Chapter 39

Mu Wanqing placed the order and paid half the deposit on the spot. Seeing her so decisive, Guo Er felt a little worried for her.
This child is too naive, far too easy to deceive.
He made a point of warning, "Boss Pan, ship the goods to the young fellow first, and whatever you do, don't mess it up. This is someone I brought here; I won't stand for being embarrassed."
"Don't worry." Boss Pan's eyes flickered. "Little brother, how will you move it? When will you transfer it? Give me a firm answer so I can make arrangements."
Mu Wanqing blinked. "I'm going to stay here a few more days. Don't ship it yet, at the very least the tea bricks have to be made before we move."
Boss Pan hurriedly asked, "You're going to make the tea bricks in the city?"
Mu Wanqing replied, puzzled, "Yes. Is there a problem?"
Boss Pan's eyes lit up. "No, no. If Young Brother Mu doesn't mind, you can stay at my house."
Mu Wanqing curled her lip, putting on the willful air of someone spoiled. "That won't do. I'm not used to living under someone else's roof; I lose all freedom."
“What do you mean, living under someone else's roof...?” Boss Pan laughed and cried, and his mind was made up. “All right then, I have a manor outside the city. You can move your people in there, and I'll have your goods brought over. How does that sound?”
Mu Wanqing deliberately wore a hesitant expression; seeing a chance, Boss Pan ramped up his persuasion.
Guo Er couldn't stand it any longer. No matter what, the youngster had followed him here; he felt a responsibility.
“Kid, you should stay with me. I've rented an inn, it's got plenty of room.”
Boss Pan frowned slightly. This fellow was actually trying to steal his offer! He must have his eye on the tea-brick technique too; the Guo family were impossibly shrewd.
With competition, he grew even more eager. “Kid, aren't you planning to make tea bricks? There's no room to tinker in an inn. Besides, whatever you need, just tell me. I can provide people, I can provide supplies, anything’s convenient for me.”
Mu Wanqing looked tempted but hesitant. “I'm not familiar with you. I’ll stick with Brother Guo.”
The implication was clear: she knew Guo Er better and trusted him more.
Guo Er's eyes shone with amusement, this child wasn't exactly foolish.
Since she trusted him like this, he felt all the more responsible for her; he couldn't let a sly merchant swindle her!
Boss Pan: ??? Am I a sly merchant now?
“Kid, I'm a native of Xinyang, born and raised. I know this place inside out, I'm not boasting, but there's nothing here I can't handle. I can meet any of your needs.”
Mu Wanqing opened wide, innocent eyes. “My elders say: 'When someone offers too much kindness for no reason, they're either a villain or a thief.' Which are you?”
Boss Pan's face froze. Is this kid genuinely stupid, or just pretending? He hated straightforward people the most!
“Hahaha.” Guo Er laughed heartily, this was too funny.
“I know.” Mu Wanqing clapped her hands; her dark eyes sparkled like a child who'd uncovered a secret, thrilled. “You're after my family's secret recipe, aren't you?”
Boss Pan was hit right on the mark, but he couldn't admit it. “No, no, I didn't. I'm not that sort of, ”
“Well, that can be discussed...” At the same time Mu Wanqing spoke, then let out an 'ah.' “If you didn't mean that, then never mind.”
Boss Pan: ...Can I take back what I just said?
“Actually, I'm still a little bit interested.”
Mu Wanqing looked disdainful. “That's too forced. No need.”
Boss Pan realized he couldn't beat around the bush with this one, she'd probably miss anything too subtle.
He had no choice but to be frank. “Young master, I'm very interested. Name your price.”
He assumed Mu Wanqing was immature; after all, who would sell an ancestral secret recipe so easily?
Only a prodigal would, so easy to dupe.
Unexpectedly, Mu Wanqing said, “Um... I'm not interested in money, and I don't know its value. What do you think is fair?”
That left him stuck. Even if Boss Pan wanted to trick her, Guo Er stood nearby, eyes like a hawk, ready to scoop up any bargain.
“I need to see the finished product first.”
Mu Wanqing was prideful, tilting her head. “Then forget it. I'm not interested in being picked over.”
Boss Pan felt a stabbing pain in his head. Why wouldn't this kid play by the usual rules?
It was impossible to reason with such a young child, exhausting.
“You misunderstand. How could I have such thoughts? It's just that I haven't seen the item, I don't feel reassured. As a businessman, isn't it reasonable to ask?”
“You're not wrong.” Mu Wanqing snorted coolly. “But I won't do business with someone who doesn't trust me.”
She looked at Guo Er sideways. “Brother Guo, do you want it?”
“Uh.” Guo Er hesitated briefly, then nodded decisively. “Yes.”
No one would ever think a secret recipe was too little, and he trusted Mu Wanqing.
Such an innocent child couldn't be lying.
People generally wouldn't be very guarded around a child of Mu Wanqing's age.
Mu Wanqing smiled happily. “All right, I'll give it to you, free of charge. You've been so considerate to me, I appreciate it.”
Like a pie falling from the sky, it hit Guo Er. He was flattered and astonished, free? The surprise was overwhelming.
But thinking of the family behind her, how could he dare only seek immediate gain?
“Kid, I appreciate the gesture, but doing this will anger your family. You don't understand how precious a secret recipe can be...”
He rattled on, partly out of genuine concern for Mu Wanqing, and partly because he didn't want to offend the powerful family standing behind her.
Her parents might be loath to strike their own child, but they wouldn't show the same restraint toward others, and it wouldn't be worth the trouble when the time came.
In truth, he had no idea: the free things are often the most costly.
Mu Wanqing looked bored and cut him off impatiently. “Then just give me some goods, call it an exchange. Let my family scold me; a few slaps won't matter. Consider you my friend.”
Her voice paused, then she said confidently, “I'll tell you quietly: my family's ancestors dote on me. No matter what trouble I get into, they'll protect me. What is there to fear?”
She said it 'quietly,' but everyone present heard.
Boss Pan's expression shifted several times; his emotions were a tangle.
They say nobles in the capital will spend fortunes on their whims. This young master from the capital happily gave away an ancestral formula when he felt like it, that's just... excessive.
His eyes reddened with envy.
But Guo Er was delighted; an exchange would do. “You're such an honest kid. All right, what do you like?”
Mu Wanqing's eyes lit up. “I like pretty fabrics.”
Guo Er couldn't help but laugh; it was pure childlike.
“My family also runs a textile business and produces fabrics of all kinds. I'll give you a thousand bolts of fine cloth, ten thousand of medium quality, and a hundred thousand of lower grades. How's that?”
He matched the quantities to the proportions she'd ordered tea in before. Although he didn't know why she'd chosen those amounts, he respected her preference.
All told that came to about a hundred thousand taels of silver, still, he thought it was worth buying the secret recipe.
Shen Yong and the others felt their pupils tighten; their eyes went wide, utterly shaken, could it really work like that?
Was this a classic case of getting something for nothing? She'd walked off with so much, and the other party was grateful, thereby forging a smooth relationship.
Had they not seen it with their own eyes, they'd never have believed it; she had so easily secured a whole batch of goods.
She'd given them a vivid lesson: one slick maneuver after another, yet she came away with all the benefits. Everything moved according to her will.
They'd fallen into her hands and could hardly complain.
She could make money, pull cons, stir up trouble, and smooth things over when needed.
With talents like that, her future was limitless.
With a daughter like this in the Mu household, what more could one ask for?
Mu Wanqing was a little surprised; she hadn't expected Guo Er to be so generous. "Brother Guo, you're too kind. I like it very much. Let's go to the inn where you stay."
"All right."
As the two prepared to leave, Boss Pan hurried to stop them. "Brother Guo, do me a favor, stay at my country estate. We've been friends for over a decade; you know I'm an honest businessman; I don't take crooked paths or seize others' goods."
If the tea-brick technique was genuine, the benefit to him would be enormous.
He oversaw the tea market and lamented the yearly losses; it pained him to watch.
If it worked, he could sell tea bricks directly and make even more money.
He patted his chest and promised, "I'll cover all the expenses. If you trust me, come stay."
He'd put it so plainly; Guo Er had business dealings with him and didn't want a falling out. "Little brother, what do you think?"
Mu Wanqing smiled ingenuously. "I'll follow Brother Guo Er. He's a good man; he wouldn't harm me."
Guo Er felt the weight of responsibility grow. "Then go stay," he said, convinced he could keep them safe.
If he offended the Guo family, even having a magistrate for a brother-in-law would still be something to watch out for.
Boss Pan's estate was large: rice paddies and all manner of vegetables and fruits, free-range chickens and ducks, a pond planted with lotuses and stocked with thousands of fish, everything to cover the Pan family's daily needs.
Boss Pan personally showed them around the estate; the pastoral beauty left Mu Wanqing thoroughly envious.
She wanted an estate like that!
In the southeast corner stood some low cottages where the farmhands lived; when Boss Pan arrived, men, women, old and young rushed over to greet him.
Boss Pan nodded with satisfaction. "These are skilled workers, if you need help, we can put them to work."
As he said it he looked at Mu Wanqing. She cast him a cool glance, part indifference, part mocking smile, part disdain, the very picture of an arrogant young master.
The bolder she acted, the less Boss Pan dared risk offending her.
Boss Pan felt weary; he could tell that all this daily posturing and outrageousness came from being spoiled at home.
What could he do? Not daring to offend her, he swallowed his grievances.
The main house was a four-courtyard siheyuan, sprawling but rather plain, nowhere near as refined as city dwellings.
The second courtyard had a large yard paved with bluestone, and a jujube tree stood planted in the center.
The third courtyard was smaller, but the furnishings were more delicate.
"Little brother, I’ll take the second courtyard, why don't you stay in the third, alright?"
"Fine," Mu Wanqing said, expressing no objection.
And so the pleasant decision was made: Mu Wanqing and her people moved into the third courtyard.
Boss Pan fussed over them, sending servants to clean and arrange the rooms, bustling about in a frenzy.
He even wanted to assign a few maids to serve Mu Wanqing, but she sent him away with a single sentence.
She simply said she liked quiet and wasn't used to strangers nearby; it made her feel as if she were being watched.
Boss Pan fell silent, how was anyone supposed to answer such bluntness?
Admit it or deny it? Never mind; grown-ups are magnanimous, no need to squabble with a child.
Mu Wanqing didn't take the main room; she moved into the east wing, which was fully furnished, the carved canopy bed particularly lovely.
As the servants tidied, she propped her chin on her hand on the steps, her mind racing as she replayed the day's plans, any slip-ups? Anything to patch?
Servants brought snacks and hot tea; after a quiet pause, seeing Mu Wanqing gave no orders, they slipped out.
Once the rooms were arranged, the servants withdrew; there were no outsiders around.
The Second Master Mu and his son stepped out of the shadows. Mu Zicheng held a cushion. "Sister, it's cold to sit on the ground, take this."
Mu Wanqing accepted it with a smiling squint and put it under herself. "Thank you, big brother."
Though she smiled, a trace of weariness showed in her eyes.
Constant intense concentration, always poised to act, it had left her exhausted.
Mu Zicheng felt a pang of pity; others only saw her strength, not the private toil, the way she pondered and weighed each step.
"You're tired, aren't you? Why don't you sleep a bit in your room, my father and I will keep watch outside the door."
Shen Yong and his men checked each room to make sure there were no outsiders, then posted two companions at the courtyard gate.
Shen Yong hurried to Mu Wanqing, looking at her eagerly and beside himself with excitement. "Third Miss, you're a born prodigy. You're the one I admire most in my life."
He finally understood why Officer Zeng, as the head of the escorting officers, would comply so utterly with an exiled prisoner, and she was only a thirteen-year-old girl!
That intelligence, those methods, that cunning, who could outplay her?
"Not only did you hook up with the Guo family and get into the tea market smoothly, but most importantly, you even conned them into giving you a batch of cloth..."
She could spin a tale, act a role, craft a plan and persuade, somehow she managed to pull all the benefits into her own bowl.
Mu Wanqing picked up a pastry. "Wrong, I traded the secret recipe for it."
"You really have a secret recipe? A Mu family heirloom?" Shen Yong found it unbelievable. Even if such a thing existed, it would never belong to the second branch, and certainly not to Mu Wanqing.
Mu Wanqing lifted an eyebrow faintly. "What do you think?"
She kept quiet, and Shen Yong, thankfully, didn't press, his wits weren't as sharp as some. "What shall we do next? I'll cooperate fully."
Mu Wanqing glanced toward the courtyard gate, the corner of her mouth quirking up. "Wait."
Shen Yong blinked. "Wait for what?"
"Wait for the fish to bite." Mu Wanqing's plan was meant to strike multiple targets with a single arrow.
One link fitted another, each detail exacting and precise to the extreme.