Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 149 If there is a shop...

Shen Yu had no choice but to say to Zhou Dalang with some regret: "The selling price of your shop is five or six hundred taels, which is a good deal. But I'll tell you the truth, I don't have that much money, so I really can't buy your shop."

The light of hope in Zhou Dalang's eyes suddenly dimmed. He looked at Shen Yu and walked out dejectedly.

After walking two steps, he seemed to have thought of something, and turned around and said, "Miss Shen, I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it. You can borrow money from the bank. You just need to pay some interest and you can borrow money."

He had an admiring look on his face: "I believe that with Miss Shen's cooking skills, you will definitely be able to make money. I have eaten your buns twice with my little Bao, and they are indeed delicious."

"A few days ago, when I visited my relative's house, I had the honor of eating a piece of the reunion cake made by your family with five nuts. The taste was much better than the reunion cake we make. If I had your ability, why would I need to sell my house?" Zhou Dalang thought about his situation and sighed again.

Shen Yu was reminded by Zhou Dalang, and hesitated for a moment and said, "How about this, let me think about it for a day, and you come to my house again at this time tomorrow, and we will get back to you if we can buy your store then."

When Zhou Dalang heard Shen Yu relax, he seemed to see the light of hope. He said frankly: "Miss Shen, I have been controlled by my parents and have never been the master of my own house. Therefore, I am not the material to open a shop."

"If it weren't for the money I have to pay for my crime, to be honest, I would not be willing to sell this shop. Think about it carefully and gather some money. I am willing to reduce the price to 580 taels, no, 560 taels will be enough. You will definitely not regret buying my shop. I will come to listen to your reply at this time tomorrow."

After Zhou Dalang finished saying this, he bowed to everyone and walked out while tidying up his clothes.

After closing the gate, the family sat around the table, and no one spoke for a while.

Shen Yu took the account book that Yutao had put aside and looked through it carefully. He quickly calculated the surplus of these days in his mind and figured out the net profit after settling the accounts with each store.

She sorted out her thoughts and said to Li: "Mother, if what Zhou Dalang said is true, we can't miss this opportunity and should buy this shop. Didn't he say five hundred and sixty taels in the end?

"The shops on the market street are hard to come by. When I was preparing to deliver food, I asked the boss about the prices of the shops here. A shop now costs about one thousand taels of silver, and there is no demand for it.

"If the owner of this shop doesn't plan to transfer it to a renter, you won't be able to buy it even if you have money. If we can really buy it this time, we will definitely make a profit. What do you think?"

Mrs. Li nodded in agreement and said, "You and mother are thinking alike. The weather is getting colder. It will start snowing in a month or two. By then, it won't be so easy for us to set up the stall. If you kids have to get up in the middle of the night in the snow and ice and push the cart to set up the stall, mother will feel heartbroken just thinking about it."

Li said this, looked at the account book that Shen Yu was still holding, and said, "Calculate how much money we have now. Otherwise, as Zhou Dalang said, we can go to the bank to borrow some money, add the money we have, and make up the money. Then we don't have to get up so early to make breakfast."

Shen Yu nodded and added: "And the location of his shop is pretty good. It's right at the end of the market street. It's the only way for merchants in the market to go to the city gate. Business should be good."

Jiang and Dun Dun felt that they were outsiders, so they didn't say anything and just listened quietly.

Yutao and Yucheng are young and don’t quite understand much of this.

Yu Cheng looked at his mother and sister who seemed to be very eager to buy a shop, and couldn't help but interrupt: "Mother, sister, if we buy a shop, can we make a lot of money?"

Before Li spoke, Shen Yu smiled and said, "Of course, a shop is completely different from a stall. If you open a restaurant, you can have customers dine in, cook some side dishes, and even sell wine. You will make more money then."

Yu Tao said with bright eyes: "Mom, if we have a shop, will we really not have to get up so early every day? In fact, when you wake me up at three o'clock every day, I want to sleep a little longer."

Li touched Yutao's hair with a distressed look on her face. "Yes, if we had a shop, we could sleep a little longer in the morning. When it snows and blows in the winter, we wouldn't have to worry about not being able to open the shop, nor would we have to pull a cart full of equipment to load and unload every day."

Jiang said, "Sister Li, I think you should go and find out if what Zhou Dalang said is true. Don't be fooled by him."

"After all, Mrs. Hu and Old Man Zhou got into trouble for this and were beaten with a stick. Are they willing to sell the shop to you? What if you borrow money from the bank and they refuse to sell it? Wouldn't you have to pay extra interest for nothing?"

Father, like son.

A word of advice awakened the dreamer. Li and Shen Yu's enthusiasm was dealt a heavy blow by Jiang, and they both calmed down.

Li and Shen Yu looked at each other, with relief in their eyes.

Li nodded and said, "Sister Jiang reminded me that I should go out and find out carefully whether what Zhou Dalang said is true."

Shen Yu also nodded and said, "Then after I deliver the lunch at noon, I will go to the bank to ask how much interest I have to pay for borrowing money."

After Shen Yu calculated the net profit of these days, he sighed and said, "After paying the bills to various shops, the net profit is a little over 193 taels. If I really want to buy this shop, I have to borrow a lot of money, at least 400 taels. After taking over the shop, I have to prepare at least 20 or 30 taels to buy some utensils and food."

Li was delighted at first, as she didn't expect that she could earn so much money from making small reunion cakes these days. It was much more than selling buns.

But when I thought about having to pay 560 taels of silver for the shop, I knew I would need to borrow a lot.

Borrowing four hundred taels of silver at once is no joke. It's just the interest, and you'll have to pay a lot more money every month.

When Li thought about this, her face couldn't help but fall.

Suddenly, Li's face lit up with joy, and she clapped her hands, "We don't need to borrow four hundred taels. The county magistrate said that Mrs. Hu would compensate us with one hundred and twenty taels of silver. This amount of money will be given to us in a few days, and it should also be included in the calculation."

Although Shen Yu felt that the money could not be considered his until he got it.

But the county magistrate said on the spot that he would pay compensation, so he shouldn’t default on his debt!