Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

Chapter 27: The Shopkeeper of Qing Yu Tang
This bookstore was opened in the well-known red-light district. It must be said that it had a great vision, but unfortunately, it did not get a share of the customer flow as it wished. Instead, its business situation deteriorated. In less than half a year, its financial income was not enough to cover its expenses and it was difficult to continue.

So when someone boldly said that he liked this store, the shop assistant was confused at first. Then he thought about it more and stumbled a few times, almost falling down. He seemed to be still asleep and murmured, "You want to buy a store?"

After a short discussion, Lin Ruo finalized the contract with the store owner who came in a hurry. The bookstore sold the books at affordable and friendly prices. The store owner was very happy, thinking that he could finally be a hands-off owner and stop losses in time.

The shop attendant continued to keep the job because of his good service attitude.

After finishing his business, Lin Ruo walked out of the bookstore and looked around the stalls of all sizes in the alley, but did not see Teng Zijing, and could not help but feel puzzled.

"Sir, your guard has returned to the carriage." Someone replied politely. Lin Ruo listened to the voice and took a few steps back. Only then did he realize that in a hidden corner, a young man with wrinkles on his smile was eating noodles with big mouthfuls.

"Why do you call me sir?"

"Once you enter the Supervisory Council, you will be an adult." Wang Qinian said with a lingering smile.

Lin Ruo took a look and found that there were really no people around, so he immediately found a booth and sat down, staring at the noodles next to him: "Is this the noodles you want to treat me to?"

"No, this is what your guard ate, and he didn't finish it." Wang Qinian shrugged and smiled while eating.

"You seem to be very free?" Lin Ruo asked curiously.

Wang Qinian took a sip of water and continued to eat noodles: "I rely on you, sir. I have changed my job. From now on, it will be my duty to follow you, sir."

"So you want me to give you a commission?"

"I am very grateful."

"What a beautiful thought."

Lin Ruo sat for a while, but he really didn't feel like making any noise, so he prepared to get up and go home.

Wang Qinian swallowed the noodles he had just eaten and asked in surprise, "Sir, you don't want to eat noodles?"

Lin Ruo shook his head: "Eat it yourself."

"You have to pay for that, sir."

Listening carefully, question marks slowly emerged in his mind. Lin Ruo looked over in disbelief, intending to see if this was human language.
Wang Qinian said with a shameless smile: "Sir, my share has been settled, but your share for the guards has not yet been settled, so I have to trouble you to settle it and give it to me. I will help you deal with it."

Lin Ruo thought for a moment and asked, "How much?"

"Two taels of silver." Wang Qinian gestured to count.

"Two taels of silver for a bowl of noodles! Is this shop involved in organized crime?"

"Sir, you don't...believe it." Wang Qinian said timidly, with a bit of blame on his lips that was about to come out. He didn't even consider the rationality before speaking, which made him difficult to appease.

But who would have thought that Lin Ruo would come running back, smiling, as if he was very surprised by the answer, and patted Wang Qinian on the back: "Two taels of silver for a bowl of noodles, you're rich. How about this, you pay first, and I'll buy the store tomorrow. The two taels of silver will be regarded as the investment fee, and I'll give you the dividends in the future. It's a sure profit."

Wang Qinian felt a surge of heat in his heart, and his eyes almost popped out: "Sir, are you serious?"

Lin Ruo looked at him sincerely: "You were the one who lied to me first."

Wang Qinian: …………

After getting on the carriage back home, Lin Ruo calmed down and asked Teng Zijing, "Did you pay for the noodles?"

"It's settled." Teng Zijing gave the answer that Lin Ruo expected, and then added something unexpected, "By the way, I also settled the debt for the guy from the Supervisory Council. He said that the gentleman owed him a meal, so I paid it for him. It's good to settle the debt so that we don't have to be involved again in the future."

Lin Ruo didn't say anything else, and the carriage was quiet for a long time.

Teng Zijing said: "If you don't want it, return it."

Lin Ruo automatically skipped over this and talked about today's events: "Since we have taken over the store, someone has to run it."

"Isn't it the same whether the store is run by someone or not?"

Lin Ruo found that Teng Zijing was also very good at making people angry, so he didn't want to discuss it with him anymore and asked directly: "Have you ever been to Qing Yu Tang?"

"I've heard the master mention the famous Qing Yu Tang in Kyoto." Teng Zijing said, chuckling and looking up, "You don't want to ask the shopkeeper of Qing Yu Tang to help you take care of your business, do you?"

"Can't you?"

Seeing the serious gentleman saying such ridiculous things, Teng Zijing couldn't help laughing and said, "Do you know how famous Qing Yu Tang is in Kyoto? Although it has only been opened for less than five years, it is a real big business. Who in Kyoto doesn't want to ask the shopkeeper of Qing Yu Tang to take care of their business?"

"The owner of Qing Yu Tang is someone who is very difficult to hire, even if you are wealthy."

Lin Ruo listened to Teng Zijing's explanation and said, "Qing Yu Tang has an unwritten rule. They usually only handle business for princes and nobles, and rarely work for powerless outsiders. Although I am also puzzled, this is the fact."

"So you'd better forget about it. Even if you can hire someone out, they won't look down upon your small business."

After Teng Zijing finished speaking, he reminded: "If you really have an idea, you can ask the master to hire some Qing guests in the mansion. Although these people's abilities are not as good as Qing Yu Tang, I think they are more than enough to run your small shop, and the cost will not be too high."

Lin Ruo remained calm from beginning to end, and only spoke after making sure there were no annoying sounds in his ears: "Are you done?"

Teng Zijing nodded: "That's it."

Lin Ruo stretched out his hand and said, "Well, you can ask someone to take my manuscript and have the shopkeeper at Qing Yu Tang take a look. Without further ado, someone will naturally be willing to come."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Teng Zijing didn't understand. He had wasted his time talking in vain and it was like farting, and it didn't even make a sound.

"By the way, let's invite Manager Ye from Qing Yu Tang." Lin Ruo said again.

"Manager Ye is the living signboard of Qing Yu Tang. It's hard to say whether we can hire anyone... and you still want to hire someone." Having said this, Teng Zijing spread out the manuscript and took a few careful glances to make sure that he couldn't understand these obscure articles. Then he said confidently, "This manuscript can't even attract me. How can you expect to attract the manager of Qing Yu Tang with it?"

Lin Ruo smiled. It was impossible for a warrior like you to attract such a person. He replied, "The shopkeepers in Qing Yu Tang are all cultured people. They know what's going on."

Even though Teng Zijing had no confidence at all, he couldn't help but feel a little shaken when he saw Lin Ruo's confident look. After thinking about it, he thought of the safest way and said, "Go in the name of the Fan Mansion. Even if the manuscript is useless, Qing Yu Tang will at least give him some face and send someone, so he won't return empty-handed."

"That's not necessary. The bookstore is not part of the Fan family's business. It's pointless to bother you, Lord Fan."

Teng Zijing finally stopped talking.

(End of this chapter)