ushernet Chapter 72 Buying a House and Buying a Subordinate
Chapter 72 Buying a House and Buying a Subordinate
Xiao family side
After sending the letter, Xiao Siyue devoted all her attention to the hot pot restaurant plan.
It's already August, and the chili peppers will soon be ready to be harvested. Xiao Siyue plans to open her hot pot restaurant by mid-September at the latest, as the weather gradually gets colder in September, making it a perfect time for hot pot.
In addition, she made a simple version of hot pot herself in the past two days and had a meal with her family. The Xiao family was immediately won over by the hot pot, and then Xiao Siyue proposed to open a hot pot restaurant. After some thought, the Xiao family agreed.
Taking advantage of the fact that everyone in the family was free that day, Xiao Siyue took Grandpa Xiao and his wife to town to look at shops.
"It's you three!" Ya Lang exclaimed in surprise when he saw Xiao Siyue and the other two.
"Young man, you still remember us," Grandpa Xiao said with a smile.
“Of course I remember,” Ya Lang said with a smile.
"What are you here to see today?" After exchanging pleasantries, Ya Lang finally asked.
"Here's the thing, we're planning to open another shop, and we're wondering if we have any suitable ones, preferably a bigger one," Old Master Xiao told the matchmaker.
"Yes, there are a few shops on the street now, but they're not very big, about the same size as your previous shops," Ya Lang said regretfully.
Xiao Siyue was somewhat disappointed. Were shops in town really that hard to find?
"Do you remember that shop on East Street?" Ya Lang suddenly asked.
"East Street, you mean the one we saw last time?" Xiao Siyue asked hurriedly.
"That's the one. If you're willing, I can rent it to you," Ya Lang said, but he didn't have much hope. The shop hadn't been rented out for a long time, and the Xiao family hadn't shown any interest in it before.
"Has that shop not been rented out yet?" Xiao Siyue asked, puzzled.
“No,” Ya Lang said, shaking his head.
Xiao Siyue was secretly delighted. She had her eye on that shop before, but her family didn't have enough money at the time, and besides, a toy shop didn't need to be that big, so she didn't rent it. She didn't expect it to still be there now.
"I wonder how much that shop is worth now?" Xiao Siyue pressed.
"The monthly rent is now 8 taels."
Eight taels? It seems the price has dropped. She remembered it was nine taels before.
However, this time she plans to buy it directly.
"I wonder how many taels of silver it would cost to buy it directly?" Xiao Siyue asked the broker.
Ya Lang glanced at Xiao Siyue in surprise, then shifted his gaze to Old Master Xiao.
Seeing that Old Master Xiao didn't say anything, he continued, "If you buy it directly, it will cost 480 taels."
480 taels, Xiao Siyue thought to herself. The price wasn't high, but she still wanted to see if she could lower it a little more.
"I wonder if the price can be lowered a little more?" Xiao Siyue looked at the broker with a troubled expression.
“If you really want to buy, the minimum price is 450 taels,” the broker said through gritted teeth.
Sure enough, the price could be lowered. Xiao Siyue glanced at Grandpa Xiao, and the two exchanged a look, agreeing that it was acceptable.
“Alright, we’ll buy this shop. Could you please help us with the property deed, young man?” said Old Master Xiao.
"Oh, great!" Ya Lang was overjoyed; the shop that was almost going to be a liability had finally been sold.
"Grandpa, shouldn't we buy some more servants? Once the hot pot restaurant opens, we won't have anyone in our family to manage it." Xiao Siyue thought that no one in her family could spare the time to manage the shop, and the hot pot restaurant would also need employees.
Another reason is that their family may have many secrets in the future, so it would be safer for the buyer to take over.
“That’s right,” Old Master Xiao also thought of this.
"You want to buy servants?" The broker, who had just finished processing the property deed, couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, I wonder if you know where to buy it, young man?" Old Master Xiao thought that since they were both brokers, brokers would know more.
“You’ve come to the right person,” Ya Lang said confidently, raising his chin.
"Go to the alley behind North Street and find a man named Old Chen. The people there are all good." Ya Lang carefully explained to Old Master Xiao.
"Thank you very much, young man." Old Master Xiao was very grateful; the matchmaker's introduction had saved them a lot of trouble.
Xiao Siyue and her two companions walked directly towards North Street after leaving the brokerage.
When Xiao Siyue arrived at North Street, she was shocked by the scene. She never expected that there was such a place in the town, where the entire alley was a hub for human trafficking.
Xiao Siyue looked at these people and found that most of them had blank stares, numb expressions, and no vitality.
However, some people still seemed to have a hopeful look in their eyes, as if they were expecting someone to save her.
Xiao Siyue couldn't help but sigh. In ancient times, buying and selling people was legal. A contract of servitude determined that a person would never have any freedom again.
Xiao Siyue and the others found Old Chen, the man the matchmaker had mentioned, at the very end of the alley.
After Grandpa Xiao told them that it was the matchmaker who introduced them, Old Chen became noticeably more polite to them.
"I wonder how many people you want, and whether you want men or women?" Chen Lai said with a smile.
"Boss, we want to open a food stall. We need someone who can do math and be the manager, as well as three old women and six waiters. It would be best if the waiters could read," Xiao Siyue said.
“There are people who can read, but their prices are higher than others,” Old Chen said, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Could you give us a brief introduction?" Xiao Siyue had expected this.
"That's natural."
Old Chen led out one of the men behind him and introduced him to Xiao Siyue and the others: "This is Bai Zhong. He used to be the cookbook manager, but due to the trouble caused by his master, he was sold here. He just happens to fit your requirements."
"Oh? Does he have any problems?" Xiao Siyue frowned. She didn't want to buy a problematic person and bring trouble to her family.
"Don't worry, Bai Zhong's indenture is in my hands now, and he has nothing to do with that family anymore." Old Chen glanced at Xiao Siyue and said with a smile, not expecting such a young child to be so cautious.
"That's fine then. How much silver will it cost?"
"Thirty taels," Old Chen said, making a gesture.
Xiao Siyue glanced at Bai Zhong and felt that although he looked listless, his eyes were clear, so she bought him.
"Do you need someone who can cook? Here are two men, they're with Bai Zhong, they used to be the chefs in the shop," Old Chen said, pointing to the two men behind him.
Xiao Siyue was very tempted; she desperately needed a chef. However, she didn't act impulsively and instead asked, "What are these two good at cooking?"
"One of them is good at making pastries, and the other is good at cooking," Old Chen said. He was a human trafficker, and he knew these people's situations very well.
"We'll take these two too. Boss, pick a few more for us," said Old Master Xiao.
Finally, through Old Chen's introduction, the Xiao family spent a total of 100 taels of silver to buy 12 people.
All six waiters were young and literate. The three older women were in their fifties, so their prices were lower at 3 taels each. There were also two cooks and a manager. Now, the hot pot restaurant was fully staffed.