The county town wasn’t far from their town. Jiang Yan and her group arrived in the county town in about two hours. Compared to the town, the county was much larger and more bustling. Even though it was almost noon, there were still many people setting up stalls. There were also quite a few people coming and going, selling things. Jiang Yan and her group had lunch at the county’s Baiwei Zhai. With the token given by Ouyang Siyun, Jiang Yan’s group could eat there for less than others, and they even got extra dishes. Baiwei Zhai not only served meals but also provided accommodation. Jiang Yan, thinking they hadn’t found a shop yet, booked several rooms, put their things away, and rested for about two quarters of an hour. Then, Jiang Yan went out with Su Ping’an to look at shops. Most shops in the county were for rent, with very few for sale. Jiang Yan wanted to buy one, but none of the available ones caught her eye. After looking around, Jiang Yan took a fancy to a two-story shop that used to be a teahouse, with very elegant decor everywhere. The decoration was good. The location was decent. Naturally, the price wasn’t cheap either. Not only was the monthly rent eight taels of silver, but you had to lease it for three years at once. Jiang Yan wanted to bargain, but the owner said there was no room for negotiation as soon as she opened her mouth. Jiang Ling couldn’t bear to spend so much money each month for such a shop, so she gently tugged at Jiang Yan’s sleeve and whispered, “Sister, let’s go look at other shops.” Jiang Wan, holding her little sister, didn’t say anything. She always followed Jiang Yan’s decisions. Su Ping’an liked the shop but thought the price was a bit high, so he also suggested Jiang Yan look at other shops. Jiang Yan wanted to test the owner and left with them. But from the moment they walked away until they left, The owner didn’t say a word to keep them. After circling around without finding anything satisfactory, Jiang Yan decided to come back and rent this shop. When they returned to the shop, they happened to meet others looking at it as well. Jiang Yan stepped forward to inquire: “Boss, has your shop been rented out?” “Not yet…” The owner shook his head. Xie Li, who had just come to look at the shop, immediately said, “Who said it’s not rented out? We’ve already taken it, right, brother?” She winked at her brother. Xie Tong understood and said, “Yes, we’ve already taken it.” Jiang Yan ignored them, only looking at the owner. The owner thought for a moment and said, “Miss Jiang, do you want it too? Actually, you can have it if you want. Whoever bids the highest, I’ll rent it to them.” Seeing him raise the price, Jiang Ling angrily shouted, “How can you do this!” Before the owner could speak, Xie Li raised an eyebrow and said, “I think what the boss said makes sense, the highest bidder wins. We’ll offer nine taels of silver a month.” “Ten taels of silver!” Jiang Yan added one tael on top of her offer. Xie Li had initially thought Jiang Yan and her group, dressed not so extravagantly, wouldn’t compete. Being the uncompromising type, she certainly wouldn’t back down. Xie Li shouted loudly, “We’ll offer twelve taels of silver!” A sudden increase of four taels. The owner was overjoyed, looking at Jiang Yan and saying, “Miss Jiang, Miss Xie has offered twelve taels a month. If you don’t have a higher price, I’ll rent it to them.” Just as Jiang Ling was about to tell Jiang Yan to forget it, Jiang Yan calmly said, “I offer fifteen taels of silver.” Xie Li felt that Jiang Yan was challenging her, and she blurted out, “This shop is ours, don’t even think about it, we’ll offer eighteen taels of silver!” “Little sister!” Xie Tong couldn’t stop her in time. Jiang Yan smiled: “You two are really wealthy, this little lady isn’t your match. The shop is yours. Let’s go!” Xie Li snorted without looking at Jiang Yan. Xie Tong was nearly driven to death by his own sister.
…
As soon as they left that shop.
Jiang Ling started talking to Jiang Yan: “Sis, why did you bid when the owner was like that?!”
“Some people like to rent expensive shops, so of course, I have to fulfill their wishes.”
Jiang Yan blinked and said.
Jiang Ling instantly understood.
Jiang Wan frowned and said, “Sis, is this really okay? They might hold a grudge against us once they realize it. We raised the price so much in one go.”
Jiang Yan explained, “We didn’t raise the price alone, they bid themselves, didn’t they? Compromise isn’t my style. What’s there to fear? If they really cause trouble, we’ll just handle it.”
Now that their favorite shop was gone, which shop should they rent?
Su Ping’an thought for a moment and asked.
Jiang Yan replied, “Let’s look around more. If it doesn’t work out, we won’t open in the county town, we’ll go to the prefecture city.”
They wandered around for another half hour.
Jiang Yan reluctantly settled on a shop. This one was also two stories, but much less well-furnished, the location was not as good, and the size was similar. The only advantage was that it was cheaper, at six taels of silver per month, with the option to pay the rent annually.
Su Ping’an thought it was okay.
He said to Jiang Yan, “Da Ya, let’s rent this shop. We can redecorate if it’s not up to standard. As for the location, our shop in the town isn’t great either. But good wine needs no bush, right?”
“Exactly, sis, let’s rent this one. I saw the backyard, it’s quite big.”
Jiang Ling ran up and said.
She had already checked out the backyard.
“Alright, since you all think it’s okay, we’ll rent this one.”
Jiang Yan negotiated with the shop owner for a while longer and finally rented it for seventy taels of silver a year, which was two taels less than before.
Because she rented it for two years.
After renting the shop.
Jiang Yan thought about how to decorate it and had Su Ping’an find someone to handle it. Meanwhile, she and Jiang Ling started cleaning up, as the shop was quite dirty and messy, which she couldn’t stand.
Inside and outside the shop.
They repainted it.
It looked much newer.
Plus, Jiang Yan added some antique-style lanterns, created a rockery pond, and planted some beautiful flowers and plants, significantly elevating the shop’s ambiance compared to before.
Ten days later.
The shop was fully set up.
Only then did Jiang Yan go to buy people. She bought eight young men. Why buy people? Naturally, because it’s safer to have the skills in-house.
However, this number was not enough.
Jiang Yan had Su Ping’an recruit six more.
The backyard couldn’t accommodate so many people, so Jiang Yan rented a house nearby for them.
After ten days of training.
Jiang Yan had someone check the auspicious day for the opening. Their relatives in the county town couldn’t come easily, so she decided not to invite anyone for the opening.
On the day they opened, it was also the opening day for Tao Li’s shop.
Jiang Yan’s shop mainly sold noodles and snacks, along with drinks.
Tao Li’s shop mainly sold noodles and steamed buns.
Originally, they were far apart, not interfering with each other.
But Jiang Yan’s noodles were delicious, and the other items in their shop were tasty too, spreading their fame in the county town within days.
This led to many people from the town coming to their shop for food.
As a result.
Tao Li’s business, which had just started well, saw its customers drop by half.
Knowing they had gone to Jiang Yan’s shop.
Tao Li angrily said, “Brother, let’s go check out that Jiang’s Snack Shop. I want to see how good their food really is!” “You’re my brother, and you’re siding with them!”
Xie Libie felt quite bitter.
Xie Tong was indeed troubled by his sister: “If I weren’t your brother, I wouldn’t even bother speaking up. This incident isn’t her fault; think about what you’ve done before.”
