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

Li Yu knew that He Mengyan's words were completely sincere, so he smiled and led her to continue walking towards the hot pot restaurant.

When the two arrived, it was not yet time to open the shop in the afternoon, and the helpers were busy in the backyard.

Of the people who came from Jiangyang County with Li Yu, only Han Rong and Si'er are still in the hot pot restaurant. Pei Mingzhu's parents, Han Rong's mother Cheng, and Madam Yan are all helping in the barbecue restaurant.

Pei Mingzhu was mainly responsible for sorting out the accounts and had no need to come to the store, so she had been working at home and helping to take care of Mrs. Yan's grandson Xiaonan.

Lu Xuan goes wherever he is needed. Han Xiaomei studies at home one day and helps out in the store the next day. Since she is familiar with hot pot restaurants, she basically only comes to hot pot restaurants.

Li Yu took He Mengyan for a walk and then introduced her to everyone.

It was the first time that everyone saw Li Yu bringing a stranger over, and they were very curious. They greeted He Mengyan while looking her up and down.

He Mengyan has been in business for two years and has seen all kinds of people. She was not shy and introduced herself confidently.

Li Yu watched from the side and nodded continuously.

*

After leaving the hot pot restaurant, the two went to a barbecue restaurant.

The performance of the people in the barbecue restaurant was similar to that in the hotpot restaurant. He Mengyan looked around and was completely impressed by Li Yu.

Even if she does business for another twenty years, she will never be able to achieve what Li Yu has done.

In the evening, He Mengyan sat in the hot pot restaurant, looking at the steaming hot pot, and couldn't help but sighed: "When I was in Jiangyang County, I felt that you were suitable for a bigger place, and now it seems to be true."

Li Yu smiled slightly, "I'm just luckier than others. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to gain a foothold in the capital by myself. By the way, where are you going tomorrow? I'll go with you."

He Mengyan smiled and said, "You can ask Si'er to take me around the capital tomorrow. You are busy in the store. If someone comes to you for something urgent while you are out, it will be a waste of time."

Li Yu: "It's okay, it won't delay anything. There are people watching over the store. If they can't find me when something urgent happens, they will handle it themselves."

That's how it was before.

"You just arrived in the capital. No matter what, I have to accompany you for a walk, which is also considered as my duty as a good host." Li Yu said.

He Mengyan nodded hesitantly, "Then we'll just stay tomorrow. After that, let Si'er stay with me. You don't have to worry about me."

Seeing that she had a psychological burden, Li Yu thought about it and agreed.

*

The next day, Li Yu took Han Xiaomei and Si'er to the inn to pick up He Mengyan.

We found a few stalls outside the inn that had good reputations and had breakfast, then walked around.

Although He Mengyan came to see how the rouge and lip balm in the capital were made, it was not easy for her to come here, so she also looked at other things.

Li Yu accompanied her as they wandered around aimlessly.

After walking around for more than an hour, it was almost noon and they were starving, so they found a restaurant with more customers to eat.

Li Yu ordered the restaurant’s signature dish.

He Mengyan saw that she ordered a lot and wanted to stop her, but was rejected by Li Yu.

"To be honest, this is my first time visiting this restaurant, so I'd like to try their dishes. Maybe I can get some inspiration to make new dishes."

He Mengyan had no way of refutating this reason, so she could only let her go.

The dishes were served quite quickly. After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, most of the eight dishes and one soup they ordered were served.

We were all family, so no one was polite and everyone picked up their chopsticks and started eating.

Apart from anything else, Beijing is so big and business competition is fierce, so naturally the food in restaurants with many customers is not bad. For example, in this restaurant, the steamed fish is not fishy at all, the chicken is very tasty, and the meat soup is tender and delicious.

Li Yu was satisfied with the meal.

*

After eating and drinking, the few people planned to sit for a while and then pay and leave.

Li Yu was touching his purse, calculating how much money this table of food would cost, when a few men swaggered into the store.

Li Yu thought they were there to eat, but unexpectedly they went straight to the counter. When they arrived, the leader stood sideways with his elbows on the counter and raised his chin towards the store owner.

"Boss, what do you think? You told me yesterday and I will give you an answer today."

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man in his forties. After seeing the few people, the smile on his face instantly became forced.

"Gentlemen, we are..."

"Why, do you mean you don't plan to join our Chamber of Commerce? Don't you know what the benefits of joining the Chamber of Commerce are? If you have forgotten, Master Chen, I will tell you again. If you still don't want to after listening..."

The man snorted twice, "We don't know what your store will become in the future."

The shopkeeper's face turned from blue to white.

The man was impatient and tapped the counter with his fingers. "Have you made up your mind? I'll count to three. If you still don't answer, I'll..."

He raised his chin towards the lobby of the inn, and several other ugly-looking men following him rolled up their clothes, ready to have a fight.

The shopkeeper raised his hand quickly, "No, no, I'll answer, I'll join the Chamber of Commerce, but can the joining fee be lower? Sir, our store doesn't make much money in a month."

The man pulled a face and raised his hand towards his brothers.

The shopkeeper said: "I'll give it to you as you say."

*

Li Yu sat on the chair and saw the shopkeeper handing the man a silver note.

The man put it away proudly, and took away a jar of wine before leaving.

The shopkeeper watched them leave, his face alternating between anger and fear.

Li Yu was a little curious, so he asked the shopkeeper what happened when he stood up to pay.

The shopkeeper recognized her and said, "Boss Li is still very happy. Li's hot pot restaurant and barbecue restaurant both have Princess Jianing as their backer. These people would never dare to cause trouble in your store."

Li Yu: “?”

The shopkeeper sighed and said, "Those people just now were from the Beijing Chamber of Commerce. They have been going around the shops lately, asking everyone to join the Chamber of Commerce. They said it was voluntary, but in fact, there was no way to refuse."

Li Yu understood what he meant and said, "You have to pay to join the Chamber of Commerce."

The shopkeeper nodded and said, "It will cost fifty taels of silver, and ten taels will be required at the end of each month thereafter."

Li Yu: "...Did the Beijing Chamber of Commerce want it? Who organized this?" They exploit merchants like this, and they are not afraid of being reported to the emperor.

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "I don't know. The Capital Chamber of Commerce has only appeared in the past few days, but there are rumors that the person behind the Chamber of Commerce is King Cheng."

Li Yu: “…”

*

If I remember correctly, King Cheng had only recently been named in the court, and he hadn't even established a firm foothold yet. And yet he dared to do this?

Li Yu unconsciously thought of the milk tea shop, Jinyulou and the handicraft workshop.

When she passes by there later, if the shopkeepers are in the store, she will ask.

Li Yu was making plans, but as soon as he entered the workshop, he saw several men of different heights and weights standing in front of the counter. One of them stood at the front and talked incessantly to Shopkeeper Sheng about the benefits of joining the Chamber of Commerce.