Chapter 80 It's not your turn to talk about the rules
This year is a cold winter .
The sun after the snow did not bring much warmth to people. The city was covered with snow, and a gust of wind brought biting cold.
People in the market were coming and going in a hurry. Small vendors shrank their necks and hid behind their stalls, stamping their feet and rubbing their hands from time to time.
A big bearded man was pulling a cart in the cold wind, striding through the streets of the market town.
The cart was loaded high and covered with sackcloth, with a faint smell of blood and flesh emanating from it.
This bearded man is naturally Qin Ziling.
The cold wind howled and blew towards him, icy cold, but Qin Ziling felt a burning warmth in his heart as he pulled the cart.
The day before yesterday, he made a lot of money in the battle in the valley. Not to mention the skills, elixirs and the like, he also got silver and gold notes totaling about 3,000 taels of silver, a young Eight Desolate Jade Python, and an adult Eight Desolate Jade Python.
Of course, in addition to the harvest in the valley, Qin Ziling also harvested ferocious birds and beasts worth nearly a thousand taels of silver during seven days of hunting outside Wuyang Mountain.
The flesh, blood, and bones of these ferocious beasts are great tonics for those who practice martial arts. Under normal circumstances, Qin Ziling would definitely keep some for himself and Liu Xiaoqiang, and exchange some for silver to buy the necessary elixirs and medicinal materials.
But even though the three bronze corpses had almost drained away all the essence of the adult Eight Desolate Green Python, the remaining dried meat was still a far better tonic than the flesh and blood of ferocious beasts for warriors at their level. Moreover, with a body nearly thirty meters long and thick, the amount of dried meat was huge, enough for Qin Ziling and Liu Xiaoqiang to eat for a long time.
So before the New Year, Qin Ziling specially transported most of the ferocious birds and beasts he had killed this time, preparing to sell them to Shanye Suju.
In the shop, even though it was winter and there was not much business, Shopkeeper Zhu was still diligently fiddling with the abacus and checking the accounts.
It was not until the sound of heavy wheels rolling over the street in front of the store reached his ears that Shopkeeper Zhu subconsciously raised his head and looked outside.
When he looked up, Shopkeeper Zhu's eyes suddenly lit up. He hurriedly put down the work at hand and went out to the counter.
"Mr. Qin, I haven't seen you for a long time." Shopkeeper Zhu said with surprise, his eyes couldn't help but fall on the cart with curiosity.
"It has been quite a while indeed. How has Manager Zhu been doing lately?" Qin Ziling said with a smile.
"Thank you for your concern, Mr. Qin. Very good, very good." Shopkeeper Zhu hurriedly bowed, then pointed to the high-raised cart, rubbed his hands and said, "I wonder what good things Mr. Qin brought this time?"
Qin Ziling smiled and lifted the covering cloth.
As soon as the cloth was lifted, Shopkeeper Zhu's eyes widened and he took a deep breath. Then he walked around the cart excitedly, and his old face turned rosy in the winter.
"You are really capable, Mr. Qin! These big creatures, especially the blood-haired bear, have thick skin and strong flesh, and are extremely powerful. It is said that they can even pull up a tree by hugging it.
With one slap, a tree as thick as my thigh can be broken in half. Even if a martial arts master wants to kill such a big guy, it will take a lot of effort!" Shopkeeper Zhu said while rubbing his hands, looking at Qin Ziling with awe.
Before, Qin Ziling caught and killed a cloud-stepping musk deer that ran as fast as if it was stepping on clouds and even a flying arrow could not catch up with it. It could be said that it was due to luck, but the cloud-patterned white tiger and the blood-haired bear before him were both real beasts of the mountains. Without real skills, they could not be caught and killed!
Qin Ziling smiled noncommittally, and then, as usual, said straightforwardly: "Manager Zhu, give me a price!"
"Well, well, I need to think about this carefully. Or, please wait a minute. I'll ask someone to ask the boss and then give you an answer." Shopkeeper Zhu said with his heart skipping a beat.
"There's no need to be so troublesome. Just give me an estimate. I trust you!" Qin Ziling said.
"Okay, please wait a moment, I will weigh these big guys and then give you a quote." When Shopkeeper Zhu heard Qin Ziling say this, his old face became even rosier and more lustrous.
Soon, several men weighed the big game that Qin Ziling brought. Shopkeeper Zhu carefully checked the quality and wounds of the game. He then fiddled with the abacus for a long time before saying to Qin Ziling, "Mr. Qin, I can make the decision to give you a price of one thousand taels."
"Manager Zhu, one thousand taels is a large sum of money. Who gave you the authority to make the offer without authorization?" Qin Ziling was about to nod when a rather sharp female voice suddenly came from behind him.
Then, Qin Ziling saw a woman appear at the door of the store.
The woman was about eighteen or nineteen years old. She was wearing a silver embroidered skirt and jacket with a vertical collar. She had a fair face, a pointed chin, and a sharp look with a condescending attitude.
Behind the woman, there was a luxurious carriage with the word "Xiao" engraved on it.
Shopkeeper Zhu obviously didn't know the woman who was talking. He was a little confused when he saw a woman in a jacket and skirt suddenly appear and lecture him. However, when he looked past the woman and saw the luxurious carriage that had stopped at the door at some point, his face suddenly changed. He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I don't know which young master or young lady of the Xiao family you are working with. What should I call you?"
"My name is Xiaotong, and I'm Miss Xiao Liu's maid." The woman's expression eased a little when she saw that Shopkeeper Zhu had a good attitude.
"It turns out to be Miss Xiaotong. In that car..." Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Zhu's rosy complexion, which had not yet faded, suddenly faded completely, and even turned a little pale. He asked cautiously.
"It's my young lady ! I came here to ask you to go meet my young lady and report the business and account matters to her. From now on, all the business and account transactions of Shanye Suju will be under the management of my young lady."
"As a result, I saw a business worth one thousand and two taels of silver before I even entered the door, and you actually quoted a price without my permission!" Xiaotong interrupted stiffly, and her pretty face became tense again when she finished speaking, as if she was blaming him.
"Ah..." Shopkeeper Zhu was shocked when he heard this.
"Ah what?" Xiaotong stretched her pretty face again.
"Miss Xiaotong, our boss has never mentioned this matter to me. Can I..." Shopkeeper Zhu said with an uneasy look on his face.
"Manager Zhu, are you out of your mind? Your boss is from our Xiao family, don't you know that? Now, the eldest daughter of our Xiao family's head has come to inquire about the accounts and take over the business in person, can you really refuse?" Xiao Tong scolded.
"That's not what I meant, but there are always procedures and rules for everything, right?" Shopkeeper Zhu's face turned even paler when he heard this, but he still bravely explained.
"Speaking of procedural rules? I would like to ask you, what is the matter with this one thousand two taels of silver business? With such a large amount of money, your boss lets you make the decision without asking any questions?" Xiaotong asked angrily.
"Trust the people you employ; don't employ people you don't trust! Since I hired Manager Zhu as the manager , I must believe in his abilities. What's more, even Mr. Qin trusts Manager Zhu so much, so how could I, the boss, not trust him?" At this moment, Xiao Qing walked in with Xia Yan and said calmly.
"That's true. What if Shopkeeper Zhu colludes with the customers, then..." When Xiaotong saw Xiao Qing coming in, she was a little panicked at first, but she quickly remembered that Xiao Qing was now on the decline and might even be sent away like a commodity. She immediately regained her composure and retorted.
"How dare you! Who are you? How dare you speak to Miss Xiao Qing like that!" Before Xiaotong could finish her words, Xia Yan, who usually looked charming and graceful, had already stepped forward and scolded her with a face as cold as ice. The blood in her body surged, and a fierce and powerful aura pressed towards Xiaotong.
Xiaotong was frightened by Xia Yan's aura. After all, she was just a maid, so she turned pale with fear. She backed away and looked at the carriage outside the door for help.
"Xiao Qing, Xiaotong is right. Now that I'm in charge of this business, the rules must be changed." The car curtain opened, and a young woman with delicate and fair skin and a melon-shaped face, wearing a pure white fur coat without a trace of stray hair, walked down.
"Miss!" When Xiaotong saw Xiao Liu coming down, she hurriedly went to greet her and bowed. When she stood up, she looked refreshed again.
"Xiao Liu, before I make a formal decision, it is not your turn to interfere in my business, nor is it your turn to negotiate the rules." Xiao Qing looked at Xiao Liu coming in and said calmly.
"Xiao Qing, what do you mean? Don't you know that the family has already made a decision..." Xiao Liu showed a trace of shame and annoyance when he heard this.
"Even so, whether I am willing or not is ultimately up to me to decide! Don't forget, seven years ago, when I was only sixteen, I dared to risk my life to stay and fight the assassins of the Netherworld Sect. Now that seven years have passed, you don't think I have lost the courage to fight to the death, do you? It's just a question of whether I am willing or not!
So, don't annoy me now, otherwise you won't be able to explain to your father and the family!" Xiao Qing casually stroked a few strands of black hair that fell down and interrupted lightly.
"You..." Xiao Liu's expression changed several times, but in the end he could only glare at Xiao Qing helplessly, turned around angrily, got into the car and left.
Seeing this, Xiaotong hurriedly followed.
"Mr. Qin, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you!" Xiao Qing said apologetically after Xiao Liu left.
"It's okay. It seems that Miss Xiao Qing is not in a very good situation recently?" Qin Ziling waved his hand.
Xiao Qing did not answer, but just smiled noncommittally, and then said: "Mr. Qin really gained a lot this time! It's a pity that we can't cooperate again in the future."
"Boss, could it be..." Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper Zhu next to him changed his expression and said anxiously.
"Manager Zhu, don't worry. You have worked with me for many years and have always been diligent. I will definitely arrange everything for you so that you will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of your life." Xiao Qing looked at Manager Zhu and comforted him.
"Thank you, boss. I know you will not treat me unfairly, but I am worried about you..." said Shopkeeper Zhu.
"You don't have to worry about my affairs. There's no point in worrying." Xiao Qing interrupted with a smile.
Seeing that Xiao Qing was obviously being oppressed in the family, yet she was still able to comfort her subordinates and consider them everywhere, at this moment, Qin Ziling really admired the demeanor of the woman in front of him.
"By the way, Mr. Qin, after today, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to cooperate and meet again. If you don't have anything important to do, how about we have a few drinks in the backyard?" Xiao Qing turned to Qin Ziling and smiled.
"I am honored to be invited by Miss Xiao Qing!" Qin Ziling said.
"Mr. Qin, you are too polite. Please."
