Chapter 22

When they arrived at the government office, Xiao Yao took her granddaughter to talk to the official in charge of household business.

“Uncle Officer, do you have any affordable houses for sale? If you can open a shop, what is the minimum price?”

The officer looked at the two people who came to ask him and saw that they were both dressed not badly, so he thought that they were probably father and son who were looking for a new place to live.

“If it’s an empty house, it’ll cost around one hundred to two hundred taels. But if it’s a shop, it’ll cost three hundred taels, with a house in the back for you to stay in. Which one are you interested in, girl? I’ll take you to see it.”

“Then I would like you to take me to see the shop first to see if the location is suitable for me to do business.”

The officer asked for a short time to get the keys and documents. Ning Qing now had five hundred taels of silver in her hand from selling wild animals for the past week. She was not afraid that she would not have the money to pay and renovate the shop. Moreover, her uncle had even volunteered to help her renovate the shop while her father was still recovering.

The staff took the two of them to see a shop that was close to the school. This shop was sold to someone who wanted to move to another city after their son passed the imperial examination, so they sold it for 350 taels. The front could be used as a shop, while the back could be used as a family residence. There were as many as five rooms downstairs and five rooms on the second floor. Ning Qing would renovate the toilets later. She had not been used to using the outside toilet for a long time, but she did not have the opportunity and money to renovate the toilet. Furthermore, her father's leg was broken, so she wanted to use a sit-down toilet regardless of how expensive it would be.

After checking every nook and cranny, she was very satisfied, so she asked the staff if they could give her a small discount. She still had a lot of room to improve the shop, so she was afraid that she wouldn’t have enough money.

The officer saw that she really intended to buy it, so he gave her a discount of 20 taels. Ning Qing paid the money and signed the sales contract at the same time. As for the house title deed, the officer would bring it here in two days. Ning Qing thanked the officer and then asked to go home with her uncle. Ning Qing also invited her uncle to move in with her after renovating the house. She saw that there was a lot of space behind the house, more than enough for many people to live there. She knew that her mother was still worried that her grandparents would have a hard time, so she thought of inviting everyone to come and live together.

Xiao Yao listened to his niece, but he felt bad that she would have to come and make Ning Qing suffer. However, Ning Qing still said that it would not be difficult at all. She would have someone to help her sell things, and her uncle would not have to go up the mountain to hunt wild animals and cause danger.

Xiao Yao asked for time for his granddaughter to consult with the family first. He himself had enough money to buy a small house for his children to live in without having to stay overnight at school. However, what he knew about hunting could help his granddaughter with? He did not know about this matter yet, so he had to wait until he consulted with the rest of the family first.

Ning Qing had no problem with her uncle wanting to consult with her family first. She understood that such a big matter needed to be known to everyone. Now that she had bought the shop, she would have to come up with a menu that was unlike any other in the world. She also had a flavor enhancer to make the food more delicious. Since the location was near the school, she could sell steamed buns and other things at a reasonable price to the children.

After returning home, Ning Qing told her uncle to not forget to ask about moving into the city with them. Xiao Yao could only laugh when he saw his niece wanting them to move into the city together. He himself had no problem if his niece wanted them to help with the breakfast restaurant.

After Ning Qing sent her uncle back, she told everyone in her family that she had already bought a shop in front of the school. Fortunately, no one had bought it before her, otherwise, it would have been difficult to find a shop in such a good location. Moreover, her younger brother would be able to go to school with peace of mind since his house was close to the school.

Ning Qing's money was running low now. She wanted to hunt a few more times, hoping to catch some big animals to sell like last time. Ning Guan also agreed with her daughter that they should save up some more money, in case the renovation of the shop would cost more than expected. When Ning Qing thought of this, she went to ask her uncle Xiao Yao to go and look at the traps that she had set before going out into the city this morning. The two of them walked up the mountain and talked. Xiao Yao told her that the others also agreed to move into the city, because their grandparents were old now. If they wanted to see a doctor in this village, there was no regular doctor. They would have to take the two of them to see a doctor in the city anyway.

Ning Qing herself also told her uncle what kind of breakfast food she would sell, and she had to have her aunt-in-law help her and her mother cook so that they could finish it faster. Otherwise, if there were a lot of customers, they would definitely not be able to sell all their food in time. Ning Qing was confident that anyone who tried her food would definitely be impressed.

Xiao Yao listened to her niece and put away the traps. Today, they were lucky to get another wild boar from the old hole they had dug. Xiao Yao wondered if they saw the animal caught in the trap and forgot to look where they were going, so they fell in. Ning Qing was very happy that even though she had no money, she got a wild boar that was even bigger than last time. The two uncles and nieces helped pull the weakly breathing wild boar up. Xiao Yao and Ning Qing knew that it probably had not fallen in for a long time. Fortunately, she and her uncle came early, or else another wild animal would have gone down to eat it. The two of them saw that it was not yet evening, so they quickly dragged all the bait they had caught along with the big wild boar down the mountain.