How can someone travel through time and space and become a beggar?

"What's your idea?" Mo Qingmei smiled. "Just tell me."

"What do you think? Can we open a teahouse just for women, with some storybooks?" Just books wouldn't be enough; we'd also need tea and, ideally, some board games. If we could make a modern milk tea drink, I wonder if business would be good.

Xia Chu kept perfecting this idea in her mind, "No, no, no, it can't just be books. We need to prepare some entertainment items so that the women can gather here for fun. For example, chess sets, musical instruments, and even some flowers for them to arrange flowers. We'll charge a venue fee and sell tea and snacks!"

The more she talked about it, the more she thought it was feasible. It was difficult for women to go out, as most places were crowded with men. Sometimes, those who weren't thinking straight would be stared at maliciously. If there was a place just for women, she would definitely be happy to go there with her sisters!

"Good idea!" Mo Qingmei's eyes lit up. She has been fascinated by doing business recently, and she thought this idea was good as soon as she heard it.

As they walked towards the bookstore, they discussed what else they could buy. When they arrived at the door, the crowd that had gathered had dispersed. The bookstore returned to silence again. As soon as Mo Qingmei entered, the shopkeeper welcomed him to the second floor. After bringing over the account books for the past few days, Xia Chu took a sip of tea and sat up suddenly. "That's right! We can also hire someone to tell stories!"

"What?" Mo Qingmei was flipping through the account book and was startled by her movement. "Where is the storytelling? The bookstore?"

"The Qianjin Club!" Xia Chu said excitedly.

"Qianjin Club?" They hadn't chosen a name yet, but Mo Qingmei repeated it twice in his mind, and it seemed quite good. "Then the storyteller can only be a woman."

"Let's go to the slave trade and buy some women. Pick out a few with good tongues and train them." There were many pitiful women in the slave trade, sold by their parents and families. As long as they hadn't made any mistakes of principle, picking one up and bringing it back would be a good deed. Xia Chu felt a little sad when she learned that Cuihua and Cuiya were sold by their parents, but she must have felt even worse for them. In fact, selling oneself into slavery could be for a limited time, and the price would be slightly lower. If one had no other choice but to take this step, and still had some affection for the child, most would choose to sell themselves for a few years. Only those who absolutely didn't care about life or death would be sold for life, as this would change their household registration and could not be easily altered.

"As you say." Mo Qingmei came to see him often, and quickly finished flipping through the account book. "Just the two of us, or should we ask Wuxia and the others to join us?"

"Let's ask." Too many people wasn't a good idea; it could easily lead to disagreements. But they were on good terms now, and none of them needed money, so they probably wouldn't end up falling out over money.

Li Yun listened to Xia Chu's idea and said, "I think it's a good idea. Throughout history, there have only been places for men to seek pleasure, and there are very few places for women to go. If there is such a place, I would definitely like to check it out. Once you have prepared it, we can invite people we are close to to go a few times. Once everyone likes the place, business will naturally come." She paused and said, "I won't participate. You and Qingmei will do it."

"I won't participate either. I'm too busy and don't want to bother managing the shop." Lin Lang also refused.

"You guys go ahead and have fun. Just thinking about looking through the account books gives me a headache." Bai Wuxia also refused, but she remembered something Xia Chu and the others had overlooked. "A place like this is prone to causing trouble. If there's a rogue, we're all weak women, and we might not be able to stop him. I can send you a few maids skilled in martial arts to calm you down as a grand opening gift."

Xia Chu hadn't expected the store to need security, and women with martial arts skills weren't easy to find. Bai Wuxia had been a big help, though she wasn't quite used to the idea of people being sent around like gifts. But she wouldn't treat those women unfairly; their place was a good place to be. "Thank you, Wuxia."

Although Li Yun and the others didn't participate, they still helped with ideas. Which street would be the best to rent a shop on, how big it should be, how to decorate it, what to furnish inside, what to prepare... The five of them discussed it for a whole day before they finally sorted everything out.

Xia Chu took the plan Li Yun had written down. From the first step to the opening, every step was clearly written in detail. Basically, as long as there was a mouth, the shop could be run. "Thank you sisters for your advice. After the opening, everyone will get a membership card and can bring others to play for free."

"Okay, I'll wait." Li Yun said with a smile.

"I've been thinking about the membership card these days. I'll draw a few more versions and you can choose from them." Lin Lang took the job.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Langlang." Xia Chu blinked her right eye at Lin Lang, and was glared at by her while smiling.

"Then I'll send people over after the shop opens," Bai Wuxia said, a light bulb going off in her head. "Then I can have my mother come and support you! Her friends are all... you know." She smirked, feeling quite clever. Having young women alone wasn't enough; the real money came from attracting noble ladies as well.

Everything was ready, only the right opportunity was missing. Xia Chu began searching for a brokerage shop. The street they'd been looking for didn't have any shops for sale. Lin'an was a bustling city, and shops were expensive, not to mention unsold. After searching for days, they couldn't find anything they liked.

I won’t die before I accomplish my mission, will I?

Xia Chu sighed and spread a big pancake on the bed. She told the pawnshop that if a good shop came up, she would be notified immediately. From then on, she could only wait.

Mo Qingmei did have a few shops, but they were either too small or in unsuitable locations, or they were making money and it was not appropriate to change careers temporarily.

She had something on her mind, and it was inevitable that she would bring some of it out when she went to the Jia family to have dinner with Jia Qingwu. Jia Qingwu was observant and naturally noticed, "What's wrong? Are you worried about something?"

"It's not really a big deal. My friend and I came up with the idea of opening a shop, but we just haven't found one yet." Xia Chu told her about the idea and sighed, "Shops are expensive, and there's no suitable one yet. It's too hard to find. I can only ask the broker to keep an eye out for me and wait patiently."

Jia Qingwu smiled after hearing this. "Why do you have to buy a shop? Your idea is obviously more suitable for buying a yard."

"Huh?" Xia Chu was confused, his mind still not understanding. "But we run a shop."

"Look, your shop doesn't have a lobby. If customers want some quiet time or want to hang out with friends, they'll need separate rooms. You're planning to separate the rooms into smaller ones, but ordinary shops aren't that big. Besides, the soundproofing isn't good, so people talking here can hear what's happening next door. Are you sure no one will want to go?" Jia Qingwu pointed out the inappropriate areas and then offered her own thoughts. "If you buy a house, you could divide it into small courtyards. Each courtyard could even have a side room and a toilet. It wouldn't disturb anyone, and the space would be spacious and convenient. As for the storytelling idea you mentioned, build a two-story building. Those who want to listen can go there, and those who don't can just play in the courtyard. Think about it, wouldn't a house be more suitable?"