Traveling to an ancient peasant family: I got rich by doing business

At first, Butler Cui looked for more than a dozen dental shops (similar to modern intermediaries). These days, he went to see them whenever he had time, and finally selected four better ones.

The first one was on the snack street in the eastern part of the outer city, not far from the Su family. There was a wine shop next to it and a snack shop opposite it. The surrounding area was prosperous. Li Yu went in to take a look and found that the shop had little available space and a small kitchen. It looked a bit crowded. If she sold other things, this shop would be very suitable, but unfortunately she needed a large kitchen.

The second one is in the west of the outer city, only a quarter of an hour's drive from Mr. Su's private residence. The rent is low and the location is good, but there is no well in the backyard of this shop and the nearest well is two hundred meters away, making it inconvenient to use water.

The third one is on Taiping Street, close to the inner city. It has a large kitchen, a well in the backyard, and plenty of usable space in the lobby. More importantly, the shop is 90% new, and the second floor has been partitioned. If it is used, it only needs a little decoration. But this shop has one disadvantage: it is located in a remote location, surrounded by shops selling porcelain, cloth, tables and chairs, calligraphy and painting, and few pedestrians.

The fourth one was in the inner city, a little smaller than the third one, but it could meet Li Yu's requirements of a large kitchen, a well, and ample lobby space. However, it had one most important problem - the rent was expensive, costing 600 taels of silver a month. If he paid to buy the shop, he would need 10,000 taels.

Li Yu planned to make hot pot a mass business, just like stewed meat, so that ordinary people could afford it. Obviously, if she rented this fourth shop, the price would not be low.

"Ms. Li, which one do you think is suitable?" The broker said with a smile, "These are all the best shops. You won't lose out by choosing any one of them."

Li Yu looked around the shop and asked, "Can't the rent of this shop be lower?"

"No." The broker shook his head and raised his hand to gesture, "The inner city is already very expensive. The rent of this shop is already very cheap. If it were any other shop, it would cost you at least eight hundred taels."

Li Yu: “…”

She was silent for a while, then said, "Can I go take another look at the shop on Taiping Street?"

The dentist kept smiling, "Of course you can, follow me."

*

Several people walked back to the outer city.

When they were still five or six hundred meters away from the shop, they heard a quarrel on the street ahead, blocking the road. The broker stood on tiptoe to take a look and asked Li Yu and his friends to take a detour.

You wouldn't have known until you walked away. Li Yu suddenly discovered that there was a large academy here, and behind the academy were rows of residential houses.

Walk about another 200 meters and you will see a street mainly for entertainment. Standing at the intersection, you can see signs of theaters, teahouses, and chess halls.

Li Yu: “…”

The third shop has no disadvantages, so you can book it right away.

Thinking in her mind, Li Yu looked at the broker walking in front. This person's introduction was really incomplete. If he had explained the surrounding situation clearly when she came here for the first time, she would definitely not go to the inner city to see the fourth shop.

*

In order to avoid being controlled by the broker, although Li Yu had already decided to rent the third shop, she still walked around the shop twice, and finally bargained with the broker for several rounds and decided on the shop.

This shop is much cheaper than the one in the inner city, with a monthly rent of only two hundred taels.

Li Yu signed the contract and decisively paid half a year's rent.

*

The shop is set up, and the next step is to make the pot.

According to the current standards of this era, copper pots are most suitable for hot pot.

Since Butler Cui was busy with other things, Li Yu did not bother him anymore, but found a shop that made copper pots according to his recommendation.

Coincidentally, the shop was on Taiping Street, not far from the shop she rented.

It was the off-season, and the coppersmith, who was in his thirties, was lying idly in front of his shop in the sun. When he saw Li Yu, he greeted her weakly.

"Sir, what do you want to order?"

Li Yu: "Let me take a look first."

After saying that, she lowered her head, picked up the items that the coppersmith had placed on the wooden board and examined them. After confirming that his craftsmanship was okay, he handed her the design of the hot pot he had made.

The coppersmith saw this strange pot for the first time. He stared at the design for a long time before nodding, "I can make it, but it's more expensive than an ordinary copper pot. One costs six taels of silver."

“If I make more, can I do it cheaper?”

The coppersmith thought for a moment and said, "If you can make five, I'll give you one tael of silver cheaper. Five for twenty-nine taels."

Li Yu: "I want fifty."

The coppersmith's body swayed and he fell heavily from the recliner. However, he didn't care about the pain or even the dust off his clothes. He stood up and looked at Li Yu in shock, "Fifty?"

Li Yu: "Yes, I'll order fifty first."

The coppersmith almost screamed. From what she said, fifty was still too few and she would order more later.

After taking a few deep breaths to steady his heartbeat, the coppersmith said, "If you want fifty, I'll give you half a tael of silver for each copper pot."

Li Yu thought it was feasible and said, "How about you make one for me first? I'll give you the money for a copper pot first, and if you make it, I'll order the remaining forty-nine."

The coppersmith happily agreed, thinking that he could earn some money by making one first.

*

After making an appointment with the coppersmith to come and look at the pot tomorrow morning, Li Yu and his companions turned to the porcelain shop.

After visiting several shops, Li Yu chose a large shop that could make its own porcelain and sell high-quality products at low prices.

When the shop owner heard that she wanted to order hundreds of sets of porcelain, he was more excited than the coppersmith. If Li Yu wasn't a woman, he would have hugged her.

"Don't worry, sir. We have many porcelain kilns at home. We can make all the ones you want within ten days."

Li Yu nodded and continued to sign the contract and pay the deposit.

*

Then, Li Yu went to the carpenter's shop again.

Carpentry shops are generally not very big, so Li Yu found a few more, gave each one the same design, and asked them to use the same materials and apply the same varnish.

By the time we came out of the last house, it was already evening.

Li Yu saw a clothing store on the side of the road and wanted to go in to order some more clothes, but suddenly he heard Han Xiaomei's stomach growling.

Li Yu put down his raised foot and said, "Come on, I'll take you to dinner."

*

The three of them found a popular noodle stall to eat noodles.

Qingshui Village is located in the southern part, and the locals mainly eat rice as their staple food. In the northern part of Beijing, noodles are the staple food. Looking around, you can see that more than half of the snack stalls on the street sell noodles.

This noodle stall sells sour soup noodles. The hand-rolled noodles are sprinkled with chopped green onions, pickled cabbage and minced meat, and taste surprisingly good.

The bowl of noodles was not very big. Li Yu and Han Xiaomei ate two bowls each, while Lu Xuan ate five bowls.

After finishing the meal, he felt embarrassed and rushed to pay.

Li Yu stopped him directly, "I am your host, so it is only natural for me to treat you to a few bowls of noodles. If you give it to me now, I will be embarrassed to ask you to protect me in the future."

Only then did Lu Xuan take the money back.

*

After dinner, the three of them slowly returned to the courtyard.

Unfortunately, there was another quarrel on the road ahead.

Li Yu was wondering whether to take a detour when he suddenly heard a familiar voice.