During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

Ye Qingqing raised her eyebrows slightly, her face remaining expressionless.

If my sister-in-law were here, she'd probably jump up and start cursing at this guy!

Miss Zhen's expression was not good; she frowned and snorted.

"Manager Zhou, that's not fair of you! You agreed on five hundred taels, how can you just raise the price like that?"

What, you're going to trample on even my dignity, Bian Saizhen's, in your eyes?!

"It's alright, Aunt Zhen, I know what I'm doing."

Ye Qingqing smiled faintly at her, then turned to Manager Zhou, "Manager Zhou, you said someone offered five hundred and fifty taels?"

Aunt Zhen was trying to stand up for her, but arguing back and forth could easily lead to complications, and even if it saved fifty taels of silver, it would be a huge waste of time.

Seeing that it was getting late, and following the instructions of the divination slip, she was determined to get the shop today.

A complex look flashed in Miss Zhen's eyes, and she fell silent.

But I had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

She couldn't see through it, but she knew that Er Yatou was shrewd and wouldn't let someone cheat her out of fifty taels of silver for no reason.

Manager Zhou nodded, "Yes!"

"Has that person made a decision?"

"……not yet."

"That means they didn't give me any money, and they didn't write any paperwork."

Ye Qingqing's tone was as calm as if she were remarking on the weather, "A price without payment is invalid. Manager Zhou, I'll buy it for five hundred and fifty taels."

Manager Zhou was stunned for a moment, his triangular eyes widening involuntarily.

"Really? Little girl, I don't have time for jokes."

"Sorry, I don't have time for jokes."

Ye Qingqing crossed her arms, her clear eyes holding a half-smile, "Stop talking nonsense, are you going to sell or not?"

"Sell! Of course, sell!"

Shopkeeper Zhou scratched his nose to hide the smug look on his lips.

Only a fool wouldn't sell!

What do you mean someone offered 550 taels? He just said it casually to raise the price. Which businessperson doesn't know how to do this?

Seeing how readily Ye Qingqing agreed, Manager Zhou felt a little regretful.

I knew it would cost six hundred!

That little girl is so naive and doesn't know anything about the world. She's got a few coins in her hand and she thinks she's all that. She's so easy to fool!

"Second daughter?"

Miss Zhen frowned, looking at Ye Qingqing with a hesitant expression.

After all, it was her own child, and she was unwilling to be cheated out of fifty taels more. Moreover, Manager Zhou really didn't give her any face, and Miss Zhen was also very angry.

"Aunt Zhen, I've made up my mind."

Ye Qingqing didn't bother with any more words, and simply raised her chin,

"Then write the documents, put your fingerprints on them, and the contract will be settled. This shop is mine today."

"Alright, the documents were prepared long ago, just fill in the price."

Manager Zhou was even more anxious than she was. He turned and shouted towards the backyard, "Laifu, bring the documents over! Inkpad, stationery... hurry up!"

"The employer has arrived!"

A moment later, a servant dragged over the items.

Manager Zhou picked up a brush and wrote a few strokes on the document, then breathed on his thumb and pressed it onto the red inkpad, leaving a large mark on his name.

"Snapped!"

Ye Qingqing followed suit, pulling out one of the two documents and raising an eyebrow at Manager Zhou.

"The silver is yours, the shop is mine, and we've settled the transaction."

As she spoke, she took out five hundred-tael silver notes from her chest, plus a fifty-tael note, and slapped them in front of Manager Zhou.

"Good, good, this little girl is quite agreeable..."

Shopkeeper Zhou beamed with joy, quickly stuffing the silver notes into his pocket, while simultaneously handing a set of copper keys to Ye Qingqing.

"It's yours, it's yours! I didn't live here, and my things were shipped south a long time ago. Now there's nothing in this shop that's mine."

"I'm heading south tomorrow to enjoy a life of luxury..."

Ye Qingqing politely raised her hand and said, "Please."

Manager Zhou, with silver notes tucked into his pocket, happily stepped out the door.

Before his foot had even fully touched the ground, he heard footsteps on the street, followed by a loud, harsh voice shouting rudely.

"Who owns this shop? Come out and answer me!"

Shopkeeper Zhou paused, quickly turned around, and almost blurted out, "I..."

Then they saw four or five men dressed in silk and satin striding towards them from the east end of the street.

The leader was dressed in an indigo-blue Hangzhou silk cotton robe, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist. He walked with a swagger, his chin held high above the sky.

The others behind them were also well-dressed, clearly not from ordinary families.

Manager Zhou's eyes lit up; the smugness in his heart hadn't completely dissipated, so he quickly put on a smiling face and went to greet him.

"Who are you gentlemen looking for?"

The leader glanced at him sideways, pointing his nose at him, "Are you the owner of this shop?"

"Suffocate..."

Manager Zhou stammered.

The man with the hoarse voice glanced at him and asked bluntly, "Is this shop for sale or not?"

Manager Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition welled up inside him.

"This gentleman wanted to sell his shop... I'm sorry, the shop has already been sold."

"Sold?"

The man with the hoarse voice frowned, turned around and whispered something to the person next to him. The person nodded and then whispered a couple more words in his ear.

The man with the hoarse voice turned back, sizing up Shopkeeper Zhou. "Who did you sell it to? How much?"

Shopkeeper Zhou stammered, "Sold to...a young lady for five hundred and fifty taels."

"Only five hundred taels? Then it's none of your business."

The man with the hoarse voice scoffed disdainfully and waved his hand dismissively.

Inside the shop, Ye Qingqing and Miss Zhen exchanged a glance before coming out and asking,

"This shop is mine. What advice do you all have?"

Ye Dazhuang stood silently behind Ye Qingqing, looking coldly at everyone.

"your?"

The man with the hoarse voice, seeing that she was just a young girl, became even more arrogant and said...

"Since you're the owner, I'll tell you. Your shop is right next to our backyard. My master just returned from the capital and thinks the house is too small, so he wants to combine the shop and the house to make a backyard."

Money is no problem. As long as you're willing to sell it, my master will pay eight hundred taels.

What, eight hundred taels?

"Boom..."

A thunderbolt seemed to strike Manager Zhou's head, his legs trembled, and he almost lost his balance.

Eight hundred taels!

If those people had come over even a moment earlier, he wouldn't have sold the shop for 550!

His whole family moved south, settled down, bought land and property. How much could he have accomplished with those extra 250 taels of silver, and how much more land could he have bought?!

The sky has fallen...

Boss Zhou's lips trembled, as if he had been slapped and was stunned. His face turned pale and then red, which was quite a sight!

Ye Qingqing kept her hands tucked into her sleeves, calmly observing the group, her face expressionless.

Standing next to her, Miss Zhen stared wide-eyed and couldn't help but lean close to her ear and ask in confusion,

"Second Girl, you knew first?"

Ye Qingqing shook her head slightly and said casually,

"I don't know, Aunt Zhen. How could I know if even you can't find out?"

Miss Zhen took a deep breath.