As the family passed through the village, they encountered several villagers who were going to work in the fields. They noticed that Cheng Yue wasn't carrying a table and chairs as usual, and they didn't know what was wrong.
But a family was sitting in the oxcart, including Chen An, and everyone immediately understood.
They must have made some money to take Chen An to see a doctor about his leg. After asking a few questions with concern, the villagers went about their own business.
When she reached the village entrance, she saw Zhao standing there again. Cheng Yue rolled her eyes, too lazy to pay attention to her, and raised the reins to leave.
Seeing that the whole family was ignoring her, Zhao said sarcastically, "It's a waste of money to even look at it!"
She had just overheard the villagers' discussion. The second son really was going to get his leg checked. If it could be cured, wouldn't the division of the family have been for nothing?
Cheng Yue, that little slut, has a stubborn temper. She's become skilled and can make money. If the second brother's legs get better, won't they be going to fly to the sky?
Then she remembered what the villagers said about her being unlucky, and the more she thought about it, the more resentful she felt.
Chen An was in a good mood, but upon hearing this, his face darkened immediately. "Whether it costs money or not, I'll trouble Mother to do so!"
His mother always favored his older brother, who was good at sweet-talking and making his mother happy, so it was understandable that he was not well-liked.
But he really couldn't understand why his mother didn't want him to be happy at all.
Even the villagers would ask him a few questions out of concern. And his mother? She seemed afraid he was doing too well.
"You ungrateful wretch!" Zhao said before going inside; she was deliberately trying to annoy people.
It's their fault for making money but not giving it to me as a filial son. Not only that, they even cheated me out of my money.
The whole family toils in the fields for a living; they don't care about spending so much money!
Chen An pursed his lips and remained silent. Seeing this, the three children also stopped smiling. Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit tense, Cheng Yue didn't know how to comfort them.
A family should support each other, but often they become the ones who least want you to be well.
If you are capable, he will be jealous; if you are down on your luck, he will kick you when you're down. As long as you have even the slightest good point, he will always be at the forefront of making things difficult for you.
People resent those who have things and laugh at those who don't; this is especially true with those closest to them.
After a moment of silence, Chen An understood somewhat. His mother was just upset that they had separated from the family and made money, but she hadn't benefited from it.
They just focus on living their own lives; what his mother says or what others say doesn't really matter at all.
Chen An let out a sigh of relief. Ah Yue was considerate, and the child was sensible. He was much luckier than his mother.
The oxcart swayed and wobbled along, and an hour later it arrived at the city gate. To enter the city, one had to pay an entrance fee of two copper coins per person.
Two copper coins could buy three catties of sweet potato flour, so it's no wonder that most villagers never went to the city in their entire lives.
If I weren't able to earn money myself, I probably wouldn't be willing to give it up.
The family was questioned and paid ten coins before being allowed to pass.
The three siblings, Chen Lin and his sister, kept their heads down and dared not look around. Once inside the city, they said nervously, "The check just now was so scary, I didn't even dare to breathe."
Chen An smiled and said, "Strict security is a good thing. Although the world is peaceful now, we still have to guard against bad people sneaking in."
He didn't dare to go into details about fugitive criminals and child traffickers, lest he frighten the children.
Cheng Yue understood. She would have to keep an eye on the three children for a while. They had never been to the county town before, and everything was new and exciting to them. There was no guarantee that they wouldn't get distracted by the sights.
Once inside the city, you reach the main street, lined with shops on both sides, bustling with people, and filled with the shouts of vendors—it's incredibly lively.
The three children stared wide-eyed, overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the food and toys they had never seen before. The street seemed endless, leaving them dazzled.
Cheng Yue smiled and said, "Let's go look at the shop first, and then go to the clinic to have your father's leg checked. After we're done, I'll take you around."
"Great!" the three children exclaimed in unison, beaming with joy.
Cheng Yue remembered the address, asked around, and went straight to the shop.
Guangyun County has two main streets, namely Liyi Street and Yuanren Street. The shop is located at the intersection of the two streets, which is the area with the highest customer traffic.
Moreover, there were food-related shops on both sides and opposite. Cheng Yue glanced at them and saw two wine shops, as well as several eateries and pastry shops.
Mrs. Chen will definitely buy it. The location is excellent, and being right next to so many restaurants will create a clustering effect.
Just like a clothing store, if you want to do good business, you must open in a clothing market where there is more foot traffic and more targeted customers.
Cheng Yue finally understood why such a small shop could be worth 1,200 taels of silver.
It's all about the location, isn't it? Buying a house really comes down to location; it's always been the same.
The shop was open. Just as Cheng Yue and her companions arrived at the door in their oxcart, a round-faced young man in his teens came out, beaming, and asked, "Excuse me, are you Madam Cheng?"
Cheng Yue didn't know who this person was, but seeing that he meant no harm, she nodded and said, "That's right."
Seeing that he hadn't mistaken the person, the young man introduced himself with a smile, "I'm a servant from the Chen family. Madam specifically asked me to come and wait for you."
"Madam Cheng, please come in and have a seat. I'll take the oxcart to the backyard."
Cheng Yue thought that Madam Chen probably had something to say, so she didn't ask any more questions. The group helped Chen An into the house and sat down, and then let the servant pull the oxcart to the backyard.
Chen An exclaimed in surprise, "This shop doesn't look very big, but it actually has a backyard."
The children didn't know the shop's prices, but Chen An certainly did. When he first saw the shop, he was secretly astonished, thinking the prices were outrageous.
Now that the servant has told me there's a courtyard, I immediately feel it's worth the price.
Cheng Yue hadn't expected there to be a courtyard either. "Let's go take a look in a bit."
"Are we dreaming?" Chen Lin and his two siblings looked the shop up and down, and said in a daze.
As they were talking, a servant came in through the back door and said, "Madam Cheng, Madam asked me to ask if there are any changes to the arrangement? Do you need any craftsmen? If you don't know any, Madam can arrange it."
Cheng Yue looked around. The shop didn't look big from the outside, but once inside, it was actually quite large, probably over 50 square meters.
The demand for dine-in braised food needs to be small, so you still need to set up a window for convenient takeout. About seven or eight square meters should be enough.
If we only sell braised food, then the space in the main dining area would be somewhat wasted.
This location is extremely valuable; it would be best to partition off another room so that we could have afternoon tea with desserts and drinks.
This would save her the trouble of buying a separate shop to make pastries. However, Master Chen said he was worried she wouldn't be able to handle it, so the contract only covered braised food, not pastries. She would have to find time to talk to Madam Chen about this.
Cheng Yue had a plan in mind and said, "There are indeed many things that need to be changed, and I don't know any craftsmen, so let Madam Chen make the arrangements directly."
There's one more thing I'd like to ask you to pass on to Madam Chen. She says she'd like to start a pastry business at the shop, but she's unsure about the profit-sharing arrangement.
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