Chapter 331: Reaching an Agreement
“You three, these are the documents. Once you three sign them, leave the remaining matters for me to handle. They still need to go through the procedures at the yamen.” Manager Wu placed the prepared documents on the table.
The three picked them up and took a look. They were a generic transaction template, but contained no issues—everything that needed to be written was included. They merely needed to fill in the price, add their signatures and thumbprints, and then Manager Wu would take them to the yamen to be stamped, officially settling the matter.
Boss Li signed his name and pressed his thumbprint, and Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong each signed their names and pressed their thumbprints as well. The cost to buy the building was three thousand taels; the two sisters split it evenly down the middle. Handing over three thousand taels in silver banknotes to Boss Li, the teahouse would belong to them from this moment forward.
On the other side, Manager Fang had handled the assistants’ affairs as well. Out of twenty assistants in total, eight took their silver and left, leaving twelve behind. Combined with Manager Fang, one chef, and one manager, there were fourteen people in total.
Boss Li led Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong before the crowd once more, explaining to everyone that these two would be their new employers from now on, thereby fully completing the handover.
“You two, then this Li hereby wishes you both prosperous business and rolling wealth ahead!” Boss Li said, cupping his hands in respect toward the two.
Wen Yao and Qiu Rongrong returned the salute: “Then we shall borrow Boss Li’s auspicious words!”
Nodding, Boss Li turned to look at Manager Wu, saying, “Then I shall trouble Manager Wu. As for that residence at my home, once the residence is sold, I will hand the commission over to you all at once.”
Manager Wu smiled faintly: “Boss Li, we have dealt with each other for so many years—put your heart at ease regarding this! If there’s a suitable buyer, I will definitely keep an eye out for you.”
Boss Li nodded, preparing to take his leave.
Wen Yao, however, called out to stop him: “Boss Li, your family’s residence is for sale?”
Manager Wu felt a surge of joy in his heart—Right! How could he have forgotten? These two were the major patrons of the day! Not only did they want to buy a restaurant building and two storefronts, but they also needed a residential property.
He immediately said, “Right! Look at my memory! Boss Li, Manager Qiu and Miss Wen still need to buy a residence. It’s still early right now, so why don’t I take the two young ladies to your house to have a look?”
Boss Li naturally wished for nothing more.
Before leaving, Wen Yao called Manager Fang over and instructed, “Manager Fang, from now on you will still be in charge of this teahouse, continuing as its manager. Furthermore, we have another purpose for this building, which Sister Rongrong and I will arrange after we finish this busy stretch over the next few days. For these few days, just keep an eye on things for now, keeping everything as usual.”
Manager Fang complied with utmost respect: “Yes, Owner! This small one will arrange things properly.”
As the saying goes, if you use a person, do not suspect them; if you suspect a person, do not use them. Besides, Manager Wu had stated that this Manager Fang possessed a trustworthy character, so Wen Yao placed her trust in him as well.
Entrusting the teahouse to them and tucking the property deed away safely, the two sisters followed Boss Li and Manager Wu to the Li residence.
The Li family’s residence in the prefectural city was quite large, almost catching up to the size of the Xie family’s estate. Qiu Rongrong took a liking to it at first glance.
Yet after making a round, Wen Yao felt the house wasn’t suitable for her family. Still, Qiu Rongrong liked it, and it suited her status as a young lady of a wealthy family quite well.
Having just reached a deal earlier, this residence happened to be the last property left unsold in Boss Li’s hands. He had originally thought that if it failed to sell within a short time, he would entrust it to Manager Wu while heading south himself first—after all, there were only two months left until the New Year, and departing at this time would allow him to reach the south right in time for the New Year.
Since one genuinely intended to sell and the other genuinely intended to buy, the deal was struck very quickly. For a three-entry courtyard compound, the asking price was two thousand eight hundred taels, which was bargained down to two thousand five hundred taels in the end. Qiu Rongrong decisively paid the money.
Seeing her act with such swift promptness, Manager Wu felt deeply moved in his heart. She had just paid three thousand taels of silver earlier, and now she brought out another two thousand five hundred taels without the slightest hesitation. He couldn’t tell whether these two were simply bold enough, or assumed there were few bad people in this world, to swagger around outside carrying so many silver banknotes in public like this.
What Manager Wu didn’t know, however, was that the immense sense of security the two possessed derived entirely from the ‘driver’ they brought along.
With the money paid, Boss Li was decisive as well, handing the property deed over to Qiu Rongrong on the spot.
“Our family’s belongings are almost entirely packed up, as we originally planned to leave over these next couple of days anyway. Conveniently, there is nothing left to linger over now. We will move out tomorrow, and you two may move in whenever you like. Before I leave, I will deliver the keys over to Manager Wu’s place, and you two can just fetch them from his shop when the time comes,” Boss Li said.
Qiu Rongrong nodded: “Alright.”
After speaking, she pulled Wen Yao aside to whisper under her breath, “Once they move out, we’ll hire people to clean it up and move over to live here. That house over there is far too small after all.”
Wen Yao’s mindset was for each to buy their own property. Although Qiu Rongrong had recognized Wen Xiuyi as her godfather now, she wasn’t a member of the Wen family in the end, and Wen Yao still wanted a home of her own. She said on the spot, “Sister, this residence belongs to you. It’s fine for us to stay for a few days, but living here permanently definitely won’t do. I’ll still have Manager Wu help me search for a suitable one instead.”
Qiu Rongrong grew a bit anxious: “Between the two of us sisters, you’re still quibbling over this with me?”
Pressing down on her hand, Wen Yao soothed her, saying, “Sister, I understand what you mean, but my dad wouldn’t agree to live in his goddaughter’s house either! What’s more, what about when my brother returns in the future? What about when my grandparents come to the prefectural city as well? They can’t all stay at your house, can they?”
“This…” Qiu Rongrong originally wanted to say what of it, but swallowed her words back down in the end.
“Fine then, but you must find one not far from here so it’s convenient for us to visit each other,” Qiu Rongrong said with feigned annoyance.
Wen Yao coaxed her with a smile: “Alright, alright, alright!”
No sooner said than done—Wen Yao had Manager Wu help her search for a property nearby that didn’t need to be quite this large, but had to be spacious enough for a family to stay in, requiring at least a two-entry courtyard compound. Most importantly, the price couldn’t be too expensive.
Manager Wu’s grin almost split his face open today, and he nodded repeatedly: “Alright! There happen to be a few properties right in the vicinity. How about I lead you to take a look right now?”
Wen Yao checked the sky—after being busy all day long, it was truly exhausting, and she still had to head home to cook for Wen Xiuyi and Magistrate Chen, so she declined: “It’s too late today; let’s do it tomorrow! Tomorrow we still have to inspect the storefronts, so we’ll look at them all together then.”
“Right, right, right, I failed to consider it carefully! Tomorrow I’ll wait for you at the agency. I have all the keys, so we can go take a look anytime!” Manager Wu smiled so widely his face beamed like radiant sunshine. After all, earning a full month’s worth of silver in a single day—how could he not be thrilled beyond measure?
The several of them parted ways at the entrance of the Li residence. Manager Wu and Boss Li watched their horse carriage depart into the distance.
Only then did Boss Li ask out of curiosity, “What on earth is the background of these two? They act with such generous lavishness and decisive promptness.”
Dusting off his clothes, Manager Wu spoke up: “Didn’t I tell you earlier? One is the owner of Zui Xian Tower, and the other is the daughter of Lord Wen’s family. If I mention Lord Wen, you might not react to who he is, but if I mention the household that hosted a banquet to recognize a goddaughter recently—where every family fought tooth and nail yet couldn’t score an invitation—you should know, right?”
Boss Li gasped sharply: “It’s that Wen family closely associated with the Prince of Fu’s heir?!”
Manager Wu nodded: “That exact Wen family! So, Brother Li, selling your residence and teahouse isn’t a loss either. At least in the hands of these two, these properties of your Li family won’t end up falling into ruin.”
Boss Li nodded repeatedly: “Indeed! They were family assets built up by hand across several generations to begin with, so naturally I want them to receive better care.”
Manager Wu looked at him with a gentle smile: “Having met as acquaintances, I wish Boss Li a prosperous road to wealth ahead!”
