After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

Chapter 533 Asking for an exorbitant price?

It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. After closing his shop, Wenbin went straight back to the Jiang family home, since they had their own courtyard where the whole family lived independently.

When the shop is busy, Wenbin, Aniu, and Wangchuan live in the dormitory on the second floor of Liuxiang Pavilion.

Now that the shop is temporarily closed, Wenbin and the other two naturally returned to the Jiang family home, where there are enough rooms for three people.

The steward of the Liu family had been waiting for almost half an hour, and was already cursing under his breath.

No gatekeeper had ever made him wait this long before; this small Jiang family gatekeeper was the first!

Fortunately, the sun wasn't too strong, and just when my patience was about to run out, the door opened from the inside.

"This...butler, our young master requests your presence."

Old Li didn't even bother to ask the other person's surname before the Liu family steward entered with a displeased expression.

The servants led the two carts of gifts to be unloaded through the side gate.

Jiang Xiaoqi was not surprised that the Liu family came, after all, his cat detective team had already found out who the people who traded with those bandits were.

He never expected that he would offend a eunuch serving a concubine, and this concubine Liu even had some indirect ties with his family.

So he didn't do anything, choosing to remain unchanged in the face of all changes, and that's how he ended up having the Liu family send people over on their own initiative.

Prime Minister Liu must have made arrangements immediately upon learning of the situation, otherwise he wouldn't have been so efficient.

Wenbin and Aniu, who were on vacation, didn't stay idle either. The walls of the Jiang residence were being raised recently, so they changed into shorts and decided to stretch their muscles.

A group of bricklayers couldn't understand these young people. They thought they were fine, so why did they want to play with mud with them?

"Brother Wenbin, Brother Aniu, it seems someone came to visit the young master just now, and they brought quite a few gifts."

Wangchuan went out to relieve himself and happened to see Old Li leading his men to Jiang Xiaoqi's courtyard.

Wenbin didn't want to inquire; that was the young master's business. Now that they were in charge of the business, they shouldn't meddle in things they shouldn't.

But then I thought about it again. Yesterday, Liuxiang Pavilion was vandalized, and today someone came to the door with a lot of gifts. I felt that the two were inevitably related.

"Come on, wash your hands, change into clean clothes, and let's go take a look."

Only after Wenbin spoke did the two men put down the bricks and mud they were holding.

"Lord Jiang, some of the boxes outside were arranged by my master, and some were sent by my wife from Vice Minister Jiang's side."

"This is just a small token of my appreciation; I hope Lord Jiang won't find it offensive. Many of these matters were neither my master's nor Her Highness's intention; it was all due to the unfounded speculations of those spineless lackeys that this misunderstanding occurred."

The steward of the Liu family spoke to himself, and Jiang Xiaoqi neither had anyone serve tea nor asked the other party to sit down.

The butler bowed deeply, seemingly apologetic, humble to the core.

I have to say, that's pretty good acting.

Although Jiang Xiaoqi did not have the ability to read minds, she knew how resistant the person in front of her was to saying those words. Those words were ambiguous, neither saying what the Liu family had done nor what Consort Liu had done.

To the uninitiated, it would seem like a routine visit to relatives and friends.

Seeing that Jiang Xiaoqi did not respond, the steward continued, forcing himself to speak: "Sir, you don't need to worry about the subsequent compensation. Our Prime Minister has already given instructions."

Once the case is settled at the Jingzhao Prefecture and that ignorant lackey is arrested, we'll properly calculate your losses, Lord Jiang.

"Rest assured, although the Liu family doesn't have any large, profitable businesses, they are an old and deeply rooted clan. They won't be unable to come up with even a small amount of compensation."

Jiang Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow. He rarely flaunted his wealth because none of the people around him were as rich as he was.

Today, he was shown off his wealth by a butler. How interesting!

However, thinking of Liu Peng, Jiang Xiaoqi didn't say anything unpleasant. After all, Liu Peng was his good friend, and this matter really wasn't Liu Xiangxiang's fault.

Why take your anger out on others? Just settle things a little with them.

We can't exactly go to the palace to find Consort Liu, can we?

Fine, let them say the eunuch is the culprit, I'll believe them. I doubt Consort Liu is that crazy to come to my shop, buy everything, and then smash it up.

"This...butler, please have a seat!"

The steward of the Liu family turned increasingly dark-faced. What was wrong with this family, from master to servant? Was his surname so shameful that it wasn't even worth asking?

Forget it, they've come to apologize and make amends, I'll let it go!

"Uh, thank you, sir!"

At this moment, Wenbin and his two companions, having changed into clean clothes, walked in. Jiang Xiaoqi looked up and gestured for them to stand aside.

The steward of the Liu family was slightly taken aback when he saw the three people suddenly enter, but he quickly regained his humble demeanor.

Wenbin carefully observed the steward of the Liu family, pondering the purpose of the Liu family's visit.

Jiang Xiaoqi cleared his throat and said, "Since the Liu family is so sincere, I won't make things difficult for them. However, since Liuxiang Pavilion is reopening, all the necessary items will indeed need to be replaced."

"Perfect timing, since I, the head manager of Liuxiang Pavilion, am here, we can settle the losses right here in front of everyone, without having to go all the way to the Prefectural Magistrate's Office to close the case. This will also save the steward from having to make another trip."

The butler nodded hurriedly and said, "Don't worry, sir, we will definitely not renege on our debts."

Wenbin took a step forward and pulled out a small notebook from somewhere, as if he had come prepared.

Jiang Xiaoqi was a little surprised and gave him an approving look: "Wenbin, you've grown up!"

Wenbin, on the other hand, calmly pulled out a small abacus from behind A Niu's waist, opened the ledger he had brought with him, and began to calculate the losses without any panic.

In fact, he had already finished the account book yesterday and calculated the amount in advance, but he was still seriously pretending to calculate the accounts so as not to make people think that the Jiang family had come prepared and wanted to extort money.

The ledger meticulously records the names and quantities of everything from the smashed tables, chairs, vases, shelves, and doors to the damaged perfumes, hydrosols, and various bottles and jars of "high-end goods."

The butler had initially held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that Jiang Xiaoqi might just casually offer a price out of consideration for the Liu family.

Who would have thought that their accounts were so meticulously prepared, clearly indicating they wanted to overcharge?

But when he personally took Wenbin's well-organized ledger, he couldn't help but admire him in secret.

The accounts are far too clear; the items are in one column, the quantity in another, and the amount of money in yet another.

The last line also shows the total quantity and the total amount of silver, clearly as could be.

Turning to the last page and seeing the final number, the butler's heart tightened; this was no small sum!

Are the items at Liuxiang Pavilion really that expensive? But considering the Prime Minister's instructions, I could only grit my teeth and agree for the time being.

"My lord, we also need to verify these things and report to the Prime Minister. May I take this account book back with me?"

Jiang Xiaoqi didn't say anything, and Wenbin directly took out another book. This one was copied by Wangchuan last night, and it was very clear.

"Sir... butler, these two are the same. You can take a look. Our staff copied them. You can take this one back; you don't need to return it."

That's really thoughtful.

The Liu family steward left with a dark expression. After he left, Jiang Xiaoqi couldn't help but give the group a thumbs up.

"Wenbin, you handled this matter brilliantly!"