amaotonovel Chapter 240 seems unexpected, yet... it is also expected.
Chapter 240 seems unexpected, yet... it is also expected.
Chapter 240 Seemingly Unexpected, Yet... Also Within Expectation
Early the next morning—
Xia Mo knew that Yu Xiuniang had left a secret mark on the clothes when she was altering them, so she deliberately wore the clothes that Yu Xiuniang had altered when she went into the city.
She was going to inspect the new store, the Xia Family Cloth Shop's business.
As soon as the carriage stopped in front of the Xia family's cloth shop, the people who had been secretly watching ran off to inform them.
This time, Huangfu Qian didn't disguise himself as a maid; instead, he altered his appearance to become a handsome man. As for the mask he used to disguise himself as a maid, he naturally kept it.
Huangfu Qian, disguised as Young Master Huang, got off the carriage first, stopped beside it, turned around, and looked at the carriage.
Wearing a veil, Xia Mo reached out to Huangfu Qian, who helped her down from the carriage.
As summer drew to a close, she dismounted from the carriage, her sheer dress fluttering in the breeze, giving her an ethereal, otherworldly air.
The waiter at the door immediately shouted, "Master Xia is here!"
Whether they were about to enter Xia Family Cloth Shop, leaving Xia Family Cloth Shop, or just passing by, everyone stopped and looked at Xia Mo.
With a reserved yet elegant demeanor, Xia Mo nodded to the customers outside Xia Family Cloth Shop, then gracefully stepped into the shop.
The guests who stopped to look at Xia Mo didn't see what she looked like, but they were already drawn to the aura she exuded.
"I wonder what a stunningly beautiful face Master Xia will have when she takes off her veil!"
A crowd had already gathered, and people were quietly marveling at what they saw, taking advantage of the concealment of the crowd.
"Master Xia!"
As Xia Mo entered the shop, the busy shopkeeper and his staff stopped what they were doing and came to greet him.
Those waiting to buy fabric, or those who have already bought it, are all looking towards the end of summer.
Xia Mo nodded and instructed, "I'm here to inspect the shops. Take the account books to the accounting office."
Xia Mo imitated Yu Niangzi's tone of voice, speaking gently and softly, making people feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.
"Yes!"
The shopkeeper handed over his work to his assistant, took the account books for the past few days, and delivered them to the accounting office in the back of the shop.
The news that the head of Xiajia Textile Shop had come to inspect the shop's business reached the ears of the cloth merchants.
* * *
Half an hour later—
The head of the You family appeared inside the Xia family's cloth shop.
The shopkeeper recognized the head of the You family at a glance and personally went to greet him.
"I heard that your Master Xia is here? May I come out to meet you?" the You family head asked politely and with good manners.
The women buying fabric in the store had hearts in their eyes when they saw the head of the You family.
The appearance, demeanor, manners, and speech of the head of the You family were very attractive to women.
"Please wait a moment, Master You, I'll go ask the head of the household," the shopkeeper said, bowing slightly before running towards the accounting office in the backyard.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the shopkeeper ran back and gestured to the head of the You family, saying, "The head of the family invites you, head of the You family."
The head of the You family nodded reservedly and walked steadily inside.
When the head of the You family left, the women in the shop all had a fleeting look of disappointment on their faces.
In the backyard of Xia Family Cloth Shop, in a small hall specially used to entertain distinguished guests—
Xia Mo arranged for Huangfu Qian to sit with her in the main seat.
Before the head of the You family even got close, he could see two people in the main seat from afar.
Xia Mo reached out and took Huangfu Qian's hand, deliberately rubbing it lightly against Huangfu Qian's palm, intentionally causing a ticklish sensation.
Huangfu Qian noticed the You family head when he appeared in the garden. He looked at Xia Mo, unsure whether he should withdraw his hand.
"How was it? Did you feel like you'd been electrocuted?" Xia Mo asked in the gentle voice unique to Yu Niangzi.
Huangfu Qian realized that although Xia Mo was using her own face, she was playing the role of Yu Niangzi. However, he knew that it was Xia Mo who was touching him.
Huangfu Qian maintained a blank expression; only he himself knew what was truly on his mind.
When the head of the You family saw Xia Mo flirting with Huangfu Qian, he deliberately made his footsteps louder to alert the two of them to his arrival.
The head of the You family entered the small hall, clasped his hands in greeting to Xia Mo, and said, "Head of the You family, I am the head of the You family, and I have come to pay you a visit."
Xia Mo withdrew his hand that had been teasing Huangfu Qian and looked at the You family head.
The time has come for her to showcase her acting skills.
When she was in the Immortal Realm, her cultivation level was not yet at the Great Ascension stage, so she relied on acting skills to get by, and she had already mastered them.
When Xia Mo looked at the head of the You family, she deliberately let her eyes flash with a complex mix of resentment, love, and anger towards him.
She also had to make her eye expressions flash by so quickly that it was almost impossible to catch them, yet the head of the You family still had to notice them.
It's alright. Even if Patriarch You didn't catch her eye movements, Patriarch You's live streaming system did.
The head of the You family didn't notice Xia Mo's expressive eyes, but the comments on the screen in front of him were reminding him.
A commenter, a con artist, said: "Host, the way Xia looked at you just now was strange. There was a fleeting look of love and hate in his eyes. I'm afraid that Xia, the head of the Xia family, has a past with you that you've forgotten."
Even if Patriarch You didn't notice the messages on the live stream, his live streaming system would remind him in his mind.
The head of the You family's eyes flickered slightly, clearly indicating that he had received the message.
"Sit down," Xia Mo said, deliberately putting on a cold face.
The head of the You family sat down in the first seat on the left and began to talk about the business acumen of cloth merchants.
"Because the imperial court has vigorously developed agriculture, the planting area of cotton is large and the yield is high. The production of ramie and flax is also increasing rapidly, which makes it easier for us cloth merchants to obtain more cotton and flax," the head of the You family said, getting off to the point and talking about the materials he thought he was talking about.
Xia Mo nodded to Huangfu Qian beside her.
Huangfu Qian understood why Xia Mo nodded to him and smiled gently.
“Even cloth made primarily of hemp, excluding labor costs, costs no less than two hundred coins per bolt. With labor costs added, it’s even more expensive, at least four hundred coins,” the head of the You family sighed. “We also want to lower the price of cloth, but the costs are what they are… alas…”
Xia Mo listened expressionlessly, while her spiritual power drilled into the mind of the You family head to find the carrier of the live streaming system.
The system's carriers all bore some animalistic characteristics, reminding her of the inhuman and beastly beings she had encountered when she used her divine sense to infiltrate another world, and their conversations. Her eyes flickered.
Could it be... that these live-streaming systems were modified by the mastermind using normal, living people?!
This guess, seemingly unexpected, is... yet also expected.
"The cloth made by Master Xia is not only made of hemp but also cotton. The cost is at least three hundred coins, but it is only sold for three hundred coins a piece. Even if it means losing money, it is still sold so that the people can wear good clothes, right?" The head of the You family gave Xia Mo a thumbs up and looked at Xia Mo sincerely, as if he was genuinely praising Xia Mo.
At least, Xia Mo couldn't see the hypocrisy in Boss You's eyes.
Xia Mo's confident demeanor shone through her eyes. She shrugged and said generously, "It's not a loss. Three hundred coins a piece, and I can still make a hundred coins on each piece."
The moment the head of the You family heard Xia Mo's price and profit, his eyes revealed undisguised shock.