Chapter 47: Startled Horse

"Thirty fans in seven days? This time is too rushed, and the price is pressed so low, even if it's made, the quality won't be good..." The boss complained incessantly, lacking interest.

Wang Yang smiled easily: "Then what if I say that in seven days, I'll let you earn 1,000 coins per fan, what do you say?"

"How much?!" The boss widened his eyes, suspecting something was wrong with his ears.

"Young Master said 1,000 coins!" Little A-Wu held up a finger.

Wang Yang smiled without a word.

"Is Young Master here to make fun of me?" The boss's face darkened.

"Does this young master have that much free time? For the thirty fans, I want ten with black handles and twenty with natural wood handles.

Seven days later, you take out the black-handled fans to sell first, at a price of 10,000 coins each.

For the other twenty with natural wood handles, take them out only after the black-handled ones are sold out, selling them for 8,000 each; do not lower the price.

I have a way to make these thirty folding fans sell out!

For every black-handled one sold, I'll give you a commission of 1,000 coins out of the 10,000. For every natural wood-handled one sold, I'll give you a commission of 800.

How about it? Do you want to earn this money or not?"

The boss was stunned. If it weren't for the fact that Wang Yang was dressed like a member of the gentry, he would have thought he had gone insane! A broken paper fan with no use like that, actually selling for 10,000 coins! Where would you find so many fools?!

But on second thought, let this young master go crazy if he wants; anyway, even if they didn't sell, he wouldn't lose anything, so he put on a smiling face:

"Then many thanks, Young Master. It's just that this is a small business, 1,200 coins for thirty fans, will you pay in cash, or—"

Wang Yang casually took out 100 coins and put them down:

"Keep the change. Make one for me to see first, and send it to the Commandery Academy on Sima Street by tomorrow night, just say you're looking for Young Master Wang. Remember, money is not the problem, quality comes first. If it's done well, I'll continue to order thirty more from you; if it's not done well, the deal is off."

Seeing Wang Yang's generous spending, the boss was overjoyed and thanked him repeatedly. He never imagined that this young master of the gentry couldn't afford the fan money at all right now.

Wang Yang gave detailed instructions on what effect the folding fan should have, and the boss nodded and took note of everything.

After Wang Yang left the shop, Little A-Wu asked in confusion: "It could have been bought for forty coins, why did you give him so much, Young Master?"

"You should save money when you can, but you can't be stingy when you need to spend it, otherwise things might go wrong. For example, this folding fan, no one has ever made one before, and no one knows how to make one. If the shopkeeper is unwilling, how can he put in his best effort? So you must give some sweetness to make him happy and feel that the future is promising; only then will he have motivation."

Little A-Wu was thoughtful and said: "Then A-Wu was wrong, I shouldn't have said forty wen."

"You weren't wrong. The price must be pressed, otherwise the boss will think we are suckers. For example, if you quote 100 wen right away, even if the deal is made, he might not be satisfied, and might even feel he asked for too little. But if you settle on forty wen first, and then give him 100 wen, he will be pleasantly surprised. It's the same 100 wen, but the effect is completely different."

"I think I understand a little, but what is the logic behind this?"

"Human nature is like this. Have you heard the story of 'three in the morning and four in the evening'?"

A-Wu shook her head.

"Once upon a time, there was a man who kept monkeys. He told the monkeys that from now on, each monkey would get three chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening. The monkeys were very unhappy. The man immediately changed his words and said, 'Alright, then from now on, you'll get four in the morning and three in the evening.' The monkeys were all happy. A-Wu, what do you think this story tells us?" Wang Yang asked, guiding her step by step.

"Uh... Young Master, can we... buy a bag of chestnuts..."

Wang Yang: -_-||

"This isn't even a full bag! We agreed on a bag!"

"It's not full enough! Please fill it up!"

"Fill it more!"

Little A-Wu stared at the vendor's movements, urging him repeatedly.

The vendor's "hand-shaking technique" really had no room to play when encountering A-Wu. The chestnuts were packed so full that the top few rolled onto the ground.

A-Wu hurriedly ran to pick up the chestnuts.

The vendor said irritably: "Look, look, I told you it couldn't fit anymore!"

Wang Yang smiled: "A-Wu, come back, this is enough."

"Get out of the way!"

Only to hear a shout!

The sound of horse hooves was rapid!

A person rode a fast horse and galloped over!!!

A-Wu had just picked up two chestnuts when she felt a wind behind her head. Turning her head, she saw two thick horse hooves stepping toward her!

"A-Wu!"

Wang Yang was scared out of his wits, but it was too late to save her!

Everyone thought the little girl would die under the horse hooves in the next moment,

But who knew that a green shadow suddenly darted out from the side of the road, like wind and lightning, scooped up A-Wu, and rolled away!

In the split second, the green shadow did a forward roll, the black sword scabbard at the waist horizontal, hitting the horse's hoof with a crisp 'crack'!

The horse's hooves reared up, its neighing echoing through the sky!

The man on the horse urgently pulled on the horse's neck, the horse was startled and crashed into the stone wall of the shop opposite.

On the other side, the person in green held A-Wu and rolled to the side of the road, stopping with their hand on the ground.

The person had been wearing a bamboo hat, but after that roll, the hat fell off, revealing three thousand strands of black hair like a waterfall, fluttering in the wind.

It was actually a beautiful young woman!

Such a beautiful woman actually had such agile skills?!

Everyone on the side of the road applauded.

"A-Wu! Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Wang Yang hurriedly rushed over, took A-Wu from the woman's arms, and checked her all over.

Little A-Wu was also scared silly, throwing herself into Wang Yang's arms, holding back her tears to maintain her image.

Wang Yang stroked Little A-Wu's head, soothing her repeatedly.

The woman in green stood up, and Wang Yang hurriedly followed, cupping his hands: "Many thanks for your righteous action! I am deeply grateful!"

The woman nodded: "It's nothing."

Her voice was clear and cold, invisibly giving off a feeling of keeping people at a distance.

She was dressed in men's clothing, with a tall and lithe figure and long, slender legs. Like Xie Xinghan, she lacked the coy demeanor of ordinary young women of the time.

It was just that Xie Xinghan showed a kind of ease and composure mixed with intelligence and perfect upbringing, calm yet lively.

While this woman was cold and aloof, her high, straight nose and sharp, elegant eyebrows added a bit of stubborn sharpness and cold detachment to this coldness.

It was as if no noise or accident could disturb her, just like the thrilling situation just now, which seemed to be a trivial matter to her, so much so that there were no ripples in her clear, beautiful, and cold eyes.

"Which blind thing dares to hurt my horse?!"

"Scatter! Everyone scatter!"

A young man with a blue chin stubble pushed through the crowd aggressively and walked over. He was wearing light blue trousers and a jacket, with no armor on his clothes, but leather arm guards on his wrists.

"Trousers and jacket" is also called "kuzhe," a popular suit during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. The specific form is a short jacket on top and long trousers on the bottom. Because it is light and simple, it became the martial uniform commonly worn in the army at that time, regardless of rank.

When the man saw the beautiful face of the woman in green, his anger instantly turned into an attentive smile: "How is the young lady? You weren't hurt, were you?"

The woman was expressionless and walked straight ahead. The man smiled and cupped his hands to greet her, continuing to strike up a conversation: "I am—"

But it was as if the woman didn't see this person at all, brushing past him.

The man's smile stiffened, and he explained: "Young lady, I was just worried that you were hurt, I didn't mean anything else."

The woman walked to the middle of the road on her own, bent down to pick up her bamboo hat.

Seeing the man's embarrassed appearance, the people around secretly snickered.

The man's smile faded bit by bit: "I am talking to you, can't you hear me?"

The woman patted the dust off her bamboo hat without looking at the man.

The man's voice grew louder: "Are you deaf, or can't you speak?"

Just as the atmosphere became tense, a man's voice suddenly said:

"You can speak, it's a pity you don't speak human language." ===== CHAPTER 48 =====