Page 152

Although she had previously wanted to stay by her parents’ side for a few more years and hadn’t planned on opening a shop so soon, the events of the past few days had changed her perspective.

The people from the Lin family had come to cause trouble, looking down on them, so she was determined to live a good life and to earn a great deal of money to show them.

Her two younger sisters also needed to hurry and start their education, at the latest by next spring, so she had to send them to school without any further delay.

Then there was the little brother in her mother’s womb and her father’s leg—she had a whole family to take care of, and she couldn’t afford to be idle.

Besides, once her shop was open, she could hire a trustworthy person to manage it, just like the tofu shop, allowing her to let go and not overwork herself to death, right?

She had wandered around the main street and had not found any shops for transfer or sale.

She had anticipated this outcome; after all, it was the main street where almost any business could make money.

Unless a family had an urgent matter and was forced to sell, it was rare to find a shop for sale.

But how easily could one come across such an opportunity?

With that thought, Lin Yuan turned her steps toward the streets by the river.

She did not go to the street where Chunfeng Building was located, even though that street was the second busiest in Zhuma Town after the main street.

But deep down, she had no intention of being too close to that place.

It was not that she looked down on the women from the brothel, but rather out of concern for her two younger sisters.

Most of the men walking back and forth on that street were disreputable, and she did not want her sisters to be gazed upon by such men all day long.

Apart from those two streets, East Street was the only one left that was bustling.

Lin Yuan looked around East Street and indeed found it less crowded than the other two streets, but fortunately, it was wide, and there weren’t many street vendors around, which provided good conditions for storefronts.

Moreover, even though the street wasn’t that crowded, there were a few shops that did a roaring trade.

With these shops around, East Street probably wouldn’t lack customers.

After making a round, Lin Yuan had a general idea.

There was a cloth shop and a small jewelry shop that were doing quite well.

She also took special note of any shops that had clear signs of closing down soon, mentally recording their locations and names.

She planned to have Liuzi help keep an eye on them, so if any of them couldn’t continue and were looking to transfer or sell, she could come and take over.

After checking out the shops, Lin Yuan saw that there was still time, and remembering her appointment with Xia Zheng to look at a property, she led her two younger sisters toward the Fuman Building.

Having covered two streets in quick succession, the sisters had bought quite a few things.

They also made a special trip to the jewelry shop on East Street.

The uniqueness of the shop was clear—every piece of jewelry in the store was drawn by the proprietress herself, and the proprietor was skilled at crafting them, ensuring each piece was one of a kind.

The Lin Yuan sisters picked out a simple yet exquisite silver hairpin for Lady Liu.

Holding the hairpin, Lin Yuan suddenly remembered the one Li Feng’e had worn when she had first arrived here.

Back then, their family was poor, and her mother had pawned her dowry to make ends meet.

Now, she finally had enough money to buy jewelry for her mother.

When she got back, she also needed to get the pawn tickets from her mother and see how many items they could redeem; those were her grandmother’s bridal gifts to her mother, carrying extraordinary significance, and every piece counted.

The sisters also visited a general goods store to buy some carpentry tools for Lin Jiaxin, not knowing which items to purchase since none of them understood these things.

Fortunately, Xiao Ma from the general goods store was familiar with Lin Yuan and recommended a few practical items. Lin Yuan didn’t bother to question their usefulness and readily spent the silver.

Considering Lin Changqing was also at home, if her father didn’t need them, she could give them as gifts to Lin Changqing.

After all, he had been working tirelessly for them without asking for anything, and she felt it was only right to show some appreciation.