Chapter 109: First Volume, Chapter 109: This Is My Comrade

First Volume, Chapter 109: This Is My Comrade

Lin Quqi's face flushed red and pale in turns; on the way here, Qin Feng had repeatedly promised that by his side, he'd eat well and drink fine, but the moment they entered, Qin Feng sold him out.

Does this bastard even speak with any sense?

Seeing Qin Feng bring back a stranger, Liu Hongyan's cruel-sister image vanished instantly; she spoke softly: "Qin Feng, who is this person?"

Qin Feng quickly introduced: "This is my newly discovered money tree… cough, my newly recognized comrade, Lin Quqi."

Seeing Lin Quqi about to bow to Liu Hongyan, Qin Feng pressed down his hand and continued: "This is my Second Sister, Liu Hongyan. Alright, now that you've met, everyone get back to your own business."

Lin Quqi felt utterly embarrassed, his whole body uncomfortable.

Liu Hongyan frowned slightly and scolded quietly: "Qin Feng, what are you doing? Guests are guests—how can you deny them even the chance to speak? That's extremely rude."

Ritual? Qin Feng's dictionary has no such word!

This Lin Quqi is so handsome, a famous Confucian Scholar from Jiangnan, practically glowing with elegance—Qin Feng had to be on guard!

Though Liu Hongyan looked displeased, on this matter there was no negotiation; Qin Feng patted Lin Quqi's shoulder and threatened: "Lin Comrade, all four of my sisters are still unmarried, and they're all adopted sisters—do you understand what I mean?"

Lin Quqi's cheeks flushed red; no matter what, he was a man—he understood Qin Feng's meaning perfectly.

But… who would openly say something like this? It's a disgrace to scholarship! Lin Quqi wanted to sweep his sleeve and leave, but Qin Feng held his shoulder tightly.

Qin Feng's gaze seemed to say: "Money—we can make it together; women, don't even think about it!"

Liu Hongyan also understood Qin Feng's meaning, blushing furiously; she shot him a furious glare and quickly apologized to Lin Quqi: "Forgive us, Young Master Lin—this bastard is always acting mad. Don't take him seriously."

Lin Quqi muttered inwardly: As siblings, how could they be so different?

Before Lin Quqi could return the bow, Qin Feng cut him off again; furious, Lin Quqi flung his sleeve and cursed inwardly: "You petty mind judges a noble heart—I'll stay mute around your sisters from now on!"

Qin Feng didn't care; he grabbed Liu Hongyan's arm eagerly: "Sis, how's the Raw Sugarcane Merchant situation? Did you intercept them?"

Liu Hongyan had no choice but to sigh helplessly: "I did intercept them—they're all settled at the Yi Guan—but their price is too high. I thought we should discuss it first, so I didn't reply yet."

Qin Feng blinked: "How much are they asking?"

At the mention of it, Liu Hongyan grew angry—she thought these merchants hoarded goods and gouged prices: "In past years, one jin of Raw Sugarcane was five wen—but these merchants are demanding twenty wen, quadrupling the price! It's outrageous!"

Hearing this, Qin Feng slapped his thigh: "What's there to hesitate about? Accept it immediately! Only four times higher—not ten times! I'd laugh in my sleep!"

Liu Hongyan pinched Qin Feng's shoulder hard to snap him out of it: "Do you know how to run a business? One jin costing fifteen wen more means an extra One Hundred Fifty Taels for ten thousand jin. If we open this door, merchants will think we're easy to bully and keep raising prices."

These days, having Raw Sugarcane at all is lucky—why waste time on petty accounting?

Even if it weren't 150 taels of silver, but even an extra 1,500 taels of silver, Qin Feng wouldn't bat an eye.

Besides, the Jiang Family monopolizes the Beijing Sugar Industry—they've already arranged meeting times with the merchants. If we don't show up at the appointed time, they'll start probing everywhere, and then everything's ruined.

Seeing they couldn't reason, Qin Feng gritted his teeth: "Sis, intercepting the merchants is already your major achievement—leave the rest to me. I'm heading to the Yi Guan right now."

Seeing Qin Feng rush out, Liu Hongyan called after him: "Don't rush—Father wants to see you. Go to the Book Room first."

Qin Feng thought: What could Father possibly want? Probably itching to use me as a sparring partner again.

Right now, the real matter is urgent—even if the sky fell, it could wait until I returned.

Qin Feng dragged Lin Quqi and ran all the way to the Yi Guan.

The Yi Guan attendant recognized Qin Feng, trembled, and dropped to his knees: "Qin… Qin Young Master? What wind blew you here?"

Anyone staying at the Yi Guan fell into two categories: either merchants seeking discretion, or beggars.

Not just the attendant—the Shopkeeper himself had never dealt with someone like Qin Feng, a "big shot"—he scrambled out from behind the counter and prostrated himself.

Qin Feng kicked the attendant and snapped: "I'm not Imperial Cousin—why are you kneeling? Get up, don't cause trouble."

The two exchanged glances, then stood up, gathering courage.

The Shopkeeper's heart pounded; he rubbed his hands, beaming: "Young Master Qin, are you here to eat or to stay?"

Qin Feng had no patience for chatter—he stated his purpose outright; the Shopkeeper dared not delay and hurried the merchants into the Yi Guan's finest Yajian.

These four merchants were all long-time clients of the Jiang Family; had they not feared the Qin Family's Ministry of War status, they'd never have come to this damn Yi Guan.

Seeing Qin Feng enter, Chen Ping signaled the other three to stay silent, then rose alone, bowed to Qin Feng with forced warmth: "If I'm not mistaken, this must be the legendary Eldest Young Master of the Qin Family?"

Clearly, Chen Ping had already inquired about Qin Feng's identity from the staff.

These were seasoned travelers, shrewd and slippery.

Qin Feng cut straight to the point: "How much Raw Sugarcane did you bring to Jingdu? I'll take it all."

Chen Ping had prepared a long speech of polished excuses—but Qin Feng was so blunt he was momentarily speechless. Still, he was a veteran; he recovered quickly and smiled: "It's our honor to do business with Young Master Qin, but… surely you know we're all clients of the Jiang Family?"

Qin Feng pulled out a chair and sat, gesturing for Lin Quqi to sit beside him and learn how to do business, then smiled at Chen Ping: "Forget Jiang Family, Li Family—stop the nonsense. I'll ask again: how much Raw Sugarcane did you bring?"

Chen Ping froze again. In all his years of business, he'd met tough men—but never one this brazen.

Yet whether Qin Family or Jiang Family, Chen Ping dared not offend either; seeing Qin Feng's forceful stance, he lowered his posture: "Young Master Qin, if you truly wish to do business, we should first discuss price—only after price is settled can we discuss quantity…"