At dawn, under the bright morning sky, a group of hunters draped in animal skins slowly approached Yicheng's city gate along the main road. It was the team from Teng Family Village.
They had set out before sunrise, and now, with the world fully illuminated, they finally reached Yicheng. Fortunately, they encountered no bandits along the way.
After paying sixty-two copper coins, the group entered the city. Instead of dispersing, they purposefully headed down a wide street.
Typically, a trip to Yicheng was a chance to have some fun, like visiting the gambling halls. But this time, they were delivering a shipment involving a large sum of silver, so no one dared to relax.
On a quiet, spacious street with few passersby, the group from Teng Family Village walked together.
"This area houses all the commercial guilds. The Yangzhou Guild Hall is the largest," Teng Yongfan said, pointing ahead. "That's the Yangzhou Guild Hall."
Alex glanced over. The gate of the Yangzhou Guild Hall was nearly thirty meters wide, wide enough for twenty to thirty people to walk through side by side. The two tall, golden-green stone lions at the entrance looked imposing and majestic.
Teng Yongfan marveled, "Those stone lions are made of lapis lazuli. Each one weighs over ten thousand pounds. Just those two lions are worth thousands of taels of silver!"
Yangzhou salt merchants, comparable to the great merchants of Yuzhou, were indeed incredibly wealthy.
"Get lost!"
One of the four burly guards at the gate of the Yangzhou Guild Hall shouted at Teng Qingshan and his group.
Teng Yongfan quickly said, "We're here to deliver goods for Mr. Li of Jiangning County. He ordered from us!"
"Mr. Li of Jiangning County?"
One guard frowned and said, "Wait here, I'll go report."
...
Inside the Yangzhou Guild Hall, Alex and his group had already met Qin San. After taking out the Bihan knives, Qin San had the guards test them by chopping firewood.
"Hmm?"
Qin San's face darkened. He had planned to pocket the remaining payment, but now it seemed he would need to take action himself.
Suddenly, Qin San stood up, took a Bihan knife from a guard, and lightly tapped the blade with his hand. The internal energy he used instantly dulled the edge, a move Alex and Teng Qingshan observed closely.
His expression turned grim, and the Teng Family Village group felt a chill.
"What's this? Why is the blade dull?" Qin San feigned anger and threw the Bihan knife. It landed with a clang in front of Teng Qingshan and the others.
"How is that possible?" Teng Yongfan quickly picked it up.
The surrounding clan members saw the dulled blade and their faces turned pale.
Teng Yongfan's expression changed dramatically. According to the contract, any quality issues would be a serious problem.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible." Teng Yongfan shook his head, clearly anxious. "I checked every blade. How could this happen?"
Qin San sneered, "Impossible!"
"Qingshan!"
Alex tugged on Teng Qingshan's sleeve and pointed to some figures talking in the mansion. If Alex's memory was correct, Mr. Li should be at home right now!
"Sir!"
Teng Qingshan followed Alex's direction, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. His voice rang out, amplified by internal energy, making it audible throughout the mansion.
Qin San's face twisted in anger. "Boy, lower your voice! If you disturb the master's rest, you'll all end up in prison."
"Sir, are you an internal energy master? The legendary internal energy?"
Teng Qingshan pretended to be awestruck, looking at Qin San with admiration. "I just saw you touch that Bihan knife, and the sharp blade..."
Before Teng Qingshan could finish, Qin San's face turned livid. He shouted angrily, "Shut up, boy!"
"What's going on here?" A voice called out as a group emerged from the mansion. Leading them was a middle-aged man in a black fur coat, his face pale and refined, clearly accustomed to luxury.
Beside him was a playful young girl in a white ermine coat with two braids, and behind them were two servants and two bodyguards.
"Master."
Everyone in the courtyard immediately bowed.
The middle-aged man frowned. "Oh, the Bihan knives have arrived? If so, pay them and let them go. Why all the noise?"
Qin San hurriedly responded, "Yes, master!"
"Hey, Qin San, what was all the fuss about?"
The playful girl blinked her big eyes and curiously looked at the Teng clan, whispering, "They all look like Tarzan! So, these are hunters from this era!"
Though she spoke softly, both Alex and Teng Qingshan, with their keen hearing, heard her clearly. Teng Qingshan only found her speech odd, but Alex was stunned.
"This era! Tarzan! Is she a transmigrator or a reincarnator?"
Alex watched the girl carefully, studying her every move.
Qin San bowed and explained, "Miss, we ordered goods from them, and they delivered. But during inspection, one of the Bihan knives had poor quality and dulled while chopping wood."
The young lady frowned, looking at the Teng clan. "A Bihan knife for 150 taels that dulls while chopping wood? Such weapons are unacceptable!"
As she spoke, she crossed her arms, confirming Alex's suspicion. He smiled and stepped forward obsequiously, "Miss, please calm down. You're right, this was our mistake.
However, it was just one knife. The rest are of good quality. How about this: for every defective knife, we'll replace it one-for-one. So out of the 182 knives, we'll only charge for 180. At 150 taels each, that's 27,000 taels. You've already paid an 8,000 tael deposit, so the balance is 19,000 taels.
Miss, does that sound fair?"
Alex, all smiles and bows, handed the package of tea leaves to the girl. As he did, he discreetly sprinkled some nearly invisible powder on the guild members.
The Teng clan members were stunned by Alex's behavior. Teng Yongfan's palms were sweating, but Teng Qingshan felt relieved. Having lived two lives, he understood the intricacies of such situations.
This whole scheme was likely Qin San's idea. If exposed, he would be in serious trouble. With everyone watching, he had no choice but to accept the situation.
As for offending them, Qin San had already planned to cheat them out of the balance, so there was no reason to worry about that now.