Chapter 47 Huh? Isn't she one of the parties involved?
The golden Buddha statue in the main hall made Jin Suiqing even more hesitant to remove her veil. When the young novice monk brought her food, he clasped his hands together and bowed to Jin Suiqing, saying, "Little Princess, with the veil in place, no one can see your face. You can rest assured and remove your veil."
Jin Suiqing remained silent, looking down at the food he had brought. Besides various fruits, there were even several pastries made with lard. Jin Suiqing said with a smile, "So the temple also provides such pastries?"
The young novice monk smiled and replied, "It was prepared especially for you."
Upon hearing this, Jin Suiqing dared not eat anymore.
After the young novice monk left the room, Jin Suiqing rushed to the door, bolted it, shook it to make sure it wouldn't open, and then returned to his seat to remove the curtain.
After observing for a while, Jin Suiqing thoroughly examined the inside and outside of the private room, even planning an escape route in case of trouble. Only then did she sit down and, before the singing and dancing performance began, quickly reviewed her plan.
Jin Suiqing wants to bid for the black mine.
She had this idea not because she was forced by the plot or mission, but because she had her own considerations.
After she leaves the Jin family and gains her freedom, her career absolutely cannot stagnate. Jin Suiqing must plan ahead. Selling blueprints for money is no longer enough to satisfy Jin Suiqing's appetite. She wants to open a factory and design and produce competitive magical weapons.
Throughout history, the first step that anyone who wants to build a business, especially a real business, can never avoid is:
How to acquire a good piece of land.
Unlike residential considerations, the land for setting up a factory not only needs to be large, but also needs to take into account many factors, such as proximity to water sources, proximity to raw material sources, and sufficient labor force.
If she were to apply through the normal procedure, she would not only need to spend a huge sum of money to buy the land, but also spend money to cultivate relationships with important officials in Kyushu, which would be time-consuming, laborious, and expensive.
The biggest obstacle is her current identity.
She still holds the titles of Jin family heiress and princess, and her status provides a balance of power. If the fact that she bought land, which requires digging deep into her family's nine generations back, were to be exposed, it would be hard to guarantee that she would live to see the sun tomorrow under the rule of her beloved empress aunt and crown prince brother.
In comparison, abandoned black mines and neglected gray-black land are actually a safe bet for her.
The abandoned mine is nestled against the mountains and backed by water; there are remaining residents who depend on the mining industry for their livelihood, forming their own settlements; it is located in Jiangnan Road, accessible by waterway; it is not far from the city, so there is no worry about finding a market for its products.
After much deliberation, Jin Suiqing made a firm decision and prepared to go with the flow of the story and bid for the minerals.
The situation at auctions is unpredictable and requires quick on-site assessments and adaptability to keep waste ore prices low.
Jin Suiqing looked around; now there might be an additional problem.
We need to figure out why her treatment at the temple is different from what's written in the book, and why it's become so much better.
*
The young novice monk left the princess's private room to report to his senior brother who had given him the task. Before he even entered, he saw his senior brother kneeling on the ground, trembling and kowtowing repeatedly.
The young novice monk dared not move and quickly hid behind the door to eavesdrop on the conversation inside.
The man's voice was magnetic and clear as he calmly asked, "Only one hundred taels?"
The senior brother was terrified. "There was only one hundred taels. It was really only one hundred taels. It was given to me by the young princess. I didn't dare to take more."
The young novice knew that his gray-robed senior brother was on guard duty today, and the questioning was because he had accepted money. One hundred taels was definitely not much; the photographers who were allowed to enter today were sending thousands or even tens of thousands of taels to the temple, let alone the money given by the young princess. It should be considered a reward, so why was his senior brother so afraid?
"Didn't dare ask for more?" The man smiled, his expression unreadable. "From what you're saying, if given the chance, you'd like to ask for more?"
"No, no! No... I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare take money from the little princess even if I had a hundred lives..." The gray-robed monk's pupils trembled, "...from your sister."
After hearing his words, Jin Shiyu's cold expression softened, and he smiled, tapping the table with his fingertip. His tone became much more relaxed. "Put the money down and you can leave."
The gray-robed monk hurriedly took out a silver note, held it with both hands, knelt on the ground and rubbed it in front of Jin Shiyu. After Jin Shiyu took the silver note, the monk stood up with trembling body and turned to leave. Then he heard Jin Shiyu say, "Is that your junior brother at the door?"
The young novice monk gasped, covered his mouth, and remained silent.
But the gray-robed monk went out and decisively pulled out the young novice from behind the door, making him kneel down in front of Jin Shiyu. He said in a panic, "I...I'm sorry, junior brother, please apologize to Young Master Jin."
The young novice was speechless: "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have eavesdropped on your conversation."
Jin Shiyu looked the young novice up and down, his tone cold and hard, "What did you just hear?"
The young novice was quick-witted. He glanced at the gray-robed monk, lowered his head, and said, "Senior brother was out of his mind and accepted the princess's money, but... but senior brother immediately realized his mistake. After sending me to deliver fruits and snacks to the princess, he rushed here to apologize to you."
Upon hearing about fruits and snacks, Jin Shiyu frowned, but her eyes softened completely. "Are they all sweet?"
The young novice lowered his head even further, "Yes."
“Go change it, change it to…” Jin Shiyu paused, intending to ask her to change it to salty food, but then changed her mind. Given the current situation, it was not appropriate to show her face and interfere, so she simply watched her brush her teeth after returning home.
The thought of having a reason to go to Jin Suiqing's courtyard made Jin Shiyu's cold eyes disappear completely, and the room seemed to warm up a bit. He said softly, "Well done. The singing competition is about to start. Go and get busy."
The young novice breathed a sigh of relief and left the room with his trembling senior brother, who was about to wet his pants. As he walked towards the main hall, his senior brother was still terrified and had to hold onto the wall to walk. Soon, a guard-like man caught up with him, and the senior brother's precarious urination finally came down.
Seeing that his senior brother was useless, the young novice bowed and said, "My lord, what are your instructions?"
The guard glanced at the gray-robed monk as if he were used to such things, then took out two silver notes from his pocket and handed them to the young novice: "These are tips from Young Master Jin."
The young novice looked closely and saw there were two hundred taels. He waited a moment, but his senior brother dared not accept it, so he slowly put it away and bowed his head, saying, "Thank you, young master. It is what we should do. We will definitely serve Miss Jin well. Let's pretend that today's events never happened."
The guard smiled approvingly, "Clever." With that, he walked away from the gray-robed monk whose clothes were soaked with sweat.
The young novice sighed and helped his senior brother up, saying, "Senior brother, you finally took on a task today, how come you're still so timid?"
"I've never seen anyone like this before. It's like a bloodthirsty bodhisattva staring at you. It's really frightening."
"We'll see each other often in the future, senior brother, you should toughen up," the young novice said. "I'll take over the chores in the main hall for you today, senior brother. Go change your pants and don't come out."
The gray-robed monk nodded gratefully, and the young novice asked, "Where are the items that Senior Brother is in charge of auctioning?"
The gray-robed monk, as if he had survived a calamity, weakly said, "It's just a wooden plaque engraved with scriptures. I heard it's not very valuable compared to a robe or clothing."
The young novice scoffed inwardly. His senior brother was utterly incompetent, utterly useless. He had heard that today was His Highness the Crown Prince's "stolen goods disposal meeting," and anything that came from His Highness's possession was bound to be valuable.
The young novice monk remained silent, smiled as he bid farewell to his senior brother, and entered the room where the auction items were displayed. He picked up the tray with the wooden plaques and waited with the other monks.
The singing and dancing event is about to begin.
Beneath the gleaming golden Buddha statue, the chanting ceremony proceeded in an orderly manner.
Jin Suiqing locked onto Huang Tufeng's figure in the crowd in the main hall, keeping a close eye on her movements.
The novel's plot varies in detail, which resulted in Jin Suiqing only knowing about two actual auction items. One was a kasaya worn by a high-ranking monk upon his death, representing a sketch of a super sulfur-burning machine, a highly sought-after and expensive item; the other was a sandalwood Vajra Sutra peace plaque, representing an abandoned mine, expensive but unwanted.
In the novel's "Changyihui" (a traditional Chinese auction) scene, the female supporting character and the female lead engage in a prolonged battle at the auction. Jin Suiqing bites Huang Tufeng to death, during which Huang Tufeng loses a significant amount of his auction winnings.
Finally, Huang Tufeng used the auction order to his advantage, placing the abandoned mine before the sketches and bidding heavily for the mine that no one else wanted, completely emptying Jin Suiqing's pockets before successfully bidding for the blueprints.
The outcome was obvious: the blueprints were fake.
It was precisely because of this auction that the conflict between the female lead and the supporting female lead was further deepened, which directly led to the female lead returning to the Jin family not long after. The supporting female lead, who had lost her status as a princess, harbored resentment and lured the female lead into the mine, where she faked a mining accident and deliberately tried to kill her.
Jin Suiqing stared at Huang Tufeng's retreating figure in the main hall, deep in thought.
If, as previously speculated, Huang Tufeng is also a transmigrator with a system, then she should also be undertaking a plot task involving conflict with the female supporting character.
This remains unchanged.
The place where the change occurred was where Jin Suiqing was located.
In the novel, the female supporting character and the female lead are both in the main hall, openly clashing; but now she has entered the upper room, remaining in the shadows and not showing herself.
Aside from opposing the female lead and buying the mine, there are no other requirements for the story missions.
Could she use her "darkness" to manipulate Huang Tufeng into a game of strategy and seize the opportunity to bid for the abandoned mine at a low price?
At this moment, Huang Tufeng in the main hall began to raise his hand. Jin Suiqing did not rush to bid, but instead observed Huang Tufeng's actions.
Huang Tufeng raised his hand, and as the abbot announced the price, he swayed his head slightly from side to side.
Her subtle movements did not escape Jin Suiqing's eyes.
Huang Tufeng is observing.
Clearly, Huang Tufeng was searching for Jin Suiqing.
This was exactly what Jin Suiqing wanted! Almost instantly, Jin Suiqing quickly finalized his strategy and raised his hand.
Seeing Jin Suiqing's actions in the upper room, the abbot raised the price and said leisurely, "The celadon arhat bowl, the price in the upper room on the east side, is eighty taels of silver."
Perhaps it was from chanting sutras so much that the abbot's bidding process sounded like chanting scriptures. Coupled with the benevolent-looking gilded reclining Buddha in the main hall, the bidding process, which should have been tense and exciting, was strangely calmed down, revealing a kind of serene Buddhist atmosphere everywhere.
Huang Tufeng glanced at the west-facing main room. She reacted quickly, realizing that Jin Suiqing wasn't in the main hall. Besides the main hall, there were only the east and west-facing main rooms; the answer was simply one of two. Huang Tufeng raised her hand to test the waters.
Abbot: "Eighty-five taels, is anyone bidding against me?"
Jin Suiqing did not move again.
From her elevated position, she could see clearly that Huang Tufeng looked at her with suspicion when he saw that she hadn't raised her hand, clearly doubting her identity.
This is the effect of Jin Sui Qing Yao; the game is like fishing, where you have to reel in and out the line.
Her goal was to complete the task while keeping Huang Tufeng guessing who she was, thus reducing the frequency of bidding and securing the abandoned mine at a low price.
Just as Jin Suiqing was secretly pleased, the figure behind the screen in the west wing across the way moved. He lazily raised his hand, which made the abbot, who was striking the bronze bell to stop the bidding, light up. He put down the small hammer and said, "The west wing is bidding ninety taels."
Jin Suiqing assumed it was an item other buyers wanted and that the process was normal, so she didn't think much of it. Seeing Huang Tufeng raise his hand to test the identity of the West Chamberlain, the abbot continued bidding.
However, the people from the west side of the house raised their paddles and bid, following closely behind.
"The price for the west-facing room is one hundred taels."
One hundred and five taels.
"The price for the west-facing room is one hundred and ten taels!"
"One hundred and fifteen taels!"
...
The two men were locked in a fierce battle, driving up prices. The once solemn and peaceful hall was now filled with an increasingly tense atmosphere, as if the fight would continue until dawn.
Jin Suiqing, who should have been the person involved, seemed to have been completely excluded from the singing and dancing event.
Jin Suiqing asked in surprise, "What's going on?"
Author's note: No ranking, 7,000.
Another lonely and desolate week.
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