Chapter 188: Looking at the Shop and Hiring People
Walking out of the alley where the new house is located and turning a corner, you will reach the bustling Cross Street.
This place is at the end of a long cross street. It is not as crowded as the central area, but it is still a busy scene with people coming and going.
Rongzhen found the shop that was already under her name according to the address on the deed.
It is located between two food shops. The storefronts are uniformly two meters wide, and the depth is unknown because the shops are currently closed.
Rongzhen stood not far away and took a few glances. She did not immediately go over to open the door to check. Instead, she went to the shop selling sweet water on the left and asked for a bowl of mung bean water. While drinking, she tried to get close to the woman selling water and asked about the business of the shop next door.
According to the water-selling woman, her shop was previously owned by Mr. Liu, the same Mr. Liu who had just moved his family to the county town.
Before leaving, his family disposed of some of the town's properties, including this shop.
Before it became vacant, the Liu family used it to sell dried goods, cured meat, and pork offal, which was also related to food, but they didn't use fire.
After listening to this while drinking the mung bean water, Rongzhen ordered an extra bamboo tube of mung bean water, intending to take it back for his adopted brother who stayed in the yard to look after the house.
The water seller's brows lit up, and as if seeing through her intentions, she inquired, "Are you inquiring about renting this shop? What kind of business do you plan to run? This place is close to residential houses, and most of the people here are dealing in water."
Rong Zhen ignored the fact that the shop already belonged to her and replied, "You've seen that we do have this plan. The details will depend on the situation, but one thing is certain: we don't plan to sell incense or food."
If possible, she wanted to open a grocery store, which would not conflict with their business.
The water seller immediately felt relieved.
Rongzhen put the sealed bamboo tube into the basket and went to the pancake shop on the right to buy a stack of pancakes. During the trip, she also asked the pancake owner about the situation.
The pancake seller revealed more information than the water seller because she bought more pancakes.
Apart from the fact that the shop was a bit greasy because the Liu family sold some meat products there, it had not been involved in any grudges or murder lawsuits, so it could be used for business without any worries.
Rongzhen felt relieved and took advantage of the time when the customers on both sides were busy to quietly go forward, open the shop door, and slip in to check the situation inside.
The area is about 10 square meters, with a circle of counters on three sides. Behind the counters are three floor-to-ceiling shelves and just enough space for one person to turn around.
There is a small door with a curtain next to the shelf facing the shop door, through which you can reach the backyard.
The backyard is even smaller, about five or six square meters. There is a round well on one side and some baskets, dustpans and other miscellaneous items on the other side. There is basically no place to step.
There is a gap between the small door and the backyard, with a ladder placed at an angle that can lead to the second floor.
The second floor is relatively low and has small windows. It is filled with rows of shelves and looks like a warehouse for storing goods.
In fact, many people use it as their residence, which is convenient for watching over the shop and also saves some rental costs.
Of course, this applies to shop owners who have no place to live.
Rongzhen doesn't have to suffer this. From now on, she can look after the shop during the day and go home for food and sleep at night.
Thanks to Brother Dahuang for his generous gift, otherwise, with the little money she earned by pretending to be a corpse collector, she might not be able to buy this property.
After checking everything upstairs, downstairs, and in the backyard, she had a clear idea of what was going on. She went downstairs and opened the door. Facing the surprised looks from the shopkeepers on both sides, she smiled slightly and said, "This shop will be taken over by my family from now on. If there is anything wrong, please correct me and forgive me."
The water seller said without surprise, "I told you that you wanted to rent it, but I didn't expect you to act so quickly."
The pancake owner asked curiously, "Where are your family members? Why do they let a little girl like you come out to make a living?"
Rongzhen replied in unison: "Good shops are hard to come by. If you don't act quickly, you'll miss out. With my brother and I at home, there are two mouths to feed."
The pancake seller stopped talking and was busy giving money and pancakes to the customers.
When the water-selling woman learned that Rongzhen was planning to open a grocery store, she told her where to find a cleaner to clean the store, otherwise it would be greasy and smelly, which might contaminate the goods put in for sale.
Through her introduction, Rongzhen hired three people to clean up the shop. While they were busy, she went to the pawnshop to find money to hire a cook and a maid to do laundry and cleaning.
Her requirements are not high, it is easy to find candidates, and the price is relatively affordable.
After all, this is a town, not a county or a provincial capital, and the consumption level is still very low. As long as you don't squander it, five thousand taels can last for a very long time.
Even so, Rongzhen didn't want to be taken advantage of by those who were stupid and rich, so she compared prices from three companies and conducted a careful investigation before deciding on the final candidate.
The cook chosen was an older sister-in-law who could cook home-cooked meals. Her surname was Bai, she was a clean person, and lived in a more remote area of the residential area where Rongzhen lived. Because she didn't want to stay at home all day arguing with her sister-in-law and make things difficult for her husband and brothers, she came out to find a job to make a living and didn't ask for high wages.
Rongzhen promised her three meals a day, but she couldn't take them home or eat with the host family. So she couldn't wait to start working.
Since it is hiring, not buying, both parties choose each other.
Rong Zhen took a fancy to her and she was willing, so the contract was signed under the witness of the brokerage firm.
In addition to Mrs. Bai, Rongzhen also took a fancy to an old woman named Xu who had half white hair but nimble hands and feet to be the housekeeper.
But she came from the countryside outside the town and had no place to live in the town, so she had to live in her employer's home or rent a house elsewhere.
As for why she still had to work to make a living at such an old age, she didn't say anything and Rongzhen didn't ask.
Mrs. Xu is a quiet person who doesn't talk much and seems to be a quiet person who doesn't gossip. If it weren't for the fact that she had no place to live, Rong Zhen would definitely have chosen her.
Mrs. Xu probably saw her hesitation and opened her mouth to argue for herself, "Young lady, if you are willing to hire me, just lend me some rent money first, and then deduct it from the monthly salary."
She wanted this job and didn't want to go back and be scolded and bullied, and be despised by everyone in the village.
The matter of borrowing money to rent a house was written into the employment contract, which made Mrs. Xu very grateful to Rongzhen.
The people were chosen and the contract was signed. Rongzhen paid the tea fee to the brokerage firm and led the two back, explaining their respective responsibilities to them on the way.
Mrs. Bai is responsible for three meals a day and cleaning the kitchen, while Mrs. Xu is responsible for sweeping the yard and washing clothes. Both of them can eat at the host's house, but they cannot stay overnight.
Afterwards, Rong Zhen concluded, "I hope you will fulfill your duties conscientiously and keep your mouth shut. Don't criticize the host family with outsiders, and don't gossip about others. If you do well, you will receive extra benefits during festivals."
The two of them nodded in agreement, "Don't worry, we won't say anything else. Just keep your mouth shut."
The two followed Rong Zhen all the way back to the shop at the end of the street. The trio had already cleaned it up thoroughly, and their actions were extremely quick.
Rongzhen was very satisfied. In addition to the agreed wages, she also gave each person an extra reward of ten copper coins so that the two people behind her could see that they did a good job and it was a real reward.
When Mrs. Bai and Mrs. Xu saw it, their eyes lit up.
Rongzhen closed the shop door and continued to take them to the street to buy some rice, flour, fruits, vegetables, braised food, and then went home.
"Are you back?" Jingshu looked more energetic than before she left. He came to the front yard to wait for her, as if he had something to say.
Rongzhen briefly introduced the two newly hired maids and let them meet the eldest young master of the family.
"Miss Song" and "Master Song" are the respectful names they use to address Rongzhen and Jingshu.
On the way back, Rongzhen saw a wood shop and ordered a doorplate from the carpenter with the words "Song's House" written on it. After it was finished, she took it back and hung it up.
She did not hide these little things from her roommate Jingshu, and told him about them one by one at the dinner table.
The meal was prepared by Mrs. Bai as a trial. She mainly stir-fried two plates of seasonal vegetables, boiled a pot of winter melon and egg drop soup, heated up the cooked food that Rongzhen bought, and served some sliced fresh fruits. Paired with the still-warm pancakes, it was a complete meal.
Although Jingshu was detoxifying, he had no taboos on food.
He eats whatever Rongzhen eats.
After the meal, Mrs. Bai brought two bowls of mung bean water to relieve the greasiness, and then she went back to the kitchen to have dinner with Mrs. Xu.
What they ate was not much different from what Rong Zhen and the others ate, except that it was not as rich as theirs, and most of the food was leftover scraps from cooking. This alone made them very happy and they felt that they had made the right decision.
After drinking the tea and rinsing his mouth, Rongzhen looked at Jingshu, who had remained silent the entire time, wanting to see how long he could hold on.
Jingshu looked up, puzzled: "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Rongzhen leaned on the high table beside her, resting her chin on one hand and asked, "Did you come to talk to me about something when I just came back?"
It's been a long time since then. Just say what you want to say. It's not like him to hesitate.
Jingshu paused, took a sip of tea and gave an answer that surprised Rongzhen.
He forgot.
Rongzhen: …………
Forgot? Could it be that the poison in his body not only weakened his body, but also affected his brain?
No, no, I have to ask Doctor Liu to check him out immediately. Otherwise, if he really becomes a fool by accident, he will be in her hands.
Rongzhen just wants a temporary brother who can help her as a commoner, but she doesn't want to really raise a stupid brother at home.
So she immediately grabbed Jingshu's sleeve and pulled him to find Doctor Liu.
Jing Shu advised, "I'm fine for now. I'm afraid Divine Doctor Liu is just as busy setting up his shop as you are. It's best if we don't bother him for the next two days."
Rongzhen: "Do you believe this?"
Who is Doctor Liu? How could he care about these trivial matters? He would just throw them to his apprentice or Sect Master Huang to deal with them, and he would wish he could just throw them away and bury himself in the pile of poison.
Jingshu was unable to refute this, and was eventually dragged by Rongzhen to find Doctor Liu, who was still busy in Master Huang's five-story mansion studying poisonous flowers and plants.
As Rong Zhen expected, he threw all the matters of the house and the shop to Patriarch Huang, and Patriarch Huang handed them over to his subordinates. Like Yuanque, he assisted Doctor Liu and was always by his side.
Rong Zhen greeted him and said that she was sorry to come and visit him. She wanted to ask Doctor Liu to take another look at Jingshu's brain. He suspected that he had memory loss and wondered if the toxins in his body had worsened.
"Oh? Is this true?" Doctor Liu became nervous as soon as he heard the word 'poison'.
He asked Jingshu to come forward and feel his pulse, and finally concluded: "Well, it's caused by emotional fluctuations. I advise you not to have any more thoughts until the poison is eliminated."
Master Huang suddenly looked at Rong Zhen with a look of great pity.
Rong Zhen pursed her twitching lips, pretending to be lost and forbearing, and said firmly: "It's okay, I told you before, we can be brother and sister."
This would explain why, even though she had no worries, she still claimed to the outside world that they were brother and sister.
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