Finest Servant

Chapter 23 Little Girl (Part 2)

Lin Wanrong broke out in a cold sweat. This little girl wasn't dumb; she knew to observe before bargaining. Although he had thick skin, he couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed when the young girl, who was only sixteen or seventeen, saw through his trickery. He took the small booklet from her hand and chuckled, "Miss, not only do people sell the version for ten taels, but they also sell versions for one tael of silver. Look--"

He nodded towards a poor scholar reading a pirated booklet next to him. The foolish expression on his face suggested that he believed that owning the booklet would give him half of Miss Xiao's status.

The little girl had been paying attention to Lin Wanrong for a while and knew that the pirated version he had hastily brought was vastly different from the authentic one. She glared at Lin Wanrong and snorted, "Even if yours is authentic, you can't raise the price like this."

Her face turned red, and her eyebrows furrowed, making her even more beautiful. She was truly an outstanding beauty, but unfortunately, Lin Wanrong did not recognize personal connections when it came to business. He sneered, "Miss, have you ever heard of the term 'rare goods'? We've sold out of all the authentic versions, and this one was left for me to keep as a memento. If you want to buy it, you'll have to pay a little extra to take away what I cherish."

The little girl's eyes flickered, and she said, "Okay, fifteen taels it is, but you have to answer my question first."

Lin Wanrong looked at her and said, "Miss, answering a question costs five more taels of silver. You should think about it carefully."

The girl fumed, "What kind of rule is that? You charge money for answering questions? If everyone did that, it would be chaos!"

"Not at all, not at all." Lin Wanrong shook his head, "I'm a professional reviewer, every word is precious. Naturally, I charge for my services."

The young girl sneered, "What kind of expert? Those who take money to advertise themselves as experts."

Lin Wanrong burst out laughing, "Little girl, I didn't expect you to be so insightful. You almost saw right through me. Here's the deal: do you think there's only one person who knows the answer to the question you want to ask?"

The young girl thought for a moment, then nodded, "It seems like only you know the answer."

"Well, there you have it." Lin Wanrong chuckled inwardly. This little girl was easy to manipulate. "I can choose to answer or not to answer the question that only I know the answer to. If you want to get information from me, you have to pay an information fee. That's only fair. I'm an honest businessman, and you'll get what you pay for. Five taels of silver is already cheap, and I won't cheat you."

The young girl was stunned for a moment, then thought about it and huffed, "Fine, five taels of silver it is. But you have to answer me honestly, and no deceiving."

Lin Wanrong lightly patted his cheek and said, "Do you see this handsome face? It's my trademark. Everyone, young and old, can trust me. I never deceive anyone."

The young girl covered her mouth and giggled softly. "I've never seen someone as shameless as you."

Lin Wanrong's expression turned sinister, and he glared at the young girl. However, she didn't show any fear and asked with a straight face, "The question I want to ask is, have you ever seen Miss Xiao?"

Of course, Lin Wanrong had never seen her. He smiled naturally and said, "Didn't I tell you before? This is a unique copy that a mid-level house servant in the Xiao family passed on to me. He and I are sworn brothers. Although I've never seen Miss Xiao, I swear to the heavens that I am the first person to see this portrait of her."

He had fabricated the portrait, so of course, he was the first person to see it. This oath was shameless and deceptive to children.

"Do you know who the master was who painted this portrait?" the young girl asked.

"It's me, the master," Lin Wanrong thought to himself with a smirk, but he would never admit to being the instigator. He looked at the young girl and chuckled, "Miss, if I remember correctly, you said you would only ask me one question. I've already answered the first one, so this would be the second one, right? Hehe..."

The young girl pulled out some silver from her pocket and said, "I know. You want more silver, don't you? Look at how greedy you are."

"You're underestimating me," Lin Wanrong chuckled. "Even as an expert, I only answer questions depending on my mood. Today, I'll only answer one question for you. The other one can be a freebie."

The young girl looked at him and said, "You're so sly. You're a big cheat."

"You're just a child," Lin Wanrong laughed. "I won't argue with you. As professionals, we have rules and regulations to follow, and our reputation is essential. If I tell you who the master is, how can I face my colleagues in the future?"

"Well, that makes sense," the young girl nodded. "I didn't expect you to be so honorable, Mr. Cheat."

"So you noticed my good qualities so quickly?" Lin Wanrong pretended to be surprised. "I thought I had hidden them well. Oh well, I guess I need to reflect on myself. As the saying goes, a tall tree catches the wind. It's time to evaluate myself."

The young girl covered her mouth and giggled, "Do you have any shame left?"

Lin Wanrong was in a good mood today, having earned some silver and successfully teased the young girl. He didn't bother arguing about his shamelessness and just went along with the girl's teasing.

"You don't have to tell me the name of this master, I won't force you. Can you at least tell me your name?" The little girl's eyes lit up as she asked.

"My name is Lin San." Lin Wanrong replied straightforwardly, "This question is free of charge."

Lin Wanrong chuckled to himself. This little girl was trying to play a trick on him, but she was still too young to outsmart him.

"Lin San, Lin San," the little girl muttered to herself, "Hmph, Lin San, you cheated me out of my silver today. I will definitely get it back with interest one day." With that, she glared at him fiercely, threw a silver ingot at him, grabbed her booklet, and left.

Cheated? Lin Wanrong was taken aback. Did this little girl really think he needed to cheat her? Watching her walk away, he chuckled coldly to himself.

The Xiao family was indeed very attractive. It was said that thousands of people had signed up for the selection of servants, and literati from all over Jinling City had come to sign up.

Lin Wanrong sold the last few booklets and kept the original manuscript as a memento. It was his first bucket of gold in this world and had significant sentimental value.

When he returned to the Old Dong's house, he saw that Dong Rende and Dong Qingshan were staring greedily at the silver ingots, as Dong Qiaoqiao had said. Their eyes shone with the unmistakable light of avarice, proving that humans had evolved from animals.

Lin Wanrong smiled and patted Dong Rende's shoulder. "What's wrong, Uncle Dong? Did you get something in your eye?"

Dong Rende snapped out of his trance and rubbed his eyes. When he saw that it was Lin Wanrong who had returned, he quickly pulled out a chair, wiped his sleeves, and invited him to sit down, respectfully saying, "The young master has returned."

After making a big profit, Dong Rende was even more respectful to Lin Wanrong. There was no denying that being respected by others was a wonderful feeling, and Lin Wanrong felt great. Without any hesitation, he sat down and said, "Uncle Dong, why don't you exchange all this silver for silver notes and keep them at home? Won't it attract thieves?"