Compared to Yan Country’s capital, Jin City, Port Town was equivalent to one-tenth of it. As for its prosperity, it was incomparable.
Although this Yan Country did not exist in history, it was clearly not small. It must be at least as large as Country H or Country R, right?
Furthermore, the local customs here were quite open. At least women could be seen in the streets and alleys. Generally, unmarried girls wore veils, while married women or those of advanced age strolled the streets with the openness of men. Because of this distinctive feature, merchants could quickly identify their target audience, whether selling anything.
There were also specific spots on the streets of Yan Country designated for setting up stalls. Except for the few streets where the officials expressly forbade setting up additional stalls outside of shops, all other streets allowed it. To occupy one of these spots, you had to pay a management fee to a particular department at the government office. Of course, that’s not how they phrased it; she was translating it into a language modern people could understand.
The management was similar to the morning and night markets of later times. It was permitted to set up stalls, but you couldn’t just use the street for free; you had to pay a fee and also ensure the cleanliness of the surroundings, or else you would face fines or have your stall rights revoked.
Xiao Yu still had nearly four thousand taels in her possession, and she didn’t want to live a displaced life as a street vendor. Who knew if some local thug would come along demanding protection money or something. So, she needed to find a small shop to start her business slowly.
She owned a farm, which could be self-sufficient in the future, so starting with a small noodle shop for her road to wealth was fine.
It didn’t need to be big; after all, she only had Yaya with her at the moment. Even if she needed to hire people, that would have to wait until they were completely familiar with the area. Follow current novᴇls on novel[f]ire.net
So, she found the same broker as before and asked him to help look for a shop. Her requirements were simple: a good location and a modest size—pointing her finger randomly at any small roadside shop (thirty to forty, fifty to sixty square meters) would do.
The broker really appreciated Xiao Yu’s way of doing business—forthright, no dilly-dallying, and not troublesome. Brokers like to deal with such customers.
He readily agreed and even said he would come to look for her outside the city if there was any news.
Xiao Yu nodded and casually asked him, "Do you know who the owner behind the Xinglong Inn is?"
The broker looked at her quizzically, "Xinglong Inn? Are you talking about the Xinglong Inn by Yan Tower?"
Xiao Yu had just been there to check it out. Indeed, the inn was next to a tower-shaped building. "Could it be that Jin City has another Xinglong Inn?"
"Oh, no, that’s not it. It’s just a habit. Whenever you mention a name, you instinctively think of the landmarks around it."
"Even though I don’t know who exactly owns the inn, the Xinglong Inn is located next to Yan Tower, right next to South Lake. This is the best spot in Jin City. Every year during major festivals or events at South Lake, the Xinglong Inn is fully booked. Apart from high officials and nobles, who else could own it? You’ve just arrived in Beijing, why are you inquiring about this?"
"Nothing, I just noticed that the inn is in a great location and very luxuriously decorated, so I was curious."
"Then, do you know what the surname ’Yan’ represents?"
The broker’s eyes suddenly widened, and in a flash, he covered her mouth. Xiao Yu dodged in a panic, and the broker, realizing his action was inappropriate, quickly let go.
"Don’t be nervous. It was just a reflexive action. Do you genuinely not know, or are you pretending? Our country is called Yan Country. What do you think ’Yan’ represents?"
Xiao Yu frowned, "Not that Yan, I’m talking about ’Yan’ as in speech and opinion."
"It doesn’t matter which ’Yan’. In Beijing, there’s only one Yan; everyone else must change their surname. So the ’Yan’ you mentioned cannot exist. Understand?"
Xiao Yu’s frown deepened. What kind of nonsense was this? Not only did the royal surname hold sway, but all homophonous surnames had to be eliminated too?