"Thirty in seven days? That's far too rushed, and you're driving the price so low. Even if I make them, the quality won't be any good..." The shopkeeper kept grumbling, his enthusiasm decidedly lacking.
Wang Yang smiled easily. "Then what if I told you that, seven days from now, you'd earn a thousand coins on each one? What would you say?"
"How much?!" The shopkeeper's eyes widened. He wondered whether his ears had failed him.
"The young master said a thousand coins!" Little A-Wu held up one finger.
Wang Yang smiled without a word.
"Have you come to make a fool of me, young master?" The shopkeeper's face darkened.
"Do you think I have time for that? Of the thirty fans, I want ten with black handles and twenty with natural wood handles.
"Seven days from now, put the black-handled fans on sale first, at ten thousand coins each.
"As for the other twenty with natural wood handles, put them out only after the black-handled ones sell out. Charge eight thousand each, and don't lower the price.
"I have a way to sell every last one of these thirty folding fans!
"For every black-handled fan you sell, you'll get a thousand coins out of the ten thousand. For every natural wood-handled fan, you'll get eight hundred.
"Well? Do you want to make this money or not?"
The shopkeeper was dumbstruck. If Wang Yang hadn't been dressed like a member of the gentry, he would surely have thought the young man had lost his mind! Ten thousand coins for a useless, flimsy paper fan! Where would he find so many fools?!
But on second thought, if this young master wanted to go mad, let him. Even if they didn't sell, the shopkeeper wouldn't lose anything. He put on a smile and said:
"Then thank you very much, young master. But mine is a small business. Thirty fans will come to twelve hundred coins. Will you be paying cash, or-"
Wang Yang casually took out a hundred coins and set them down.
"Keep the change. Make one for me to inspect first, and deliver it to the Commandery Academy on Sima Street before tomorrow evening. Ask for Young Master Wang. Remember, money isn't an issue. Quality comes first. If you do a good job, I'll order another thirty from you. If you don't, the deal is off."
Seeing Wang Yang spend so generously, the shopkeeper beamed with delight and thanked him again and again. It never occurred to him that this young gentleman couldn't actually afford to pay for the fans right now.
Wang Yang gave him further detailed instructions on how the folding fan should turn out, and the shopkeeper nodded and committed everything to memory.
After Wang Yang left the shop, Little A-Wu asked in puzzlement, "You could have bought it for forty coins, young master. Why did you give him so much?"
"We should save where we can, but when money needs spending, we can't hesitate, or we might ruin things. Take this folding fan, for instance. No one's ever made one before, and no one knows how. If the shopkeeper is unwilling and resentful, how can he give it his all? That's why we have to give him a little sweetener, something to make him happy and give him hope for the future. That gives him motivation."
Little A-Wu seemed thoughtful. "Then A-Wu was wrong. I shouldn't have said forty coins."
"You weren't wrong. We have to bargain the price down, or the shopkeeper will think we're easy marks. Suppose we'd offered a hundred coins right away. Even if he agreed, he might not be satisfied. He might even think he'd asked for too little. But settle on forty first, then give him a hundred, and he'll be overjoyed. We're paying a hundred either way, but the effect is completely different."
"I think I understand a little, but why does it work like that?"
"That's human nature. Have you heard the story of 'three in the morning, four in the evening'?"
A-Wu shook her head.
"Once there was a man who kept monkeys. He told them that from then on, each monkey would get three chestnuts in the morning and four in the evening. The monkeys were very unhappy. So he immediately changed his tune and said, all right, then they'd get four in the morning and three in the evening. The monkeys were all happy after that. What do you think this story teaches us, A-Wu?" Wang Yang asked, patiently guiding her.
"Um... young master, could we... buy a bag of chestnuts..."
Wang Yang: -_-||
"That's not even a full bag! You promised a bag!"
"It's not full enough! Put some more in!"
"More!"
Little A-Wu watched the vendor's movements closely, urging him on at every turn.
The vendor's "hand-shaking technique" had little room to work against A-Wu. The bag was filled so high that several chestnuts on top rolled onto the ground.
A-Wu hurried over to pick them up.
The vendor said irritably, "See? See? I told you it couldn't hold any more!"
Wang Yang smiled. "A-Wu, come back. That's enough."
"Out of the way!"
A shout rang out!
Hooves pounded!
A rider came hurtling toward them on a galloping horse!!!
A-Wu had just picked up two chestnuts when she felt a rush of wind behind her head. Turning, she saw two heavy hooves bearing down on her!
"A-Wu!"
Wang Yang was terrified out of his wits, but there was no time to save her!
Everyone thought the little girl would die horribly beneath the horse's hooves in the next instant,
but a blue-green blur suddenly darted from the roadside, swift as wind and lightning, scooped up A-Wu, and rolled away!
In that hairbreadth instant, the blue-green figure somersaulted forward, swinging the black scabbard at her waist across the horse's hooves with a sharp crack!
The horse reared, its whinny piercing the sky!
The man on its back hauled hard on the reins. Startled, the horse crashed headfirst into the stone wall of the shop opposite.
On the other side, the blue-green-clad figure rolled to the roadside with A-Wu in her arms and braced a hand against the ground to stop.
She had been wearing a bamboo hat, but it had fallen off as she rolled, revealing a cascade of dark hair that streamed in the wind.
It was a beautiful young woman!
How could such a beautiful woman possess such deft skills?!
The people lining the street burst into applause.
"A-Wu! Are you all right? Are you hurt?"
Wang Yang rushed over, took A-Wu from the young woman's arms, and checked her all over.
Little A-Wu had been frightened senseless too. She threw herself into Wang Yang's arms, holding back her tears to preserve her dignity.
Wang Yang stroked her head and reassured her again and again.
The woman in blue-green stood up, and Wang Yang hurriedly rose as well. Bowing with his hands clasped, he said, "Thank you for coming to her aid! I can't thank you enough!"
The woman nodded. "It's nothing."
Her voice was clear and cold, carrying an intangible sense of keeping others a thousand miles away.
She wore men's clothing and was tall and trim, with long, shapely legs. Like Xie Xinghan, she showed none of the coy bashfulness common among young women of the time.
But Xie Xinghan's composure came from a blend of intelligence, worldly poise, and impeccable upbringing, calm yet still lively.
This woman, by contrast, was aloof and austere. Her high, finely sculpted nose and the cool, elegant peaks of her brows added a stubborn sharpness and distant reserve to that chill.
It seemed that no commotion or mishap could disturb her. Even the danger just now appeared to be a trifling matter to her, leaving not a ripple in her cool, beautiful features.
"What blind fool dared hurt my horse?!"
"Move! All of you, move!"
A young man with dark stubble on his jaw pushed through the crowd and strode over aggressively. He wore a pale blue trousers-and-jacket outfit, with no armor over it, though leather bracers guarded his wrists.
"Trousers and jacket," also written with an alternate character for "trousers," was a matching outfit popular during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period. It consisted of a short upper garment and long trousers. Light and simple, it became standard military wear, worn by soldiers and officers alike regardless of rank.
When the man saw the blue-green-clad woman's lovely face, his fury instantly melted into an eager smile. "Are you all right, miss? You're not hurt, are you?"
Expressionless, the woman walked straight ahead. The man smiled and cupped his fists in greeting, continuing his attempt at conversation. "I am-"
But she brushed past him as though he didn't exist.
His smile froze. "Miss, I was only worried you might be hurt. I meant nothing else."
The woman walked into the middle of the road and bent down to retrieve her bamboo hat.
Seeing the man's awkward expression, the onlookers snickered to themselves.
His smile faded little by little. "I'm talking to you. Can't you hear me?"
The woman dusted off her bamboo hat without so much as looking at him.
The man's voice rose. "Are you deaf, or can't you speak?"
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, a man's voice suddenly said:
"You can certainly speak. It's a shame you can't speak like a human being."
Before you continue