Lin Qingyuan sat down again, his face returning to that of a dashing young man, but his eyes held a wary look: this woman was simply his nemesis.
Song Liyun ignored what he was thinking and brought up the map again.
The grasslands were vast, even larger than those of the Wu Dynasty, and the population was constantly moving around.
Without satellite positioning, every map that can be found is actually very rudimentary and one-sided.
Aside from the specific marks left by those who have walked the path themselves, it would be difficult for outsiders to discern any difference between the low, rolling hills.
Even Zhao Tingduo relied on experience to navigate the borders of the Wu Dynasty and the Mida River Valley; he had never set foot on the Chiyang Grassland where the Royal Court tribe was located.
Rather than Lin Qingyuan's willingness to pay a hundred taels of silver for stable accommodations and his jewelry business, she wanted a map of the caravan routes even more.
Even if the tribe temporarily moves to other places due to abundant water and grass, having a map is much better than wandering aimlessly in the vast grasslands.
Lin Qingyuan understood that his biggest secret had been discovered, and since he couldn't silence him, the best way was to win him over.
Since Song Liyun wants the tribal map, we need to get a good price for it to maximize our profits.
A businessman's instincts kicked in, and Lin Qingyuan quickly began to calculate.
"Manager Song, it's fine if you want a map, but you have to say what you need the map of the Di tribe for. Also, the sales rights for this prefabricated house must be exclusively granted to me, Lin!"
Lin Qingyuan's eyes were bright and clear; the decadent air of his previous obsession with cosmetics was gone.
“My need for the Di tribe map doesn’t conflict with your business, or rather, it will bring you more convenience in the future,” Song Liyun said confidently.
"As for the prefabricated houses... I won't give you all the sales rights, but you can act as a reseller."
The prefabricated houses were intended by Song Liyun for building tribal homes; it was impossible for her to allow Lin Qingyuan to make exorbitant profits.
Lin Qingyuan scoffed: "You can't get maps just by acting as a reseller, unless you add a fur trade to your business, splitting it 30/70, you get 30% and I get 70%."
The two sides began a round of negotiations.
Hearing Lin Qingyuan's meticulous arguments, Song Dekui's face darkened as he said, "You still say there's no difference between you and Young Master Lin? You're both greedy devils who eat people without spitting out the bones. Your older brother openly robbed, while you secretly seized. No wonder you came from the same nest."
Lin Qingyuan was somewhat displeased. He knew his own elder brother's character well; he would grab a handful of grass even if the wind blew past him. So he said coldly, "Boss Song, have you met my noble elder brother?"
"Ha, not only have you seen your noble brother, but everyone in Qili County has seen his ass!" Song Dekui laughed heartily.
"Stop, stop, stop!" Lin Qingyuan suddenly perked up. "Tell me, what do you mean by 'the whole city has seen his butt'?"
"Why are you pretending to be confused?"
“You don’t know…” Song Liyun and Song Dekui said in unison.
"What do you mean you don't know? I've been on the grasslands for three or four months... Tell me quickly, what exactly happened in Qili County?"
Song Liyun and Song Dekui exchanged a glance, only to realize that Lin Qingyuan was unaware of the feud between their family and the eldest son of the Lin family.
What can I say?!
It took a full half hour for the Song family and Young Master Lin to finally clarify their matter.
Lin Qingyuan listened with great interest, a smile on his face.
When he learned that Lin Qinghua was testifying in court under the name of the eldest son of the Lin family, but Jiang Feng didn't give him any face, and was tricked by Song Lizheng, and then made Magistrate Jiang be flogged in public.
Lin Qingyuan laughed so hard he completely lost his composure, falling to the ground and rolling around laughing hysterically.
After a while, he finally sat up, rubbing his sore stomach from laughing and wiping away the tears that had come from the corners of his eyes, and said, "Lin Qinghua is the most successful and illustrious young master among the noble families in Pingyang Prefecture."
If this news gets back, all the women who admire him will probably be shocked.
Thinking of the pale faces of those beautiful young women, Lin Qingyuan wanted to laugh again.
He suppressed the urge to burst into laughter and said, "You'd better be careful. My elder brother has lost face so badly, he will not give up his revenge on you easily."
When Lin Qinghua was a child, he was able to patiently care for a kitten as it grew up after being scratched by it.
But when the kittens were giving birth, he crushed the unopened kittens right in front of their mother, just to see the kittens scream in agony.
He didn't say it outright, but Lin Qinghua was in poor health and had been taught by her harsh stepmother, so she had long since learned to be two-faced and heartless, and would never openly express any dissatisfaction.
If someone had actually been spanked by the Qili County government and then left silently, they must be harboring a lot of bad intentions.
With the added threat of a doting stepmother, the Song family's troubles are far from over.
However, this was exactly what he wanted.
With the county magistrate of Qili County and the Song family drawing fire ahead, Lin Qinghua, who was like a venomous snake, had been neglecting himself for some time.
Hearing Lin Qingyuan say this, Song Liyun's heart sank. Although she had not ignored the hatred of the eldest son of the Lin family, she was indeed somewhat relieved because of Lin Qinghua's departure.
Moreover, Zhao Tingduo said that she would put pressure on Lin Qinghua through the Qi family business in the future.
Now it seems that this is clearly not enough.
She focused her gaze on Lin Qingyuan.
Speaking of which, the person who understands Young Master Lin the most, and the person who hates Young Master Lin the most, has to be his own half-brother.
"Young Master Lin, don't you want to say something?"
As far as I know, your brother has invested money in Zuichunlou and Jinxilou in Qili County, and he's short of cash and has to find a way to get more.
"What would happen if he found out you had some secret money?" Song Liyun said casually.
Lin Qingyuan's smile gradually faded, and his face turned ashen: What else could happen? He would definitely be skinned alive.
Not only was the Zhuge Pavilion exposed, but all of her money was confiscated and her concubine was severely punished. Even her elder sister, who had already married into the Qi family, was implicated.
Looking at Song Liyun's confident expression, he understood everything: his weakness had been exploited.
Lin Qingyuan felt his blood surging: with such leverage over him, this woman was truly his nemesis.
Song Liyun wasn't really trying to control him. As soon as she finished speaking, she added, "As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We have no enmity. The only one we need to be wary of is Lin Qinghua. Why don't we cooperate again?"
Lin Qingyuan pondered for a moment.
Although he was still wondering why he had never heard the saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" before, he still agreed with the view.
Although he had some unpleasantness with Song Liyun before, he had been beaten in public by Song Dekui, so he had already let it go.
Now, not only is there no conflict of interest, but there is also a prefabricated house business to cooperate on. However, they are now facing Lin Qinghua's scheming and retaliation, so they really have to go together.
"Alright, Manager Song, why don't you tell me what your plans are?"
Lin Qingyuan decided to take the initiative and let Song Liyun make the decision.
"Tell me first about the battle situation in the Mida River Valley. How exactly are the tribes on the grasslands distinguished?"
Song Liyun asked this question right from the start.
Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly.
In her view, Lin Qingyuan, a man from the Wu Dynasty, had been on the Di Lu grasslands for several months and was more likely to see the situation clearly.
But Lin Qingyuan refused to mention it, fearing that he would be asked about it.
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