Wanjin Lady

Chapter 339 Longevity Lock

"According to your plan, it's three stories high and covers nearly an acre. You'll need to furnish it with carved beams and painted buildings, glazed tile roofs, landscaped gardens, a banquet hall, a singing stage, VIP rooms, separate stables, a brewery...that's the big expense. Then there's hiring chefs, waiters, an accountant, waiters, and so on. Three thousand taels of silver wouldn't even make a dent."

"In Bozhou City, there are already old-fashioned restaurants like Tianxianglou, Tianxianlou, and Lanyue Pavilion, which have a long history and are well-known locally. We only have..."

Wen Weiming had just been released from prison and had been busy enjoying his grandchildren all day, so he was completely clueless about the family's finances. He could only call out to Liu Yiyi, "How much money do we have left?"

Liu Yiyi pieced together the money, "The rest is just small change. It's just the money we pawned the gift from Lord Wei and the silver we found on Shi Jinquan. Excluding our expenses along the way and the fees for handling the affairs, the total amount we have at home is only a little over a thousand taels."

Wen Wan lowered her head and thought.

Gan.

If I had known earlier, I would have accepted the longevity lock that Wei Zheng gave to the two little ones.

Ten pairs each for two people, which would cost at least a thousand taels of silver.

Wait…why was Wei Zheng suddenly so generous to her?

When something goes wrong, there must be a monster.

The weasel came to wish the chicks a happy new year?

Seeing Wen Wan's frown, Old Man Wen naturally thought she was worried about the funds. However, he also felt that the matter was of great importance and did not agree to invest all the funds. "If we want to gain a foothold in Bozhou, we don't have to make such a big move right away. Let's start with a wine shop first, and then expand slowly, taking steady steps—"

"No time to waste!" Wen Wan's chest rose and fell, her eyes frighteningly bright. "Father, if you slow down even a little, the whole situation will collapse."

Wen Weiming frowned and was secretly shocked. Wen Wan was always calm and rarely spoke so harshly.

Things might be worse than he expected.

Wen Wan restrained her expression again, "Rui Guojiang is very popular now, and our family has made many enemies. If we don't make the first move quickly, we will be swarmed and devoured soon."

The father and daughter stared at each other.

This is also a rare time when the two of them have a disagreement.

In the end, Wen Weiming admitted defeat. "The winery is now in your hands. You can do whatever you want with it. I'm old now, so I'll stay at home and take care of my grandchildren."

With the support of Old Man Wen, Wen Wan felt relieved. She knew that although Old Man Wen said he agreed, he was still worried about her in private, so she told her stepfather about her idea.

"Don't worry, father. My restaurant is different from other restaurants in the city. It doesn't require a huge investment. I want it to be a restaurant with only female customers, and I don't need a chef with open flames. As for the decoration... I'll spend little to achieve a big goal! My preliminary estimate is around two thousand taels at most."

Wen Weiming was confused. "You said you wanted to open a hotel that only women can enter, but women rarely go out on weekdays—" His cheap father smiled again, as if he had just realized something. "That's because they have nowhere to go!"

"Right. That's right. Ruiguojiang is also a drink aimed at women. Women usually have to take care of the daily needs of the entire family at home and serve their parents-in-law three meals a day. I've visited various restaurants and found that during peak meal times in Bozhou City, it's rare to see women dining alone. Even if they do, it's usually with their fathers or husbands. Therefore, if I open a women's restaurant, there's no need to hire a chef or private dining rooms. This will save a lot of money."

Wen Weiming was intrigued by her words, and hearing the certainty in her tone, as if she already had it all figured out, his tone softened slightly. "According to you," he said, "our restaurant business might actually succeed by taking an unconventional approach." Wen Wan smiled and said, "In business, you need novelty, ruthless methods, excellent products, and strong backing. Restaurants like that are hard to find. A lot of things depend on chance. Let's see how it goes. If the risky approach doesn't work, we can switch to a more stable one."

Wen Weiming also became interested. "How about... give it a try?"

Wen Wan thought about how her cheap father had just looked disapproving, and how he was persuaded in just a few words. She couldn't help but laugh, but she didn't expose her cheap father. "Okay, let's try it!"

After persuading the old chairman, Wen Wan tore off a few sheets of rice paper, asked Hongmei to prepare charcoal pencils and a ruler, and locked herself in the room to design the style of the entire restaurant and calculate the costs and benefits.

When the doors and windows are closed, a quiet and independent world is created.

On the long street, where the third branch of the Yuan family passed by, a large area of ​​spiritual flowers and paper money was left behind. The altars at the intersections had been removed one after another, and the bustle left by the third branch was slowly fading away.

The third branch of the Yuan family had many descendants. Yuan Wulang's body was carried up the mountain by the Yuan family brothers and buried in the Yuan family's ancestral tomb. The coffin was filled with a large number of gold, silver, jade and other burial objects. After the coffin was placed in the tomb, the nephew from the next room carried soil and spread it over the coffin, and everyone covered the soil to form a grave.

Because women were not allowed to approach the burial site, Jia was supported and persuaded to leave the cemetery early. The women around her were crying, but Jia looked at the location of the grave halfway up the hillside with red eyes, and there was a distortion hidden under her calm face.

"It was Wen Wan who killed my son!"

"I will seek revenge on her sooner or later!"

Because Cheng Yunzhang was a cousin and the spring examination was approaching, Madam Yuan did not like him to get involved in these unlucky things, so Cheng Yunzhang was also arranged to wait at the pavilion at the foot of the mountain for the men of the Yuan family to return from the funeral.

In the past two days, Jia was like a madman. She would not listen to anyone's explanation of the pros and cons, and kept muttering one sentence over and over again: Wen Wan killed Yuan Qi.

If Yuan Qi had not been buried today, Madam Yuan would have planned to detain Jia in the house to prevent her from talking nonsense and disturbing the guests.

"Third aunt, please be careful with your words and actions. Fifth cousin's case is under investigation, yet you insist that my junior sister murdered him! If others heard this, what would Master Xiong think? And what would my teacher think?"

Upon hearing this, Jia's eyes were bloodshot. She stood up and pounced on Cheng Yunzhang like a hungry tiger. "Wu Lang...my son! Now he's dead, why should I care what others think?! Cheng Yunzhang, you are a scholar, but you can't tell right from wrong and you can't even tell right from wrong! Wu Lang lying in the coffin is your brother!"

Zhang pulled her aside, trembling with fear, and said, "Oh, Third Sister-in-law, please stop talking! There are so many guests here today."

Jia was furious and pushed Zhang away. "I don't need your fake sympathy! Now that my son is dead, there's no one to compete with you for the winery. You'll probably be too happy to even have time! Stop pretending. Not a single one of you in the Yuan family is a good person!"

"Oh, what a lie!" Zhang wiped her tears, "Hurry up and hold her back! I'm afraid my third sister-in-law has gone mad!"

Jia pointed at Cheng Yunzhang's nose and cursed, "How could Wen Wan not be the murderer? The waiter at Tianxian Tower told me himself... Wen Wan's figure and voice are exactly the same as the murderess he saw that day! My son was stabbed in the chest with a dagger, and the weapon Wen Wan always carried with her was also a dagger! Not to mention... as soon as Wulang died, his accountant Zhou was arrested and thrown into prison to eliminate the root of the problem!"

"Even if Wu Lang wasn't killed by Wen Wan, that bitch Wen Wan is definitely responsible for all of this!"

Cheng Yunzhang suppressed his anger, "Aunt! Don't forget, Wen Wan was not at Tianxian Tower that day! She was at Lanyue Pavilion, more than ten miles away from Tianxian Tower!"

"I don't care! Isn't there a skilled warrior named Master Tu by her side? She doesn't even have to do anything herself! She only needs to beckon a finger, and men will naturally charge into battle for her!"