Operating A Stall (3)

The middle-aged man smiled at Yuan Ling after listening to what she told him. He also managed to find out what Yuan Ling was in a rush earlier.

"Listen to me, young lass." the middle-aged man said. Putting the wrapping linen back into his chest pocket before bringing out another softer, silk-like handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

It was natural that he wouldn't consider using the wrapper's linen for this task.

"The market price for both Salt and Sauces cost around five Copper-Coin a bottle. As for sugar, they're harder to get in-store, but you can expect their price to be around ten coins per bottle." the middle-aged man shared what he knows.

The confidence that came from him when he spoke shows how familiar he was with the essential ingredient's market price.

"And for the meat... Your only choice is to approach the hunter's hut to check out what game they caught for the day. If you're lucky, there might be some good quality meat for purchase. If they don't, then you can only blame it on the weather and luck." said the middle-aged man.

In a matter of minutes, he had told Yuan Ling everything she needed to know. The middle-aged man looked just like an experienced storekeeper in a blink of an eye.

As for whether Yuan Ling chose to believe him or not, it wasn't his concern.

"Would it cost a lot to buy some meat from the hunters?" Yuan Ling asked. She wasn't sure if the prices were accurate, but the pricing was reasonable, at least to the commoners like her.

The simple answers he told Yuan Ling also indicate that the middle-aged man is likely a frequent visitor to the store for essentials. Without years of shopping for these goods, it would be hard to know the pricing.

"Of course, the prices depend on what kind of meat you're buying. Twenty Copper-Coin for a Flame Hare is considered relatively cheap," he said.

"Unless you're looking for something like the meat from Obsidian Deer or Ironclaw Boar. Then, the price would hike to at least fifty coins and above, based on the parts you wanted." the middle-aged man added.

"What!" the middle-aged man's answer surprised Yuan Ling. She couldn't believe that the price of two portions of the meat would cost the same as her monthly school fee. She knew that the pricing made sense, but making sense was useless here as the one that suffered wasn't her mind but her pocket and tummy.

"Too expensive?" the middle-aged man chuckled when he saw how surprised Yuan Ling looked.

"How could hunting the wild beast be an easy task for the hunters? When the time comes for you to become a hunter yourself, you'll know that the price is considered cheap compared to the precious life of a person," he added.

Yuan Ling hates to agree, but his word makes sense.

The Flame Hare and Obsidian Deer were the weakest two between the three wild beasts he mentioned. Merely at the strength of a Foundation Realm's first stage, the two are relatively easy to hunt, as long they approach the wild beast carefully.

But the Ironclaw Boar is an entirely different story. A fierce, powerful, and dangerous thing in the second stage. Capturing a wild beast of this level can only be done by hunters working in a group.

"Then... Does uncle know where we can rent a stall? My big brother should be considering selling some steamed buns to start." Yuan Ling asked. There was a hint of reliance in her tone.

This lass might look innocent, but she does have some skills in convincing people to help her voluntarily.

After all, Yuan Ling was quite a beauty. Although she's just fourteen right now, nothing else apart of her age looks unripe compared to the marriageable daughters out there.

Furthermore, Yuan Ling had this natural beauty, figure, and temperament that made her different from other similar age beauties.

If she was given the same treasure and resources as they did, Yuan Ling might top over them as the number one beauty in Sprouting Village.

"A stall, huh?" the middle-aged man rubbed his chin after listening to Yuan Ling's request.

He seemed to be considering how to answer Yuan Ling's question. Of course, the reason there's a hint of hesitation here is that he's evaluating if it was worth helping this young lass and her so-called older brother.

Helping someone is easy, but the aftermath was problematic if something happened. Yuan Ling might be cheerful and likable. Still, he wasn't sure about her big brother. For now, he had no idea that it was actually Long Yuan.

After giving it a thought, the middle-aged man finally decided to trust his instinct that an apple hardly fell too far from the tree. With such a mannerism seen from Yuan Ling, her brother shouldn't be too bad either.

He would give this pair of siblings a chance, but that would depend on them to use it.

"Young lass. What is your name? And how dependable is your big brother?" he asked.

His words that broke the silence made Yuan Ling have some hope again.

"My big brother is the most reliable person in this world. Please help us, mister." Yuan Ling answered confidently without a hint of doubt in her eyes.

"Before I continue, do you know why the other storekeepers were against you renting their stalls?" the middle-aged man asked. He wanted to see at what level is Yuan Ling's understanding of the matter related to people's thoughts.

"Yes. Because of my appearance and age hardly reached the stage where we could focus on managing the stall properly." Yuan Ling quickly answered. She had already noticed the reason behind their disdainful words when she wanted to rent one of their stalls.

To the owners of the stores, people would simply come and go at all times, but the reputation will linger around for decades. Renting out the stalls to a good operator would benefit the store, but opposite if they misjudge the operator's quality.

And if that were to happen, it would also impact the next person who rented the same place.

"Alright." the middle-aged man was satisfied with Yuan Ling's answer. He finds this girl's mentality is relatively mature compared to others at her age.

"I'll give you siblings a chance. Come with your ingredients to the Xiyang Pavilion tomorrow morning and inform your brother to get ready for what you're going to sell." said the middle-aged man.

"But... The rental?" Yuan Ling was happy that she got her hand on a stall just by talking with this man. But she also knew that nothing would come without paying a fair price for the opportunity.

"I won't be charging you for the stall's rental, but you'll have to divide half of the profit at the end of each day. My side will provide you with the booth, water, and spaces to legally open your business. In contrast, your side will handle the responsibility of making food, preparing ingredients, and so on."

"What do you think? Do you still want to try?" the middle-aged man smiled. It was a sincere smile that one could hardly get from an adult. Obviously, this middle-aged man had taken a liking to Yuan Ling's attitude and decided to help her.

In the eyes of a good businessman like him, something like this is akin to investment. And he would soon realize that his decision to help Yuan Ling right now would be the best choice he could have made in his lifetime.

There were two keywords in everything the middle-aged man said. The girl was already in a stupor from processing what was in her mind right now.

The first was the name "Xiyang Pavilion," followed by the word "without rent." This was likely the best offer Yuan Ling could get based on their nameless reputation right now.

There were three well-established restaurants inside this Sprouting Village, and the Xiyang Pavilion was one of them.

This middle-aged man was precisely the owner of this well-known Xiyang Pavilion, known by fellow businessmen as Head Chef Xiyang Xiao. Turning forty-seven this year, Xiyang Xiao had been in this industry for forty years altogether.

It was already a blessing to stumble across someone as reputable as Xiyang Xiao on the street, let alone offered to operate a food stall handled by the Xiyang Pavilion.

"Lass?" Xiyang Xiao tried to wake the poor lass from her stupor.

"I'll try! No, we'll try!" Yuan Ling instantly answered. She would be called a fool by others if she gave up this chance she had right now.

"Can we start from Mantou first? My brother made delicious Mantou! You'll say it's delicious too after trying one." Yuan Ling quickly asked.

'Mantou again?' Xiyang Xiao chuckled. He found out that this girl does have a childish side on her. Of course, coming along with the childish response was a thoughtful mentality. Instead of deciding everything on their own, she asked if it would be acceptable to start by selling Mantou first.

"Of course. What you're selling would be up to you, but Mantou is a good starter's choice. They're widely acceptable, easy, and cheap. But it would be hard to earn quick money from selling Mantou alone since they're cheap food."

"Are you sure you wanted to go from here?" Xiyang Xiao asked. His question made Yuan Ling give it another thought. A few minutes later, she looked at Xiyang Xiao with a pair of confident gaze and said,

"I'm sure. My brother will agree with me too. We're confident that starting from selling Mantou would be a good way to start." Yuan Ling replied.