Young Master

There will be no discounts in the store tomorrow, so everyone is seizing the last opportunity to make their last purchase during the discount period.

Xu Bocong was standing behind the counter counting the bills. He couldn't help but feel puzzled when he saw the young lady, who had been out for only an hour and a half, return to the pharmacy.

"Miss, why don't you rest outside for a while? I and my helpers can handle the affairs in the pharmacy."

A page of the account book on the counter was opened. Jiang Nian paused at it, then turned away and gently rejected Xu Bo's proposal.

"No, there will be more customers today than in the past few days, so I have to watch over the store from the back."

Jiang Nian was afraid that something unexpected would happen during the drugstore's profit-sharing festival, so he would stay in the drugstore and watch even if there was nothing else to do.

Another buyer came up to the counter with a set meal to pay. Uncle Xu had no choice but to agree to Jiang Nian's thoughts and turned his head to focus on dealing with the bill that the buyer in front of him wanted to pay.

Xiao Shitou was moving the packaged meals out of the storage room and placing them in the empty space that had been occupied by people who had bought some. When he saw Jiang Nian walking towards him, he wanted to help him take a bag, but he refused repeatedly.

"No, don't bother Miss. I can do it myself."

He put the goods on the shelf and subconsciously slapped his head.

"By the way, Miss, there was a young man standing in the store looking at the new anthelmintic medicine."

There were many people coming to the pharmacy to buy things. Jiang Nian looked across the crowd in the direction pointed by the small stone, and saw that the corner was empty.

"Strange, I just saw his..."

Little Stone hesitated and shrank his fingertips, looking a little dazed.

The drugstore is bustling with people right now, except for the warehouse, which is a good place for conversation and is not open to anyone other than the staff.

Jiang Nian glanced around, then moved a little closer to Xiao Shitou and whispered, "Let's talk in the back."

She looked a little serious. Little Shitou didn't say much, just nodded and turned to walk towards the warehouse.

The yard outside the house was quiet and deserted, only separated from the warehouse by a line.

The front hall is a little far from here, and the certain distance blurs the noise outside.

—

There was still a smell of dry herbs in the warehouse. Jiang Nian stopped at the gate leading to the yard and turned around to ask Xiao Shitou.

"Did that young man behave in any unusual way in the store?"

Recalling the scene he just saw and thinking of the lady's previous instructions, Xiao Shitou paused in his movement to nod.

"The young lady previously instructed me and Uncle Xu to keep an eye out for any behavior similar to that of the thief while we were watching over the pharmacy."

"But that young man..." Little Stone recalled, "He didn't do anything sneaky. He just gave the impression that he wanted to memorize this medicine."

“What does it feel like to write it down?”

Noticing Jiang Nian's questioning gaze, Little Stone explained, "Yes, he was wearing all white and standing in front of the row of shelves selling the new insect repellent. He wasn't buying anything, just looking at that row."

"Then part of the shelf near the set meal was empty, so I went to the storage room to move some goods. When I came out and saw Miss, I wanted to report to her, but she was gone."

After Xiao Shitou finished speaking, he hesitated a little.

"Maybe I'm just being overly suspicious. There have been quite a few people standing in front of the products for a long time lately...it doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem."

Jiang Nian raised his thoughtful gaze and was about to speak when Fuling, who had been helping to look after the store and handle emergencies, came in from outside with a slightly anxious look on her face.

"Miss, there is a young man looking for you."

Hearing this, Jiang Nian's gaze shifted slightly, and the light color in his eyes turned darker.

She nodded slightly at Fuling.

"I have prepared tea. Please invite the young man to the backyard for a chat."

Fuling nodded and immediately turned around and left the warehouse.

Little Stone stood there without leaving. He looked at the empty wooden table in the yard with a puzzled look on his face.

"Miss, isn't there any refreshment there?"

Jiang Nian smiled indifferently.

"Who said there wasn't one?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the curtain separating the hall and the warehouse behind her was lifted.

The person who came was not the young master, but Guizhi who was walking towards the yard with tea.

Glancing at Xiao Shitou's surprised expression, Jiang Nian spoke softly, his eyes slightly shining.

"It's not as magical as you think. I wanted to drink some more tea before I came here. It just happened to be that."

Looking at Jiang Nian's light gaze, Xiao Shitou nodded slightly and looked away.

Why does it sound so unbelievable?

—

Guizhi had placed the tea and snacks on the table in the yard. Jiang Nian was holding the teacup lightly with his fingertips, with his brows lowered, staring at the tea.

The young man brought by Fuling stopped briefly in front of the square table.

His robe was of a plain and elegant snow-blue base, with delicate and clean edges on the cuffs. He wore a white jade belt around his waist with a lustrous jade pendant hanging from it.

The voice was as soft as the jade-like outfit.

"May I ask if this young lady is the current person in charge of the Liangdu Pharmacy?"

He paused slightly before asking the question, his eyes fell on the wooden table, and when he spoke again, his light voice contained a hint of smile.

"This is my first time here, and I am truly honored to receive such a gracious invitation."

Jiang Nian listened to his words word by word, his eyes fell on the jade pendant for a moment, then he raised his eyes and smiled at the young man:

"When a distinguished guest comes to visit, how can we not welcome him?"

The pulled-out stone bench was right beside him.

Slightly avoiding the other person's gaze, Jiang Nian raised his hand and gestured to him.

"I am the manager of this pharmacy. I don't have anything to offer you in the courtyard. I hope you will forgive me and offer me a seat."

—

The other party responded to her words and sat down opposite her, with the tea prepared by Guizhi facing him.

His eyes swept across the table, and then he told Jiang Nian his name.

"My surname is Zhou, my given name is Jinyu, and my courtesy name is Yuan. I am the legitimate heir of your uncle. I have the honor of meeting you today and have come to pay my respects."

Zhou Jinyu slowly raised his eyes from the teacup in front of him, which was emitting thin wisps of smoke, with a soft and gentle smile on his lips.

"I'm visiting because my father and your father have a business appointment, and I'm looking to discuss a possible partnership with you, young lady."

"Although this is our first meeting, I wonder if you remember this contract?"

He took the contract out of the box and placed it in front of Jiang Nian.

The smoke from the teacup in front of them dissipated a little, and the faces of both parties became clearer.

Looking into Zhou Jinyu's gentle and reserved eyes, Jiang Nian paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes and held the contract in front of him.

What was written and printed on the contract was no different from the laws stipulated by the Huan Dynasty, and every negotiated clause was carefully listed on the clear mind paper.

It seemed to be reasonable and well-founded, but when Jiang Nianluo and the signatures and time of both parties at the end of the contract were signed, a chill suddenly seeped out in his heart.

In any business, contracts are of great importance.

But her father never told her that there was a contract at home, and he never mentioned it when he negotiated the contract with Xiao Yingzhu.

Does this contract exist or not?

Is this paper real or forged?

The inquiring look of the man in front of him was somewhat similar to the inquiring look Xiao Yingzhu had shown him before, but Jiang Nian could clearly feel that his hidden temptation was completely different from Xiao Yingzhu's.

Xiao Yingzhu explored her identity in order to establish a foundation of trust for cooperation.

And the person in front of him seemed to be hiding an unpredictable conspiracy, like poison wrapped in sugar.

If what Zhou Jinyu said was true, then the timing of her coming now was too coincidental. Besides, her father knew that she was cooperating with Xiao Yingzhu, so why didn't she refuse this cooperation and didn't even mention it?

But if it is false, then there is only one possibility.

He was the person Xiao Yingzhu came to because of something hidden in the dark.

And he comes with ill intentions.

In addition to finding out whether there was a contract between her and Xiao Yingzhu, he seemed to have another obvious purpose.

He was exploring whether he was the real Jiang Nian.

He used this "previously established merchant alliance" which was difficult to distinguish true from false to test his own identity.

If we really follow this line of thought, then whether this person is the real Zhou Jinyu remains to be discussed.

After all, just like Xiao Yingzhu, he also checked his background and became suspicious about whether he was the daughter of a drugstore owner.

And if they are really relatives, who would doubt the identity of their relatives for no reason?

She had no idea about her family affairs before she traveled through time, so she was completely unable to confirm whether Zhou Jinyu really existed among the original owner's relatives.

In just a few seconds, Jiang Nian's thoughts raced through thousands of things, and his fingertips felt a little cold because of these thoughts.

She clenched her fingertips lightly backstage, but on stage she didn't show any weakness at all, but rather a hint of annoyance.

"I'm sorry, although I'm the one who took over the pharmacy, my father never mentioned the Merchants' Alliance to me."

"So I might not be able to resolve this matter. I need to go and confirm with my father."

Combining what he said at Yuejiang Pavilion, Jiang Nian judged that it was more likely that Zhou Jinyu was fake.

But precisely because it was more likely to be false, she had to speak as if it were true.

This will provide more protection for your own safety and reduce the disclosure of your insect repellent recipe.

Zhou Jinyu was not annoyed by the fact that he missed the opportunity, and only replied gently:

"Miss, don't worry. The contract issue won't be resolved overnight, but I still want to ask for your opinion."

He seemed to be thinking about this question, his eyes turned away thoughtfully, and after a while he looked at Jiang Nian gently again.

"Putting aside concerns about other relationships, I wonder if the young lady is willing to cooperate with me?"

"Although the timing of my visit here is somewhat inappropriate, and it seems like I'm taking advantage of someone's misfortune."

"but..."

He lowered his eyes slightly, his face as white as jade, and seemed to reveal a bit of melancholy under the bright light.

"My home is quite far from the capital of Liang, and on the way I encountered some starving people displaced by a poor harvest. The journey was difficult, and that is why I arrived so late."

"Could you give me another chance next time?"

Jiang Nian calmly looked into Zhou Jinyu's gentle yet somewhat bewildered eyes, his breath held because of the sudden aroma of tea.

She looked away slightly.

"Mr. Zhou, I am the person who took over the Liangdu Pharmacy. My words are on behalf of the Liangdu Pharmacy, so I cannot jump to conclusions."

The pastries on the wooden table shone brightly under the mottled shadows of the trees.

Jiang Nian's gaze lingered on the pastry for a few seconds. Thinking of what she would have to say next because of what he said, her smiling face became softer because of the coldness in her heart.

"But since you've come all this way, I should do my best to be a good host."

—

Zhou Jinyu said all this just to get her to say this, and judging by the development of the situation, these words were reasonable and she really had to say them.

But she didn't want to bring this up.

If he raises the issue directly, the control will fall into his hands.

This is an unavoidable topic.

Zhou Jinyu came here to talk to her, simply to give her two options by taking advantage of the ancient hospitality etiquette of the Huan Dynasty.

One is cooperation, the other is gift giving.

But compared to cooperation, giving gifts is less dangerous.

Since the words come from her own mouth, she can completely control what she should or should not say.

Facing the smiling Jiang Nian, Zhou Jinyu's expression became even gentler, and the smile on his lips seemed as warm as spring water.

"Then I'll trouble you, young lady."