Profiteer

Xiaoguo felt guilty and couldn’t look into Qin Anming’s accusing eyes. She sat back down awkwardly. She didn’t expect Zhuang Zhuang to hear what she said in her sleep last night.

If Qin Anming knew that she had not slept well because she was worried about his health, it would be hard on him. If he started crying now while they were out, it would be quite an awkward situation.

However, Xiaoguo secretly turned to look at Zhuang Zhuang’s aggrieved back. She felt terrible. “Son, I’m sorry. I’ll comfort you later. Just shut up for now…”

Xiaoguo drove the donkey cart and dropped off Qin Anming and Zhuang Zhuang at the noodle shop. She would return to pick up Zhuang Zhuang after she was done with her business.

After greeting everyone at the restaurant, Xiaoguo walked towards her destination.

As the Su Family’s Goods Store was in the downtown area, it was not easy to drive the cart along the busy streets. Xiaoguo had no choice but to walk there. It was quite near, so she could leisurely stroll there. Before she had a chance to get tired from walking, she had arrived at the store.

Su Family’s Goods Store. What a good brand name!

Xiaoguo looked at the sign hanging on the pillar. She could tell at a glance that it was made of good material. Even the words engraved on it had a different charm.

The last time she was here, she was so distracted by the fragrance in the store that she did not pay attention to the sign. As the saying goes, a signboard is equivalent to a store’s reputation. The traffic in a store is closely associated with the number of people that the signboard could draw in.

Before she entered the shop, she could already smell the strong fragrance of roasted snacks. Xiaoguo couldn’t bear to draw herself away from the smell. Many passers-by would be tempted to go in and take a look. Even if they had no intention of buying anything, it was also nice to window shop and look at the snacks on display.

This shop had all the makings of a reputed brand, so it would make a perfect business partner.

Xiaoguo crossed the steps and entered the shop. The minute she stepped in, a shop assistant came to greet her.

“I’m looking for your shopkeeper. I made an appointment to come this morning. My surname is Qin.”

When Ruyi met Manager Su that day, she had mentioned Xiaoguo’s surname. In order to make things easier, Xiaoguo introduced herself to the shop assistant so that he could relay the message clearly.

When the shop assistant heard that her surname was Qin, he brought her to the innermost room on the second floor without another word.

Xiaoguo stood behind him and watched as he knocked on the door to announce her arrival. Soon, a cold voice came from inside.

“Please come in.”

The words were spoken in perfect cadence.

Listening to the voice, Xiaoguo had a better impression of the person she had yet to meet. Someone with such a voice was unlikely to be a profiteer.

The clerk opened the door and motioned for Xiaoguo to go in. Once she was inside, he closed the door.

In a clean and tidy place that looked like a study, there were only books and tea sets. At this moment, a man in a moon-white robe was fiddling with the tea set. Every motion of his actions emanates an air of elegance and poise.

“Please sit down.”

Su Changsheng placed a cup of brewed tea opposite her and stood up, inviting Xiaoguo to take a seat.

When he got up, Xiaoguo could see his face clearly. She inhaled sharply—it was no wonder that Ruyi had been thinking about him all this while. When they met earlier, she was still telling her about Su Changsheng’s appearance. It turned out that Ruyi’s words were true.

Xiaoguo was glad that she had good self-control. Otherwise, her legs would have gone weak. This man was too beautiful.

Xiaoguo sat opposite him. Su Changsheng gestured for her to drink the tea. Xiaoguo subconsciously picked up her cup and took a sip.

The fragrance of the tea lingered in her mouth. Suddenly, these words appeared in her mind, “I didn’t know that tea could taste so good.”

“I heard that Madam Qin has corn kernels that can be made into popcorn.”

“Yes, yes, that’s right,” said Xiaoguo, pulling herself together just in case she was befuddled by his beauty. She tried to avoid looking at him.

Su Changsheng looked at Xiaoguo, who had not looked at him since she sat down. He raised his eyebrows in interest. Madam Qin seemed to be quite cold.

“I won’t beat around the bush. I want to take all the corn and seeds that you have.”

The difference between Su Changsheng and his appearance was that he preferred to play straight balls. The simpler the game, the better.

Xiaoguo didn’t say anything. While she was drinking her tea, she thought carefully about what he had said. She understood that he wished to buy all the corn, but what did he mean about the seeds…?

“Madam, you don’t have to worry. I’m a man of my word. If you sell all the corn to me and promise that you’ll never sell popcorn, raw corn, or do any large scale farming of popcorn, I’m willing to pay you a very high price.”

As soon as Su Changsheng finished speaking, Xiaoguo narrowed her eyes and sized up the seemingly refined man. She decided to take back what she had just said. He was definitely a profiteer, a complete profiteer. Just as she’d thought, all businessmen are unscrupulous.

With a sum of money, he wanted to buy out all the products related to popcorn. He is trying to run a monopoly. She wondered if he could keep up with such a large appetite.

Su Changsheng seemed to have guessed her thoughts. He picked up his teacup and spoke considerately.

“My family has always been based in the capital. The Su Family’s Goods Shop has businesses across the entire country, so I’m confident that I have the capacity to make and sell all the popcorn. Moreover…” Su Changsheng took a sip of tea unhurriedly.” I heard from Miss Xu that Madam Qin only has two plots of land. Even if you farm the corn, it will take a lot of time and effort. You probably won’t be able to meet our order requirements, so handing over everything to us is the most appropriate and efficient method. What do you think? ”

In the end, Su Changsheng even gave Xiaoguo a professional fake smile.

His words were met with silence. ‘What’s my opinion? May I ask what else I can say?’

This was like placing a dish on the table, adding seasoning, and bringing it to one’s mouth, only to be asked if you wanted to eat it.

“If you have no objections, please sign.”

Su Changsheng was determined to get this batch of corn, so he took out the contract and handed it to Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo swallowed her saliva. So this was what it meant to negotiate a contract. With Su Changsheng as a comparison, she was just a tiny fleck of dust. Only Ruyi could be fooled by her…

However, what he suggested was actually what she wanted.

Xiaoguo had no intention of planting the crops anymore. She might as well sell everything to Su Changsheng and make some money out of it. There was no reason not to do it.

After making up her mind, Xiaoguo picked up the contract and looked at it carefully. If Su Changsheng had not revealed his true self, Xiaoguo would not have bothered to scrutinize the contract. However, his image now was that of a profiteer to Xiaoguo. She had to look at it carefully and ponder over every word.

As soon as Su Changsheng saw Xiaoguo pick up the contract, a victorious smile appeared on his face. He believed that Qin Xiaoguo would definitely sign it, because what he had offered her was very reasonable. She wouldn’t be able to find a better deal elsewhere.

Just as he had expected, Xiaoguo finally put down the contract. Su Changsheng quickly handed her a brush.

Xiaoguo paused for a moment before taking the brush and signing her name. Before she could put down the brush, Su Changsheng handed her a red clay.

Xiaoguo resisted the urge to flip the table. Instead, she pressed her thumb into the red clay and imprinted her fingerprints on the contract.

“I look forward to working with you.”

Su Changsheng also signed one copy of the contract. He kept one for himself and gave the other one to Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo put on a fake smile and said to Su Changsheng, “Happy cooperation.”

Happy? How could she be happy? Although there was no problem with the collaboration and the money was very good, why does it feel off? It felt like she had been schemed against.

Xiaoguo finally left the shop with 150 taels of silver and a bag of roasted snacks. Under Su Changsheng’s friendly gaze, she walked out of the downtown area in a daze and returned to the noodle shop with a listless expression.

When she regained her senses, she saw a group of zoomed-in faces surrounding her. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat. “Oh my god, what are you guys doing?”

As soon as Xiaoguo finished speaking, the group of heads instantly dispersed, leaving only Qin Anming, Ruyi, and Zhuang Zhuang around her.