My best friend is living a famine-stricken life; you're going crazy, I'm farming.

In the evening, Xiao Mingchen really arrived.

As soon as Xu Yingying saw him, her eyes filled with tears, revealing her heartache. "Big brother, it's been half a year since I last saw you. You've lost weight."

Xiao Mingchen's eyes showed a hint of emotion, but his expression remained cold. "Don't pretend. I don't have much time. Get to the point."

Having been seen through, Xu Yingying stopped pretending and sat up straight. "Big brother, I would like to ask you for a favor. I want to start a business with my sister, but we can't find a suitable shop. I was wondering if you have any resources?"

"What kind of business do you want to start? How big of a shop do you need?"

Yang Fenglan had discussed her business plans with Xu Yingying a lot in the past few days, and Xu Yingying was aware of the situation.

"Ideally, it should be cheap, with shops in the front and a few rooms in the back for people to live in." Xu Yingying winked at Xiao Mingcheng and said coquettishly, "Big brother, you can definitely help me find one, right?"

Xiao Mingchen poked her forehead impatiently, his eyes full of affection for his younger sister, "You only remember I'm your older brother when you need something."

“When nothing’s wrong, you’re still my older brother,” Xu Yingying said with a smile.

“Where have you been these past few months? I’ve sent people to Qingshui Village many times, but we still haven’t been able to find you,” Xiao Mingcheng said.

"I've gone to escape famine." Xu Yingying didn't hide anything. Anyway, going to the mountains to live was also a form of escaping famine, so she wasn't lying.

Hearing that his younger sister had fled the famine, Xiao Mingchen's eyes showed some heartache. "There are suitable shops. Here's what we'll do: I'll have someone come here to find you later, and you two can talk to him."

"Tomorrow at the latest, is that okay?"

"Hmm." Xiao Mingchen nodded. "Is there anything else?"

"That's all, thank you, brother!" Xu Yingying said excitedly, wanting to politely see Xiao Mingchen out, but he stopped her.

"Your older brother is a good person," Yang Fenglan said to Xu Yingying after Xiao Mingcheng left.

"It's really good."

After the two returned to their room, Xu Yingying told Yang Fenglan about the original owner's experiences in the Xiao family. In her memory, the best person in the Xiao family was her eldest brother.

Xiao Mingchen acted quickly; early the next morning, someone came looking for Xu Yingying.

The visitor was a middle-aged man in his forties. After exchanging a few words, he led them to see the shop.

The shop is in the south of the city, on the street where people set up stalls for the market.

The location is great, but the shop door is broken and the shelves inside are a mess.

"This is my family's shop. It was vandalized by several groups of refugees before the New Year, so it's a bit messy. If you really want it, you can repair it yourselves, and I'll give you a discount on the price." The middle-aged man led the two into the shop.

From the backyard, it looks like a traditional courtyard house.

The area is not large, but the house itself is not small; it has an outhouse, a woodshed, and a kitchen.

It was empty and somewhat messy inside.

"Brother, how much did you rent this shop?" Yang Fenglan asked, satisfied with the location.

"Are you planning to rent this place?" The middle-aged man frowned, looking reluctant. "I'm not renting this house."

Xu Yingying's expression immediately changed, "If you're not going to rent it, why did you come to us?"

The man's attitude changed as well: "If you weren't going to buy anything, why did you follow us?"

Yang Fenglan was slightly embarrassed, caught between the two. Had she misunderstood?

That Xiao Mingchen is really something. He clearly told me to rent a place, but he ended up finding someone who sells houses.

However, since we've already looked at the houses, asking about the price is a must.

Yang Fenglan said with a smile, "Brother, don't worry, we have our eye on this house. We just don't know how much you're planning to sell it for. If the price is right, we're willing to buy it."

"Fifty taels of silver, the deed is in hand, and the transfer can be completed at any time."

Yang Fenglan has inquired about many houses in the past few days and has a general understanding of the prices.

At such a good location, a selling price of fifty taels is definitely not high.

But she didn't have that much money.