A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1085 Opening a Branch Pawnshop

Gui'er stood there in a daze in front of Ouyang Bao's villa, her thoughts drifting back to that time.

An old gatekeeper came out: "Miss, are you looking for this family? They've all moved away. They all moved away after the owner died."

"Are you just going to give up such a nice house?"

"The First Madam wants to sell it, but it seems that people are driving down the price so hard that it's hard to find a buyer. She's reluctant to sell it cheaply, and she doesn't dare to live there. I'm new here and don't know what happened before. I heard that the previous owner was unkind and harmed many people, so she's afraid of retaliation."

"Oh, where did the former lady go?" Gui'er asked curiously.

"I heard she bought a small house outside, Miss. You don't know, there's a story behind it." The old gatekeeper must have been bored. Usually, he was all alone in the huge mansion with no one to talk to, but now that he had started talking, he couldn't stop.

"It is said that when they moved houses, many treasures in the safes were discovered and targeted by people. The house was robbed shortly after the move, and one of the concubines was even stabbed to death."

"Oh, I've never heard of this before? This is a murder case." Gui'er was very surprised.

"What's so new about this? Hong Kong newspapers only report on the affairs of wealthy people. They've fallen on hard times and can't be considered wealthy anymore. They've moved to Kowloon Walled City. It's perfectly normal for a couple of people to die in a burglary there."

Gui'er fell silent. She hadn't expected the once illustrious and invincible Ouyang Bao family to decline in such a way. She then wandered around the area and found that those who had moved away seemed to have left behind one or two servants to guard the place. Moreover, after chatting with the servants, she discovered that most of the people who moved away had lost a significant portion of their assets.

Back home, Gui'er couldn't calm down for a long time. Now that the Japanese were getting closer and closer to occupying Hong Kong, she had to do something.

Just then, Wu Mingqiang suddenly returned from outside. He saw Gui'er and asked with a smile, "Miss, didn't you go out to play today? Did you have a good time at home?"

Gui'er found it strange that he came back so early today: "Brother Wu, why are you back so early today? Don't you usually have to go out for business?"

Wu Mingqiang's smile was a little unnatural: "Nothing much is happening outside today. Oh, by the way, I brought back a roast goose. There's always a line to buy roast geese from this place every day. I had to tell the owner early this morning to make sure he saved some for me."

Looking at the exceptionally good-looking roast goose, Gui'er's worries instantly lessened.

After finishing his meal, Wu Mingqiang didn't go out for social engagements or return to his room as usual. Instead, he asked Gui'er, "Miss, what have you been doing all day at home?"

Gui'er then remembered Ouyang Bao's matter. She said, "I walked around the neighborhood today. Some of our neighbors have moved away or gone to other places. From what I've heard, unless they were prepared in advance, those who moved away in a hurry will lose a lot of money. I think the Japanese will occupy Hong Kong sooner or later. We have to prepare for the future."

Wu Mingqiang nodded and said, "Miss is right. I have also considered this issue. However, we are overseas and do not have many connections. Moreover, it would be too late to make arrangements now, and we don't have that much money. It is not worthwhile to sell the pawnshop or other assets. Selling property now would be a fire sale. For now, I think we should develop in Macau. After all, we have already bought property in Macau."

"So how do you plan to develop this business?"

Wu Mingqiang added some hot water to his teacup, tapping his fingertips lightly on the table as if he were pondering something: "The houses in Macau, don't they have a small shop on the first floor? I'm planning to use it to open a branch of a pawnshop."

Gui'er paused for a moment: "The pawnshop business in Hong Kong has just become more stable. Isn't it too hasty to open another branch?"

“Miss, think about it,” Wu Mingqiang leaned forward, his voice lowering, “the situation in Hong Kong could change any day now. If the Japanese really attack, the gold, silver, valuables, antiques, and paintings in the pawnshops will probably be lost. But Macau is different. The Portuguese are still under the guise of ‘neutrality,’ so the Japanese won’t touch it for the time being. It’s a safe place.”

He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and spread it on the table. It had a simple map of Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro in Macau drawn on it: "I already had Ah Cheng inquire about it over there. Although Avenida de Almeida Ribeiro is remote, there are many wealthy Chinese businessmen coming and going, as well as some high-ranking officials who have fled from Hong Kong and want to pawn their valuables, but can't find a reliable pawnshop. If we open a branch, it will fill this gap perfectly."

"But the rules and staff of the pawnshop will all have to be changed, which may not be easy." Gui'er looked at the location of the shop circled on the map and gradually got a sense of what was going on.

“The rules are easy to follow; we can just copy the ones in Hong Kong. The only thing we need to change is the storefront,” Wu Mingqiang chuckled. “Macau people believe in feng shui, so I plan to hang a plaque that says ‘Juzhen Pawnshop’ above the door and have a local fortune teller choose an auspicious date. As for manpower, that’s easy too. Ah Guang and Ah Zong have been working under Zhao Ding for so long; they know a thing or two. I’ll have one of them become a head clerk. Zhao Ding also introduced him to a fellow villager named Chen Jingtang, who has worked in pawnshops for ten years. He’s experienced and reliable, so he can work as a cashier. He should be fine with small items. If it’s something like antiques or paintings, we can have Zhao Ding take a look. In case Japan invades Hong Kong, we can tell our customers that we can still cash in their goods there. That’ll keep us afloat, won’t it?”

He paused, then added, "Most importantly, we can gradually transport the less frequently used pawned items from our Hong Kong pawnshops to Macau. This will not only free up capital but also serve as a way to transfer assets in advance. If things really become unbearable in Hong Kong, we can go directly to Macau, and our branch can start operating immediately, ensuring we don't go hungry."

Gui'er picked up the abacus on the table and moved the beads: "How much capital is needed to open a branch? Decoration, inventory, staff wages..."

“I’ve done the math,” Wu Mingqiang chimed in. “The shop is my own, so I don’t have to pay rent. With some simple renovations and some working capital, three thousand silver dollars should be enough. The profits from pawnshops in Hong Kong can almost cover that.”

"3000 silver dollars? Is our pawnshop that profitable?" Gui'er could hardly believe her ears.

Wu Mingqiang laughed and said, "Miss, don't underestimate this period of time. We've actually earned less. Some pawnshops earn much more. Besides, you live a simple life and haven't spent much money. So you've saved up, haven't you? The owner of Daxinglong Pawnshop, which is just two streets away from ours, has made so much money that he's married two concubines."