Chapter 7 of 10

Chapter 7

19 min read4,832 words

When the sky was bright, the inn boy opened the door, yawning and sweeping the inn. Suddenly, a person stood in front of him.

"Good morning, sir!"

"Good morning!"

The inn boy casually greeted him and lowered his head to continue sweeping, but then he suddenly looked up and was startled to see the person standing in front of him. "Sir... Where have you been these past two days? Yesterday, the innkeeper and I didn't see you come out for meals all day. We thought you had disappeared!"

This person was none other than Yang Feng, who had just arrived in this time and space last night. He cleared his throat and said, "Nothing, I just went out to take care of some business yesterday. I just got back this morning. Is my room still available?"

"Yes, yes, it is." The inn boy nodded repeatedly. "You paid for three days, so we wouldn't dare give your room to anyone else before the time is up."

"Good!" Yang Feng nodded in satisfaction. "I'm going out to take care of some business now. I'll be back later, so don't give my room to anyone else, understood?"

"Sure thing!" The inn boy grinned. "Rest assured, I'll definitely keep your room for you. You can be completely at ease!" As he said this, the inn boy noticed a rather peculiar package in Yang Feng's hand and couldn't help but look at it curiously. "Sir, are you going out to take care of some business?"

"Yes, I'm going to negotiate some business." Yang Feng nodded, then his eyes lit up. Although this person was just a waiter, he had grown up locally and must know the area much better than Yang Feng. It would be best to ask him for information.

With this thought, Yang Feng took out a piece of silver, about one tael, and handed it to the inn boy. "Young man, could you please buy me a set of fitting clothes? The remaining silver will be your tip. What do you think?"

Seeing the shiny silver in Yang Feng's hand, the inn boy's eyes lit up. A set of commoner's clothes would cost no more than four or five cash. By helping this guest, he could earn more than half a month's wages. Only a fool would refuse such a deal.

"Sir, you can count on me. I'll be right back, and I'll make sure you're satisfied!" Taking the silver from Yang Feng, the inn boy immediately ran off...

An hour later, Yang Feng appeared on the street of Jinwu Rear Street, wearing a blue silk robe, a black cloud-patterned leather belt, and blue cloth shoes. This area was close to the old imperial city, and the residents were either high-ranking officials or wealthy merchants, so the shops here looked particularly grand.

Not only that, but Yang Feng also noticed that the passersby on this street were clearly different from those near his inn. The clothing of the people here was much better, with many wearing silk and brocade, which was clearly of a higher class than the common people.

In the northwest corner of the street stood a three-story building, covering over a thousand square meters, built with blue bricks. Even though Su Jin was not very knowledgeable about architecture, he could see that the builder of this building was extraordinary. The layered eaves, the corridors and railings surrounding each floor, and the curved and upturned roof corners were all impressive.

"Tsk, tsk... It's really beautiful." Standing in front of the building, Yang Feng marveled at the distinctly Chinese style of the building. In the modern world, cities were filled with uniform steel and concrete structures, and such authentic buildings were hard to find. Even worse, some departments were still trying to demolish the few remaining ancient buildings, calling it "protective demolition," which was truly laughable.

Yang Feng looked up and saw a large sign on the second floor of the building, with the three large characters "Jubao Pavilion" written in powerful strokes.

"This is the place."

Yang Feng took a deep breath and walked into the door of Jubao Pavilion.

After entering, Yang Feng felt that the first floor of the building was very spacious. The hall, at least four or five hundred square meters, was casually furnished with chairs and tea tables. Several screens divided the hall into several more private spaces. There were many shelves around, displaying various antique items. Over a dozen elegantly dressed guests were either browsing leisurely or sitting on stools, whispering to each other. Several young waiters in uniform were constantly moving among the guests, either explaining the antiques on the shelves or serving tea and pastries.

Although everything seemed harmonious, this harmony soon froze when a person walked in from the door.

Of course, Jubao Pavilion was open for business, and it was normal for guests to come. It would be strange if there were no guests. The reason everyone was surprised was simple: this guest was wearing a simple blue robe and cloth shoes, clearly cheap, and his entire outfit would not cost more than four cash. Such a person would have no means to spend money at Jubao Pavilion, just like in the modern world, ordinary working people would never go to Sotheby's for no reason.

However, since the business was open, and the guest was a guest, there was no reason to drive him away. Moreover, the guest was carrying a rather peculiar leather bag. A waiter smiled and bowed slightly to the guest, asking, "Sir, welcome. What brings you to our shop? Is there anything I can help you with?"

The guest was, of course, Yang Feng, who had just learned from the inn boy about the best place to sell treasures in Nanjing. The inn boy, being a local, knew exactly where the best place was, so when Yang Feng asked, he immediately mentioned Jubao Pavilion. Yang Feng, being open to good advice, immediately headed to this shop.

Looking at the smiling waiter, Yang Feng inwardly praised the shop. It was no wonder that Jubao Pavilion was the largest shop in Nanjing; even the waiters were so polite, unlike the inn boy at Laifu Inn, who seemed like a country bumpkin compared to a city gentleman.

Without beating around the bush, Yang Feng said to the waiter, "I have some items I want to sell to your Jubao Pavilion. Could you please call your innkeeper to appraise them?"

"Um..."

The waiter was taken aback. If it were a regular innkeeper, it would be fine, but Jubao Pavilion was no ordinary place. The innkeeper here was like the CEO of a Fortune 500 company in the modern world, not someone just anyone could see, especially someone who looked so ordinary.

The waiter hesitated for a moment and said, "Sir, it's not that I won't inform the innkeeper, but our innkeeper is very busy with many responsibilities. A regular matter can be handled by me or a manager. If you have any business, please tell me. Although I'm just a waiter, I believe I can handle your matter."

The waiter's words were polite, but the meaning was clear: our innkeeper is a high-ranking person, and ordinary people or ordinary matters should not trouble him. You should tell me your so-called "big business."

After the waiter finished speaking, a series of snickers echoed around. Although the sound was low, it was very jarring in the quiet environment.

Yang Feng's face gradually turned grim. Looking at the waiter who still smiled at him, he felt for the first time that the smile, which he had thought was polite, was now very glaring. At that moment, he really wanted to punch the waiter's smiling face, but he held back. His years of social experience told him that if he dared to act, he would likely be surrounded by a group of constables or soldiers with iron rods and weapons within minutes. This was not the modern society where human life was valued; killing someone without a travel permit would be as easy as crushing an ant for the powerful.

"Fine, if you're not interested, I won't trouble you. I hope Jubao Pavilion won't regret this today."

With that, Yang Feng tightened his leather bag and turned to leave, but he was stopped by two guards at the door.

Yang Feng's face turned cold, and he turned to the waiter and said coldly, "What, you won't do business with me, and you won't let me leave if I don't buy anything?"

This was a serious accusation, clearly calling Jubao Pavilion a black shop. The faces of the other guests in the shop also changed. No matter whether they had laughed at Yang Feng's simple clothes, no one liked to shop at a place that bullied customers.

The waiter's smile disappeared, and he glared at Yang Feng for a while before saying, "Of course not. Jubao Pavilion is not a black shop and would never force anyone to buy or sell. You can leave with peace of mind, but from now on, if you have no business, please don't come to our shop."

"Ha... I know, of course." Yang Feng laughed coldly. "Although I have lived in Nanyang for a long time, I always thought that the Ming Dynasty was a place of talented people, where everyone was well-read and polite. I didn't expect to encounter such a case of a big shop bullying customers. But please rest assured, the threshold of Jubao Pavilion is too high for me to reach. I won't come to bother you in the future... Goodbye!"

With that, Yang Feng turned and walked out of the door of Jubao Pavilion...

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