It turned out that the bearded man had indeed rented a room, but last night when he went out with his luggage, the waiter thought he was going to leave directly.
No sooner had the bearded man left than Meng Zhao came in, saying he wanted to rent a room for two days. Coincidentally, the bearded man's room was still available for two days, and he hadn't canceled the lease when he left. The waiter then had a wicked idea.
He took Meng Zhao's money directly but didn't check her in. Instead, he let her stay in the room with the bearded man and secretly pocketed the two hundred coins that Meng Zhao had paid.
Once the matter was clarified, the boss first gave the employee a severe scolding in front of everyone, and then came over to apologize to Meng Zhao and the bearded man.
The bearded man wouldn't budge an inch. "I've already told them I'm staying in this room at this inn. They're coming to find me. What if I'm not in this room and they can't find me? Can you afford to delay them?"
Meng Zhao didn't want to cause trouble, nor did she necessarily want to stay in that room, so she compromised and agreed to have the same room arranged for her at the inn.
But the innkeeper was still in a difficult position, saying that the inn was already full and there were no extra rooms.
Seeing this, Meng Zhao stopped compromising and said she would not move. At this moment, Gu Changwu also returned with the goods, and the two groups sat in the hall, neither giving way to the other.
The innkeeper advised Meng Zhao, "Young lady, this account book does show that this guest checked in, and the time hasn't come yet. Logically speaking, this room should belong to him. Why don't you be lenient and let him have it?"
Meng Zhao immediately replied, "You hired that guy, so you have to be responsible for what he did. I don't care whether he checked me in or not, but I did pay for it, so why should I move out?"
The shopkeeper was sweating profusely with anxiety. Two groups of more than a dozen people were standing at each other in the hall, ready to fight. How could he possibly do business?
Upon hearing Meng Zhao's words, the bearded man immediately shouted, "How much did you spend? I'll give you ten times that amount, and you give me your room."
Meng Zhao swore that if she hadn't been rebuffed today, she would never have agreed so quickly.
"Okay, I spent 200 coins in total, just give me 2 taels of silver."
The bearded man was startled by her sudden hammer strike, and even the men standing beside Meng Zhao, who were trying to bolster his morale, looked at her.
The bearded man thought to himself that because the young woman looked so righteous and arguing, he assumed she was just being reasonable and wouldn't budge, so he hadn't mentioned the money. Who would have thought that she would give up for such a small amount of money? He had just said it casually, and if she didn't agree, he would have actually raised the price.
Meng Zhao just wanted to resolve the matter, so he turned to the shopkeeper and said, "Shopkeeper, there are no rooms available, so please arrange a dormitory-style room for me."
Gu Changwu, who was standing next to her, felt that this was not a good idea. "Zhaozhao, I think I should go outside and find another inn. There are too many people and too many eyes in this dormitory, which will disturb your rest."
Meng Zhao shook his head and said, "Second Uncle, no need. Changing places at the last minute is too much trouble, and we might not even be able to find a suitable place. Let's not bother with it."
Seeing that the matter was resolved, the shopkeeper was naturally all smiles. "Very well, thank you, young lady. Consider the two hundred coins you paid earlier as the dormitory fee for the next few days."
This innkeeper is so stingy and has absolutely no problem-solving skills. I don't know how he managed to run the inn so well. Meng Zhao rolled his eyes inwardly and secretly noted down the name of the inn, deciding to avoid it in the future.
The bearded man was a man of his word. Seeing Meng Zhao concede, he readily took out the silver. Meng Zhao didn't even need to weigh it; he knew at a glance that it was more than he should have, and he was even more satisfied.
He said with a smile, "Xiaoyun, go upstairs and tidy up your things to make room for this guest."
When it was time for dinner, Gu Changwu handed over the money he had received from the two shops to Meng Zhao, who then put it, along with the two taels of silver she had just earned, into her personal money pouch.
Recalling what had just happened, she had asked Shen Yun to call for help, fearing that those people would be too scared to come out. Although they didn't actually fight in the end, it at least gave her some courage. Otherwise, she probably would have moved away long ago, accepting the loss. So Meng Zhao ordered a bowl of braised pork noodles for each of them and bought a few roujiamo (Chinese hamburgers) to deliver to them.
Meng Zhao and the others sat together, discussing today's results. Although she had sold 500 catties of starch, she hadn't managed to finalize a single contract.
The shops that Xu Ping and Gu Yun visited were probably too small for Xiao Shi to be interested in. They did sell 500 jin of goods, but none of them were willing to sign contracts. They were only willing to pay on the spot. Even if they did manage to negotiate a deal, the restaurants there didn't have a large demand. Without enough stock, it wouldn't be worthwhile to deliver goods later.
Gu Yun suggested, "Why don't we go to Yongcheng County? My uncle and I have been there before, and there are several restaurants there that are doing quite well."
Gu Changwu shook his head. "The travelers we hired haven't been to very far places. It's a day's journey to Yongcheng County. I'm afraid they won't be willing."
Meng Zhao thought that if they had money, they would naturally be willing to go, but that would add another expense. Moreover, she really couldn't be sure if she would encounter the same situation as in Huian if she went to Yongcheng County.
After discussing it for a long time, they still couldn't come to a conclusion. They could only go to a few more places tomorrow to see how things went. After they finished eating, Meng Zhao and Shen Yun went to the shared dormitory and started to feel uncomfortable.
Although the dormitory was divided into men and women, even if it was all women, more than a dozen people living in one room with poor ventilation meant that there was an unpleasant smell as soon as the door was opened.
Meng Zhao held his breath and forced himself to go in. The open space in the middle was only a little over a meter wide, with two large communal beds on both sides, where some people were already lying. The two walked all the way to the end before they saw two empty spaces that were not adjacent to each other.
Shen Yun took out two flatbreads from her package and walked with a smile toward a woman sitting in the middle bunk. She asked her to move over so that the two of them could sit next to each other. The woman was very easy to talk to. She took the flatbreads and moved over without hesitation. She also reminded them that it would be cold at night and that they should ask the waiter for another blanket.
Meng Zhao was not only physically exhausted, but also mentally weary. He and Shen Yun tidied up the bed and lay down.
Shen Yun said she was going to get some blankets, and Meng Zhao told her not to leave the inn, so he let her go. After a while, Shen Yun not only brought back two blankets, but also a basin of hot water.
"Sister Meng Zhao, please wash your face first."
Meng Zhao asked in confusion, "Where does the hot water come from in this dormitory?"
Shen Yun smiled and said, "I went to the kitchen and gave the cook a coin to cook for me. There's still some in the pot. Sister, you should wash your face first, and I'll bring you another basin later. You've been walking all day, so soak your feet before you go to sleep."
Meng Zhao felt fortunate to have brought Shen Yun along on this trip, otherwise there would have been many more troubles. Having just lain down for a while, he felt a bit more energetic, so he got up and washed up with Shen Yun before falling asleep.
Although the dormitory was in poor condition, at least there was a bed. After sleeping for a night, the fatigue from yesterday disappeared, and Meng Zhao regained her composure, thinking about what she should do today.
As soon as I entered the hall from the backyard, I saw a familiar face.
"Young Master Xiao, what a coincidence to run into you here."
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