Chapter 146 Consideration
Uncle Pan said, "Twenty years ago, we spent almost twelve taels of silver to get the wine documents. Even now, it is not certain that the documents can be obtained even if you pay money. There are still twenty-eight jars of wine in the wine cellar. I will pass on the winemaking skills and those utensils to you. The total cost is forty taels of silver. As for the rent, it will be paid every six months. According to the market price of this street, the rent for half a year is fourteen taels of silver."
"But if you are too busy, you can ask me to help. I have nothing to do anyway. Even though I am used to being alone now, when your Aunt Pan was here, I did everything she arranged for me."
Fourteen taels for half a year, twenty-eight taels for a year.
Song Yuntang asked around a few houses that day and found that the rent was not considered high on this street.
As for the sublease fee of forty taels of silver, it is still reasonable.
"Uncle Pan, are you planning to sell this wine shop?"
Uncle Pan thought about it and shook his head, "I'll make plans when my daughter comes to pick me up. I still can't bear to leave."
After hearing this, Song Yuntang looked at Xu Qingye.
"What do you think?"
"It's hard to say now. I only know that when Aunt Pan was here, this tavern had a good business. My classmates all liked to come here, order a pot of not-too-strong sake, and some side dishes and snacks, and they would sit here eating and chatting for half a day." Xu Qingye said.
Sake is actually the cheapest alcohol here.
Of course, most people who come to the tavern just buy wine to drink at home.
It’s just because the proprietress is kind and doesn’t look down on everyone just because they order the cheapest wine, so everyone always likes to gather here.
Xu Qingye’s words brought back Uncle Pan’s memories.
"Your Aunt Pan is meticulous in her work. When she was here, the tavern was cleaned inside and out. She also prepared all the food in the shop. She got up at dawn every day and refused to stop even when she was sick. She likes children, but we only have one daughter, so she also takes special care of the children in the academy. After a long time, the children also like her."
He shook his head. "It was only after she left that I realized there were so many things to do in the tavern. Her health was worn out by being with me all these years. If only I had been more considerate of her hard work and helped her more."
As Uncle Pan spoke, he felt grief-stricken and wanted to look for some wine again.
But he found that the wine jug he had drunk from before was already empty.
Seeing this, Song Yuntang said, "The dead cannot be resurrected. I hope Uncle Pan will not mourn. I think Aunt Pan's spirit in heaven would not want to see Uncle Pan give up on himself like this. Otherwise, wouldn't her hard work over the years be in vain?"
Uncle Pan turned his back to calm down, then looked back at the two of them.
"Originally, I didn't plan to rent out this wine shop. Even though I'm in a daze now, I can still make a few taels a month." He looked in the direction of Xu Qingye, "I only agreed to rent it out for Xu Qingye's sake. You can consider it. Don't worry. I won't rent it to anyone else for a while."
Song Yuntang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, Uncle Pan, give us half a day, we'll go back and discuss it, and give you a reply in the afternoon."
Uncle Pan nodded, "I'll be waiting for you at the tavern."
…
After Song Yuntang and Xu Qingye left, they went home and took two large sachets, two duck eggs and two chicken eggs, and led him directly out of Cile Town and walked towards the village.
"You haven't been to my farm yet, right?" Song Yuntang asked as they walked.
Xu Qingye hummed, "I haven't been there yet."
"I took in a mother and child the day before yesterday. The child had smallpox, which is contagious. Since you are well, I won't let you go into the yard with me. I will go in first to check the situation."
Xu Qingye nodded.
"Then you should be careful too."
"I will be fine. I have already taken preventive medicine. And the child has been ill for several days. If nothing unexpected happens, the scar should have formed by today. After the scar has formed, the infection will be less likely to spread."
Xu Qingye glanced in her direction.
"Uncle Pan's wine shop, what do you think?"
"I still have some silver in my hand, so I can rent it. The rent is 28 silver taels a year. Although that street has off-season and peak season, the business of the wine shop is not mainly aimed at scholars, so it should be no problem to make the money back."
As she spoke, she began to worry again.
"The main reason is that we don't have enough manpower right now. I originally wanted to open a small shop like Yujun Pavilion, but now for such a large wine shop, I have to arrange all the people properly before making a decision."
Xu Qingye nodded.
“There may be some competition from the nearby Feicui Xuan, and the pressure will be quite high then.”
Song Yuntang said as he walked, "It's actually not that bad. Jadeite Xuan mainly serves food, and we mainly serve drinks, cakes, desserts and snacks. If the guests need a big dish, we can directly order it from Jadeite Xuan. Maybe we can benefit from each other."
If she really decides to book the tavern, she wants to add an extra floor and put some private rooms on top, which the literati and scholars will probably like very much.
There was admiration in Xu Qingye's eyes.
"You're very thoughtful."
Song Yuntang smiled and continued, "Thinking and doing are two different things after all. I still have to complete these things one by one."
As they were talking, they had already arrived at the farm.
Chen Xier was coming back from the mountains with a basket. When she saw Song Yuntang, she hurriedly greeted him with a smile.
"Miss Song, you are here."
Song Yuntang hummed, "How is Fubao?"
"He's playing in the house. He's feeling much better after taking the medicine Miss Song prescribed. But I'm afraid he'll pass his illness on to others, so I haven't let him out yet."
Chen Xier hurried forward to open the gate and entered the yard first, keeping a distance of several steps from Song Yuntang and Xu Qingye, so that in case she was sick, she would not infect them.
"You two, please come in."
Song Yuntang turned around and looked at Xu Qingye, "Wait for me here."
Xu Qingye stood at the gate of the courtyard.
"good."
After Song Yuntang entered the yard, he first handed the two chicken eggs and two duck eggs in his hand to Chen Xier, "This is what I brought for Fubao to replenish his body."
Chen Xier looked at the eggs in her hands and was so moved that she was at a loss for words.
"Thank you Miss Song."
Song Yuntang waved his hand and walked towards the room where Fubao was.
Seeing this, Chen Xier hurriedly placed the eggs carefully in the basket and walked forward and shouted, "Fubao, your Aunt Song is here to see you."
Inside the house, Fubao was lying on the bed playing with a rabbit-shaped doll that Song Mazi had carved out of wood for him when he had some free time. Suddenly he heard a noise outside the house, so he quickly put the rabbit doll aside and sat up properly.
Looking at the acne scars on his face, Song Yuntang smiled and walked into the house.
"Fubao, you don't have to be so reserved in front of your aunt. Your aunt won't eat you."
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