The fake daughter married into the mountains and had meat to eat every day during the famine

Uncle Pan said, "Twenty years ago, we spent almost twelve taels of silver to get the wine permits. Even now, even paying for the permits might not guarantee them. We still have twenty-eight jars of wine in the cellar. I will pass on my winemaking skills and the equipment to you. I'll charge you for a total of forty taels of silver. As for the rent, it's payable every six months. According to the market price on this street, the rent for half a year is fourteen taels of silver."

"But if you're too busy, you can ask me to help out. I'm free anyway. Even though I'm used to being alone now, when your Aunt Pan was here, I always did everything she assigned me."

Fourteen taels for half a year, twenty-eight taels for a year.

Song Yuntang asked around a few places that day, and the rent wasn't considered high on this street.

As for the sublease fee of forty taels of silver, it is quite reasonable.

"Uncle Pan, are you planning to sell this tavern?"

Uncle Pan thought about it and shook his head. "I'll make plans when my daughter comes to pick me up. I still can't bear to leave."

After hearing this, Song Yuntang looked at Xu Qingye.

"What do you think?"

"It's hard to say now. I only know that when Aunt Pan was here, this tavern had a good business. My classmates all liked to come here, order a pot of not-too-strong sake, and some side dishes and snacks, and they would sit here and eat and chat for half a day." Xu Qingye said.

Sake is actually the cheapest alcohol here.

Of course, most people who come to the tavern just buy some wine to drink at home.

It’s just because the proprietress is kind and doesn’t look down on people just because they order the cheapest wine, so everyone always likes to gather here.

Xu Qingye’s words brought back Uncle Pan’s memories.

"Your Aunt Pan is meticulous about her work. When she was here, the tavern was kept spotless inside and out. She also prepared all the food for the shop. She got up at dawn every day and didn't stop even when she was sick. She loved children, and we only had one daughter, so she took extra care of the children in the academy. Over time, the children all liked her."

He shook his head. "It was only after she left that I realized there were so many things to do in the tavern. Her health was worn out by being with me all these years. If only I had been more understanding of her hard work and given her more help."

As Uncle Pan spoke, he felt grief-stricken and wanted to look for some wine again.

But he found that the wine jug he had drunk from was already empty.

Seeing this, Song Yuntang said, "The dead cannot be resurrected. I hope Uncle Pan will accept my condolences. I think Aunt Pan's spirit in heaven would not want to see Uncle Pan give up on himself like this. Otherwise, wouldn't all her years of hard work be in vain?"

Uncle Pan turned his back to calm down, then looked back at the two of them.

"Originally, I didn't plan to rent out this tavern. Even though I'm in a daze right now, I can still make a few taels a month." He glanced in Xu Qingye's direction. "I only agreed to rent it out for Xu Qingye's sake. You can consider it. There's no rush. I won't rent it out to anyone else anytime soon."

Song Yuntang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, Uncle Pan, give us half a day. We'll go back and discuss it, and give you an answer this afternoon."

Uncle Pan nodded and said, "I'll be waiting for you at the tavern."

……

After Song Yuntang and Xu Qingye left, they went home and took two large sachets, two duck eggs and two chicken eggs, and led him directly out of Cile Town and headed towards Zhuangzi.

"You haven't been to my farm yet, right?" Song Yuntang asked as they walked.

Xu Qingye hummed, "I haven't been there yet."

"The day before yesterday, I took in a mother and child. The child had smallpox, which is somewhat contagious. Since you're well now, I won't let you go into the yard with me. I'll go in first to check on the situation."

Xu Qingye nodded.

"Then you should be careful too."

"I'll be fine. I've already taken preventative medicine. Besides, the child has been ill for several days. If nothing unexpected happens, the scar should have formed by now. After the scar forms, the infection is much less likely to spread."

Xu Qingye glanced in her direction.

"Uncle Pan's wine shop, what do you think?"

"I still have some silver on hand, so I can rent it. The rent is 28 taels of silver a year. Although that street has peak and off-seasons, the wine shop's business doesn't seem to be mainly aimed at scholars, so I should have no problem making the profit."

As she spoke, she began to worry again.

"The main reason is that we don't have enough manpower right now. I originally wanted to open a small shop like Yujun Pavilion, but now for such a large wine shop, I have to arrange the staff securely before making any decision."

Xu Qingye nodded.

"There might be some competition from the nearby Jade Pavilion, so the pressure will be quite high."

Song Yuntang said as he walked, "It's actually not that bad. Jadeite Xuan focuses on food, and we mainly serve drinks, cakes, desserts, and snacks. If the guests need a big dish, we can directly order it from Jadeite Xuan. Maybe we can benefit from it."

If she really decides to build the tavern, she wants to add an extra floor and put some private rooms on top, which the literati and scholars will probably like very much.

There was admiration in Xu Qingye's eyes.

"You're very thoughtful."

Song Yuntang smiled and continued, "Thinking and doing are two different things after all. I still have to complete these things one by one."

As they were talking, they had already arrived at the farm.

Chen Xier was coming back from the mountains with a basket. When she saw Song Yuntang, she hurriedly greeted him with a smile.

"Miss Song, you're here."

Song Yuntang hummed, "How is Fubao?"

"He's playing in the house. He's feeling much better after taking the medicine Miss Song prescribed. But I'm afraid he might spread his illness to others, so I haven't let him out yet."

Chen Xier hurried forward to open the gate and entered the yard first, keeping a distance of several steps from Song Yuntang and Xu Qingye. In case she was sick, she would not infect them.

"Please come in, both of you."

Song Yuntang turned around and looked at Xu Qingye, "Wait for me here."

Xu Qingye stood at the gate of the courtyard.

"it is good."

After Song Yuntang entered the yard, he handed the two chicken eggs and two duck eggs in his hand to Chen Xier, "This is what I brought for Fubao to nourish his body."

Chen Xier looked at the eggs in her hands and was so moved that she was at a loss for words.

"Thank you, Miss Song."

Song Yuntang waved his hand and walked towards the room where Fubao was.

Seeing this, Chen Xier hurriedly placed the egg carefully in the basket and walked over to shout, "Fubao, your Aunt Song is here to see you."

Inside the house, Fubao was lying on the bed playing with a rabbit-shaped doll that Song Mazi had carved out of wood for him when he had some free time. Suddenly, he heard a noise outside the house, and hurriedly put the rabbit doll aside and sat up properly.

Looking at the acne scars on his face, Song Yuntang smiled and walked into the house.

"Fubao, there's no need to be so reserved in front of your aunt. Your aunt won't eat you."