Crossing the Unknown Country

Su He smiled and said, "Brother Songbai, we want to find a store. Please take us to have a look. It should not be too remote and not too far from Ruhai Academy. We want to sell food."

The agents regretted their decision as soon as they heard that they wanted to rent a store, but who knew that they wanted to rent a store in a good location? They must have money! Now it would be wrong to go up and greet them, and they regretted it deeply.

A skinny little guy said something sour: "Songbai, I let you take care of this good thing. You should be treated to a meal after it's done!"

Songbai smiled naively: "It will definitely come. It's my treat."

Su He and his father were too lazy to deal with those people, so they asked Song Bai to take them to see the store. When Song Bai came out and saw Su He's father driving the mule cart on the roadside, he knew that the conditions of this store were not bad.

On the way, Su He said directly to Song Bai: "Brother Song Bai, do you think it is better to rent or buy the store? This is our first time doing business, so give us some advice."

Songbai thought for a moment and said seriously, "If it's an expensive store, it's better to rent it. It's your first time opening a store, so you can't invest too much. If the store is not expensive, you can buy it. If it doesn't work, you can rent it out."

When Su He heard that this young man had good intentions, she decided to buy or rent a store from him. She didn't dare to trust other people like this, as this was an era where most people judged others by their clothes.

Songbai showed them a store on the main street. Once you enter the store, there is a store in front and a yard in the back. The store in front is more than 20 square meters, and the yard is very small with two houses. The rent is 20 taels of silver per month, and the owner is not selling it for the time being.

Su He was not very satisfied with the small store and the high rent. She discussed it with her father, but he was also not very satisfied, so she went to take a look at the next store.

This time Songbai took them to a store on a side street near the main street. The store was about 40 square meters. It was originally a tea shop and the shop was relatively clean. The rent was 15 taels of silver per month. The owner wanted to sell it for 250 taels. He had always wanted to sell it for 350 taels, but the enemy attacked the town last time and emptied it out. Many people were unwilling to buy the store, so the owner could only sell it at a low price. After selling it, he planned to move to the inner country, away from the border town.

Su He and his father were somewhat interested in this store, but they had not yet made up their minds to buy it. So they went on to the next store. They wanted to look at a few more stores today.

This time Songbai took them to see two houses not far from each other. One was originally a food shop. The kitchen was not very clean because it had been used for a long time. The area was about 50 square meters. There was a well in the back yard, three bedrooms and two storage rooms. It should be the shop assistants who lived here. There were signs of people living there. The front hall was also gray and needed to be renovated if it was used.

There is also a clothing store, which is also over 50 square meters in size, and has the same layout as the food store. However, the original owner's family lives in the back. The yard in the back is very clean, and even the storage room is very clean. It should be a place to store clothes and fabrics. This store does not need to be decorated much, just buy some tables, chairs and benches. Most of the store can be used for making tofu, so there is no need to separate the kitchen, and the original counter can be used. Tables can be placed at the door and in the store, and it is mainly for breakfast.

Su He and his father were very satisfied with this place. It was a little far from the main street, but not far from the two academies. The rent was ten taels of silver. If they wanted to buy it, the landlord would ask for two hundred taels of silver. Songbai said that the price could be bargained for.

Songbai also suggested that they consider this store. The food store was more expensive than this one. The landlord wanted to sell it for 220 taels of silver, but the rent was the same. After all, this place didn't need to be cleaned up again, so it would save a lot of money accordingly.

Su He's father asked Song Bai to wait here for a while while he drove to pick up his elder brother to come over. Su He stayed to chat with Song Bai. Su He asked Song Bai if she gave him 10% of the money she had negotiated and asked him to try to get a lower price.