“I didn’t get involved in the specifics.” Su Minguan pointed to a worker busy on the dock and said frankly, “Ask Brother Peng.”

Brother Peng’s full name was Shi Peng. He was the worker who opened the door for Lin Yuchan during her first visit to Yixing Boat Company, and also one of the first batch of Green Gang members to “surrender.” By age, he was old enough to be Su Minguan’s father. However, now that Su Minguan was the helmsman, he automatically elevated his seniority. That he could still be mindful of age and call his subordinate “brother” was already considered trendy and innovative, which everyone could only accept with trepidation.

Shi Peng was originally from Guangxi and was said to be a fellow townsman of Shi Dakai. In his youth, he was also a hot-blooded young man skilled in martial arts, following various groups in rebellion after rebellion. Later, he became addicted to opium, abandoning his life goals one by one, and could only settle under Chu Nanyun’s command, beating people and collecting money, planning to spend his old age this way.

Until Su Minguan took over Yixing, using thunderous methods to throw all the opium addicts in the boat company into a small dark room, providing food, water, and bedding, but not a single puff of opium. The window had a small crack open, outside of which was the most turbulent bend of the Suzhou River.

Half a month later, when the lock was opened, only half the people remained in the small, dark room. Shi Peng was fortunately among them. From then on, he was completely transformed, obeying the parachuted Guangdong Jin Lanhe without question.

Shi Peng was currently adding spare sails to a boat. Seeing Lin Yuchan approach, he dropped his work to greet her: “Miss Lin, please sit!”

His attitude was very respectful.

On the night Yixing changed flags, half the workers witnessed how Lin Yuchan went to the meeting alone, how she pretended to be affectionate with Helmsman Su, yet somehow magically smuggled him a foreign gun – to this day, no one could figure out how she did it. The details became more and more fantastical in the telling, so that everyone looked at Lin Yuchan with increasingly reverent eyes. Lin Yuchan felt that Yixing’s workers probably regarded her as something like a “senior female agent of the Heaven and Earth Society.”

Su Minguan surprisingly didn’t correct this, letting his subordinates speculate wildly.

Lin Yuchan had naturally explained, saying she was just from a bought servant girl background and had been doing manual labor the whole previous year – incredible, everyone became even more in awe. Masters hide among the common people, after all.

She had no choice but to stop explaining, planning to let time dilute this absurd persona.

When Shi Peng understood her confusion, he laughed until he was doubled over, the spots on his face trembling along.

“About this matter, haha, Jin… um, the boss, the boss did indeed let us handle it freely, only making two requirements – no bloodshed allowed, no destroying property. We brothers are all battle-tested, and we have plenty of methods. Yesterday was just a small test…”

Lin Yuchan frowned, “So he did play tricks.”

Shi Peng laughed: “We split into two groups. One team pretended to be former subordinates of Boss Chu, Chu Nanyun, ran to his trading house to swagger about demanding payment of debts, making as if to smash the shop – shamefully speaking, the brothers used to do exactly this kind of work, so we knew it inside and out, acting more realistically than the real thing. That Boss Rong and his workers hadn’t expected us to make a comeback, they were all panicked beyond belief. Then the other team, wearing our Guangzhou Yixing uniforms, ‘happened’ to pass by, drew their swords to help, beat the first group of bullies until they were fleeing in panic, forced to swear to get out of Shanghai…”

Lin Yuchan became increasingly speechless, caught between crying and laughing.

“This is way too crude…”

Su Minguan said he hadn’t inquired about the details. Now she believed him. This kind of third-rate martial arts drama trick was not something Young Master Su’s mind could devise.

But…

“It worked!” Shi Peng laughed heartily, “The people at Boya Trading House were shocked for a long time, then wept with joy, saying things like finally someone dealt with the bullies, it seems China still has righteous people, the country has hope… Ai, I think that scholarly boss also reads himself stupid, what does this have to do with the country? We weren’t sent by the government.”

Lin Yuchan bit her lip and smiled helplessly: “Mr. Rong isn’t that stupid. As long as he could confirm Shanghai Yixing had fallen, it would lift a huge weight off his heart. He’d be too happy to care, even if he saw through the act, why expose it?”

Shi Peng was startled: “He could see through it? No, no, he didn’t see through it. He even wanted to give us a gratitude reward.”

Lin Yuchan smiled, thanked Shi Peng, and politely left.

Su Minguan waited in the small guest tea room, practicing calligraphy with his left hand to pass the time.

Today there was abundant sunshine, warm light filling the shop front, with two or three portions streaming through the small window into the tea room, forming a dancing patch of light by his hand.

That patch of light was suddenly disrupted. Lin Yuchan pushed the door and entered.

“Fifteen hundred taels is still too much,” she said without pleasantries. “Mr. Rong won’t consider it.”

Although Su Minguan’s methods were somewhat unseemly, they were at least above her bottom line. Moreover, since Rong Hong had expressed acceptance of Yixing, she would be unusually lenient for once, temporarily shelving her impulse to “severely scold” and “teach him a lesson.”

But she still felt the young master was being a bit too arrogant.

“There are currently four boat companies queuing at Mr. Rong’s place,” she said. “The lowest bid is eight hundred taels.”

Su Minguan immediately responded: “None of them can compare to me.”

“You have to make Mr. Rong believe that.”

Su Minguan put down his brush and smiled faintly.

“A’Mei, he trusts you, not me.” He said calmly, “If you could do me the honor of earnestly acting as my advocate once, I think Mr. Rong would be happy to pay that extra seven hundred taels.”

Lin Yuchan smiled: “Oh my, what an honor.”

But when she thought about it seriously, Su Minguan wasn’t talking nonsense.

If Rong Hong could complete this huge business deal, the seven hundred tael difference would be a drop in the bucket.

As long as she said a few good words, slightly tilting the scales in Rong Hong’s heart, he would pay that money very readily.

Lin Yuchan said seriously, “This concerns Mr. Rong’s safety. I can’t help you cheat.”

Su Minguan: “…”

Where did this inexplicable sense of justice come from?

He helplessly put away his papers and brush, stood up, and pulled down the window curtain, blocking the glaring sunlight. Standing side by side with her, he spoke heart to heart: “If you care so much about Mr. Rong’s safety, you should know that letting him choose those random, questionable boat companies would be harming him – I’m not asking for anything else, could you just invite him to come take a look? Is that okay?”

“…Besides, you can’t just order me around for nothing. That’s called exploitation.”

Lin Yuchan finished the second half of her sentence with a smile.

Su Minguan gritted his teeth lightly. This girl learned from him so quickly, truly a case of the student starving the teacher.

Lin Yuchan turned her face to look at his slightly stunned expression, feeling very pleased, and smiled: “Who told you not to lower the price?”

Su Minguan stared blankly at the crack on the opposite wall and sighed: “A’Mei, I’m starving to death, we’re really short of money, we can’t even pay the fines.”

Lin Yuchan smiled without speaking.

“You know what they say about getting what you pay for – would you dare buy something too cheap?”

Lin Yuchan shrugged.

Su Minguan was completely speechless. He suddenly moved close, leaned down near her ear, and asked gently:

“What kickback do you want?”

His breath was warm and gentle as a feather.

Lin Yuchan’s heart jumped, startled, involuntarily turning her head away.

If you only listened to his tone, you’d think he was about to confess his feelings to her.

She said breathlessly: “That’s not what I meant…”

“However much you can negotiate down from the final price, I’ll pay you three percent commission. We can negotiate further.”

His voice was somewhat hoarse, lazy, and languid, blowing by her ear with incomparable seduction.

Originally, they were standing side by side, but with his slight turn, he trapped her between the desk and the tea table. She instinctively leaned back slightly.

Lin Yuchan felt a bit guilty and wanted to distance herself from him.

She didn’t mean it that way, so how did his interpretation make her seem so depraved, so driven by profit?

This man was too frightening, even conducting business with such passionate tenderness.

She hadn’t retreated a step before he gently pulled her back, not letting her move. His throat rolled lightly, his gaze burning, his beautiful eyes black as lacquer, with undisguised fervor.

He had never shown her such direct aggression before. For a moment, Lin Yuchan was somewhat afraid, heat slowly climbing her ears. She felt a bit parched and wanted to drink the tea from his hand.

The tea room curtain was drawn. Even if someone outside heard fragments of conversation, they would only hear Boss Su talking business in grand terms, shamelessly discussing details of under-the-table deals.

But they couldn’t see that his negotiating opponent’s face was red enough to rival the tea in the cup.

Su Minguan’s eyes curved slightly at the corners.

The little girl was like a kitten – even though she had grown taller and more rounded, when all her fur stood on end, she was still smaller than he by a size. In his daily business dealings, he faced fierce tigers, accumulating a belly full of schemes and plots, but he was too embarrassed to use them on her. Even speaking a bit more heavily felt like bullying.

“Of course, ‘kickback’ doesn’t sound good, I know.” He finally chose the most considerate attitude, leaning close to her ear to say softly, “How about calling it commission – earning it as labor fees, nothing shameful. You don’t need to blush. Rong Hong doesn’t understand transportation industry customs. This commission should have been paid by him, but now I’m paying you – can’t let you suffer a loss.”

Lin Yuchan took a deep breath, withstanding the invisible pressure from all directions, and said quietly: “I don’t lack money…”

She only pursued having enough to eat and wear; money was already sufficient. With several hundred taels of silver on hand, she was even worried about thieves targeting her.

Su Minguan smiled slightly, as if not believing her, or as if laughing at her naivety.

“A’Mei, are you trying to give me a hard time? You know, money is the easiest thing to solve.”

“…”

“Well then, what do you want? I’ll try my best to figure it out – or should I guess?”

He spoke softly and continuously, not giving her time to think properly, with an attitude of “won’t give up until we reach an agreement.”

Lin Yuchan’s heartbeat calmed, gradually adapting to the distance between them. She focused on staring at a pair of small fabric buttons on his chest, even managing to multitask and think that his clothes were freshly washed and ironed, with a faint pleasant scent – she wondered which soap he used.

She looked up, boldly meeting his gaze, looking searchingly into his eyes.

Su Minguan smiled back at her. After about ten seconds, he lowered his lashes and turned to get the teapot.

“Let me change the tea. Lapsang Souchong?”

As if giving her a moment to catch her breath.

Lin Yuchan lightly tugged his sleeve, pulling him back.

“I’m thinking. Don’t go.”

Su Minguan raised an eyebrow, indeed not moving, leaning casually against the desk, waiting for her.

Lin Yuchan lowered her head and couldn’t help using the back of her hand to cool her cheeks. She smiled slightly.

So he could only last about ten seconds. A paper tiger.

He even tried to seduce her. Step by step, pressing forward, almost making her lose her composure.

Too bad this “ancient person” underestimated his opponent. Though Lin Yuchan was just a young girl, she had at least chatted up the school heartthrob, issued good guy cards to chubby boys, and angrily slapped flashers on buses. By Qing Dynasty standards, she could be considered worldly.

She wouldn’t be dazzled by a pretty face in confusion.

And him? How many businesswomen had he encountered since entering the trade? This was probably his first time using such tactics.

She’d give him a passing grade, not afraid of making him proud.

Su Minguan’s resorting to such desperate measures today showed he was at the end of his rope.

She had seen through his hand now.

However, “fighting fire with fire” – she wasn’t confident about that. The opponent’s eyes were too sharp; she feared accidentally capsizing.

Lin Yuchan’s thoughts slowly turned, and she smiled shyly: “Alright then, let’s talk commission.”

Su Minguan’s gaze returned, lightly touching her face, and he smiled: “Tea first.”

The more urgent he felt inside, the less he showed it on his face. Instead, he appeared unhurried, steadily pouring out the first rinse of tea.

Lin Yuchan also slowly sipped her tea. He temporarily had no money to purchase superior tea implements, only using the most common white ground blue flower straight-sided cups from the market. Held and turned by his lean, elegant hands, even those cups gained three parts more beauty, very pleasing to the eye.

Lin Yuchan boldly appreciated the view.

After a long while, seeing his eyes grow slightly restless, she slowly said: “I don’t want money.”

“Mm, I’m listening.”

“I want shares in Yixing.”

With a ding, Lin Yuchan set down her teacup and looked directly into Su Minguan’s eyes.