The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 517 - 506: The Shop

Chapter 517: Chapter 506: The Shop

Manbao was certainly not short of money now, with the eggs from the manor selling well, the chickens profitable, and the winter wheat along with the spring and autumn harvests.

Not to mention the profits from rice and beans, just the sale of wheat seeds to County Magistrate Yang and Old Master Bai this year had earned their small farm quite a bit.

And all this money was evenly split among the three of them, with only the undividable portion thrown into the common fund for purchasing goods for the manor.

The funds were piled up in the system, a pity indeed, for 120 taels of silver were too heavy, and copper coins even more so, leaving her with no reason to carry them around, otherwise, she could have bought it on the spot.

However, Manbao had been meticulous and questioned him, "The County Governmental Office is already closed now, you must give me the property deed, and you must also write the contract documents properly."

Shi Xiaoen hadn’t expected her to know this, and after freezing for a moment, he laughed and said, "Rest assured, I, Shi Xiaoen, won’t cheat you."

Leaning against the door frame, he slightly turned his body and asked, "Do you want to go in and take a look?"

This shop wasn’t the same one Manbao saw the last time, she peeked inside and happily agreed.

Zhou Liulang and the others naturally followed with great enthusiasm.

The previous buyer, still standing by the door frame, was quite annoyed and after hesitating for a while followed Shi Xiaoen, frustratingly saying, "One hundred and fifty taels, I’ll buy it!"

Shi Xiaoen paused, his brows furrowed, and after a moment of silence, he said, "I’m not selling anymore, I’ve already agreed to sell it to someone else, I, Shi Xiaoen, do not renege on my word."

Manbao turned around curiously to look at him.

After seeing the previous buyer storm off, she continued to turn back to look at the shop.

The shop was quite spacious, with just a few scattered tables and chairs inside, and to the side, a rather large wooden rack, the purpose of which was unclear.

Manbao searched through her memories carefully and asked, "I remember this used to sell fabrics, right?"

Shi Xiaoen led them to the second floor and said, "It was for ready-made clothes, this shop alone supported six embroideresses, and our family’s silk and satins are well-known in the city."

He pointed to the several small compartments separated on the second floor and said, "These are for receiving distinguished guests, where female customers selecting designs can rest here. What are you planning to do with the shop if you buy it?"

Shi Xiaoen said, "If you don’t need it, tear it down yourself, I won’t take responsibility for demolishing it."

Zhou Liulang touched the wooden partition with his hand and exclaimed, "Why tear down such good little rooms, they could be cleaned up for us to live in."

Shi Xiaoen looked at him with disdain and casually pointed to the backyard, "Usually, the people keeping the shop live in the back, but it’s narrow back there. If you plan to live there yourselves, it probably won’t work, you’ll have to buy another house."

Then they went to look at the narrow backyard.

Seeing the bamboo in the backyard, Manbao exclaimed in wonder, "This is small?"

The yard wasn’t as big as their home’s, but there was no problem bouncing and jumping around in it, with two bundles of firewood in the corner of the wall and a kitchen next to it. There were also three other rooms lined up with the kitchen.

One room was particularly small, containing only a bed. And another was quite large but empty, with nothing in it.

Shi Xiaoen said, "This used to be a storage room for fabrics, with shelves inside that have since been moved out."

Not just Manbao, even Zhou Liulang, who was initially reluctant, was enchanted and asked while touching the wood staircase in the shop, "Brother Shi, you’re really selling such a good shop just like that?"

Bai Shanbao also said, "Good shops are hard to come by, and few people sell family properties. Located on a good stretch of road, even if you don’t do business, renting it out could make money, so why sell?"

Shi Xiaoen sat down on the stairs with a plop and leaned up, only lifting his chin as he asked Manbao, "Are you still buying?"

"I’ll buy it," Manbao sat down beside him, tilting her head and asked him, "Brother Shi, you haven’t lost at gambling again, have you?"

At this juncture, Shi Xiaoen didn’t speak.

Manbao sighed deeply and said no more.

Zhou Liulang also frowned and said, "Manbao, let’s go home. We should tell our parents about this, shouldn’t we?"

Manbao nodded and agreed to meet Shi Xiaoen here early the next morning for the transaction.

After wandering around like this, everyone felt less full and decided to stop by the nearby pastry shop to buy some snacks, munching while they walked home.

Daji followed silently, and it was only after they had left the city gate that Daji hailed a bullock cart.

Indeed, the vehicle they had used to come into the city today was their small farm’s own bullock cart.

Ms. Liu did not quite agree with their going into the city to eat, so she was reluctant to arrange a carriage for them. The kids, too, complained about spending too much time in horse carriages and readily switched to their own farm’s bullock cart.

When Daji drove the horse carriage, he didn’t whip the horses much, letting them walk slowly, and when it came to the bullock cart, he was even less inclined to whip. He quite simply sat on the shaft with his eyes half-closed, swaying as if he was asleep.

The bullock cart moved back leisurely. Bai Shanbao then asked Manbao, "Why do you do business with a gambler? The books say, ’All gamblers are not to be trusted.’"

Manbao nodded, "Gamblers are not to be trusted, but for now, Shi Xiaoen is still trustworthy."

Zhou Liulang nodded as well, "Eldest Master Shi is quite reputable in the market, very principled. If he said he would sell to us, he will not cheat us."

"But one must always guard against the fickleness of the human heart," Bai Shanbao didn’t trust a gambler very much and said, "Let’s first go back and ask our uncle, get everything clear about the procedures for trading shops. Afterwards, we should also inform Lord Yang, to avoid any disputes in the future that might disadvantage you."

Manbao nodded, "It’s strange, how come no one is stopping Eldest Master Shi from selling the shop this time? What about all his servants?"

"I have seldom entered the city recently, Brother Si might know about this."

Before they could get the news from Zhou SiLang, he heard from them first about their intention to buy a shop, and was shocked for a moment, hurriedly asking, "Is he only selling one? Or many?"

Manbao: "We just saw one being sold."

"Oh dear, just because you didn’t see doesn’t mean he isn’t selling. You should have asked more," he said.

Manbao replied, "I’m only buying one, why ask so much?"

"Are you daft? If his family’s shop properties are well-located and not expensive, our family can also buy them," he said.

"Dad manages the money, not you," Manbao said, "It doesn’t matter what you say."

Zhou SiLang then pondered for a moment and said, "I’ll go talk to Dad about it."

"What?" Old Zhou was so surprised he almost knocked his tobacco pipe against Zhou SiLang’s head and demanded, "Manbao wants to buy a shop, and now you want to buy one too?"

"Dad, it’s not that I also want to buy, but our family should buy," he said. "You forgot what I told you last year, all that money sitting at home is not doing any good, we might as well use it to buy a shop..."

"Forget it," Old Zhou cut him off, saying, "Who says it’s no use? Do you know how much money went just for Datou and the others’ schooling this year?"