Nothing came to Chu Liuyue’s mind even after thinking for a long time, so she decided to put this matter aside for the time being. She then turned and headed for Hundred Herbs Building instead.
On the one hand, she wanted to redeem all the items that Weichi Song had pawned to them. On the other hand, she needed to buy more herbs to refine more pills for Qiang Wanzhou since he had already eaten all three pills during the competition.
The cold, evil qi had been there in his body for years, so it couldn’t be rid of overnight. It was a good thing that she had money; otherwise, she might not have been able to support both herself and Qiang Wanzhou at the same time.
…
“Please let us off this one time! We already know our mistake! We won’t do it again!”
“Yeah! My family told me that I’m not allowed to go back home until the ban is lifted! Please help me out!”
“It wasn’t intentional! Do you really want to drive us into a corner? I-it’s fine even if you don’t allow us to enter! Just don’t get our family involved…”
Chu Liuyue spotted the crowd gathered at Hundred Herbs Building’s entrance even from afar. It was only when she walked closer that she saw several young ladies begging and pleading at the doorstep.
Standing atop the doorstep was a pageboy who had a polite smile on his face. However, the way he spoke was very cruel and indifferent. “I’m sorry, ladies, but this is a direct order from my supervisor. A lowly pageboy like me doesn’t have the guts to disobey his wishes. You should leave! We aren’t the only herb store in Xi Ling City anyway!”
A woman with a haggard appearance laughed bitterly at that. “But there are some herbs that can only be found at Hundred Herbs Building!”
Hundred Herbs Building had a very high status in Xi Ling City, as well as a market monopoly on many kinds of herbs. Thus, it was true that certain herbs could only be bought from this store.
The pageboy’s smile widened. “That’s none of our business though. You should go find alternative ways instead!”
A few burly guards immediately stepped forward at his beckoning. “Ladies, please—”
Even though the ladies knew that making a commotion right at their doorstep would affect their business, they refused to leave no matter what. They had nowhere they could go anyway.
One of them then went down on her knees with tears streaming down her face. “I hope General Manager Yue will let us off this one time!”
Seeing this, the other two ladies kneeled down as well.
How dare these brainless women stir up trouble at our entrance?! The pageboy’s expression turned slightly cold. “Hurry up and get these ladies to leave!”
Upon receiving that order, the guards lifted the ladies up, intending to drag them away by force.
Even though these ladies were cultivators, they were no match for the guards. Hence, they could only struggle frantically in an attempt to break free from their hold as their sharp and ear-piercing screams filled the air.
What exactly is Hundred Herbs Building up to? Why are they chasing away their customers? Chu Liuyue knitted her brows slightly. Doing business is all about peace and prosperity. The main reason Hundred Herbs Building can develop to its current scale is due to their excellent customer service. They have been doing very well in this aspect all along, and I’ve never heard of them doing such a thing in the past.
Just then, the pageboy spotted Chu Liuyue among the crowd. He broke into a wide smile as he hurriedly strode over to welcome her. “What brings you here, Ms. Chu? Come this way, please!”
Chu Liuyue didn’t expect the pageboy to have such good eyesight that he could recognize her at a glance, so she could only walk right up to him now. But unbeknownst to her, she had become the most desired customer among the pageboys working at Hundred Herbs Building ever since her last visit.
She wasn’t the only VIP with a black gold card in Hundred Herbs Building. Most of the other VIPs were rich and powerful, but they always carried an air of authority with them and were particularly hard to serve.
This wasn’t the case for her though! Not only was she decisive and generous with her spending, but she also didn’t blink at the prices! On top of that, she was easy-going and didn’t put on any airs before the pageboys! She was polite and amiable, and she even had a good eye. She could pick out the good stuff just by looking around on her own, so there was no better customer than her in the pageboys’ eyes.
As Chu Liuyue moved toward the entrance, she glanced at the women from the corners of her eyes and asked, “What’s going on here?”
The pageboy bowed at her smilingly. “It’s nothing. Those women previously said the wrong things in our store, so our supervisor ordered us not to serve them and their families as customers anymore. Are they disturbing you?”
“No.” Chu Liuyue shook her head as she wondered what those women had said for them to receive such a severe punishment. No wonder they’re crying and causing a commotion here without any regard for their faces. They probably have been forced by their families to do this. Either way, this matter has nothing to do with me. I have no intention of meddling in Hundred Herbs Building’s affairs, so it’s pointless of me to ask more.
But just as she was about to cross the building’s threshold, a woman suddenly broke free from the guards’ grip and rushed up toward her before getting down on her knees and crying hysterically. “I beg you to let us off, Ms. Chu!”
Chu Liuyue looked back and was baffled when she saw the unfamiliar face. Why is she begging me when it’s Hundred Herbs Building that refused to do their business?
The pageboy’s face turned cold as he immediately stepped in front of Chu Liuyue and shouted at the guards, “Did you guys not eat at all? Can you bear the responsibility if Ms. Chu gets startled?!”
The guards hurriedly came over to bring the woman away. However, the woman kept begging Chu Liuyue for help as if she were clutching onto her last straw of hope. “We know our mistake, Ms. Chu! We shouldn’t have talked about you behind your back, but I swear that we meant no ill-wishes! We’ve already been punished, so could you please ask General Manager Yue to let us off?”
While tearfully shouting out, the woman tried to kneel down again when she got pulled up by the guards. She looked rather pitiful in this state.
Chu Liuyue, however, was confused. T-this matter has something to do with me?
She then told the guards, “Please let her finish her piece first.”
When the guards looked at each other—not knowing what to do—the pageboy hurriedly said, “Didn’t you hear what Ms. Chu said? Get them all here!”
He then looked at the woman in front of them and ordered frigidly, “You better give honest answers to all of Ms. Chu’s questions!”
The woman nodded her head fervently before briefly recounting what happened that day. Of course, she didn’t go into detail about what they had said about Chu Liuyue and tried to gloss it over. She then ended it with more pleas and begging. “…Ms. Chu, we truly didn’t mean it! We won’t dare to do so again! Just let us off this time, please…”
Hearing this, Chu Liuyue fell silent for a long time. I can imagine the nasty things these women had said about me, so I don’t pity them in the slightest. However, there are so many people talking about me behind my back. I would die of exhaustion if I were to go pursue accountability from each and every one of them.
Since when… did Hundred Herbs Building have such a rule though? I didn’t know that the VIPs with black gold cards have such high statuses.
“Actually—”
“What’s going on here?” A clear and calm voice floated over all of a sudden.
The pageboy and the others immediately bowed respectfully. “Greetings, General Manager Yue!”