Taking advantage of her free time, Qin Xiaozhou and Lu Yunfeng went to the county town. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing; she had to find a way to make money. After arriving in the county town, she wandered around for a morning, talking to this person and chatting with that person. In order to strike up a conversation, she even bought a piece of fine cotton cloth.
She ate lunch at a wonton stall, chatting with people as she ate. She sat there for a full hour, and she and Lu Yunfeng ate four bowls of wontons together. Qin Xiaozhou almost managed to get all the money out of the stall owner.
Lu Yunfeng walked around with her for several minutes, then asked, "Shall we go back?"
Qin Xiaozhou went to a pastry shop and bought red bean cake and mung bean cake. Each piece cost two coins, which was more expensive than an egg. She only bought two pieces. She ate them carefully and savored them slowly. They were very sweet, but the taste was just average.
There are only three pastry shops in the entire county, offering a limited variety of snacks with no innovation.
Qin Xiaozhou made up her mind, "I'll go to the brokerage."
A human trafficking den is a place where people are bought and sold. Lu Yunfeng looked at her in surprise, "What are you going there for?"
There are many women in the family; surely she wouldn't be trying to sell someone.
That won't do. His family has no tradition of buying and selling people, so it's absolutely unacceptable. "Our family doesn't buy and sell people, and my younger brother and sister can't be sold either."
Qin Xiaozhou was speechless and rolled her eyes. When they arrived at the brokerage, the brokerage owner, Qian Yazi, subtly sized them up several times because they were two unfamiliar faces. "Master and Madam, are you buying a maid or a laborer? We have both here."
Qin Xiaozhou explained his purpose, "I want to look at a shop, one that's on the street, so I can do some small business."
Qian Yazi was a man in his forties, rather short, neither fat nor thin. Standing in front of Qin Xiaozhou, he seemed less imposing. But then his eyes lit up. "Madam, do you want to buy or rent?"
Qin Xiaozhou just smiled and said, "Show me around first."
Lu Yunfeng followed behind, his mind in turmoil, but he didn't show it on his face. He remained silent, seemingly leaving everything to Qin Xiaozhou's discretion, but he was not uninvolved. He kept a close eye on Qian Yazi, as if he would rise up and beat him up at the slightest provocation.
Looking at the two of them and Qin Xiaozhou's calm and composed demeanor, Qian Yazi was undecided, but still earnestly led them to see the shop.
The first shop was in the county town market. The area was a mixed bag, but it had the advantage of a large flow of people, mostly from the countryside. The shop was small, just a tiny cubicle of about four or five square meters.
Qian Yazi smiled and said, "There are a lot of people here. If you want to do business, it's better to have more people around."
Qin Xiaozhou shook his head, "It would be best if there was a backyard."
Qian Yazi immediately understood. This was a wealthy household, but the clothes were made of coarse cloth, which did not seem to indicate wealth. However, Qin Xiaozhou had a radiant face and fair skin. Although her hair was wrapped up like a country woman's, she had a strong presence. She might be the housekeeper of some rich family, out looking after the shop for the mistress of the house.
So he led Qin Xiaozhou across the street to a new place.
This is a two-story building facing the street. Opening the door, there are sixteen tables and chairs and a counter on the first floor. It is clean and tidy. Going up the stairs on the left, there are six tables by the window on the second floor, and there are two private rooms on the left.
Qin Xiaozhou was satisfied, but remained silent throughout. He opened the window on the second floor. The street was called Xingshu Xingxiang because there was a private school at the end of the street with a large and strong apricot tree inside. In autumn, the tree's leaves covered the street.
However, it was just on the outskirts of the county town, and there weren't many people shopping. Opposite the shop was a clothing store, and next to it was a cosmetics store. Few villagers came here. But after a short while, Qin Xiaozhou saw a beautifully dressed woman enter the clothing store with her maid.
Qian Yazi explained, "This place is near Xingye Street, where wealthy families live. Madam, don't be fooled by the small number of people here; those who come here are all ladies and young women from wealthy families. The things sold here are quite expensive, and the house prices are also higher than elsewhere. But Madam, you can tell she's a wealthy person."
Qin Xiaozhou glanced at him with amusement; this guy really knew how to flatter.
Go downstairs and through the lobby, there's a fork in the road. To the left is the kitchen, and behind it leads directly to the backyard. In the yard, there's a well, and next to the well are three large houses facing east. Next to the houses is a kitchen and a storage room.
The large house was paved with bluestone slabs from the eaves, and the pillars looked half-new, indicating that it was not very long to build. The roof was covered with tiles. I went inside and saw that there were three large rooms. The middle one was for receiving guests, and the two rooms on the sides were for living.
Further back, behind the house, is an open space. To the north, there is a shed where horses and livestock can be kept. To the south, there is a back door leading to a narrow path, only about two meters wide. Next to the path is a river with boats passing by.
It was actually not far from the West Wharf.
This house is impressive, with good lighting and a quiet atmosphere. The back doors of the neighbors on both sides are also kept clean.
Qian Yazi explained, “If Madam has a boat, it will be convenient for her to go anywhere. She can just come out of the back door and board the boat. However, a small ferry crossing needs to be built on the riverbank. There are many rivers in the county town, and many wealthy families have their own boats and have built their own small ferry crossings. As long as it does not occupy the waterway and affect the passage of boats, it is all acceptable.”
It's really great; it's practically Qin Xiaozhou's dream lover's room.
Qian Yazi was anxious. The house was big and had a good style and layout, but it was a bit expensive. He had kept it for two years and had seen more than ten groups of people. But as soon as they heard the price, everyone backed down. If he left it there any longer, it would be a hassle to clean every month, and if no one lived there for a long time, it would inevitably fall into disrepair. If he couldn't sell it for a good price, he would lose money.
"This house was built only six years ago. It was originally built by a branch of a wealthy merchant family who came to the county to do business. Two years ago, there was a severe drought. They heard that his family had been attacked by bandits and that his clan had been wiped out, so they called him back to his family. That's why they are selling it."
Qin Xiaozhou gave Lu Yunfeng a wink.
Lu Yunfeng then asked Qian Yazi how much money he wanted.
Qian Yazi beamed, “Three hundred and sixty taels.”
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