Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 192 - 190: Encountering a Bully

Chapter 192: Chapter 190: Encountering a Bully

The winery owner turned his head to look at Xiao’er.

Alright, it seemed he didn’t even bother to speak anymore.

Xiao’er pointed at the jade pendant hanging from his waist, "Boss Shi, is your jade pendant one of a pair? Are you wearing just one half?" As she saw the winery owner signing the previous documents as "Shi," she started calling him Boss Shi accordingly.

Alright, this was the first time she had seen a transaction being carried out without even the most basic courtesies.

"How did you know?" The winery owner turned back to look at Xiao’er, had she seen the other half somewhere?

"It just seemed off to me, as if it’s only half of something." Seeing some people sneaking around in the alley not far from them, Xiao’er changed what she was about to say.

The winery owner left without a word upon hearing her comment.

Intrigued by Xiao’er’s comment, Shen Chengyao also took a closer look at the winery owner’s jade pendant. It seemed familiar; he felt like he had seen it somewhere, but couldn’t recall where.

Sensing Shen Chengyao’s confusion and knowing what he was about to say, Xiao’er quickly intercepted in a voice only the two of them could hear: "Father, it’s not appropriate to talk about this here."

Then she raised her voice and said: "Father, let’s check out the winery."

"OK," Shen Chengyao nodded.

They had no idea how large this winery was that they had purchased for 10,000 taels, nor did they know what was inside!

The two returned to the winery. By then the entrance door had been locked from the outside, apparently, no one was inside anymore.

Shen Chengyao unlocked the door, and the two walked in.

Upon entering, they saw a clean and spacious courtyard. In the corner of the left wall, a shed had been set up, with many empty wine jars stacked inside. There were also three wells in front of the shed.

To the right was a large room with a wide chimney, which appeared to be where the wine was brewed.

They walked in to take a look. All the brewing equipment had been cleaned thoroughly and was appropriately placed. There were stoneware for cooking ingredients, large-vessel zun for fermentation, wine filters, storage jars, etc.

Although the owner of the winery seemed aloof, everything within the winery was indeed neatly ordered, with complete equipment and cleanliness.

It was evident that he was a conscientious person.

They then went to the underground wine cellar, where hundreds of wine jars of varying sizes were neatly and densely arranged.

"This wine smells good." Shen Chengyao opened a small jar and sniffed.

"Let’s take a jar home later."

Shen Chengyao nodded.

The two left the underground wine cellar and went into an accounting room.

"There is another door here. Father, open the door, let’s go in and take a look."

Shen Chengyao found the key and opened the door.

In front of them was a wooden staircase leading downward, prompting Xiao’er to raise an eyebrow. It turned out to be another basement.

The two descended, and Xiao’er took out a night-illuminating pearl for lighting.

Similarly, the basement was filled with neatly arranged wine jars. However, all these jars were of the same size, each holding 50 pounds.

One wall had an empty shelf which appeared to be used for putting accounting books.

Xiao’er glanced at the characters written on the red paper attached to one of the wine jars.

After some calculation, she realized it was over a hundred years old! Xiao’er got excited all at once. She looked at jar after jar.

"Father, these are all a hundred years old aged wine!"

"These are over fifty years old." Shen Chengyao was looking at the wine jars on the other side.

"This 10,000 taels of silver is really worth it!" Shen Chengyao remarked, looking at more than a hundred jars of wine and couldn’t help feeling amazed.

"What a pleasant surprise, we must arrange someone to guard the winery as soon as possible. If such a large winery is left unguarded, we wouldn’t even know if the wine has been stolen."

Especially given the suspicious character they had just encountered, who knew what he was really up to.

Just as they were leaving the winery, their path was blocked by two sturdy men.

"Brothers, I would advise you to sell this winery to our Master Shi." Behind the two sturdy men stood a middle-aged man with greedy glint in his sharp triangular eyes.

"I’m sorry, but my family needs this winery. We are not selling." Shen Chengyao instinctively pulled Xiao’er behind him.

"You bought it for 10,000 taels, right? I’ll give you 11,000 taels. You can make a profit of 1,000 taels immediately!" Spoke the middle-aged man in a voice reminiscent of a cackling duck.

"Not selling." Shen Chengyao shook his head.

"11,500 taels!"

"Pfft!" Xiao’er couldn’t help but laugh.

A thousand taels, 1,500 taels? Were they treating them like beggars?!

"It’s not about the money. My family needs a winery, so we won’t sell it even for a higher price!"

"Alright, refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit then! Don’t blame me for not being polite! Get him until he’s willing to sell!" The man with the triangular eyes suddenly revealed a vicious expression.

One of the sturdy men raised a wooden baton, and swung at Shen Chengyao.

Shen Chengyao, however, was no pushover. He caught the wooden baton with one hand, yanked the man over, and punched him in the stomach.

Seeing this, the other man attempted to grab Xiao’er to force Shen Chengyao to comply.

But as soon as he moved, a whip appeared in Xiao’er’s hand. She flicked the whip, leaving a bloody lash mark on his body!

"Damn it, if I don’t kill you two today, I might as well quit running this place!" The man, having taken a whip lash, was now even more furious.

"Let’s see if you have the ability to do that!" Xiao’er once again raised her whip, causing him to quickly back off in fear.

At that moment, Lai Zhewei’s voice rang out from the end of the alley, "Marquis, is the County Master Rui’an in trouble?"

Marquis? County Master? The Triangle-eyed man quickly halted his men and pleaded with a bow, "Why is young master Lai here? This was a mistake... a misunderstanding. I didn’t recognize the esteemed Marquis and County Master, greatly offend you. I hope the Marquis can be magnanimous and not argue with a small person like me."

Then he pointed to his two men and scolded, "You two blind men, hurry up and apologize to the Marquis and the County Master!"

"Marquis, County Master, we know our mistake. Please forgive us." The two men hurriedly slapped themselves as a form of self-punishment.

"If I see you bullying others again, don’t say I didn’t warn you!" Shen Chengyao waved his hand dismissively.

"And about this winery, my family has purchased it today. If anything happens, I don’t care if you did it or not, I’m holding you responsible!"

Xiao’er glanced at the man with triangular eyes, whose knees weakened under her impressive aura.

While he grumbled silently about Xiao’er’s threat, he dare not refuse.

Seeing this, Xiao’er ignored the three men and turned to ask Lai Zhewei, "Young Master Lai, what brings you here?"

"I was accompanying my grandmother on a shopping spree, and happened to see Auntie Three and the others at the Silver Building. Knowing that you were here, I came to pick you up for lunch at Shengda Restaurant, lest you couldn’t find them later."

Alright, this could have been done by a servant, but his grandmother saw him staring at a girl without blinking, which she found embarrassing, so asked him to do it in person.

Seriously, it’s been a while since he last saw Miss Jingshu, it’s only natural that he’d want to sneak a few more glances, it’s habitual after all.

Being able to indirectly give Miss Jingshu a hairpin made him extremely happy.

After the central examination, if he ranks within the top three in the imperial examination, he can openly send a matchmaker to propose marriage.

His mother has promised him that as long as he ranks in the top three, he will have the final say in his marriage.