Ye Nuan followed the waiter to the third floor. The decoration and furnishings on the third floor were exquisite and detailed, and the floor was covered with thick plush carpets, which made people feel like they were falling into the clouds when they stepped on it.
The boy stopped at the first room on the east side. The beams, doors and windows of the house were all carved and painted. A graceful gauze was hung under the corridor, and a light pine scent wafted out from inside.
He pushed open the door and bowed, saying, "Young lady, please come in. Our Pavilion Master is inside."
"Thank you." Ye Nuan walked in. Behind the veil was a translucent beauty screen. The sound of an abacus clacking could be heard from behind the screen.
She was a little confused. Was Pavilion Master Jiang settling accounts?
Walking further in, through the screen, I could see someone sitting at a table, working very busy with both hands. After a second of hesitation, the person behind the screen said impatiently, "Come in now! Do you want me to invite you?"
Ye Nuan quickened her pace as she stepped inside. Suddenly, she stepped on something strange. She looked down and saw a thick account book. Then a second, a third... Her eyes scanned the entire area behind the screen. The floor and tables were covered in account books, with only Pavilion Master Jiang's left untouched.
Pavilion Master Jiang herself, her clothes loose, her makeup unadorned, her long black hair tied haphazardly with a headband, her fingers dancing on the abacus, her entire body in a state of extreme irritability. She looked a bit like a modern office worker obsessed with overwork.
I really didn't expect that the beautiful and charming owner of Jiang Pavilion is two different people in front of others and behind their backs!
After she finished calculating in one book, she casually threw it at her feet and took out another one and started typing. Ye Nuan was very suspicious that if she went over to talk to him now, he would think she was calculating.
No wonder the shopkeeper said that their leader has been very irritable recently, she really felt it.
Ye Nuan hesitated and asked, "Master Jiang?"
Jiang Ji quickly glanced at her and saw the surprise on her face for a moment, then she said impatiently: "I heard that you had something to talk to me about. You saw that I was busy and had no time to pay attention to you, but if you can help me finish the account book, I can give you some time."
Ye Nuan thought she had misheard. As a businessman, how could you show your account books to others casually?
"Pavilion Master Jiang, I don't think the account book of the Creation Pavilion is very good."
Jiang Ji said indifferently: "What's good or bad about it? It's just a bunch of numbers."
She didn't mind, so it seemed a bit unnecessary for me to mind. Ye Nuan said, "That's fine too. What does Pavilion Master Jiang want to calculate?"
Jiang Ji then raised her head and looked at her straight in the eye, her eyes curved upwards as she said with a charming smile, "Can you cook the books?"
Fake accounts? Ye Nuan became increasingly confused.
Jiang Ji continued, "Yes, it's fake accounts. The Creation Pavilion can freely enter and exit the border. Do you think there's no big boss behind the scenes? I can't let others take advantage of the money I worked so hard to earn. Here are the account books for the past six months, a total of 178. I've already finished 87 of them. Can you help me with the rest?"
"But you must make sure you squeeze out every penny and not leave a single cent for that bastard."
Bastard? Which bastard?
Ye Nuan asked, "If I don't make any money, won't the boss tell me?"
Jiang Ji scoffed, "He's from this poor, remote area of the wasteland. Giving him some jewelry on a daily basis is already quite good. He's still expecting dividends at the end of the year. That's wishful thinking. Just do your job and make the accounts look good."
She quickly pushed a large stack of account books over the table and said, "Do you know how to do it? Hurry up. If you don't, get out of here. I won't entertain you." The golden abacus around her neck kept shaking with her movements, and a dazzling light flowed.
Pavilion Master Jiang is really obsessed with money.
Ye Nuan was also quick to react. She knelt on the futon, took the paper and pen handed to her by Jiang Ji, and began to do her accounts. She was an expert at calculating with her mind and mouth, and after possessing the spiritual spring, she had a photographic memory. She devoted herself to the account book and finished one in a short time.
Time slipped away as they both frantically flipped through their ledgers. For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the clattering and rustling of fingers. The number in Ye Nuan's ledgers became smaller and smaller. Jiang Ji suddenly stopped mid-calculation and looked at her.
His eyes changed from suspicion to surprise, and then to shining.
When Ye Nuan turned to the last account book, she didn't hear any movement from the opposite side and looked up suspiciously, and saw Jiang Ji looking at her with a smile.
The hand that was flipping through the account book paused, and hesitantly asked, "What is Pavilion Master Jiang doing?"
Jiang Ji sat up straight, leaned towards her, and said sincerely and passionately: "Are you interested in working in the Creation Pavilion? I'll give you this amount!" She stretched out five fingers and shook them.
"Five hundred taels a year."
Ye Nuan: “.” Pavilion Master Jiang, who is obsessed with money, has invested a huge amount of money!
Jiang Ji seemed to see through her confusion and said directly, "You don't even need an abacus when doing your accounting. You keep the books very clean and keep the profits to a minimum. You're better than me. If you could do my accounting in the future, you'd definitely save more than this amount a year. It's worth it!"
After Ye Nuan finished the last account book in her hand, she asked sincerely, "Master Jiang, can you talk to me now?"
Jiang Ji called the maid who was guarding outside to come in and clean up. She smiled at her and said, "Of course, wait a minute, I'll be there soon."
After saying that, he quickly walked out. Ye Nuan was stunned on the futon. The maid said as she was cleaning up, "Don't worry, young lady. Our Pavilion Master just went to wash and dress up. He will be back soon."
Do I need to burn incense and take a bath before the conversation?
Ye Nuan counted in her mind, and when she reached two hundred, Jiang Ji reappeared with a gust of fragrant wind. The reappearing Jiang Ji was dressed in a gorgeous and elegant manner, with eyebrows and eyes painted, and she was truly exquisite and elegant. Her temperament was different from the casual and relaxed one just now.
She leaned against the agarwood table, her hair trembling with laughter: "Now you can tell me."
Ye Nuan asked, "It's very time-consuming and labor-intensive to transport food from the interior of the country to the Creation Pavilion. It also costs a lot of money. Has Pavilion Master Jiang ever considered changing the source of supply?"
Jiang Ji had certainly considered this, but the food was only available inside the Fortress. Although she felt bad about the money, she could earn more by transporting it to the wilderness, exchanging it for gems, and then transporting it back inside the Fortress. Money is endless, and one shouldn't be too greedy.
Jiang Ji scoffed, "Changing your supply channels? Can you even get them from a place like the Wasteland?" She glanced at Ye Nuan, her eyes shifting slightly as she added, "Oh, I heard you opened a Yunjian Farm. You're not expecting me to go there, are you? What can you grow in the wasteland? The Creation Pavilion supplies grain and salt to Luomu City, the bandits in the two villages, Dahuang Village, and the Desert City. How can your shabby farm possibly supply that?"
She knew the wasteland too well. It was a place abandoned by the gods, poor, chaotic, and full of filth.
Before Ye Nuan could grow anything, it might be attacked by wild beasts or robbed by bandits overnight.
Ye Nuan was not at all panicked. "Of course I came here because I can supply you. In a month, I will be able to provide other vegetables, fruits and seedlings besides salt. I can even provide things that are not available in the inner city or here."
Her tone was firm, not like she was joking. Jiang Ji said seriously, "If you can really provide it, what do you need?" It was useless for Huang Yuan to ask for silver and gems.
"Salt," Ye Nuan said. "I can supply you with my grain at the price Pavilion Master Jiang charges inside the pass. This way, we can save on the cost of carriages and laborers. All I ask is Pavilion Master Jiang to give me salt at a price 10% higher than the purchase price."
Only 10% more?
Jiang Ji raised her eyebrows and chuckled, all the shrewdness a businessman should have. "This deal isn't worth it. My salt can be sold at three times the purchase price, and I'm only selling it to you for 10% more. The difference in profit is enough for me to pay for my carriage and labor."
Ye Nuan continued: "There are many things on Yunjian Farm that are not available in the interior, such as peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, potatoes; mangoes, durian, dragon fruit. When you transport salt, you can sell these at high prices to the gentry and wealthy families in the interior, or even pay tribute to the imperial palace. You can make as much money as here." It would be great to make money on both ends.
Peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, potatoes; mangoes, durian, dragon fruit? Jiang Ji had never heard of these things, but at this moment she absolutely could not show her curiosity.
Jiang Ji was a little tempted, but she didn't show it on her face. She started to nitpick again, "Most of the food you mentioned is difficult to preserve. If it's shipped inside the pass, it will probably go bad in two days. Wouldn't that be a complete loss?"
She wanted to lower the price as much as possible, and Ye Nuan naturally knew it. "Since Pavilion Master Jiang was able to transport the grain to the wasteland intact, he can naturally transport it out intact."
Ye Nuan refused to give in. The more Jiang Ji looked at her, the more she liked her. It was not only her eyes that attracted her, but also her shrewd mind, which was as money-minded as her own.
"May I consider it?"
The most taboo thing in negotiation is consideration. Ye Nuan then asked, "What is Pavilion Master Jiang considering?"
The room was filled with fragrance, and the autumn wind blew the gauze curtains around the windowsill. Jiang Ji leaned back on the soft couch, her eyes full of affection darting back and forth over her. "I was thinking, what if your farm came under the name of the Creation Pavilion? We could split the profits 40% and 60%, and I'd provide you with salt for free and offer you protection?"
"Change Yunjian Farm into Creation Farm and plant the Jiang family's flag!"
Did the talks break down?
She wanted to cooperate, but the other party wanted to acquire her, and at that, not even a penny!
Ye Nuan stood up and said, "It seems that Pavilion Master Jiang is not sincere in cooperating. I won't force him. But Pavilion Master Jiang, please don't regret it in the future."
Jiang Ji snorted coldly, "Don't think I don't know you're working with Luo Mucheng. If you're sincere, you shouldn't have it both ways." Her income had already dropped significantly this month, and the partnership between Yunjian Farm and Luo Mucheng was a blatant attempt to steal her business. She could do without a man, but no one could steal her money.
Ye Nuan chuckled softly, "Pavilion Master Jiang, business is all about profit. Just because your stuff is expensive doesn't mean Luo Mucheng can't sell it elsewhere? That doesn't make sense!"
"Sorry for disturbing you today. I'll take my leave now!" After saying that, Ye Nuan left without looking back.
Jiang Ji didn't stop her. She sighed deeply, held her forehead and sneered: "You little girl is a liar. You don't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is." The Creation Pavilion has been in the wasteland for more than ten years. How could they be afraid of her small farm?
She stood up, slowly put on her clothes, and shouted towards the west wall, "Come in!"
The originally smooth west side was suddenly pushed open, and Chu Xuesong walked in, a sarcastic smile on his overly elegant face, "Master Jiang, at your age, why would you bully a little girl?"
The always beautiful and charming Pavilion Master Jiang was greatly angered by the word "old". She put her hands on her hips and scolded, "If you really think about it, it seems that Master Chu is a month older than me. At his age, he still wants to eat young grass?"
The young man in front of him was dressed in white, his belt loose, simple and clean. His brows were always gentle and he wore a hint of a smile, but his voice was cold and distant: "Old cow eating young grass, Pavilion Master Jiang, you are talking about yourself, right? Haven't you always liked Qi Wuya? Why are you holding his weapons and salt and demanding an exorbitant price? Aren't you afraid of a real fight?"
Jiang Ji raised her eyebrows and smiled, "Master Chu is really good at joking. Compared to City Lord Qi, I like you more. But it seems that you have all been bewitched by that liar girl."
She pretended to be sad and said, "Just now I saw that she is charming and beautiful. She is indeed a rare beauty, but there is only one beauty. You will definitely not be able to snatch her from City Lord Qi. I don't mind you being crazy and boring. Why don't you be my partner?"
Crazy and boring?
Crazy, really, but boring? Someone said he was very interesting. Chu Xuesong really disliked this word. He looked at Jiang Ji and smiled even more gently: "Why are you so sure that I can't win over Qi Wuze?"
Jiang Ji looked him up and down, sneering, "Aside from these clothes, how can you be considered clean? That girl is very smart, and in a way, very kind. She is a canna under the sun. City Lord Qi has a heart of light, while you have a heart of darkness."
"Don't you know whether you can win the fight or not?"
The smile on Chu Xuesong's face disappeared, and the spring breeze a moment ago turned into a cold and icy cold wind in the next moment.
Jiang Ji took a half step back cautiously, but she still said in a servile manner: "A gentleman uses words, not fists! You asked me to say it, and now you're angry after I said it...Wu Tu!" she shouted.
The tall and strong Wu Tu burst in and shouted in panic, "Pavilion Master!"
Chu Xuesong didn't take the tall and strong Wu Tu seriously at all. He stared at Jiang Ji and said coldly, "Pavilion Master Jiang, you've grown too powerful. Don't forget that the only reason the Creation Pavilion can survive in the wilderness is because the Chu Family Village can check and balance the Wei Family Village."
Jiang Ji said fearlessly, "That bastard Wei Qian is dead, so why should I be afraid of him?"
"Oh, aren't you afraid? Although the Chu Family Village doesn't kill people, they rob people of their money." Chu Xuesong's eyes were like ice.
Jiang Ji instantly became intimidated, clasping her hands together and pleading pitifully, "No, I'm just robbing people for their money, not killing them or setting them on fire. I can't afford to offend you. I'll give you a 10% discount on the food in your village. Can you please leave?"
Chu Xuesong's expression softened, "What about her request?"
Jiang Ji was furious, and the golden abacus around her neck made a crisp sound: "Impossible!"
Chu Xuesong slowly placed his hand on his waist. Jiang Ji's eyes widened. He was about to pull out the 'Shuoxue'. Just then, there was a knock on the door. The shopkeeper hurried up and shouted, "Master, Miss Ye can't find the head of the Chu family downstairs and is anxious to go out to look for him."
Jiang Ji squatted on the high table. Wu Tu blocked her way. She grabbed Wu Tu's sleeve and showed a gorgeous face. She looked at Chu Xuesong warily and said, "Did you hear me? If you don't leave now, your sweetheart will leave!"
The atmosphere in the room was tense, with several people watching the madman Chu Xuesong's every move with eager eyes. Chu Xuesong's expression softened instantly, almost as if changing his features. Just as Jiang Ji breathed a sigh of relief, he swiftly pulled out the 'Shuoxue' from his waist. It was so fast that only a flash of light could be seen, and then Wu Tu's clothes were shredded to shreds, and even his eyebrows and newly grown hair were shaved cleanly.
The moment he put the sword back on his waist, he was no longer in the room.
Jiang Ji reacted and screamed, cursing, "Ahhhhh!! You pervert, is this what a human being does? At least leave some underwear on." Then she cursed at Wu Tu, "You are so shameful! Go put on your clothes and don't let anyone see you leaving my room, otherwise people will think I am starving."
Wu Tu's dark face turned red and he ran away quickly, covering his vital parts.
After Ye Nuan went downstairs, she walked around the first floor twice but couldn't find Chu Xuesong. Anxiously, she asked the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper calmly replied that he didn't know, and probably went to the weapons and supplies building next door to check.
He was a scholar, so he didn't want to get into trouble with bandits in the wilderness. Ye Nuan hurried out. On the left was the weapons building, and on the right was the daily necessities building. Thinking that they had already been to the daily necessities building, they turned left and went to the weapons building.
Meanwhile, Qi Wuze had just finished showing off the newly arrived weapons and was about to leave when he saw Ye Nuan approaching. City Lord Qi, usually calm and stoic, dove behind the door like a startled rabbit.
The blush slowly spread from the tips of his ears to his handsome cheeks. He was so nervous that he wished he could turn into a piece of wood. He reached out and pulled the tall Gao Zangfeng hard, cursing in a low voice: "Turn your face inward!"
Gao Zangfeng didn't understand what was going on, and asked loudly, "City Lord, what are you doing?"
"Don't shout, idiot!" He didn't know why he was hiding. Since that night, he wanted to see her but was afraid to see her. Every night he hugged her quilt and continued to dream, and when he woke up he felt annoyed and blamed himself.
How could he be so bad, always doing that to her in her dreams!
City Lord Qi, who had been a vegetarian for twenty years and had never had such an experience, was completely confused. When he saw people, he instinctively wanted to hide. His heart was pounding and he could only dare to take a peek.
"Gao Shoucheng, what are you doing here?" A soft voice sounded at the door, constantly drilling into his ears through the thick wooden door panel.
His heart was beating so hard it was about to jump out of his throat, and then he heard Ye Nuan ask, "Have you seen Xiaobai? I came here with him, and when I turned around, he was gone!"
The sweet feeling was replaced by anger. Qi Wuze came out of the door and looked at Ye Nuan, who looked anxious. "You came with those two?"
Ye Nuan was surprised, then a warm smile appeared on her face: "Qi..."
Qi Wuze frowned, and she immediately changed her words: "Aze..." But it felt so awkward.
"You're here too?"
His anger was instantly quelled, and the sound of "Aze" made his entire body numb. Qi Wuze didn't show it on his face, and nodded in a pretentious manner, "Yeah." He couldn't even act his usual frivolous self anymore.
Ye Nuan felt that he was a little strange, but she couldn't put her finger on what. However, she couldn't care less at the moment and asked hurriedly, "Have you seen Xiaobai? I'm looking for him."
"A Nuan!" The person she was looking for ran towards her from behind, with beads of sweat on his forehead.
Ye Nuan turned around and asked in surprise, "How did you get out from there?" She had clearly been searching for a long time on the third floor.
Chu Xuesong smiled softly, his eyes and eyebrows elegant and refined. He took out a simple and elegant hairpin from his bosom and handed it to Ye Nuan, "I just went to the second floor and saw that this hairpin suits you very well, so I bought it to offer as a gift to you."
It was a silver hairpin, with a butterfly with its wings flapping, carved on the tail, about to take off. It flashed in the sunlight and was very beautiful.
Ye Nuan liked it very much, but no matter how much she liked it, she knew that in ancient times girls were not supposed to accept hairpins from men.
Seeing her embarrassment, Chu Xuesong immediately handed over the sachet containing the jade: "This is considered as something you bought for yourself."
Ye Nuan thought so too. The sachet and jade were both his. He had already said that he was borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha.
She reached out to take the sachet and hairpin, but her hand was suddenly grabbed. Qi Wuze, who was standing behind her, took the things before her and looked at Chu Xuesong opposite with a fake smile, "This jade belongs to this city lord, so this hairpin naturally belongs to this city lord as well."
Ye Nuan: "." She turned back and met Qi Wuze's knowing gaze, "Aya, please stay one less day."
Can it be deducted like this?
I've always known that City Lord Qi is arrogant and narcissistic. In fact, he is as thick-skinned as me, right?
Qi Wuze reached out and pushed her head, dissatisfied: "What are you looking at? You want a hairpin, right?" He stuffed the sachet and the silver butterfly hairpin into his arms, and pulled out a black jade hairpin from the top of his head and inserted it into her hair. Jin Jiao said: "Here, this is for you. It's worth half a farm."
So valuable?
Ye Nuan tried hard to look above her head, "Isn't this bad?"
Qi Wuze held down her hand as she was about to pull it away and said angrily, "What's wrong with that? Ah Ya can stay for another year."
He is really smart.
Chu Xuesong's eyes fell on their folded hands and narrowed their eyes, "City Lord Qi, do you want someone else to raise a younger brother for you?"
Qi Wuze met his gaze, his hostility evident in it: "What's it to you if she's willing to raise him?" He then said to Ye Nuan: "Just raise him like your own brother. If he doesn't behave, you can beat him up."
Ye Nuan: “.”
Having said that, she couldn't really beat him up, and besides, Aya was a very well-behaved boy.
Qi Wuze said again: "Do you want to go back? I will go with you."
Gao Zangfeng, who was following behind him, hurriedly said, "City Lord! Don't you have something to discuss with Pavilion Master Jiang? Pavilion Master Jiang said she's been busy lately and won't wait any longer!"
Qi Wuze was a little embarrassed, but he was really worried about Ye Nuan leaving with this pale-faced scholar, so he said, "Come with me to the third floor. I'll ask someone to get you something to eat."
Ye Nuan, who had just come down from the third floor: "?"
Seeing that Ye Nuan didn't want to go, he coughed lightly, his eyes flickering, and pulled her sleeve and shook it twice, like fluorescent algae in a cave, and said in a soft voice: "Just for a while, okay?"
This behavior was somewhat deliberate and flattering, completely different from the usually frivolous and foul-mouthed City Lord Qi, but it was also very lethal.
Ye Nuan shuddered and nodded slowly.
Qi Wuze immediately smiled and pulled her sleeve towards the third-floor wooden building. Chu Xuesong's hand tightened slightly at his side, veins popping out on the back of his hand, but he finally followed silently.
The shopkeeper was surprised for a moment when he saw Ye Nuan coming with him, but he immediately regained his usual smile and said, "City Master Qi, why did you bring someone with you? The Pavilion Master only wants to see you."
Qi Wuze casually said, "If she doesn't want to go in, set up a table on the third floor and serve her some tea and snacks." He glanced at Chu Xuesong again and said maliciously, "I didn't bring this person here, so just let him stay downstairs."
Ye Nuan was worried and asked quickly, "Can't we take Xiaobai up with us? I'm worried it will be too crowded."
The shopkeeper stood silently aside. Chu Xuesong met Qi Wuze's gaze, and the two were competing with each other. Gao Zangfeng smiled at Ye Nuan and said, "Miss Ye, I'm downstairs. You can go ahead. If Brother Chu is missing a hair, come find me."
For the first time, Qi Wuze felt that Gao Zangfeng was very sensible, and he must reward him with a big jar of chili sauce when he returned.
Ye Nuan felt relieved now and said to Chu Xuesong, "Xiaobai, then you and Gao Shoucheng wait downstairs first, we will be down soon."
Qi Wuze pulled her impatiently, and the two of them walked to the third floor one after the other.
People were coming and going downstairs. Gao Zangfeng, with his familiarity, called out "Brother Chu" in a loud voice, occasionally patting him. However, for Chu Xuesong, all this bustle was just a backdrop to his loneliness. He stood in the crowd, watching the two men go away, and thought of Jiang Ji's words.
"Except for these clothes, where else on your body is clean?"
"She is a canna under the sun. City Lord Qi has a bright heart, but you have a dark heart."
He suddenly felt very unwilling and wanted to hide her. It was not because of Ye Nuan's special ability, but because he also wanted to embrace the sunshine.
The noise around him was so loud that he felt depressed and irritable.
Following the shopkeeper's instructions, the waiter carried the table and chairs to the east corner, and the cakes and tea arrived quickly. Qi Wuze felt the teapot to make sure it was warm, then said to Ye Nuan, "Just sit here and wait for me. If I don't see you when I come out..." He narrowed his eyes.
Ye Nuan said helplessly: "I promised you, I will definitely wait for you to come out, I promise!" She raised three fingers and squinted her eyes as if she was coaxing a child.
Qi Wuze's ears were still burning with heat, and he slapped her hand in embarrassment and anger, "Don't talk to me in that tone."
The moment he turned around, he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips.
Ye Nuan sat at the small square table, waiting, occasionally glancing downstairs. Bored, she reached for some pastries. Just as she was about to pick them up, she heard a clattering sound from inside the room, followed by Jiang Ji's angry yells: "You two shameless bastards, you think I'm running a charity? Get out!"
She turned around and saw Qi Wuze coming out, knocking on the door and locking it. Jiang Ji was still cursing at the door, scratching her ears and walking towards Ye Nuan, pulling her up and about to leave.
Bang!
The door fell completely. The graceful Jiang Ji was furious. She stood at the door of the missing room with her hands on her hips and yelled at Qi Wuze, "Why are you running? I still have something to say to this girl."
Do you have something to say to her?
Ye Nuan was full of confusion. What else did Pavilion Master Jiang want to say to her?
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