Targeted

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Lin Zheyu got straight to the point.

"It's impossible for me to leave Bi Dan Teahouse and come to Yi Xiang Teahouse to tell stories. After all, Steward Wu once did me a favor."

Jia Yanming was briefly taken aback. His expression darkened.

"Don't worry. Though I won't leave Bi Dan Teahouse, I can provide you with stories."

"Songyi City doesn't lack Storytellers skilled at their craft. Compared to the old masters who have honed their skills for years, my storytelling techniques are not worth mentioning."

"What they lack is simply a fresh, good story. And good stories are exactly what I have." Lin Zheyu spoke slowly.

"Oh?"

"Stories as exciting as the ones you tell at Bi Dan Teahouse?" Jia Yanming became interested.

Lin Zheyu was right. His storytelling skills truly fell short of many veteran Storytellers who had polished their craft for years.

His advantage lay mainly in how fresh and exciting his stories were.

A good story was like a foundation. Only once the foundation was laid could storytelling techniques be used to build pavilions and palaces upon it.

"Absolutely thrilling!" Lin Zheyu said with certainty.

"Do you have a finished manuscript?"

"I do. This is the first installment of a new story. Take a look first."

Lin Zheyu handed over the manuscript he had prepared in advance. It was the same story he had given the three Storytellers yesterday.

Jia Yanming took the manuscript and quickly skimmed through it.

He could read; otherwise, he would never have risen to the position of steward.

A few minutes later, Jia Yanming finished the first installment, a satisfied smile appearing on his face. The story was of good quality.

"Good, then it's settled!"

"I'll pay two hundred copper coins for each installment. What do you think?"

Jia Yanming said. The content of one installment was just enough for a Storyteller to speak for an entire day.

"No need for two hundred copper coins. I'll only charge you eighty."

"However, I've also sold this story to others. If you want exclusive rights, it'll cost more—four hundred copper coins."

Lin Zheyu opened his mouth like a lion, leaving room for bargaining.

"You sold it to others too?"

Jia Yanming frowned. That would not do.

Why was Bi Dan Teahouse so popular? Wasn't it because the stories Lin Zheyu told were new? Not only were they utterly captivating, they could only be heard at Bi Dan Teahouse and nowhere else.

If people could hear them elsewhere too, the audience would have more options and might not necessarily come to their teahouse.

"That won't do. Do you have anything exclusive? Let me see it first," Jia Yanming said.

Deep down, he was secretly shocked by Lin Zheyu's creative ability.

Not only was he telling new stories at Bi Dan Teahouse, he could also provide different stories to other Storytellers—and they were all exceptionally exciting.

If he could produce yet another story and sell it exclusively to him, that would be truly astonishing.

"I came prepared."

"I originally planned to make this story into a series, but Master Liang said he liked stories about martial artists, so I wrote another one instead. This story ended up with nowhere to be told."

"Since I have no use for it, I'll sell it to you."

Lin Zheyu said with a smile, deliberately mentioning Master Liang in hopes of intimidating Jia Yanming. He did not know whether Master Liang's name carried any weight.

"Master Liang? Which Master Liang?"

Jia Yanming accepted the manuscript and asked as though he did not care.

"Master Liang Song. I've already become his disciple," Lin Zheyu said.

Liang Song?

Jia Yanming pondered for a moment, and the image of a limping Old Man surfaced in his mind.

He had heard his younger brother mention this man. Supposedly, he was quite capable, though he rarely made a move and kept an extremely low profile.

Jia Yanming silently remembered the name, intending to ask Jia Yanyong about him in detail once he returned.

He quickly skimmed through the manuscript Lin Zheyu had provided.

It was a story about a scholar, part of the same series as the story Lin Zheyu had previously told at Bi Dan Teahouse.

"Good!"

"Worthy of Mister Lin. To write so many wonderful stories—your literary talent is truly remarkable."

"I want both this story and the one from earlier. Can you make it cheaper?"

Jia Yanming made his decision at once.

Both stories were exceptionally exciting. With Jia Yanming's decades of experience and discernment, they would undoubtedly become popular.

"I'll round it off for you. Make it five hundred copper coins."

Jia Yanming: "..."

Jia Yanming narrowed his eyes, his brow creasing as though to say, Do you take me for an idiot?

"Haha, just joking. I'll give you a discount—four hundred and fifty copper coins. No bargaining." Lin Zheyu smiled.

"Fine, four hundred and fifty copper coins it is."

Jia Yanming agreed readily.

The quality of these two stories was high. With them, Yi Xiang Teahouse's business would flourish even more.

"Steward Jia is a straightforward man. Come, this cup is for you!"

Lin Zheyu raised his cup, in a fine mood.

Not only had he resolved a troublesome matter, he would also gain an extra four hundred and fifty copper coins in income each day.

Together with the three Storytellers, that gave him an additional daily income of six hundred and ninety copper coins.

Bai Shan District.

Gao Yu looked at Skinny Monkey, who lay barely breathing on the sickbed, his brows tightly furrowed.

The physician had just examined him and said he had been poisoned. Even if he recovered, he would likely be crippled for life and unable to do heavy labor.

"Brother Yu, you have to... have to... avenge me!"

Skinny Monkey looked at Gao Yu and spoke with difficulty.

"Big Brother, what should we do about this? Should we report it to the authorities?" another man asked.

"Report your head."

"He failed to steal anything and got poisoned instead. If we report it, do you want the yamen to arrest us?"

Gao Yu cursed furiously, feeling exceedingly agitated.

After years of thieving and petty theft, this was the first time he had encountered such a ruthless person—someone who smeared poison on the sharp objects atop his walls.

"This absolutely cannot end here."

Gao Yu gritted his teeth and spoke bitterly.

It was the first time he had suffered at the hands of an outsider without clan or family backing like Lin Zheyu. Gao Yu refused to believe he could not handle a weak scholar.

"Yanling, Wen Biao, the two of you keep an eye on Lin Zheyu. Watch his movements every day, and find out the situation around his residence as well."

Gao Yu said. This matter absolutely could not be let go so easily.

That brat Lin Zheyu was merely a destitute scholar who had fled from Jiu Nan City. Even if he had earned a little money now, he had no backing—wasn't he still theirs to knead and pinch as they pleased?

The only trouble was that he stayed in the Inner City. Security there was stricter, making it difficult to act.

"Brother Yu, are we going to make a move in the Inner City?"

Wen Biao asked, fear in his heart.

If they were discovered acting inside the city, the punishment would be severe.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine."

"As long as we find a deserted place to act and aren't discovered, there won't be a problem."

"A Refugee like him, who fled here alone with no one to rely on—even if he disappears, no one will stand up for him," Gao Yu said.

"Are we really going to kill him?"

Yanling felt somewhat reluctant.

Though he had stolen and done plenty of bad things, he had never killed anyone.

"That depends on whether the brat knows what's good for him. If he does, and gives sufficient compensation, we can spare his life."

Gao Yu said coldly.

After discussing it for a while, the group came up with a simple plan.

After reaching a partnership with Jia Yanming, Lin Zheyu let out a sigh of relief.

He no longer needed to worry about Jia Yanming's Flying Rainbow Gang brother coming to cause trouble or plotting against him in secret.

However, Lin Zheyu did not remove the mechanisms from his courtyard. The world was not peaceful, and since he lived alone in Songyi City, it was better to take precautions.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, six days went by.

Lin Zheyu's days were going well.

His team of Storytellers had grown ever larger, reaching nine people, though the price had dropped somewhat, to fifty copper coins per person each day.

The income brought in by the nine Storytellers, together with the payment for supplying manuscripts to Yi Xiang Teahouse and what he earned from telling stories himself, had reached around one thousand five hundred copper coins.

That was equivalent to one tael of silver.