"As long as it's a business related to money, he'll do it," Jing Xunchao said.
"You mean the things he sold in the Qin Dynasty might have been a coincidence?" Mu Fengqie asked, skeptical.
"It's not impossible. Anyway, we now have a way to meet Teng Liu," Jing Xunchao said, his eyes fixed intently on Mu Fengqie.
"What are you up to?" Mu Fengqie frowned. She always felt that Jing Xunchao had something in mind about her.
"Qie'er, don't you have an express delivery station in the Country of Karshid?" Jing Xunchao voiced his idea. They would approach Teng Liu as the owners of the express delivery station, gain his trust, and then obtain the list of people who bought goods from him.
"Will it work?" Mu Fengqie looked at Jing Xunchao doubtfully. Their express delivery station usually kept a clear - cut line from other industries.
"Sure it will. And maybe in the end, our express delivery station in the Country of Karshid will even get the protection of the royal court." As long as there were enough benefits, success was guaranteed.
At first, Mu Fengqie remained skeptical, but after meeting Teng Liu, all her doubts vanished. This man was so money - hungry. She had never seen anyone like him.
Compared to Teng Liu, Jiang Yanqin was just a novice.
"I wonder what you two want to talk to me about?" Teng Liu didn't put on airs and got straight to the point. There was nothing more appealing than making money. The smell of copper coins and the glint of gold made him happy just thinking about them.
Seeing his master drifting off again, the guard behind Teng Liu couldn't help but cough a few times. Master, mind your image. We're in public.
"We're here on behalf of the express delivery station. I'm the behind - the - scenes boss," Mu Fengqie said without hiding her identity. As expected, it piqued Teng Liu's interest.
"So, madam, how do you want to talk to me?" Teng Liu asked, smiling at Mu Fengqie.
"We sincerely want to make friends with you, Young Master Teng. After all, your status will be beneficial to the future development of our express delivery station," Mu Fengqie parried.
"Really? But I don't think I can offer you any protection. Sometimes, I can hardly protect myself," he said truthfully. He was assassinated every day, but none of the attempts had been successful.
"Maybe you'll develop better if you stay away from me."
Jing Xunchao said indifferently, "You don't have to worry about this, Young Master Teng. We're here for cooperation. You don't have to worry about anything else."
"Since you two have said so much, it would be ungrateful of me to decline." Teng Liu waved his hand, and everyone in the room left, leaving only Jing Xunchao and Mu Fengqie.
"Since you two have come all the way to the Country of Karshid, I can't let you go empty - handed." With that, Teng Liu took out a pre - prepared contract and handed it to Mu Fengqie.
When Mu Fengqie saw the profit - sharing terms, she was shocked. This man was so... "Young Master Teng, aren't you being too greedy?"
The contract demanded 70% of the profits from her express delivery station in the Country of Karshid.
No matter how little Mu Fengqie cared about such things, Teng Liu's greed still shocked her. Jing Xunchao took the contract and frowned.
"Madam, you're wrong. I'm making a great sacrifice by agreeing to do business with you. After all, you're going to cut off one of my money - making routes." He recognized Mu Fengqie at first sight and guessed the identity of Jing Xunchao beside her.
It was easy to figure out their purpose. He didn't have much business with the Qin Dynasty, only one deal with the Jiang family. So their purpose was obvious.
Mu Fengqie and Jing Xunchao glanced at each other. They didn't expect their purpose to have been discovered.
"In that case, we'll be straightforward. We want the list of people from the Qin Dynasty who bought goods from you," Mu Fengqie said.
"Yes, I can give it to you, but I need you to agree to the terms in this contract. Then you can buy the information from me at the market price," Teng Liu said, fanning his fan. He was a real money - grubber.
"I'm starting to suspect that you and Jiang Yanqin have the same teacher," Mu Fengqie said. They were both so money - hungry, but Teng Liu seemed to be on a higher level.
"Jiang Yanqin? The emperor of the Southern Qing? I know him. How could we have the same teacher?" Teng Liu asked puzzledly. His martial arts were taught by his master, and his master had never mentioned having other apprentices.
"Never mind. I was just overthinking. Jiang Yanqin is also very money - hungry. You can get to know each other sometime," Mu Fengqie said. Then you can compare who is more money - hungry.
"Really? If you say so, I'm quite interested," Teng Liu said. There were many money - hungry people in the world, but the one this lady mentioned must be extraordinary.
"Okay, let's get back to the point. We agree to the terms in the contract, but about buying the information at the market price..." Jing Xunchao said hesitantly.
"The price is non - negotiable. It's a fixed price. You either agree or leave," Teng Liu interrupted Jing Xunchao. He wasn't going to let anyone take a single cent from him. He would never do a losing deal.
"I wasn't talking about that. I was asking how much the information costs. We just arrived here and don't know," Jing Xunchao said, looking at Teng Liu speechlessly.
Realizing his misunderstanding, Teng Liu coughed awkwardly twice. "Well, it's a thousand taels of silver notes. Cash on delivery. No bargaining."
Jing Xunchao and Mu Fengqie now knew that Teng Liu was a real miser. No one could get an extra cent from him, and he would never allow himself to make a loss.
"Okay, deal," Jing Xunchao said, taking out a thousand taels of silver notes from his pocket. This was the money left from when he asked for payment according to Qie'er's list. He still had quite a bit, but they had lost so much today, especially Qie'er.
After they left, he would go to a few more houses to ask for money. He couldn't let his wife suffer a loss.
After getting what he wanted, Jing Xunchao invited Teng Liu warmly, "Young Master Teng, you can visit the Qin Dynasty sometime. We'll surely give you a warm welcome."
"I'm not going. You just want to swindle my money."