The guests enjoyed a feast of delicious seafood and land delicacies. Many even asked themselves, "What's the point of life if we can't eat them anymore?"

It was not until Master Zhao brazenly announced that he would buy Wu Garden and open a Wei Ji Xian restaurant in Suzhou that the guests were able to relax and enjoy the food without worrying about gains and losses.

Upon hearing the order, Yu Ben immediately went to the Wu family to ask for the purchase.

The current head of the Wu family is Wu Neng, the grandson of Wu Zhuangyuan. Although he lives a good life now, his glory days are gone and he is inevitably lonely.

He also wanted to attend Mr. Zhao's banquet, show his face, and make friends with the dignitaries in Jiangnan. But that would inevitably be seen as stealing the show, so he tactfully declined the Jiangnan Group's polite invitation.

At this moment, Mr. Wu was drinking and lamenting in an old house not far away. When he saw Yu running in, he quickly and enthusiastically invited him to join him.

Although this man named Yu was of humble origin, he was a director of Jiangnan Group, so Mr. Wu, who prided himself on being noble, had to greet him with a smile.

"Let's do it another day." The young man on the other end was still waiting for a reply, so Yu Ben went straight to the point.

"To be honest, my son has taken a fancy to Wu Garden. I wonder how much it will cost, sir?"

"This..." Wu Neng suppressed his smile and said with an embarrassed look: "I have no intention of selling it. If Mr. Zhao wants to buy the garden, he should go to another family."

"Then think about it now." Yu Ben sat down.

"Boss Yu, I'm really not kidding," Wu Neng said, shaking his head like a rattle. "My ancestors spent a huge amount of money and built it for more than ten years to make Wu Garden what it is today. If I sell off my ancestral property, wouldn't I be an unworthy descendant who is ashamed of my ancestors?"

Yu Ben picked up the wine pot, poured himself a glass of wine and said, "Back then, your grandfather spent 20,000 taels to buy the land and 30,000 taels to build the garden. Now I'll double it for you. Will you sell it for 100 taels?"

Wu Neng felt a little itchy when he heard this. In previous years, he would not sell it for 100,000 taels. But now the world is not good, and he may not be able to sell it even for 80,000 taels.

"This price is reasonable." Wu Neng hesitated for a moment, but his sense of honor prevailed. He shook his head and said, "But this garden is named after our ancestor. Before my father died, he repeatedly warned us not to sell it unless it is absolutely necessary. I hope Mr. Yu will forgive me."

"Two hundred thousand taels." Yu Ben held up the wine glass and looked at Wu Neng expressionlessly, saying, "I believe you will never be able to sell it at this price."

"Puff..." Wu Neng spit out a mouthful of wine on the ground, and asked in disbelief, "How much?"

"Two hundred thousand taels, this is just because my young master likes it. There is nothing I can do. If you miss this opportunity, you will never see it again." Yu Ben still kept the wine glass hanging in the air and said, "Young master is still waiting. Just give me a word if you agree or not."

"This..." Wu Neng picked up the handkerchief and wiped his mouth, then wiped the sweat off his face. Two hundred thousand taels was enough for him to buy two similar gardens elsewhere. It was true that this opportunity would never come again.

But seeing that the other party was so generous, he couldn't help but want a little more, so he said to Qiao: "You have to let me think about it."

"Okay, I'll give you time for a pot of wine." Yu Ben drank the girl's red wine in the cup and said, "But if I drink one cup, I'll reduce 10,000 taels. Now it's 190,000 taels."

"Ah?" Wu Neng shuddered in shock. "What's going on?"

"Other companies bid from low to high, but Jiangnan Group bids from high to low." Yu Ben smiled faintly, poured another glass and said, "We are willing to let our partners make the most profit, but we will never allow them to ask for too much."

As he was about to drink another glass, Wu Neng grabbed his arms with both hands and the whole glass of wine spilled on the ground.

"Don't drink it, I can't sell it!"

~~

It was a grand feast and both the host and the guests enjoyed themselves.

After Magistrate Cai and other officials had eaten and drunk their fill, they returned to the yamen first.

Those guests who thought that their relationship with Zhao Hao was not close enough and that they were not important enough also stood up and said goodbye.

When the guests left the garden, they were shocked to find that the plaque with the words "Wu Garden" had been taken down.

"Isn't this too fast?" The guests were stunned. Master Zhao just casually gave an order during the table, and the yard was bought before the banquet was over?

"Mr. Wu is well-known for taking good care of his garden. I asked for the price several times but he rejected it."

"That must have been an offer that was too high to refuse."

"Oh, Mr. Zhao is really decisive and efficient..." In fact, what this person wanted to say was that he was young and energetic and spent money like water, but on second thought, it seemed that for Zhao Hao, buying a garden was just a matter of watering it, and it was really nothing to be surprised about.

In any case, the impression that Mr. Zhao is rich and willful has now been deeply rooted in people's minds.

~~

In the garden, Master Zhao didn't even know that the plaques outside had been changed.

He invited the twenty or so distinguished guests who stayed behind to move to the painted boat room to drink tea.

This studio is designed in the shape of a painted boat, a stone land boat with the bow of the boat sinking deep into the pool, giving the impression of a painted boat moored in a dock, hence the name.

To the north of the studio is a field of flowers, trees and green streams, with cherry, crape myrtle, pomegranate, plum and apricot trees planted here. The flowers bloom all year round and the pine shades are evergreen, making it the most quiet place in the garden.

At this time, guards were everywhere outside the room, on high alert, and no outsiders were allowed to approach.

The distinguished guests in the room looked gloomy when they saw this, knowing that Master Zhao had invited them not just for tea.

The Xiang family of Jiaxing and the Qian family of Qiantang, who had never had any dealings with Zhao Hao, were even more nervous. They wondered what this young man, who was becoming more and more powerful, was up to.

Master Zhao remained calm and just spoke in a low voice to Hua Cha and Xu Bangrui who were sitting next to him.

It was not until the maid brought a sky-blue Sancai cup to each guest that he smiled and said to everyone, "Everyone, please try the local tea produced by my Jiangnan Company. If you don't like it, don't force yourself. I will replace it for you immediately."

Xiang Yuanbian, the head of the Xiang family, and Qian Ruoshui, the head of the Qian family, were shocked when they heard this. How could this be considered an invitation to tea? This was clearly an attempt to pressure people to bow their heads.

However, Grand Tutor Hua happily picked up the teacup and opened the lid. He saw that the tea soup in the cup was clear emerald green and the leaves were bright green.

"Haha, it smells so good, I love it."

Wang Mengxiang also pretended to smell the tea and said, "Yes, I only realized how good this tea is when I got older. Even Longjing can't compare to it."

"Uncle Wang, you are wrong. I love this tea even though I am not old." Xu Bangrui took a sip of the tea and stood firmly on Zhao Hao's side.

Wang Shimao, Gu Dadong, Pan Shujun and a group of Dongting Chamber of Commerce, salt merchants and Huizhou merchants followed suit, picking up their tea cups and praising the taste unceasingly.

Gu Dashou and Lu Kuang exchanged glances, then slowly picked up the teacup and took a sip with slight hesitation. They felt that the tea soup was fresh, mellow and rich, with a very strong aroma.

The two of them couldn't help but cheer up and nodded, "Good tea."

Mr. Zhao smiled and nodded, "As long as you two like it."

Then he turned his gaze to Xiang Yuanbian and Qian Ruoshui.

Among the eight great families, he had never dealt with these two before. He did not expect that the old men would invite them as well.

Now that you're here, just express your stance.

ps. The first of three consecutive updates.