Was that really the case? Yu Qing had thought the other party was simply repaying a debt of gratitude. He had not expected there to be such scheming mixed in with it.
Precisely because of this, it made him somewhat anxious. Was his plan really so obviously flawed that someone could so easily see there was a problem with it?
After a moment’s thought, he understood. It was because he had sought out the other party, matched their words, and exposed his own weakness.
It was just that offering thirty percent of the profits was rather too much.
He was very clear that the real profit focus in preserving this batch of peach trees was not currently on the immortal peaches they would produce. Trading immortal peaches was merely an excuse to cover up the fact that they were being used as cultivation resources.
At present, the immortal peach trees themselves were the most valuable. As he had said before, he had the ability at any time to cleanse the marrow and transform the constitution of the immortal peach trees.
Once the immortal peach trees lost their evil energy, as immortal trees capable of producing immortal peaches over the long term, the value of a single tree would far exceed fifty million taels. Even five hundred million taels per tree would sell easily.
Over two hundred trees, how much would that amount to?
He was now sparing no expense to preserve this batch of immortal peach trees in order to wait for a suitable opportunity to cash them in. The immortal peaches they produced could still serve as cultivation resources.
Ye Diandian was clearly unaware of the value hidden within. The moment she opened her mouth to ask for thirty percent of the profits, it put Yu Qing in a difficult position.
Observing his reaction and seeing his hesitation, Ye Diandian revealed a faint smile at the corner of her mouth. It seemed her judgment was correct. This batch of immortal peach trees was probably not so simple.
Precisely because of this, she became even more composed. She believed the other party would make a rational choice. Thus, she lifted her tea and sipped it slowly, waiting unhurriedly for him to come around.
After hesitating for a long while, Yu Qing finally nodded. “Alright, fine. But the shipping costs are on you.”
He sighed after speaking. He had no choice. After thinking it over and over, he had finally relented.
Given his current situation, the only one who could probably help him preserve this batch of immortal peach trees was this woman. If they could not be preserved, what was the point of holding onto them? Ye Diandian had a group of spirit plant cultivators on hand. Entrusting the cultivation of the immortal peach trees to these people should be worry-free. With his conditions, he probably could not find better personnel than this.
The background of the person Ye Diandian was about to marry was also something he had hopes for.
Ye Diandian put down her teacup and shook her head. “I told you, I have lost my income streams. I still have people to support. I need to keep some money in hand. I cannot empty my entire family fortune for something with no visible bottom line. Besides, you cannot treat this as if you are just tossing things anywhere. We cannot act as your storage warehouse or caretaker for free. You need to bear some burden.”
Yu Qing sighed, “I truly cannot afford the shipping costs now. Transporting them from Little Cloud Realm to here already cost two hundred million. Let alone shipping them across to the Great Wasteland.”
Ye Diandian: “You could buy on credit before. Can you not do so now?”
Yu Qing: “I am not familiar with the manager here at Blue Sea Shipping. It is hard to say.”
Ye Diandian fell silent and calculated for a while before offering her opinion. “How about this? You find a way to continue buying on credit. If you cannot repay when it is due, I will grit my teeth and help you repay. But the profit split will have to change. I get seventy percent, you get thirty!”
Yu Qing stared wide-eyed. “Madam, is that not too ruthless?”
Ye Diandian sighed. “Tanhu Lang, no one is forcing you.”
Yu Qing: “Is that not forcing me? You are taking advantage of my predicament!”
Ye Diandian: “Very well, let me put it another way. Can you clearly tell me what benefits I can gain from pouring money into this bottomless pit that I cannot see the end of, and having a group of people work themselves to the bone tending to it? How great are the benefits? Simply put, where is the real profit point in this batch of immortal peach trees? As long as you give me a clear and definite answer, and do not make me gamble with my entire fortune, everything is negotiable.”
Yu Qing muttered in his heart. If he could say it out loud, would he still need to find her?
“Tanhu Lang, if it were not for our friendship, you could go and try a second family. See who would be willing to play along with you like this. Those who were willing would certainly want even more than I do!
Tanhu Lang, some debts are easy to repay. Some debts you cannot afford to repay, because you simply cannot figure out what the other party wants.
With me, at most I will let you earn a little less. I will make sure you do not lose everything. You will not face any risks, and I will not push you to the point where you have no way out. How to weigh this, I will not force you. I have said enough to be considered having done my utmost. If we keep haggling, it will damage our friendship. The rest is for you to consider.”
Yu Qing remained silent. After a long while, he muttered, “I wonder how much the shipping will cost.”
Ye Diandian immediately stood up. “Let’s go and ask. How can you know sitting here? Come, I will accompany you to ask.”
That worked too. Yu Qing got up and left with her.
Chong Er and the others had wanted to follow, but Yu Qing dismissed them. Especially regarding Chong Er, “What are you hanging around me all day for? Have you forgotten your most important matter? Hurry up and go cultivate properly.”
Chong Er gave an “oh” and turned away with his head lowered.
Under the watchful gazes of Tie Miaoqing and Sun Ping, Yu Qing and Ye Diandian left together.
On the street, Yu Qing gestured to walk this way, but Ye Diandian said, “Let’s first go see where you are storing the things. First check the condition of the items. If they are useful, then we can talk about transplanting. If not, there is no point in discussing further.”
That worked too. The two walked together toward the other side.
After Sun Ping watched the two depart, she turned and went to the counter. “Miss, Tanhu Lang and this Ye Diandian are walking rather close. A lone man and a lone woman are most prone to trouble. You need to keep a closer eye on things.”
Tie Miaoqing was speechless for a moment, then said with a wry smile, “It is other people’s private affairs. Is it our place to keep an eye on them?”
Sun Ping wanted to say something but stopped. Through the hanging veil, she caught sight of the small white flower faintly visible at Tie Miaoqing’s temple. In the end, she said nothing, let out a light sigh, and turned to go to the doorway.
Behind the counter, Tie Miaoqing also fell into quiet silence. She did not know whether she should seek a resolution for that ambiguous encounter in the bedroom back then.
That piece of calligraphy from Tanhu Lang had undoubtedly expressed his feelings, but she had not agreed.
Now that Tanhu Lang seemed to have lost interest in that aspect, she instead felt caught in between. She did not know whether she was hoping for him to take the initiative again.
Yet she also did not know whether she should agree if he did take the initiative.
If she agreed, would it make him look down on her?
Just as that woman in yellow had scolded back then, she was quite a bit older than the man. Was it really appropriate?
Also, she remembered clearly that she had been the one to initiate that ambiguous encounter and the note. She clearly remembered saying, “Write a piece of calligraphy for me, as an IOU!”
Thinking back, the other party had been unintentional at the time. It was she who had carelessly provoked that ambiguous encounter. The thought made her heart flutter with anxiety.
Now, he had repaid that one hundred thousand taels, but she had not returned his “IOU.” She was too embarrassed to bring it out. She was waiting for him to ask for it of his own accord.
In short, it was all a mess. In any case, her heart was in turmoil now…
Beneath the largest skylight of Youjiao Port, Yu Qing accompanied Ye Diandian as they wandered back and forth among the pile of peach trees inspecting them.
After basically looking over all the peach trees, Ye Diandian gave her conclusion. “They have been preserved rather well. To be precise, the spiritual energy accumulated within the peach trees is abundant, giving them tenacious vitality. Transporting them over there for planting should not pose any problems. The cost of storing so many things here cannot be cheap, can it?”
Yu Qing smiled bitterly. “Over two hundred thousand a day.”
Ye Diandian: “There is no helping it. This place was never meant for long-term storage. If everyone did this, Youjiao Port could not handle it. Let’s go, let’s visit Blue Sea Shipping.”
Yu Qing gestured for her to proceed. As they walked, he stared at her profile for a while, then suddenly smiled. “Both being madams, yet the difference is quite large.”
Ye Diandian gave an “oh.” “Comparing me to whom?”
Yu Qing: “The one in my shop. You are more competent than her.”
Ye Diandian: “You flatter me. It is all forced out of me. She is good-looking. Being good-looking is also a way of living. By the way, because of you, I have heard people at Little Fresh Tower mention her situation. What exactly is your relationship with her?”
Yu Qing: “We truly are just friends. On the surface, she is the madam of the shop, while I am the backer behind the scenes.”
Ye Diandian smiled. “It is rather chaotic. I cannot make sense of your relationship.”
Yu Qing: “Is it not quite clear?”
Ye Diandian: “This matter, I do not quite know how to put it. Consider it personal advice. Either make her the true madam, or make her your lover, or arrange a good destination for her. I do not recommend keeping her by your side. It is not good.”
Yu Qing was surprised. He looked her up and down. “I cannot tell. In your eyes, must there be some romantic involvement?”
Ye Diandian: “It is not in my eyes, but in her eyes. It is her who is expecting. Do you think such a great beauty wears a veil all day and is content to guard your counter for what? I am not looking down on you, but with your current financial resources, how much wages can you, as the backer, pay her in a year? Do you believe that as long as she is willing, a single gift she receives could match your wages for many years? Do you really think she stays with you unclearly just for that bit of wages?”
Yu Qing: “That is not it. She is with me because she has no choice. Long Xingyun wanted to vent anger for his sworn brother and has kept his eye on her relentlessly. She is also helpless.”
Ye Diandian: “Get one thing straight. Her husband died, and died a long time ago. She can make another choice at any time. With her years of keeping herself clean and her reputation as the flower of Youjiao Port, if Long Xingyun pushed her too hard, just see. As long as she is willing, there will be people coming out at any time to teach Long Xingyun how to behave. Would she still need your protection? Against Long Xingyun, you cannot even protect yourself. What are you using to protect her? Hiding your face even in your own shop counts as protection? Spare me.
Tanhu Lang, ask yourself. What can you give her? What can you give that would satisfy her? It is obvious. What she wants is you, this person. It is you, this world’s number one talent. And you? You want to be friends with her, and maintain some distance, playing at an employer and employee relationship. What does she get out of that? Since she cannot get close to you, if there is a better place to go, why not go there? Going anywhere is the same as being friends with you. Does she not know that mixing with you will generate all sorts of rumours and ruin her reputation?”
Yu Qing stopped in his tracks and was dazed for quite a while. Finally, he stroked his little beard. “Hearing you put it that way, why do I feel I am rather charming?”
Ye Diandian stopped beside him. “You are charming to begin with! Not bad-looking, young, the world’s number one talent, with a good family background. At least back in the capital back then, anyone would have thought your future was boundless. Even I had ideas about you at the time. If it were not for feeling I was too old for you, and learning you had a fiancee, not to mention the things you stirred up later, and getting involved with the Earth Mother, I truly felt I could not afford to provoke you, and so extinguished that thought. Otherwise, I would definitely have tried to use Lin Chengdong’s relationship with you to give it a go.” She finished speaking and could not help covering her mouth and giggling.