Lin Yuan smiled externally, but was internally sizing up the situation. After she was robbed, she had seriously contemplated who she might have offended, deducing that the suspects could be counted on one’s fingers.
In the Lin family hollow, it could only be the people from the old residence. However, to her knowledge, Lin Jiazhong had spent all his silver on Lin Yongle’s medical treatment. Even Lin Yongcheng had not received silver from his father for a long time, to the extent that he was now sulking in school everyday, with no money to visit brothels.
Besides the people from the Lin family hollow, the only other possible suspects were from Zhuma Town, which narrowed the list even further—one being Lin Siyu, who had entered the Master Magistrate’s service, and the other being Jin Lingling, who stood before her. As for who exactly it was, she was not entirely sure. From now on, she just had to be cautious and on guard against them.
It was funny when she thought about her conflicts with the two; they weren’t that serious. She really didn’t know what she had done to make them go so far as to hire bandits to harm her.
Before Lin Yuan could speak, Meng Chunyan found an opening, her words dripping with scorn, "Lingling, your family’s threshold is really high to let a shop supply pastries for the old lady, isn’t it? Geez, that’s giving her too much credit! Let’s go, let’s go. We should buy some pastries from the Century-old Cake Shop. I’m afraid if I bring back pastries from here, my parents will scold me!"
Jin Lingling looked on at the drama, pretending to be earnest, "Chunyan, you shouldn’t judge the shop by its simple decoration. The pastries here are actually quite delicious. Why don’t you give it a try and take a piece for yourself?"
Meng Chunyan quickly waved her hands dismissively, as though repulsed, "Forget it, Lingling, spare me please. You know how delicate my stomach is, I can’t just eat anything. Besides, look how dirty this place is, who knows if the pastries are clean? What if I get sick again with my old ailments after eating them?"
Jin Lingling looked at her with an amused expression, quite pleased internally. Meng Chunyan was indeed her best friend, saying such endearing words in just the right way.
Giving her friend an approving glance covertly, Jin Lingling turned to Lin Yuan with a bit of embarrassment, "Boss Lin, I’m so sorry, my friend here is quite frail; she’s been coddled since young and really can’t stomach any mediocre food from outside. I hope you understand and don’t take offense at her words."
Lin Yuan sneered inwardly—such lofty words, claiming ill health and an inability to eat food from outside, as if that were the real issue. They just looked down on the goods in her shop!
Never mind. A melon forcibly twisted off its stem is not sweet. Besides, she hadn’t planned on dealing with these types of people. She could see now that among this group of rich young ladies that Jin Lingling had brought over, only the one called Xiaonan who had first entered was somewhat agreeable. The rest, especially Meng Chunyan, was just another Jin Lingling.
"Second Miss Jin, what are you talking about? Business has always been about mutual consent. If the young lady here doesn’t want something from my shop, it would be curious to insist on selling it to her," Lin Yuan replied with a coy smile, the meaning behind her words clear: you want to buy, but I may not even want to sell to you!
Meng Chunyan failed to catch the nuance in her words, thinking Lin Yuan was backing down, acknowledging her own status. She lifted her eyebrows in satisfaction.
Jin Lingling was sharper, and quickly picked up on the implied message, only to be irritated to exasperation by Meng Chunyan’s oblivious self-congratulation, muttering a quiet curse under her breath.
"Shop assistant, please wrap up this, this, and also the spicy strips, one pound of each." Ma Xiaonan’s excited voice carried over, interrupting the dialogue between Lin Yuan and the other two.