Chapter 69

Yun Yaoyao’s gaze grew increasingly heated, making the man’s heart flutter nervously. He swallowed hard.

Oh, heavens above—could she have taken a liking to him?

It was broad daylight, and instead of bringing some young lady out for romance, she had brought along three handsome men, each with his own distinctive charm, and was now looking at him with such fiery intensity...

He was indeed a handsome, dashing man, but surely he wasn’t so irresistible, was he? The man shuddered.

“I’ll ask you one last question.” Yun Yaoyao pointed the tip of her folding fan toward the entrance of the alley. “What are they to you?”

A row of little heads was poking furtively out from the alley, each face filled with worry and anxiety.

The moment they noticed everyone looking their way, the heads immediately ducked back out of sight. Their childish voices could be heard in hushed whispers.

“Ow! You stepped on my foot!”

“I didn’t mean to! There are so many knives against Big Brother’s neck. What if they kill him? Boo-hoo!”

“...”

The man’s eyes instantly turned cold, and the ingratiating smile vanished from his face.

“What do you want?”

“If you want someone, come at me! They’re only children!”

Yun Yaoyao did not answer him. Instead, she mused aloud, “They certainly weren’t born to that seventy-year-old mother you invented. So either you found them or bought them?”

“Anyone capable of making a fortune must be clever. I don’t believe that, when you were selling pigs, you didn’t leave yourself a way to run off with the money. Yet you still ended up in this state. Perhaps you simply couldn’t bear to abandon these children?”

“You said you made money from the rich in order to help the poor who were suffering. Were you talking about supporting these children? And there may well be more than just the dozen or two we see here.”

“Am I right?”

Deep wariness surfaced in the man’s eyes.

Every one of her guesses had been correct.

He had grown up eating food provided by various households and had lived a lonely, miserable life. He had witnessed all the cruelty and warmth of human nature. In this world, there were far too many children sold by their own parents, forced to wander the streets from a young age, or abducted by human traffickers.

Whenever he saw a child’s dark, pitiful eyes, he simply could not bear to turn away. He adopted every child he came across.

As the number of mouths to feed grew, his purse grew thinner and thinner. That was when he had taken the dangerous step of coming up with the idea of selling piglets.

“What exactly do you want?” the man gritted out.

“You only need to answer yes or no.” Yun Yaoyao smiled faintly.

“Yes!”

Yun Yaoyao nodded in satisfaction.

“I have a way out for you. It can help you escape those hunting you, and it can also give these children a place to go. Do you want it?”

The man raised his head, his gaze probing. “What kind of way out? What do you want from me?”

“A way for you to continue doing business. I have quite a few shops, fertile fields, and fine residences in the capital. I also have plenty of business ideas. All I lack is someone to manage them. You’ll run them for me, and I’ll provide protection for you all.”

“Of course, you’ll also receive a generous share of the profits.”

The man had not expected her to be interested in such a thing. His circumstances could hardly get any worse, and he desperately needed a chance to turn his life around.

The terms she offered were undeniably tempting. He would not need to invest a single coin. All he had to do was manage her shops, fields, and residences, and he would receive a share of the profits.

Most importantly, she could offer him protection.

After doing business for so many years, he had learned one truth above all others: a person needed powerful backing. Without it, anyone could trip you up or make trouble for you.

The man’s attitude changed instantly. His sharp, calculating eyes filled with ingratiation as he cupped his hands toward Yun Yaoyao, his tone hesitant.

“What Young Master has offered is naturally excellent. However, the Minister of Revenue’s son also bought one of my pigs. That man is vicious and vindictive. After learning that I had tricked him, he sent several groups of assassins after me.”

“If I return to the capital this time and your influence is no match for the Gao family, I’ll lose my head...”

“The son of the Minister of Revenue? Vicious and vindictive...” Di Shunzhi looked astonished. “Could you be talking about Gao Chongguang?”

The man nodded. “That’s him!”

The ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‍man had thought the Gao family’s influence would frighten them, but instead, everyone wore faint smiles.

Zhou Caisen teased him, “That brat Gao Chongguang fell for your trick too? Well, every villain eventually meets his match in a merchant. Hahaha!”

Lin Qingti could already imagine the arrogant and overbearing Gao Chongguang swaggering around with a little pink piglet, proudly flaunting his identity, only to jump around in fury when he discovered he had been deceived.

He shook his head with a smile. “You don’t need to worry about that. If Young Master says he can protect you, then he can protect all of you.”

“Any other questions?” Yun Yaoyao asked calmly.

The man hurriedly shook his head. “No, no more!”

They were not even afraid of the Gao family’s influence. He would cling to this powerful backer for now!

Yun Yaoyao signaled for the Dragonshadow Guards to lower their weapons, then beckoned to the little heads that kept nervously peeking out from the alley.

“Come on out.”

The heads in the alley immediately shrank back like wary little animals. Their childish voices rang out again, deliberately lowered to a whisper.

“He saw us! Hurry, hold on tight to your rocks. If those bad uncles with knives come over, we’ll throw rocks at them!”

“My rock fell just now. I can stab him in the eye!”

“Then I’ll grab him by the crotch!”

“But Big Brother is still in their hands. What if they get angry and chop off his head? Boo-hoo...”

“Then we’ll use Big Brother’s head as a rock and smash them to death with it, so we can avenge him!”

The man: “...”

Tsk. These little brats were unbelievably “filial.”

They deserved a beating!

At an inn, in a spacious private dining room.

A group of filthy children stuffed themselves with the delicious food on the table while calling out sweetly through their full mouths.

“Big Brother, you’re such a good person! You’re the best!”

“Big Brother, you look just like a heavenly god descending to earth!”

“Big Brother, you’re so tall! My brother has to stand on a stool and still can’t reach your nose!”

This time, the children’s “Big Brother” was no longer the man, but Yun Yaoyao, who had generously treated them to the meal.

The man shook his head. These little brats had no sense of caution at all. They would eat anything a stranger gave them. What if they were sold and still helped count the money?

Hearing the children’s tender praise, Yun Yaoyao curved her lips and set down her teacup with extravagant flair.

“Bring out another serving of every signature dish!”

One delicious dish after another was brought to the table.

The man picked up the braised pig’s trotter in front of him, so tender and fragrant that it practically fell apart, and took a bite. His face filled with bliss.

Ah! Delicious!

After they had eaten their fill, Yun Yaoyao began discussing the businesses in the capital with him.

“The fertile fields and fine residences can be rented out first. As for the shops, what sort of businesses we use them for and how we run them will be very important.”

“Whatever we sell, we must turn it into a brand. In simple terms, a brand is...”

“To build a brand, we need a good name and a compelling story. Of course, marketing is also important. Marketing means...”

“Emotional marketing... blah, blah, blah... People’s interests and experiences are the creative points that connect a brand with its buyers...”

“Brainwashing advertisements... blah, blah, blah... Celebrity endorsements... Constantly launching new products and innovations so that the brand always remains in the public eye...”

“Event marketing... sponsorships... cross-brand collaborations...”

“Pricing strategies... presales... membership programs... celebrity product promotions...”

The other party rattled off dozens of terms he had never heard before. By the time he had finished explaining them, the man’s heart was filled with admiration, awe, and utter respect. It was as though a door to a whole new world had just been opened before him.

After all the words he could have said had been reduced to one sentence, he exclaimed, “Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!”

“I always considered myself somewhat talented when it came to business, but compared to you, Young Master, I’m truly nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well!”

As he spoke, the man gave Yun Yaoyao a deep bow. He was now completely convinced.

Yun Yaoyao calmly took a sip of tea.

This was nothing. Modern businesses fought tooth and nail, coming up with all sorts of dazzling marketing tactics for fear of being forgotten and eliminated by a rapidly developing society.

Of course, modern-day unscrupulous merchants were even more devious and impossible to guard against. As the saying went, the longest road consumers ever walked was the one laid out by greedy merchants.

Yun Yaoyao set down her teacup, her gaze deep and distant, and began painting another rosy picture.

“My ambitions are not limited to a single corner of the capital, nor am I satisfied with the whole of Yan Chi. My industries will spread throughout neighboring countries and foreign lands—even to the other side of the sea!”

“You may find that ridiculous, but think about the situation today. Emperor Zheming is an enlightened ruler and is vigorously promoting the construction of the canal. Once the north-south canal is completed, commerce along the route will flourish. At the very least, there will be a period of explosive growth. That will be our first great opportunity.”

“Emperor Zheming is enlightened. In the future, he will not only promote trade with neighboring countries, but once the Yan Chi Dynasty prospers, he will also develop maritime transport, build ships, sail into the distance, and establish trade and cultural exchanges with the dynasties and kingdoms on the other side of the sea…”

“That will be our second and third great opportunities…”

“Where there is enough daring, there is enough land to yield a harvest. You already have ideas, capital, and protection. As long as you can seize the right opportunities and throw yourself into it, anything is possible!”

Yun Yaoyao placed a hand on the man’s shoulder, her voice filled with gentle encouragement.

“With all this in mind, why couldn’t our industries one day spread everywhere your feet can carry you?”

“And you, my chief steward, will be my most capable assistant.”

“You will also become the world’s greatest merchant, leaving a glorious mark in the history books of the future!”

Whoosh!

The instant those words fell, the passionate fire in the man’s chest seemed to boil over completely. The heat seared his breath until even that came out burning.

“With Young Master’s trust, I swear I will not fail in the task you have entrusted to me!”

Yun Yaoyao smiled and nodded. “I naturally recognize your abilities. That is why I am entrusting these matters to you.”

“Thank you, Young Master!”

The few people standing nearby exchanged glances and flashed one another knowing smiles.

No wonder she was the Emperor. With just a few words, she had thoroughly talked the man into a stupor.

Only Zhou Sairen awkwardly scratched his backside.

That sales pitch sounded awfully familiar. Hadn’t His Majesty said almost the same things to him when they were hunting the tiger?

His reaction back then hadn’t been much better than this fellow’s either…

Sigh. Those caught up in a situation could not see it clearly, while outsiders saw everything plainly.

“May I ask how I should address you, Young Master?” The man suppressed his excitement and asked respectfully.

“Jin Shantu.”

“Shopkeeper Jin.” The man cupped his hands respectfully.

“What is your name?” Yun Yaoyao suddenly realized that they had been chatting for quite some time without her learning his name.

The man scratched his head, his face turning somewhat bashful. He lowered his voice and said,

“My name is somewhat inauspicious. It’s… it’s… it’s…”

“Pei Qianhuo.”

Yun Yaoyao: ???

Pei Qianhuo?!

A money-losing good-for-nothing?!