Chapter 30: What Is False Cannot Be True

Liao Hong had long since discerned that the items Lei Haizheng brought were fake. Instead of rejecting them, he set a trap, enticing Lei to jump right in.

Lei Haizheng had never encountered such a situation. His heart sank, his trembling legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees, swaying.

"Boss Liao, please, I truly didn't know they were fake! Here, I’ll return the silver—every last cent!"

Clutching the shimmering silver, Lei Haizheng crawled forward on his knees and placed the ingots, still warm from his touch, onto the table.

Liao Hong sneered, not even sparing a glance at the hundred taels of silver. "Someone, take the contract and escort him to the authorities."

As the saying goes, the law is written by those in power; once inside a courtroom, one rarely escapes without being stripped to the bone. Lei Haizheng struggled desperately, but he was no match for the group of burly men. He was promptly trussed up and dragged off to the county office.

With the man gone, Liao Hong returned from behind the screen and said, with a hint of apology, "My apologies for that little interruption. Let us continue our discussion."

The words were spoken lightly, dismissing the incident as a mere "accident," yet Lei Haizheng had been saddled with a debt of a thousand taels. Tong Chuxue realized that while this old fox, Liao Hong, appeared courteous, he was using this display as a warning: negotiating with him would not be easy.

However, the greater the challenge, the more interested Tong Chuxue became.

"Boss Liao, it seems our business talk will have to wait for another day," Tong Chuxue said with a touch of feigned regret.

"Why is that? Does Miss Tong have any reservations?" Liao Hong was unwilling to give up before the core issues were resolved.

"Boss Liao can effortlessly pocket a thousand taels of silver; our small business is surely beneath your notice." Tong Chuxue acted the part perfectly, her face etched with sorrow.

Beside her, Luo Huian, finding the performance difficult to watch, bit his lip and turned away.

Liao Hong likely realized that the previous scene had frightened her. He softened his tone and said quietly, "I was only scaring him; I have no intention of actually sending him to the magistrate. Besides, even if I did, it would be useless—he could never repay the debt. This will simply make him think twice before trying to cheat anyone again."

Tong Chuxue remained silent for a moment, as if pondering his words. "To be honest, the fake dendrobium that man had was stolen from my home."

This twist caught Liao Hong off guard.

"But Boss Liao, rest assured, I am not a fraudster. The man simply didn't know his craft; he broke into my home while we were away and mistook the fake for the real thing." With that, Tong Chuxue took a sprig of foliage from her robes and handed it to Liao Hong. "Please look, Boss Liao, this is the variety we grow at home."

Liao Hong took it and examined it under the light for a long while. "Indeed, this is genuine dendrobium officinale. However, this alone is not enough to prove your capabilities."

"Boss Liao is free to disbelieve me. I trust that you are not the only medicinal merchant in the world. If you are unwilling, I shall simply find someone else," Tong Chuxue replied.

Liao Hong narrowed his eyes, a dangerous glint appearing. "Miss Tong, you have spoken at length but have yet to reveal your leverage. Without it, no one else will take this deal either."

"I have my leverage, naturally. Since it has come to this, I will no longer hide it: I can cultivate dendrobium officinale." Tong Chuxue pointed to the fake specimen on the table. "Just like this—grown in a flowerpot."

Liao Hong laughed. "Miss Tong, do you take me for a fool? I have been in the business with my father since I was twelve; thirty years have passed, and I have never heard of dendrobium officinale being grown in a flowerpot. If it were that simple, it would not be so expensive."

Tong Chuxue straightened her expression. "My words are true. I understand your skepticism. If you are not in a rush, you will see the results in three months. However, you will not be the only one seeing them by then; I believe there will be no shortage of interested parties."

She lived in a remote area where news traveled slowly, but once word got out, medicinal merchants would surely swarm the place. Liao Hong clearly understood this. "Very well. Even if what you say is true, I still have no product to show for it now."

"Correct," Tong Chuxue looked at him. "That is why I wish to sign a contract. You pay a deposit of one hundred taels, and I will begin supplying you in three months."

A mere hundred taels was of no concern to Liao Hong. If this girl truly possessed such skill, he would have struck gold. "Wait—what if you have no goods after three months?"

"I will refund double the deposit. How does that sound?" Tong Chuxue proposed.

"Agreed!" Liao Hong slapped the table.

Tong Chuxue was still semi-literate, so to prevent any traps in the contract, Luo Huian wrote it out.

Liao Hong, having made up his mind, did not hesitate and pressed his thumbprint onto the paper. "In three months, I will have Old Cheng visit your home to collect and inspect the goods."

Since the goods would not be delivered directly to Liao Hong himself, Tong Chuxue felt a trace of worry. "What if something happens during transport?"

"Rest assured, Miss. We use the Liao family's dedicated transport channels. There will be no issues," Liao Hong guaranteed.

"That is excellent."

The one hundred taels that had just changed hands from Lei Haizheng now found its way to Tong Chuxue. With almost no effort at all, she had secured the silver.

When they emerged from Liao Hong’s, the villagers from Qingshan Village had finished selling their herbs.

Luo Huifeng and Luo Huiqing saw their older brother and came running, each grabbing one of his arms with their lips pouted.

"Brother, where did you and Sister Tong go? We couldn't find you anywhere," Luo Huifeng complained.

"Brother must have been dying to ditch us," Luo Huiqing added, her tone colder than her brother's, though her grievance was just as clear.

Luo Huian hugged his siblings and explained patiently, "It wasn't that I wanted to leave you behind; your Sister Tong and I had business to attend to."

Fearing the children would continue to press, Tong Chuxue interrupted, "It's rare that we come to town. How about I treat you all to a meal at a restaurant today?"

Luo Huifeng's eyes lit up at the mention of a restaurant, but Luo Huiqing recoiled. "Sister, eating at a restaurant is very expensive..."

For an ordinary family, a restaurant meal was indeed a significant expense, but Tong Chuxue was currently carrying a "fortune." What was the cost of a single meal?

"Don't worry, Sister has money!" Tong Chuxue declared grandly.

The children looked at their brother, and seeing Luo Huian nod, Luo Huifeng cheered.

Luo Huiqing looked at Luo Huian and whispered, "Brother, you are so poor."

Luo Huian: "..."

Ignoring any objections, Tong Chuxue led them straight to the largest restaurant in town—the Dongfeng Restaurant.

The waiter at the door saw their coarse linen clothes and his smile turned stiff and superficial. "What can I do for you..."

Tong Chuxue, well-acquainted with the snobbery of such men, pulled a few coins from her pocket and tossed them to him. "Find us a quiet table."

Upon receiving the tip, the waiter's attitude did a complete one-eighty. "Right this way, please! How about that table by the window? It has a lovely view and is quite peaceful."