I Just Won't Play by the Book - Chapter 175
Chapter 175 The Four Great Families 2
Jiang Beiran was stunned when he heard this. The Ye family would definitely not tell anyone about the annulment of the engagement. As far as Jiang Beiran knew, Lu Qingyin had returned after making the three-year agreement with Ye family. She would not spread the news either. How did everyone know about it so quickly?
When Wu Qingce heard they mentioned Sect of Returning Hearts, he was stunned for a moment. At the same time, he also understood why his senior brother had suddenly come to Lanzhou.
“Brother Jiang is here for the annulment of the engagement? But why…” Wu Qingce pondered.
Jiang Beiran, who sensed that someone was trying to cause trouble, continued to ask, “Is there anything else?”
“That’s all I have for the time being.”
“Alright, then I’ll give you two more days to get to know the members of the Ye family, especially that Ye Fan who had his engagement annulled. Find out what he’s been doing recently.”
“Yes.” After Luo Wenzhou replied, he left the tent.
“Swift and decisive, not bad, not bad.” After pouring himself another cup of wine, Jiang Beiran looked at Wu Qingce and said, “Are you wondering why I’m here for the annulment of the engagement?”
“Yes.” Wu Qingce answered honestly.
“Then, have you thought of anything?”
“This… I can’t get it either, but I know that you must have an important reason for coming
here.”
He stood up and knocked on Wu Qingce’s forehead, jiang Beiran sighed and said, “You’ve been with me for so long. You haven’t learned anything else but speaking nonsense. I’ll give you a night to think about it. I want to hear your answer tomorrow.”
“Ah? I…” Wu Qingce was about to say that he couldn’t do it, but he saw senior brother’s fierce eyes. “Yes! I’ll definitely figure it out.”
Nodding his head in satisfaction, Jiang Beiran walked out of the tent and looked at Ji Yuan town at the foot of the hill, thinking about the next steps.
At this moment, Gu Qinghuan, who had been observing Jiyuan Town for a whole day, found that the inns were doing the best business in this well-connected town. Therefore, after carefully selecting the inns, he came to a deserted inn.
“Sir! Are dropping by or staying here? Our inn has the best Qingchun Wine in the whole town. I’m sure you’ll want to drink it again after trying it once!”
Smiling at the waiter, Gu Qinghuan raised his head to look at the sign hanging in front of the inn.
The so-called sign was also known as the wine flag. Its main function was to showcase the quality of the inn, which was similar to star rating of the hotels.
Usually, the sign would have the name of the innkeeper written on it, either hanging above the shop, hanging in front of the roof, or simply setting up a lookout post. In any case, the purpose of the sign was to be conspicuous.
This Springtide Inn had set up a lookout post, but there were more than one flag hanging on it. Instead, there were five wine flags. This meant that it was a “five-star” inn.
Generally speaking, an inn with one flag was a snack shop. Two flags meant the place was like a formal restaurant, the type with proper menu. The three flags would be an inn that could be used for eating and staying in. The four flags had a bathhouse attached to them, and there was a special person inside to help them bathe.
As for the highest five flags, it meant that all the items inside were of the highest standard. A five stars inn could fulfill any request of their guests.
The business of such a high-end inn was so bad. Knowing that he had found his target, Gu Qinghuan walked slowly to the lobby under the guidance of the waiter.
Walking into the inn, Gu Qinghuan looked at the menu handed to him by the waiter. Without even looking at it, he said, “Bring your most expensive wine and dishes here.”
Hearing this, the waiter was immediately amazed. He bowed repeatedly, “Sure, please wait a moment!”
After a short while, all kinds of good wine and dishes were brought to Gu Qinghuan’s table.
“Master, everything is here. Enjoy your meal.” After saying that, the waiter stepped aside.
After Gu Qinghuan poured himself a few cups of wine, he saw a middle-aged man in a black magua walking towards him as he had expected. The man in black magua wore a smile on his face.
“I’m sorry for not welcoming you. I’m the manager of this inn. My surname is Luo.”
“Manager Luo. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you,” Gu Qinghuan cupped his hands. After cupping his hands toward Gu Qinghuan, Manager Luo picked up his wine cup and said, “Thank you for coming. I’d like to propose a toast to you.”
After saying that, he finished the wine in his cup in one gulp. Seeing that Gu Qinghuan didn’t intend to drive him away, Manager Luo said even more politely, “Sir, this is your first time coming to our inn, right?” “Yes, your inn looks nice.”
After hearing that, Manager Luo beamed with joy. “Sir, you have great taste. I’ve spent a lot of money on the design of my inn. If you’re interested, I’ll show you around.”
Gu Qinghuan picked up a piece of roast goose and put it into his mouth. “You’re so enthusiastic. Is there anything I can help you with?” Gu Qinghuan asked with a smile
“Of course not, sir. My job is to serve you wholeheartedly… I don’t have anything to ask for your help. I just thought that if you’re satisfied, you can bring more friend here next time. I promise to entertain you well. So, if you feel that something is missing, feel free to mention it!”
Seeing that things had developed as he had expected, Gu Qinghuan put down the chopsticks in his hand and said, “Manager Luo, is your business running low?” Seeing that Gu Qinghua was so direct, shopkeeper Luo didn’t hold back anymore, he said directly, “Frankly, yes. Sir, as you can see, I spent a lot of money to renovate this shop. I thought that with so many rich businessmen frequent in this Jiyuan Town, they would spend money for better accommodation. But as you can see, I’m afraid I’m going to close my inn soon.”
After hearing that, Gu Qinghuan laughed and said, “I can help you with this, but you have to promise me one condition.”
“If you really have a way to improve the business of my inn, I can even agree to one hundred of your conditions.”
“Okay.” Gu Qinghuan nodded. He took out a cloth bag from his pocket and put it on the table. “Boss, your idea is very good, but I’ve already seen it. In this town, there are many inns that have even better renovations than yours”
“Yes…” Manager Luo nodded, “Those inns are all well-established. Those inns are so popular that their private rooms are always full, they must have earned a lot. So, I wanted to open my inn and attract those “leftover” customer.”
“Have you ever thought about why they would rather wait in line at those inns than come to your place?”
“Well… I hope you can enlighten me, sir.” Manager Luo cupped his hands towards Gu Qinghuan.
“It’s because those inns have become a symbol of status. Rich businessmen can only show their nobility by eating in those inns. So, if you want to attract them here from those inns, you have to use some perculiar tricks.”
Hearing Gu Qinghuan’s explanation, the manager knew he had met an expert, so he quickly bowed and said, “Please teach me, sir.”
Gu Qinghuan nodded and pointed at the bundle that he had taken out earlier. “There are fifty seeds of the red flame grass inside. This is a kind of strange flower. When it grows, it will dance like a flame and can be refined into a tier 2 medicinal pill.”
“A tier 2 medicinal pill!” Manager Luo’s eyes widened when he heard that. Although he was just an ordinary citizen, he had heard a lot about cultivation practitioners. Naturally, he also knew about medicinal pill. It was said that a tier 2 medicinal pill was enough for a mystic to fight over. He had never even thought of such a treasure.
“Customer, who are you…” “You don’t have to care about this. I saw an empty space beside your inn. Is that yours.”
“Sigh! It’s mine. I originally thought that after business was good, I would build a separate inn beside it. But…”
“Well, plant a stalk of red flame grass in that empty space tomorrow. Send someone to tell them that the shop has a new batch of rare flowers that can be used to make tier 2 medicinal pill.”
“Okay, I got it.” Manager Luo nodded quickly.
“When you get the customers here, tell them that there is an empty space next to the shop that is used to plant red flame grass for the customers. You can leave a wooden plate in front of the red flame grass, so the customers can carve their names and the dated of planting on it. As for the price of red flame grass, you can set it as high as possible.”
Manager Luo understood Gu Qinghuan’s intention immediately. The best thing for these rich merchants was their face. The red flame grass was a rare item that was definitely worth their money. The trick that allowed they wrote their name in front of the red flame grass was absolutely amazing! It would mean that any rich merchants who didn’t come to plant the red flame grass were not rich enough!
Not only that, planting the red flame grass would mean that they had a desire for this inn, and they would have to visit it from time to time, wouldn’t they? This time, there is a stable source of customers.
“You are really my savior!”
