Originally hosting the big boss nicely, but with several women constantly appearing in his field of vision, the overseer instantly became irritated.

Although these women had paid him a jiao, in front of the major financier, this money was of no use.

The overseer shouted: “What are you still doing here! Go somewhere else!”

Lin Yuchan thought: Of course, we’re freeloading on the tour guide.

Thanks to the great comprador Zheng, she now heard everything about cotton cultivation conditions that she couldn’t ask about earlier.

She still retained her high school habit of carrying a notebook. The overseer talked all the way, Zheng Guanying listened all the way, and she took notes all the way – her notebook was already densely filled with several pages.

Without blushing, she smiled: “This road is village common ground, right? We’re tired and resting a bit, not interfering with your business.”

Then she pulled Aunt Hong and Aunt Nian aside, saying quietly: “Where’s the nearest town? Zhangjiang? Please find that boatman brother and buy me some things.”

Only then did Zheng Guanying notice there were women behind him. Looking back, a trace of confusion appeared on his pale, refined face.

He was also from Guangdong and recognized two of them as self-combed women, so he couldn’t directly speak to them. The other was dressed like an ordinary girl, younger than him, with clean clothes and a pretty, pleasant appearance. If you ignored the natural feet under her trouser legs, at first glance, she looked like a young lady who had run away from some landlord’s family.

The runaway miss smiled at him openly and generously.

Zheng Guanying: “You are…?”

Important people forget things easily. Lin Yuchan actively greeted the big shot.

“Current general manager of Boya Trading House.” She smiled politely, switching to Guangdong dialect to get closer to the big shot, “Thanks to your mediation in Master Rong’s matter. Last month, he sent you a thank-you letter – did the gatekeeper deliver it promptly?”

Only then did Zheng Guanying remember her, giving a cold smile and cupping his hands.

“You’re too kind.”

Zheng Guanying’s servant was quite clever. Hearing this girl introduce herself as some kind of “manager,” though it was strange, he still dutifully came forward with an apologetic smile: “The cotton fields in this village are all marked by my master. Whether you’re sightseeing or collecting cotton, please move elsewhere and have a look around.”

The overseer also chimed in: “Exactly! If you damage anything, you’ll have to pay!”

Lin Yuchan smiled and nodded, then suddenly said softly: “Mr. Zheng, how much cotton does your Xiangsheng Company plan to collect this year?”

Zheng Guanying had just turned around when his back suddenly stiffened.

She had heard everything!

The young girl had rosy cheeks with childish features still visible, yet was quite aggressive. Was she threatening him?

Lin Yuchan said softly: “Don’t worry, I don’t even know the gatekeeper at Baoshun Trading House, I won’t inform on you to the foreigners.”

Zheng Guanying’s expression changed from “ignoring” to slight hostility.

“Knowing won’t matter.”

Lin Yuchan still wore her professional smile: “You misunderstood my meaning. Baoshun Trading House has a large business volume. When you collect cotton for them this year, why not bring Boya along? We offer generous commission, negotiable.”

Anyway, cotton would always be exported and sold to foreigners. Commission would have to be paid regardless. If the big shot was willing to give her a boost, she wouldn’t have to run around building connections herself.

She was thinking quite optimistically. Zheng Guanying gave a cold snort and waved for the overseer to leave.

“Miss Lin.”

His voice lacked strength, his face pale as if chronically ill, but those few soft words still carried shocking authority, as if an invisible force could kick someone three miles away.

“Last year, I didn’t handle cotton. I managed tea.”

Lin Yuchan nodded in confusion.

So what?

Zheng Guanying smiled coldly.

Lin Yuchan’s face suddenly flushed red, then she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curving up, her eyes sparkling with two stars.

“Oh my, sorry.”

She remembered – last year when the customs publicly bid for tea suppliers, among the bidders there seemed to be British Baoshun!

Hadn’t Mr. Yinmei praised her? “…The girl is quite good. Comparable to the one who came yesterday… British Baoshun, an old trading house… That comprador young man was very sharp, answered my arithmetic sequence question…”

It was him, it was him, it was him!

She had inadvertently intercepted the big shot!

Even solving arithmetic sequence problems hadn’t worked!

When Zheng Guanying first saw Lin Yuchan at Boya’s door, he didn’t know about this, but a female business partner would certainly be memorable. He must have investigated afterward to find out exactly what this Miss Lin did.

No wonder his face had been sour since recognizing her today. If not for his weak constitution and unwillingness to bully women, he probably wanted to punch her.

Lin Yuchan was laughing wildly inside but had to appear calm on the surface, smiling brilliantly: “This year might be different. Our competitors have changed. I don’t mind telling you – Guangzhou Defeng Trading House, with their exclusive tea-frying secrets, beloved by the British. They…”

Providing some information didn’t cost her anything anyway.

But Zheng Guanying remained unmoved, turning to study cotton bolls himself, leaving her hanging.

Oh right. He had said he wasn’t handling tea this year, but cotton.

Probably because last year’s performance didn’t meet standards.

He didn’t repeat himself.

Lin Yuchan felt a bit discouraged.

The big shot was petty and held grudges!

She still had to make it on the Shanghai Bund – this enmity couldn’t last overnight.

But this villain, Zheng Guanying, had a rather high difficulty level for strategy…

For instance, Su Minguan was also a young merchant, sometimes playing villain in front of her, making her teeth itch with hatred. But even as a villain, Young Master Su was a very professionally qualified, talkative villain. When he attacked people, he went all-out from all angles, reducing opponents to nothing and making them willingly retire from the martial world.

At the same time, he left room for her to argue unreasonably and fight back.

But Zheng Guanying…

It seemed like every word from his mouth cost money.

He didn’t attack people – he left them with nothing to attack. No flaws could be found in his words.

Lin Yuchan thought for a moment and could only say calmly: “Then Mr. Zheng should also have a sense of my professional qualifications. After harvest season, I’ll promptly deliver raw cotton samples to Baoshun Trading House for your evaluation. Good cotton quality raises your performance, too, doesn’t it?”

Zheng Guanying looked at her contemptuously and said softly, “Yin and yang have their ways. I don’t do business with female merchants.”

This kind of decadent Great Qing values couldn’t hurt her now. Lin Yuchan smiled: “If Mr. Zheng keeps provoking me, I might have to apply for a comprador position at Baoshun Trading House.”

The implication being: if I could beat you in tea bidding, I could replace you in the comprador position too. Whether Baoshun Trading House hired women was another matter. Anyway, you couldn’t beat her.

Zheng Guanying had been a commercial prodigy since childhood, sailing smoothly all his life, accustomed to others being polite to him. Lin Yuchan realized that playing the submissive role was useless with him.

Even though he spoke of yin-yang and the I Ching, looking ready to retire at any time, but…

A young man barely twenty – how could he not have some competitive spirit?

Sure enough, for an instant, Zheng Guanying’s pale cheeks reddened slightly, somewhat tongue-tied, probably unable to retort with just a few words.

Lin Yuchan: “Goodbye! Don’t forget to eat lunch!”

She saw Yixing’s small boat had returned, turned and quickly ran back, smiling as she welcomed Aunt Hong and Aunt Nian. Together with the boatman, they brought out warm takeout food from the cabin, spread a cloth, moved out bowls and chopsticks from the boat, scalded them with boiling water, and sat on the field ridge to enjoy their meal.

Zheng Guanying certainly didn’t need such shabby picnicking. The overseer had been waiting nearby, bowing, inviting him to the nearby pavilion. The cotton field owner had already prepared a sumptuous rural feast.

He nodded, glanced back at this group of strange female guests, and took his seat.

Both sides filled their stomachs. Zheng Guanying’s side also had to socialize and receive the cotton field landlord’s elaborate flattery. By the time he had preliminarily signed orders and emerged from the pavilion somewhat tipsy, the picnicking group had finished and were now spreading out melon seeds and snacks on oilcloth, eating while chattering.

“Come try this! This old fragrant yellow is flavorful, tastes just like home!”

“I asked – that shop owner moved here from Chaozhou. Ten years now.”

“Eat less; eating too much causes internal heat.”

“What’s to fear? Drink herbal tea for internal heat! Rare to buy such a complete selection of preserved fruits. Come, girl, try this dried tangerine peel…”

The girls spoke in Guangdong dialect, which Zheng Guanying understood word for word.

And where had they gotten such a large box of Guangdong-style preserved fruits?

Dried longan, old medicinal oranges, old fragrant yellow, dried tangerine peel and apricots, grass olives, plums, five-spice preserved plums, sugared star fruit, honey mango, preserved peach strips, nine-processed dried tangerine peel…

A full, large box, separated into different small containers.

Just looking at those colors, fresh and tempting, instantly transporting one back to the smoke-filled atmosphere of Guangzhou’s Shangxiajiu.

Looking at the packaging, it was somewhat rustic and outdated by Shanghai standards. But for Guangdong people, these were standard “childhood” snacks.

Zheng Guanying’s steps involuntarily slowed by half a beat.

Lin Yuchan had a piece of Buddha’s hand fruit in her mouth, mumbling as she called to the boatman: “Brother, come try some, clears heat and reduces fire, not too sweet!”

Zheng Guanying’s eyes darkened. The feast of meat and fish just now, besides not suiting his taste, had nearly made him sick with richness.

Suddenly that Miss Lin waved at him with a pure smile: “Fellow townsman, come eat some preserved plums! Authentic Chaozhou flavor!”

His mouth watered as he said coldly, “Don’t eat it, it causes internal heat!”

He turned to get in the cart, but his steps hesitated.

The sweet fragrance of preserved fruits rushed to his nostrils. Fresh and refreshing, very good for cutting grease.

Lin Yuchan took another bite of preserved fruit, filling her belly with fragrance.

A moment later, the servant ran to Lin Yuchan’s group with an apologetic smile.

“May I ask, aunties,” the servant inquired, “where did you buy these preserved fruits?”

Aunt Hong answered generously: “In Zhangjiang town, there’s a Chaozhou shop with fair prices. I can’t read, but the shop name is written here, take it!”

She tossed over a preserved plum container that indeed had a paper wrapper with the preserved fruit shop’s name and address written on it.

The servant was in a difficult position. He couldn’t read either!

He could only look back at his master.

“This… perhaps we should go look for ourselves. Thank you, auntie…”

Lin Yuchan quickly interjected: “No, their shop only opens half days, it’s already closed now! – Hey, brother, just take it, it’s not worth much money, and we’ve already opened and eaten from it anyway.”

The servant held the preserved plum container, at a loss.

Lin Yuchan and her sisters and brothers hastily packed up, washing bowls and chopsticks in the creek and boiling water for tea.

Finally, Lin Yuchan instructed the boatman: “Let’s go. We’ll look at Zhoupu next. How long does the waterway take?”

……………

The small boat had just started when suddenly there was a clip-clop sound as a mule cart on the nearby road moved slowly, parallel to the small boat.

“Xiangsheng is the benchmark.” Zheng Guanying poked his head out from the mule cart, saying coldly, “I’m not petty. Anything exceeding Xiangsheng quality, I’ll accept.”

He popped a preserved plum in his mouth and disappeared behind the curtain.

In the small boat, Aunt Hong and Aunt Nian looked at each other: “What does he mean? Will he accept our cotton?”

They could hardly believe it. One preserved plum had such power?

Lin Yuchan also frowned, carefully pondering Zheng Guanying’s last sentence, finding it quite headache-inducing.

The big shot was very cunning. He seemed to have given guidance, but said nothing.

His meaning was: if the raw cotton samples Boya provided were not inferior in quality to those his own Xiangsheng Company provided to Baoshun Trading House, then he would accept them.

The problem was, there were currently no national standards for evaluating raw cotton quality. Good or bad, accept or reject – it all depended on the comprador’s word.

This Zheng Guanying fellow wanted to be both referee and player – addicted to attacking and receiving himself!

When the time came, if he just said “not qualified,” what then?

The raw cotton she produced must have left Zheng Guanying speechless.