As soon as Jiang Yuwei entered the shop, she saw its simple layout. The shop wasn't very big, but fortunately, the doors and windows were large enough, and the inside was bright enough. The front of the shop connected to the back door, making it convenient to come and go.
Jiang Yuwei weighed the options in her mind: the size of the shop was far from enough for a snack stall, but it was perfect for selling paper. In addition, the shop was located right at the entrance of the North Street Academy, where there were many literati and scholars. It was indeed a good thing to have a paper shop on this street.
As Jiang Yuwei was looking back and forth, she saw a middle-aged man walk in from the backyard:
"Does this lady intend to take over my shop?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled and looked back at the man, slowly speaking:
"Are you the landlord of this shop? May I ask your name?"
The man nodded slightly:
“My surname is Cao, and everyone calls me Lao Cao. I am the owner of this shop.”
Jiang Yuwei smiled and said:
"That's perfect, you've come to the right person. I'd like to ask how much you'd like to sell this shop for?"
Old Cao glanced reluctantly at his shop and sighed.
"To be honest, this shop is my family's ancestral property. It's really my incompetence to sell it now. My wife is ill and I urgently need money. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in such a hurry to get rid of it. If you want to buy this shop, you have to pay the full amount at once. The shop, including the front and back yard, is 120 square meters and its market price is 300 taels of silver. But because I urgently need money, I'm willing to lower the price to 280 taels of silver."
After listening to this, Jiang Yuwei pondered for a moment and then smiled:
"Two hundred and eighty taels is not cheap. This price is a huge sum of money for an ordinary family. I need to think about it carefully. Would you mind taking me to the backyard to have a look?"
Old Cao nodded:
"Alright, please come with me."
Old Cao pushed open the back gate. The yard was paved with bluestone slabs, and there was a courtyard in the center. Further in was a small room, which would be good as a storeroom for storing paper. Although it was not big, it could fit a single bed.
Jiang Yuwei looked around before speaking:
"I have to pick up my son today, so it's inconvenient for me to stay any longer. The house is a bit too expensive, and I don't have that much cash on hand. I need to think it over carefully."
Seeing this, Lao Cao hurriedly said:
“The price is negotiable. If you really like my shop, we can discuss a suitable price. I think you have a kind face. If I sell this shop to you, I'm sure you can manage it better than I can. That way, I won't have let my ancestors down.”
Jiang Yuwei smiled:
"I understand. Buying a shop is a big deal. I need to go back and discuss it with my family."
Hearing Jiang Yuwei say this, Lao Cao could only nod helplessly:
"Okay, then you'd better hurry. My street-facing shop is in high demand. I've only had this notice up for a few days and already a lot of people have come to inquire about it. I still want to find a suitable person to sell it, which is why I've been waiting until now."
Jiang Yuwei nodded and said:
"Okay, I understand. I'll be going now."
After saying goodbye to Lao Cao, Jiang Yuwei went to the entrance of the academy and happened to run into Ning Zhao and Ning Chen coming out together. Just as Jiang Yuwei was about to go up and greet the two of them, she saw that Young Master Ge spit at Ning Zhao from behind with a disdainful look. When Granny Sun saw this, she quickly stepped forward to pull Young Master Ge away.
"Young Master Ge has a lot of phlegm?"
Jiang Yuwei stepped forward and looked coldly at Young Master Ge.
Young Master Ge hadn't seen Jiang Yuwei earlier, so he secretly spat at Ning Zhao. Now that Jiang Yuwei had discovered his little trick, he blushed and stood there silently.
Seeing this, Granny Sun quickly pulled Young Master Ge behind her, watching Jiang Yuwei warily:
"What are you trying to do now? Our young master is just a child, don't even think about hitting him!"
Jiang Yuwei sneered:
"I hit that brat!"
As Jiang Yuwei spoke, she raised her hand as if to slap Young Master Ge.
Seeing this, Granny Sun knew she couldn't beat her, so she quickly grabbed her young master and ran outside:
"Jiang Yuwei, don't be too smug. You'll regret it someday!"
Jiang Yuwei frowned slightly as she watched the two figures disappear quickly.
Seeing this, Ning Zhao stepped forward, tugged at Jiang Yuwei's sleeve, and said with a smile:
“Mother, ever since you came to the academy that day, no one in the academy has dared to cause me any trouble. Even Young Master Ge avoids me when he sees me. You don’t need to worry about me; they know I’m very good at fighting!”
Jiang Yuwei turned around, smiled, and patted Ning Zhao's head:
"Alright, I'm relieved that Ning Zhao can hit his mother. We're here to study, not to be bullied. If you don't like someone, just hit them back."
Ning Zhao smiled and nodded. Jiang Yuwei led the two onto the oxcart and then said to Ning Huaizhi:
"Huaizhi, let's go, let's go to the jewelry shop first."
Ning Huaizhi drove the oxcart to the jewelry shop. Jiang Yuwei got off the cart herself and bought four ounces of gold powder. She then asked Ning Huaizhi to drive the cart to the vegetable market before getting off with Ning Zhao and Ning Wan. The group went shopping before returning to the oxcart.
Ning Huaizhi drove the oxcart towards Ningjia Village. He first took Liu Shi home, then took Ning Qiu and Ning Chen to the village head's house, before heading to his own courtyard. When he arrived at the flower field where he had picked bouquets last time, many new wildflowers had bloomed, which looked very beautiful.
Jiang Yuwei thought that if she could take over that shop in the future, she could set up a decorative flower wall in front and sell fresh flowers. After all, these literati and artists have always liked to play with flowers and plants, and with a little arrangement, she would definitely be able to sell them for a good price.
As Jiang Yuwei thought about it, she called Ning Daya and the others to get off the bus and pick flowers together. The paper mill's flower and grass paper was selling quite well, and all the ones they had made before were sold out. There weren't many bouquets left at home, so since there were many people today, they might as well pick more to make dried flowers for later use.
Soon, everyone had picked three full baskets of flowers and went home. Back in the courtyard, they worked together to unload the things from the car. Jiang Yuwei instructed Ning Daya:
"Da Ya, go cook. There will be many people eating today, so cook more. I'll go check on the backyard first."
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei drove the oxcart towards the backyard, but she was startled when a dark figure suddenly jumped out in front of her as soon as she arrived:
"Ugh...what is that?!"
Seeing this, Ning Wu quickly stepped forward, pulled the dark object behind him, and said helplessly:
"Sister Yuwei, you're finally back! We can't handle this idiot. Look what he's done to our paper mill! I've been cleaning up the mess all day!"
Jiang Yuwei frowned as she looked at the messy paper mill and said helplessly:
"Are you sure this has been cleaned up?"
Ning Wu also turned and glanced back at the courtyard, then slowly spoke:
"It was even more chaotic before you came back. He even rolled around in the ashes and got paper mulberry bark everywhere. Luckily, my brother kept a close eye on him and didn't let him mess with the paper."
Jiang Yuwei was furious:
"Idiot! Come here right now!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com