Chapter 362 - 362: Proposing to Open a Winery
Su Wenwu no longer cared about drinking when discussing business. He explained to his sister, “There are three shops here. Which one do you want to rent, Sister?
“Lin Zheng said that people got excited when they heard they could rent their shops to Su’s Hotpot. They all hoped we would open another hotpot restaurant so they wouldn’t have to travel so far just to have it.”
Su Binglan looked at the papers and said, “Let’s go with this shop since it’s big and convenient to make into a hotpot restaurant. The street at the entrance is wide and suitable for customers to park their carriages.”
Su Wenwu nodded. “Okay, Sister. I will tell Lin Zheng that we will rent this shop. There’s also something you should know. Although these shops are remote, they’re still in the east, not far from the market.
“The rent is usually four silver taels a month, but since we’re opening a hotpot restaurant, Lin Zheng bargained, going as low as three silver taels a month.”
“Yes, I can rest assured because Lin Zheng can handle these things,” Su Binglan said.
“You can save one silver a month, which will add up at the end of the year,” Shen Qiuhua said after some calculations, “Still, the rent in the east and west are very different.”
Su Wenwu had stayed in town for a while, so he understood how things were there. He said, “The west is too remote. To be honest, almost no one would go to the west if it weren’t for how delicious our food was.
“Since that place is very remote, most people have trouble renting their shops. Most townsfolk would go to the east instead of the west if they wanted to stroll in town.”
That reminded Su Wenwu of when he first opened his shop.
“To be honest, I was also worried when we first opened our shop, but we didn’t have much money then, so we couldn’t afford to rent a shop in the east. Indeed, it’s cheaper in the west, but I didn’t expect business to be so good there.”
“Time flies now that we’re thinking of the past,” Liu Yinyin said smilingly, “Many people are coming to our restaurant to eat now.”
Su Binglan took the papers and said, “I’ll go to town tomorrow afternoon and rent the shop.”
“Since the hotpot restaurant here is on track, I’ll ask Luo Kang to go to town and check on the hotpot restaurant on the west. Third Brother, you can open a hotpot restaurant on the east. You’ll be in charge of the hotpot restaurants in the future.”
Su Wenwu knew his sister had put great importance on him and said happily, “Don’t worry, Sister. I’ll make you proud.”
He would handle all the work when they finally opened a hotpot restaurant in the west. After all, he had gathered much experience from running the original Su’s Hotpot.
Su Binglan planned to go to the mountain the following day, so she could only go to town in the afternoon. Everyone had grown accustomed to listening to her arrangements.
Shen Qiuhua looked at everyone, busy discussing the topic, and said, “All right, let’s eat while the ramen is still hot and fragrant. You guys might not be hungry, but I am.”
“Yes, let’s eat ramen together.” Everyone began to eat.
Su Wenzhe, who had done some food research, exclaimed after having a few mouths of ramen, “This ramen is different from regular noodles. It’s much chewier.”
“Yes, it’s chewy, but it tastes different.” Su Wenwu was famished after such a busy day, so he wolfed down his noodles. He thought of something as he ate and said, “Sister, since you know so many ways to cook food, you should start a school. I know many people will come and learn from you.”
“You’re so imaginative,” Su Fengmao said earnestly, “You don’t want to tire your sister out, do you?”
Su Binglan said smilingly, “I genuinely never thought of that. Still, I have too many things to do.”
She opened the wine jar and poured it for everyone as she spoke, but Su
Wenzhe hurriedly swiped the jar from her hand and said, “I’ll do it, Little Sister.”
‘How can I let my little sister pour me wine?’
Although Su Wenzhe remembered that Luo Jin’an was not supposed to have alcohol, he still asked out of courtesy, “Do you drink, Brother-in-law?”
“He can’t, so don’t pour him any,” Su Binglan said.
“I’ll pour you some, then,” Su Wenzhe added.
“All right, you can pour me some. I want to taste the wine too.” Su Binglan never had drunk wine since arriving in this era. She was curious about its taste.
She picked up the cup and took a sip, realizing it was rough on her throat. Still, it tasted pretty ordinary. However, her father and three brothers were drinking with relish, so she could not help but ask, “Father, how’s the wine?”
“What do you mean by how is it?” Su Fengmao did not understand what his daughter meant.
“I’m asking about the taste, of course,” Su binglan explained.
“It’s pretty good,” Su Fengmao said, “Its smell is quite potent, so you can’t drink this kind of wine normally.”
“Yeah, I think it’s good.” Su Wenzhe nodded.
Su Wenxiu also said, “It’s rare to drink wine on normal days. Drinking a mouthful of this kind of wine can even help me sleep well.”
After some thought, Su Wenwu understood what his sister meant. “Little
Sister, we consider this wine pretty good.”
At that moment, Luo Jin’an said, “I’ll try some.”
Su Binglan looked at him suspiciously, “I thought you couldn’t drink?”
“I used to be able to drink.” Luo Jin’an sighed. However, he could no longer because he got affected by the cold poison.
What else could Su Binglan think of when she heard her husband’s words and thought of what he had experienced? Still, she poured a little for him and said,
“Don’t drink too much, okay?”
She thought Luo Jin’an wanted to drink a cup when he only wanted to taste it. Nonetheless, he took a small sip and said, “This should be a medium-grade wine.”
Su Binglan understood her husband’s intention when she heard what he said. Luo Jin’an only wanted to taste the wine to give his wife the feedback she sought.
She felt moved by his actions and explained, “I just drank a mouthful of wine and had some thoughts about it. If we can adequately process this wine, it’ll taste better than this.
“Aunt Ding previously asked me if I had any work for Uncle Fengzhang and Cousin Wenxian. I thought about it but realized that we onlv hire women for the tofu factory and embroidery shop.
“Now, the men are anxious with nothing to do, so I just got an idea to set up a winery. We can make wine and other drinks like milk tea too. Then we’ll hire men to work this time.
“Since our side of the family already has things to do, it’s just right for Uncle Fengzhang and Cousin Wenxian to run a winery.” Su Binglan had just taken a sip of wine and suddenly thought of opening a winery.
Everyone was dumbfounded when Su Binglan finished speaking. They stared at her with widened eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Su Binglan asked softly, “Everyone can voice your opinions and discuss them together.”
She did not know much about this era, so she only suggested opening a winery. As for whether or not to open one, she would have to discuss it with her family.
Su Wenwu was the first to regain his senses. He said, “No way, Little Sister. You know how to brew wine?!”
His words brought everyone back to their senses.
“That’s right, my daughter. Most typically pass down their wine-making methods from generation to generation. How would we know how to make wine all of a sudden?” Su Fengmao was genuinely excited after hearing what his daughter said.
It only meant he could drink wine more frequently. Still, he had to learn how to make it first..