sjar Chapter 383 They've set their sights on the demobilized soldiers' resettlement camp again!
Chapter 383 They've set their sights on the demobilized soldiers' resettlement camp again!
Dou Zhan led A Yu and the others to set off overnight, while Dou Weiyi stayed in the prefectural city instead.
At midnight that day, a horse-drawn carriage returned to Yingxian Tower across the street.
Manager Wang returned to the restaurant, intending to tighten his belt and scrape together the lost silver. Otherwise, if he couldn't come up with the money when the person who was supposed to collect it arrived, it would be a matter of the whole family going to their deaths!
No idea.
Coming back to the restaurant is worse than not coming back at all.
Damn it, all the waiters at the restaurant were drugged, and the secret compartment in the backyard where the silver was stored was completely empty; not a single copper coin was left behind.
Upon seeing this, Manager Wang collapsed to the ground.
"It's over... Forget about scraping together money, we don't even have enough to buy rice tomorrow..."
The thought of the consequences of not being able to pay made Manager Wang feel a chill run down his spine!
Rather than living in fear, it's better to flee with the whole family and at least have peace of mind!
That very night, Manager Wang packed his bags and fled south with his entire family.
Early the next morning.
Dou Weiyi then went to Prefect Li's residence, but no one knows what the two talked about, because he was nowhere to be seen for three days in a row.
When Gao Mengli received the goods in the morning, she glanced at the restaurant across the street.
The gate was tightly shut, showing no sign of opening.
On the third day, someone posted a notice at the restaurant across the street.
She ran up to take a look and found it was a "Prime Location for Rent" sign posted by the brokerage firm!
Gao Mengli stared at the words "Prime Shop for Rent," raised an eyebrow, and thought, "This Manager Wang is quick to slip away."
Lin Xi also came over and glanced at it. "Mengli, should we rent this restaurant?"
Gao Mengli gently poked Lin Xi's head, "Why rent? Let's just buy it!"
The Lin family across the street was acquired for 6,800 taels of silver. This Yingxianlou restaurant is one floor taller than our restaurant, with a total of four floors and a large backyard with six or seven rooms. It should cost around 10,000 taels of silver!
Everything inside is already there; once we take it over, all we need to do is renovate the outhouse, and it'll be ready to use right away!
Lin Xi counted on her fingers for a long time, but felt she didn't have enough money...
I've been spending too much lately, buying land and estates. All I have left is what Lin Ji has earned in the last few days.
Even after deducting profit and costs, it's barely enough to cover the expenses of this restaurant!
The next day, Zhang Qin came to deliver vegetables, and Gao Mengli quickly pulled Lin Xi up to him!
Lin Xi was pushed in front of Zhang Qin by Gao Mengli, her face showing a little embarrassment: "Zhang Qin, I have something to tell you."
We want to take over Yingxianlou across the street, but... we're a little short on funds.
"Could you settle the payment for the vegetables every three days from now on?"
The restaurant across the street paid a deposit of three thousand taels, but they still owe eight thousand taels!
So there's no money in the account!
Zhang Qing had just put the vegetable basket on the ground when he heard this and immediately waved his hand: "Boss, you're being too polite. There's no rush to pay for the vegetables!"
"Don't even mention settling every three days, settling every month is fine too!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xi immediately nodded with a smile, not forgetting to glance at Gao Mengli, who was grinning broadly beside her.
What a fake relationship! He's always the one doing the stupid things!
Gao Mengli almost burst out laughing when Lin Xi gave her that look, and quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Look at you being so stingy, this is called a perfect team, it's never tiring!"
Just as Zhang Qin left and Gao Mengli was about to enter the building, she saw Dou Weiyi and Magistrate Shi walking towards her from a distance, arm in arm.
"Huh? Dou Weiyi has only been here a few days? How come he's already hooked up with Magistrate Shi?"
Lin Xi leaned closer to Gao Mengli and whispered, "Is she trying to trick Magistrate Shi into doing something?"
As the two were talking, the two men with their arms around each other walked up to them. "Brother Shi, let me introduce you. This is my brother Lin and his wife!"
Magistrate Shi awkwardly smiled at Gao Mengli and Lin Xi.
Dou Weiyi: "???"
Damn, they know each other! What a waste of an introduction!
Thinking of this, Dou Weiyi stopped putting her arm around Magistrate Shi's shoulder and instead put her arm around Lin Xi's shoulder and moved to the side.
"Brother Lin, am I still your most beloved county magistrate brother?"
Lin Xi turned her head and saw that Dou Weiyi still had a hint of resentment on her face. "Scared? Did you get bloated from eating?"
Upon hearing "I've gained weight from eating," Dou Wei immediately released his hand, clutched her chest, and feigned heartache. Her expression was exactly like Daiyu's. "Brother Lin! Did I come to the prefectural city by chance and stumble upon you and Magistrate Shi making money?"
"I'm so worried about you all, afraid you've forgotten how good I've been to you!"
"Go! Go! Go!"
Lin Xi quickly pushed Dou Weiyi away, her face full of disgust, "What nonsense are you talking about? We didn't help Magistrate Shi make money. We just know each other, but we're not close!"
Dou Weiyi stumbled a couple of steps after being pushed, but immediately came back and winked at Lin Xi with a smile: "Not familiar? That's good. I've made it clear, you have to take me with you when you're making money, don't take anyone else!"
"Okay, okay, stop acting like that. I can't take it anymore, I need to wash my eyes, they're too spicy for me!"
As Lin Xi spoke, he turned and rushed into the building. How come he had never noticed before that Dou Weiyi had such an eye-catching side?
Oh no, he's going to get a sty!
The magistrate Shi, who was standing nearby, overheard this and really couldn't understand why the owner of Lin's restaurant could bring magistrate Dou along to make money.
Magistrate Shi stroked his chin, his eyes full of doubt, and couldn't help but ask Gao Mengli beside him, "Madam Lin, what Brother Dou said... could it be that you have some other way to make money?"
Collusion between officials and businessmen is a major taboo and must be avoided!
Could it be that these two bribed Magistrate Dou through back channels to do business?
Gao Mengli could tell from the look in Magistrate Shi's eyes that he had misunderstood, so she quickly waved her hand and explained, "Magistrate Shi, please don't overthink it! There's no trick to it, Lord Dou was just joking with us!"
We didn't bribe him; Lord Dou is a good official!
His priorities were always the common people, followed by the wounded soldiers who had retreated from the battlefield, and he also arranged for their care in their later years.
Secondly, his wife and several concubines were his primary concerns, and his friends were also given priority; only lastly did he consider himself.
"Although he's unreliable, it's a blessing for Pingyao County to have him!"
After listening, Magistrate Shi nodded as if he had just realized something.
Because she had misunderstood, a hint of guilt appeared in her eyes. "I see! Thank you for clearing up my confusion, Madam Lin!"
I always said that Brother Dou has an excellent reputation in Pingyao County!
Two days ago, Prefect Li arranged a banquet, and at the banquet, I heard my colleagues praising him.
It is said that he properly resettled the refugees in Pingyao, implemented work relief programs, and widened and deepened the river channels.
He never delayed even the pensions for the disabled soldiers, and he even arranged jobs for them and helped them get married!
Gao Mengli nodded, "Yes, but there are so many workstations, there aren't enough spare soldiers for him to deploy..."
At this point, Gao Mengli suddenly realized something.
Dou Weiyi has been missing for three days. Could he be eyeing the remnant soldiers' resettlement camp in the prefectural city?!