Chapter 713 - 715: Human Dies for Wealth, Bird Dies for Food
Bai Ruozhu thought recent rumors had caused Madame Hao to misunderstand her, particularly the phrase "Let’s part on good terms, don’t make things difficult for me", which seemed to hint at something. She suppressed her anger, smiling as she asked, "Madame Hao, did you hear something unpleasant that led to any misunderstanding?"
Madame Hao showed a trace of disdain, saying, "There’s no misunderstanding. Something urgent happened at home, you better look elsewhere."
Upon hearing this, Fusa became anxious, saying, "When I rented the space, that wasn’t what you said, this is making it hard for us to conduct business. Isn’t this ruining our reputation?"
Madame Hao put her hands on her hips, retorting, "When did a servant like you get the right to interrupt? You have no manners at all. Clearly, you came from a humble background. If this happened in the Hao Residence, we would have slapped you already!"
Fusa, accustomed to the necessity of maintaining a friendly composure when dealing with customers, had never exchanged harsh words with anyone before, and certainly never quarreled with the wives of influential families; she was silenced instantly, her face turning red from rage.
"Madame Hao, your judgment is poor. Sister Fusa is my relative, she owns twenty percent of Hua Xiangrong’s business, so she has much more money than those who merely assume the role of high-ranking ladies." Bai Ruozhu scoffed. She was loyal to her own, and would not continue to show respect to Madame Hao after she insulted her family.
Madame Hao’s face reddened as she glared at Bai Ruozhu, retaliating, "We’ll see if this Hua Xiangrong can still prosper, let’s see if she can compete with a housemaid from a wealthy family."
"Whether it can continue to operate is not up to you, since you’ve made up your mind, make sure to send the compensation to the Commerce Association promptly to avoid any disputes." Bai Ruozhu curtly told her.
"You all better prepare to vacate the place within three days!" Madame Hao shouted, exuding anger, before storming off.
Bai Ruozhu’s face was as cold as ice. She gave an order, and the dark guard Jianqi appeared, startling Fusa who was standing nearby.
"Investigate why Madame Hao wants to reclaim the shop, and also look into who owns the shop next door; I need to meet him as soon as possible." Bai Ruozhu instructed.
"Yes." Jianqi disappeared as soon as he responded.
Fusa pointed at the spot where Jianqi stood, stuttering, "Wha – what was that?"
"He’s one of my guards, he helps me with tasks and also protects us discreetly." Bai Ruozhu explained.
Fusa breathed a sigh of relief, but her face soon fell again.She said anxiously, "Ruozhu, what should we do now? Our press conference has already been announced, and business was just beginning to take off. Everyone knows where we are located; if we move, how will people find us?"
Bai Ruozhu sneered, "Don’t worry, we still have the shop next door. It will be easy for customers to find us if we move there. Even if something happens to the shop next door, it’s not like we don’t have other options; we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. You don’t need to worry."
Fusa calmed down gradually, leaning on Bai Ruozhu for support.
"You should start counting the goods in the shop with the maid, pack up whatever needs to be packed to facilitate the move in a few days." Bai Ruozhu suggested, "I’m going to the Commerce Association, we’ll meet at our house later."
"Should we notify Madame Xie? After all, Madame Hao is her acquaintance." Fusa reminded carefully.
Bai Ruozhu sighed, saying, "I’ll find an opportunity to tell her."
Of course, she wasn’t planning to accuse Madame Xie, just give her a heads up. She might have fallen out with Madame Hao, and didn’t want to make things awkward for Madame Xie.
Then, Bai Ruozhu headed straight to the Commerce Association, chatting with the old manager who, knowing that she was the disciple of Elder Lin, treated her with extra warmth and friendliness.
"Sir, could you help me to find out how much compensation is required if a shop is reclaimed before the one-year lease is up, and how much longer I can stay after the compensation is paid?" Bai Ruozhu asked politely.
The old manager answered each question, explaining that the amount of compensation varies with time. The highest compensation is required if the decision to break the lease is made within a month, amounting to eight times the rent. Two to three months equates to six times the rent, decreasing incrementally from there. Bai Ruozhu checked the lease and found that it was within the three-month period.
Six times the rent; this would cause quite a dent in the Hao family’s finances.
"If they pay the compensation, you need to vacate the space within fifteen days. If it’s the three-month compensation, and the lease has less than fifteen days to reach the three-month period, you should calculate it based on the remaining days." The old manager explained.
Bai Ruozhu thanked him and after a moment’s thought asked, "Does the Commerce Association have a regulation stating, if the landlord takes back the shop, they can’t immediately conduct business in the same line as the previous tenant, and can’t use the previous tenant’s reputation?"
The old manager stroked his beard in thought, replying, "I’ve grown old, my memory isn’t good. I’ll look through the rules of the Commerce Association."
"Thank you very much, sir." Bai Ruozhu expressed her gratitude.
After a careful search, the old manager confirmed that such a rule did exist in the Commerce Association; the landlord cannot engage in the same business as the previous tenant for half a year after reclaiming the shop, unless it was a large restaurant or inn. If the tenant finds out and reports to the Association, the landlord will be punished by the Association, but he did not specify what the punishment would be.
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes sparkled, even better, she can now specify the punishment as she sees fit, right?
Punishments for using the previous tenant’s signboard can be even more severe—serious cases can land one in prison.
People die for money and birds die for food. Given Madame Hao’s attitude today, Bai Ruozhu had a feeling that the situation would not end well. So, she asked for specifics about the rules in advance to be prepared for a rapid response when changes occur.
Then, she went to the Xie Residence and told Yu Hongxiu about Madame Hao. She refrained from mentioning how bad Madame Hao’s attitude was as she was afraid it might upset the pregnant Yu Hongxiu.
"What? How could she do that?" Yu Hongxiu exclaimed, "Was the Hao family bribed by someone? I never thought they were like this!"
"Don’t worry. Thankfully, I still have the shop next door. I should even thank them for being impatient. If I had already left for Capital City when they reclaimed the shop, that would’ve truly upset me." Bai Ruozhu calmed her down with a smile.
Yu Hongxiu apologized to Bai Ruozhu, blaming herself for the situation, saying she hadn’t judged people correctly and caused trouble for Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Ruozhu chatted with her for a while and took her pulse before leaving. By the time she returned home, Fusa had already arrived and informed everyone about Madame Hao’s intention to take back the shop.
Initially, everyone was worried. But seeing Bai Ruozhu’s calm and composed demeanor upon returning, they all relaxed.
Shortly after, Jianqi returned and reported to Bai Ruozhu, "The son of the owner of the shop next door owes a lot of money to the underground faction. He was beaten up badly. I took the opportunity to save him and help approach them to discuss buying their shop."
Last time, they had hurriedly rented the space out because their son was in debt. It’s possible that they urgently needed money again due to their son. Bai Ruozhu appreciated Jianqi’s work; he had done a good job foreseeing this opportunity.
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That’s all for today, we’ll continue striving tomorrow!