Farewell Flower Festival

The next morning, as Chaoyan had just gone downstairs, a servant brought her the land deed and the business license issued by the Ministry of Households. Chaoyan recognized the servant, as he was the servant who had delivered the letter to her before.

She didn't expect Han Lie to help her get things done so quickly. This feeling of being valued made her feel a little different. She remembered that Han Lie had bargained with the boss for 600 taels, and asked the servant to go upstairs with her to get the silver. Although the silver note was in her arms, she would not take the risk of taking it out in public because there were so many people watching.

"The master said that the young lady had just started her business and needed money. It would not be too late for her to pay him back when she made some money. The master also said that if the young lady really felt bad, she could treat him to another meal."

After hearing what the servant said, Chao Yan asked the servant to wait for a moment, went to the counter to ask the boss for a pen and paper, wrote an IOU, and asked the servant to take the IOU back to Han Lie.

After the servant left, Chaoyan prepared to go look at the shop. The boss came over and told her that a house had been found and asked her to go over and take a look whenever she had time.

Chaoyan said she was going to look at houses in the afternoon, so the boss asked the clerk to tell the middleman, Aunt Zhou, to come over in the afternoon.

Finding a house went so smoothly. Chao Yan felt that her time-travel physique had finally taken effect. Everything would go smoothly from now on. It wouldn't be long before she became a millionaire.

After leaving the inn, Chao Yan couldn't wait to run to the shops and passed by a carriage at the corner.

Both of them seemed to sense something. The person in the carriage drew aside the curtain and looked back, just in time to see her back running forward. When the curtain was lowered, Chao Yan stopped.

She looked back and saw the carriage going away. It was as if a cold line slowly crossed her heart. She turned her head and looked forward, reminding herself not to look back, but to move forward, forward...

She ran again, faster than before, as if trying to erase something from her heart.

But some things remain in my heart. The more I want to erase them, the clearer they become. In the end, I can only lock them in a little black box and deceive myself that I don’t care anymore. In fact, I am afraid that I will compromise, become cowardly, and start to look down on myself.

The carriage slowly turned to the next corner. Qianfeng hesitated for a while. He had just seen Chaoyan's figure and was not sure whether he should say some things.

"I wonder what kind of business Miss Xiao Lian is going to do?" Qian Feng seemed to be talking to himself, but actually he was speaking to the people in the carriage. After waiting for a while and no one spoke, Qian Feng sighed.

When Chao Yan came over, the boss was already waiting at the door. Seeing Chao Yan panting, the boss looked behind her, thinking someone was chasing her.

After calming down, Chaoyan took out the title deed, confirmed that the boss would not go back on his word, and accepted the key to the front door that the boss handed over. In fact, she planned to tear down the door and install a new one. Naturally, she would not tell her boss about these renovation plans to avoid any unpleasantness.

The boss took her into the store and had a look. There was a small yard at the back with a well, which saved the trouble of fetching water from elsewhere. The store also had everything, including a woodshed and kitchen, and there was also an empty room.

Chaoyan felt that she had rented the house too early and it would be more convenient for her to live in the store. But then she thought, if robbers broke in at night, it would be a bit dangerous for a girl like her to live in the store. So she decided to hire a store clerk who knew martial arts and this room would be perfect for him to live in.

In the afternoon, Chaoyan and Aunt Zhou went to see the house.

The house is only one street away from the store, and it takes less than ten minutes to walk there. The environment is also quiet, and there is no need to worry about noise disturbance at night. The house is a courtyard style, and no one has rented it yet. Chaoyan thought that she would have to hire more people when the business gets busy in the future, so she decided to rent the whole courtyard. On the other hand, she was not used to sharing a house with strangers.

The rent was cheaper than she had imagined, ten taels of silver a month, one third of the deposit.

Chaoyan paid three months' rent plus one month's deposit on the spot.

……

After returning home, Mu Tianling said something to Eunuch Wu, saying that Jadeite and Amber seemed to be quite idle recently, so he asked them to go out and find something to do.

Eunuch Wu also knew that Chao Yan was going to open a shop, but he did not point out Mu Tianling's thoughts. He went over and explained it to Feicui and Amber.

The next day, when Chao Yan packed her luggage and left the inn, Feicui and Amber were already waiting at the door. Chao Yan was surprised and happy to see them. She asked them why they were there, and they said they came to help her.

Chaoyan guessed immediately that it was Eunuch Wu who asked the two of them to come. She really needed manpower in the early stages of starting her business. Someone needed to watch over the decoration of the store, and she also needed to inquire about channels for the procurement of raw materials. She also needed to find a shop assistant who knew martial arts to look after the store. Besides, it was a bit of a waste for her to live alone in the yard.

She kept the two men and paid them two taels of salary per month.

In the next few days, Chaoyan was very busy. She had to look for a carpenter to decorate it, a craftsman to customize the rouge box, and also contact the purchasing channels. Fortunately, she had two helpers, Jade and Amber.

Feicui helped her find out the purchasing channels. Mr. Liang, the boss of the shipping company, also purchased Hua Ninglu from him. Other rouge shops basically also purchased from him. Every spring and summer is the busiest time for the shipping company. One cargo ship after another returns with full loads of flowers. The fragrance lingers in the city, and the girls know that it is time to buy rouge.

Chaoyan brought the jadeite to meet with Boss Liang and agreed on the shipping fee. Boss Liang said that the goods would be delivered to the door in three days.

Now that the issue of purchasing channels has been resolved, the next step is to find a store clerk who knows martial arts.

Chaoyan put a sign at the door with a job opening notice on it:

Hiring a waiter, monthly salary of one or two taels, required to know martial arts, have good conduct and no bad habits.

In less than an hour, people coming for interviews lined up in front of the store.

Chaoyan found that most people came for the one or two taels of silver as wages, and a few of them looked dishonest, their eyes rolling around like thieves.

One of them was still unconvinced when he was eliminated by Chao Yan, and yelled at her, thinking that this would scare her into compromise. Everyone else was waiting to see the show, but only a white-haired old man stepped forward to stop them, captured the other person with one move, and sent him out the door.

"Girl, do you provide food and accommodation here?" the old man asked in a kind voice.

Chao Yan was stunned for a moment. She really didn't expect that there would be such an old person among the interviewees. She confirmed again, "Old man, we are hiring a clerk in our store."

The old man said, "Miss, don't look at my age. I am very strong and can easily deal with one or two petty thieves. As long as I have food and lodging, I don't want any monthly salary."

Chao Yan felt guilty about having such a grandfather-like person as her servant, but she couldn't bear to refuse because of what he said next.

"I have no children in my life, and I have no one to talk to when I am old. If you don't mind, my old bones can still be a doorman."

Chao Yan sent the others away and left the old man behind.

The old man’s surname is Yu, and he is the third child in the family. Everyone else calls him Yu Lao San.