The housekeeper explained that this used to be a shop owned by the head of the Ye family.
Ye Shiqi... why do they all sell niche items? And the tea leaves look quite ordinary. Can they make money? If it weren’t for the fact that they don’t have to pay rent, could they support so many people?
When they entered the shop, aside from its modest exterior, the interior revealed a whole different world. The courtyard inside was spacious enough to accommodate a whole family, complete with windows downstairs, a kitchen, a storeroom, a toilet, and two large rooms.
There were five rooms and a living room on the second floor, with the overall space being quite substantial. They already knew about the bargain they had found, but seeing the shop convinced them it was like picking up a giant bok choy for free!
Ye Shiqi prepared to assess another shop, deciding which would need remodelling.
This group of people simply observed for a while and then moved on to inspect the next shop.
Once again, under the watchful eye of the shopkeeper, they mounted their carriage, and the housekeeper said to the shopkeeper as they were leaving, "Come to the residence tonight for training."
"Yes," the shopkeeper guessed in his heart that this must be the new owner’s intention and that there could be new plans for the shop.
Little did he know that there were not only new plans for the shop but also training for them, the shopkeepers, and the accounting staff. Was someone going to address the issue with their bookkeeping methods?
They visited another shop, previously owned by the Zhao Residence, which sold furniture.
The shop featured high-end furniture, including beds, chairs, tables, and sofas.
All were made from pear wood and solid wood, not the ordinary cedar and pine used in regular homes.
Ye Shiqi..., no matter how little she paid for the shop, the furniture alone was worth quite a sum.
Having landed such a great deal, they had to reciprocate Mr. Zhao’s generosity. When she got home, if the Old Master and his people had returned to their hometown, they should arrange to send gifts back to his family’s estate.
Ye Shiqi and her family entered the courtyard inside the shop, which was elegantly arranged. The garden had beautiful potted flowers in bloom, including vibrant rhododendrons and orchids.
Downstairs was a glass greenhouse, possibly designed for special cultivation, even finer than what they had at the estate.
The shopkeeper told them they sold flowers here too, and the out-of-season flower potted plants for the estate were supplied by this shop and another one on the estate.
Ye Shiqi..., wasn’t this perfect for her dream of opening a flower shop?
Downstairs, excluding the kitchen and toilet, all the rooms were converted into glass houses.
The upper floor was where the living quarters and the living room were situated.
In the company of the shopkeeper, Ye Shiqi and her family looked inside the greenhouse. The shopkeeper explained that cultivating inside the glass greenhouse required substantial investment. There were also greenhouses in the estate, though they were not made of glass but of special materials constructed specifically for planting.
Whether in the Capital or the suburbs, or some other places, there are seasons with a lot of rain, especially hot summers, and seasons of strong winds.
For crops, the biggest fear is bad weather, and there is also the need to prevent insects from damaging the crops.
Ye Shiqi..., as expected of a flower seller, the cultivation in the glass greenhouse was very professional.
She quietly recited an incantation to summon some Space Water, pouring it into a specifically designated watering vat in the greenhouse. It was already nearly full, so adding a bit of Space Water was only meant to reinvigorate the plants within the greenhouse.
The goal was to make the flowers sell better and bloom more abundantly, thereby fetching a higher price for the potted plants.
Ye Family... such beautiful flowers I have grown in pots, I can’t bear to sell them!
Zhong Xingwang... really wants to pick flowers for his future wife!
Hongji... has been married to Madam for so many years, never even gave her a single wildflower, yearning to offer flowers as a respectful gesture!
Mrs. Li... Do country folks pay so much attention to these things? Are their marriages that romantic? To get along well on a daily basis is already good enough. Receiving gifts, flowers? Wouldn’t occur to a crude person!
Ye Luoqi... My fiancé has not yet given me flowers, but flowers are precious, and not as meaningful as other gifts my future husband might give.
The old housekeeper then led them to look at the warehouse, where the furniture was quite heavy. The shop was not far from the warehouse, only about 100 meters away.
The warehouse was in an alley, which was not too narrow—it could fit about four people walking side by side. It was not a residential area, but rather a storage area for some shops.
Many bought shops with warehouses inside, chosen by the shopkeepers nearby.
This area seemed to be a furniture street, with the majority of establishments being furniture stores and restaurants, but some sold fabrics, ready-made clothes, and various small items.
Carriages could enter directly, and at the warehouse entrance, so many horse-drawn carriages could block other people’s windows on the road. They had to get out of the carriages and have someone watch over them, while some guards followed the old housekeeper and the owner into the northern warehouse to take a look.
The store’s shopkeeper and staff, from the furniture store we just saw, were the ones to retrieve items from this warehouse, as they had the keys.
They had handed over the keys to the housekeeper, and the old housekeeper opened the warehouse’s large iron window gate, followed by a wooden door. The entrance to the warehouse was a bit higher than the alley outside to prevent water from entering the house.
Upon opening the main door, the warehouse seemed dark despite the daylight, prompting the housekeeper to light a lamp specifically.
Everyone could see that some windows were curtained, and the warehouse was large, fully stocked with furniture like beds, which took up a significant area. The walls were papered to prevent rainwater from seeping in on rainy days, and the furniture also had moisture-proofing!
Seeing the little dust on the furniture, it was clear that the caretakers were diligent, keeping the items in the warehouse well-maintained and clean.
After inspecting the windows, Ye Shiqi came to a conclusion: she thought of maximizing the window space to allow for bicycle assembly in the area.
As for the previous tea shop, half of its area could be remodeled to sell bicycles.
Ye Shiqi already had ideas and plans in her mind and would finalize a strategy after visiting the two estates in the afternoon.
When they left the warehouse, it was already noon. It was neither wise to return to the Zhao Residence nor to dine at one of those shops; they had to find a nearby restaurant.
With so many in their group, they couldn’t inconvenience the staff. Even if dining in the Capital City might be expensive, they couldn’t skimp on themselves just for a meal.
With this in mind, Ye Shiqi took out two silver notes and handed them to the housekeeper to cover the cost of dining out on this trip.
"Lady, this servant has money!"
"Housekeeper, even if you have money, you must accept this. The Ye family sold us such inexpensive real estate, we can’t use their money. They might be having a hard time in the border city; we must ensure your Family Head receives the money."
Upon hearing this, the old housekeeper’s eyes brimmed with tears. Some matters were not convenient to discuss in public, but he felt that he could share them with Ye Shiqi, secretly within this family.
Then, he took the money and led the guards to escort their master. Not far from the alley, there was a restaurant.
Ye Shiqi... I didn’t say much, why would the old man be so easily moved to tears!