Jiang Segu was unaware that the woman's affection for him had been fleeting, only to be shattered by the Song family's affection. Standing in front of the bookshelf, he pointed at the books, "This one, this one, and this one... that one, yes, and that one over there... alright, you guys count them and see how many there are!"
Seeing the empty bookshelves, the waiter's face lit up with a smile. "We'll count them right away!"
"Where's the tea and snacks?! Is this how you treat your guests?! I haven't even been served a drop of water since I came in!"
"I'll serve it to you right away!"
A moment later, the waiter brought over tea and snacks, and earnestly introduced them to Jiang Segu: "This tea is the best Sparrow Tongue tea from the top of Nanshan Mountain. Only about a hundred catties can be obtained each year."
As for these pastries, they were all made by our head chef, who used to be in charge of the imperial kitchen. Our owner spent a lot of money to hire him. Please try them and see if they suit your taste!
Jiang Segu never expected that he could drink Sparrow Tongue tea and eat food cooked by the imperial chef for only fifty taels of silver. It was definitely worth the fifty taels!
"Mother, you should try it too, it tastes pretty good!"
Upon hearing that Jiang Segu liked it, the waiter added, "If you like it, I'll pack some pastries for you when you leave."
Jiang Segu said no.
She's not that shameless!
After the waiters had counted all the books, one of them reported the total number to Jiang Segu and said, "Miss, our bookstore currently has 84,642 books. The rest that we owe you will have to be transferred from our branch. Would you like to settle the payment now?"
Jiang Segu's eyebrows shot up. "What? Not 100,000 books?"
"It's not that we don't have them, it's just that we don't have them for the time being!"
"I need 100,000 books right now! Why have you wasted so much of my time? If you had told me earlier that you didn't have any, I would have gone to another bookstore! Qiaohe, go ask around at other bookstores..."
The waiter was displeased upon hearing this. "Are you playing us for fools? If you don't give us an explanation today, don't blame us for not letting you leave this room!"
"Exactly! If you don't have the ability, don't talk big!"
“I disagreed from the beginning, but you all rushed to pack up your books…”
"Don't let that maid get away. She said she was going to another bookstore, but who knows what she'll be doing there!"
In an instant, the waiters rushed to the door, closed it tightly, and the clever ones ran to the backyard to fetch the manager.
Grandma Jiang was anxious and wanted to smooth things over, but she didn't know what to say. She was afraid that if she said the wrong thing, it would harm her daughter instead!
Therefore, Grandma Jiang, standing next to Jiang Segu, whispered, "Azi, if you tease people like this, they will definitely be angry with you! 100,000 books are too many. Why not just buy 10,000 books? That would be a fair explanation to them."
"Mother, don't worry, Azi won't do anything reckless!"
After calming down Grandma Jiang, Jiang Segu said to the chattering waiters blocking the doorway, "Look at you all! Aren't you afraid of offending me? I really won't buy these books!"
The waiters looked at each other, seemingly trying to glean something from each other's eyes.
Just then, the shopkeeper came out.
Seeing all the books in the store stacked together, and looking at Jiang Segu and the other two standing in the hall, I suddenly felt a headache coming on!
These money-grubbing fools don't even consider that anyone would be so extravagant as to buy 100,000 books. No one with nothing better to do would do something so absurd!
These fools, who were not worthy of respect, believed this and, without agreeing on a price or having anyone invite him to come forward, eagerly counted out all the books.
The shopkeeper was furious inside, but he didn't show it on his face. When he saw Jiang Segu, he smiled like Maitreya Buddha.
"My esteemed guest, I have been negligent in my duties, please forgive me!"
Jiang Segu knew immediately that this was a slippery fellow, so he didn't bother with formalities and said directly, "I came here today to buy books, but as soon as I came in, your bookstore's clerk looked down on me and ignored me!"
I was fortunate enough to know Mr. Ye, and I thought I could negotiate through him. But Mr. Ye wasn't there, so I had to tell these clueless people where I came from!
"Are these people just loafing around in the bookstore all day, waiting to die? They don't even know how many books the bookstore has, they have to count them out on the spot. I said I wanted 100,000 books, and you guys didn't even say you didn't have any, wasting my time and making me stand here eating dust before you finally counted out 80,000 or so. Is this how Jigu Bookstore treats its customers?"
The shopkeeper bowed and apologized, "It's all because these servants are blind and mistook a pearl like you for a fish eye. They really deserve to be punished! If you are sincere about buying books, please move to a private room. I will certainly treat you well!"
Jiang Segu laughed and said, "I don't have that much free time to argue with you like this..."
“I understand what you mean, young lady! You have taught these bastards a lesson, but after all this trouble, you have to give our bookstore an explanation. You can’t just leave our bookstore in such a mess and expect to walk away unscathed!”
The shopkeeper's face was still beaming with smiles, showing no sign of anything amiss.
"The shopkeeper is threatening me!"
"This old man dares not, but I absolutely dare not fail the master's trust, nor dare I disappoint Minister Zhuo of the Ministry of Personnel..."
This implies that the Minister of Personnel is standing behind Jigu Bookstore.
Jiang Segu showed no surprise whatsoever, which left the shopkeeper completely bewildered.
He considered it for a moment, then said, "If not, Miss doesn't have time to waste here. Why don't I accompany Miss back to her residence to discuss this?"
"The shopkeeper is quite cunning. He just wants to know which household I belong to so he can decide how to treat me!"
The shopkeeper, his thoughts exposed, showed no embarrassment whatsoever, and still chuckled, saying, "Miss, you are truly a shrewd and intelligent woman. You are a wise person; you should know that it is unwise to play tricks on any bookstore on Moonlight Street..."
"I used to think the shopkeeper was a smart man, but now it seems he's a fool!"
"I am shameless, may I ask what you mean by that, young lady?"
"Don't you also think that my plan to buy 100,000 books is just a show of bravado?"
The shopkeeper's fake smile vanished, replaced by a serious expression. "Does the young lady truly intend to buy 100,000 books?"
"Otherwise what? Do you think one or two lowly waiters can make me lose my mind and buy so many books? Do you think they're worthy?"
The shop assistants were both shocked and furious upon hearing this. They were shocked that Jiang Segu really wanted to buy 100,000 books, and furious that Jiang Segu's words were hurtful!
The shopkeeper didn't care about any of that. Suppressing his inner turmoil, he asked, "May I ask what purpose you have in buying so many books, young lady?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
