After being bought by seven rough men and taken to the deep mountains, I was pampered.

The night market in Langya Village was a hit for three days, but problems followed.

"What a lousy place! It's so crowded it's killing me!"

"These shoes of mine are made of Shu brocade! They're covered in mud! Pay up!"

"Why should we let those country bumpkins eat barbecue at the same table as us? Their sweaty smell is disgusting!"

Complaints from the commercial street poured into the Qin family's accounting office like snowflakes.

It's true that rich people are pretentious. But it's also true that rich people's money is the easiest to earn.

Inside the accounting office, Qin Yue stared at the pile of complaint letters, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

He tapped the golden nanmu folding fan in his hand repeatedly against his palm, clearly indicating that he was extremely agitated.

"Sister-in-law, these nouveau riche are so hard to please." He rolled his eyes and slumped in his chair, complaining, "They want both excitement and peace and quiet; they want to eat at roadside stalls and act like royalty. They're not here to spend money, they're here to be treated like royalty!"

"How about... I raise the price? Raise the ticket price to ten taels of silver per ticket, and keep all the poor people out?"

"No." Su Wan was trimming the lucky bamboo on the table with a pair of scissors. Without turning her head, her voice was clear and crisp: "The night market belongs to everyone. Raising prices will hurt public sentiment and kill off the crowds. Without crowds, who among the wealthy will come to join the fun?"

"Then what should we do? Chase those rich women away?" Qin Yue pouted. "That's a lot of hard-earned money, it hurts my heart."

Su Wan put down the scissors and turned to walk to her desk. She picked up a pen and drew a rectangular frame on a specially made piece of cardboard. Then, she wrote a large "V" on it with gold powder.

"Fourth brother, have you heard of—the membership system?" Su Wan's lips curled into a mysterious smile, her bright eyes sparkling with intelligence, making Qin Yue's heart itch.

"Since they want 'privileges,' they want to be 'different'..."

"Then we'll sell it to them."

"Sold at clearly marked prices."

……

The next day at dusk. The entrance to the core area of ​​the academy's commercial street.

This is the only way to reach "Yunqi Garden", "High-end Flower Room" and "Exquisite Barbecue Area".

This place used to be packed with people, but now it's suddenly changed.

A red velvet rope divides the road in two. On the left, amidst the bustling noise, is the regular passageway.

To the right, a red carpet was laid out, but the place was deserted. Two rows of burly men dressed in black and wearing sunglasses (made by the twins) stood at the entrance—the guards personally trained by Qin Lie.

"What are you doing? Why won't you let us through?" The county magistrate's wife, Madam Liu, walked over aggressively with several maids and servants.

She specially wore a floor-length dress with gold embroidery today, originally intending to go to "Yunqi Garden" to soak in the hot springs, but was stopped by that red rope.

"Get out of the way! Are you blind? Don't you know who I am?" Liu pointed at the burly man in black at the door (who was actually Qin Meng, the third brother, playing the role of the security captain) and shouted shrilly.

Qin Meng stood there with his arms crossed, blocking the way like a gatekeeper. He wore sunglasses, so no one could see his eyes; all that could be heard was him coldly uttering two words: "Show your card."

"What card? I think you've got your head stuck!" Madam Liu laughed angrily, pulling a stack of silver notes from her sleeve and slapping them at Qin Meng: "This lady has plenty of money! Get out of my way!"

Qin Meng didn't even glance at the silver note, remaining completely unmoved. His elder brother had said that only cards were accepted, not cash. Even if it were the King of Heaven himself, without a card, he'd have to queue on the left.

"You!" Liu was so angry that she trembled all over and was about to explode.

"Oh my, isn't this Madam Liu?" a lazy voice rang out.

Qin Yue strolled out from the other end of the red carpet, brandishing his signature folding fan.

Today he was dressed in a purple-gold brocade robe, with a jade pendant hanging at his waist that symbolized his status. He exuded an aura that said, "I am very noble, and you are not worthy of me."

"Fourth Master Qin! Control your own family!" Seeing it was Qin Yue, Madam Liu's arrogance subsided slightly, but her face was still full of anger: "I wanted to go in for a soak in the hot springs, and he dared to stop me! And he even asked me for some kind of card!"

"Madam Liu, please calm down." Qin Yue walked to the red rope with a smile, but did not untie it. He pointed with his fan to a brand-new signboard standing beside him:

[Qin Family VIP Membership Channel]

Silver Card: Pre-deposit 500 taels. Skip the queue and enjoy a 9% discount.

Gold Card: Pre-deposit 2000 taels. Exclusive access, dedicated service, and a 8% discount.

Supreme Black Card: ? ? ? (Priceless)

"This is..." Liu was stunned.

"To ensure a good experience for all our valued guests, the Qin family has introduced a [Membership System]."

Qin Yue pulled out a hard card with silver trim from his pocket and waved it in his hand: "Only those with this card can walk on this red carpet."

"Otherwise... even if the county magistrate comes, he'll have to go to the left and squeeze in with Butcher Zhang and the others."

"What?! You want me to squeeze in with the butchers?!" Liu was instantly furious! This was an utter disgrace!

"That...that gold card! Give me one!" Liu gritted her teeth. It's only two thousand taels, right? For the sake of face, she had to spend the money!

"Alright! One gold card!" Qin Yue snapped his fingers, and immediately an accountant came running over with an abacus to collect the money.

Liu reluctantly handed over the silver note and received a gleaming gold card. She raised her chin, looking triumphantly at the envious glances around her, and prepared to step onto the red carpet.

Just then, a young maidservant, carrying a vegetable basket and with her head down, walked over from a distance. She was dressed plainly and looked like a young fire-starting girl who hadn't yet grown her hair long.

However, when she reached the red rope, Qin Meng, the doorman who had just been so cold and ruthless, suddenly stood at attention, took off his sunglasses, and revealed an extremely honest, even somewhat ingratiating, smile: "Miss Xiao Cui! Please come in!" As he spoke, he personally bent down, pulled the red rope open, and even considerately used his hand to block the door frame, as if afraid that the maid would bump her head.

Liu's foot had only taken half a step when it froze in mid-air. The entire room fell silent.

"Why?!" Liu screamed, pointing at the maid's retreating figure, her powder falling off in anger. "I spent two thousand taels to get the card! And she's just a kitchen maid! Why did she get in so easily?! They didn't even check her card!" "Qin Yue! Are you insulting me?!"

Qin Yue snapped his fan shut, his smile fading slightly. He glanced at the departing maid's back, then turned back, his eyes filled with a complex...pride.

"Madam Liu, please be careful with your words." Qin Yue's voice wasn't loud, but it carried throughout the room: "That young lady, Xiao Cui, although she doesn't have a card in her hand..."

"But she came to buy roasted chestnuts for 'that person'."

"That person?" Liu was taken aback. "Who?"

Qin Yue carefully pulled a card from his pocket. The card was black and cartoonish, without any fancy decorations, except for a small peach blossom outlined in gold thread in the corner.

That was Su Wan's favorite flower. In the sunlight, the black card exuded an understated yet luxurious regal aura.

"This is—the Supreme Black Card." Qin Yue gently stroked the peach blossom with his fingertips, his eyes instantly softening to a tenderness that could melt hearts: "There's only one like it in the entire world."

"It has no limit on the amount or any special privileges." "The holder is the true master of this Wanxiang Academy, this commercial street, and even the entire Qin family..."

He raised his eyes, staring intently at Madam Liu, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Madam Liu, your gold card was bought with money."

"And the owner of this black card..." "is my sister-in-law."

"Her maidservant, let alone walking the red carpet, could even take the red carpet home and use it as a rag..."

"We also need to hand over the scissors."

Boom! The entire audience erupted in uproar! This wasn't explaining the rules; it was clearly a Versailles-style display of a sister-in-law! "Oh my god! I want a black card too!"

"Forget about it! Unless you marry into the Qin family and become their sister-in-law!"

"Master Qin's gaze...tsk tsk tsk, it's practically dripping with adrenaline!"

Liu held the gold card that she had just felt was very prestigious, but now it suddenly felt hot to the touch.

Compared to that black card, she was practically scrap metal! But seeing the envious looks from those around her, she couldn't bear to throw it away.

He could only grit his teeth and swallow his anger, slinking into the red carpet passage.

……

Late at night, in the accounting room.

"We're rich! Sister-in-law! We're really rich!" Qin Yue threw stacks of silver notes into the air like a madman.

"Tonight alone, we collected 100,000 taels from pre-deposits for new cards! 100,000 taels!"

"This is equivalent to us getting back the money we'll be making for the next three years in advance!" "What's that called? It's called—a capital pool!"

Su Wan sat in the chair, watching the rain of silver notes falling from the sky, and shook her head with a smile.

This fourth brother is indeed a born financier. He's mastered the pre-payment scheme. With this money, the Qin family can snowball their wealth even further through lending and investment.

"Sister-in-law." Qin Yue suddenly stopped. He picked up the [Supreme Black Card] that he always kept close to his body.

He walked up to Su Wan and knelt on one knee.

He dropped his shrewd businessman persona, his peach blossom eyes now filled with deep affection. He took Su Wan's hand and solemnly placed the black card, still warm from his touch, in her palm.

"Sister-in-law."

"You can never earn enough money."

"But the right to manage the money... will always be yours."

He lowered his head and kissed the black card. Through the card, Su Wan could feel the warmth of his lips.

"This is the empire I built for my sister-in-law."

"Whatever my sister-in-law wants to buy, wherever she wants to go, whoever she wants to kick out..."

"Show this card."

"Even if it means going bankrupt, I, the fourth brother, will do it for my sister-in-law."

[Beep! Detected a "financial tycoon" is interested!]

[Target: Qin Yue (Fourth Prince). Status: Has handed over financial control + Vowed to be loyal to the death!]

[Heartbeat Value: +2500! Reward: [Ancient Bank Printing Press Blueprint]!]

Su Wan held the black card, looking at the man in front of her who could scheme against everyone in the world for money, yet entrusted his entire life and fortune to her.

"Idiot." She reached out and poked his forehead: "What if I run off with all that money?"

Qin Yue raised his head, his face beaming with a bright smile, like a big fox wagging its tail: "Then I'll... pack myself up and run away with my sister-in-law."