30. The Qualities of a Businessperson

After wandering around for about an hour, as the shops on the street began to open one by one, Han Lei finally stopped in front of a storefront at the corner of an intersection.

It was a two-story building, and a red "For Sale" notice was pasted on the wooden door of the shop downstairs.

Han Lei stepped forward and knocked.

Soon, an elderly man in his fifties with streaks of gray in his hair opened the door.

"Sir, may I ask if this shop is for sale?" Han Lei asked politely.

The old man looked Han Lei over, then glanced at the group of men following her, feeling a sense of unease. Those men possessed an air of battle-hardened ferocity, yet the young woman before him was beautiful and well-mannered. What were they...

"Sir?" Seeing the man silent, merely staring at them, Han Lei called out softly again.

"Oh, yes, this shop is for sale," the old man nodded.

"May I come in and have a look?"

"Yes, but they..." The old man looked at the wounded soldiers behind her, hesitating.

Han Lei followed his gaze and immediately understood.

"Oh, don't worry, sir," she said gently. "They are all my guards."

"All of them are your guards?" The old man couldn't help but look her up and down again. In his limited experience, only the County Magistrate traveled with so many guards. The young woman before him must be of very noble status.

Han Lei gave the soldiers a look, and they lowered their voices to greet the old man, which finally brought a smile to his face.

"Please, noble guest, come in!"

The old man gestured for her to enter. She walked into the shop, followed by the wounded soldiers and their squad leader.

The premises had previously been a restaurant. It had two floors; the ground floor was a hall of about two hundred square meters, and the upper floor held several private rooms. Behind the first floor was a large courtyard containing a kitchen and rooms for staff.

The decor was still quite new, and for a place like Qingshui County, the scale was relatively large. Moreover, it was located in a bustling, eye-catching area.

Han Lei was very satisfied and asked about the asking price.

"Sir, I like this shop very much. How much silver are you asking for it?"

Hearing she liked it, the old man was overjoyed. With the constant wars in the North Pass, business across Cang Province was difficult; the notice had been up for months, and no one had been willing to take it over.

"My employer said that as long as two hundred and seventy taels of silver are offered, we can sell it," the old man quickly replied.

"Are you not the owner?"

"Forgive me, miss. My surname is Wang; I am just the manager here. My employer intends to move to the capital after the New Year to live with his son, which is why he is so eager to sell."

"I see! But isn't two hundred and seventy taels a bit expensive?" Han Lei began to haggle.

"Not expensive, not expensive at all," Manager Wang shook his head repeatedly. "For just two hundred and seventy taels, this entire building is yours. You can ask around, miss; it’s not expensive at all."

"The whole building is mine?" Han Lei was surprised; she had thought it was just a transfer fee.

"That's right!" Afraid she might walk away, Wang hurried to sell the idea. "Miss, this is the busiest part of Qingshui County. Even an ordinary house here would cost three or four hundred taels, let alone a shop combined with a residence."

Hearing this, Han Lei was even more pleased. An image of herself running a restaurant here immediately popped into her mind.

Thinking she was still deliberating over the price, Wang continued his pitch.

"Miss, you won't lose out by taking over this shop. If not for my employer moving to the capital, he wouldn't sell it so cheaply. You are lucky, miss—the notice was only posted yesterday, and you arrived today. Seize the opportunity!"

"Pfft!" Han Lei couldn't help but laugh. "Manager Wang, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? When I knocked, I saw that the notice had been there for a long time—it had already faded."

She and the soldiers had spent the morning wandering the surrounding streets; they knew exactly which businesses were doing well, which locations were prime, and which shops were up for sale.

"Uh... heh heh." Wang felt embarrassed and could only offer a sheepish laugh.

"Manager Wang, how long have you been the manager here?" Han Lei found the old man quite clever and persuasive—he had the makings of a good businessman.

"I have been with my employer since this shop first opened, more than ten years now."

"Manager Wang, if this shop is sold, do you have other plans? If not, how about staying on to help me? I will double your previous wages." Han Lei wanted to keep him.

Her wounded soldiers were fierce men who had fought to the death, but they weren't businessmen; welcoming guests and salesmanship were not their strengths. If she had an experienced manager like Wang to lead them, it would be twice the result with half the effort.

"That would be wonderful! I was only afraid you wouldn't find me useful," Wang said, overjoyed.

He had been the manager for over a decade, and at his age, he had no other skills; he had been worried about his future. Furthermore, judging by her tone, she was generous. He used to earn two taels of silver a month; with her, he would earn four. It was a windfall!

"It's a deal then, Manager Wang." Han Lei pulled a stack of silver notes totaling two hundred and seventy taels from her sleeve and handed them to him, instructing him to settle matters with the previous owner, retrieve the property deed, and then they would discuss the next steps.

...

Zhao Zun slept until lunchtime and only woke up when someone sent by Luo Hai came to invite him.

At the dining table, seeing that Han Lei was not there, he assumed she was still resting. Thinking of how she had taken care of him all night, he felt a warm glow in his heart.

Concerned that she had been up all night, he didn't have the heart to wake her and ordered the servants of the Luo residence to set aside food for her.

After lunch, Zhao Zun chatted with Luo Hai for a while, but still, Han Lei did not appear. Feeling it wasn't good for her to sleep on an empty stomach, he decided to wake her himself. However, after knocking on her door for a long time, there was no response.

Anxious, Zhao Zun pushed the door open, only to find the room empty.

When Luo Hai heard that Han Lei was missing, he summoned the servants to inquire. Only then did they learn that Han Lei had taken a group of guards to go shopping early in the morning.

"Shopping? Even if she went shopping, she should be back by now!" A sudden panic seized Zhao Zun. "Qingshui County is so small, with so few streets—how could she be gone for half the day without returning?"

He knew her situation better than anyone. Having traveled from another world, she was a stranger here. Even though he knew she was protected by a group of men, the fact that she hadn't returned by such a late hour left him unable to calm his heart.

Consequently, Zhao Zun called Pingchuan to go out with him to search for her.

Just as they left, the guards at the gate of the Magistrate's residence were changing shifts.