Reborn as a Landlord

"Oh no, have I come too late? Why is there only so little left?" A young man dressed like a shop assistant hurried over and, seeing only a basket with a few peanuts left at the bottom, immediately lamented.

"Young master, don’t worry about these, at least there’s still over a pound, right? How much would you like?" Lian Manman asked with a smile.

"It’s for our shopkeeper; he wants as many as there are." The young shop assistant answered.

"Which shopkeeper might that be?"

"Our shopkeeper’s surname is Wu," the shop assistant replied, "I’ll take all that’s left of the peanuts."

"Alright," Lian Manman weighed the peanuts. "One and a half catties, generously measured, that will be thirty wen money in total."

"Sounds good." The shop assistant then counted out thirty wen money from his purse and handed it to Wu Lang to hold, "I didn’t bring my carry-tools with me, and our establishment is just ahead. Could you trouble yourselves to come with me?"

"Sure," Lian Manman glanced towards the direction the shop assistant was pointing and agreed.

The three children carrying the basket followed the shop assistant to a tavern in front of them, which happened to be the Yue Lai Tavern, the largest in town.

"This is the one," the shop assistant said, "Please come in with me. The shopkeeper wanted me to buy more, and now that you’ve run out, he will scold me for not handling things properly. Could you help me explain to the shopkeeper?"

Lian Manman chuckled inwardly. It seemed the young shop assistant had deliberately brought them here; she wondered what he was scheming. But there was nothing to worry about. They were locals, and today was the market day in the town. With people coming and going outside, she wasn’t afraid of anyone trying anything funny.

Lian Manman followed the shop assistant into the tavern. The shop assistant led the three children to the door of a private room and stopped.

"Our shopkeeper is inside," he said and knocked on the door.

The door immediately opened, and the shop assistant led Lian Manman and the others inside.

In the center of the private room was a table laid with various pastries, and the man in the principal seat was dressed in a fine satin robe. He appeared to be in his forties, with a square face and large ears, and was quite stout. Next to him stood a man in a cotton robe who seemed to be even older.

"Shopkeeper, the peanuts you asked me to buy, this is all that’s left," the shop assistant hurriedly came forward to greet and handed over the peanuts he had purchased.

The man standing beside took the peanuts, placed them in a dish, and put it in front of the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man grabbed two peanuts, cracked them open, and ate.

"Not bad, but too few," the middle-aged man nodded and said.

"Miss, does your family have more of these peanuts?" asked the standing man.

Lian Manman’s gaze swept over the two men and she smiled.

"This must be Elder Woo?" Lian Manman asked.

"Yes, this is our Shopkeeper Wu," the standing man said.

"Elder Woo, may I ask how much of these peanuts would you like?" Lian Manman then inquired of the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man pondered for a moment and stretched out two fingers.

"Let’s start with two hundred catties," he said.

Two hundred catties; the three children exchanged looks. Forget two hundred catties, they didn’t even have twenty left. What remained was about fifteen catties, peanuts they planned to keep for their own consumption, as today was the last time they were selling these garlic-flavored peanuts. Yet the number two hundred was so enticing. They might not have peanuts themselves, but they could buy them. Buying raw peanuts for twelve wen money per catty and after making them into garlic-flavored peanuts, they could earn a profit of eight wen money per catty. So, for two hundred catties, that would be one thousand six hundred wen money, which was worth one tael and five maces of silver, equivalent to half an acre of land’s value.

A thought struck Lian Manman.

"Certainly," Lian Manman immediately agreed with a nod.

"However, I’m in a bit of a hurry," Shopkeeper Wu glanced at Lian Manman and began slowly.

"How urgent?" Manman asked.

"Two hundred jin. I need it by tomorrow," Shopkeeper Wu replied.

"Tomorrow won’t work. I need two days," Manman said after thinking it over.

"Two days? Does it really take that long?" Shopkeeper Wu frowned slightly.

"Elder Woo, you don’t know, but the peanuts are still being sun-dried. I need time to collect them," Manman answered.

"Alright, I’ll give you two days. The day after tomorrow in the evening, I’ll need those two hundred jin of garlic peanuts," Shopkeeper Wu was quite straightforward.

"Manman, two hundred jin of peanuts, how can we make them so quickly?" Wu Lang tugged at Manman’s sleeve and whispered in her ear. To buy the peanuts, they needed to wash, soak, cook, and dry them. In two days, they simply couldn’t produce that many garlic peanuts.

"Don’t worry, I have a way," Manman turned her head and whispered back to Wu Lang.

"Does the young lady’s word count?" Shopkeeper Wu looked at Manman and then at Wu Lang.

"Of course it does," Manman said.

"What my sister says, counts," Wu Lang and Xiao Qi, although dubious, expressed support for Manman in front of the outsider.

"We have no written proof for our words, so how about this: We live in Thirty Mile Camp, and I think we don’t need any written agreement. Elder Woo, how about you give us half of the deposit first?" Manman proposed.

No written agreement, and yet asking for a deposit.

"Half of the deposit is no problem," Shopkeeper Wu quickly agreed, "but if you fail to deliver the two hundred jin of garlic peanuts in two days, you must accept the penalty."

"Fine, no problem," Manman nodded in agreement, not even asking what the penalty was.

Wu Lang and Xiao Qi tugged at Manman’s sleeve from behind, but she smiled brightly, paying them no mind.

"The young lady is indeed straightforward. Good, bring a string of coins," Shopkeeper Wu seemed quite happy.

The man standing by the side walked behind the screen and brought out a string of coins on a tray.

Manman took the string of coins and placed it in the basket for Wu Lang to carry.

"Young lady, I’ll see you in two days," Shopkeeper Wu said.

"Yes, it’s a deal," Manman nodded.

The three children walked out of the tavern, with Wu Lang and Xiao Qi’s brows deeply furrowed.

"Manman, let’s hurry home and think of a solution," Wu Lang said.

"No rush, let’s head to the liquor store first," Manman said, leading the way to the liquor store.

Just as they reached the corner of the street, they saw a person turn out from an angle and block Manman’s path.