Farewell Flower Festival

"Is the girl up?" the waiter asked outside the door.

Chaoyan agreed, and the waiter came to bring her some water. Chaoyan asked him to put it at the door. The waiter said breakfast was ready and asked her if she wanted to eat inside or in the lobby downstairs. Chaoyan said she didn't want to have breakfast.

After the waiter left, Chaoyan opened the door and brought in a wooden barrel of water. After washing her face, she simply tied her hair up, walked around the room a few times, hid the big bag of silver, and clipped a hair on the door when she went out. It's always better to be careful when you go out.

As soon as she came downstairs, the boss came over to greet her warmly, asking her if she slept well last night and if she needed anything, he would ask his staff to buy it. Chao Yan did need help with something, and seeing that the boss was so helpful, she asked him if there was a store nearby that needed to be rented out.

The boss asked her how big a shop she wanted to rent. Chaoyan thought about it and said that half the size of the lobby would be fine. The boss said he would keep an eye out for her and let her know as soon as there was any news.

In the early stages of a business, the storefront doesn't need to be too big. The key is to have effective publicity methods. Last night she came up with several ideas that would integrate modern thinking into traditional customs, and would surely be a great success.

After leaving the inn, Chao Yan ate a bowl of hot wontons at a roadside stall, and then looked for a rental shop along the way.

When she passed by Hua Ninglu, she went in to take a look and learn about the types of products in the store. She then went to two other rouge and powder stores to learn more.

At noon, Chao Yan went into a small teahouse, ate some snacks and drank two cups of tea. After resting for a while, she continued her journey of searching. On the way, she passed by Xinghuazhai, and she couldn't resist the temptation and went in to buy a box of snacks.

Her hard work paid off, and she finally saw a shop for rent. There was a wooden board hanging at the door with calligraphy saying "shop for sale" on it. Those who were interested could come in and discuss in detail.

Chao Yan walked into the store and saw a man behind the counter. He was about 40 years old and had a sad face. He should be the boss.

When the boss saw that it was a girl who came in, he didn't come over to greet her. Instead, he was fiddling with the abacus with a sad face, and no one knew what he was calculating.

Seeing that the boss was busy, Chaoyan walked around first. There was only the counter left in the store besides two empty shelves, so it was easy to clean. Although the store was a little smaller than she expected, it was not a big problem and she could save some money. She walked to the door and looked outside. The location was also OK. Next, she would see if the prices were reasonable.

The boss originally thought that Chao Yan would come in and take a look and then leave, but when he saw her looking around as if she had other intentions, the boss's eyes became alert and watched her every move. When he saw her walking towards the counter, the boss immediately closed the account book, fearing that she would peek.

"Are you the boss?" Chao Yan asked politely.

The boss replied alertly, "It's me. What's the matter?"

Chao Yan asked: "How much do you sell this shop?"

The boss showed a hint of surprise. He didn't expect that she wanted to buy his store. At first he thought she was teasing him and said angrily that he would not sell it.

Seeing that the boss didn't believe her sincerity, Chaoyan told the boss that she was planning to open a shop to do business. The boss was even more surprised after hearing this. It was outrageous that a girl wanted to open a shop to do business.

"Little girl, doing business is not as simple as you think. Listen to my advice. You are not cut out for business. Go home quickly."

"Whether you have what it takes to be a businessman you won't know until you try." Chao Yan looked very confident and did not show any weakness in his momentum. "How much is this store? Just name your price." After saying this, Chao Yan experienced the joy of being rich and powerful. With five thousand taels of silver in his arms, he felt very confident.

Seeing that Chao Yan seemed serious, the boss also used his business skills to negotiate, first probing the other party's bottom line before deciding the price, "How much do you want to offer?"

Chao Yan held up five fingers, "Five hundred taels."

The boss laughed, as if laughing at her naivety, "Little girl, this is not how you do business. This is the capital, every inch of land is worth a lot of money. You want to buy my shop for 500 taels? Go home quickly."

Chao Yan said: "Eight hundred taels."

The boss laughed again.

Chaoyan didn't make any offer and asked the boss to name a number himself.

The boss held up two fingers and asked for two thousand taels.

Chaoyan knew that the other party was trying to trick her and thought she knew nothing, so she turned around and left. The boss didn't stop her and gave her a piece of advice, "Girls, don't show up in public to do business, or you might not be able to get married."

Chao Yan retorted, "If you are so good at business, you should open a few more stores." After saying that, she left in a cool manner, leaving the boss very angry.

On the way, Chaoyan muttered to herself to vent her anger, "Why can't a girl do business? Who are you looking down on? Do you understand gender equality? Women can hold up half the sky. Just wait and see. I will make my business bigger and stronger, and become the best in Beijing, and buy out the whole street." When she said this, a chuckle came from behind her. She turned around and saw Han Lie's asking for a beating smiling face and a pair of smiling fox eyes, which also asked for a beating.

"I heard that you ran away from home?" Han Lie asked with a gloating look.

Don't bring up that matter anymore. Chaoyan turned around and left.

Han Lie followed her and asked curiously, "You just said you wanted to do business, what kind of business do you want to do?"

Chao Yan suddenly realized that he was a native of Beijing and should know more about the land prices in Beijing than she did. She stopped and pointed to the wine shop across the street and said, "I just saw a shop that is slightly smaller than this one. Is it too expensive or too cheap to buy it for 800 taels?"

Han Lie asked her to take him to the shop so he could help bargain. Chao Yan looked him over, her eyes falling on the golden unicorn and the sword on his waist, and asked him to put away the golden unicorn, go back and change into more ordinary clothes, and not to bring the sword.

Chaoyan sat at the roadside stall and waited for about half an hour. Han Lie came back, wearing a light-colored outfit. He didn't bring his sword, and he had put away the golden unicorn.

When the two returned to the shop, the boss was about to close the store, thinking that no one would come to the shop today, so it would be better to go home and rest early.

Seeing Chaoyan coming back, the boss's face suddenly darkened. The conversation between the two of them an hour ago was not very pleasant. Seeing Chaoyan bringing back a young man, the boss showed a welcoming expression again, thinking that Han Lie was the real buyer and Chaoyan had just come to gather information.

Chaoyan took advantage of the situation and let Han Lie bargain with the boss.

Han Lie said that a shop of this size would only sell for eight hundred taels at most even in the busiest street, so he offered six hundred taels.

He wanted to sell her for 2,000 taels before, what a ruthless person! Chao Yan criticized the boss in her heart.

Han Lie asked the boss to think about it carefully and give him an answer tomorrow, then he left with Chao Yan.

After leaving, Han Lie asked her where she lived now, and Chao Yan said she lived in an inn. Han Lie said that Emperor Mu had given him a house before, and it was still empty, so he asked her if she wanted to move in. Chao Yan lied that she had found a place to live and would move in in two days.

After returning to the inn, Chaoyan told the boss that she had found a shop and asked the boss to help her find a real estate agent to rent a house. The boss happened to know a house rental agent and asked him to help Chaoyan ask the agent tomorrow.