Volume 1 Chapter 124: Success and Withdrawal (3)

  Chapter 124: With Great Success Comes Retreat (Three)

  "I'm telling you, this location, this layout, is rarely seen. Among the top ten famous streets, Chuan Yan Street is one of them. And the largest Jade Peace Street is just a few blocks away, it only takes a moment to get there on horseback. Gentlemen, take a look at the location of this building, facing south and sitting north, right in the busiest market street of Chuan Yan Street. People come and go, flowing like a river. It's perfect for opening a wine shop. The staff just need to stretch out their hands at the door to catch eight or nine customers."

  The sales method of thousands of years, change the soup but not the medicine.

  Mozzie naturally knew that this was Old Wang selling his own melons and boasting about them, but in reality they were mostly water, so he didn't nod along with Cen's every two sentences.

  When I first came in, I saw the location of the gate, and indeed the land was still okay, located in the middle of the main street. However, the shops on both sides were sparse, it's called a market, but there are more temporary roadside stalls, selling vegetables, cloth, and miscellaneous goods, all basic necessities for people's livelihood. The houses in the entire bazaar are generally crowded and simple, you can tell that people living here won't be too rich.

  After all, it was Qian Er who found the client, and he's said to be a top-notch "professional" in this line of work. Mo Zi didn't immediately say anything bad about him. He thought to himself, let's take a look inside first before saying anything.

  As I entered the gate, I saw a three-story red building twenty meters in front of me. Between the door and the building was a garden that looked very gaudy, with roses, hibiscus, and morning glories planted all over the place. Red silk and green ribbons were tied around the tree trunks, leaving one bewildered. I wondered what kind of festive atmosphere the owner wanted to create?

  As I approached the small building, I found it was in a state of disrepair. The windows on the third and second floors were covered with paper torn to shreds, allowing the joyful spring breeze to blow in and out. Under the sunlight, the red building looked so old, all due to the thick layer of grey dust covering it.

  The little horse was sharp-eyed and saw Mozi frowning, immediately saying, "Although this building is old, I heard that you are going to rebuild it, so it doesn't matter, right? Otherwise, if it were a new building, it wouldn't be possible at this price."

  Mei Zi still just smiled and didn't say anything.

  The little horse thought that Cen Er was a person in charge, but now it seems that this quiet person might be the one who makes the decisions.

  He made up his mind to win Mei Zi over and said, "The price can still be negotiated. Since the owner is in a hurry to return home, it should be no problem to lower it by a hundred or two, I'll take care of it."

  Cen Er had been here once before and was quite satisfied with the place. He said to Mo Zi, "I'm not after the front yard and this building, mainly because there's a garden with a pond in the back. The houses are densely populated, the land is already more expensive than elsewhere, and it needs to be in a good location, large and difficult to find. This piece of land is about the size of Luo Zhou, but it's also the largest one I can find."

  "Not bad, not bad. Because of this big place, several big merchants have already approached the landlord. If I didn't have a relationship with the landlord, it would have been sold to someone else before you even had a second look." Little Ma thought he was clever enough to chat with customers.

  Mozi, however, detected the contradiction. Xiao Ma first told her that he could lower the price, which should be his true psychology of being eager to find a buyer. Later, he said that there were several potential buyers from big business households, which was just boasting. Otherwise, the owner would not care about having any connections and would have sold it long ago. Who would dare to offend the Silvers?

  "What kind of shop was this place originally, and what business did it do?" It's been said that it's her turn to speak now. The structure is a bit strange, with a large gate, but not on the street frontage, you have to walk through the garden to get to the building. Generally, guests aren't treated like this.

  "......" The little horse looked at Cen Er, and the meaning in his eyes was - didn't you tell him?

  Cen Erqiang cleared his throat, looking very uncomfortable, twisting and turning for half a day, as if he wanted to say something but couldn't bring himself to do so.

  Mei Zi looked at Cen Er for a moment, her mind had already turned two circles. "Hard to open mouth? I guess, the place is big, not street stalls, a garden of flowers and green banana trees, silk and satin, won't be doing business at night, right?" She was hinting at prostitution, selling smiles and flesh.

  Cen's eyes widened with a hint of white around his irises, and he opened his mouth, "Mo Ge..."

  "Mo Ge, you really have a good eye for this." Xiao Ma tried to turn the disadvantage around, "This used to be the famous Linliu Garden in Shangdu, and it produced several famous courtesans. The mistress's mother is getting old now, and she wants to return to her hometown to retire, so she's willing to sell the land. Otherwise, how could we have such a good opportunity?"

  Mozhi heard that, in the past, it was a brothel, but unexpectedly, it was also famous throughout the capital and had produced a courtesan. She said that when they first arrived, a row of small vendors outside the door stared at them with a smile.

  "This lower floor and the garden behind don't need to be seen, either. Meizhi stopped in the front yard and said to Xiao Ma, "Is there anything else besides this piece of land?""

  "Mo Ge, go take a look. If you don't want to rebuild it, just do some minor repairs and you can open up a big restaurant. And the garden in the back with the pond, if fixed up, would be a unique scenic spot. Building a pavilion could attract customers. With such a good location, such a large space, and at such a cheap price, there won't be another place like this. It's only 2,200 silver coins." Xiao Ma's words of persuasion might have worked on other buyers, but they fell flat with Mo Zi.

  "If you don't have any other leads, then we'll just have to look for other donors." Mozi didn't want to waste any more time. "Cen Er, let's go."

  Cen Er had always been fond of Mo Zi, so although he thought this place was okay, Mo Zi looked down on it and could only follow her out. However, as they walked back, he still expressed his own thoughts.

  "Moh, I know you're dissatisfied with the previous business here being a brothel. At first, I also hesitated when Xiaoma told me, but later I thought, since we're going to rebuild from scratch anyway, what's the difference what it used to be? The price is good too. There's another storefront just at the end of this street, only one-tenth the size of this one, and it wants 300 taels of silver." Xian'er wasn't just listening to Xiaoma, she had also thoroughly understood herself.

  "Xin Er, this isn't a matter of silver," said Mozi as he walked. "Other businesses are fine, and as you said, changing one's face and starting anew doesn't have much to do with the past. However, one of Wàng Qiū Lóu's specialties is Gě Autumn Daughter. Gě Autumn Daughter is a performer who showcases her talents, we all know that's a legitimate occupation, but people unfamiliar with it may not understand. Singing and dancing for customers in a wine house can easily lead to people confusing our establishment with the former Xī Liǔ Yuán, giving rise to unseemly associations. If Wàng Qiū Lóu were to open and proclaim its specialty, I'm afraid the first ones to find their way here would be those familiar customers. As for those who don't understand, they'd think we're a brothel that also sells wine. From then on, Wàng Qiū Lóu's reputation in the capital would be ruined. If from the start, our positioning confuses our customers, there are only two paths to take. One path is to stick to our convictions and do things right, but then we'd have to drive away those customers who come seeking flowers and asking for willows, and good customers wouldn't come, business would gradually decline. The other path is to simply turn Wàng Qiū Lóu into a pleasure ground, but Gě Autumn Daughter and the others wouldn't be willing to do that, you'd have to go buy a batch of willing ones, if not, you'd have to force good people into prostitution."

  Cen Er exclaimed, "Mo Ge, am I that kind of person?!" And yet you're forcing me to be a prostitute?! In the past, those Ge Qiuniang in the building, he kept a respectful distance from them.

  "That's the first way. Doing high-end restaurant business on this street that sells vegetables, oil, salt, sauce and vinegar will eventually close down." The consumer group of Wang Qiulou is people who have some money and love elegance, which does not match with the overall style of Yanfang Street.

  "The master will surely kill me." Xian'er didn't dare think about it.

  "So it's not a matter of money, but location. Not just any bustling area, but..." Meizhi hadn't finished speaking yet.

  Cen Er suddenly understood, "It's not just about finding a bustling location, but a good one like Yuhefang. Yuhefang is home to the best treasures of the capital: jewelry stores, wine shops, silk shops, and famous pharmacies. The people who come and go are mostly well-off families. I've thought about it before, but now those places are all crowded with big merchants, there's no room for a storefront, let alone a garden. If you want a garden, it has to be a private residence. And we can't put our wine shop in a private residence."

  "That's not necessarily true." Having heard that there was no way out, Mozi was also at a loss for ideas for the time being. Xun Er's last sentence, however, gave her inspiration.

  Good wine isn't afraid of being in a deep alley. The Autumn Building, as long as it's located in a good neighborhood, can attract customers even if it's not on the main street. To say that truly wealthy and powerful people might not like to go to the main street to listen to music and watch dances, they just want a quiet and elegant atmosphere. This is different from Luozhou. Luozhou has many merchants who love to show off their wealth, love to loudly call out to friends, and choose the most bustling places to watch beautiful women and street scenes, letting passersby hear their loud laughter. The capital city is where emperors, princes, generals, and officials reside, they occupy the best neighborhoods, go to private residences to admire flowers, and go to government offices to drink wine. The courtyards are layered one after another, ordinary people can only see the beautiful scenery outside the city, while the nobles in the capital have it all surrounded by their homes. They're not unwilling to go out, but because of their high social status, they need to go to places that match their identity.

  Wang Qiulou, if you want to stand out from the many wine houses in Yuhefang with a unique style, use the elegant and luxurious private house style, build flying corridors and painted buildings, green water and white bridges, pavilions in the water, boats on the lake, scattered in different decorated boxes in the garden, and then use spacious and bright luxury high-rise buildings to receive distinguished guests, it is very likely to become popular overnight.

  "Little horse?" Mo Zi's thoughts were suddenly opened up and couldn't be stopped.

  That donor was originally grumbling behind them, very dissatisfied with Mozi and the others suddenly leaving. So when he heard Mozi call him, his response was listless.

  "Does Yuhefang have a storefront, or is it just a private residence?" Mozi didn't mind Xiao Ma's attitude. If she were in his shoes, with the cooked duck flying away, she would also be disheartened.

  "Private residence?" The little horse saw that the other party seemed to still want him to make a connection, so he perked up his spirit, raised an eyebrow, and tilted his mouth, thinking for a while, "Secluded, none."

  "Isn't it quiet here? Is there any noise over by the market?" She didn't want it too quiet anyway.

  "You ask, and it just so happens that there is one." Little Ma's eyes lit up at first, then dimmed. "To be honest with you, Brother Mo, that family has some issues."

  Don't you think it's a hassle for customers who have been cheated to death?

  "Say it out loud and let me hear." Mu Zi's curiosity was piqued.

  Guys, don't scold me.

  It's not that I'm lazy after rushing to the top of the list (although I finally fell to fourth), but it's just that I've been updating too much recently, and I'm exhausted. Work has also piled up a lot, and if I don't finish it, my boss will be looking for me to talk soon.

  Give me two days off, I can focus on work during the day and start again on weekends.

  Sorry, and thanks for your understanding.

  Chapter 124: With Great Success Comes Retreat (Three)

  Chapter 124: With Great Success Comes Retreat (Three)