Carrying the little lucky star, leading the villain on the road to exile

Bai Suihe understood why Gu Kaiyuan had rushed over at this time. The news here probably couldn't be kept secret for long, and those powerful families would likely take action soon. They could gain some advantage now.

Although those aristocratic families had a strong foundation, they also had many rules and regulations.

Even if they are optimistic about Lingnan and send people to acquire large amounts of land, the people who come to handle these matters will certainly not have free authority, and large-scale transactions will even have to be reported to higher authorities.

The time wasted in this back-and-forth trip is less than that of someone like Gu Kaiyuan, who has power of his own.

Bai Suihe was also tempted when she saw the empty shop. Her fabric shop was doing well, and she could open one here as well.

With this idea in mind, Bai Suihe began to pay attention to these storefronts.

She walked back and forth along the two main streets twice and actually found two that she liked.

Seeing the wooden sign hanging on the door, Bai Suihe asked Zisu to go up and knock on the door.

For a while, no one came to answer the door, and Bai Suihe and the others thought that no one was guarding the place and were about to leave.

Just then, they heard a noise inside. When the door opened, two elderly people with graying hair looked at them curiously. "Who are you...?"

"Hello, sir. I see you're planning to sell this shop. May I take a look?" Bai Suihe asked politely, holding her child.

"So you're here to look at the shops," the old man said, quickly taking down the door panels. "I'm going to sell these two shops. There's also a courtyard in the back. Come in and take a look."

The elderly couple had been waiting here for so long, but no one had come to inquire. If they couldn't sell it in the next couple of days, they would have no choice but to sell it to a broker at a low price.

This is everything they've worked hard for their entire lives; they wouldn't want to sell it if they weren't truly desperate.

Hearing that there was a courtyard inside, Bai Suihe became even more interested. After removing a few door panels, she could see the interior at a glance.
The two storefronts are connected, and both have a musty smell, probably because they have been closed for a long time.

More importantly, the place was completely empty, with no goods at all, and there was no signboard outside, so it was impossible to know what kind of business it used to be.

Once inside the shop, I noticed a door on the right-hand side, which I assumed led to the backyard.

“Madam, let’s go to the backyard to talk,” the old man said, pointing to the empty shop. “There’s nothing much to see here. I imagine if you were to buy it, you’d want to tidy it up.”

I used to run a cloth shop here, but in recent years, the county has been in a slump, and business has become increasingly difficult.

My wife and I run this shop from dawn till dusk, just to feed our two mouths.

Later, my son chose another place to open a shop, and moved all the goods there.

"We're getting old now, so we can only listen to our children and grandchildren. They'll go and open a shop first, and we'll pack up our things, sell what we need, and then go back to our hometown."

The old man became more and more reluctant to part with it. When no one came to ask, he felt anxious, but when someone came to ask, he felt particularly uneasy.

The old woman beside him wiped away tears from time to time; they had truly poured a lot of emotion into this shop and the courtyard behind it.

Upon arriving at the back courtyard, Bai Suihe's eyes lit up. It seemed that the elderly couple were quite frugal, as the small courtyard of about 20 square meters was kept very well-organized. Apart from a central passageway, vegetable gardens had been cultivated on both sides.

In addition, two rows of roses were planted on both sides of the passageway. Perhaps due to the climate or the variety, they already had many buds. Beyond the passageway were two main rooms, and next to them was a kitchen, with neatly stacked firewood.

“The locations in the back are all pretty good. Back when we were at our peak, many people offered high prices, but I couldn’t bring myself to sell.”

The old man rambled on, his voice growing low as he spoke, "Old man, I won't lie to you, business hasn't been good these past few years, and now that the county magistrate has been arrested, we don't even know who will take over."

If it's like that beheaded magistrate from before, you'll lose money if you take over my shop.

"Old man," the old woman said helplessly, seeing that the old man's personality had started to go astray again. Who would buy the shop if he introduced it like this?

"It's alright, we need to make things clear to them beforehand, we can't cheat them," the old man said, opening both room doors. Inside, there were only two beds, and very few other furnishings, so they must have been moved out long ago.

"However, what I just told you is just one possibility. There is another possibility: the new magistrate will be a good official, and our county will flourish as before. If that happens, you will make a fortune by buying this shop."

Bai Suihe smiled but didn't say anything. That's the truth. Doing business depends on both brains and luck, especially in ancient times.

If another incompetent county magistrate were to come, Bai Suihe's current status wouldn't be able to handle it, and this investment might really go down the drain.

“I have someone deliver this firewood to me at a fixed time every month,” the old man said, pointing to the woodpile in the kitchen. “He’s an honest man, he doesn’t say anything flattering, but he’s a very capable worker. He’s the one who stacked all this firewood for me.”

If you don't need him to bring firewood, just tell him directly. I've already spoken to him about it.

There's also a well in this corner..."

The old man kept rambling on and on. For some reason, when he saw the woman in front of him, he had a premonition that his shop would belong to someone else today.

With each detailed description of a place, his reluctance to leave grew stronger. This old house had been with him for decades; he had supported his family and spent most of his life here.

The old woman kept wiping away tears, and Bai Suihe listened quietly. If these two continued like this, she wouldn't dare to buy the shop anymore; it was simply taking away someone else's property.

Just as she was thinking of looking at other shops, the old man changed the subject, "If this lady wants to buy it, I won't inflate the price like a broker. I'll sell it for the value of this house. You can give me three hundred taels of silver, and the shop and the small courtyard in the back will be yours."

When Bai Suihe came again, Gu Kaiyuan had told her about the approximate prices here, so she knew that the old man hadn't lied to her. "Are you really willing to spend that much?"

"I can't bear to part with it," the old man said honestly, "but when people get old, they can't make their own decisions."

We no longer have the energy to diligently protect this business as we used to, and our children and grandchildren won't allow it either.

Now I have no choice but to sell this place and go back to my hometown to retire.

Bai Suihe was still somewhat surprised, "Aren't you living with your children and grandchildren?"

If I remember correctly, the old man's son didn't open a shop in another location.

"No, we've been in charge of things our whole lives, and we're not used to having to put up with other people's opinions."

Judging from the sorrow in the voice, there must be another story behind it. (End of Chapter)