The distance from Dongde Road to Beide Road is not very short, but Qiao Suiman could see along the way that there were indeed more people of all kinds on Beide Road. There were also many small stalls on the roadside selling fruits, snacks, and household utensils. It was like a small market.
Most passersby wore simple, ordinary clothes, unlike the well-dressed customers in the wine house. For some reason, Qiao Suiman felt more at home here.
The shops and houses in this area were numerous but not particularly spacious, though they were more than enough to accommodate three to five people. Since arriving, Qiao Suiman had been observing the nearby shops.
After walking for a while, he only spotted one shop selling drinks and a peddler carrying a shoulder pole with drinks for sale. That shop didn’t just sell fragrant drinks, but it also offered other foods like noodles and hot soups with a wide variety of options. However, business didn’t seem particularly good.
Still, Qiao Suiman felt somewhat reassured. At first glance, there was potential for business here. At the intersection, there was a general shop with some bamboo wares and chairs hanging inside, though the selection wasn’t extensive.
Qiao Suiman pulled Lu Dongqing’s sleeve and whispered in his ear, “I think we can do business here.”
Lu Dongqing nodded in agreement. He had also been observing the area and noticed that while the goods sold here were quite varied, the options were limited. There were no specialized bamboo craftsmen’s shops, leaving room for business, whether it was large bamboo beds and tables or small trinkets.
When they reached a noodle shop, Wu Sheng stopped and called inside, “Da-ge, Xiaoyao-ge!”
“Ay!”
A loud voice answered from inside the shop, “Is that Shengzi?”
“It’s me, Xiaoyao-ge.”
“Why are you here at this hour?”
Qin Xiaoyao wiped his hands on his robe and asked with a puzzled look on his face. When he saw Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing, he paused for a moment and said, “Hey, aren’t you the couple who sells drinks?”
He saw them both when he went to the East Market.
“It’s you,” Qiao Suiman said in surprise. “I remember. You came to the wine house to buy drinks that day, but they were sold out.”
“Right,” Qin Xiaoyao didn’t expect Qiao Suiman to still remember him, and he smiled, “What brings you here?”
“Xiaoyao-ge, didn’t you and Da-ge say the shop next door was up for sale? They happen to be looking to buy a shop, so I brought them along to take a look.”
Wu Sheng finally found a chance to speak, pointing to the closed shop next door as he explained to Qin Xiaoyao.
“Really?!” Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes lit up. “You’re really going to buy a shop?”
Qiao Suiman rubbed his hands together. “We’ll see. It depends on the price. We don’t have too much money on hand.”
After saying that, he smiled awkwardly.
“Ah, shops here aren’t that expensive.”
Qin Xiaoyao thought for a moment before adding, “The shopkeeper will probably come by later. If you don’t mind, you can come to my shop and sit for a while.”
Qiao Suiman quickly replied, “We don’t mind at all! Will we be disturbing your business?”
“It’s fine. There aren’t many customers right now, and I’ve got time to spare. Let me tell you, this shop is quite good. The shopkeeper has his eye on another shop elsewhere, so he’s eager to sell this one quickly.”
“Xiaoyao-ge, what did this shop originally sell?” Qiao Suiman followed Wu Sheng’s lead in addressing him.
“Ah, just call me Xiaoyao,” Qin Xiaoyao waved his hand. “It sold pastries. The pastry shopkeeper’s wife’s skills were excellent. They had too many customers for a small space, so they’re moving to a bigger shop in the East Market.”
“Alright, Xiaoyao. Then you can call me Xiao Man.”
Qiao Suiman sat down, his expression relaxed, and asked, “Are there rooms in the back of the shop?”
“Yes, two small rooms. The shopkeeper and his wife didn’t live there, though. There’s also a small kitchen with two stoves.”
Qin Xiaoyao answered everything in detail. “My husband and I also looked at that shop back then, but the kitchen was too small for him to work comfortably, so we bought this one instead.”
Hearing this, Qiao Suiman glanced around Qin Xiaoyao’s current shop. Aside from a counter for collecting money, the rest of the space was filled with tables and chairs. He counted eight large tables seating four people each, plus two long tables that could seat around twenty to thirty people.
A rich aroma of braised meat wafted from the kitchen. Qiao Suiman ate two steamed buns in the morning and walked quite a distance, so he was already a little hungry. As soon as he smelled the aroma, his stomach began to growl.
Qiao Suiman said shyly, “Xiaoyao, your business must be thriving. Just the smell alone makes me hungry.”
Qin Xiaoyao laughed heartily. “If you’re hungry, have a bowl. Once you finish eating, the shopkeeper next door will probably be here.”
Lu Dongqing looked at the wooden board hanging on the wall and said to Qiao Suiman, “Xiao Man, they have braised meat noodle soup, the one you like.”
Qiao Suiman’s eyes brightened, and he looked at Lu Dongqing expectantly. It had been a long time since he’d eaten out, and the smell was truly tempting.
Lu Dongqing could tell right away that he was hungry and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Qiao Suiman glared at him lightly, and he cleared his throat and turned to Qin Xiaoyao, saying, “One braised meat noodle soup and one bowl of wontons, please.”
“Alright! Alright!” Qin Xiaoyao cheerfully agreed, turning to the kitchen window to call out, “One braised meat noodle soup, one bowl of wontons!”
“Okay,” a man’s voice replied from inside.
“You can read?” Qin Xiaoyao returned to the store and said in surprise.
“I can’t, but he can,” Qiao Suiman replied honestly.
Talking with Qin Xiaoyao was comfortable, and Qiao Suiman answered every question openly. If the shop turned out to be good, having him as a neighbor would be nice.
“Xiaoyao-ge, I’m starving too. I want noodle soup,” Wu Sheng finally found a chance to speak up.
“Fine, fine, it’s not like I’d forget you. Your brother’s already making it.”
“Hehe,” Wu Sheng grinned foolishly.
“How many shops have you looked at before this?” Wu Sheng asked Lu Dongqing.
“Three. Two in the East Market. One was too expensive, the other too remote. There was also one near the town entrance, but the owner hasn’t decided whether to sell yet. Then there are the two we saw today.”
“The East Market is a mixed bag, so you’ve got to be careful. I remember someone bought a shop there, only to find out the seller was just a tenant trying to scam people. They ended up going to the county office. They got their money back, but it was still a headache.”
“There’s actually such a thing?!”
Qiao Suiman puffed up furiously. Buying a shop should be a happy occasion, but to be deceived and dragged into a yamen to dispute, isn’t this just making things difficult for others?
“Is the shop next door’s deed in the shopkeeper’s hands?” Lu Dongqing asked.
“Don’t worry about that,” Qin Xiaoyao said, patting his chest. “They bought the shop around the same time we did, so there’s no doubt about it. And when transferring the deed, you’ll have to go to the county office. Since you can read, you won’t be fooled. That poor victim couldn’t read and asked a fellow villager who could help. Unfortunately, that person colluded with the unscrupulous tenant, leading to the unfortunate incident.”
Lu Dongqing nodded. “Thank you for telling us.”
“No need for thanks! If you really do open a shop here, I’d be the happiest. That day at the wine house, I was just a little too late, and all the drinks were sold out. If you buy the shop next door, I can get a drink whenever I want!”
Since there weren’t many customers in the noodle shop at the moment, Qin Xiaoyao leaned closer to Qiao Suiman. “Xiao Man, your skills are truly unmatched. I’ve tried drinks from several places, and none can compare to yours.”
After saying that, he looked up and nodded toward the shop selling drinks and noodles diagonally across the street: “That shop saw that there were many shops selling drinks in the East Market, so they started selling some themselves. But what kind of stuff is that? They don’t put any sugar in them, so they’re sour and bitter, and they’re super expensive.”
Qiao Suiman followed his gaze to the shop he had noticed earlier. The place was nearly deserted, with fewer than half the customers of the noodle shop.
“Why haven’t they closed the shop yet? The food and drinks are not good. It’s such a waste of such a big store,” Wu Sheng said casually.
“They won’t last long. Even if their family has money, they can’t keep squandering it like this,” said Qin Xiaoyao indifferently.
Qiao Suiman instinctively sensed that these two shops were not getting along, but he didn’t say anything.
“Noodle soups are here!”
A tall, lean man carried three bowls of noodles on a wooden tray, setting them down on the table. It was the same man who had come to the wine house with Qin Xiaoyao that day. Qiao Suiman remembered that he went there early the next day to get a tube of drink.
“Huh?” The man looked at Lu Dongqing in surprise. “Who’s this?”
He didn’t seem to be the same man who had bought drinks with Qiao Suiman before.
“This is my husband. The one who came with me last time was my elder brother,” Qiao Suiman explained with a small smile.
“Oh, you look really strong. My name is Wu Qi. I won’t say much, just eat it while it’s hot.”
Wu Qi hurried back to the kitchen after a quick greeting.
“You could’ve just called me to carry it. No need for you to run back and forth,” Qin Xiaoyao said, though the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
“You were chatting happily, and there aren’t many customers right now anyway, so it’s fine.”
Qiao Suiman looked at the steaming bowl of noodle soup in front of him. The surface was topped with tender, slow-cooked minced meat, and the noodles were evenly thick with a generous portion. His mouth watered as he accepted the chopsticks Lu Dongqing handed him, and then lowered his head to start eating the noodles.
Lu Dongqing was in a good mood. The shopkeeper paid him for carving bamboo tubes earlier, which is six mace and forty wen. The six mace of silver were safely tucked in his pocket, and the remaining forty wen were more than enough to cover two bowls of noodles.
Still, the money he earned after several days of carving was less than what Qiao Suiman made in a single day. Lu Dongqing smiled to himself, thinking that perhaps he would have to rely on his fulang to support him.
When he said this to Qiao Suiman, he couldn’t help but chuckle, looking as if he were being very generous: “Fine, I’ll take care of you. You can be my servant and my husband at the same time.”
Thinking of this, Lu Dongqing’s eyes were filled with smiles. Seeing that Qiao Suiman was eating heartily, he also picked up his chopsticks.
The noodle soup was scalding hot, and Qiao Suiman blew on it before slurping the noodles. The chewy texture of the noodles paired perfectly with the tender braised meat, and the rich sauce bursting across his tongue. He devoured several mouthfuls before pausing to say, “It’s delicious, Xiaoyao. No wonder your shop’s so popular.”
“Haha, my husband trained under a cookhouse chef. If you like it, come by often!”
Qin Xiaoyao had gone to wipe down another table and called back to Qiao Suiman before turning to greet new customers.
It was mealtime, and the noodle shop grew increasingly crowded, with many customers bringing their families. The first thing they would say was “Shopkeeper, it’s the usual.” They were clearly all regular customers.
The long table was full, and there were people even waiting at the door. Qiao Suiman finished his last bite of noodles, while Lu Dongqing had already finished eating. The two got up to make room for the customers outside.
Lu Dongqing counted out twenty-five wen: fifteen for the braised meat noodle soup and ten wen for the wontons. The prices were marked on the wooden sign on the wall. Given the generous portions and excellent flavor, it was no surprise that the place have so many loyal customers.
Qin Xiaoyao accepted the coins cheerfully. “The shopkeeper next door is already here. I’m too busy to come, so I won’t be joining you.”
“Alright, thank you, Xiaoyao.” Qiao Suiman said with a smile.
Qin Xiaoyao waved his hands and went back to work.
Wu Sheng accompanied them to the pastry shop next door. He explained their purpose to the shopkeeper, then hurried off as he had some work to do at the wine house in the afternoon.
Logically speaking, Steward Fang only asked him to bring Qiao Suiman and the others to the teahouse, which shouldn’t have taken so long. However, it happened to be lunchtime, so Wu Sheng thought he would bring them here to have a look. After all, he was going to have lunch here anyway, so it was convenient for him. But now, he couldn’t waste any more time.
Lu Dongqing thanked Wu Sheng. The town’s roads were broad, and by following the main paths, they could find their way back. Besides, he remembered the route, so there’s no need to trouble anyone further.
The shopkeeper of the pastry shop, surnamed Hu, was just unlocking the wooden door. Qiao Suiman followed behind him. As the door swung open, the shop’s interior was revealed before them.
Since Shopkeeper Hu sold pastries, there were solid wood cabinets on both sides and in the middle of the shop, with each shelf draped with thin gauze. This allowed customers to see clearly what pastries were inside without getting dust on them.
On both sides of the walls hung paintings depicting various pastries, which were all vividly colored. Qiao Suiman immediately saw hawthorn cakes, red bean cakes, and sugar cakes.
The shop was quite wide on either side, though not as deep as the Wu Family Noodle House. However, after comparing, Qiao Suiman noted that the difference wasn’t too significant. The spaciousness would actually be convenient, allowing Lu Dongqing to display his bamboo crafts on the side.
“Shopkeeper Hu, I heard from Xiaoyao that your family bought your shops around the same time,” Qiao Suiman started the conversation.
“Ah, yes. That Wu Qi-xiaozi was bold. He bought his place without hesitation. My wife and I thought about it for a long time before we finally made the decision.”
Shopkeeper Hu chuckled and waved them inside. He narrowed his eyes slightly and exclaimed, “You two look familiar! Ah, weren’t you the ones selling drinks at the East Market?”
“That’s right.”
Qiao Suiman smiled, though truthfully, he didn’t recognize Shopkeeper Hu. With so many customers daily, he can only remember regulars who bought frequently, like Auntie Xu.
Shopkeeper Hu pointed at Lu Dongqing. “This tall fellow. I remember buying a lotus hairpin from you. My wife adored it. It was carved so lifelike, just like the real thing.”
When Qiao Suiman saw Lu Dongqing’s stunned look, he knew that he couldn’t remember it either. He lowered his head and smiled secretly.
“If you’re planning to turn this into a drink shop, it’s a good spot. Many people pass through here, whether they’re caravans heading north to Qiufeng County or just residents; they all come here to make a purchase. There’s a butcher shop in the alley ahead, and a couple of alleys over there have a lot of vegetable farmers. You can buy most of your daily necessities there.”
With that, Shopkeeper Hu lifted the cloth curtain connecting to the backyard and led them inside. Qiao Suiman followed behind Lu Dongqing. The backyard was much simpler in layout.
On the right were two small rooms, likely only half the size of their sleeping quarters at home. The kitchen, however, was larger than at home, but of course, it couldn’t compare to the noodle house or the Qiao family’s.
Lu Dongqing looked around. The open space in the middle would be enough for him to split bamboo strips and assemble bamboo beds. The empty corner on the left could be fitted with a straw awning for either eating or resting. Though small, it had everything it needed. He nodded and exchanged a glance with Qiao Suiman. Both of them seemed satisfied, but they weren’t sure about the price…
“Shopkeeper Hu, when do you plan to sell this shop? Have you found a buyer yet?” Lu Dongqing asked.
“Not yet.”
Shopkeeper Hu sighed. “To be honest, someone’s competing with us for the shop in East Market that we had our eye on. They’re trying to raise the price by ten taels of silver. The original owner had promised it to us, but couldn’t refuse the higher offer. We hoped to close by New Year and then open a new one, but now, we might have to continue operating here.”
Qiao Suiman’s heart sank with each word. Everyone has their struggles; small businesses have their own worries, and large businesses have theirs.
“What does that shop do originally? Why is it so popular?” Qiao Suiman asked curiously.
Shopkeeper Hu sighed, “A tavern isn’t usually in such high demand, but recently the son of the shopkeeper next door came first in the Yunlang Academy exam and suddenly became popular.”
Shopkeeper Hu was afraid they didn’t know about Yunlang Academy, so he explained, “Yunlang Academy is Shuiqing Town’s finest private academy after the official schools. If you can get first place there, you may even pass the imperial examination and become a juren![mfn]举人 – a successful candidate in the provincial imperial examinations, qualifying for appointment to government positions[/mfn]”
Qiao Suiman’s eyes widened. “A juren? That would make them a government official!”
“Exactly! Their family is well-off. What’s one more shop or one less to them? But some people took a fancy to their son’s reputation, insisting it was the shop of a family blessed by the God of Literature[mfn]文曲星 wénqūxīng (Star of Literature) – In Chinese mythology, Wenchang Wang (文昌王) or the God of Literature is a deity who oversees scholarly achievements and imperial examinations.[/mfn], and fought tooth and nail to snatch it away.”
Shopkeeper Hu grew increasingly anxious as he spoke. He’d been fretting over this for the past half month. The shop was truly good, and they could afford the original price with a little effort. They nearly finalized the deed transfer when this obstacle appeared. Anyone would be frustrated.
But if he continued to run this shop, he would always feel a sense of regret. After working so hard for so many years, he had finally taken a step forward. He and his family were full of anticipation. Not for vanity’s sake, but simply because a larger shop meant greater earnings, and with that, a smoother path for their children in years to come.”
Shopkeeper Hu exhaled deeply, “I can’t make any promises right now. Come back on the twenty-fifth, and I’ll give you an answer. We’ve used this shop for many years, but we’ve always maintained it well. I’m not lying. If we really sell it, it will be for fifty-five taels.”
Fifty-five taels!
Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing looked at each other. That is a huge sum of money!
Lu Dongqing pondered for a moment, then raised his eyes and said in a deep voice, “Shopkeeper Hu, you said the son of the shopkeeper in the East Market is studying at Yunlang Academy. Do you know his name? I know a teacher there, and maybe I can help you find a connection.”
“Really?!”
Hope flashed in Shopkeeper Hu’s eyes, “That shopkeeper’s surname is Yuan. I heard him mention his son’s name was Yuan Shan’an. Yes, that’s the name!”
“Alright. Shopkeeper Hu, if this really works out, I hope you can leave the shop to us. As for the price…”
To put it bluntly, Lu Dongqing felt that the shop was good, but it was definitely not worth fifty-five taels of silver. He suspected that Shopkeeper Hu wanted to add ten tael to buy the shop in the East Market, and that extra ten tael would naturally fall on them.
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