Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan came out of Dongfulou at noon. They exchanged part of the money for paper money as usual, and Gu Fengyan carried the rest with him.

Thinking that there was not much food left at home, they went to the grain store to buy some, and also bought some seasonal vegetables and fruits from the street stalls when they passed by.

It cost about three hundred coins.

Half an hour later, Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan rushed home with their bags. They returned to the street where Dongfulou was located. There was still a long line in front of the door. Perhaps the things had been sold out. The waiter knocked on the clapper and shouted loudly to inform the next people, and then lowered the small window to block the line.

Those who bought the items were all excited and happy, while those who lost out were frustrated and complained to the people around them.

Manager Zhou, the shopkeeper of Yingchun Tower opposite, looked out through the door curtain with jealous eyes.

The hall was completely silent; the waiters lowered their heads and looked downcast, fearing that they might offend the shopkeeper.

At this time, a waiter timidly lifted the curtain and walked in. He looked around first, then came up to Shopkeeper Zhou and said, "Shopkeeper."

"Have you found out everything I told you to do?" Shopkeeper Zhou's eyes turned and he lowered his voice.

The waiter said with a flattering look on his face, "Don't worry, boss. I just went across the street to ask around. It turns out that a few months ago, two guys came to Dongfulou and said they were selling spring bamboo shoots. Boss Li took them in out of pity. Later, the two guys somehow started a medicinal material business and even wrote a recipe to cooperate with Dongfulou..."

"That guy said that even the secret recipe of peach and basil drinks on the other side was taught by those two guys."

Shopkeeper Zhou narrowed his eyes and caught the key information, "Country boy? Did you ask his name?"

A few months ago, two country bumpkins came to sell some spring bamboo shoots. They looked shabby and he thought they were unlucky, so he kicked them out.

Could it be them?

The clerk was waiting for the reward. When asked this question, he scratched his head and smiled more cautiously, "I was busy reporting to the shopkeeper... I forgot to ask what it was called..."

Shopkeeper Zhou was immediately furious and hit the waiter on the head with his hand, "Good-for-nothing!"

Then he pointed his index finger at the waiters in the hall one by one, "You are all useless and can only cause trouble! Hurry up and attract customers for me, and be careful about this month's wages! Do you think you can make trouble?..."

The waiters in the restaurant were still indignant, but when they heard the shopkeeper mention wages, they immediately fell silent and ran outside to greet the customers.

Shopkeeper Zhou looked unhappy, and the clerk beside him said carefully, "Don't be angry, shopkeeper. We can always find a way to turn the game around..."

"Is there any way?!" Shopkeeper Zhou was furious when he thought of the smug look on Shopkeeper Li's face on the other side of the river.

This guy became a punching bag, "What are you still doing here, you good-for-nothing? Are you waiting for me to serve you?!"

The waiter smiled humbly, "Hehe, boss, just take it out on me...it's just that we agreed on a reward..."

He just spent a lot of money to bribe the waiter on the other side. If he can't get his money back, it would be a huge loss... The waiter's smile became more and more flattering.

Shopkeeper Zhou was furious at the moment and sneered, "Reward? Who told you there's a reward?! If you keep getting in the way here, I won't even pay you...get out of here right now!"

The waiter was angry but dared not say anything. He stammered and was about to leave, but he saw that Manager Zhou smiled as if he had changed his face and strode out the door.

The waiter was horrified. He saw two young men carrying large and small bags in the direction where Manager Zhou went. They were talking and laughing about something... They looked like a couple. They were handsome and well-matched, but they were dressed simply and did not look like they were rich.

The shopkeeper has always disliked such poor people. Is the sun rising from the west?

The clerk immediately lost interest, thinking about the reward money he had lost, and cursed at Shopkeeper Zhou's back, "Damn you Zhou Paopi!"

Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan had just gone to a property brokerage and asked someone to keep an eye out for a suitable yard. Once they had more money, they could purchase it safely.

Gu Fengyan kept making plans all the way while carefully observing Huo Duan's expression.

But Huo Duan was absent-minded and just agreed.

"Mr. Huo, what do you think should be planted in the garden?" Gu Fengyan turned around and asked with a smile.

Huo Duan raised his eyes and said, "Growing flowers and vegetables is fine. It's up to you."

Gu Fengyan was silent for a moment, smiling, "Yes, Mr. Huo will go back after completing his mission, so I really shouldn't ask you about this. Let me think about it, or I can just plant a garden full of flowers..."

He stared at Huo Duan with a longing look, "When I marry a second wife in the future, we can be together under the moonlight and whisper in each other's ears... Wow, that's wonderful!"

The more Huo Duan listened, the more he felt something was wrong.

Isn't this just bringing up something that is not related to the topic?

"Don't plant flowers!" Huo Duan said to Gu Fengyan, "If you do, I'll pull them all out for you!"

They were still whispering in each other's ears under the moon and flowers... Huo Duan was so angry that his teeth were itching.

Gu Fengyan's smile deepened. "Mr. Huo, do you still care about this? After you leave, everything will be mine. What's it to you?"

Huo Duan raised his eyebrows, "Why can't I control it? If you dare to plant flowers, I will pluck them all out. I will follow you wherever you go. I will also spread rumors that you are unlucky in marriage, so that no one dares to marry you!"

"Hey, Mr. Huo, do you smell anything?" Gu Fengyan smiled with his eyes raised, and suddenly asked mysteriously.

Huo Duanzheng was racking his brains to use every possible means to intimidate Gu Fengyan. Finally, he was confused and asked, "What's that smell?"

"That's the smell..." Gu Fengyan sniffed it like a puppy, "Sour, really sour, whose vinegar is this?"

Huo Duan reacted immediately.

After a moment of shock, he realized that he had been tricked by Gu Fengyan. His ears turned red and he said with evasive eyes, "Jealous? Why should I be jealous... What should I be jealous of?"

"It's so sour!" Gu Fengyan didn't listen to him at all, but turned his head and smiled.

Huo Duan continued to argue, "I'm not jealous!"

"Oh, it's so sour, so sour, so sour." Gu Fengyan continued to look at him and smile.

Huo Duan surrendered immediately, and said in a self-destructive tone: "Yes! I am jealous! So what! I won't go back. I will squat at the door every day to see who dares to step into the door of my Huo family..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huo Duan found that Gu Fengyan was staring at him... The corners of his lips were slightly raised, but his eyes were bright, like the stars in the dark sky in the summer.

Huo Duan's heart almost jumped out of his chest, "What's wrong?"

Gu Fengyan moved closer, "You..."

Just as he uttered a word, he was interrupted by a voice, "Wait a moment, young men." The shopkeeper Zhou of Yingchun Tower had a smile on his face, and his eyes showed shrewdness and calculation.

Huo Duan didn't listen to Gu Fengyan's words. He didn't look happy at all and asked irritably, "Manager Zhou wants to talk to us about something?"

Shopkeeper Zhou was used to being flattered and respected, and he thought that if he was a little nice to the two poor farmers, they would be grateful, but he didn't expect that he would be asking for trouble.

"Ahem..." For the sake of business, Shopkeeper Zhou decided to endure it. He smiled and said, "It's not convenient to talk here. Why don't you come to the store with me and talk."

As expected of someone who is used to making fun of others, his expression is as steady as that of an actor in a theatre troupe, and it is hard to find any flaws in it... Gu Fengyan raised his eyebrows.

Before Huo Duan opened his mouth, he was the first to reject Shopkeeper Zhou. "We are in a hurry to go home. Shopkeeper Zhou, if you have something to say, just tell me."

Gu Fengyan had already guessed most of it in his mind...it was simply because Dongfulou's business was doing well and he wanted to form a partnership with her.

"This..." Shopkeeper Zhou also knew that the incident last time had angered the two men, so he hurriedly said with a smile, "It's not convenient here, you two should follow me upstairs, I'll treat you to some good food and wine, and it won't be too late to chat slowly."

They are just two poor farmers. If you give them a little profit, are you afraid that they will not be shaken?

Shopkeeper Zhou seemed humble, but in fact he was disdainful and did not take the two men seriously at all.

Who are Huo Duan and Gu Fengyan? They are the kings of the business empire... They have seen the fickleness of human nature and the hypocrisy of others since they were young. They can see through Manager Zhou's treacherous mind at a glance.

"Since Manager Zhou doesn't want to talk about it, then forget it." Huo Duan raised his eyebrows and snorted a faint cold smile from his nose.

"No, please be patient, young men!" Seeing that the two were not willing to listen, Shopkeeper Zhou gritted his teeth and smiled in a very flattering way, "I was blind to the last incident. Please bear with me."

He looked around and lowered his voice, "I'm here to call you two... I heard that you two are doing a medicinal material business and have an exclusive secret recipe. I wonder if you can cooperate with Yingchunlou. Yingchunlou is willing to give you 20% of the profit!"

The 20% profit from Yingchunlou was enough for an ordinary farmer to live on for two years... With such a huge benefit, he really didn't believe that these two people could remain as calm as they were before him.

Shopkeeper Zhou thought about it and looked at the two of them with a squinting eye. "What do you two think?"

Gu Fengyan smiled, "Manager Zhou has seen it too. We look like beggars who can't afford to eat. Although we want to cooperate with Yingchunlou, we are afraid that our shabby appearance will bring shame to Yingchunlou. This is a big sin. How can we afford it?"

These few words mocked Manager Zhou in both explicit and implicit ways, almost capturing the essence of the word "sarcastic".

Shopkeeper Zhou's face turned pale.

While Huo Duan was trying to hold back his laughter, Gu Fengyan secretly pinched his wrist and pretended to be angry, "What are you laughing at?"

"Mr. Gu has a very good memory. He hasn't forgotten anything at all." Huo Duan said with a smile.

This means he is petty... Gu Fengyan finally understood. He stretched out his hand and twisted Huo Duan's arm hard, "How dare you scold me!"

Huo Duan gasped in pain, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "God can see, I am praising you."

Gu Fengyan just stared at him.

The two of them bit each other's ears. Shopkeeper Zhou's face turned pale and red. He held it in for a long time and then smiled and said, "Brother, what you said really embarrasses me. Last time, I didn't recognize a great man. You two can tell at a glance that you are extraordinary. If you can really do this business, Yingchunlou will be marrying up."

Having been in business for many years, Shopkeeper Zhou is very tactful. Even when talking about this point, he still has a smile on his face.

But this smile looks so fake no matter how you look at it.

As the sun was getting high, they didn't want to chat with Manager Zhou anymore.

Gu Fengyan sneered and said, "We both have no intention of doing this. Shopkeeper Zhou, please don't waste your words. Shopkeeper Zhou has a keen eye. I think there are other ways besides us to make Yingchunlou's business prosperous..."

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Zhou became anxious and did not even notice Gu Fengyan's sarcasm. He just tried to stop them and said, "Wait a minute, you two. Alas——"

Gu Fengyan and Huo Duan had no intention of wasting time with such a profit-seeking villain, so they just passed him by.

People around were pointing and talking, casting curious glances at them.

Shopkeeper Zhou's eyes were grim. "You two poor farmers really think you are the bosses. I want to see how capable you are... Let's wait and see!"