In front of Sha Huanli, the manager didn't know how to answer.
Xiang Ming raised his eyes and slowly walked to Niu Youdao's side. He raised his hand and patted on Niu Youdao's shoulder. Then, magic power seeped out of his palm and gathered on Niu Youdao's shoulder.
Niu Youdao looked back and exchanged a glance with Xiang Ming. He sensed the warning in Xiang Ming's eyes.
Xiang Ming smiled at Sha Huanli and said, "Miss, you misunderstood me. How can a painting cost one hundred thousand gold coins? Mister Xuanyuan came to Star picking City to do business, and he made a deal with us worth one hundred thousand gold coins. Painting for you is part of the deal. But, we did agree that according to the price, you can only paint one painting. "
Then, he turned back to Niu Youdao and said, "Mister, you've worked hard today. You can take a rest for now and come back tomorrow. We can discuss the price of another painting." He planned to discuss with Niu Youdao later.
Sha Huanli was not a fool. She could tell from the manager's reaction that something was wrong. "Take your hand off me!"
Xiang Ming let go of Niu Youdao's shoulder.
Sha Huanli stared at Niu Youdao and said, "Mister Xuanyuan, please tell me the truth. What's going on? Don't worry. If anyone dares to threaten you, I'll stand up for you. "
Xiang Ming lowered his head and remained expressionless.
Niu Youdao said, "Mayor, you're overthinking. Just as Manager Xiang said, painting is part of the deal. We agreed that I can only paint one painting. If I paint another one, I'll have to pay for it."
After knowing that Sha Huanli was not a cultivator, he understood that Sha Huanli could not control Star picking City, which was full of cultivators. The one who actually exercised the power of Star picking City should be this Manager. Therefore, without thinking too much, he stood on Xiang Ming's side and spoke for him, unless he didn't want to leave Star picking City alive.
Xiang Ming remained calm.
After observing them for a while, Sha Huanli said, "Manager, I just want you to understand that there are still many people in this world who don't have enough to eat!"
Since she said this, it was obvious that she still had some doubts.
Xiang Ming felt rather helpless. He thought to himself, Which of your daily meals isn't the best in the world? It's just that you don't know it. What's 100,000 gold coins to you? But on the surface, he still bowed and said, "Don't worry, Miss. We will take out a sum of money to help the poor every year and do something within our power."
Black Peony glanced left and right.
Sha Huan Li pointed at the painting and said, "Mr. Xuanyuan, tell me honestly how much this painting costs. Don't lie to me, or you'll have to bear the consequences."
Niu Youdao was sick of it, why did he have to meet this kind of stupid woman, forcing him to be in a dilemma, it was really too sudden, too unexpected.
"It's part of the deal. I really can't estimate its exact value." Niu Youdao smiled bitterly.
Sha Huan Li: "How much are you going to charge if I ask you to make another one?"
Niu Youdao: "Mayor, I'm not an artist, I don't sell my art, and I don't usually paint for others. If I have to paint, it'll cost at least 1,000 gold coins."
Xiang Ming suddenly tilted his head and said, "1,000 gold coins is too expensive, the materials are all provided by us, it didn't cost you much time."
Niu Youdao: "Then how much do you want?"
Xiang Ming stretched out a finger, "I'll give you 100 gold coins at most!"
Niu Youdao shook his head, "No, no, it's too low!"
The two of them naturally cooperated with each other and began to bargain as if they were doing a business deal.
Sha Huan Li looked at them, then looked at them.
Seeing that Xiang Ming wasn't willing to compromise, Niu Youdao suddenly cupped his hands towards Sha Huan Li and said, "Mayor, can you be the judge? Can some things be measured by materials and time?" He pointed at the painting on the easel, "Mayor, do you also think that my painting is only worth 100 gold coins?"
Sha Huan Li looked at the painting and was very fond of it. 100 gold coins seemed a bit low, but she turned back and said, "1,000 gold coins is a bit expensive, how about this, if you paint another one, I'll give you 500 gold coins, what do you think?"
"This …" Niu Youdao was put in a difficult position.
Xiang Ming said in a low voice, "Mayor, are you saying that your face isn't worth 500 gold coins?"
Sha Huan Li raised her hand to stop him, indicating that he shouldn't threaten him, and that they should talk things out.
"Sigh!" Niu Youdao sighed, "Since Manager Xiang has said so, fine, 500 gold coins it is."
Sha Huan Li immediately showed a satisfied expression, as if she was happy to save 500 gold coins. She immediately asked someone to take down the painting on the easel to make room for Niu Youdao to paint again.
Niu Youdao asked someone to bring a chair for the maidservant to sit down. He didn't ask her to pose, but just picked up a charcoal pencil and started to paint.
Sha Huan Li looked excited and watched how Niu Youdao painted this kind of painting.
As the outline of the figure gradually appeared, Sha Huan Li was amazed and asked questions from time to time to learn some techniques. Niu Youdao explained a little.
Seeing that Sha Huan Li was having fun, Xiang Ming, who was standing behind her, smiled.
After he finished painting, Niu Youdao put down the charcoal pencil and said, "It's done!"
"…" Sha Huan Li was stunned. There was only the image of the maidservant sitting on the easel. Apart from the chair, the surroundings were blank, without any background. Moreover, the size of the painting was much smaller. Compared to her painting, one was huge and complicated, while the other was small and simple.
She couldn't help asking, "Sir, why didn't you paint the background?"
Niu Youdao had a haggling look on his face as he said, "Actually, it takes a lot of energy to paint this. Even with 500 gold coins, this is the best I can do."
Xiang Ming walked up to take a look. The corner of his mouth twitched, but he didn't say anything.
Fortunately, Sha Huan Li was easy to talk to and didn't argue with him too much.
After observing the painting, Sha Huan Li was obviously eager to try it out. She called for a maidservant to sit across from her, then picked up a charcoal pencil and started experimenting.
As Xiang Ming turned to leave, he gestured to the innkeeper with a tilt of his head. The innkeeper then gestured for them to leave.
When they reached the garden below, the innkeeper asked the two of them to wait for a moment. He left for a while, and when he returned, he took out a stack of gold banknotes from his sleeve and handed it to Niu Youdao, saying, "Mister, please count this."
Black Peony glanced at the banknotes, feeling a little envious. She saw the denomination of the banknotes — ten thousand gold coins each. This was also the highest denomination among the gold banknotes.
Niu Youdao counted them. There were a total of twenty banknotes, which equated to two hundred thousand gold coins. He couldn't help but grin. He realized that Head Steward Xiang was quite trustworthy. One painting was worth a hundred thousand gold coins, and two paintings were worth two hundred thousand gold coins. He didn't even skimp on the money. Earlier, when he tried to haggle with Sha Huan Li, it was all bullshit.
The innkeeper was a little envious. He smiled and reminded, "Head Steward told me to tell Mister Xuanyuan not to say anything he shouldn't. Otherwise, he'll just be causing trouble for himself."
"Understood." Niu Youdao nodded, then gestured for Black Peony to leave first.
After Black Peony left, Niu Youdao looked around. He quickly took out ten gold banknotes, then took out half of them and stuffed them into the innkeeper's hand. "Thank you for your hard work, Innkeeper. This is a small token of appreciation."
The innkeeper was stunned for a moment. He had seen guests give tips, but he had never seen a guest give a hundred thousand gold coins. He was a little shocked and hurriedly declined.
Niu Youdao pushed it back. "Don't worry, Innkeeper. This matter is known to the heavens, the earth, you, and I. I wouldn't dare to speak nonsense and cause trouble for myself."
These words made the innkeeper's heart warm up. It was normal for guests to give tips, but the other party was so generous that it was frightening. He didn't dare to accept the tip, so he rejected it again.
"A man can't stand without trust. We've agreed on a hundred thousand gold coins. I won't take any more than that. Innkeeper, please find a suitable opportunity to see how Head Steward Xiang will deal with the excess."
Hearing this, the innkeeper held the gold banknotes tightly. His sleeves fluttered down to cover them as he subconsciously looked around.
In fact, he understood that these hundred thousand gold coins were for him to deal with.
He wanted to see what Niu Youdao wanted to do. If Niu Youdao wanted him to do something unfavorable, he would immediately hand over the money to Xiang Ming.
The two of them then left together with a tacit understanding.
After going down the stairs and out of the arched door, they saw Yuan Fang and Black Peony waiting for them.
After bidding farewell to the innkeeper, Yuan Fang couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "Did you give the money?"
Niu Youdao gave him a sidelong glance and warned the two of them, "Don't tell anyone about what happened today."
"Yes!" the two of them answered.
After returning to the inn's room, Niu Youdao took out the hundred thousand gold banknotes. Each of them had fifty thousand, so he gave it to Yuan Fang and Black Peony and told them to keep it for future use. He didn't keep a single coin for himself.
Of course, from Black Peony's point of view, Niu Youdao kept a hundred thousand for himself.
Black Peony was a little embarrassed to take so much money just after they started working together.
"I told you to take it, so take it. There's no need to talk so much." Niu Youdao's indifferent tone carried an unquestionable tone. "There are some things that you just need to know. For the time being, there's no need to explain too much to your brothers. It's easy for them to have too many ideas if they know too much. It might not be a good thing for them. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Yes!" Black Peony could only accept it. She also understood the meaning in his tone. He was also referring to her earlier eagerness to curry favor with the City Lord's Mansion.
When she came out of the room and returned to her own room, she was still feeling rueful. She thought about how hard it had been for her to save up so much money all these years. Look at him. He casually earned it and casually threw it away, not taking it seriously at all. His breadth of mind and boldness made her feel ashamed.
When she returned to her room, she hung up the painting and admired it. When she thought about how this painting was worth a hundred thousand gold coins, she suddenly froze. She took out the fifty thousand gold banknotes, her eyes filled with bewilderment.
She remembered what Niu Youdao had asked her after he painted this painting for her. If this painting was sold to her for a hundred thousand gold coins, would she buy it?
Now that she thought about it, she was shocked. Could it be that Daoye had done this on purpose? Did he already know that someone would spend a hundred thousand gold coins to buy this painting of his?
She couldn't help but carefully comb through the cause and effect. She thought about how Niu Youdao had asked her about Sha Huan Li. She thought about how he had specially asked Yuan Fang to call a waiter to send wine over and then asked the waiter to take the painting to be mounted … When she thought about it carefully, it all made sense. The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. He was obviously trying to get close to Sha Huan Li, but after getting close, he kept his distance from her. Could it be that he was playing hard to get?
Inside the room, Yuan Fang was still holding the fifty thousand gold banknotes and flipping them over and over. His face was full of joy, but he would grumble from time to time. "Daoye, how long have you known her? He doesn't even know what kind of person she is. How could he give her so much money all at once?"
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