Seeing Meng Zhao so angry, Xiao Youzhi felt extremely distressed, but he really had no choice. Shen Qinghe was clearly not a good person, and he had a close relationship with Meng Zhao. He would definitely try to sabotage him in front of her from time to time. Given Meng Zhao's personality, she would never get involved in the Xiao family's mess without some means.
He had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure, using the promise of profit to lure her to his side. Now it seems that this move was indeed the right one. If he hadn't already decided to buy the shop, Meng Zhao wouldn't be so angry right now.
He knew that if he didn't let Meng Zhao vent her anger, he would suffer later. So he helped Meng Zhao to a chair and sat down, while he lifted the hem of his brocade robe and knelt on one knee beside her.
"I admit my mistake," he looked up at her. "I was wrong to do this. You can hit me or scold me as you please, just please don't upset yourself, okay?"
Meng Zhao turned her face away from him. Seeing this, Xiao Youzhi continued gently, "Don't worry. Since I dared to lure you into this, I will never let you be in danger. I have my own ways of dealing with those people from the Xiao family."
"Or you can tell me how to calm down? I'll do whatever you ask, okay?"
After listening to him talk for a while, he finally got to the point. Meng Zhao smiled slightly, "I want to buy a few more shops, but I'm still short of money."
"How much less?" Xiao Youzhi immediately asked.
"It's not much," Meng Zhao said, extending her slender fingers, "Five thousand taels, in cash!"
Xiao Youzhi raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "How many shops are you planning to buy?"
"Since we're going to offend them anyway," Meng Zhao's eyes gleamed with shrewdness, "we might as well go all the way and take over all the shops the Xiao family has for sale near Zhuque Street."
Xiao Youzhi was absolutely captivated by her radiant appearance, and for a moment he was mesmerized. Seeing that he remained silent, Meng Zhao frowned slightly, "What? You don't have any?"
She naturally knew that although the Xiao family's business was huge, the bigger the business, the less cash they could mobilize. Moreover, the Xiao family was not yet under his sole control. However, five thousand taels of silver should not be a problem for him.
Xiao Youzhi then came to his senses, his smile deepening: "How could that be? It's just five thousand taels." He stood up to call for someone, "I'll go and get it for you right away."
As he turned away, Meng Zhao added, "Let's make this clear first, there's no interest, and I'll pay it back within a year."
Xiao Youzhi paused, then turned back, raising an eyebrow and smiling, "I thought... you were just asking me for it directly."
"Heh, you, Young Master Xiao, always plan ahead. I wouldn't dare take your money for nothing."
Xiao Youzhi suddenly leaned forward, placing his hands on either side of her chair, trapping her in a small space. His deep voice carried a hint of seduction: "If you want, my money is your money, isn't it?"
Meng Zhao's lips curled into a half-smile. Unhurriedly, she extended a finger and slowly traced it along the embroidered collar of his robe. She could feel the slight movement of his Adam's apple beneath her fingertip. The instant she heard his breathing become heavier, she suddenly pressed against his chest and ruthlessly pushed him away: "I'm in a real hurry right now. Give me the money first."
Xiao Youzhi was pushed back half a step by her, but he wasn't annoyed. He loosened his slightly hot collar, his Adam's apple bobbing softly with a low laugh: "What a clever way to cross the river and then discard the bridge."
Meng Zhao stood up, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his teasing: "Whatever you say." As she walked towards the door, she noticed that the door she had kicked open was slightly wobbling, but she didn't think it was her fault at all. Instead, she glanced back at Xiao Youzhi: "Remember to get someone to fix the door."
Xiao Youzhi leaned against the table, looking at her self-righteous appearance, his eyes almost overflowing with doting affection: "Yes, ma'am, I'll get a sturdier one right away."
Besides the money from Xiao Youzhi's side, she also sent a message by carrier pigeon to Qu Yang, ordering someone to send all the available cash from the braised pork shop and greenhouse business to the capital. At this moment, she truly missed modern banks, where one only needed a card to deposit and withdraw money from other places, unlike the troublesome situation now.
In contrast to small county towns, buying and selling shops in the capital city involves a very complicated process. For businesses like Xiao's Restaurant that are directly operated, debt settlement and employee placement alone can take a lot of time. For rented shops, it is necessary to renegotiate contracts with the tenants.
The government doesn't just stamp things; they also need to conduct on-site inspections, post public notices, and pay deed taxes. The whole process would take at least ten days, but news of the new city gate could spread at any time. How could she wait?
Before the money was fully in place, Meng Zhao had already begun making arrangements everywhere. On the sixteenth day of the first month, as soon as the yamen opened, the broker hurriedly took Meng Zhao and Xiao Hengyu to transfer the property. At this time, apart from Meng Zhao, he should be the most anxious.
When it came time to weigh the silver, the bailiffs saw the ingots bearing the imperial seal of the treasury and their movements immediately became more efficient.
Meng Zhao originally did not want to use the gold and silver bestowed by the emperor, but in addition to the shops owned by Xiao Hengyu, she took a fancy to several other shops. She was really short of money, so she had no choice but to take it out. Fortunately, the court had already issued a clear order that large transactions could be conducted directly with treasury funds, which saved her the trouble of melting and casting.
After the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, for some reason, the usually deserted Zhuque Street had many shops with signs saying they were for sale. Some people had already sensed something unusual and hurriedly removed the signs from the shops that were up for sale at the brokerage.
At this time, the silver that Meng Zhao had transferred from Hongnong County had arrived. She originally planned to take advantage of the fact that the situation had not yet taken hold and look for a few more shops in the surrounding area, but she found that there were no shops available for purchase. Either someone had already snapped them up, or the owners had suddenly removed their signs.
At this moment, even the most foolish person would know that something must have happened. Xiao Hengyu was pacing anxiously at home because he discovered that ever since his shop was transferred to another owner, even the most remote shops on Zhuque Street had started to attract buyers. This was a stark contrast to the deserted shops before the Lunar New Year. Only then did he realize that something was wrong!
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