An Uninvited Challenger Appears

Xu Xi hesitated and stopped, saying, "Alright, then let's wait." Turning to the relieved Shopkeeper Huang, she said, "You'd better hurry, I have things to do."

"Alright, young lady, please go back and wait a bit." Shopkeeper Huang said, then called to the waiter, "Bring her some good tea and snacks, and take good care of this young lady." With that, he hurried out the door.

"Please, young lady." The young waiter gave Xu Xi a stiff smile, his heart pounding with nervousness, afraid that Xu Xi might leave at the slightest provocation. If the manager and owner returned and couldn't find him, they might punish him severely.

Xu Xi had never sold design drafts in this era. Her target price was fifty taels per design, and she planned to sell five drafts first to earn her first pot of gold. As for whether she would sell design drafts in the future, and at what price, she would decide later.

She asked for one hundred taels of silver per picture, but she was willing to haggle over the exorbitant price. Shopkeeper Huang down to thirty taels per picture, which made her somewhat tempted.

At this point, she naturally wouldn't leave, and followed the waiter's directions upstairs.

But as soon as she climbed to the second floor, she was confronted with a woman's face.

The woman appeared to be in her early twenties, with a matronly hairstyle and striking beauty. She wore a bright red pleated floral skirt and a gold hairpin inlaid with rubies. Behind her stood a matron and two maids, dressed far more luxuriously than the servants in the Marquis's mansion, indicating that this woman was of high status and wealth.

"Could I take a look at your jewelry? If it's nice, I'm willing to buy it for one hundred taels of silver per piece," the woman said.

"Husband, Madam," a shop assistant dressed in jewelry store attire stammered as he emerged from the room behind her. He then looked at Xu Xi pleadingly and mustered his courage to say, "Our manager spoke with this young lady first. Could you please let him finish before you speak with her, Madam?"

The woman didn't speak, she just looked at Xu Xi.

This woman was clearly well-off, so Xu Xi was naturally happy to sell her the design drawings.

However, there are some principles that must be followed when doing business.

She said to the woman, "This shopkeeper is right. There's an order to things. If the jewelry store owner isn't willing to pay one hundred taels per design, then we can talk about it later."

The woman smiled and nodded, "Alright." She pointed to the room next door, "I'll be right here. When you're finished talking with the owner, you can have a waiter call me."

"Okay." Xu Xi nodded and stepped into the room where she had been staying.

Both men breathed a sigh of relief.

When Madam Xie heard that the woman really wanted one hundred taels of silver to buy the design drawings, she stumbled and almost fell flat on her face. Fortunately Xu Xue reacted quickly and caught her.

The group entered the room and sat down. The waiter quickly set out the snacks and brewed fresh tea.

Xu Xi naturally couldn't just sit and eat and drink by herself, leaving Madam Xie and Xu Xue standing and watching. She called out to them, "Alright, there are no outsiders here, so please sit down and have some snacks."

"Miss, how can this be?" Madam Xie was still ashamed of her fall earlier, how could she sit down? What if she was exposed?

Xu Xi's face darkened. "I told you to sit, so sit. What, do I have to treat you?"

Her sudden change in demeanor gave her a touch of the authority of a wealthy heiress, which made Madam Xie and Xu Xue a little intimidated. They quickly sat down obediently and picked up the pastries that Xu Xi had pushed in front of them to eat.

Xu Xi then said to the young waiter, "There's a man surnamed Xu downstairs; he's my family's coachman. He came out with me this morning, so he must be thirsty and hungry. Give him these snacks and a pot of tea while you're at it."

As she spoke, she pulled a handkerchief from Madam Xie's sleeve, wrapped four or five pastries in it, and handed them to the waiter.

"Young lady, you have a kind heart," the young waiter flattered, taking the handkerchief and going downstairs.

Madam Xie and Xu Xue were once again bewildered by Xu Xi's actions.

Xu Xue leaned closer to Xu Xi and whispered, "Won't this arouse suspicion?"

Madam Xie quickly tugged at her, pointed to the next room, reminding Xu Xue that walls have ears, and then shook her head at Xu Xi.

Xu Xue stuck out her tongue, quickly lowered her head to eat her snack, and dared not say another word.

The owner of the jewelry store probably didn't live far away. After a short while, Shopkeeper Huang returned with an old man and introduced him to Xu Xi: "This is our owner, surnamed Xu."

Old Xu, with a serious face, nodded to Xu Xi and asked, "May I see a picture of what the young lady looks like?"

Xu Xi took out the design drawing and handed it to him.

Old Xu looked at the design drawing, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes, and nodded. "Alright, we'll take this drawing for one hundred taels of silver." He then asked Xu Xi, "Miss, could you show me your other drawings?"

Xu Xi blinked, then turned to Madam Xie and said, "Go and call the lady next door over."

Xu Xi knew she had a decent eye for people, and she always felt that this Old Xu didn't seem like a sincere and trustworthy person. The fact that he bought the design so readily meant that the shop assistant downstairs had probably told him about the lady's offer. He was reluctant to part with the design, but he couldn't bargain any further, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and buy it.

One should not harbor malicious intent, but one must be wary of others. Xu Xi has no one to rely on in this world, so he dares not just take out all the blueprints. What if Old Xu looks at the other designs, then says he doesn't like them and refuses to buy them, and then draws them up again after Xu Xi leaves, allowing his shop's craftsmen to copy them? In that case, Xu Xi would suffer a huge loss.

With his counterfeit designs, Xu Xi could no longer sell other designs in the capital. After all, someone had already made and sold the jewelry; the buyers weren't the only ones, nor were they the first. Having suffered a loss, they would inevitably come knocking for justice.

These silversmiths are all people with powerful backgrounds; a small, dilapidated noble family mansion can't protect her.

In any situation, one can easily get hurt in the world. Xu Xi doesn't hesitate to assume the worst about others, otherwise, she might very well be the one who suffers.

Upon hearing that Xu Xi was inviting people over, Old Xu's expression darkened.

He said, "We're still discussing business, and it's not appropriate for you to invite someone over, is it? We should finish our discussion first, and then I'll indicate I'm not buying. Then you can talk to that lady. That's the proper way in the business world. There's a first-come, first-served principle, isn't there?"

Seeing his serious expression as he spoke these words, Madam Xie and Xu Xue felt a little intimidated and both looked anxiously at Xu Xi.

Xu Xi, however, didn't seem to care at all. Though he smiled, his expression remained indifferent. "Haven't we settled this deal? You see, I didn't show that lady the design first, did I? That's just following the rules of the underworld. But the next few designs are ones we didn't discuss beforehand. Since that lady next door has expressed her desire to buy, of course I have to invite her to take a look. Of course, if Boss Xu doesn't want to look anymore, then I'll take my leave and find another place to talk to that lady."