CHAPTER 73: CHAPTER 72: NOT ONLY ALIVE, BUT THRIVING

Yu Xiaolian gulped down a mouthful of tea and looked up to see Bai Shixi still there.

"Why haven’t you left yet?"

Bai Shixi almost spat out a mouthful of old blood, secretly glaring at Yu Xiaolian.

"Well... I’ve decided to give you young people a chance."

Bai Shixi’s face turned red, but fortunately, he had enough beard on his face to make it hard for others to notice.

Yu Xiaolian was taken aback. When she tried to persuade him kindly, he didn’t budge. But after she scolded him, it actually worked.

"Hehe..." Yu Xiaolian immediately put on a smiling face, "Dean Bai, I spoke a bit rashly just now, don’t take it to heart!"

Bai Shixi kept a straight face and got straight to the point, "How much can you pay for advertising?"

Yu Xiaolian was stunned. The person who just said money was vulgar wasn’t even trying to beat around the bush now?

Is this really okay?

"Uh... regarding the advertising fee, I have two options for you to consider. One is a one-time payment, and the other is a long-term collaboration where you’ll get a commission for each item sold..."

Yu Xiaolian rattled on, making Bai Shixi a bit confused.

Bai Shixi didn’t quite understand what Yu Xiaolian was saying about commissions and dividends. But he couldn’t bring himself to ask Yu Xiaolian, so he simply said, "Let’s do the one-time payment!"

"Sure, do you have any requirements regarding the price?" Yu Xiaolian asked.

Bai Shixi calculated in his mind that the east wall of the male academy had collapsed, the students’ tables were old, and some roof tiles needed replacement. He tentatively said, "How about... twenty taels?"

"Cough!" Yu Xiaolian choked on her tea.

She never expected that the aloof Dean Bai would actually bend for twenty taels.

Bai Shixi thought he had asked for too much and quickly said, "Is it too much? Then fifteen taels, no less."

Yu Xiaolian thought Bai Shixi would ask for at least a hundred or eighty taels. She didn’t expect this old man to be so simple—just a naive old fellow who only knew how to study and was clueless about the price of daily necessities!

To ease her conscience, Yu Xiaolian voluntarily raised the price to fifty taels.

"Fifty taels?" Bai Shixi exclaimed. The court’s annual subsidy to him was only a hundred taels of silver. Was Yu Xiaolian sure she wouldn’t lose money on this fifty taels of silver?

Bai Shixi suddenly felt a sense of guilt, like he was conning a kid out of their money.

"No, I said fifteen taels. It’s fifteen taels!"

Yu Xiaolian, "..."

After negotiating with Bai Shixi, Yu Xiaolian specially asked Shopkeeper Hai to wrap a package of jasmine tea for the old man.

Originally, she wanted to pack some cream rolls for Dean Bai, but Shopkeeper Hai said that the pastries brought by the Sun family were sold out the moment the shop opened each morning.

So, she had to settle for getting Bai Shixi some tea to drink; otherwise, Yu Xiaolian felt uneasy about swindling the clueless Bai Shixi.

She hoped the old man would still be this considerate when he found out that the advertising fee he got wasn’t worth as much as a small box of lipstick.

After sending Dean Bai off, Yu Xiaolian sat down at the table where Jiang Lin and Su Jingchen were sitting.

Only then did Su Jingchen carefully scrutinize Yu Xiaolian. She was wearing a pink dress with a few thin braids on either side of her head, making her look more playful and cute. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief, and her previously thin frame now had some flesh, with a complexion much better than before.

Yu Xiaolian sat down carelessly and said to Su Jingchen, "I heard from Jiang Lin that you went to River Bay Village to find me? Why were you looking for me?"

Su Jingchen mimicked the adults, cupping his hands in a salute and said seriously, "I am grateful for the pills you gave me last time, Miss Yu. My asthma has now healed. I went to River Bay Village to thank you and also to seek your advice on some matters."

Yu Xiaolian waved her little hand, "Why are you calling me Miss Yu? That’s so distant. Just call me sister like Jiang Lin does."

Yu Xiaolian chuckled secretly; the big brothers she recognized weren’t ordinary people.

One was a martial arts master, another was the future richest man of Great Liang, and another was the most trusted minister of the future emperor of Great Liang.

With these two both scholarly and military elites and that one rivaling nations in wealth, who would dare to bully her in the future?

Su Jingchen was a bit baffled by Yu Xiaolian’s cunning smile.

He thought that Yu Xiaolian definitely had ulterior motives; she must be up to something. He had to be wary.

"It’s better to call you Miss Yu to avoid misunderstandings," Su Jingchen said.

Yu Xiaolian paused for a moment, then said knowingly, "Oh, I see. You’re worried that your betrothed from a childhood engagement might misunderstand, right?

Rest assured, rest assured, I have absolutely no such intentions towards you.

It’s merely an innocent desire to become sworn siblings with you. I did, after all, cure your asthma. Are you going to refuse me even this?"

Su Jingchen frowned.

"Sworn brother and sister is unnecessary, but if Miss Yu needs any help in the future, I, Su, will do my utmost to assist," Su Jingchen said.

"That’s good enough for me. I’m sure I’ll need your help in the future. Just don’t turn your back on me then," she said.

Since Su Jingchen didn’t want to become sworn siblings, she wouldn’t force it. After all, she had approached him with a purpose from the start, and his guardedness was understandable.

In her heart, Yu Xiaolian was a bit annoyed. By rights, after curing Su Jingchen’s long-standing asthma, he should be grateful and willing to do anything for her.

She hadn’t expected this guy to be so difficult to deal with, so unapproachable.

"I, Su, am not one to forget favors and kindness. With Brother Jiang Lin here as witness, Miss Yu can rest assured," Su Jingchen added.

Yu Xiaolian asked again, "Did you have any other reasons for seeking me out?"

Su Jingchen nodded, "This matter isn’t suited to be discussed in a place with so many eyes and ears. Why don’t we change locations?"

Yu Xiaolian stood up, "Then let’s go to my place."

As soon as they stepped out of Mingxiang Pavilion, Jiang Lin pretended to be displeased, "Hey, Lianmei, right in front of me. You want to call someone else big brother, shouldn’t you ask for my permission first?"

Yu Xiaolian grinned, "Brother Jiang Lin, I was wrong. I was just momentarily possessed. After thinking it over, Brother Jiang Lin is the best to me."

"You little girl, no more casually recognizing big brothers in the future, understood?"

"Got it, got it, Brother Jiang Lin. How have you been lately? Need any money? If you do, just say so; your sister has money."

Even though Yu Xiaolian had only over a hundred taels left in her hands, she believed that once the Qingquan Academy and Women’s Virtue Academy’s poetry and book exchange took place, her wealth would grow immensely.

Jiang Lin shook his head, "I don’t need money, but I have something to discuss with you later."

Su Jingchen followed behind Jiang Lin and Yu Xiaolian, his scrutinizing gaze never leaving Yu Xiaolian.

He had been worried a while ago about how Yu Xiaolian would survive after being ousted by the Yu Family.

Now it seemed not only had she survived, but she was doing quite well.