She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 349 - 348 I’ll Lend You Silver

Chapter 349: Chapter 348 I’ll Lend You Silver

Xinger patted Meizi on the arm and said, "Look, look, I told you, didn’t I? How could Big Cousin and our nanny only be doing such a small bit of business?"

Ye Xinyan smiled and shook her head, then turned to ask Lady Li, "How’s the breakfast stall doing? If it’s selling well, might as well rent a shopfront to avoid the weather and add a few more varieties."

Lady Li listened to the noise outside, a jumbled sound of movements, before lowering her voice to say, "I’ve mentioned it to mother, and she said we have to discuss it with Great Uncle and Great Aunt. Initially, Ye Zi gave the stall to us, and Second Aunt made a big fuss about it. Eventually, it was decided the stall should belong to the children of our generation in the family. The past few months’ business has been good, but all the money earned has been given to Great Aunt. If we’re thinking of renting a shopfront, we need to get the money from Great Aunt, and also secure the approval of Second Uncle and Second Aunt."

Ye Xinyan smiled, it was just a breakfast stall, but even then, it had troubled Great Uncle. Now that they wanted to progress further, they were stuck again.

"How about this," suggested Ye Xinyan, "let Cousin and Shunzi continue the rice tofu stall, and as for renting a shopfront, discuss it with Great Aunt, it doesn’t matter whether or not it works out. Cousin’s Wife and Meizi can rent their own shopfront to sell pastries, what do you think?"

"Ah?" This took everyone by surprise, not just Meizi, but even Lady Li who had been doing business for some time. The leap was too great, wasn’t it? It suddenly turned into opening a pastry shop.

After a good while, when Ye Xinyan leisurely finished her flaky pastry, Lady Li expressed her concern, "Even discussing the rice tofu stall converting into a shopfront may not succeed, let alone getting the money to open a pastry shop—which indeed might be even harder."

There was a more troublesome issue—the pastry shop, if opened, what would it count for? Second Aunt surely wouldn’t be content with the eldest branch of the family opening a shop; she would definitely want a hand in it. If that happened, the pastry shop would likely see Cousin’s Wife and Meizi working hard under Second Aunt’s complete control.

Ye Xinyan smiled and winked, saying, "What if we don’t take money from the family?"

"Ah? Without money, who would just give us a shop to do business?" questioned Meizi, puzzled.

Lady Li, seeing Ye Xinyan’s expression, had her suspicions but didn’t dare to voice them.

Ye Xinyan smiled and said, "Who said anything about not taking money? I meant borrowing money to open the shop—I’ll lend the silver to Cousin’s Wife and Meizi."

It was indeed so.

Lady Li’s eyes shone brightly for a moment, then dimmed as she hesitated, "Wouldn’t that be inappropriate? If the family elders disapprove, we don’t have anything to fall back on or any collateral to offer against borrowing a large sum of silver from you, Ye Zi. If the business fails, how could we repay it?"

Meizi and Xinger only excited for a flash, then felt deflated. Indeed, the silver needed to start a shop was a significant amount; not only the shopfront rent but also the equipment for making pastries had to be prepared. Xinger, working in the snack shop, knew that opening a pastry shop required handling many things, a lot of preparations, not a simple task at all.

Ye Xinyan didn’t seem to care much, cheerfully saying, "How can you say there’s no collateral? Cousin and Cousin’s Wife themselves are the best collateral; I trust them both. Do just discuss it with Big Aunt and Big Uncle, and if it’s decided we can do it, let me know. Xinger can continue to stay at the snack shop or join you at the pastry shop, too. Let’s figure it out together—after all, we need to get the business going."

Lady Li was somewhat moved. Her family and her husband’s family had been peasants for generations, working hard only to barely get from meal to meal. She had thought this was just the way life was supposed to be, but after returning with Second Uncle and Cousin, she realized there were other ways for the common folk to live.

The rice tofu stall had been initially given to her by Cousin for her and her husband, but Second Aunt had forcefully made it a matter involving several brothers. Following what Ye Zi suggested, if she raised the money for the shop herself, Second Aunt wouldn’t have a say, would she? Ye Zi said she trusted Chengzi and her—if Second Aunt had the ability, she could try and see if Ye Zi would trust her.

Lady Li was decisive; after pondering for a bit, she nodded firmly and said, "All right, I’ll discuss it with Chengzi first. If he agrees, I will find a way to persuade my parents. I’ve realized that if we try to consider everything too comprehensively, we might end up never accomplishing anything."

"That’s right. You need to have a sharp edge to get things done," said Ye Xinyan with a smile.

Qi Cheng had always been a considerable support to his family. When Ye Xinyan handed over the rice tofu stall to Qi Cheng and his wife, it was to express gratitude towards Qi Cheng, without any intention of causing further issues. Yet, it had ended up with five brothers splitting the small stall, nothing like what she had in mind.

Moreover, her family’s own snack shop had started with small-scale business, not having foreseen taking over a cattle farm and running a Dairy Products Store later. If they were to add the Qi Family Construction Business to their portfolio now, the Qi family’s momentum would indeed be considerable. With such substantial momentum, financing a pastry shop was truly no big deal.

Xinger worked in the snack shop, and Meizi often made little pastries at home, while Lady Li had half a year’s experience with the small stall. Discussing the pastry shop was nothing unfamiliar to them. Although nothing was concrete yet, they enthusiastically planned what was needed for opening the shop.

Ye Xinyan occasionally made suggestions regarding the form the shop should take, which clientele to target, and which pastry varieties should be the main focus during the start-up phase.

Time flies when you’re busy with work, and before they had come to any conclusions, from outside came Lady Xu’s call for dinner, urging them to hurry so the elders wouldn’t be kept waiting. "Xinger, go find Sanshun and Brother Jia to come back."