Harem Daily Life

Chapter 1072 Buying a Shop

"This...business is so good?" Tao Yanyan glanced at Hua Yurong. In the months she was away, could it be that Hua Yurong had launched some kind of promotional policy?

Hua Yuerong was also completely baffled and looked at Mingyue beside her. Mingyue said, "With spring in full bloom, flower-viewing banquets are being held one after another. As a result, the ladies' and young ladies' desire to spend has been stimulated. The jewelry with the twenty-four flower patterns that Your Majesty drew is selling the best. Everyone wants to buy something to match the occasion and dress their daughters up in style to attend the banquet."

Tao Yanyan's lips twitched. That day, having nothing to do, she painted a picture of a hundred flowers, and then selected twenty-four of them, improved them, and painted them into various jewelry, such as hairpins, earrings, and necklaces. They were indeed beautiful and pleasing to the eye.

"This flower-viewing banquet is also a matchmaking banquet. I used to run a fabric business, and every month I would buy the most fashionable fabrics to make new clothes for the noble ladies who attended the flower-viewing banquet. The fabrics sold very well."

As they spoke, the group squeezed into the shop, only to find that the shop assistants were all serving other customers and no one was attending to them.

Mingyue was the manager, and Manager Zhou spotted her immediately. Then, looking at the two people beside her, his face instantly became respectful.

He didn't know Empress Tao or Princess Jin, but since they were brought by Steward Mingyue, they were first-class distinguished guests.

"Our shop is full today and a bit crowded. If you two don't mind, please rest in the backyard. If you'd like to see any jewelry, I'll have someone bring it to the backyard."

Tao Yanyan smiled and said, "It's alright, we'll just look around here. Shopkeeper, you can go about your business. There's no need to entertain us."

Manager Zhou glanced at Mingyue, received an approving look, and then respectfully left.

“Mother, this hairpin costs a hundred taels. Let’s not buy it. There’s no need to buy something so expensive just to save face.”

A mother and daughter were arguing over a hairpin next to Tao Yanyan. She couldn't help but look up and saw a pretty little girl with a face full of anger and a rather coquettish expression.

Su Xing tried to persuade her mother that this hundred taels was her mother's savings accumulated over many years, and it was not worth spending it on a hairpin.

Her mother waved her hand away: "We've pleaded and begged, and we've only managed to get your second uncle to allow you to attend one flower-viewing banquet. If you don't seize this opportunity, how will you gain a foothold in the social circles of the capital? Let alone a hairpin worth a hundred taels, we'll give you a thousand taels to buy it for you."

Su Xing couldn't refuse, so she sighed and looked at her mother with a heavy heart as she spent one hundred taels of silver to buy her a gold hairpin.

"Actually, I had no chance at all, so why are you so persistent?" Su Xing was a little angry, and the hairpin in her hand was burning hot.

“A woman’s future depends entirely on marriage. You are good in every way, so why don’t you fight for it? My Xing’er is like a star in the sky. If I had the ability, I would have sent you to the top long ago. It’s my fault for not giving you confidence.”

Seeing her mother become upset, Su Xing softened her tone: "It's my fault for reminding you of those unpleasant things. But... even if Second Uncle allows me to attend the flower viewing banquet, my cousin won't let me stand out. My aunt has bought her a whole set of brand-new jewelry and made several beautiful outfits. I only have this one gold hairpin, so I'm afraid no one will pay attention to me. How about this, after the flower viewing banquet, I'll sell this hairpin to get some money. It's better for you to keep more money on hand, Mother."

Su's mother glanced at her and said, "Take what I bought for you. What kind of daughter is this age and still doesn't know how to dress up? Your father died early. If he were still alive, you wouldn't have had to live with me and suffer so much."

Su Xing smiled understandingly: "With Mother here, how can it be hard? Alright, now that we've bought it, let's go back early. I haven't finished copying my books or finishing my paintings yet."

Su's mother sighed: "In the end, it's because I'm useless that you have to earn a penny by copying books and painting for others."

It turned out to be a mother and daughter from a poor family who had spent all their money on jewelry for the flower viewing banquet. Tao Yanyan withdrew her gaze and didn't take it to heart.

Seeing that the shop was packed with people, Tao Yanyan and Hua Yuerong left first to go and see the shop they wanted to buy that day.

The shop is on the other side of the street. It's a fairly large restaurant, two stories high, and has been open for about five or six years. It's still about 70-80% new. Tao Yanyan had previously asked Hua Yurong to look for suitable shops for restaurants in the capital, as she wanted to buy one to turn into a food court.

Upon seeing the shop, Tao Yanyan raised an eyebrow and said, "It's somewhat similar to what I imagined."

The brokers opened the door for them. Below was a large open-plan area with windows at both the front and back, the back window facing another street. Tao Yanyan thought that if they divided it into smaller rooms, each offering a local specialty, it should attract many people to try the snacks. The snacks could be taken away, and wouldn't take up any dining space in the shop, which was exceptionally good.

The second floor has private rooms on both sides, with a passageway in the middle. They also have windows at the front and back, so there is plenty of natural light.

"This place will be converted into a rest area in the future. People can buy things downstairs, bring them up to eat, and set up a few fruit and tea stalls. Business should be good."

Although Hua Yuerong couldn't imagine whether the fruit tea shop would do well if it were located on the second floor, she kept the Empress's words in mind and planned to include it during the renovation and decoration process.

The group then went to check out the kitchen, which was surprisingly large, complete with all the necessary stoves, just like a large restaurant.

"It seems this business owner was doing quite well before, why did they suddenly stop?" Tao Yanyan asked.

The broker, seeing the lady's air of nobility, dared not hide anything and told her the truth: "The previous owner passed away, leaving behind his wife and daughter. They are now living with their husband's family. They said they were unable to manage the business, so they closed down and decided to sell them off."

"Is the property right of this shop clear? I don't want any inheritance issues to come up and make a mess of things." Hua Yurong didn't want to cause any trouble, so she asked. Tao Yanyan gave her an appreciative look. This daughter-in-law was indeed smart and shrewd and wouldn't be fooled.

The broker quickly said, "We only dared to take over the sale after verifying all the property deeds. It's in the name of the owner, and has no relation to any of his siblings. The shop was also sold by the owner's wife, and a written agreement was drawn up." Fearing they wouldn't believe him, the broker immediately produced the agreement, which read: "Mrs. Su is selling a shop on behalf of her deceased husband... Price: 3,600 taels, commission: 50 taels."

Hua Yuerong smiled and said, "You're making a quick buck by taking a fifty-tael commission on this deal."

The broker, somewhat nervously, said, "A client like you is a rare find. If we let her sell on her own, we don't know where she'll find such a distinguished customer. Our brokerage takes a commission of fifty taels, which is the only amount we set because the products are so hard to sell. If you two feel the price needs to be negotiated further, just tell me the number, and I'll try to negotiate it for you."

Hua Yurong glanced at Tao Yanyan, listening to her thoughts.

Tao Yanyan estimated that such a large shop would only cost 3,600 taels of silver, so he didn't ask for more, which was quite honest.

“We’re straightforward. We won’t haggle over the price. You can have them take the property deed directly to the government office to process the transaction, and the payment will be made on the spot with banknotes.”

The brokers hadn't expected the deal to go so smoothly. They bowed and scraped as they saw them off, then hurried off to the Su family's house.