Chapter 9: Securing the Gains

Wu Tiande certainly wanted a storefront. Before his rebirth, he had read the story "Reborn in the Final Years of the Dream of the Red Chamber" by the Shaanxi-Gansu old rascal, which gave him a thorough understanding of the rise of that down-and-out scholar Zhou Jin and what a shop could mean.

Currently, he was of low status and lacked experience, making it risky to venture into other businesses, but a fast-food business seemed largely feasible. Wu Tiande had seen with his own eyes how popular this fast-food venture was. At the time, he had been selling magnets at the foot of Wanshou Temple, cold and hungry. If not for the fear of being exposed, he would have bought a meal from Bao Er and his wife’s stall to have something warm to eat.

In the area around Ningrong Street, the traffic was constant and the crowds were dense. With such a large target audience, there was no doubt he could make money. After all, for most of the common people in Beiping City, dining in restaurants or taverns was too extravagant, while gnawing on dry rations with cold water felt a bit miserable. Even if one didn't mind it themselves, no one wanted their children to suffer, right?

Bao Er and his wife had made a fortune and only thought of keeping it safe by buying a large house, but Wu Tiande was thinking of making money beget more money. The problem was that property in Beiping was not cheap, and storefronts were even more expensive. A small shop would require at least a hundred taels of silver just to lease, and a fast-food shop couldn't be too small—it needed a kitchen to cook, a front hall for customers to sit and eat, and a middle courtyard for storage and living quarters to prevent theft. Calculating this, it would take at least five to six hundred taels to acquire a shop of suitable size.

"How big is the shop?" Wu Tiande asked, deeply concerned. If it were too big, he couldn't afford it; if it were too small, it would be of little use.

"You'll see when we get there," Bao Er said with a smile.

Deng Gang, the platoon leader, did not want to make the trip, so Wu Tiande had no choice but to follow Bao Er alone. They wove through the bustling Ningrong Street, and after scanning the numerous shops along the way, they stopped in front of a storefront that was not particularly conspicuous but exceptionally well-structured.

"Officer Wu, we have arrived. This is the shop under Jiao Da’s name," Bao Er introduced.

At this moment, Wu Tiande was attracted by the faded plaque above the door. Although the characters were unclear, the interwoven patterns carved into the green stone still showed a certain level of refinement, unlike the crude appearance of ordinary shops. He pushed the door open and entered. The hall was brighter than he had expected. Facing him was an aged wooden counter; though mottled, it was sturdy enough to be converted into a point-of-sale terminal. The small cubicle behind the counter, originally for the shopkeeper to rest, could easily be partitioned into a preparation area.

The Eight Immortals tables and benches on both sides of the hall looked old, but once scrubbed clean and adorned with some greenery, they could create a sense of "new flavors in an old shop," which was more distinctive than the standard, repetitive furniture. What satisfied him most was the moon gate at the end of the hall, leading to the middle courtyard, which perfectly separated the customer area from the workspace.

Walking through the moon gate, Wu Tiande couldn't help but nod. The courtyard was small but square, paved with flagstones, so there was no fear of mud on rainy days. The two wing rooms on the left were of equal size; one would serve perfectly as a kitchen, with the exhaust vent facing the courtyard wall so as not to choke the customers. The other room could hold two small beds for the shop assistants, saving the expense of renting separate housing. On the right, one room could be partitioned into a warehouse for storing rice, flour, and oil—far more convenient than an external warehouse—while the other could serve as a study and reception room. The old locust tree in the center of the courtyard provided lush shade, keeping the area from becoming too stuffy in the summer.

Passing through the floral gate at the end of the middle courtyard led to the backyard. Compared to the orderliness of the middle court, the backyard was more serene. In the small courtyard grew some nameless flowers and plants, and in the corner stood a hand-pumped well with clear, cool water, perfect for washing vegetables and cooking. Facing the floral gate was a main room with two side chambers. The window paper had been freshly pasted, and the rooms were paved with blue bricks—not luxurious, but clean and tidy. Wu Tiande thought to himself that it would be perfect for him to live here; he could attend to the shop in the front and retreat to the quiet of the back when finished.

Looking up from the backyard, he realized the layout was perfect: the front hall welcomed guests, the middle courtyard was for cooking and storage, and the back was for living. The flow of the shop was clearly defined from front to back, perfectly suiting the "front shop, back factory" requirement of a fast-food restaurant. With the heavy foot traffic of Ningrong Street as a foundation, the business was bound to thrive.

Overall, Wu Tiande was very satisfied. Just as he was about to ask Bao Er how much silver it would take to buy it, he was startled by the sound of a heated argument coming from the main room in the backyard.

"Could there be a property dispute? Is this Bao Er trying to scam me?" Thinking this, Wu Tiande’s gaze toward Bao Er turned stern.

"What is the situation here?" Wu Tiande asked directly.

Bao Er whispered that it was Jiao Da arguing with his younger brother Jiao Er and his family. Jiao Da was elderly and had no children, so his brother Jiao Er had brought his family over from Jinling, intending to "devour the inheritance." They had not only occupied Jiao Da’s three-courtyard residence on the back street of the Rong mansion but had also driven away the shopkeeper and staff of this grain and oil shop to run it themselves. However, Jiao Er’s family was not cut out for business, or perhaps their true goal was simply to line their own pockets. Since they arrived, Jiao Da had not only ceased to receive any profits but had actually had to subsidize their losses with his own money.

Jiao Da, though old, was not foolish. He decided on the spot, using the excuse of needing money for wine, to sell both his residence and the shop.

Noticing Bao Er bringing someone to see the property, the two old brothers stopped arguing. Bao Er made introductions and exchanged a few polite words before cutting to the chase: "Master Jiao, I’ll be blunt. You are seventy or eighty years old; how much longer do you have? Keeping this shop only nets you three or five taels a month—not even enough for a jar of good wine. It would be better to sell it now. With hundreds of taels in hand, you could live as you please. That’s better than leaving it all to strangers after you’re gone."

Bao Er’s words struck a chord with Jiao Da, but they displeased Jiao Er. He stiffened his neck and said, "Bao Er, you don't look like a good person. How can you sow discord between us brothers?"

Seeing his elder brother remain silent, seemingly agreeing with Bao Er, Jiao Er became even more indignant, his old face turning red. He said urgently, "We are own brothers! How can you call me a stranger? Back then, when you followed the Duke on military campaigns, you didn't look after the family or send money back. It was I who managed everything, exhausting our savings to pay for the parents' medical care and funeral. That is why I had to marry a widow, just to keep the family line from dying out. If our parents were watching from the underworld, they would surely praise me!"

"But what about you, brother? You didn't support our parents, nor did you leave the Jiao family any descendants. You spent your days drinking and causing trouble, losing your position as a manager in the Ning mansion, and you had no idea how to help the younger generation get jobs there."

"Now that you are old and frail, even if you split this property—worth over a thousand taels—in half, it is what I deserve. Why should I be the only one to bear the burden of caring for our parents while you lived a life of luxury and dissipation?"

This sounded somewhat reasonable, leaving Jiao Da speechless. Jiao Da switched the subject: "The problem is, I gave you the chance, but you were useless. When I hired others to run the shop, it netted three or five taels a month after paying wages. Since I handed it to you, I’ve had to subsidize the losses. Isn't that bizarre? You aren't cut out for business; it's better to sell the shop than to keep losing money."

Jiao Er felt embarrassed at these words. He knew better than anyone why the shop was losing money—after all, there were six mouths in his family to feed every day.

After much bickering, with everyone’s mediation, they reached an agreement. Jiao Da needed money for wine, so the house and shop had to be sold. However, Jiao Er had traveled far to rely on him, so he couldn't leave his family homeless. It was decided that after the sale, Jiao Da would buy Jiao Er a small courtyard for the family to live in and give him one hundred taels of silver as compensation for supporting their parents. Thereafter, the brothers would remain on speaking terms, but no further financial disputes would be allowed.

Jiao Er was unhappy with this result, but he realized that getting a hundred taels and a house at once was better than his current underhanded schemes. His wife, Qin, was also satisfied. She had been the one pushing for them to come to the capital to claim the inheritance. She had two sons from a previous marriage and a son and daughter with Jiao Er; with six mouths to feed, they lived in poverty. She had decided to claim the inheritance, but Jiao Er was already over sixty. If Jiao Er died before Jiao Da, it was uncertain if Jiao Da would still recognize her as his sister-in-law. It was better to take the money and the house now.

Jiao Da pondered for a long time before saying to Bao Er and Wu Tiande, "The house and the shop can be sold to you for five hundred taels each, paid in full on the spot. No credit. If you agree, we can call a middleman now."

"Selling both together for cash is a big deal of over a thousand taels. Can it be cheaper?" Bao Er bargained. He didn't have enough money and hoped for a discount.

"Cheaper? That's not impossible, but..." Jiao Da suddenly stopped.

"But what?" Bao Er urged.

Wu Tiande caught the implication and said, "No rush, no rush. We can discuss it slowly."

Jiao Da pulled Bao Er and Wu Tiande into a side room.

"Master Jiao, please speak," Wu Tiande said after Jiao Da remained silent for a while.

"Sigh, I will expose my family's shame. I don't care if you laugh at me." Jiao Da then said with a bitter face, "My sister-in-law, Qin, is not a good person. She has Jiao Er wrapped around her finger, all to save up dowries for her two bastard sons. My life’s savings from the wars have been swindled by her to raise another man’s children. I am truly unwilling, but if I don't give it, Jiao Er will nag me endlessly, which is suffocating."

"My idea is this: the shop and the house are yours for a lower price, but you must do me a favor. Sell my own nephew, Jiao Zhong, into the Jia mansion as a servant. One of you is a follower of Master Lian, and the other is the nephew of Manager Wu from the Rong mansion’s treasury. Surely you can manage this."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Wu Tiande asked. To be a servant for life, and for his descendants to be servants as well—why would Jiao Da sell his own nephew?

"Sigh, this is the only way," Jiao Da sighed. "My brother, Jiao Er, has been manipulated by that woman his whole life. Now, those two bastards, Jiao Fu and Jiao Gui, are grown men in their twenties. My nephew and niece are only sixteen and under twelve respectively; how can they possibly stand against those two? If I sell Jiao Zhong into the Jia mansion, he will be under the masters' protection, and those bastards won't dare to bully him."

"As for Jiao Ya, since Officer Wu wants to run a business, don't you need help? Arrange for her to work in the shop. That way, she won't be targeted by those two beasts, Jiao Fu and Jiao Gui, who might secretly sell her off to some filthy place."

"Such a thing could happen?" Bao Er and Wu Tiande were shocked.

It is said that the love of parents for their children is profound. Although Jiao Da was not Jiao Ya and Jiao Zhong’s parent, as their uncle, his intentions were truly well-considered.

"My shop does need help, but I am unmarried. Is it appropriate for Jiao Ya to work for me? Would it damage her reputation as a girl?" Wu Tiande asked.

"I don't worry about that," Jiao Da replied. "Officer Wu, you are now out of servitude and hold an official position; you are a man of status. If you are truly interested in her, you can make her a concubine. If you are not, I have nothing to worry about."

The deal was settled. The shop and house were sold at a reduced price of four hundred taels each. However, Wu Tiande had to transfer his one-courtyard house to Jiao Er and hire Jiao Ya to work in the shop long-term; Bao Er was responsible for using his connections to sell Jiao Zhong into the Jia mansion as a servant.