Lu Huan flipped through the ledger, then suddenly changed his mind and said, "Niece, let me take another look. I've been doing too many accounts lately, and my mind is all muddled. I think I made a mistake earlier."

Sun Miao'er's eyes darkened. Lu Huan was sitting in the accounting room, with a cabinet half a person's height blocking his view of the ledgers. She said, "Second Uncle, please check it first. I'll come back later."

Liu'er is now leading a group of people and doing very well. Under Sun Miao'er's command, they have also started a home delivery service, and the cloth shop's business has temporarily stabilized.

She never forgot her promise to Ji Changru. Since she wanted to ensure the business of Yunmiao Manor, how could that be easy?

"Auntie, how much of that joint-brand money can you still raise now?"

Sun Caiping led Mei Niang inside, working feverishly to finish the order. The customers' orders had all been fulfilled, but to prevent any mishaps, Sun Miao'er still asked them to prepare fifty more sets.

Sun Caiping put down her needlework and counted the pile of fabric behind her. "There's enough fabric left to make thirty sets."

"Okay, all of them." Sun Miao'er wasn't very good at using the abacus, but her mind was racing with calculations, and she knew exactly what she was doing.

Sun Caiping asked in confusion, "Miao'er, didn't you say you would only prepare fifty more sets? Why are you releasing these thirty sets now? Didn't you say that scarcity makes things valuable?"

"These thirty sets aren't for us to keep; I have other uses for them."

While scarcity marketing may not be entirely legitimate, it is certainly a good way to make money.

Sun Miao'er looked at the other pile of finished goods and said, "Take out thirty sets from here first. I need them today."

She was stopped halfway to Yunmiao Manor. Fu Yuchi appeared and disappeared without warning, never saying goodbye before going anywhere.

"Where are you going, little Miao'er? Why don't you take your teacher with you?" Fu Yuchi came out of the alley and bumped into her.

One had planned it all along, the other was caught off guard.

Sun Miao'er patted her chest, still shaken, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the person standing in front of her was her peerless and unparalleled master.

After all, she wasn't there to do any legitimate business. If customers found out that she was secretly doing this kind of thing with Yunmiao Manor, they would definitely ruin her reputation.

Sun Miao'er smiled and said, "Wasn't it because I was worried that you, Master, would be too busy?"

"Don't worry, I'm not busy," he replied with a faint smile.

How could he not be busy? Xi Yan was so busy in Kezhou that he was practically burning his pants, and he even had to help Xi Yan with his work on this trip.

He hurriedly left behind a few maps and rode back to Yingzhou. In Xi Yan's words, he was having a very comfortable time as a strategist!

He felt it was all worth it, just for Xiao Miao'er.

Fu Yuchi whispered in her ear, "Don't you want to know why Ji Changru specifically asked to see me?"

After his reminder, Sun Miao'er remembered this matter. Ji Changru had specifically asked his master to come along on the invitation he sent. "Could it be that he has taken a liking to Master?"

She thought about it for a moment, then looked closely at the face of the person behind her; it wasn't impossible.

Fu Yuchi's words caught in his throat, and he replied with a dark face, "We'll talk about it when we get there."

It took quite a bit of trouble to meet Ji Changru. This trip was for business purposes, and it was inconvenient to enter through the front gate, so I had to go around Yunmiao Manor to the back gate.

Little did we know that Yunmiao Manor was not only grand in appearance, but also incredibly tiring to navigate. It took us a full half hour to reach the back gate.

After waiting for the servants to announce their arrival and verifying their identities, they finally met Ji Changru just before sunset.

"Manager Ji has quite the grand entourage. No wonder he's a big shot in Pingnan City. He's almost made my back break."

Ji Changru was watering a tea pet, a purple clay toad. He looked up and smiled, saying, "Manager Sun, next time you come, please give us a heads-up, otherwise we'll have to follow the rules."

"What? Manager Sun came to me because you regret it. Now return the fifty thousand taels to me, and I won't charge interest."

Sun Miao'er pulled Fu Yuchi to sit down, hoping that having her master there would bolster her courage. "What are you saying, Manager Ji? A promise is a promise, there's no going back on it."

"I've come to fulfill my promise to you."

Ji Changru casually played with the tea pet, raising an eyebrow. "What promise?"

“Since Manager Ji has allied with me, I must not let Yunmiao Manor’s interests be harmed.” Sun Miao’er leaned back in her chair, the cushion was unusually soft. “Pingting Cloth Shop has become quite popular thanks to Dongli Xiaoxiao’s Fangming Embroidery, but unfortunately I’m only willing to offer 150 sets.”

"Yes." Ji Changru nodded. "I know that. It's truly rare that Manager Sun is unwilling to make money even when he has it."

Sun Miao'er was too lazy to keep him in suspense and said directly, "One hundred and fifty sets are far from enough to sell, but I am willing to keep thirty more sets for Manager Ji. These thirty sets will be given to Manager Ji as a gift, and the price will be entirely up to Manager Ji."

"In this way, Yunmiao Manor's interests probably won't suffer too much loss."

The safest approach is to share the profits with him, balancing the benefits for both parties.

When a commodity is in high demand, the highest bidder wins – this is an age-old truth.

If you're not willing to spend more money on things you love, then you can't really say you love them.

Ji Changru abruptly stopped playing with the tea pet. "It seems that Manager Sun is not only good at business, but also at interpersonal relationships. Then I, Ji, will wait to reap 100,000 taels of silver in a year."

"You're too kind." Sun Miao'er stood up and said, "The world is bustling with activity, all for the sake of profit."

When the two left Yunmiao Manor, it was already dark. Fu Yuchi had a gloomy face the whole time and didn't say a word.

Sun Miao'er realized the atmosphere was awkward, so she flagged down a carriage nearby. "Master, it's too cold outside. Let's take the carriage back. It's several miles away."

Fu Yuchi walked forward without looking back, completely ignoring her words.

He remained silent.

Sun Miao'er had no choice but to apologize to the driver and chase after him.

The master has never been so silent as he is today; I wonder what kind of vinegar he's brewing in the jar this time.

Finally, as they turned into a side alley, Sun Miao'er couldn't contain herself any longer and called out, "Master."

Before the second word could be uttered, Sun Miao'er's vision went dark as she was suddenly enveloped by a tall figure.

His lips suddenly covered hers, pressing close, and Sun Miao'er's mind went completely blank.

It was a familiar feeling, because she had relived it countless times in her dreams.

This time, however, it was more intense, with an unyielding domineering and aggressive force, as if it wanted to take over her entire soul without any reason.

"Little Miao'er, you are mine."

His kiss was forceful, clumsy, and utterly lacking in skill, which is why it was impossible to avoid.

Her heart pounded, the chill of the winter night filling her nostrils. The girl's lips parted slightly, catching the silvery light of the moon. The youthful innocence on her face was gradually fading, replaced by a girlish charm unique to young women.