Making a Deal (2/3)

"What do you mean?" Ma Feifei was completely bewildered. One minute she was asking about the price, and the next she was saying she wouldn't sell?

Are you kidding me?

"Could it be..." Suddenly, Ma Feifei remembered something, his expression instantly turning serious. He leaned closer and whispered, "Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger."

"..." Now it was the woman's turn to be completely bewildered.

Seeing the woman's attitude, Ma Feifei immediately changed his tune. "A pheasant hiding its head in the sand?"

"..."

"Still not right?" Ma Feifei frowned, tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "No matter how far apart we are, our feelings will always remain?"

"..."

"Shoot the horse before the rider?"

"..."

"Alright, goodbye!" Ma Feifei got up, patted his bottom, and prepared to slip away.

"Hey!"

The woman behind him suddenly called out to Ma Feifei.

Ma Feifei stopped and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

The coded messages he just mentioned all came from his world. Ma Feifei didn't believe this woman could actually match them. To put it another way, even if she could, Ma Feifei might have to kill her to silence her.

Two tigers cannot share one mountain, unless one is male and the other female!

"Were you a bandit too?" The woman looked at Ma Feifei with a strange look in her eyes.

"Bandits?" Ma Feifei's eyelids twitched, and he said in surprise, "You discovered that?"

"Really?" The woman's face lit up with joy. She picked up a plate of pastries from the stall and handed it to Ma Feifei, saying, "Here! You can have some!"

Ma Feifei didn't stand on ceremony. She returned to the stall, squatted down, took the plate of pastries, and picked up a piece to eat.

"Hmm..." To be honest, the taste was alright, but it was far inferior to the pastries made by Zhang Caicai. Ma Feifei, whose appetite had long been spoiled, even found it a little hard to swallow.

"How is it? Is it delicious?" the woman asked, looking at Ma Feifei with concern.

"Not bad, delicious." Ma Feifei praised, but stubbornly refused to swallow the pastry. It wasn't that she couldn't swallow it, but she was afraid that Ma Feifei would eat a second piece later.

"Tell me, how much is it? I'll give it to you." Ma Feifei had also figured it out. He'd accept being ripped off; after all, he'd had no choice but to tease them for no reason.

The woman shook her head and said, "It's free, just finish it."

"..." Ma Feifei looked down at the seven pieces of pastry remaining in the porcelain bowl and fell silent.

He couldn't eat any more, so we made him finish it all.

However, seeing the expectant look in the other woman's eyes, Ma Feifei couldn't refuse. But he didn't finish all the pastries. While eating, he used his Divine Abilities and Spells to create an illusion. In the woman's eyes, it looked like Ma Feifei was eating the pastries, but in reality, Ma Feifei had hidden them in his spatial ring, and what he was chewing was empty.

"I must say, the matcha flavor is actually quite good." Ma Feifei wiped his mouth, handed the porcelain bowl back, looked at the woman, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Thank you for your hospitality. I won't disturb your business any longer. Farewell!"

After saying that, Ma Feifei prepared to slip away.

"Hey! Hey!" the woman called out hurriedly from behind, but how could Ma Feifei stop this time? He was going to act according to the script he had deduced. He had eaten the plate of pastries, and the other party didn't want money or Spirit Crystal, so they must have something else in mind!

Whether he wanted to ask for help or ask for a stranger's help, it was impossible, so Ma Feifei had no choice but to run away.

"Sorry, I can just have Zhang Caicai make you a new plate of pastries next time." Ma Feifei scurried up to the second floor, then turned around and went up to the third floor.

Ma Feifei's face had become a face that all employees in Wantong Trading Market needed to remember, so when Ma Feifei stepped into the third floor, not only did no one stop him, but they all bowed and greeted him.

The entire third floor is not open to the public on weekdays because, apart from a very large auction house, it is the working area for the staff of the Wantong Trading Market. Therefore, the third floor is much more spacious than the second and first floors.

Ma Feifei nodded in response as he walked, glancing around the third floor, and slowly made his way to Zhou Zhuling's office area.

Zhou Zhuling had received the servants' report first and was walking out of her office when she saw Ma Feifei approaching. She quickly stepped forward, curtsied, and said, "Brother Ma."

"Zhuling." Ma Feifei smiled and pulled out a plate with seven pastries on it. "Here, please have some pastries."

"Oh!" Zhou Zhuling was slightly surprised. Looking at the pastries on Ma Feifei's plate, she asked softly, "Did you make these yourself, Brother Ma?"

"Uh..." Ma Feifei was stunned. Before she could reply, Zhou Zhuling had already picked up a piece of pastry, covered her mouth with her other hand, and put the pastry into her mouth.

"It's delicious." Zhou Zhuling narrowed her eyes and couldn't help but exclaim.

"Is it delicious?" Ma Feifei looked at the pastries on the plate with a puzzled expression, and then picked up a piece and ate it.

The taste was no different from before, not as delicious as Zhou Zhuling had described, and even a bit hard for Ma Feifei to swallow.

"Delicious! Zhuling hasn't had such delicious pastries in a long time," Zhou Zhuling replied with a smile. As she spoke, she picked up another pastry and ate it with relish, leaving Ma Feifei stunned.

In the end, Zhou Zhuling actually ate all the pastries on the plate...

"Hmm... I ate a bit too much." Zhou Zhuling looked at the empty plate and felt a little embarrassed, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"No, no, you're so thin, you should eat more. Do you want some more? If so, I'll go buy some more." Ma Feifei found it a bit strange; these pastries were definitely not delicious, but Zhou Zhuling liked them so much, it just didn't make sense.

"No need." Zhou Zhuling shook her head, invited Ma Feifei her office, made him a cup of tea, placed it in front of Ma Feifei, and then asked, "Brother Ma, did you come to see Zhuling today?"

Ma Feifei was still reeling from Zhou Zhuling's strange behavior when she heard Zhou Zhuling's question. She subconsciously replied, "Yes, I wanted to ask you to go to the capital together."

"Go to the capital?" Zhou Zhuling frowned.

Ma Feifei snapped out of her daze and, seeing Zhou Zhuling's expression, immediately explained, "It's like this, the imperial examinations will be held in the capital on March 1st, and the exam content will all be based on the 'Four Books and Five Classics.' Didn't I mention it to you before? These 'Four Books and Five Classics' require a woman of utmost purity and innocence to master, so I came to tell you about it."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhuling suddenly realized and nodded, replying, "So my identity as Book-holding woman is specifically to serve the Path of Imperial Examination? It's said that the imperial examination is held every three years, so does that mean we Book-holding woman need to go to the capital every three years?"