She Became A Downfall Noble Lady
Chapter 82 Who Benefits?

Chapter 82: Chapter 82 Who Benefits?

The deal with Great Crane House settled, next came the preparation for the snack shop.

Qi Younian had anticipated that Ye Zi’s business negotiations would succeed, but he had not expected them to go so smoothly—it only took two days to finalize everything. Given this rapid progress, what would become of the Rice tofu stall? Could they handle everything?

Just today, after closing the stall and seeing Qi Cheng and his wife off, the old man pulled Ye Xinyan to sit under the tree shade in the courtyard and asked about her plans in detail.

"Ye Zi, we’ve just started the Rice tofu business not long ago, and if we start up the snack shop you mentioned, how can we manage?" he asked her to explain her plan.

Ye Xinyan admired this about Qi Younian. Truly, it was no surprise coming from someone who had rebelled from a young age and struck out on his own. If it were any ordinary elderly person, hearing that she was neglecting the increasingly popular Rice tofu business to fuss over something else, they would at least advise or obstruct her efforts lightly. In serious cases, they would add harsh criticism or forcefully stop her, but here he was, patiently asking.

Ye Xinyan sat next to Qi Younian, glanced at Nanny Jin and Qi Jia bustling in and out of the courtyard like a little tail, and smiling, she said, "I figured, in this period, my cousin and his wife have almost mastered the Rice tofu and sesame buns, and you and Nanny Jin could help them a bit longer. I’ll find a suitable location and rent it as soon as possible, then hire someone to prepare all the necessary items for the snack shop. At the beginning, there won’t be many customers at the snack shop, and you and I can manage on our own for a while. This period will be enough for my cousin to familiarize himself with the Rice tofu stall, and once the snack shop picks up, we can hand over the Rice tofu stall to him, and our family can then focus on the snack shop."

Once the stall was in Qi Cheng’s hands, many things would be easier to manage. With so many hands in the main family, grinding rice milk, making sesame buns, and preparing toppings, the people from the main house could lend a hand. Even if not, the Great Uncle’s family could help, which made it easier than for Ye Xinyan’s Second Branch family.

Hearing Ye Xinyan’s explanation, Qi Younian was quite astonished. He knew his granddaughter was a straightforward person, but she had never mentioned transferring the stall before.

This little stall might not mean much to a wealthy family, but for them, poor folks, a stall that brought in seven or eight taels of silver a month was not something everyone could manage. And yet, Ye Zi was handing it over to her older brother’s family so easily—what generosity!

Qi Younian asked, "Ye Zi, we common people don’t easily come by a stable, money-making business. Are you sure about this, handing it over to Great Uncle’s family?" He was worried that Ye Xinyan, born into nobility and prestige, might underestimate the importance of the income she had, and would she regret it if something went wrong with the snack shop?

"Grandpa, I’ve thought it through. Even if something unexpected happened to the snack shop’s business, we could think of other solutions. I don’t believe that leaving the Rice tofu stall will bring our family to ruin."

Ye Xinyan’s answer was remarkably relaxed. It was just a transitional period’s little stall. Originally, she started this stall because she had no capital and could only use the small-scale Rice tofu business to accumulate some capital. Once she had capital, she naturally wanted to engage in a more substantial business where the family wouldn’t have to work so tirelessly from dawn till dusk, and could lead a more comfortable life.

If, as Grandpa suggested, they used the silver earned from the snack shop to buy some properties, that too was a sound idea. With more properties purchased and leased out, they could just be affluent, leisurely landlords. How comfortable that life would be!

Qi Younian nodded, "Alright, if you have thought it through, then that’s fine."

Back in the year when Qi Younian was living alone in Miyi County without any ambitions, merely trying to get through each day, he thought he’d just muddle through life.

Since he returned to his hometown and helped Ye Xinyan set up the Rice tofu stall, and then later adopted his grandson, Qi Younian’s spirits were no longer as disheartened as before. The bold spirit he once had also gradually began to grow again.

Hearing Ye Xinyan’s plans, the old man was not worried. He thought that after he helped his granddaughter settle her business, he would take on a few apprentices and resume his old trade. Building and constructing houses was his specialty, and he was very skilled at it. With his excellent craftsmanship, earning some silver was certainly within reach.

Once he had made some money, not only could he provide for his grandson and granddaughter’s dowry and modest properties, but his family’s food, clothing, shelter, and transportation would also be thoroughly secure. Even if Ye Zi’s business had its ups and downs, the life of the second branch of the Qi family would not be affected in the slightest.

When Qi Younian felt relieved, he suddenly thought of Sanshun’s family and couldn’t help but feel worried. Qi Cheng was earning wages helping out at his house, and Sanshun was already extremely annoyed and unwilling. Now that he was handing the business directly over to the elder brother, wouldn’t Sanshun insist on fighting him?

"About your great uncle..." Qi Younian said with unusual sorrow.

Ye Xinyan unkindly laughed, "That’s your own brother, you and Great Uncle manage it. Anyway, according to my intentions, that small stall should only go to Great Uncle’s family, I don’t even want the Second Aunt to get a tiny bit of benefit from it, let alone your aunt’s family. They treat Qi Jia that way, and they are not close to us either; I don’t want to have any dealings with them."

Qi Yourong’s family was only close to silver and lazy cunning.

Qi Younian was rather helpless about Ye Xinyan’s pettiness and chuckled, "You child, you hold grudges so much. Your Second Uncle hasn’t separated from the main house, how can you not let your Second Aunt gain some benefits? Moreover, Sanshun gets along so well with Qi Jia every day, with you holding grudges like this, how are these children supposed to cope?"

"Oh, that’s also true," Ye Xinyan grumbled in agreement, acknowledging Qi Younian’s words, "Right now there’s not even a hint of it moving forward, so let Cousin handle it first. We just won’t mention who owns the rice tofu business, how would your uncle think of so much? Even if it’s handed over later and we don’t say anything, your uncle might think the rice tofu is still our business, and Cousin is just helping us."

Qi Younian thoughtfully nodded, "Hmm, that’s also a solution."

Pushing things off a bit, having a buffer is also good.

...

Ye Xinyan’s snack shop hadn’t yet been finalized, and Qi Younian wasn’t in a rush to talk to the elder brother’s family, only vaguely hinting to Qi Cheng that Ye Zi was busy with the snack shop, and the Qi Cheng couple needed to put more effort into their rice tofu stall.

Qi Cheng knew how things worked, and given that his great uncle was being vague, he naturally didn’t want to publicize it everywhere, so the couple just exertedly ran the breakfast stall and didn’t ask too many details, nor did they mention it to anyone else.

In the following time, to get her snack shop up and running quickly, Ye Xinyan didn’t linger much at the breakfast stall and was busy all day preparing for the snack shop’s opening. Naturally, she still took Qi Jia with her.

The breakfast stall became busier and busier, and though the little guy was well-behaved and sensible, he was ultimately a child. The county town was a bustling place with people coming and going. In case everyone was busy with business and not paying attention, losing the little guy would leave them nowhere to cry.

Ye Xinyan feared the four of them would not be able to spare the energy to look after Qi Jia, so she simply kept the little guy by her side.

Ye Xinyan found a mediator, and with the help of Shopkeeper He, she rented a nondescript small shop next to Great Crane House.