Ordinary clear day

Chapter 90 Investing
Shuning sat in the carriage, No.20 looked at Zhenzhen seven times.From the very beginning, Zhenzhen had a strange blush on her face, she didn't speak much, she just sat there quietly with a smile on her lips.

"Sister Zhenzhen, what's wrong with you? Why is your face so red?" Shuning couldn't help asking.

Zhenzhen was a little panicked: "It's nothing, is your face very red? Maybe it's too hot." She waved her handkerchief and fanned it twice, "Could it be raining again? Why is it so stuffy?"

Shuning looked at the curtain blown up by the breeze speechlessly, once again she was sure that there was something wrong with Zhenzhen.

Soon, Duan Ning's voice sounded outside the carriage: "We've arrived at the General's Mansion, sister, let's change carriages and go back, so we won't disturb you when we enter the mansion." Shu Ning responded, but found that Zhenzhen's face was even redder.

Saying goodbye to Zhenzhen and Chongli in a hurry, Shuning got into her carriage and was about to leave when she heard Chongli ask her younger sister, "Is younger sister hot? Is it heat stroke? I told you not to go out long ago."

"Second brother will take care of me all day long. You have to follow me every time I go out, saying that you want to protect my safety, but when the carriage rushed over just now, where were you? If it weren't for Brother Duanning desperately protecting me Hold me, I'm going to get hurt."

"Didn't I get pushed away? It's my fault this time, and there will never be a next time."

Then Zhenzhen snorted and went to the door.Shu Ning glanced at the two small scratches on Duan Ning's hands, looked up at him and said with a smile, "Oh, why do I feel that my brother has big peach blossoms on his face?"

Duan Ning pinched his younger sister's nose, said: "You are dazzled." Then he gently pushed her into the carriage, lowered the curtain, and yelled at the coachman to leave.Shuning snickered in the car.

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When returning home, it was already evening, Shu Ning hurried Chun Xing to the kitchen, then went to the main room with Duan Ning to greet her mother.Tong frowned slightly and said, "Why is it so late? Chef Lin is on leave today, and Chun Xing is away, so there is almost no one to cook. Fortunately, Ah Yin came and offered to help, otherwise what will we do for dinner?"

Shu Ning hurriedly said: "I was wrong, I must come back sooner next time. Why is Sister Ah Yin here?" Tong Shi said: "I came to borrow money. Her noodle stall has been closed. I heard that her father He is too honest. When people asked how to make the noodles, he would tell them everything. As a result, other noodle shops and restaurants have learned it. Her family is just a small business, and she can only rely on regular customers To earn some money, the business was hard to do a few days ago, so Ah Yin simply took over the stall. Now she has taken a fancy to a store, the location is excellent, and she has placed an order, but the capital is not enough, so she came to beg me."

Duanning thought for a while, then said: "Is she only here to borrow money, or is she asking us to buy shares? It's fine if she only borrows money, but it's fine to buy shares."

Mrs. Tong nodded: "I said the same thing, so I promised her 300 taels of silver, but clearly stated that she was not allowed to buy a shop and open a store under the banner of our family. Your Ama has just become the prefect not long ago, and there are still several people on your head. My lord, please don't let anyone catch you."

Shu Ning asked: "Isn't it okay to just buy shares without playing the banner?" Tong said with a smile: "It's so easy for you to look at it? Your Ama is not the only one in the city, so it's better to save trouble. Ah Yin opened a small family. It’s just a small noodle shop, how much money can it make? Let’s forget it.”

Shu Ning thinks about it too, if someone opens a noodle stall, someone will use the secret recipe, and opening a noodle shop is probably just a small business.Ah Yin has excellent cooking skills and is also smart, but he is not very good at business management.

The dinner was very sumptuous, and Ah Yin's craftsmanship became better and better, and the whole family ate very happily.A Yin got the bank note, although he felt a little regretful, he left happily.

A few days later, at the Seventh Sisters' Meeting, the girls from all families tried their best to compete with each other by making the most exquisite handicrafts.Shuning's embroidered screens consist of four pieces. The ones embroidered are plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo. Because they used some pearl threads and inlaid various beads on them, they are considered ingenious and well received. Light.

However, it was Zhenzhen who won the championship in the end.

She used extremely fine copper wire and golden glass beads to make a one-foot-tall Western clock model, which was exactly the same as the big tribute clock that she showed Shu Ning that day. Even the vines and precious stones in the upper hut were stringed with colorful beads. Once outside, the window can be opened, and there are bird nests and birds inside.The entire model is already a rare work of art in itself.

A few girls who had heard that Zhenzhen was not good at female celebrities, and felt contemptuous, were dumbfounded when they saw this golden bead Western clock.Many people looked around, amazed.

Seeing her friend winning the first prize, Shu Ning was also happy for her, took Zhen Zhen's hand and said: "You did a great job, if you are really a beauty, you might as well look better like this."

Zhenzhen smiled smugly: "Of course, I've been cheating on me for three days, but I'm exhausted. Looking at their appearance now, I feel that the hard work of these few days is worth it."

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The next day, Shuning took Qin to Zhenzhen's home for class, but saw Zhenzhen and Wen's sitting in the flower hall, and Bian Cai was also there, discussing something.Zhenzhen beckoned Shuning over and asked her to sit down and listen together.

It turned out that Bian Cai proposed that Zhenzhen make a golden bead Western clock, so that she won the first prize at the Seventh Sisters Meeting. Wen and Zhenzhen both wanted to reward him, but Bian Cai made another suggestion, wanting to borrow two of the dim sum masters in the mansion. Apprentice, ask for another capital to open a tea house in the city, and ask them for permission.

Zhenzhen whispered in Shuning's ear: "His father is the manager of the family. In order to show fairness, he has always suppressed his son. He is now in his 30s, and he only got into the position of deputy manager. He must be thinking about getting another job." Find a way out."

I only heard that Bian Cai persuaded the Wen family: "The servant has no intention of using the name of the mansion to mix money. In fact, the mansion has a lot of expenses, and my lord always wants to prepare military funds for the emperor. Whatever benefits you receive, they are reserved for the emperor. The slave has no other skills, but he still has some experience in management. He also opened a restaurant when he was young, but he sold it only to return to the mansion to serve him. Now the slave has taken the city I have searched all over restaurants and restaurants, big and small, and I have already made up my mind. I beg the second wife to let the servants have a try. With the successor of the royal chef in the palace, are you afraid that there will be no business?"

The Wen family was a little hesitant. It is common for a family like them to do business through servants, but Guangzhou is a strange place to them, and it is still a question of whether they can do it well.

Really cherishing Bian Cai said: "If you only give you a sum of money, and you don't tell people that you came from the general's mansion, can you really do business? How much money can a teahouse make?"

Bian Cai hurriedly said: "It will definitely be possible. I have watched it for a long time. The local wealthy people like to go to teahouses and restaurants, where they can drink tea and eat, and they can discuss business matters. I saw that there are so many rich people in the Shisanhang area. It's best to open a shop nearby. Besides, if you can eat dim sum in the palace, why don't those rich people come?"

Zhenzhen sneered: "Are you really planning to use the dim sum in the palace to fool people? Those dim sum are good, but it takes a lot of time to make them, and you have to use countless good materials. If you really follow the recipe in the palace, I will give you 5000 taels is not enough to compensate you; if you don’t follow the prescription, you will be cheating. What’s more, those two dim sum apprentices are not good enough. Even if those customers come to patronize you for a while, they will be gone in a few days. I forgot. Erniang lost money, but who can she complain to?"

Bian Cai was in a cold sweat and said with a smile: "Since this is the case, dim sum is not feasible, and it is better to be a restaurant. There are dozens of restaurants in the city, and more than half of them are making money every day. The servants who run restaurants are also familiar with them."

Zhenzhen frowned again: "Where can I find a good cook? Is it possible to use the one at home? Come on, the seafood and aquatic products are the most here, but the cook at home is so unpalatable. If people know it, they will laugh at our family. .”

Bian Cai didn't dare to make a sound, just stood silently.

Seeing him like this, Wen felt pitiful, so she said to Zhenzhen: "Forget it, he is also thinking about his family, at least he won the lottery for you, why do you scold him so hard?" Then he turned to Bian Cai Said: "What you said is also reasonable. I see, it would be better to open a teahouse to sell some tea and snacks, but the capital I can give is not much, only 1000 taels. If you can find someone who is familiar with the local area to partner, I will allow you to go. , but let’s say yes first, you are not allowed to use our family’s name to suppress people.”

Bian Cai was overjoyed and immediately agreed.Hearing this, Shu Ning was a little moved. Thinking of what Ah Yin had said, she said to Wen: "Shuning is here to say something. Our family used to use a local cook who is very skilled and very good at cooking. To make dim sum, she quit her job two years ago and opened a small food stall outside. Recently, she has closed the store and plans to open it officially. She has now booked a store, which is said to be in the Lizhi Bay area, but the capital is not enough, and she is not good at running it. The manager might as well go Ask her, it would be great if you can partner."

Zhenzhen heard this, and asked: "Is the dim sum she made the same as you usually make?" Shuning nodded: "Many of them were thought up by her and I. I can make them, and she can almost do them." , she will, but more than half of me won't."

Zhenzhen stopped talking, and Bian Cai saw that there was a [-]% to [-]% chance that it was a promise, so he kowtowed to thank the two masters, and also thanked Shuning.

Shuning finished her piano lessons at Zhenzhen's house, and reported the matter to her mother when she got home, and said: "Last time, Er Niang said that Ama was suppressing others, and it's not easy for our family to come forward to do business, but if the general's house It’s really a partnership with Ah Yin over there. It’s okay for us to invest in one or two shares. It’s not for the money, my daughter thought. It would be great if our two families were closer. There is one thing that Erniang probably doesn’t know ..."

She whispered in her mother's ear about the carriage collision accident that day, and then said with a snicker, "Today Zhenzhen secretly asked her daughter about her elder brother. The daughter looked at it, and it was quite interesting."

Tong's heart was a little moved: "Zhenzhen is a good girl, good-looking, and good-natured. What's rare is that she can be exempted from the election, and half of the marriage can be decided. General Wu Dan has always admired your brother, and the family is worthy of it." If it really works out, it will be a rare and good marriage." She thought about it, and she was already half-hearted.

But she still has some concerns: "But if our family comes forward, it will be too conspicuous, in case someone makes trouble..."

Shu Ning thought for a while, and said: "If it's inconvenient for Er Niang, it's better to do it in the name of Aunt Liu. First, it's reliable, and second, she has no other income except the monthly money of eight taels of silver. .She only uses the public house for food and clothing, and saves money for Xiaobao. If Erniang asks her to have more money, it will make her life easier."

Tong Shi was thoughtful, and waved her hand to let her daughter go out. She wanted to think about it herself.On the second day, he sat in a sedan chair and went to the general's mansion to discuss with Wen for half a day.

Bian Cai and Ah Yin were introduced by Ah Song and Chun Xing, and they hit it off right away.Ah Yin and the dim sum apprentices from the General's Mansion were in charge of the back kitchen, and Bian Cai acted as the shopkeeper, using the shop ordered by Ah Yin.Wen's contributed 500 taels of silver, and Tong's contributed 500 taels in the name of Xiao Liu's. In addition to the 300 taels lent earlier, he was considered the second largest shareholder. Zhenzhen and Shuning also paid some private money to buy shares .

Zhenzhen just wanted to have fun, but Shuning's heart was to make some extra money.Although she is not short of money, as a member of the crossing army, she should make a small fortune to meet the occasion.She knows that she is not good at management, and she doesn't give full play to modern management concepts. She doesn't care about the operation of the store at all, and just sits and collects dividends.

The younger sisters contributed money, and it was not good for the elder brother to show any signs of it.Chongsi took the lead, and both Chongli and Duanning contributed some money, but only two or three hundred taels, which meant that it was a support for the two female elders.On the other hand, Little Liu was a little overjoyed at the sudden benefit, knowing that Tong wanted to add some private house for her, and he was very grateful to her. Even Big Liu knew about it and felt that Tong did a beautiful job.

For the Tong family, this investment will not only bring her family closer to the Wudan family, but even if her husband leaves Guangzhou to serve as the magistrate or Wudan no longer serves as the general of Guangzhou, the friendship between the two families will not be interrupted, and at the same time Can increase income for the family.As for the fact that Mrs. Liu has more private houses, she is not worried at all. The money always has to pass through her own hands to flow to Mrs. Liu. very.

After a series of preparations such as expanding the store, redecorating, recruiting shop assistants, purchasing utensils, and researching recipes, this teahouse did not open until around the Chongyang Festival in September, just in time for the peak of a wave of merchant ships coming to Guangdong, and the business was very good.

The name of the tea house is "Cyclamen", and it is divided into three floors. The lobby on the first floor is equipped with two-foot-square small tables. If there are too many guests, two to four tables will be put together.The second and third floors are all private rooms with excellent sound insulation, which are exclusively for guests to discuss with friends.Guests in the lobby can enjoy A Yin's Cantonese dim sum, porridge noodles and various syrups, but the signature palace dim sum can only be enjoyed by the VIPs in the private rooms.

Although Bian Cai promised that he would not use the name of the General's Mansion, the rumors still spread. However, the teahouse has delicious snacks, reasonable prices, and good environmental services. got this.

When the accounts are settled at the end of the year, all shareholders, large and small, have received dividends.Shuning saw little Liu took the 100 taels of silver notes from her mother with tears in her eyes, looked down at the 40 taels of silver notes and a few taels of silver in her hand, and felt that this investment was not bad.

(End of this chapter)