Chapter 141: Was Su Yan Scammed?

Jiya Zhai.

"These are already the best brushes and ink in this shop. Are you certain you are still unsatisfied?"

"Su Yan, these all look quite good to me. Why don't you just pick a set at random?"

Seeing the slight look of doubt in her eyes, Sun Mang hurriedly tried to smooth things over.

Ever since they left the Yuan family residence, Su Yan had come straight here saying she wanted to buy brushes and ink. The shop had already laid out over a dozen sets, yet she hadn't taken an interest in a single one.

Never mind the shop assistant; even he felt this was getting a bit excessive.

"I heard this place has the best brushes and ink in the country. It seems that was an exaggeration," Su Yan said with disappointment, preparing to leave. At that moment, someone descended from the second-floor staircase.

"Wait a moment."

Su Yan looked toward the newcomer.

Finally, a manager had arrived.

"Student, are you looking for the best brushes and ink?"

Shao Bin showed no sign of disdain or neglect despite her ordinary clothing.

Su Yan nodded. "Yes."

"I do indeed have a very fine set of brushes and ink here, though the price is somewhat higher." Shao Bin approached Su Yan and Sun Mang. Because Su Yan’s eyes were covered with a black cloth, he merely gave a slight nod to Sun Mang as a greeting.

"I would like to take a look first, if possible?" Su Yan said politely.

"Of course." Shao Bin immediately instructed an assistant to fetch them.

When Shao Bin placed the brushes and ink before Su Yan, even Sun Mang, who knew nothing about such things, could distinguish that they were different from the previous sets.

Shao Bin introduced them: "This is a Xuan brush, one of the four famous brushes in the country. It is made from rabbit hair, with extremely strict selection criteria for the materials. It is exquisitely crafted, with pure, durable hair that balances stiffness and flexibility. Furthermore, this brush was crafted by a master brushmaker; while it is not our shop's ultimate treasure, it is the only one of its kind. As for the ink, it is a piece of top-tier Huizhou ink. Its luster is like lacquer, and its density is like jade."

Sun Mang couldn't help but marvel inwardly; he hadn't expected there to be so many intricacies to brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Just from hearing the description, he felt the price of these two items would definitely not be cheap.

It would have to be dozens, perhaps even hundreds of yuan.

Beneath the black cloth, a flash of amazement appeared in Su Yan's eyes. She had finally found them.

"Alright, I'll take it."

Shao Bin smiled slightly. "The price for this set is six hundred and sixty-eight yuan!"

"Hiss!" Sun Mang's reaction was exceptionally exaggerated, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Why don't you just go rob us instead?"

This was much simpler than robbery!

What kind of concept was six hundred and sixty-eight yuan? It was an amount an ordinary family might not even earn in several years!

And this stuff couldn't be eaten or drunk; a brush costing a few cents outside could write just as well.

"Haha, little brother, you certainly know how to joke." Shao Bin was not displeased by his rudeness, because he knew that this young girl who could not see was the true buyer.

Sun Mang's expression turned incredibly ugly. Ignoring everything else, he pulled Su Yan aside.

"Su Yan, he's ripping you off. You absolutely cannot fall for this."

Su Yan: "I know what I'm doing."

After saying that, she faced Shao Bin again. "Please don't mind him; my classmate doesn't know much about these things."

Shao Bin nodded.

"I'll take this set." After Su Yan spoke, she pulled a thick stack of banknotes from her cloth bag.

Sun Mang's eyes went wide. Watching her pay the money and receive the packaged paper and ink, he could only pull a long, miserable face.

Shao Bin very enthusiastically gifted them a set of Xuan paper and personally escorted them out of the shop.

"Su Yan, did you really spend six hundred and sixty-eight yuan on a single brush and a piece of ink?"

Even after walking a long distance away, Sun Mang still found it hard to accept.

"Mm." Su Yan was in a good mood.

Although her teacher was no longer in Daliushu Village, they would surely meet again in the future.

When that time came, she could give the gift to her teacher.

"I finally understand why you're so obsessed with doing business. An ordinary person definitely couldn't afford to support you. Wait, no, Senior Gu Yang should... probably be fine, right?" Sun Mang muttered incessantly.

Su Yan treated him like thin air.

"So, where are we going now?" Once Sun Mang finished his rambling, he realized they were just wandering aimlessly on the street.

Su Yan said nonchalantly, "Let's find a teahouse and have some tea."

Sun Mang was bewildered. Drink tea?

In this hot weather?

Ten minutes later, the two were sitting in the largest teahouse in the provincial capital.

Inside, one could not only drink tea but also listen to music. Melon seeds, peanuts, walnuts, and fruit were all available, though everything required money.

Su Yan found a secluded spot and casually ordered a pot of tea and a plate of nuts.

Feeling the lively atmosphere around her, Sun Mang immediately pushed his previous thoughts to the back of his mind.

"Young man, we're from out of town and aren't very familiar with the provincial capital. Are there any fun places around here?" Su Yan acted exactly like a tourist, inquiring enthusiastically with the assistant pouring the water.

"Oh, yes! Our local country park only recently officially opened; it's very lively inside. Not only are the scenery beautiful, but there are also many amusement rides."

"And there's the Grand Theater in the north of the city. Every show is packed; if you like opera, you can go there."

The assistant introduced the places very enthusiastically. Compared to Su Yan, Sun Mang was listening even more intently.

He wanted to go to all those places.

"When we came through this morning, we saw that the provincial capital is truly prosperous. It's worlds apart from our little county town," Su Yan seemed to be in high spirits, actually striking up a conversation with the young man.

The assistant was all smiles. "This is the provincial capital, after all. Development is fast, so naturally, everything is better in many aspects. Otherwise, why would so many people from small places want to come to the big cities to find opportunities?"

Listening to their conversation, Sun Mang felt as if Su Yan had suddenly become a different person.

Normally, she always had an aura that suggested "do not approach."

Su Yan expressed her agreement. "The houses here are nice too. Even though I can't see, my classmate told me about them. When we passed through the suburbs, we saw a particularly large and luxurious mansion; it was almost as big as our school."

"You must have seen the Yuan Estate, right? Even in our provincial capital, it's one of the top residences! Mr. Yuan is the wealthiest man in our province!" The assistant followed Su Yan's lead.

"No wonder. However, I personally feel that Mr. Yuan's feng shui isn't very good," Su Yan suddenly murmured. Her voice was small, but it was clear enough for the assistant to hear.

The smile on the assistant's face froze instantly. "Sister, you shouldn't say things like that so casually. Besides, you can't even see, so how could you know if Mr. Yuan's feng shui is bad? He's the wealthiest man; how could his feng shui be bad?"

"Is that so? But I heard that something happened at the Yuan Estate recently?" Su Yan's soft, sweet voice sounded innocent and pure, yet it made the assistant gasp and adopt a wary expression.

Without waiting for him to speak, Su Yan directly took out two yuan and handed them over.

"Don't be nervous, young man, we aren't bad people. I'm just a bit curious; I just like listening to gossip. What exactly is going on with the Yuan Estate?"

Seeing the money, the assistant's eyes lit up. Seeing that no one around was paying attention, he deftly tucked the money away.

"Actually, we outsiders don't know much, but things haven't been very peaceful at the Yuan Estate lately."

(End of Chapter)