Xu Yan thought to himself, you are really honest.

The reason why he asked Xu Wei was that he wanted Xu Wei to cooperate with him, one playing the good cop and the other playing the bad cop, to work together to lower the price.

But Xu Wei was good and gave a pretty good evaluation.

How can we lower the price?

After hesitating for a moment, Xu Yan said calmly, "Everything else about this shop is fine, except that it's too close to the entrance of the neighborhood."

The old shopkeeper narrowed his eyes and said with a forced smile, "Sir, you're joking. How can being close to the entrance of the neighborhood be considered a disadvantage?"

Xu Yan had already made up his mind to bargain, so he wouldn't give up easily. "How can it not be considered a disadvantage? I bought this shop to open a bookstore. What does a bookstore sell?"

"Selling books, of course."

"That's right. Since we're selling books, customers naturally want to look at them before buying. This place is so close to the entrance of the market, with all the traffic and people coming and going, how can we be patient?"

The old shopkeeper thought that there seemed to be some truth to it, but he always felt that something was not right.

"You name a price first."

Xu Yan didn't give the old shopkeeper time to react.

"Since you are so sincere in buying it, I will sell it to you for only five hundred taels."

As soon as the words fell, Xu Yan shook his head: "Brother Wen, let's go."

After saying that, he turned and left.

The old shopkeeper immediately became anxious. How could he let the duck fly away?

He caught up with her in a few steps and gritted his teeth, "Four hundred and fifty taels, are you satisfied, sir?"

Xu Yan still didn't look back.

Although the Xu family was wealthy, they were not fools. Five hundred taels of silver was no small sum. Although the shop was in a good location, it was definitely not worth that much.

"Sir, this is Yongjinmen, where every inch of land is worth a lot of money. It's the most prosperous area in Hangzhou."

The old shopkeeper almost cried out, "Four hundred taels, no less."

At this moment, Xu Yan had already walked onto the street and was about to leave when the old shopkeeper stamped his foot and said, "Three hundred taels, only three hundred taels. Consider it a friendship between me and you, young master!"

Only then did Xu Yan stop.

This price is quite sincere.

Three hundred taels was actually a bit high, but he had to make some money. Plus, Xu Yan really liked the shop, so he turned back and said, "Three hundred taels, it's a deal."

The old shopkeeper still felt a little pained and said with a wry smile: "There are not many people who are as good at bargaining as you, young master. I admire you."

Xu Yan said calmly, "Now we can go look at other businesses, right?"

The old shopkeeper nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, sir. I will take care of everything. I will definitely make you satisfied."

The shop had already been sold, but the profit hadn't been great. Now all hope lay in the other business, and the old shopkeeper naturally hoped to make a fortune from it.

The old shopkeeper wanted to make Xu Yan bleed, so he naturally spent a lot of money.

He rented a cruise ship at the pier outside Yongjin Gate and prepared to take a boat across West Lake to his villa.

This was Xu Yan's first time to go boating on West Lake since he came to Daming, so he couldn't help feeling a little excited.

Xu Wei, on the other hand, seemed very calm because he had been there once before.

I have to say that West Lake has different scenery throughout the year. Although it is late autumn now, it is still incredibly beautiful.

Xu Wei had obviously noticed Xu Yan's expression and asked tentatively, "Sir, why don't you write a poem?"

Xu Yan shook his head: "The situation is not right."

He thought to himself that writing poetry also requires occasion. Isn’t it a waste to write poetry at this time?

West Lake cruise ships are more exquisite than ordinary passenger ships and are usually chartered by wealthy young men and their beautiful wives.

Seeing that Xu Yan was obviously from another place, the old shopkeeper introduced him, "Look, young master, the Three Pools Mirroring the Moon are in front of us."

Xu Yan nodded and chanted casually:

"The boats on the lake are occupied by the tower, the treasure mirror opens and the water reaches the sky. The horizontal jade calls out to where the clouds rise, and the old dragon is awakened from the waves."

The old shopkeeper wanted to take the opportunity to praise him, but at this moment a pleasure boat came towards them, and a young lady on the boat splashed foot washing water over, and it all fell on the old shopkeeper.

The old shopkeeper was drenched from head to toe and felt very embarrassed, so he naturally had no mood to recite poetry.

Xu Yan frowned and said, "This is too rude."

The old shopkeeper forced a wry smile and said, "Ms. Miaoyun's foot-washing water is not something most people can taste, but it's worth it for me. Sir, this is the Qiantang Hong family's pleasure boat. We'd better stay away from it to avoid any trouble."

"Qiantang Hong Family?"

Xu Yan raised an eyebrow. "The Qiantang Hong family is a prominent family in Hangzhou. How could they raise such a rude girl?"

The old shopkeeper quickly grabbed Xu Yan and warned him not to say anything.

Unfortunately, Xu Yan's voice was obviously too loud and the Hong family members on the houseboat had already heard it.

"Sir, my lady would like you to come aboard for a chat."

A person who looked like a maid passed the message across the boat.

Xu Yan sneered, "I don't have that kind of taste."

The maid shook her head: "I just said that my young lady wants to see you..."

Before she could finish her words, Xu Yan interrupted her and said, "I don't care what your lady says. I don't have the taste."

After saying that, he signaled the boatman to move the bow.

"You! You really don't know what's good for you!"

The maidservant was so angry that her teeth itched but she could do nothing but watch the cruise ship sail away.

There was no way the pleasure boat was too big to turn around quickly.

"Sir, you have offended Miss Hong now."

The old shopkeeper sighed and said, "The Qiantang Hong family has quite a bit of connections in Hangzhou. Young Master, it would be best if you were careful in the future."

Xu Yan, however, didn't care at all: "Little Hong, how ridiculous."

However, the cruise ship crossed the West Lake and soon arrived at the Lihu area.

Compared with Outer West Lake, there are obviously fewer cruise ships here and the environment is very quiet.

When the boat stopped at the dock, Xu Yan jumped in first. Looking around, he saw green bamboos all around, which was a breathtaking beauty.

The old shopkeeper was not very agile, so he jumped down with the help of the boatman and shook his clothes to shake off all the water he had used to wash his feet.

But the old shopkeeper soon realized that this was futile, and he smiled bitterly, shook his head, and led the way.

Walking on the mountain trails and breathing in the fragrance of fresh soil is indeed a unique experience.

But they hadn't walked for long when the old shopkeeper stopped and pointed to a two-story bamboo building and said, "Look, sir, this is the villa I was talking about."

Xu Yan looked in the direction it went. From the outside, the villa looked really good, but he didn't know what it was like inside.

A group of four people came closer, the old shopkeeper took out the key, opened it gently, and pushed the door open and walked in.

As soon as you enter the door, a strong smell of dampness hits your nose.

Xu Yan frowned and asked, "Is it always this damp here?"

The old shopkeeper said with some embarrassment: "Living by the water is unavoidable. But it will be much better once people live there."

He walked in front, leading the way and introducing things, while Xu Yan and others followed behind and listened quietly.

"The essence of this villa is on the second floor."

The old shopkeeper was panting after climbing the stairs and finally calmed down.

"Sir, please look."

He opened the window and pointed outside, saying, "Without leaving your home, you can enjoy the beauty of West Lake."

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