The second update, asking for pink support.

＊＊＊＊＊＊

With the shop and house purchased, Lian Manman asked Xiao Xi to tidy up the place and gave Xiao Fu some silver coin to quickly buy whatever urgent items were needed. They had come from Thirty Mile Camp with luggage and planned to stay in the county town for some time.

After arranging everything, Lian Manman, Wu Lang, Xiao Qi, and Lian Shouxin went to the shop front to discuss how to set it up.

They had already planned at home that this shop would primarily be used to promote and sell the produce from their own farm.

"The grain we harvest from our fields, especially the spring and winter wheat, we can grind it into flour and categorize it for sale here," Lian Manman pointed at a counter in the store, "and also, the grape wine, lotus seeds, water caltrops, lotus roots, these should be placed on the counter too. Yes, we should also have a few large wooden barrels here for selling the fish, shrimp, and crabs from our family’s fish pond..."

"Not just from our family, we can also collect the spring and winter wheat from other families in our village for sale here," Wu Lang added.

This shop was not only intended to be a sales outlet for their family’s farm products but also to benefit the villagers, and even neighboring villages and other villages in Qingyang Town would benefit because of them.

"Such a large shop, just selling our own produce, I think we still have a lot of extra space," Lian Shouxin looked around and said.

"In addition to selling our farm’s produce, we can also continue to trade in other general goods, just like other general stores," Lian Manman suggested.

She had already planned that the ground floor would sell the farm produce along with daily necessities like tobacco, alcohol, sugar, tea, fruits, and snacks - everything consumable. The second floor could sell fabrics, various yarns, embroidery threads, cosmetics like rouge and face powder, and all kinds of small daily goods.

Even the furniture made by the carpenters in the village, like the tables and chairs made by Lian Shouli, could be displayed on the counters for sale.

"Sis, shall we call this shop Lian’s General Goods Store?" Xiao Qi asked Lian Manman.

In those days, general stores lived up to their name by offering a very diverse range of products, but even the largest general stores didn’t deal in fresh food or grains like wheat and rice.

But Lian Manman’s shop was primarily set up to deal in these products.

"Let’s not call it a general store," an idea struck Lian Manman, and she said, "Let’s simply call it Lian’s Department Store."

Department store, hundreds of goods, everything included.

"That’s a nice name, both novel and pleasant," Wu Lang nodded in agreement.

The family quickly reached a consensus, and the shop was named Lian’s Department Store.

Once the shop was ready, it needed to open as soon as possible. Manpower was the first issue to address. Lian Manman’s family couldn’t run it themselves, so it was necessary to hire a capable shopkeeper who would be fully responsible for the business. Besides a generous monthly salary, they planned to distribute a share of the annual profits as a bonus at the end of the year. They would also hire an accountant, maintaining relative independence from the shopkeeper, and the rest of the staff would be managed entirely by the shopkeeper.

"There’s a ready shopkeeper," Wu Lang informed Lian Manman. The previous owner’s family was moving south, but the shopkeeper was local. That shopkeeper had years of experience running a general store and was well-regarded. Wu Lang thought it would be best to retain the original shopkeeper for Lian’s Department Store.

A good shopkeeper shouldn’t be underestimated, as they can retain many customers. For example, residents in the area, seeing that the old general store had reopened, might feel more familiar with the new shop since the shopkeeper was still the same face they knew.

Continuing to hire the former shopkeeper was very advantageous for Lian’s Department Store business, and Lian Manman had no reason to object.

"The former accountant of the shop also went back home. I’ve asked Old Yang to help find a suitable replacement," Wu Lang further informed Lian Manman.

Old Yang was a well-known broker in the county town, acquainted with the Wu family duo, Wu Yugui and Wu Jiaxing, as well as Liu Yakuai. Liu Yakuai was the top person in real estate dealings, while Old Yang had the most connections for hiring workers and trading people.