Chapter 120: A Bickering Couple

"Well?"

How could Qin Wenyuan fail to see through it?

"You want me to sell charcoal for you?"

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop, after all! With a man of your caliber, Elder Qin, you will surely make the Wuzhu charcoal sell like wildfire throughout Bashu!"

"Hmph." Qin Wenyuan straightened up. "Then tell me, how do you propose to sell it?"

"Rest assured, Father-in-law, I would never let you take a loss!"

"For every catty of charcoal, I will give you a profit of one wen."

"Oh? That's quite a bit." Qin Wenyuan smacked his lips.

The prefectural office had been using Wuzhu charcoal all along; the very charcoal burning in the brazier in his room right now was Wuzhu charcoal.

To be honest, this charcoal was truly exceptional—long-burning and producing minimal smoke. Moreover, because Wu Ning added orange peels to the raw materials, it emitted a faint, pleasant fragrance when burned.

If it could be introduced into Shu, Qin Wenyuan reckoned that finding a market would be the least of their worries.

And a profit of one wen per catty was indeed substantial.

Consider the prosperity of Yizhou alone; how many tens of millions of catties of firewood and charcoal were consumed there in a single winter?

Even without overestimating, if he bought a few hundred thousand catties, that would yield an income of several hundred guan—almost rivaling all his businesses combined in Fangzhou.

This sly son-in-law of his hadn't cheated him this time, after all.

However, who was Elder Qin? He was not a man to suffer a disadvantage.

Last time, this brash young rascal had abducted his daughter, so he simply had to find a way to get back at him this time.

"I won't do it!"

Elder Qin turned up his nose and crossed his arms. "You think you can order me around for a mere one wen? Keep dreaming!"

"Then how much do you want, Elder?"

Qin Wenyuan leaned in closer and said with a stern expression, "I don't want a single wen from you!"

"However..."

His tone suddenly shifted. "You gave the country bumpkin of the Chen family a twenty percent stake, and you gave Magistrate Sun a ten percent stake even though he did nothing at all..."

"Tell me, shouldn't you give a little share to your own father-in-law as well?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Hearing this, Wu Ning immediately balked, his eyes widening. "You can't do that! How did you end up eyeing my shares?"

"What of it?" Elder Qin glared right back. "You can give shares to outsiders, but not to your own family?"

"No, those outsiders were competing with us. Why would family compete with family?"

"Just tell me whether you'll give it or not!" Qin Wenyuan couldn't be bothered to argue with him.

"One word: will you give it or not?"

"If not, let's just forget the whole thing!" Wu Ning twisted his face in agony. "In less than a day, I've been acting like the God of Wealth, scattering my money everywhere."

"Hm." To Wu Ning's surprise, Qin Wenyuan actually nodded.

"I think we should forget it too. For the past half day, I've been acting like I was possessed, letting you take advantage of me at every turn."

That didn't sound right. Wu Ning was puzzled—why did the old man's words seem to carry a hidden meaning?

"I was talking about business."

"I was talking about the marriage."

"I'll give it!" Hearing that, Wu Ning didn't hesitate for a second. "I'll give it! How much does Father-in-law want?"

Qin Wenyuan wore a look of triumphant satisfaction. "Thirty percent!"

"Ten percent!"

"Thirty percent!!"

"Just ten percent."

"Twenty-five percent, then?"

"Even if you were selling your own daughter, it'd only be ten percent."

Seeing that Old Nine Wu was dead set on ten percent, Qin Wenyuan changed his tactics.

"How about I provide the capital? I'll trade you one of my Qin family shops for a twenty percent stake."

"Fine!" Wu Ning nodded. "I want the grain store."

"No, I'll give you the sundry shop."

"Who wants your rundown sundry shop?" Wu Ning protested. "The draper's shop."

"In your dreams. The ready-made clothing store."

"That works too." Wu Ning figured he was destined to take a loss today anyway; a clothing store it was.

"But I have conditions."

"Speak!"

"Giving you a twenty percent stake is fine. The remaining fifty percent of my share must also be registered under your name, Father-in-law."

"Why?" Qin Wenyuan was somewhat taken aback. Why would Wu Ning want his shares registered under his name?

"Never mind that, Father-in-law. In short, it's not very convenient to have them under my own name."

Hearing this, Qin Wenyuan pondered silently: could it be because of his connection to Wu Changlu that Wu Ning wished to avoid the reputation of being a merchant?

"Aren't you afraid I won't give them back to you when the time comes?"

"Not at all!" Wu Ning waved a hand dismissively. "Even if you run off, your daughter can't!"

"Hmph!" Elder Qin flared up instantly.

No wonder this kid had been so generous and utterly unconcerned; he had been plotting this all along.

Wasn't that obvious? Whatever shares he held would eventually belong to Qin Miaoniang anyway, and thus end up right back with Wu Ning.

"I am myself, and my daughter is my daughter. Don't you dare harbor such delusions, young man!"

"No delusions, no delusions," Wu Ning appeased him perfunctorily. "They're all yours, happy now?"

"Aren't they indeed mine?" Elder Qin was immensely pleased with himself, thinking: *Well, young man, you couldn't outsmart the old master this time, could you? You little squirt, did you really think you could fly into the heavens? When it comes to business, it is still I, Qin Wenyuan, who reigns supreme.*

Wu Ning couldn't stand the old man's smug expression and deliberately set out to vex him. "Actually, Elder, you were still too hasty! Even if you hadn't asked, aside from that one-wen profit, I was planning to give those two-tenths of the shares to Mother-in-law anyway."

"Hm?" Elder Qin was indeed startled. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing special," Wu Ning replied with a cheeky grin. "No matter what, there was no way I could register my own fifty percent share under my own name; I had to find someone reliable to hold them for me anyway!"

"You!"

How that infuriated Elder Qin! How on earth did he end up with such a vexing son-in-law?

"Hmph!" Refusing to be outdone, he retorted, "Actually, even if you hadn't bargained, I was planning to hand all the shops over to you anyway."

"As a result..." The old man spread his hands. "A single clothing store is all it took to dismiss me."

Wu Ning was left speechless for a moment.

"I say, Father-in-law, was all that necessary? Didn't I just swindle five hundred guan of your hard-earned money? Shall I pay you back?"

"Please do!" Elder Qin answered with utmost promptness, extending a hand. "Hand it over, and the betrothal gifts will be calculated separately!"

Those five hundred guan were the ultimate stain on Qin Wenyuan's life. Having spent his entire life calculating others, he had ended up being outsmarted by a mere boy—how could he not resent that for the rest of his days?

If Wu Ning hadn't been his prospective son-in-law, the old man would gladly have hated him for a lifetime.

"Hand it over!"

Wu Ning faltered. "Uh..."

If he were truly asked to cough it up, he couldn't possibly do it; he was still counting on those five hundred guan to acquire the Chen family's charcoal kiln.

"How about I owe it to you for now?"

In his heart, however, he was suffering bitterly.

*Damn it all, other people become bickering lovers with young maidens, but as for me, I've become bickering lovers with a young maiden's father.*

***

Upon emerging from his future father-in-law's quarters, Wu Ning was, overall, quite satisfied.

Despite giving away half of his business venture in less than a day, it was a necessary concession, and there was no need to dwell on it.

With his father-in-law holding down the fort in Bashu, coupled with Sun Hongde presiding over the official administration in Fangzhou, he might end up earning even more than if he had kept the whole thing to himself.

Happily strolling out of the city—the New Year celebrations had only just begun and would remain lively all the way until the Lantern Festival—with this major undertaking settled, he could finally enjoy the holiday in peace.

Unfortunately, some things simply refuse to go according to plan.

At that very moment, within the small courtyard of the Wu household, Taiping, Li Xian, Wu Sansi, and Wu Chengsi were all present.

A clean-shaven eunuch palace attendant, the dust of a long journey still clinging to his robes, held aloft an imperial decree on a brocade scroll. "Where is Wu Ning of Fangzhou?"

Hearing this, Wu Sansi hastily ordered his guards, "Why don't you hurry up and find him?!"