Gan Li held up five fingers: "You have to compensate me for my losses over the years, including but not limited to material losses and emotional distress, totaling five hundred taels of silver!"
"What?! Five hundred taels?!" Chen Danian almost jumped up: "Why don't you just rob me?!"
"You don't want to? Then forget it." Gan Li made a move to leave.
"No, no!" Chen Danian quickly grabbed her, weighed the matter in his mind, gritted his teeth, and agreed.
"However, I don't have it now, I'll have to pay you back slowly later."
"It's alright, no rush to pay it back." Gan Li kindly comforted him, then turned to Gan Mingyi with a smile and said, "Second Brother, hurry up and go and buy some paper and pens."
"Why are you buying paper and pens?" Gan Mingyi asked, puzzled.
Gan Li said, "Don't you need paper and pen to write an IOU?"
"Do I have to write an IOU?" Chen Danian jumped up again.
Gan Li pouted: "Otherwise what? We have no relationship now. Who would believe me if I just said I'd get five hundred taels of silver? It's more reliable to have it written down in black and white. If you don't want to, then forget it."
With things having come to this point, how could Chen Danian bear to give up? If he gave up, wouldn't all that face he had lost be for nothing?
He didn't struggle for long before he gave up, looking like he was swallowing his anger.
Seeing his pathetic state, Gan Mingyi was secretly delighted. He agreed and went to buy paper and pens with a smile.
After a long while, Gan Mingyi returned with paper and pen in his hand. Gan Li took them and handed them to Chen Danian: "Scholar, why don't you write it yourself?"
Chen Danian took the paper and pen, reluctantly wrote an IOU, and very proactively signed his name and pressed his fingerprint on it.
Gan Li took the IOU and glanced at it. Seeing that he wasn't trying to cheat her, she dried the IOU and put it in her pocket.
Chen Danian was already numb, and took the initiative to ask, "What is your third condition? Just tell me all at once."
"As for the third condition..."
Gan Li was very pleased to see that he was now proactively checking the process. She deliberately drew out her words, and under Chen Danian's expectant gaze, slowly said:
"I prefer obedient people, and naturally, the method of making ice should be given to someone who listens. Chen Danian, will you listen to me?"
As she spoke, she glanced at Chen Danian, her eyes and brows conveying a hint of coquettishness.
Upon seeing this, Chen Danian was overjoyed, thinking that Gan Li was hinting that as long as he behaved well and stopped looking for other women, she would tell him the method of making ice.
"Isn't it just about being obedient? That's easy, I promise you!" Chen Danian quickly assured him.
"Oh? So will you be obedient now?" Gan Li asked with a smile.
"I'll listen, of course I'll listen!" Chen Danian patted his chest and assured him.
Gan Li smiled with satisfaction, and then, under Chen Danian's expectant gaze, slowly said, "Listen to me... then let's not inquire about the method of making ice."
Chen Danian: ? ? ?
A burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.
As soon as Gan Li uttered the words, "Listen to me, then don't inquire about the ice-making method," the onlookers burst into laughter. They immediately understood that Manager Gan's three conditions were simply a trick on Chen Danian!
Poor Chen Xiucai, who always boasted that he was the reincarnation of the God of Literature, was led by the nose like a stupid pig.
Some people were laughing so hard they couldn't stand up straight, while others pointed at Chen Danian and mocked him mercilessly.
"Hey Chen Xiucai, you're a scholar too, so why didn't the books tell you not to always dream of easy money falling from the sky?"
"Exactly, who would easily tell others their methods for making money?"
The brothers Gan Mingli and Gan Mingyi exchanged a glance, both seeing satisfaction and relief in each other's eyes.
They had long disliked Chen Danian's attitude, and now that they saw him get his comeuppance, they were extremely pleased.
Gan Mingli retorted without any restraint, "I've said it before, my sister isn't the type to go back to an ex!"
Gan Mingyi chimed in, "That's right! Don't you even know what kind of person you are? My little sister has seen through your true colors long ago. You still want to fool her with the old tricks? It won't work!"
Gan Tian was initially worried that her mother would soften her heart. After all, she had seen her mother trying to please Chen Danian over the years. Now that she saw her mother not only reject him but also cleverly trick him, she admired Gan Li even more.
Chen Danian was stunned for a long time. The laughter around him entered his ears without any obstruction, stimulating his self-esteem again and again, making him wish he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into!
He finally realized that Gan Li didn't genuinely want to give him the secret recipe; she was clearly just using it to tease him!
He gritted his teeth in anger, clenching his fists as if to step forward, but seeing the two Gan brothers eyeing him menacingly, he didn't dare to make a move. He could only shout at Gan Li from afar, "You poisonous woman! You dare to play me!"
Despite Chen Danian's rage, Gan Li remained unfazed, feigning innocence and retorting:
"When did I trick you? You were the one who said you would listen to me."
“You…” Chen Danian pointed at Gan Li, trembling with anger, but he couldn’t find any words to refute her.
The onlookers laughed even harder, and some even started to jeer.
"Scholar Chen, didn't you say you would listen to Manager Gan? What, are you going to back out now?"
"That's right, that's right! A real man keeps his word, you can't go back on your word!"
Chen Danian's face flushed and paled in turns, a truly fascinating sight. He never imagined that he, a dignified scholar, would be so easily outmaneuvered by this haggard-looking woman!
Ganli, however, did not let him off so easily.
She sneered, then raised her voice and addressed the onlookers loudly:
"Fellow villagers, as you just heard, Chen Danian himself admitted that he was a kept man, that he abandoned his wife and daughter to marry a rich man, and that he was having an affair with someone."
To achieve his own ends, he kicked my daughter and me out of the house. Now that my business is doing well, he wants to steal my secret recipe. Tell me, is there such a thing as a free lunch?
"That's right, this Scholar Chen is so shameless!"
"Addicted to living off women!"
Chen Danian was relentlessly criticized by the crowd, leaving him almost completely humiliated. Even with his thick skin, he was starting to feel the pressure.
He looked at Gan Li, his heart churning with anger, yet utterly helpless. All he could do was utter a harsh threat: "Fine, very well! Gan Li, you just wait and see! I, Chen, will avenge the humiliation I suffered today!"
After saying that, he slunk away.
When the onlookers saw Chen Danian run away, they burst into even louder laughter and gave Gan Li a thumbs up, praising her for her quick thinking.
As Gan Li watched Chen Danian flee in disarray, she shouted, "Hey, don't go! Didn't you still need the method to make ice?" Her tone was full of mockery.
Chen Danian paused, almost stumbling and falling to the ground, but he ultimately suppressed his shame and ran away without looking back.
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