Chapter 236 Making a Living
Lu Ji casually threw away the teacup, not bothering to stop the bleeding. He just wiped it with his hand and said to Lord Zhou, "We need to check it carefully. Check all the new households registered from a month ago to the present. Even if there is no name like 'Qin Xiaoning', find all those with the surname Qin."

The little thing is very cunning. Maybe it changed its name to avoid being found by him.

It is not difficult to change your name, but it is very difficult to change your surname.

"I understand." Upon hearing this, Lord Zhou took his leave.

Lu Ji held his forehead with his hand and fell into thought again, trying hard to think of where the little girl might have gone.

The little girl who was worried about by the man had just woken up.

Living in someone else's house means having your own yard, and Qin Xiaoning has changed her habit of sleeping in and gets up early every day.

After all, you are a guest, so you should always pay attention to your words and actions.

Songzhi came in to help Qin Xiaoning wash and change clothes. The two of them had been keeping an eye on the house for a while, and naturally the topic they talked about the most was buying a house.

"Yesterday, Sister Wang introduced another place. She said she heard from the owner of the fabric shop outside that a small merchant's house was for sale. It had two entrances and exits and was for 120 taels of silver."

The little maid sighed, "It's a bit expensive." Then she urged Qin Xiaoning, "You can sell one piece of calligraphy for more than 40 taels of silver. You only wrote one piece. Why don't you give up? Why don't you write a few more pieces? Then we can get more money for our house."

"I can write ten copies a day, but if I write more, I won't be able to sell them at a high price."

She glared at the frowning maid and said, "Don't worry, I will definitely let you live in a decent house."

"I don't mind." Songzhi laughed awkwardly, "But you are used to a life of luxury. I am afraid you can't endure hardship."

As they were talking, Mrs. Wang brought in breakfast.

The Zhao family was wealthy, and all the food they had was good. Even breakfast was very rich.

Two kinds of dim sum, accompanied by porridge and soup, and four side dishes of both meat and vegetables, all of which were delicately prepared and delicious.

Here, there are no rules of the upper class to restrict her, and the lady surnamed Wang has always been serving her diligently, so whenever Qin Xiaoning eats in the house, she always lets Songzhi and the lady surnamed Wang eat with her.

The three of them sat down around the dining table. Songzhi filled a bowl of beef soup and placed it in front of Qin Xiaoning. Qin Xiaoning felt nauseous in her stomach and then began to dry heave uncontrollably.

"Oops, what's wrong?"

Songzhi and the woman were startled and hurried over to help her smooth her back.

Qin Xiaoning just retched but couldn't vomit. After a short while, she was fine. However, she lost her appetite when she saw the broth, so she pushed it away and served herself a bowl of porridge: "Maybe it's because the weather is getting hotter. I've been feeling uncomfortable in my stomach lately. It's nothing serious. I just don't want to eat greasy food."

Seeing this, Songzhi quickly pushed away the two meat dishes in front of her, and added another piece of dessert to her, saying, "I see that your appetite has really not been very good recently. Maybe it's because of the house purchase that you are upset about."

"Maybe." Qin Xiaoning said casually.

Mrs. Wang held the bamboo chopsticks and glanced at Qin Xiaoning's face. She moved her lips, but because she was concerned about the other person's identity, she didn't dare to say more.

Just after breakfast, the maid at the door came to report that someone was looking for pine branches at the door.

Songzhi asked about the other party's identity. The little maid said that he was the owner of Lantingxuan Calligraphy and Painting Gallery. Songzhi smiled immediately after hearing this and said to Qin Xiaoning anxiously, "The calligraphy we sent last time must have been sold. Could it be that it was sold for a good price? This boss is here to ask us for calligraphy again?"

Qin Xiaoning nodded, and then asked the maid to bring the person in.

The boss's surname is Li, he is over fifty years old, and his family has been in the calligraphy and painting business for generations, so the old man has a very elegant temperament. He is thin and dressed in a green brocade robe. He followed the maid into Qin Xiaoning's courtyard.

After all, he was a stranger, so Qin Xiaoning ordered Mrs. Wang to entertain him in the pavilion in the courtyard. Boss Li entered the courtyard and saw a handsome young man waiting in the pavilion. The young man had red lips and white teeth, and was wearing a moon-white brocade robe. He was a rare handsome man in the world. A book boy stood beside the young man, who was the one who delivered the calligraphy and painting that day.

The boss remembered Song Zhi. When he saw Qin Xiaoning's handwriting that day, he was also amazed at the mystery of the calligraphy. He asked the little book boy about it, and he just said that it was written by his own son. Boss Li had always imagined the appearance and demeanor of this son in his heart.

What kind of person can write such good calligraphy?

But I didn't expect that it was a girl dressed as a man in front of me.

Merchants are concerned about profit. Since the other party tried hard to cover up, there is no need for him to expose it. He just stepped forward, bowed, and greeted with a smile: "I didn't expect that you are so young, but your calligraphy is so mysterious."

Qin Xiaoning replied: "Thank you for your compliment, sir."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and Boss Li talked about the purpose of his visit: "I really like your calligraphy, and I would like to sign a long-term contract with you."

After hearing this, Qin Xiaoning felt relieved.

I'm sure that Boss Li must have sold the calligraphy that I sold to him last time for a good price.

Qin Xiaoning said nothing, waiting for Boss Li to continue.

He said, "This is what I think of this contract. From now on, you will sell all your calligraphy to me, Lantingxuan. For each copy of your calligraphy, I will give you this amount."

As he spoke, Boss Li extended a hand toward Qin Xiaoning.

Fifty taels of silver.

Seeing this, the pine branches nearby opened their eyes wide in surprise.

But Qin Xiaoning still had a calm expression and looked unmoved.

Boss Li smiled when he saw this and said again: "If you are not satisfied, I can add another five taels."

Fifty-five taels.

Songzhi was so anxious that he winked at Qin Xiaoning.

Qin Xiaoning pretended not to see it and turned to Boss Li and said, "Fifty taels for each set of calligraphy. In addition, no matter how much silver you sell the calligraphy for, I want 30% of the profit."

She is so young, and her handwriting will get better and better in the future. Since it is a long-term contract, Qin Xiaoning is not willing to keep taking those dozens of taels of silver.

"In addition, even if it is a long-term contract, I can only sign it with you for three years. After three years, if our cooperation is pleasant, we can continue to sign the contract." Qin Xiaoning said.

I originally thought that the girl was young and easy to bully, but I never thought she was so shrewd.

Boss Li's face darkened when he heard this, and he bargained, "Well, I'll give you 20% of the profits, and we'll sign this contract for five years."

Qin Xiaoning shook her head: "I can only sign for three years, and the profit must be at least 30%."

Never retreat.

Boss Li rolled his eyes, smiled stiffly, and replied, "From your accent, you don't sound like a native of Qianzhou. You can go out and ask around. In the whole Qianzhou, my Lantingxuan is the most famous calligraphy and painting building. The conditions I offer you are also the most generous."

"Sir, I urge you to reconsider this."

In the end, the deal didn't go through and Boss Li left in a huff.