Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 492 Don't Pay a Penny More
Dr. Zhang, you got it wrong, right? My current situation should be a blessing in disguise!
Mr. Song yelled in his heart, but Zhang Shou was already smiling and seeing off Marquis Huaiqing, Wu Ge Lao and others, so he couldn't interrupt and could only feel itchy in his heart. Finally, he saw Zhu Ying falling behind alone, and he didn't care about anything else. He shook off Ah Liu and walked forward, asking pitifully in a low voice: "Miss, what does the emperor mean?"
"hehe."
Zhu Ying laughed at Mr. Song, and then said unhappily, "The emperor is angry at you for being so mean and inarticulate! Last time he pissed off Princess Yongping, and this time he pissed off the emperor. If he had praised you again upstairs, you would have been so angry! He scared you, and then let you advance. This is a warning for you to be smarter!"
Not only was Mr. Song dumbfounded, but even Mr. Hua, who was dragging his heavy feet down from upstairs, was also dumbfounded. The latter had an idea and immediately took a few quick steps. When he was behind Zhu Ying, he whispered, "Miss, can you help me understand what the emperor said about me? It's all my fault. I can't help showing off and always like to show off..."
Zhu Ying did not think twice when she gave Mr. Song a tip, but when she turned around and saw that it was Mr. Hua Si, she raised her eyebrows, but she was no longer like the straightforward and bright young lady. She looked Mr. Hua up and down, and finally said with a smile: "Mr. Hua Si, you are ordered to help me sell rocking chairs this time, how dare I offend you, the God of Wealth?"
Seeing that the person was trying to explain in a hurry, she simply stretched out a hand to signal him to stop, and then said calmly: "Don't say it, I know what you mean. The emperor should not be angry, otherwise he would not have paid attention to you just now. But being too smooth in dealing with people is of course no problem most of the time, but if you meet someone who doesn't buy it, then sometimes you will inevitably suffer."
As she spoke, she glanced at Zhang Shou, who was talking to Wu Ge Lao, Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan, and gently extended her index finger to hook at Fourth Master Hua, then smiled and said, "Since I gave the rocking chair made by Shou to the emperor, it will be no secret sooner or later to distribute it to Huaiqing Hou and others. Since he has no intention of doing this kind of business, I am not the material for business. I will give you a sample of this chair later."
"Oh, I said it wrong. This is not a gift to you. This is a business partnership. You don't have to think about how much money to give me. When you sell one, you can record one tenth of the money in your account. If you don't sell any, you don't have to pay a penny. Neither I nor Ah Shou will check your account."
Mr. Hua was stunned at first, but when he understood, he immediately agreed, "Don't worry, Miss, I won't give you a penny less..."
"Wrong." Zhu Ying curled her lips, and seeing that Fourth Master Hua looked very unnatural, she said slowly, "It doesn't matter if it's less money, the important thing is, don't give a penny more. You just saw and heard that Ah Shou is poor but ambitious - although I never thought he was poor... Anyway, if you take the opportunity to give me money, don't blame me for being rude in the future."
Mr. Hua Si had met greedy people, honest people, and people who were ashamed to talk about money but secretly enjoyed it . However, this was the first time he met someone like Zhu Ying who talked about money openly but told him to settle every penny and never asked for a penny more. As a businessman, he was actually most willing to meet such a partner, but this partner happened to be of a different status!
But now he didn't have time to investigate whether Zhu Ying was sincere or not, so he could only say with a smile on his face: "Then let's do as Miss says. I think the throne chair was popular at the time, but it was just a name. This rocking chair may also become a fashion among wealthy families..."
Zhu Ying had no intention of listening to his flattery. Before he finished speaking, she smiled and turned to leave. But after taking two steps, she suddenly stopped and said with a smile, "By the way, don't force this rocking chair on your Suzhou Chamber of Commerce and ask them to subscribe to one at a high price, and then openly send money to us! How about this, I will set a minimum price and a maximum price for you."
Without even turning her head, she certainly didn't see the expression on Fourth Master Hua's face at that moment. She tilted her head and thought for a moment before saying to herself, "Well, the lowest price shouldn't be less than one guan of money. After all, the materials are too poor, and it will become a joke if it gets out. As for the highest price... If it's made of the wood shipped from Southeast Asia, I estimate that the price of a whole piece can be sold for at most thirty or forty guan of money, so let's just call it forty guan."
Seeing Zhu Ying leave with the lowest price and the highest price, Fourth Master Hua smiled bitterly. The words the emperor said just now were spoken in public. If he went back and said something in Suzhou Chamber of Commerce, it would be easy for him to raise 8,000 yuan and send it to Zhang Shou, the new emperor's loyal minister, and Zhu Ying.
But Zhu Ying actually negotiated with him an incredibly low profit-sharing ratio and a price range. What could he say? He was desperate because he couldn't give the money away!
Zhu Ying didn't know how much he was struggling with the conditions he proposed, nor did he look at Mr. Song, who was watching the bargaining process like a statue. Zhu Ying's mood soon improved. Seeing that Huaiqing Hou, Zhang Jingzhou and others were clearly still waiting for him, he hurried forward to thank them.
For the sake of her ideal husband, she really owed a lot of favors, but although the eldest lady was arrogant and willful at ordinary times, she was no less capable than any other young lady of the same age when she was good at dancing with her sleeves. When Zhang Jingzhou and others left, they all took the small "small gift" that Zhu Ying gave them.
Zhang Kang, the Earl of Weinan, who had been keeping a low profile and staying at the back in front of the emperor today and hardly said much, gathered his sleeves slightly and chuckled after a group of guards left the area, which was about to be renamed Xinglongfang.
He naturalized very early and considered himself a Ming person, but he still liked fine wine and fierce horses. He also liked beauties in the past, but since Tingyu Cottage opened, he didn't like those young and beautiful girls. What Zhu Ying gave him was two jars of Liulin tribute wine that had been stored for many years. He couldn't help but secretly praise Zhu Ying for her thoughtfulness.
Besides him, Zhang Qiong, the Earl of Xiangyang who liked precious swords, got a sword; Zhang Wuxi, the Earl of Linfen who liked horses, got a famous horse; Zhang Qian, the Earl of Dingtao who had many concubines in his room, got a bottle of small pills - from Zhu Ying's tone, they should be pure tonic pills, and definitely not the common Golden Gun Pills...
As for Huaiqing Hou Zhang Jingzhou... Zhang Kang couldn't help laughing when he thought of the thing Zhu Ying gave to others.
It was a horse whip that was extremely ornately woven, inlaid with gold and jade, and obviously worth a lot of money! He remembered very clearly that Zhang Jingzhou, Marquis of Huaiqing, was born in the army and liked luxury, especially the things he carried with him.
He had once put a pure gold finger guard on his thumb, and hung a string of golden bells on the tassel of his sword. Now he was holding the luxurious horse whip. The picture was really beautiful! However, he hoped that Zhang Jingzhou would take the horse whip back to control his wife.
Zhang Shou bid farewell to Wu Ge Lao, but was dragged by Lu Wan and Liu Zhiyuan to talk for a long time. When he finally got around, Lu Sanlang had already announced today's rankings on the second floor. But at this time, he only saw Song Juren still standing at the door of Xinglong Tea House like a clay sculpture or a wooden statue, as if he was not a lucky person who squeezed into the last train again today, but a loser.
He was about to go up and tease this guy, but suddenly he heard Ah Liu's voice. At this moment, he could no longer care about Mr. Song, and quickly looked around for Zhu Ying according to Ah Liu's words. Finally, he saw Miss Zhu standing at the door of a shed, surrounded by Zhu Hong and a group of guards, looking around.
Thinking that this was a food tasting area specially opened by Lu Sanlang to divert the crowd of onlookers, and that it must be a mixed crowd, Zhang Shou quickly quickened his pace and rushed over. As he got closer, he heard a lot of noise inside.
"You are a young man and a scholar, why are you so picky? The names of the big and small neighborhoods in the capital were all given by our great grandfather. Now the emperor is also a wise and enlightened monarch, so adding another neighborhood in the outer city is nothing!"
"That's... Xinglongfang. Your Majesty's name is really appropriate and domineering! How can such a lively place not be prosperous! With the help of this name, Xinglongfang will be even more lively in the future!"
"By the way, I heard that the Gusu Restaurant closest to Xinglong Tea House is hiring odd jobs, and the salary is quite high... The Gusu scholar who rents a house next to me said that the dishes here are similar to those of Suzhou Guild Hall, but they are more affordable. He can taste the taste of his hometown at a cheaper price. He doesn't need to go to Suzhou Guild Hall for the taste of his hometown as he is short of money."
Zhang Shou saw Zhu Hong and the others give way as soon as they found him coming. He quietly came behind Zhu Ying and looked into the shed. He saw that the young man who was scolded was Fang Qing. He knew without thinking that it must be this young man who talked nonsense again, so he was taught a lesson by a group of ordinary people... and was also watched by Zhu Ying.
He gently held Zhu Ying's hand in front of him, and seeing that she didn't even turn her head, he smiled and said, "Yingying, aren't you afraid that someone will take advantage of you?"
"Zhu Hong and his friends are not here to eat and do nothing!" Zhu Ying glanced back at Zhang Shou, then pulled Zhang Shou out and said with a smile, "I heard the noise and came here to watch the fun. Just now, Fang Qing was scolded terribly. It seemed that he said that the emperor should not easily grant names and asked people to build archways, and he was scolded as a result..."
She cleared her throat and said in a pretentious voice, "Are you the only scholars in the world worthy of a memorial archway?"
Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh, but then he remembered what Ah Liu had just said. When he was away from the crowd watching the excitement, he whispered, "Yingying, not only did you negotiate a big deal with Fourth Master Hua, but you also gave each of Huaiqing Hou and the others a valuable gift, ranging from famous horses to famous wines?"
"It's just a small business, and the gift is not a big one."
Zhu Ying chuckled and said nonchalantly, "Besides, the things I gave away were all gifts from others. They were all kinds of gifts given to me in the past. I have a room full of these things at home, and I don't use many of them. It's a waste anyway, so I might as well give them to people in need. I stole those two jars of wine from Dad. Anyway, I can't let Uncle Zhang and his friends lose money."
"Even if what I give them is not worth a thousand strings of cash, it is something that is hard to buy. Otherwise, who would dare to come when I invite people in the future?"
She seemed to be unaware that she had spent a fortune, and smiled brightly. She took Zhang Shou's hand with one hand and said, "Ah Shou, you don't have to think that I am wasting money. After all, the simplest thing is that I donate money to help students, but if I am alone, wouldn't it be enough to make a big splash? Besides, do you believe that after Huaiqing Hou and the others go back today, there will be a lot of people who will donate money? This way, the momentum will be created."
As she said this, Zhu Ying finally turned her head to look at Zhang Shou.
"Besides, they will return the gifts I gave them in the future, so I won't lose anything!" After saying this seriously, she suddenly realized the most important problem and her eyes widened for a moment, "Weren't you just talking to Elder Wu and the others? When did you notice what I said to them?"
Without waiting for Zhang Shou to answer, she suddenly realized and shouted, "It turned out to be Ah Liu, the one with the sharp ears... Ah Liu, come out!"
The next moment, she heard a voice behind her saying "I'm here". She turned around like a whirlwind, but forgot that she was holding Zhang Shou's hand. She tripped and fell directly into Zhang Shou's arms. Although Zhang Shou let go of her hand immediately after he straightened her up, she was still very angry when she saw that Ah Liu had slipped away after she stood up.
However, before she could curse, she heard Zhang Shou suddenly say, "Yingying, I just want to say that this is the first time I see you dancing so well like you are today..."
"Why, you don't like it?" Zhu Ying couldn't help but interrupt, feeling unspeakably aggrieved for a moment.
"No, although at first glance you are very different from your past, but... this is very Zhu Ying, I like it very much." Zhang Shou said these words calmly. The noise in his ears and the flow of people around him seemed to have receded like the tide, leaving only the girl in front of him with a blush of joy on her face.
It was the first time in Zhu Ying's life that she, with rosy cheeks, heard someone use her name as an adjective. She felt both curious and excited, but she was even more pleased because her lover was obviously not averse to her style of doing things.
Although she was always generous, this was in public, and there were several guards around her. When she thought that her private conversation was heard by others, she really couldn't stay any longer. So, she pushed Zhang Shou with her hand in anger: "Ah Shou, you have been led astray by your slick-talking students! I won't talk to you anymore, I'm going home first!"
Seeing Zhu Ying rushing Zhu Hong and others to get the horses as if she was almost escaping, she only glared at him when she got on the horse, and the blush on her face had not yet disappeared. He couldn't help but shook his head, and watched the people leave, and then slowly returned to the first floor door. At this time, he saw Song Juren squatting at the doorstep like a poor man!
He gently patted the distraught guy on the shoulder and said bluntly: "I think, Mr. Song, you'd better be mentally prepared to be the royal chef." Judging from the emperor's attitude, he probably wants to drag you to the palace and teach you a lesson personally!
