Chapter 161: Lack Of Silver
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
While storms were brewing everywhere, Xiaoxiao was shopping in the county. It was the fifth of May, the Dragon Lantern Festival, and the county was filled with a festive atmosphere early in the morning. Before the digging of the canal started, her brother’s revision had to be balanced between work and rest. Xiaoxiao pulled ail her family members out to join in the fun.
The transaction with the Fragrance Restaurant had already ended. In order to prevent awkwardness, she did not meet Shopkeeper Xu today.
Although Ning Fengnian and Madam Song felt that it was a pity, they were already satisfied when they thought about their gains so far. The two of them did not take a single cent of the money used to sell seasonings and let Xiaoxiao keep them for herself.
When they arrived outside the Ruyi Clothing Shop together, they were shocked by the commotion at the door.
The ground was filled with fine red paper left behind by firecrackers. The dragons and lions dance teams had always been the most respected. However, today, the team almost lost their footing due to the guests at the door. It was really strange.
Seeing the confusion on her family’s faces, Xiaoxiao pulled them into the shop. Just as she entered, she heard several excited shouts. “I won, 1 won, I won!”
A big turntable beside the counter was quite eye-catching. The lady who had just finished paying the bill happily chose a handkerchief. She was so excited that she did not look like a rich lady.
As soon as this ended, a maidservant behind her hurriedly protected her young mistress and followed. The staff in charge of paying the bill asked with a smile, “May I ask if you’ll use it for the discount or the lucky draw?”
The young lady did not even think about it. “Of course, the lucky draw!” Did she lack that bit of money? How fun was a lucky draw! The grand prize was a custom-made screen!
At the other counter, the accountant was calculating. “Dear customer, you’ve spent a total of 90 copper coins. You can choose a free gift from 99 copper coins discount in our shop today. Do you need to add something to take away the five-colored threads or a dumpling?”
“Dear customer, you’ve chosen a total of four pieces of cloth. Our shop has a buy five get one free promotion today. If you buy six, one of them will be free. Do you want to add two more?”
Ning Fengnian and his wife looked around in surprise. The cloth shop’s server did not urge them or chase them away. He just stood at the side good-naturedly, waiting for the guests to introduce themselves if they needed anything.
Just this point alone made Xiaoxiao feel that Shopkeeper Liu’s manipulation skills were quite good. The staff training was very diligent.
Just by looking at the scene, Xiaoxiao knew that her little purse was going to bulge. Hence, she asked her brothers to accompany her parents to admire the screen that was personally embroidered by Madam Song in the shop. She entered the room with ease and found Shopkeeper Liu, who was happily checking the accounts. She was even caught and made a sponge cake.
“I heard about Miss He.” Shopkeeper Liu said as he ate the sponge cake, “The He Family is stupid. They’ll suffer when Boss comes back. Are you really not going to give Old Xu another chance?”
Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows at her. “Are you trying to persuade me on behalf of Shopkeeper Xu? As expected of a girl…”
Shopkeeper Liu almost threw the sponge cake at her.
Xiaoxiao said, “I have no objections to Shopkeeper Xu, and 1 won’t vent my anger on him. We can continue to cooperate in the future if there’s a chance. It’s just that 1 can’t wait for the snack shop to open.”
Shopkeeper Liu chided her. “Are you in such a hurry to open a shop? Do you need money to spend?”
Xiaoxiao didn’t hide it from her. “I want my brother to study.”
Studying was too expensive.
Moreover, if his family was not rich, not to mention his parents, even his brother would not be able to focus. For example, his brother almost wanted to register to dig the canal this time. It was not easy for her to stop him.
Although she did not agree with the philosophy of some jealous scholars that “nothing is better than studying”, she did not want her brother to hesitate even if he wanted to buy a pen in the future. Her brothers were the best brothers. They deserved the best.
Moreover, she felt that just by cooking at home, the space upgrade was really far away. She was anxious!
Although Shopkeeper Liu felt that it was a pity, he also expressed his understanding. “Sigh, it’s a pity that the shopkeepers of the Li Family’s shops have all signed the contract. I can’t interfere. I grit my teeth when I think about how I won’t have a share in your wealth in the future.”
Xiaoxiao rested her chin on her hand. “Are you so sure that I can earn money?”
Shopkeeper Liu rolled her eyes.
Xiaoxiao said, “Then remember to bring me my share as soon as possible. I’m waiting for the money to rent a shop.”
She was chased out by Shopkeeper Liu and lost half of the sponge cake. Xiaoxiao carried the basket and went out with her family to shop again. As she shopped, she paid attention to the shops that were waiting to be rented.
Initially, she had planned to cooperate with the Fragrance Restaurant, so she did not pay much attention to the shop rental. Later on, when she went to ask the people, she was not satisfied with just the introduction of the available shops. She decided to come out and try her luck.
Her parents were mesmerized by the dragon boat by the river. Xiaoxiao simply told them and ran elsewhere. Ning Fengnian and his wife were worried and got Ning Dalang to follow her.
Choosing a shop front was also a skill. If the location was too remote and there would be no customers. If the location was too prosperous, she could not afford to rent it. In the end, she was most satisfied with a bookstore outside Bowen Academy. This shop was good in every way, except that the original shopkeeper only wanted to sell it and not rent it out.
Ever since the academy was built, the surrounding shops had changed to selling pens, ink, paper, inkstones, and various books. However, this shopkeeper was actually not familiar with this aspect. He had just tried to follow the trend for a few days and did not earn any money. He kept losing money. After thinking for a few times, he decided to sell the shop.
It sounded like it was quite profitable to open a bookstore and sell pens and paper outside the Bowen Academy. However, when the shopkeeper hung up the sign, half of this street had already become his competitors. Other people’s positions were even better than his. From the looks of it, the price of buying a shop was not low, and they might not be able to earn money after buying it. That was something that needed to be considered.
When Xiaoxiao passed by the shop, she happened to see the shopkeeper sighing against the “Shop for Sale” sign. She pulled her brother in to pick a brush and started chatting with the shopkeeper.
During the conversation, she knew that the shopkeeper was in a bad year. He used to open a jewelry shop here, but the style was old and no one cared about it. He gritted his teeth and melted the gold and silver accessories to open a grain shop. In the end, he lost his capital due to the grains getting damp. Recently, he tried to change his profession to open a book shop, but because he sold a writing brush of weasel bristle as a writing brush made of brownish rabbit hair, a buyer came looking for him and he accidentally broke his foot.
His many experiences made anyone who heard them cry.
“I’ve finally figured it out. I might not have the talent in this aspect. Instead of forcing myself like a gambler, I might as well leave early and return to my hometown to farm with all my savings over the years.”
This shopkeeper was quite happy. He said with a smile, “Maybe 1 can even be a small landlord.”
Xiaoxiao chose a brush. When she was paying the bill, she saw the shopkeeper flipping through the booklet. Ning Dalang couldn’t help but remind him, “This is a goat hair brush.”
Only then did the shopkeeper come to a realization and take out the price. When Xiaoxiao took out the money, she casually asked, “Since you’re not familiar with the bookstore, why are you doing this business?”
The shopkeeper was straightforward. He sighed and told the truth, “Actually, it was my good friend who suggested it back then. I saw that the other shops were doing well, and my friend said that he would come to help. I was impulsive…”
Xiaoxiao looked around the shop and asked, “Then where is he?”
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