Chapter 139 Tsk, men understand men best.

Warehouses were mostly controlled by the canal transport bosses and were not easy to obtain. Usually, you could only rent them from the canal transport bosses, who would then make the lion's share of the profits.

Qingling remained skeptical. What a coincidence that Sheng Dahe had just obtained his household registration and now this good thing was delivered to his door.

To be honest, the people in the canal transport industry were not to be trifled with; they were all tyrants, no different from river bandits.

They actually gave face to a complete stranger like Sheng Dahe?

"I called you here so you can talk to Boss Cao about the price," Sheng Dahe said, indicating that he was not satisfied with the other party's offer.

When Yao Qingling arrived at the warehouse, she was dumbfounded.

This was clearly a warehouse that had been on fire. The walls were blackened, and the wooden pillars were burned down to half, so badly that they would collapse if kicked. The ground was also covered in water, which was obviously poured up to put out the fire.

In the corner lay piles of unrecoverable goods, all blackened and impossible to identify.

This is practically a abandoned warehouse; cleaning it up will be a lot of work and time-consuming.

No wonder they didn't want it and sold it.

Shengdahe has already arranged for people to clean up.

He was in high spirits, one hand on his hip, the other pointing at the huge warehouse, his voice booming: "With this warehouse, we can get started."

Qing Ling asked cautiously, "Sheng Dahe, are you so lucky? You just got your household registration and there's already a burned-down warehouse?"

Lin Shiyuan looked around and said calmly, "You didn't set fire to this warehouse to get it, did you?"

After all, Sheng Dahe has a criminal record.

Sheng Dahe was furious: "You, you'd be better off in jail!"

Lin Shiyuan looked at him indifferently.

Sheng Dahe snorted and turned to Qingling: "Qingling, what do you think?"

Qingling walked around half of the area and then reached out to touch the wall.

The water stains on it have dried, but it's impossible to determine how much time has passed since the burning.

She turned to look at Sheng Dahe: "I don't think it's you."

Sheng Dahe was determined to turn over a new leaf and return to a normal life. There was no need for him to add another dirty secret to his life for the sake of a warehouse.

His household registration was hard-won, and there are more than two hundred people following him waiting for a living.

Furthermore, although the scandal surrounding Yongning Temple has subsided, it hasn't completely disappeared. The official warrants for his arrest are still in effect, so even if he wanted to do something bad, he'd have to consider whether he still had any luck.

Buying a good warehouse and rebuilding this one cost about the same amount of money, so there's no need for that.

Having experienced the incident at the manor, Yao Qingling was extremely cautious at this moment.

She worried that someone had been watching Sheng Dahe all along, using the burned warehouse to hint at something and lure him into a trap.

Sheng Dahe was unaware of the trouble Yang Kuan had caused. Upon hearing Qing Ling's explanation, he frowned and asked, "Is that so?"

Qingling nodded: "That's why I'm being cautious and want to know clearly how you got in touch with that seller?"

Sheng Dahe said, "That's a boss from the south. I sent someone to inquire about him. He's rich and powerful, but he doesn't understand the rules of the capital. He offended someone here and got revenge. Now he wants to get rid of this warehouse and go to Jiangnan to do business. He'll never come back to the capital."

In business, offending people is a common occurrence. Especially for business owners from outside the capital, without the backing of powerful figures in Beijing, trying to compete for a share of the business will not end well.

Losing everything is considered mild; some people end up in jail, having to spend all their savings to bail them out.

Yao Qingling has also offended someone, and there's a knife hanging over her head.

She thought of Zhan Xingzhuo and Lian Chengtian, and sighed softly.

Lin Shiyuan looked at her.

Sheng Dahe: "Qingling, why are you sighing? Just because that southern boss can't do something doesn't mean I, Sheng Dahe, can't do it. I have so many brothers, and so much money..."

He paused, then looked at Qingling with a grin: "With your friend, Yao Niangzi, I can establish myself here at the dock."

He also planned to travel by large ship, traversing all the major rivers and streams of the entire Li Kingdom.

In Sheng Dahe's eyes, Yao Qingling was a member of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion, which meant she represented power.

Moreover, being able to obtain household registration and having connections with the government means having powerful backing.

Qingling said, "If you think it's okay, then it's fine. What about the boss?"

She and Sheng Dahe were not from the same company, so she couldn't interfere in his affairs. But since she was cooperating with Sheng Dahe, and his large ship was slow to set sail, the goods in her shop were difficult to sell.

In particular, now that Jinmantang has opened and is stealing her business, if she doesn't bring in any new products, the wealthy people won't have much business left.

Qingling also doubted herself, wondering if she was being overly cautious. She was just like a frightened bird after some trouble at the manor.

Sheng Dahe: "It's in that restaurant up ahead."

He led the way to a restaurant near the dock.

The southern boss looked very thin and his face was extremely haggard; I wonder if he had fallen ill from the shock.

But he insisted on the three thousand taels of silver and refused to budge.

“Boss Sheng, no matter who you bring in, the price will be the same. I spent 10,000 taels when I bought that warehouse, and now it's only 3,000 taels. It's also for my comeback.”

Sheng Dahe glanced at Yao Qingling with a "look at him" expression, pointed to his head, implying that he was stubborn.

Yao Qingling finally understood why Sheng Dahe had urged her to come and discuss the price.

“Boss Shi, everyone in Beijing knows you’ve offended someone and gotten yourself into trouble. No local dares to take over this warehouse; the other party is trying to force you to hand over the cargo hold to them.”

“Boss Sheng is from out of town, yet he’s willing to take over your warehouse. To be honest, I’ve been to your warehouse. Three thousand taels is practically the price of a piece of land. He wants to demolish and rebuild it, which will be time-consuming and laborious. He also has to risk offending that important person. I think he’s a fool. Wouldn’t it be faster and more convenient to find another cargo hold?”

The boss, surnamed Shi, kept his eyes closed and wouldn't listen; he even coughed with his eyes closed.

Clearly, there's no room for negotiation on the price.

Yao Qingling also fell silent.

Sheng Dahe kept giving her meaningful glances.

He's a stranger in the capital. If any other boss were willing to sell his warehouse, he would have abandoned this one and found someone else long ago. Why would he have dragged it out until now?

After a while, Qingling suddenly coughed lightly and asked, "I heard that Boss Shi is planning to do business in Jiangnan?"

The man opened his eyes and nodded: "Jiangnan is prosperous and has a more mature business environment. I think it's an opportunity."

Qingling said, "To be honest, I run a general store selling goods from both the north and south of China, and I need more good products. If Mr. Shi trusts me, Mr. Sheng and I would like to discuss cooperation with Mr. Shi again."

"Mr. Shi worked hard in Beijing hoping to sell his goods here, but unfortunately he didn't succeed. I'm sure you have some regrets about this place. Now that you have my sales channel, isn't it the same thing?"

The man watched quietly, pondering his next move.

Qingling said, "Boss Sheng is not just running a warehouse. He should have told you that he wants to get involved in the canal transport business. His cargo ships will go to Jiangnan and deliver Boss Shi's goods to the capital. Doesn't that mean he's connecting everything from sourcing and transporting goods to the final sale?"

"So I think it's a very good fit for the three of us to work together. What do you think?"

The man was moved.

Qingling then discussed the repricing of the warehouse, agreeing to a price of two thousand taels of silver. However, when Shengdahe transported Boss Shi's goods, he could only charge 80% of the freight, with further negotiations to be held after the three-year term expired.

"...Mr. Sheng, the freight cost isn't cheap. If you find other cargo ships, it certainly won't be this price. And there's no guarantee who will take over the cargo in the end. But now, this deal can meet all your expectations, so why not do it?"

Lin Shiyuan watched as Yao Qingling used her silver tongue to negotiate with someone.

Her voice, her appearance—everything about her was vivid.

His eyes shone with light, and his emotions were filled with upward anticipation.

Just as she said, she divorced so that she could live for herself.

"What are you looking at?" Yao Qingling finished the negotiation and asked He Yin to check on Boss Shi's health. When she turned around, she saw Lin Shiyuan staring straight at her.

Lin Shiyuan was caught red-handed and coughed awkwardly, "Nothing, just bored, waiting."

Sheng Dahe's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them.

Tsk, men understand men best.

What can a man see when he stares at a woman?