was completely renovated, and the colorful curtains were hung to let it air out for a few days. By the time the restaurant was finished, it was already the twelfth lunar month.
All that was left was to open a door in the middle. Breaking down the wall and building the door frame was no small task. It was not easy to open this old shop so as not to affect the diners' meals. Baozhu simply closed the shop for two days and hung a red notice at the door, saying that the shop was under renovation and would reopen on the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month. There would be new food at that time, and all diners who came to consume would enjoy discounts.
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