Mistakenly recognized as a cousin, thousands of pampered

When Tao Jiuxi returned home today, the night was already as thick as ink, covering the earth deeply.

She ran around West Street, asking about the prices of several shops in succession. She had no intention of opening a shop on West Street, but just wanted to know more about the market.

As she dragged her tired feet towards Xie's house, she saw Tao Qingwan wandering anxiously at the door from afar, looking to the east from time to time, then quickly turning to the west, her eyes full of anxiety and worry.

"Elder sister!" Tao Jiuxi waved his hands excitedly, and his pace involuntarily quickened, and he ran back like a gust of wind.

When Tao Qingwan heard this familiar voice, the tense expression on her face finally relaxed a little, and the corners of her mouth rose slightly, revealing a warm smile.

Tao Qingwan hurried forward and quickly handed over the hand warmer that was still emitting heat.

As soon as Tao Jiuxi's hand touched her sister's, she felt a piercing chill running down the back of her hand. She figured her sister must have been standing at the door for a long time. She frowned distressedly, stuffed the hand warmer back into her sister's hands, and said, "Something delayed me today. Oh, I'm so hungry! Hurry up and serve the food."

Tao Jiuxi affectionately took Tao Qingwan's arm and walked into the mansion together. Seeing this, the gatekeeper gently closed the door and prepared to enjoy dinner.

"Sister, don't wait for me outside anymore. If you are hungry, eat first." Tao Jiuxi's tone was full of concern and heartache, as if it was the most gentle care in the world.

"I see it's getting dark, and I'm really worried about you. Are you still going out tomorrow?" Tao Qingwan's eyes revealed deep worry.

"I'm not done yet. Have you finished the pastry designs I asked you to draw for me?" Tao Jiuxi knew her own abilities well. Drawing simple pastry designs was no problem for her, drawing them from her pre-travel experience. But for something more upscale and elegant, she'd have to rely on her elder sister.

"I've already drawn some designs. I'll let you choose when we get back." Tao Qingwan watched her sister, completely absorbed in making money and running the shop, feeling both worried and helpless. She had tried to dissuade her from doing so many times, fearing she might be in danger, but Tao Jiuxi had her own ideas. Helplessly, she could only silently support her sister.

"Eat first. I'm so thin because of hunger." Tao Jiuxi said coquettishly.

Soon, the two sisters finished their meal and a warm atmosphere filled the air.

Tao Qingwan presented the carefully crafted pastry styles to Tao Jiuxi for her to choose from.

Tao Jiuxi looked at the blueprint in his hand and couldn't help but admire his sister's meticulous thought. The bamboo and chrysanthemum, beloved by scholars, and the images related to the Four Treasures of the Study, were so lifelike on the blueprint that they seemed to leap from the paper.

Tao Jiuxi carefully put the drawings away, planning to bring them to Li Dachun for review tomorrow. While exquisite design was important, the labor required to make the pastries also had to be considered. She wasn't very knowledgeable about this, so she left it to Li Dachun to decide which designs would be most suitable.

After reviewing the blueprints, Tao Jiuxi was exhausted and fell asleep quickly on the bed. She had been extremely tired recently, and Tao Qingwan saw all of this and felt pain in her heart.

The next day, Li Dachun made snacks for Tao Jiuxi as usual. Now that he knew Tao Jiuxi's needs, the snacks he made were more and more satisfactory.

"Sir, yesterday I went to East Street and inquired about two vacant shops. One has three rooms in a less-than-ideal location, and the annual rent is 168 taels. There's a restaurant near Wangyue Tower that's looking to sell. That shop would fit your needs, with five rooms, two floors, and a large courtyard in the back." Li Dachun was quick. After buying some decent clothes yesterday, he began asking around. He eliminated shops that were too small or in poor locations. Shops on East Street are already in short supply, and it took a lot of effort to find two.

"How much?" Tao Jiuxi asked.

"One thousand taels a year." Li Dachun said with some embarrassment. He also felt that the price was an astronomical figure.

Tao Jiuxi almost lost his mind when he heard this. "If it's so expensive, why don't you just go and rob it?"

“I think it’s too expensive.”

"Did you find out what the shopkeeper said yesterday? Can you bargain?"

"The shop owner said the price is eight hundred taels, fixed. Pay in full. And before I got there, several other people were already in talks, and they really wanted to rent the shop." Li Dachun also thought the price was ridiculously high. He thought the small shop at the end of East Street could be considered impressive after some renovations, and the price was reasonable and acceptable.

Tao Jiuxi calculated silently. She had been to the area around Wangyue Tower before, and it was indeed a very prosperous place. The average daily income for such a large restaurant was only a little over two taels of silver, which was not unreasonable. However, she only had a little over five hundred taels of silver on her, barely enough to cover the rent, and that would leave her with insufficient funds for renovations.

Tao Jiuxi frowned, silent. She was mulling over how to make more money. The money she'd earned these two times was simply a stroke of luck, a lucky gamble. She let people who came to her fortune-teller pay as they pleased, sometimes even offering just a penny or two. Tao Jiuxi, unprofessional as she was, never actively negotiated prices.

Money can always be raised, but good shops are often fleeting. In view of this, she immediately closed her stall and went with Li Dachun to check on the shop.

Tao Jiuxi fell in love with this shop almost immediately. No wonder the annual rent was as high as 800 taels. This place was in a very prosperous area, the building was newly built, and there was a spacious courtyard in the back.

Tao Jiuxi tried hard to hide his love for the shop on his face, and followed Li Dachun to negotiate the rent with the former owner, but the former owner was firm and refused to give up a penny.

After some coaxing and persuading, Tao Jiuxi went back to his house to find Tao Qingwan and took out thirty taels of silver. He added his own twenty taels to make up fifty taels and gave it to the shopkeeper, asking him to give him a few more days.

She promised that if she could not pay the full amount, she would never ask for the fifty taels of silver back.

After signing the contract, Tao Jiuxi took Li Dachun to the street to eat a bowl of wontons for lunch, and then the two separated.

Although the shop is very close to Xie's house, Tao Jiuxi is still exhausted after today's efforts, and his feet are so sore that he can hardly move them.

She secretly sighed in her heart, it would be great if there were buses and subways.

"Second cousin." A familiar voice came from behind.

Tao Jiuxi's heart suddenly became alarmed. He didn't even dare to turn his head, but his pace unconsciously quickened.

Jiang Shun's eyes are so sharp. She was wearing men's clothes, but he could recognize her from behind?

And I was really unlucky. I was just a short distance away from home.

"Second cousin, is that you?" Jiang Shun asked tentatively again.

"Tao Jiuxi!" This time, there was no way to escape by pretending to be stupid.

"What a coincidence! Cousin." Tao Jiuxi's face was full of flattering smile.

"You never learn your lesson." Shen Zhiyi rode on his horse, looking down at Tao Jiuxi.