The Daily Life of a Down-on-Hard-Life Medicine Girl Supporting Her Family

Chapter 34 gave Yuanlai Teahouse a 20% bonus.
"May I ask, Master Zhang, how much silver would it cost to rent that courtyard for a year?"

If the price is right, she'd like to move.

"It doesn't have to be..."

Chunnuan appreciates Master Zhang's kindness, but she cannot accept a free meal without having done anything in return. Chunnuan has no reason to stay for nothing.

"This..." Master Zhang is not short of money. The Zhang family has some property in Changzhou. As long as he and his son do not squander the money and do not care about extravagance, it can last for three generations.

But when it comes to rent, he really wasn't sure.

To put it too highly would seem like a prank on someone you know; to put it too lightly would be an insult to Ms. Xiao.

Then he looked at Butler Ma.

"Reporting to Master, and Miss Xiao, according to market prices, the annual rent for this courtyard is approximately four taels of silver."

Four taels of silver?

The Xiao family is not worthy!

Chun Nuan gasped inwardly. She was currently unable to find a new place for her family to live. After all, earning money was like picking sand with a needle, while spending it was like water flowing away.

Selling flower cakes, processing some cheap herbs, and processing some good medicinal materials for Baicaotang—I've been doing this for almost a month now. There were already some necessary expenses, and my current total savings are less than two taels of silver.

Besides, after picking the flower buds today, the business of selling flower cakes can be considered over.

The flowers have all withered, so where can we find the ingredients to fry flower cakes?
Another source of income is gone.

Therefore, Chunnuan remained calm and quietly thanked Master Zhang for his kindness.

"We'll look for Master Zhang again when spring arrives and we want to move."

"Miss Xiao, why are you doing this?"

That personality is so twisted.

"Master Zhang, Steward Ma, please have some tea." Chunyan brought out another bowl of tea, and Chunning quickly refilled it for them.

It's clear that this group of people really enjoyed the tea.

Nowadays, the Xiao family doesn't serve exquisite dishes, pastries, or tea to guests, but they certainly provide plenty of cold tea.

"Alright, thank you." Taking a sip of the herbal tea, Master Zhang had an idea: "Miss Xiao, I wonder if you could sell me the herbal tea recipe?"

Selling the recipe?
Chunnuan paused for a moment.

She really hadn't thought about this.

"I own a teahouse in the county town. I usually serve green and black tea, but I've never served herbal tea."

"Mr. Zhang, there are many kinds of herbal tea, such as heat-clearing and dampness-removing tea, liver-clearing and vision-improving tea, children's herbal tea... each with different effects and different formulas."

If it's just for personal consumption, Chunnuan thinks it's fine.

But if you sell it to someone else, then you have to be responsible to that person, and the nature of the transaction is completely different.

So, it really isn't very convenient.

Master Zhang sighed. Sure enough, it was another day of being rejected by Miss Xiao.

“Miss Xiao, I find this herbal tea quite delicious. How about you sell me the recipe? My teahouse only serves this one kind.”

The recipe for this herbal tea is much simpler because she doesn't have enough money and is reluctant to spend money on some of the medicinal herbs.

Chunnuan thought about it and agreed.

“If Mr. Zhang wants to buy it, I’ll write down the complete prescription for you, and also list the contraindications.” Chun Nuan said, “After all, these are just combinations of medicinal herbs, and they’re not suitable for everyone.”

"For example?"

"This herbal tea is only made without honeysuckle or other medicinal herbs because it contains few herbs. If it did, Mr. Zhang would absolutely not be able to drink it."

Mr. Zhang understands!
When asked how much Chunnuan should pay, the reply was, "Mr. Zhang, you can pay whatever you think is appropriate. Chunnuan has never sold prescriptions."

Whether you give more or less depends on whether there will be opportunities to cooperate in the future.

She knows quite a lot.

Like Zhao Minghua, who would give her money at the drop of a hat and never mistreat her, she was happy to process medicinal herbs for Baicaotang.

Master Zhang is an open and honest man; perhaps he is another one who can be trusted.

"Well..." Master Zhang thought for a moment, then a brilliant idea flashed in his mind: "Miss, how about I give you ten taels of silver first, and then give Miss Xiao 20% of the income from selling herbal tea at the teahouse in the county town? What do you think?"

Chunnuan paused for a moment.

I knew Mr. Zhang was generous, but I never expected him to be so generous as to give away bonuses directly.

On second thought, Mr. Zhang is indeed very clever.

With this herbal tea prescription as a foundation for cooperation, it's entirely possible to ask her for another prescription in the future.

"Master Zhang is very generous." Chunnuan had no reason to disagree.

At that moment, Chunnuan wrote down the ingredients and contraindications of this herbal tea and handed it to Master Zhang.

Master Zhang also instructed Steward Ma to give Chunnuan ten taels of silver.

"Miss Xiao, you can rent that courtyard now."

"Thank you very much, Master Zhang." Chunnuan returned the ten taels of silver to Steward Ma: "Please give me six taels of silver, Steward Ma. Also, please write a rental contract."

“Of course,” said Master Zhang. “Bring me a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.”

Chun'an quickly went inside to retrieve it, and Master Zhang wrote the rental agreement on the bench. Then he wrote another agreement, dried it, and handed it to Chun'an for her to sign.

When Chunnuan looked at it, it turned out to be a profit-sharing agreement for the Yuanlai Tea House in the county town. It stated that Chunnuan would provide the herbal tea recipe, and she would receive 20% of the tea house's profits from selling herbal tea. It also specifically mentioned that the accounts would be sent to her every quarter for her to review.

This Mr. Zhang is a truly straightforward and honest person when it comes to money.

Spring warmth brought joy as he signed and sealed the document.

After seeing Mr. Zhang off, Chunnuan saw that her younger siblings were very happy: they were finally moving to a new house.

As a result, the grandmother disagreed.

"Nuan Nuan, after thinking it over, I think it's best not to move from this house for the time being."

"Why?"

The whole family was puzzled. Chunnuan had actually thought of something, but she didn't think it was a big problem.

“Our family is now considered poor by many people; we're lucky if we can get enough to eat and wear. If we move without proper planning, it will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble.”

“Grandmother, Nuannuan wants you to be more comfortable. Besides, this house is so dilapidated. If we encounter a rainstorm or something, we might have nowhere to stay.”

Moreover, the rent for the courtyard has already been paid and a lease agreement has been signed, so at least for this year, the right to use it is in the hands of the Xiao family.

Why would someone choose to live in a run-down house when they have a nice place to stay? They're just making a life of hardship!

"Your grandmother understands your filial piety." The old lady nodded. "How about this, since you're not going to process medicinal herbs or anything like that, you and your eldest sister-in-law can move to that courtyard. Your mother and I will stay here for now. We can move over properly when there's really no room left."

"Grandma, if we're moving, we'll move together. If we're not moving, your granddaughter-in-law will stay with everyone." Zhu Ling dared not enjoy her happiness alone.

“Lingling, you’re about to give birth. This place is inconvenient in every way. Listen to me, move there with Nuannuan so you can take care of each other.” The old lady said, “We’ll move sooner or later, but now is not the time.”

"grandmother……"

Zhu Ling was deeply moved. This was the family she was willing to leave behind her wealthy family to come to Sichuan with her husband. She had never experienced the hardships her daughter-in-law had endured. When good fortune came, she was the first person Zhu Ling thought of.

"Good child, I'm sorry you had to go through this." The old lady patted her hand. "If one day my Xiao family can live a good life, I will make it up to you properly."

(End of this chapter)