Lower the price proactively? I cannot bring myself to say it. After all, I set the price, and they agreed to it. What would it look like if I lowered the price on my own initiative?
Hu Youli could only nod submissively and give a soft murmur of agreement. Her slightly averted gaze hid the feeling of having done something wrong.
Yu Qing quickly added, “When you carve the printing block, just attach the address where they are looking for her.”
Hu Youli nodded, but then hesitated slightly. “Is it appropriate to use the home address? It might attract some shady people. You might not know that some people in Haishi are quite disgusting. If they see a small household, they will think it is easy to bully. How about using the address of the Yao shop in the front? I will tell Aunt Yao. If there are really any clues about your sister, I will have the shop assistant run over and let you know.”
After a brief thought, Yu Qing hummed in agreement and said, “Fine.”
Hu Youli immediately smiled and said, “I will make food for Xiao Hei first. It will be quick. I guarantee I will finish printing everything for you before daybreak.”
Having received permission, she immediately picked up Xiao Hei and went to the balcony together to prepare.
From this moment on, her mood relaxed considerably. After all, she had not been sure what kind of people they were before. Now she realised they were in Haishi to look for a sister, and they did not seem like bad people.
Yu Qing also immediately turned and walked up the stairs.
Nan and Mu were left looking at each other. They looked at the person who went to the balcony, and then at the person who went upstairs. The two of them then hurried upstairs.
Finding Yu Qing, Nan Zhu immediately whispered, “What is going on? It is almost two taels of silver per sheet. How could you just agree without even bargaining? Why are you pretending to be generous? What are you playing at?”
Yu Qing slowly sat on the floor, leaning on his side with his head propped up. “I have my own plans.”
Nan Zhu’s eyes flashed slightly, and he also sat cross-legged, asking in a low voice, “Are you planning to haggle the price down after she finishes printing everything?”
Yu Qing closed his eyes and remained silent.
Nan Zhu took this as tacit admission. He turned to Mu Aotie and muttered, “Once it is printed, if he does not lower the price, we will not take it. This guy is ruthless enough. He is truly a scoundrel.”
Yu Qing still kept his eyes closed and said nothing.
After a little over half an hour, Hu Youli came up with a full Xiao Hei. At the same time, she confirmed the size of the notice flyers with Yu Qing.
Once it was settled, she immediately ran downstairs and started to busy herself.
Not long after, Yu Qing also went down and sat on a chair in the corner of the hall, watching her work under the light.
Hu Youli, wearing an apron, not only lit the lamps but also took out several luminous stones to surround her workbench. She focused intently on carving the board.
Nan Zhu also appeared later. He did not come down but sat on the stairs. He suddenly felt that the fifteenth brother seemed a bit off, though he could not explain it, so he came out to keep an eye on him.
After finishing the carving, Hu Youli tested the printing effect. Once she adjusted it to be perfect, she officially rolled up her sleeves and started printing in large quantities.
One by one, she checked each sheet after printing it.
Yu Qing and Nan Zhu, who had entered a state of resting with closed eyes at some unknown time, were suddenly awakened by a swishing sound. Looking up, they saw that the sky outside was slightly bright. Hu Youli, who had been busy all night, was operating a paper cutter to cut the paper.
Both of them got up and walked over to look. They realised she was cutting a stack of printed notices.
Because there were not many words, the notices did not need to be very large. With the employer’s consent, Hu Youli carved ten identical notices on one board for convenience. Now that they were printed, she naturally had to cut them all out.
To make the cuts look neater, she did not cut too many at once. She basically cut about a hundred sheets per pass, and one pass could produce a thousand notices.
After cutting all three stacks of large paper, she also breathed a sigh of relief. She piled the three thousand notices together and smiled at Yu Qing, who was nearby, to report her work. “Done, everything is finished. To avoid any shortage, I printed an extra hundred for you. Please count them and see if it is enough.”
Nan Zhu was beside her, looking through the quality of the printed materials.
Yu Qing stared at the ink stains accidentally smeared on Hu Youli’s face and said calmly, “No need.”
While indicating there was no need to count, he also took out the prepared banknotes from his sleeve and handed them to her. “Five thousand taels. Count them yourself.”
What? Nan Zhu quickly looked up, a bit stunned. He was really giving five thousand taels?
Hu Youli took the money and immediately counted it. Afterwards, she carefully checked the banknotes. After confirming there was no problem, she beamed with joy. “Xiao Hei’s meal last night is on me.”
Yu Qing thanked her and turned to Nan Zhu. “Get the ninth brother and go post them on the streets together.”
It was not that he wanted to be lazy. It was because he had once paraded through the streets of the Jin capital under the gaze of countless people. He tried to avoid conspicuous things as much as possible.
Unexpectedly, Hu Youli immediately said, “You cannot just post them like this directly.”
Nan Zhu asked, “Why not? I see other people posting things on the streets.”
Hu Youli replied, “You must first go to the Zhenhai Department to find the relevant people to stamp them. Only with the stamp can they be posted on the streets of Haishi. Otherwise, if you are caught, you will be fined a lot of money. Do not lose a lot of money just to save a little. You might even cause big trouble.”
Yu Qing asked, “How much does the stamping cost?”
Hu Youli glanced at the stack of notices. “It costs one tael of silver per stamp. You have three thousand here, so it will definitely be three thousand taels.”
“One tael just for one stamp?” Nan Zhu widened his eyes, then said indignantly, “This is not stamping. I think this is printing money. What is the difference between this and robbing money?”
Hu Youli pouted. “There is nothing we can do. That is just how it is here.”
There was indeed nothing they could do. Since they had arrived in Haishi, they had to follow the rules of Haishi.
In the end, Yu Qing took out the money again and gave it to Nan and Mu, asking the two of them to handle this matter.
Hu Youli, who had not rested at all, actively offered to help again. She personally guided Nan and Mu to the Zhenhai Department, as she was familiar with the place.
The Zhenhai Department of Haishi, acting on behalf of Qianliu Mountain to govern Haishi and oversee all affairs in the city, was located at the highest point of Haishi, standing like a castle.
Hu Youli knew the way well and directly led Nan and Mu to the yamen for stamping.
The stamping process was simple. They just checked if the content you were posting would cause any impact. They could not let people post insults against Qianliu Mountain, after all. The rest was just a matter of paying money, and then they would stamp it for you continuously.
Every single sheet had to be stamped. Three thousand sheets indeed took a lot of time. It took half a morning to finish and leave.
Inside a window, Zhu Xuan, the Zhenhai Envoy, stood by the window and watched the three of them leave.
Outside the door, Qi Duolai walked in quickly and reported to him, “A Shiheng indeed did not come. The fat one and the strong one are his accomplices. That fox woman is their current landlady.”
Zhu Xuan asked, “What are they posting with the stamp?”
Qi Duolai had anticipated this and took out a notice to hand over. “I told the subordinates to keep one copy under the name of retaining a stub.”
Zhu Xuan took it and looked, raising his eyebrows and muttering, “Looking for a sister? Does he have a sister named Li Niang who is stranded in Haishi?”
Qi Duolai replied, “I am not sure. We only know the general outline of his background. We have not paid attention to the specific details.”
Zhu Xuan said, “The people at Qianliu Mountain should know more. Go and review the relevant information about his background. If the person is really in our Haishi, whether it is useful or not, we must find a way to find her first. Whether she can be used is one thing, and whether we can find her is another. Once the superiors need it, we must be able to give an account at any time.”
Qi Duolai said, “Yes, I will handle it immediately.”
Zhu Xuan asked again, “Have you found out where he went during his two previous disappearances?”
Qi Duolai replied, “No. The two times he took different routes, so it was hard to prepare in advance. However, both times he took the sea route and escaped by water. Therefore, I have mobilised the water tribe in advance to wait for orders. Once he escapes by water again, we will definitely be able to find out his destination and the reason.”
Zhu Xuan nodded and turned to leave.
This was not his public room at all. It was purely to see what those guys who had broken into the Xiaoyunjian looked like.
It was only like this now. If it were the past when Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie were living in seclusion in the mountains, I am afraid this man would not even have the interest to look at them properly, let alone come specifically to observe them in secret.
Nan and Mu, who were posting the family search notices on the streets, suddenly felt that the five thousand taels spent on printing were worth it.
Hu Youli not only led them to the Zhenhai Department for stamping, but after coming out, she actively asked for some notices. Without saying much, she silently helped them post them.
Thinking again about how this fox woman waived Xiao Hei’s meal bill last night, Nan Zhu finally let go of his resentment over the five thousand taels. Of course, he still had doubts about the sudden generosity of the fifteenth brother.
Despite Hu Youli’s help, it was not an easy task to tour the entire Haishi and post three thousand notices.
They were reluctant to spend money to hire people, so they could only work hard themselves.
When the three of them returned to their residence, it was late at night again. The exhausted Hu Youli was again pestered by Xiao Hei to make food.
Nan Zhu pulled Yu Qing upstairs and pushed him onto the balcony. He asked in a mysterious low voice, “Fifteenth brother, tell me the truth. Do you have improper thoughts about this little fox demon?”
“Are you sick?” Yu Qing shook him off and turned to leave.
Nan Zhu stared at his retreating back and hummed, as if he had discovered some secret.
At noon the next day, Xiao Hei had not yet woken up, but an unexpected guest arrived outside the door, a man with a smile on his face.
The guest arrived uninvited and landed on the balcony to knock on the door.
Hu Youli, who opened the door, did not recognise the person. Seeing the invitation in his hand, she guessed he was not looking for her because it felt too formal. She asked, “Who are you looking for?”
The visitor smiled and said, “By the order of my young master, I have come to deliver invitations to Mr. Yu Qing, Mr. Nan Zhu, and Mr. Mu Aotie.”
Knowing it would be like this, Hu Youli pointed to the balcony upstairs. “They are upstairs. Go knock on the door up there.”
“Excuse me.” The visitor bowed slightly, flew out, and indeed flew up to knock on the door.
Hu Youli did not go back into the room but pricked up her ears to eavesdrop.
She was very curious. Looking at the three of them, they did not seem like people who could have connections in Haishi. Otherwise, they would not be living in such a place. Yet, someone was actually inviting them to a banquet?
The three martial brothers, who were startled, went out and met the visitor. Upon learning that someone was delivering an invitation to them, they were also very surprised.
“Who is your young master?” Nan Zhu asked.
The visitor replied, “It is on the invitation.”