Chapter 310: First Volume_Chapter 310: Mentioning Money Hurts Feelings

First Volume_Chapter 310: Mentioning Money Hurts Feelings

That's easy to say, but the sentiment still has to be shown.

With a wave of Qin Feng's hand, Qin Xiaofu pried open the wooden chest.

Seeing what was inside, even Xie Bi could not help but show a flash of astonishment.

Qin Feng took in every flicker of Xie Bi's reaction, his face brimming with pride: "This chest of White Sugar, Father-in-law, please help yourself to it first. If it's not enough in the future, just send a servant to the Qin Residence to say the word, and your son-in-law will have it delivered. From now on, the Xie Family's Sugar consumption—your son-in-law will cover the lot."

As he spoke, Qin Feng and Qin Xiaofu together hauled a giant Glass Toad Statue out of the wooden chest.

It was a toad, yet Qin Feng insisted stubbornly, swearing up and down that this bump-covered toad was some kind of Golden Toad.

After all, Qin Feng's 'artistic attainments' were, frankly, abysmal.

Exquisite carving and polishing—he wouldn't even dare dream of it.

This Glass Toad was made entirely by pouring molten glass into an Iron Mold; in Qin Feng's era, it would be considered a defective piece fit only for the scrap heap.

But in this era, glass was exceedingly scarce.

Moreover, glass wares were mostly beads.

A glass statue as large as the one before them—even the well-traveled Xie Bi had never heard of such a thing, and his eyes were full of wonder.

The corner of Qin Feng's mouth curved upward slightly. To him, these glass wares were worthless; yet here, in these times, they had become rare treasures.

"This Glass Toad Statue, I ask Father-in-law to kindly accept."

Xie Bi hurriedly rose, circled the Glass Toad Statue a few times, clicking his tongue in wonder: "Such a large statue can already be counted as a ritual-grade vessel. Even a Bronze Statue this size is rarely seen, a Jade Statue even rarer—only a few are kept in the palace. As for a glass statue... this old man has never heard of one, never seen one. This is probably... a priceless treasure, is it not?"

Not to mention Xie Bi—even Xie Yun'er was so stunned by the glass statue before her that her mouth fell open.

But compared to shock, what filled Xie Yun'er's heart was even more pride; after all, this generous gift had been sent out of respect for the 'in-laws' bond.

Xie Bi's brows knit tightly, and he said in a low voice: "Qin Feng told you to prepare a modest gift—is this what you call modest? Even the Imperial Tribute from a vassal state would likely pale in comparison."

Qin Feng waved his hand grandly, brimming with bravado: "What's this? Not worth mentioning."

In Xie Bi's eyes, Qin Feng was outrageously arrogant. What he didn't know was that Qin Feng truly didn't take this glass statue seriously. If Xie Bi learned that this precious glass was refined from ordinary sand and cost only a few dozen wen to make, who knows what he would think.

Xie Bi's heart was secretly shaken.

The glass statue before him, plus a whole chest of White Sugar, was probably worth several hundred thousand taels of Silver.

This lad Qin Feng—isn't he short on money? How can he still be so extravagant?

Could it be that, out of respect for his old father-in-law, he's slapping a fat man to look plump?

Heh, the young are still young.

A look of satisfaction crept across Xie Bi's face.

Just then, Xie Bi noticed his own daughter standing with arms crossed, glaring at Qin Feng with a hostile look, while Qin Feng kept his eyes lowered, meek and frightened.

Xie Yun'er shot a glance at the Glass Toad Statue and said irritably: "Aren't you supposed to be holding some Auction? You've given such a fine thing to my father—what are you going to auction then? Besides, the Tianji Camp is so short on funds right now, yet here you are spending so lavishly. What a spendthrift."

Faced with Xie Yun'er's scolding, in the old days Qin Feng would have argued back at once.

But alas, times had changed.

Qin Feng dared to be angry but not to speak out. After all... Xie Yun'er had somehow gained the full backing of Second Sister Liu Hongyan, and Liu Hongyan had made it clear that if Qin Feng dared to be rude again as in the past, it would affect his height.

Affect his height?

That's right!

Because Liu Hongyan would break Qin Feng's legs.

Watching Xie Yun'er's smug, backed-up air, Qin Feng was seething. But under Second Sister's tyranny, he could only force a smile all over his face: "What's this? Not to mention a mere Glass Toad Statue—if Father-in-law takes a liking, I'd hand over the entire Tianji Camp without so much as a frown."

Although she knew Qin Feng's words were utterly shameless flattery, Xie Yun'er still couldn't help feeling pleased. Arms crossed, she gave a light snort: "Slippery tongue!"

Seeing Xie Yun'er had tamed Qin Feng so thoroughly, Xie Bi sipped his tea to cover his embarrassment as an elder, while his heart swelled with joy.

By all appearances, once his daughter married into the Qin Family, she would never suffer any grievance.

Xie Bi pondered for a moment, then waved his hand and ordered a servant to fetch something, which he handed to Qin Feng.

Qin Feng took it and looked—a Bank Draft, with a full Sixty Ten Thousand Liang of Silver deposited on it.

Who would have thought—Xie Bi was actually rolling in it!

"Father-in-law, what is this?"

Xie Bi said lightly: "Since you've prepared such a generous gift, as your future father-in-law, I naturally must make up for the见面礼 I owed before. Yun'er has already told me—the Beidi War Emergency is pressing, and you've poured Materials and Supplies into Beixi County at any cost, throwing the Tianji Camp's finances into serious crisis, already unable to make ends meet."

"Consider this money a token of my regard."

Damn! What a generous father-in-law!

Qin Feng was so eager he wished he could—Sixty Ten Thousand Liang of Silver, that's too much!"

Xie Bi, however, was unfazed: "Among the residences here in Jingzhong, the Xie Residence has the fewest guards and servants. After all, this father and daughter are both skilled in martial arts and don't need to keep so many idle mouths, so we save a good deal each year. My annual stipend may not compare to that of the Minister of the Household, but added to the income from various properties, it comes to two hundred thousand taels a year. Saving thirty or fifty thousand taels of Silver a year is no trouble."

"Besides, this money was originally Yun'er's Wedding Dowry—take it and use it first. If you truly feel uneasy about it, just hand over the operating rights of Wuhu Restaurant to Yun'er."

Get lost!

Qin Feng's face changed faster than flipping a page in a book. Just moments ago he had been weeping with gratitude, and now he was already mentally cursing Xie Bi.

He had assumed that Xie Bi, being a Martial man by background, was a man of true feelings, honest and upright.

Turns out he was an Old Fox too.

Sixty Ten Thousand Liang of Silver, and he wants to buy out Wuhu Restaurant? You must be joking!

All these old foxes in Jingdu were scheming to fleece him in every way. Qin Feng was so frustrated he wanted to die—who had he even offended?

Qin Feng's mind raced, just as he was about to come up with an excuse to refuse, Xie Bi beat him to it and shut him down.

Xie Bi sighed, speaking with the weight of an elder: "Yun'er's mother passed early. This father and daughter have depended on each other all the way to today. In the future, when Yun'er goes to your Qin Family, although both our households are in Jingdu, we must still avoid impropriety. With Wuhu Restaurant there to provide a safety net for Yun'er, this old man can set his mind at ease."

Damn it, playing the emotional card now?

Don't mention money—once money is mentioned, I won't recognize even my own kin!