Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
On the other side.
Ye Xiu had already entered the center of the city. He still didn’t know that two mages were fighting in front of his bookstore and were being suppressed by the jujube tree.
He bypassed all sorts of shops on the main street and entered the residential area at the back.
Because the houses on this side were close to the main street. Not only were they convenient to live in, but they were also safe and secure. Most of them had been sold long ago. Only a few houses at the edge were still available.
Ye Xiu didn’t immediately look for the agents who sold the houses. He needed to find out the situation first.
If he didn’t investigate first, he might be scammed.
Ye Xiu strolled along the streets while listening to the conversations of passersby to gather information.
After spending three hours to understand the general situation of the houses here, Ye Xiu asked for information on the three agents who sold the houses and went to ask them one by one.
Unfortunately, the prices of the houses in the city center were all above 500,000 gold coins. He could afford one of them by applying loan from bank, but the pressure was quite high and there was a risk of bankruptcy.
If he rented the houses, there wouldn’t be much pressure and it would be easy.
Ye Xiu kept thinking about this matter and went back to his bookstore.
The distance from the city center to the bookstore wasn’t short, and it was in a remote location. The closer he got, the less crowded the surrounding became. It was a good match for the cheap rent.
“Should I change it?”
Ye Xiu walked along the roadside. Many thoughts appeared in his mind, and he began to seriously consider it.
The number of customers in this place was very small. It could be said that there were almost no customers. However, he already had a fixed number of customers. It seemed like he had even entered the circle of ancient culture enthusiasts.
The recent customers were ancient culture enthusiasts. Every one of them deeply loved ancient culture and even respected a calligraphy artist like him. They were even willing to come to his remote bookstore. In addition, Lin Suxin helped him attract customers.
If he worked hard to take root in the circle of ancient culture, the chances of making a fortune would be very high.
Those who were interested in ancient culture must be very rich. Just look at the few people that Lin Suxin had brought with her.
Thinking about it this way, Ye Xiu realized that he didn’t need to change places at all.
In any case, the customers would automatically come to him. If he changed place, he might even miss out on customers. The risk of carrying a loan was high. His bookstore might even lose its charm and mysterious vibe of being in a deep alley. The customers wouldn’t be able to imagine that he was a calligraphy master at all.
If he lost that kind of mysteriousness and remote environment, he would lose a selling point and packaging of his store.
Fans of ancient culture all liked that kind of environment.
It was hard to find his bookstore, but it didn’t matter. If he was easily found by the customers, would he still be a reclusive master calligrapher?
“Maybe I should change my style and find a more ancient style of clothing. It’ll make me look more like an expert.”
Ye Xiu extinguished his previous unreliable thoughts and followed the path into the alley.
There were quite a few people gathered in the alley and were discussing something in low voices.
This was a rare occurrence. The people in the alley were all very calm. They usually wouldn’t gather together. What happened?
Ye Xiu immediately went over to join in the fun.
“You guys didn’t see it at the time. That miserable mage’s staff was broken. His expression was extremely gloomy. He looked like he was about to hit someone at any moment. It was terrifying. I guess he didn’t succeed in collecting the debt.”
“No way. Is he really a mage?”
“You old man, you’re talking nonsense again. Why would the master mage come to ask for the debt? Especially from ordinary people like us.”
“That’s right. I guess he pretended to be a mage to ask for the debt. Those people have many tricks up their sleeves.”
“The direction he came out from is that bookstore. I think the owner of the bookstore is going to be in trouble.”
“Then we have to go out less these days, in case he comes looking for us.”
The people chatted with each other. Their words were a bit exaggerated, but they were enjoying themselves.
The corners of Ye Xiu’s mouth twitched. He quietly lowered his head and left, pretending that he hadn’t been here before.
He was already starting to investigate which of the customers’ parents had come to visit.
Regular customers wouldn’t act like that. These neighboring men liked to brag, but they wouldn’t brag too much. Hence, their words could be used as a reference.
Who might come looking for trouble in this time?
“It can’t be Ban Feimeng’s family, right?”
Ye Xiu immediately thought of the most likely guest.
After all, he hadn’t made many deals recently. He gave Lin Suxin a painting for free in exchange for a bag of dog food. No one could find anything wrong with it.
He just made a deal with the customers that Lin Suxin had brought him. Even if their family reacted quickly, they wouldn’t have come today.
He remembered there was a guest from a while ago, it was Ban Feimeng.
After all, she had spent 100,000 gold coins to buy a painting, and she was still a student. Even if her family was well-off, it was still too extravagant.
At that time, he had asked her to keep it a secret, but how tight could a student’s mouth be?
Even though an adult’s mouth was usually looser.
If Ban Feimeng told her family about the matter of Ban Shan buying a painting, then it would really be a big problem.
When he thought about how he was being chased for a refund, Ye Xiu had the urge to run away.
“Calm down. Don’t panic.”
Ye Xiu took a deep breath, he continuously hypnotized himself, “I’m an artist. My skill level is very high, and I didn’t scam people. After all, my previous customers paid the same price. If I have to refund and take back the painting, I’ll just sell it to Lin Suxin and the others. She’ll probably pay for it, right?”
Ye Xiu tried his best to remain calm as he nervously walked back to his bookstore.
When he arrived in front of the bookstore, he saw a familiar figure in the distance facing the jujube tree in front of the store. It seemed like the person was talking to the tree.
The human face on the jujube tree disappeared, and the sound of footsteps could be heard behind her. Ban Feimeng turned around and immediately smiled. He respectfully said, “Senior Ye, you’re back.”
Ye Xiu looked around but didn’t find anyone else. The bookstore hadn’t been damaged, so he couldn’t help but look at Ban Feimeng strangely.
“That customer just came. Why did he suddenly leave?” Ye Xiu pretended not to care and asked.
From Ban Feimeng’s appearance, that customer didn’t seem like she was an elder of her family. He asked what was going on.
When Ban Feimeng heard this, her eyes immediately lit up, she sighed, “You really did expect him to come, but that’s true. After all, before he came, he didn’t understand you at all. He also didn’t know your ability or the value of the painting. It’s normal for him to make a wrong decision.”
Hearing this, Ye Xiu immediately overturned his previous thoughts. Could it be the family of Suxin’s friends? Or could it be that Lin Suxin’s parents came, thinking that a bag of dog food would be too much to exchange for a painting?
Lin Suxin was definitely from a wealthy family. She had probably spent quite a bit on dog food. It could be the parents of her two friends as well.
After all, Ye Xiu couldn’t expect everyone to be so passionate about ancient culture and respect the artist. He also couldn’t expect others to be like Ban Feimeng and understand how skilled his painting was.
But since the other party had already left, then he should be fine, right?
“He decided to give up?” Ye Xiu continued to ask.
Ban Feimeng lightly smiled, “Of course. I explained the pros and cons to him. After seeing your ability, he retreated. He clearly understood that he was in the wrong. Not only did he give up on the wrong decision, but he also even said that he would come tomorrow to apologize.”
Ye Xiu felt a bit strange. Could it be that Ban Feimeng had shown the painting he had sold to a customer?
It definitely wasn’t that simple. Ban Feimeng must have put a lot of effort to help him, right?
Ban Feimeng’s ability to apologize to an evil guest that came looking for trouble was quite commendable.. If all the customers were like her, then what did Ye Xiu have to worry about?