"Young Master, if this business really can't go on, let's go back and inherit the gang. But you must hold back and not kill anyone again."

He Da's neck stiffened instantly. Didn't this person say that his elders were merchants and that the lady of the house needed a menstrual belt? Was he lying?

Oh my, no wonder they were escorting the goods earlier. They must be from the underworld. You can't do long-term business without the help of these people.

Yunling's lips twitched. Although the price of the cotton was 100 wen per jin, each cotton pad would only cost half a wen more than before. It was hard to say that she couldn't make this deal.

However, she was far too careless and did not consider the issue of cotton transportation. She thought that if she took more lint, they would deliver it to her door and save on transportation costs. Therefore, she calculated the price at 75 wen per jin, which was really wrong.

"Gangzi, stop making things up. Boss, we'll go with this price: seventy-five strings plus fifteen strings, that's ninety strings of copper coins. I also need some yarn; I wonder if one Jiaozi (paper money) is enough?"

"No need, no need. If you buy a thousand catties of cotton, we should deliver it to your door. I forgot."

Yunling kept hearing the alarm bells ringing in her mind: things that are free in this world are often the most expensive. She didn't have the power to help him, so she should just be honest and pay for the goods.

"There's no need for that, sir. Gangzi misspoke just now. We should just let things be as they are; that's the way of business."

Yunling took out a banknote and placed it in front of He Da. Just as He Da was about to speak, Yunling continued, "I wonder how to inform the master and pay him if I need to purchase goods from him in the future?"

"It's very simple. If you want to pick up goods, go to the Chamber of Commerce's exchange shop north of Pingcheng and find the transferor from Qingcheng. That's an exchange shop set up by our Qingcheng merchants. Just find him."

"Okay, thank you, boss."

"Let's go to a restaurant outside for a meal."

Yunling declined, saying, "No need. Now that we've taken care of things, we need to find an inn to stay at. We still need to go to Shopkeeper Yu's place to buy some things tomorrow."

She had originally planned to stay at the cotton workshop and pester He Da if he didn't deliver the goods to her door, but things went so smoothly that she decided not to bother him anymore and to keep her distance in order to create a sense of beauty.

He Da was getting anxious and tried to pull Yun Ling away, saying, "Brother, where can you stay outside? When you first came in, I already told the servants to clean the rooms. You can stay here and travel by water with the caravan later, right?"

He Da certainly didn't order the servants to clean the side rooms, but everyone waiting outside understood immediately. They eagerly went to the west side to fetch water and clean.

"The host is too kind. We..."

"What do you mean 'what ...'? The gate is right here. Let's go out for dinner, then get a foot massage at Fengya Pavilion. When we wake up tomorrow, our feet won't be sore anymore.'"

Yunling was still dragged to the restaurant. At the dinner table, He Da always inquired about things in the underworld, which made Yunling feel a little guilty. Fortunately, Gangzi was familiar with the area and could accurately tell her which street, which gang of thieves, and where they often appeared.

He was overjoyed and, after dinner, insisted on taking Yunling and the others to Fengya Pavilion. However, Gangzi knew that this young lady's feet were very important and could not be exposed to others, so he hurriedly said:

“Our young master has a strange habit: apart from the maid who always serves him and can massage his feet, no one else can do it.”

"oh?"

"On one occasion, there was a troublesome one who took over for that maid, and... and... nothing happened."

If Yunling hadn't known about her own affairs, she would have really believed it to be true. Gangzi's way of talking, when he started bragging, really sounded like...like...like her aunt, yes, just like Yun Ruoxia.

Having heard Gangzi's words, He Da had no doubts left. He didn't press the matter further and warmly invited Yunling and Gangzi back to the cotton workshop to rest.

Unable to refuse such a great invitation, and besides, it would be difficult to find a place to stay at an inn at this time, Yunling agreed.

The next day,

Yunling and the others went to Yu's shop. The shop was located at the end of Xingqing Street. The shop was not large and looked inconspicuous, but Yunling had seen the back door of the shop, which was quite a hidden world.

"Mr. Yu."

Yunling's shout startled Shopkeeper Yu. He glanced around and saw three tall, burly men enter the shop, each with a fierce and menacing look on their faces, as if they were there to smash up the shop. How could he not be afraid?

"I wonder how much beef tendon you have in your shop? I'll take it all."

Upon hearing the mention of beef tendon, the shopkeeper Yu took a closer look at the person in front of him. After recognizing him clearly, he let out a long sigh of relief. "Oh, it's you, buddy. You're here to buy beef tendon again?"

"Yes, how many stores are there?"

"This is not much, not much at all."

Shopkeeper Yu gestured for Yunling to walk into the inner hall. Yunling understood and told Gangzi and the others to wait outside while she followed Shopkeeper Yu into the inner hall.

"Brother, I already told you last time that if you want a large quantity, you have to let me know in advance, otherwise you'll only have stock."

"Yes, yes, it was my mistake. I wonder how much stock the store has on hand right now?"

Shopkeeper Yu led Yunling to the box stored at the back door, pulled off the burlap covering it, opened the box, and revealed the remaining beef tendons.

Yunling bent down and picked up the pieces one by one, counting them. There were exactly twenty pieces, no more and no less. This was enough to sew briefs, but it wouldn't be suitable if she wanted to add the cowhide string for the kapok slingshot.

“I’ll take all of these, but could you help me collect all the beef tendons from Qingcheng? We live in the cotton workshop, so we can send them there once we find them.”

Shopkeeper Yu was surprised that this group of people could stay in the cotton workshop. He quickly swallowed the words of refusal that were swirling in his mouth, "Want them all?"

Yunling said happily, "In Qingcheng, Yu's shop has the most abundant goods. The others are just small fish and shrimp. Why not take them all?"

These words pleased Mr. Yu, so he nodded in agreement.

"I just wonder if, when I place an order with Shopkeeper Yu in the future, I can find the transfer person in Qingcheng at the Chamber of Commerce's exchange shop?"

"Where are you from?"

“Pingcheng, I was thinking that Shopkeeper Yu could deliver the goods directly to the cotton workshop, and then transport them to Pingcheng together.”

Shopkeeper Yu was already calculating in his mind. If he delivered the goods directly to the cotton workshop, he could avoid the delivery fee and also have contact with the He family. This would give him more leverage in Qingcheng, which was naturally a good thing.

"Yes, you can just find the transfer person in Qingcheng in Pingcheng."