Jiang Zhou said he was considering it, but he was really contemplating the idea. He informed Wen Yan about the matter first.

Wen Yan helped him take off his coat and hung it next to the brazier to bake. Jiang Zhou was accustomed to wearing warm and fragrant clothes, so Wen Yan replaced the ordinary wood originally used for the fire in the brazier with pine wood.

Pine wood was soft, easy to burn, and had a pine scent.

Wen Yan picked up the red-hot charcoal with a poker and said, “You want to buy it.”

He used a declarative sentence and was already familiar with Jiang Zhou’s thoughts.

Jiang Zhou nodded: “This tea house is rare. If we can acquire it, even if we work harder, we may earn more than at the restaurant.”

Wen Yan frowned: “But we don’t have that much funds.”

“This is also bothering me. It’s where my concern lies,” Jiang Zhou sighed, “That place is in a prime location, and no matter how affordable it is, it can’t be any cheaper.”

Even though Lu Dexing gave him the full scoop, Jiang Zhou really couldn’t raise that much money for a while.

Wen Yan thought for a moment: “I still have some money saved over the years. Why don’t you use it temporarily to pay for it?”

Jiang Zhou shook his head: “It’s just a drop in the bucket. You worked hard to save that money, so why not leave it be? I will think of other ways.”

.

After considering it, he went to Lu Dexing and told him not to sell the tea house hastily. If he couldn’t get the money within three months, Lu Dexing could proceed with the sale.

Fortunately, Lu Dexing wasn’t in a rush to sell and agreed with a smile.

Jiang Zhou struggled for several days.

Although the restaurant in his possession was profitable, he was also spending money. The house was undergoing repairs, and the daily expenses of the restaurant were quite substantial. If he truly invested so much money in buying a tea house, there would be no follow-up. Not to mention money management, he couldn’t even sustain the restaurant.

These past two days, he had been worried. When he went to bed at night, he pondered how to make money. Wen Yan felt a little concerned seeing him like this.

With a worried expression on his face, Madam Lu, who came to see Xiao Yi at his house, noticed it and quietly pulled him away.

The two conversed outside, and Wen Yan absentmindedly gazed at Xiao Yi through the window.

Madam Lu frowned: “What’s wrong with you?”

Wen Yan sighed.

Madam Lu observed his expression and asked tentatively, “Did Jiang Zhou bully you?”

It didn’t seem like it; she knew how much Jiang Zhou loved his wife. The two were so close, how could he bully Wen Yan? But looking at Wen Yan like this, he seemed to have something on his mind.

Wen Yan, aware of her concern, shook his head: “That’s not the case.”

He explained to Madam Lu that Jiang Zhou wanted to buy a tea house, but didn’t have enough capital.

Madam Lu’s eyes lit up after hearing this: “What’s this about? Don’t worry, there are still three months left. I’ll go back and ask my husband if we can think of a way.”

.

Later, Madam Lu informed Lu Dalang about the situation.

Lu Dalang hesitated, looking at Madam Lu’s shining eyes: “What do you mean?”

Madam Lu smiled: “You forgot, we collaborated with Jiang Zhou on sponge cakes and made a lot of money.”

In her opinion, Jiang Zhou had excellent investment acumen. None of the businesses he engaged in were loss-making transactions, including this restaurant. She helped out when Wen Yan was too busy, and she saw all the money-making opportunities.

She suggested slowly: “It’s nothing, I was thinking about whether we could cooperate again.”

“The relationship between our two families has been good recently. If we can cooperate if we can, it would be good. But if he declines then don’t bother him again.”

Lu Dalang shared the same idea. Despite his good relationship with Jiang Zhou, he didn’t intend to force him through this relationship: “In the end, it’s a good thing to try. Well, if we really can’t cooperate, it won’t hurt to lend him some money.”

The two discussed further, and Lu Dalang approached Jiang Zhou the next day.

.

Jiang Zhou was busy at the restaurant and overseeing the construction of his house.

“What have you been busy with recently?” Lu Dalang asked when he saw Jiang Zhou squatting on the ground.

“Only those two things, nothing else.”

Lu Dalang glanced at the half-built house. The village mostly had thatched and wooden houses, while Jiang Zhou’s house, made of bricks mixed with cement, stood out.

“It’s boxy and looks very comfortable. I will also renovate your house another day. The wooden house at home is rotten in many places, so it should be renovated,” Lu Dalang suggested.

Jiang Zhou nodded: “Tell me what you need later. My father-in-law and I are making cement. If you need anything, just ask.”

“Don’t worry, I’m absolutely will.” Lu Dalang then brought up the main topic, “I heard that you want to buy Fengtai Tea House recently?”

Jiang Zhou, with nothing to hide, nodded, saying, “I haven’t bought it yet, I don’t have enough money.”

Lu Dalang inquired, “What are you going to do?”

Jiang Zhou explained, “Open a hot pot restaurant.”

“A hot pot restaurant?” Lu Dalang expressed surprise at the new concept, asking, “What is that?”

Jiang Zhou described the hot pot to him: “It’s something derived from the pot we ate together last time.”

Last time the weather was too cold, and the vegetables got cold after being fried for a while. After the oil solidified, he felt tired just looking at it, so Jiang Zhou didn’t hold a banquet for Xiao Yi. Instead, he built a big round table, moved the copper stove on top, and prepared vegetables and meat to be boiled in a pot.

That time was obviously still fresh in Lu Dalang’s memory: “That method is quite new, but is it very profitable?”

Jiang Zhou nodded his head: “Of course.”

In the time traveler’s memory, those future generations wanted to eat hot pot every day. Whether it was winter or summer, when talking about what to eat, the first thing came to mind always hot pot.

Lu Dalang raised another concern: “You rely on the town’s vegetables and butchers to open your restaurant now, if you open a hotpot restaurant again, can’t they keep up?”

Jiang Zhou, having already considered these aspects, responded: “Now that the water road is developed, I can contact people in other places to supply the vegetables in advance, collect vegetables every three days, and find people to buy them.”

Lu Dalang acknowledged Jiang Zhou’s thorough consideration: “If you don’t have money, I have some here.”

Jiang Zhou, perceptive and anticipating Lu Dalang’s purpose, considered the energy required to open a large hot pot restaurant and suggested, “Do you want to cooperate?”

Lu Dalang nodded: “I won’t hide from you. The breeding industry in my place now has a fixed development model, so we don’t need to worry too much. At most, we can think about it. Just sell it how we want.”

“Okay,” Jiang Zhou said decisively, “Since we want to cooperate, I will draft a contract later. Although we are brothers, we must settle accounts clearly.”

“Okay.”