"Good heavens! Gentlemen, please come in! We have many girls here, you two can choose as you please!"
The madam joyfully greeted them, then turned around to glare at the group of girls who still stood in shock. "Useless things! Hurry up and attend to the guests! Why are you all standing there in a daze?"
The group of girls snapped back to reality, hastily attending to the guests and inviting them in. "Please, young masters, come inside!"
But Ji Xinhe just smiled, held his fan together, fended off the girls who were crowding around, and said to the madam, "That’s not necessary. My primary reason for coming here today is to discuss some business with you."
The madam paused, asking, "What business?"
Ji Xinhe said, "Can we talk somewhere else?"
Seeing that it was not a typical deal, the madam seemed a bit noticeably disappointed. But she dared not complain. Judging from their clothes, appearance, and temperament, these two were obviously of high status and she did not want to offend them. As such, she had no choice but to invite them to a private room on the second floor.
While following her up the stairs, Ji Xinhe looked down at the girls standing in the hall. He found their looks to be rather ordinary, but this was also to be expected as top-rated girls would not be standing at the entrance of a brothel, soliciting customers themselves.
Without giving much thought, he asked, "Are all the girls from Huamanlou downstairs?"
The madam poured tea for Ji Xinhe and Houchu Mu. She instinctively chose to sit beside Ji Xinhe as he appeared more approachable, not daring to get any closer to Mu Houchu.
The madam chuckled, "Some of our top-ranked girls have customers tonight."
If it were not for these top ranked girls, Huamanlou would have likely closed down already.
However, even her top-ranked girls can’t compete with those of rival establishments. She did have some supreme beauties, but lost them to other places due to a moment of negligence. It truly broke her heart!
Only then, Ji Xinhe nodded in understanding, "I see."
The madam then asked, "May I kindly ask the purpose of your visit today?"
After taking a sip of his tea, Ji Xinhe casually said, "I heard recently that you are planning to sell Huamanlou."
The madam was taken aback for an instant but didn’t seem overly surprised. She said, "It’s true, but such a decision has to be discussed with our boss. I can’t make that decision myself."
Truth be told, the madam was no more than a shopkeeper in status. A brothel this large inevitably had a well-connected boss behind it.
Ji Xinhe promptly said, "You see, I am also planning to venture into this line of business. So, I’m interested in your Flower House. What I want is not merely the land, but the complete Flower House, including the people, items, and its name."
The madam was taken aback and surprised, "The name of Huamanlou?"
"Yes!"
The madam secretly observed Ji Xinhe with a skeptical eye. She wondered if she was just some foolish rich person who had more money than sense, extravagant beyond bounds, with not even the remotest concern about the negative reputation of Huamanlou’s name.
Ji Xinhe smiled and asked, "So, what do you think?"
The madam tentatively said, "Well, if that’s the case, the price would certainly not be as simple as just the cost of the land."
Ji Xinhe placed his fan on the table and laughed, "You can name your own price first."
"Given the girls here, the land and this building, it should be around one thousand taels of silver. However, the girls at my place are still quite valuable! The five here are headliners and they are not cheap. Plus, there are other girls worth around four thousand taels in total. So the total would be five thousand taels!"
"Five thousand taels?" Ji Xinhe raised an eyebrow, "You can’t take advantage of me for being an outsider and try to overcharge me."
The madam felt a pang of guilt but still tried to defend herself, "How am I overcharging you? If you ask any other brothel, you’ll find that five thousand taels is a reasonable price!"
Ji Xinhe responded with a knowing smile, "The other brothels aren’t in such a dire situation that they need to sell."
The madam was taken aback. At first, when she heard that Ji Xinhe wanted to buy their brand, she thought Ji Xinhe was ignorant of industry rates and thus an easy target. But now, it seemed that Ji Xinhe had done her research.
And despite all the information, Ji Xinhe still wanted to buy their brand?!
As the madam was still in shock, she heard Ji Xinhe continue, "Moreover, there doesn’t seem to be any particularly stunning beauties among your top-ranked girls. They can’t be compared to those at other brothels. Yet you still dare to ask this much from me? If it was the price for Yihong Courtyard’s top-ranked girls, I might have been able to accept it."
The madam’s face reddened with embarrassment at being exposed. She coughed awkwardly and asked, "What price do you propose then?"
"Three thousand taels! I want the entire Huamanlou!" Ji Xinhe directly said, "Between you and me, we both know that the reputation of Huamanlou is terrible and the brand itself is essentially worthless. I want to acquire the brand only because it’s more convenient, and besides, I really like the name. As for the girls here, I have taken a glance at them when I came in. They are all quite average looking."
Ji Xinhe continued, "If I were to go the human trafficking market, I could easily purchase someone at about the same level for ten taels. And those girls would still be virgins. As for the five top-tier girls you mentioned, I’ve heard about them. Although they certainly seem high-ranking, they are not stunning. My real intention is just to save some trouble. So, if I buy all the girls here directly, I can avoid having to go shopping again. If you can’t bear to part with these girls, just take them along with you. I will pay a thousand taels for just the land."
Upon hearing these words, the madam immediately panicked and quickly said, "What are you talking about? I am also considering this, but since you have mentioned the intention of saving trouble, why not just buy everything together?"
With the closure of the brothel, what would she need these girls for? Selling all the girls for two thousand taels was surely less troublesome than disposing of them individually.
Ji Xinhe finally smiled, "It seems all right. In that case, relay my words verbatim to your boss. I will return tomorrow. If they are okay with it, we can directly sign a transfer contract. However, I do have one requirement."
The madam eagerly replied, "Please, tell me."
"For your Huamanlou, there should be no change in the girls, the madam, or even the brand. You have merely changed the unseen boss. Don’t let this news get out. Do you understand?"
What she needed was to keep a low profile. Huamanlou was currently in a state of extreme decline, which suited her low-profile needs perfectly. It would be best if news about the change of ownership didn’t spread. After all, she was only operating behind the scenes and didn’t need to appear in public.
The madam was a bit confused but understood that it wasn’t an excessive demand, merely to keep their mouths shut. She nodded in agreement, "Deal!"
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