Chapter 67 Chapter 67 Change your name and send it alone...
Lin Qiuran was curious about how the deal was reached, but there were guests on the first floor, so she couldn't put down the stove and go over to ask.
She glanced again. Shopkeeper Shi was unsteady on his feet, and Zhao Guangcai helped him up. Shopkeeper Shi waved his hands and spoke vaguely, "Brother Zhao, you have to stay for a while. I'm afraid I can't speak straight..."
Zhao Guangcai: "I'm not in a hurry, please sit for a while."
Lin Qiuran could not hear the two people's voices in the kitchen. She only saw Zhao Guangcai supporting Manager Shi. She found an empty clay pot and cooked a pot of honey and ginger soup.
After cooking, Lin Qiuran asked Lu Fan to deliver it.
Finally, the restaurant was busy until closing time. Lin Qiuran served the unsold dishes, found a table by the side, and sat down with a group of people, eating and talking.
Shopkeeper Shi drank a few glasses today. He was the one who kept him company while Zhao Guangcai was in charge of mediating. Shopkeeper Shi was the only one who kept company with several people and was now drunk and unconscious.
Lin Qiuran asked, "Brother Zhao, how did you come to this conclusion?"
Zhao Guangcai, who had also had a few drinks, said, "Mr. Chen only comes back to Yu'an twice a year, and he has more than one shop next door. The one next door is insignificant to him, so he's willing to sell it. It's worth over a hundred taels, anyway. If we can sell it successfully for a good price, we'll earn more than the rent we collect every six months."
The rent next door is six taels for half a year, which is much cheaper than the normal rent here. Old man Chen wants to be convenient, so he comes to hand over the pillow.
Zhao Guangcai finished his meal and had a glass of honey water in front of him. He drank while saying, "Besides, Mr. Chen is old, so it's not convenient for him to come back in the past two years."
He looked to be in his fifties. I heard from the teahouse owner that he once forgot to collect the rent for the teahouse, and his family was worried. This time, Mr. Chen's grandson also came back with him.
The owner of the teahouse had a good impression of the Xiao family restaurant. Ever since the decoration interrupted him to deliver something, Lin Qiuran also sent things during festivals and holidays, and he also spoke up for him.
Lin Qiuran nodded. "I see. Then what's the price?"
Lin Qiuran was more concerned about this, and was naturally happy when the deal was done, but since she was paying the money, she had to ask about the price.
Zhao Guangcai smiled complacently, "One hundred and thirty taels."
Lin Qiuran's eyes lit up, "It's lower than I thought."
She thought she would get 140 taels, and even considered 145 taels as acceptable. Lin Qiuran had previously asked Zhao Guangcai, and the shop next door listed at the Yahang for 130 taels, and if she had time to bargain, she could get 30 or 50 taels, but the final selling price depended on whether the owner wanted to sell or the customer wanted to buy.
Old Master Chen is not in Yu'an and only comes back once every six months. Even if he comes back, he can only stay for a few days. It is definitely impossible to persuade him, and he doesn't have that much time. Lin Qiuran wanted to buy it, so she thought she would have to pay more.
Zhao Guangcai smiled and said, "I have told the teahouse owner that you should start a business in partnership with the Xu family."
Of course, Zhao Guangcai had no idea what business he was in, and no one would ask. He wasn't lying. Xu Yuanheng often came here, and even came to celebrate Lin Qiuran's son's full moon. The teahouse owner had probably told Old Man Chen about this, so it couldn't be faked. The Xu family was a well-known family in Yu'an, and they would give some respect to their name.
Zhao Guangcai mentioned Xiao Xun, but he didn't mention it on his own initiative. Instead, he said, "Old man, please be kind. Her husband is not here, so she has to take care of her parents-in-law with a child. She relies on her skills to run a small business. She wants to buy a shop, but she needs to scrape together the money, which is not easy."
Mr. Chen was not in Yu'an and did not know what was going on here. "Where is her husband?"
Zhao Guangcai said: "In the Xuzhou military camp, he seems to be a deputy captain now."
After hearing this, Mr. Chen chuckled twice, "...It's not easy, and I don't go back to Yu'an often, so I've sold it."
Mr. Chen was very satisfied with the delicious food and wine and quickly agreed on the price.
Zhao Guangcai and Lin Qiuran said, "We have reached an agreement today, but to avoid any further complications, it would be better to raise the money and buy the shop as soon as possible."
Verbal agreements are not always binding, what if the other party suddenly changes their mind?
He didn't say today that Lin Qiuran was the owner of this restaurant. It was not a big deal anyway. Zhao Guangcai had never seen anyone selling a house and asking about the buyer.
Lin Qiuran smiled and said, "Thank you so much, Brother Zhao, for today. I'll bring a generous gift and come to express my gratitude someday."
Zhao Guangcai waved his hand and said no, "It's just a small matter."
Lin Qiuran has always taken good care of his business. If the shop expands, he will definitely need to recruit people, so he will have to find them from him.
Although he won't be paid if the shop is sold, he still has a meal with Lin Qiuran today. Lin Qiuran's cooking skills are impeccable. The deal was made today, and it was also because Mr. Chen was happy with the meal.
Besides, regardless of the future, the two families have a good relationship now, so he should help.
Lin Qiuran didn't take this seriously. Zhao Guangcai was being polite, so she couldn't really be rude. She would bring some things over to see her sister-in-law, and the children would be happy too.
Zhao Guangcai said: "Okay, there's nothing else to do, I'll go back first."
After saying this, Zhao Guangcai stood up.
Lin Qiuran said, "I'll let Lu Fan take you there."
Zhao Guangcai said, "I'm fine. Old Shi is drunk. Let him take him back."
Manager Shi was drunk at the moment, and after drinking a glass of honey water, he lay down in the rocking chair.
Lin Qiuran nodded, and after Zhao Guangcai left, he said to Lu Fan, "Send the shopkeeper home. We don't need you here anymore. After you're done, you can go home too."
Lu Fan asked: "What about you and Lin Dong?"
Xiao Dashi was away these past few days, so Lu Fan sent the two of them back home. Lin Qiuran said, "We're two grown men, what can we do? There are a lot of people on the road, so don't worry."
Wan Niang had gone home a long time ago. Lin Qiuran and Lin Dong cleaned the kitchen and lobby. After Aunt Liu washed the dishes, they closed the door and went home.
On the way, Lin Dong asked, "Madam, are we going to buy the place next door and expand the restaurant?"
She heard a few words while eating, but didn't quite understand.
Lin Qiuran said, "It shouldn't be called expanding the restaurant. It should be considered as having a large restaurant at home."
It is two stories high and has a large shop. The teahouse can accommodate more than a dozen tables on the first floor and five or six rooms on the second floor. It would be a bit unfair to call it a restaurant.
Lin Dong smiled. She felt she had contributed to this inexplicably. She still practiced knife skills every day, never slacking off. But after a moment of joy, her heart sank. She asked, "Wouldn't that mean I'd be too busy again?"
Lin Dong only knows how to cook a few dishes, and is far from being as good as Lin Qiuran.
Lin Qiuran said, "No rush. We just bought it now and need to decorate it."
The decoration of the teahouse is completely different from that of the restaurant. It has to be completely demolished and rebuilt, and both the first and second floors need to be renovated. The first floor of the restaurant is too simple, so Lin Qiuran also plans to take the opportunity to renovate it.
It would probably take more than a month, during which time they would recruit people and have them learn how to do things, just like Lin Dong did, starting with the simple things. It would be great to have two shops in one place, so Lin Qiuran could keep an eye on how things were going on in one shop, otherwise it would be easy to ruin the reputation.
Lin Qiuran suddenly thought of Wan Niang. She had been working in the restaurant for more than four months. She could handle serving the dishes today and had a gentle personality. Wan Niang was better at cutting vegetables than Lin Dong. It would definitely be more convenient to teach her than hiring someone to learn from scratch.
Now he can trust it, but Lin Qiuran still doesn't dare to gamble.
Besides, Wanniang might not be happy about it. Cutting vegetables and preparing food is relatively easy work now. Yingjie is still so young. If she is busier, she will have no time to take care of the child.
The scene of Shopkeeper Shi passed out drunk on the recliner appeared in Lin Qiuran's mind again. Shopkeeper Shi really helped a lot this time, as well as last time. Both times were related to the development of the restaurant.
His current monthly salary is one tael and five cents. Even if it increases to two or three taels, Lin Qiuran still thinks it is too little.
They are all human beings and have to support their families. Manager Shi is just a salary earner. How could Lin Qiuran accept his hard work for the restaurant with peace of mind?
Lin Qiuran wanted to give some commission to Manager Shi, but he could still get the monthly salary. If he gave a smaller commission, there would still be room for growth in the future.
It should be more than the monthly salary increase. Furthermore, if he really took dividends, the more money the shop made, the more money he would get. Once both sides started business, Lin Qiuran would have to cook every day in such a large place, so Manager Shi would have to keep an eye on it.
Others also work hard, and if they do well in the future, their wages will increase.
The two of them talked as they walked and soon arrived home.
Tangyuan didn't sleep today. He seemed to know that Lin Qiuran would come back at this time. Sometimes, even though he was very sleepy, he still stayed awake and waited for Lin Qiuran to come back. He would not sleep until Lin Qiuran came back. If Madam Xu of the Sun family tried to coax him to sleep, he would cry.
Tangyuan doesn't like to cry, but when he cries, his tears fall like beads, his eyes and nose turn red and twitch, and the two of them can't do anything but not force him to sleep.
I stopped crying but kept yawning.
Lin Qiuran came back late today, so Tangyuan started crying again. When Lin Qiuran came in, his nose was still twitching.
Lin Qiuran was also very tired today. He cooked an extra table of dishes and took a lot of thought to prepare them. However, when he saw Tangyuan reaching out to him, he forgot his worries for the moment.
She smelled of cooking smoke and was afraid of bothering him, so she didn't hold him. But Tangyuan kept humming in the crib, so Lin Qiuran picked him up.
Sun asked, "Why did you come back so late today? Tangyuan must have been very worried."
With Madam Xu present, Lin Qiuran didn't know what to say, so he just said, "Something's going on at the restaurant."
Sun asked, "What's the matter? Is it urgent?"
Lin Qiuran smiled and shook her head, "Mom, don't worry, it's not a big deal."
She held Tangyuan and coaxed him for a while, and he fell asleep. His eyes were closed, and tears were still hanging on his eyelashes, looking very adorable. Lin Qiuran took a handkerchief and wiped him, then held him for a while. Seeing that he was asleep, she kissed Tangyuan's face and put him on the crib, covering him with the quilt.
Lin Xia saw that Lin Qiuran and Sun came out together in the first half of the night.
Seeing Lin Qiuran's tired face, Sun asked, "You must be tired today. What's wrong?"
Lin Qiuran said, "There used to be a teahouse next door, but it's closed down. The owner agreed to sell it, but he hasn't paid yet. I asked Brother Zhao to come over today to discuss this. Mom, you stay home and look through the warehouse and pick out some things. I'll pick them up sometime."
Sun nodded, "Is the money enough?"
Sun Shi didn't understand business matters, nor did she offer advice. She just listened to Lin Qiuran. It was because of Lin Qiuran's advice that the family was able to grow bigger and bigger, their business was booming, and their lives were getting more prosperous. If she and Xiao Dashi offered advice, they would most likely end up making things worse.
Lin Qiuran smiled and nodded, "That's enough."
There were 130 taels of silver at home, and she still had more than 200 taels. Although they were kept separately, they could be used together when necessary.
Sun nodded. "That's fine. Didn't you say you wanted to take a shower this morning? I boiled two pots of hot water."
Now Sun and Lin Xia only had to cook for Madam Xu and watch over the glutinous rice balls, to prevent the child from being stolen. The work was light, and when she had free time during the day, Sun also made clothes for the family. It was spring, and the family still wore old clothes.
Occasionally, she also felt that Lin Qiuran was not well-dressed when she went out to work every day, and her old clothes did not match the jewelry she wore.
Then there were Lin Dong and Lin Xia. They had grown taller and couldn't fit into their old clothes anymore. Lin Dong's sleeves were too short. Sun had also made clothes for Xiao Xun, but she didn't know when he would be back. When he wasn't home, Sun always felt she owed Lin Qiuran something.
"I guess we need to hire more people," Lin Qiuran said, noting that it was getting late. "Mom, I'm going to take a shower first."
Lin Qiuran made the room warmer so she could change the water and pour it herself. She had to wash Lin Dong as well, and the food the cook cooked had to be clean, otherwise the guests wouldn't feel safe eating it.
After taking a shower, Lin Qiuran wrung out his hair and took out the money.
The shop cost 130 taels (approximately $130). Since the deal was negotiated directly with the owner, there was no need to pay intermediaries. Including taxes, the total came to 131 taels (approximately $130). Old Man Chen was responsible for sorting out the rental paperwork with the teahouse owner, which involved taking possession of the property, assessing damages, and returning the deposit to avoid future disputes.
One hundred and thirty taels was just the beginning. The decoration would cost another thirty taels. At least two cooks would cost twenty taels. We had to hire two servants, one would be enough. Shopkeeper Shi said Xiao Zhao next door was good, so he'd use him for now. But we also had to hire a dishwasher; there was so much work that Aunt Liu couldn't do it all.
Lin Qiuran wrote these down on a piece of paper and planned to check the shop tomorrow so that he could make the arrangements after buying them.
Zhao Guangcai helped to the end and came the next day. He took Manager Shi to see the shop. There was no big problem. The teahouse was elegant. Customers who came here would leave after drinking. The room was nice.
Mr. Chen also knew today that the buyer was the owner of the restaurant next door, but he didn't say anything.
After finishing what needed to be done, Lin Qiuran also looked over the documents and signed his name after confirming that they were correct.
With Wang Zhubu around, things were done quickly. He congratulated Lin Qiuran. He remembered that the Xiao family bought land before the New Year, and bought a shop so soon. It seemed that the business was really good.
Wang Zhubu changed the subject and said, "By the way, is Madam Lin free in the near future?"
Lin Qiuran said, "What's the matter?"
Wang Zhubu said, "Isn't it spring planting time? People from above are coming to inspect. I'm worried about this. Madam Lin, do you have any ideas?"
The imperial court values agriculture and sericulture, and the superiors come every year. Lord Zhao is honest and doesn't care what he eats, but he certainly thinks it's better to eat comfortably. But he just doesn't want to go out to eat. Wang Zhubu is thinking about the last time Lin Qiuran came to the post station and did a good job.
But they had met Xiao Xun, and Xiao Xun held an official position, so it was not appropriate to ask his wife to come to the post station to cook.
Lin Qiuran was in a dilemma. The restaurant was too busy, unless it happened to be decorated, but that was probably going to be difficult. She wasn't as desperate for money as before, so four coins a day was indeed a bit too little.
Besides, someone had already booked a table, and it was already the beginning of the month, so Lin Qiuran really couldn't spare the time.
But considering the future, Tangyuan may go to the state capital to study when he grows up, so some connections are better than no connections at all.
Lin Qiuran didn't say anything final. She said, "I don't have much free time, but I can help think of a solution."
Wang Zhubu: "That's really great."
He thought that although Xiao Xun was no longer with Yu An, Lin Qiuran had a good personality and that he could get his wife to spend more time with him. However, since the initial disagreement hadn't been pleasant, he wasn't sure if it would work out.
Lin Qiuran and Manager Shi returned to the restaurant. The teahouse owner went with them and picked up the things that had not been moved.
Time was urgent, so Lin Qiuran checked the room. She wouldn't start decorating it tomorrow, so she could just move in slowly.
The teahouse owner didn't pay any compensation. Old Master Chen directly returned the deposit, thanks to Lin Qiuran. He was very happy and said cheerfully, "Madam Lin, the teahouse still has some unsold tea. Would you like to take a look?"
Lin Qiuran said, "Shopkeeper, go and take a look."
Shopkeeper Shi understood what Lin Qiuran meant. If it was suitable, he would buy it. Restaurants also needed tea anyway.
Shopkeeper Shi went over to take a look and bought some Longjing and Tieguanyin tea at a low price.
The teahouse owner also gave him some broken tea, but he didn't ask for money. After all, Lin Qiuran helped him sell it, so he didn't lose too much money. He planned to go south to do some other business, so he didn't want to mess around with the teahouse anymore.
Shopkeeper Shi sincerely congratulated him on his prosperous business and big profits, and said, "Good luck on your journey."
The two of them went out in the morning, and Lin Qiuran went straight to work when he returned to the shop. Wan Niang and Lin Dong had almost prepared the vegetables, and Lin Qiuran started pickling what needed to be pickled.
After a while, Manager Shi brought the tea over.
Lin Qiuran took one look, then another, "So many?"
Shopkeeper Shi said, "It's only twenty taels of silver, and it's all good tea. He's going to do business elsewhere, and it's too much trouble to sell it piecemeal, so he's giving it to us at a discount. This bag of broken tea is a gift, and I don't want to charge for it."
Lin Qiuran saw that there were quite a few broken tea leaves, so she said, "The broken tea is for the guests on the first floor. It's free. Anyone who wants can take some back."
If there is so much left over that the old tea will not taste good.
Lin Qiuran took some Longjing tea and planned to add Longjing shrimp to the menu of the light table on the second floor. If there were more river shrimps, he would also add them on the first floor.
This dish is first flavored with lard, then brewed tea leaves are added. The tea leaves should not be brewed for too long. The shrimps are crispy and tender, with a light tea aroma. This dish is light and refreshing, and tastes very good when paired with Longjing tea.
Sometimes when you eat too much braised pork, you can have a bite of this and it will feel light and refreshing.
Let a few people try it today. If they like it, I'll put it on the menu.
Shopkeeper Shi took a bite and said, "It has a unique flavor."
Lin Qiuran was worried that people here wouldn't like it, but as long as they liked it, that was fine. While eating, she told a few people about buying the place next door. They were happy and a little excited, but Shopkeeper Shi just smiled and kept his composure. He had known about it for a long time, so there was nothing to get excited about now.
Soon, Shopkeeper Shi heard Lin Qiuran say again, "We need to renovate that place. We need to hire some people, so we might be busy for a while. Shopkeeper Shi has been a great help this time, running around non-stop, so I want to give him a share of the shop's profits, but it's not much, just a percentage to start with."
Shopkeeper Shi was completely stunned. Lu Fan pulled him aside and he coughed twice. "Madam Lin, is this... is this serious?"
Manager Shi checked the accounts and knew exactly how much money the restaurant had made.
Being a shopkeeper is like this. You have tens or hundreds of taels of silver in your hands, but all you have is your wages. You have seen a lot of the world, but you are still poor.
The restaurant's monthly profit was several dozen taels, and every penny he took was several qian. He remembered some months when he made more, sixty or seventy taels, which was six or seven qian. Adding his wages, he had over two taels of silver.
He is in his thirties and has worked for more than ten years, changing jobs in many places, but he has never seen any boss willing to give him a share of the shop's profits.
Lin Qiuran nodded. "You've worked hard for the restaurant, this is what you deserve."
Lin Qiuran looked at the others again, "If anyone makes a great contribution to the restaurant in the future, they can also get a share."
Wan Niang and Lu Fan's eyes were filled with eagerness. One of them earned eight cents a month, and the other earned five cents a month. This was after the salary increase. If they could also get a share, their lives would be very different.
Lu Fan was very envious. It was he who discovered that the teahouse had moved away, but he hadn't thought about it at the time. If he had thought about it, he might have been the one who got a raise.
Lin Dong didn't expect to get a share of the profits; she was happy just to save some money. She earned two cents a month, which was less than what others made, but she had bought it after all, and she had spent money on it.
Shopkeeper Shi suppressed his laughter and tried his best to consider the restaurant from now on. He actually thought of something, "Madam Lin, if we expand the business, wouldn't it be a bit stingy to still call it the Xiao Family Restaurant?"
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