Chapter 90 The Lion's Mouth
Erya sobbed and told the whole story.
It turned out that a new girl named Hongyu had recently come to the Rouge Shop to help sell goods.
Hongyu is eloquent and has stolen the limelight from others.
Erya has a strong sense of crisis, so she works harder.
Logically speaking, you sell yours and I sell mine.
Even if they are fiercely competitive and unwilling to give in behind each other's backs, they still have to be friendly and talk and laugh when they meet.
This is what Lu Qinniang taught her, and Erya does the same.
But Hongyu never concealed her hostility towards Erya.
Hongyu's family is better off. Her father and three brothers can all make money. Her eldest brother is a waiter in a big restaurant and usually receives a lot of tips. The family also relies on the restaurant to make money by delivering goods and collecting泔水.
Hongyu has a strong sense of superiority and mocks Erya for having patches on her clothes and for sharing worthless snacks with everyone.
Erya is not polite either, and never suffers a loss when it comes to words.
"You are so noble, why do you come to serve me like me? If you are so noble, why don't you go to a better place instead of pretending to be a big shot here?"
The two had their own wins and losses, and were evenly matched.
But Hongyu touched Erya's fundamental interests today - she snatched Erya's old customers in front of Erya.
As soon as the old customer left, Erya was furious.
The two started arguing, Hongyu directly pushed Arya and threatened to ask her three brothers to deal with Arya.
Moreover, he said some dirty words.
Arya pushed it back immediately.
As the two of them pushed each other, they accidentally touched the bottle of the most precious rose water.
"No, you are lying. It was obviously you who bullied me because I was new here." Hongyu spoke eloquently.
"Mom, I didn't. You told me that I can't bully others, and I can't be bullied by others. I have always remembered it!" Erya said crying.
She was really scared.
She caused a terrible disaster.
"Okay, I understand." Lu Qiniang said.
She looked at the shopkeeper and said, "These two kids had an argument, both cursed and fought, but the responsibility needs to be divided."
At this time, Hongyu's father and eldest brother also came.
When he heard that his daughter had broken the expensive rose water, he came up and slapped Hongyu in the face, and then began to shirk responsibility.
Hongyu refused to admit that she was wrong and covered her face with her hands, crying loudly, "Dad, don't blame me, really don't blame me."
The situation is chaotic.
The shopkeeper was furious. "Shut up! It takes two to tango. Each of you two families must pay 500 taels, and this matter will be over."
"Five hundred taels?" Lu Qiniang was shocked by his huge request.
The worst-case scenario she had prepared deep down in her heart was one hundred taels.
She had already thought of finding someone to borrow the money first. If that didn't work, she even thought of finding someone to partner in the business and give them 20% or 30% of the profit.
She knew it wasn't worth it, but since it had happened, she had to face it.
But five hundred taels is really beyond her current ability to bear.
"Boss, we only sell rose water for two hundred taels of silver, and she was the one who took action first." Erya argued.
At this point, I can only accept the smaller the loss.
"I didn't intend to sell the two hundred taels of silver. I just put it there to attract customers."
The rouge shop is located in a "slum" where purchasing power is limited.
The two hundred taels of rose water is the treasure of the store, and the hype is far greater than its value.
"And that's a tribute. Do you know what a tribute is?" The shopkeeper's anger was directed at Erya.
Erya gritted her teeth and said nothing.
She couldn't anger the shopkeeper again and make things even more difficult for her mother.
The owner of the rouge shop must be very powerful, otherwise he wouldn't be able to get the tribute.
What can they, ordinary people, do?
We can only negotiate it out and pay as little as possible.
"Shopkeeper," Xiao Yan said slowly, "there's something I don't quite agree with."
"I don't care whether you agree or not. Either you give me five hundred taels of silver, or you sell these two little whores to a brothel and have them serve customers to pay you back!"
“Bang!”
Xiao Yan raised his hand and slapped him, then took out a handkerchief to wipe his palm and said indifferently, "A slap can make a loud noise."
The shopkeeper didn't expect that Xiao Yan would dare to hit him, so he jumped up and was about to fight back.
Xiao Yan pinched his wrist.
The shopkeeper suddenly let out a scream.
"Xiao Yan——" Lu Qiniang started.
Xiao Yan threw the shopkeeper away like trash.
The shopkeeper stumbled a few steps before he regained his balance. "You, you, just wait! I'm going to make sure you spend the rest of your life in jail today!"
"Things may be right or wrong, but no matter whether they are right or wrong, your mouth stinks." Xiao Yan said lightly.
"You, you, you—" the shopkeeper jumped up. "Someone, report it to the police, report it immediately, and have them all arrested!"
"Just because you arrested us, you don't want your rose water anymore?" Xiao Yan said coldly.
"Pay compensation, the government will make you pay!"
"Really?" Xiao Yan asked, "Let me see what this amazing rose water is. I'll ask my friends if I can find something exactly like it. If I can't, I'll compensate you with a better bottle."
"Haha, exactly the same? Even better?" The shopkeeper said sarcastically, "Do you think you're still General Po Lu? You're just an ordinary citizen now."
When Xiao Yan heard this, he narrowed his eyes.
The shopkeeper was so frightened by his sudden momentum that his legs went weak and he felt like he was going to pee his pants.
"If a prince breaks the law, he's guilty just like a commoner!" the shopkeeper said sternly, "If you break something, you have to pay for it."
Xiao Yan didn't say anything and looked at Hongyu's family again.
At this moment, their family seemed to be watching the fun, staying out of it and not afraid at all.
Xiao Yan had an idea in mind.
"You're right." Xiao Yan said, "I can compensate you. Give us three days to resolve this matter."
"Who gave you three days? I'm afraid you can't afford the compensation and leave the capital overnight."
"Don't worry." Lu Qiniang said, "Our family does business at the docks, we won't run away."
"Who would believe that? Unless someone guarantees it."
Find someone to act as a guarantor?
Who can help guarantee several hundred taels of silver?
Lu Qiniang was worried.
She thought for a moment, tugged at Xiao Yan's sleeve, and lowered her voice to discuss with him, "If it really doesn't work out, you stay here with Erya, and I'll go find the Fifth Young Master."
"Don't bother him." Xiao Yan stopped him and asked the shopkeeper, "What if I ask Master Cheng Jiu to be my guarantor?"
Lu Qiniang was stunned when she heard this.
Mr. Cheng Jiu, is that Cheng Jiuwan?
But, isn’t he Liu Xing’s mortal enemy?
Of course not!
Follow whoever you follow. Fence-sitters will not have a good ending.
"Xiao Yan, I'd better go find the Fifth Young Master."
The Fifth Young Master today is not the same Fifth Young Master as before.
I won't default on my debt, so I'd ask him to be my guarantor. That should be okay.
"Master Jiu?" The shopkeeper's eyes flickered. "If you can convince Master Jiu to act as a guarantor, then of course you can. But can you do it?"
"Just kidding, I really can't do it." Xiao Yan said.
Shopkeeper: “…You!”
Erya said, "Dad, no, Hongyu's family hasn't recognized them yet, we can't all recognize them!"
"It's okay, Dad knows." Xiao Yan's eyes were deep, "I have something to pledge."
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