Joe Er stood up and bid farewell, "Ren Zai, I'll go back and make arrangements. I'll come over tomorrow morning to send Xiangbei off. Here's an initial contract of five hundred taels of silver. Please bear witness to the contract for our North-South Supermarket and keep it in official records."
"Of course, Brother Ziqiu, this North-South Supermarket, starting from the hot pot tables and chairs and its accessories, will walk hand in hand with our Fuhai Building."
"Sweeping through the country together like a tornado!" Xiangbei expressed dissatisfaction with the confidence in Ren Zai's tone and emphasized.
"Tornado? It must be a very powerful wind. Okay, then let's sweep a tornado." Cheng Mo's indulgence reminded Xiangbei that there was no mention of a tornado at this moment. She shrugged, stuck out her tongue, and glanced a bit shyly at Joe Er, using a term that people of this era could understand, "Right, right, right, it's soaring with the wind, it's soaring with the wind."
"The tornado you're talking about is soaring with the wind. It's even more magnificent." Cheng Mo intervened to resolve Xiangbei's slight embarrassment. Joe Er nodded in agreement and took his leave again.
Cheng Mo came to the desk, signed her name and used a small seal on the contract provided by Joe Er. She pressed her hand on the silver bill and turned to look at the maid who was secretly scratching the corners of the bill, "Tell me, what do you want to do with this money? Didn't you say you don't need silver bills? Didn't you say you only want cash? I don't want what I gave you. Look, look, this brother Ziqiu gave it to you. Look at how happy you are."
"This is the down payment for our collaboration, okay? I need it to make samples. Besides, did you give it to me? Did you fall? Fell on the face of a humble merchant like me. You want to trick me with your sugar prescription. Why should I give it to you? Just because you fell those silver bills, do you think you can buy me off?"
Not mentioning it was better. Bringing it up made Xiangbei realize that the anger and grievances not only didn't go away but fermented in her heart.
"Well, this is indeed my fault, Xiao Bei. I didn't mean to deceive you with the prescription, it's just frustration, frustration that you didn't listen to my arrangements. I'm sorry. Let's cooperate well. All future operations will be half and half. I'll listen to you."
"Who wants to cooperate with you in all operations? The North-South Supermarket is brand new. Brother Ziqiu's store hasn't even opened yet. I'm starting from scratch with him, sharing the ups and downs. Splitting half with you is acceptable. I don't know how much business you have, how big your scale is, and how many years you've been doing this. Why should I take half of yours? Sell some prescriptions to you. If it's suitable, buy them. If you don't need them, there's no loss to you. Fair and just. What do you have to be angry about?"
"I also want to share the ups and downs with you. No matter how big your business is, I believe you can make it bigger. I want to cooperate with you half and half, through thick and thin, all the way. I want facing challenges together with you.
"This conversation is getting too confusing. Let's focus on getting the hot pot ready. I'm tired now and want to sleep. OK?" Exhausted after a long day, Xiangbei expressed her weariness, even incorporating modern language and gestures into her communication with Chengmo.
"OK? Well, you do seem tired. I'll take you back to your room," Chengmo said as he gently stroked Xiangbei's long hair, guiding the fatigued girl up to the third floor.
As Xiangbei collapsed onto the bed, she felt disoriented, as if she had blocked out everything around her. The fluctuations in the space continued to impact her meridians, and images from the space flashed through her mind. Seeing that she had fallen asleep, Chengmo thought it was time to rest after the day's events. Quietly, he left the room, only to discover, in the next breath, that the person on the bed had vanished into thin air.