Chapter 317 A Bad Beginning
“Naturally, we have to stay at a location near to the White Dew Building!”
Li Ziqi walked over. Leaving aside the fact that her teacher didn’t lack money, even if he did, she could completely top it up.
Zhang Hanfu was so depressed that he wanted to cough up blood. Why would her highness always speak up for Sun Mo? He really wanted to talk back, but he didn’t dare to.
“Xinhui, let’s change a place!”
Sun Mo didn’t want to stay here.
Jin Mujie didn’t speak. She also felt that this place wasn’t suitable. If they wanted the students to stay razor-sharp, their lodging environment had to be good. If the problem was money, she didn’t mind helping to pay a portion of it! “Teacher Sun, stop being willful!”
Liu Mubai walked over. His handsome sword-angled eyebrows were furrowed. “Xinhui also knows that good lodging is necessary. However, have you considered the current financial situation of the school? Even for staying in such a place, Xinhui had to save up bitterly.” “Hehe!”
Tantai Yutang was joyful, waiting to watch a good show. Liu Mubai’s tone was like saying Sun Mo was a rich man oblivious to a poor person’s plight. No teachers would be able to endure such criticism.
“Teacher Liu!”
An Xinhui called out, beautiful even when frowning. She didn’t wish to hear such criticisms. If there was no Sun Mo, the financial situation of the Central Province Academy would be even worse.
“Headmaster An, your decision?”
Sun Mo glanced at Liu Mubai, couldn’t be bothered to argue.
“Boss Tang, I apologize!”
An Xinhui didn’t hesitate and directly apologized. Liu Mubai had only spoken because of good intentions. However, he didn’t know the current financial situation of the Central Province Academy.
As the giant medicine packets were sold on the market, although the sales only lasted for a few days, this item was simply too popular. Moreover, it was sold at a high price that An Xinhui was able to earn some profits from it.
“Headmaster An, please forgive my words for being unpleasant. Currently, this is the time for the league tournament, and there are many visitors to the White Dew City. The prices of the room have jumped thrice or more. This is especially true for hotels close to the White Dew Building. They have all been reserved in advance by others. Even if you have the money, you won’t be able to book any rooms.” Boss Tang’s words were true.
“Thanks Boss Tang for your good intentions!”
An Xinhui smiled. She turned her head and instructed everyone, “Get back on the carriages, we are changing to another place!” Earlier, when Sun Mo called her, he didn’t call her ‘Xinhui’ but ‘Headmaster An’ instead. This cold intention of shoving her a thousand miles away made An Xinhui feel extremely apprehensive.
If she wasn’t obedient, the relationship between them that had warmed up after great efforts would most probably break down again.
An Xinhui’s values were just. She felt that the money in the school was earned with the help of Sun Mo. Hence, no matter how he wanted to spend them, he had the right to make the decision.
(At most, we will just spend it all. I can always continue just eating buns!) An Xinhui made her decision.
“Headmaster An, if you all leave now and aren’t able to find rooms later on, the prices of the room here will no longer be the same as what was stipulated in the agreement when you come back!”
Boss Tang threatened. “Let’s go!”
Sun Mo urged. It wasn’t early anymore. He wanted to quickly settle the lodgings and tour the White Dew City, finding a good restaurant to eat a sumptuous meal.
“Get on the carriages, let’s move out!” After An Xinhui spoke, she glanced at Liu Mubai. “Teacher Liu, let’s go.” After hearing this, Liu Mubai’s expression changed. His lips moved but he didn’t say anything in the end. He turned and boarded the carriage. “Forget it, I will step out to resolve the issue if we can’t find any lodgings later on!”
Liu Mubai sighed. An Xinhui was truly a good girl with traditional values. She knew that she had to protect her fiance’s face before outsiders.
(Hmph, Sun Mo, what capabilities do you have to be worthy of Xinhui?)
Liu Mubai wasn’t angry at An Xinhui. However, he began to feel unhappy toward Sun Mo. This fellow only did things according to his mood, not considering the difficulties An Xinhui was facing. How despicable!
“Headmaster An, the agreement is stated clearly in black and white. If you guys leave, I won’t return the deposit!”
Seeing that things had ended up like that, Boss Tang could only do his utmost to earn something
“This...”
An Xinhui deliberated. She naturally wanted to get back some of the money.
“Stop wasting time. Just forget about the deposit.” Sun Mo got An Xinhui to quickly board the carriage.
The time of the major characters was valuable. If they had time to wrangle, they might as well use the time on guiding their students.
“Eh!”
Boss Tang initially thought they would argue for some time. But after seeing Sun Mo leaving so decisively, he felt trepidation instead.
(He doesn’t even want the deposit? As expected, he must be the direct descendant of some major characters, or he wouldn’t be so extravagant.) Upon thinking of this, Boss Tang swiftly shot a glance at his assistant.
His assistant immediately understood and left right away. The teachers and students started to board the carriages, but they would cast Sun Mo a glance from time to time and have strange expressions on their faces.
“Not even wanting the deposit? Isn’t this too generous?”
“I know that Teacher Sun has done a very good job as the logistics department head and saved a lot of money for the school. However, there’s no need to waste money like this, right?
“I feel that staying here isn’t bad!”
An Xinhui’s moral quality wasn’t bad, and she treated teachers very well. Hence, everyone was very considerate toward her. They were willing to stay in this hotel even if it wasn’t that great.
Did they really have to be so extravagant? Liu Mubai’s expression already sank. He didn’t know that Sun Mo was the one who gave An Xinhui the giant medicine packets. He thought that this money belonged to An Xinhui who had to save and scrimp for them, so he was very angry. He felt that the money had been completely wasted by Sun Mo. “Hmph, I want to see what you will do if you are unable to book any hotels.” Zhang Hanfu coldly laughed in his heart. After that, Boss Tang hurriedly brought over a stack of banknotes and ran toward Sun Mo.
“Teacher Sun, according to the rules of our industry, we can only refund half of the deposit. There are 25,000 taels here, please count it!”
Boss Tang surveyed Sun Mo. He didn’t give the money to An Xinhui but to Sun Mo instead because he wanted to get to know Sun Mo.
One must know that if he could form a good relationship with such a major character, it would be of major benefit to his business.
“Boss Tang is too kind. Just let this sum of money make up for your loss!” After Sun Mo spoke, he didn’t even glance at the money and directly boarded the carriage. The driver was stunned. He looked at the banknotes and then glanced at Sun Mo as he mentally mused, ‘So you are actually rich? That’s 25,000 taels!’
(My heavens, this sum of money is equal to me spending half my life driving people around!) “Quickly set off?”
Ying Baiwu urged.
“Oh! Oh!”
The driver’s attitude became more respectful.
“Eh? Teacher Sun, Teacher Sun, don’t be in a rush to leave. You have to take back this money!”
Boss Tang chased after them, but it was useless. Sun Mo basically ignored him. “Tell me, do you think I’ve offended someone?”
Boss Tang stared at the departing carriages and sat down on the ground. After that, he began to panic. “Boss, an individual who doesn’t care about 20,000+ taels most probably wouldn’t care about you either!”
The assistant added silently. ‘You are just a minor character, would that individual really be willing to waste time on you?’ “Let’s hope so!”
Boss Tang stood up and walked a few steps. But the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. “You should go and follow them, let me know where they eventually end up staying.” Boss Tang had heard many rumors saying that the Central Province Academy had declined and couldn’t even afford to pay the salaries of their teachers. Also, they had wanted to stay in the south of the city this time around, so it seemed to prove that the rumors were correct. However, who could have known that things were basically not like that! An Xinhui had found a huge backer!
In the carriage, Liu Mubai felt even angrier when he saw Sun Mo rejecting the deposit. (You are REALLY generous, huh?!) “Teacher, why did you reject the deposit that they wanted to return?”
Ying Baiwu didn’t understand. She felt a little heartache as 25,000 taels was a lot of money.
“Because Teacher is currently representing the Central Province Academy. For a place like hotels, the information would spread around very quickly. If Teacher took the deposit, it would influence the reputation of our school instead.”
Li Ziqi explained. What was style? This was it! (I want to let everyone know that my Central Province Academy doesn’t lack money!) (If we accepted the 25,000 taels back, what if Boss Tang said that we were splitting hairs, haggling over every ounce? By then, no matter how we try to explain it, our reputations would have blackened.)
“A matter like this is already a type of humiliation!”
Tantai Yutang interjected.
A peak-grade famous school wouldn’t consider staying in such a place, nor would they haggle over matters like the deposit. This was why Sun Mo wanted to shake Boss Tang off quickly.
If a famous school wanted to develop, what did they have to depend on?
Naturally, great teachers and strong students. If they stayed in a place like that, no great teachers would be willing to go to their school.
‘A man would seek his way up just as water seeks its way down.’ One should constantly strive to make progress. This had been so ever since ancient times. As long as the great teachers had some capabilities, they would all join the top-grade famous schools to teach.
Besides, Sun Mo was now a wealthy person. To pay for a sum less than 30,000 taels, he only needed to sell ten giant medicine packets. If he sold his spirit gathering potted plant, just a single potted plant would be more than sufficient to cover it.
In the carriage, An Xinhui was surveying Sun Mo who was peering at the scenery of the street through the windows. He had a smile on his face.
With regard to that sum of money, An Xinhui wanted it, but she knew that she couldn’t take it.
An Xinhui treated the Central Province Academy as something more important than her life. She wouldn’t do something that would damage the school’s reputation. Not wanting the 25,000 taels would make it seem that the Central Province Academy was magnanimous and generous. It continued to maintain the confidence of a famous school and wasn’t like a stingy married woman that haggled over every single cent!
Ding! Favorable impression points from An Xinhui +100. Reverence (2,870/10,000).
The eastern part of the city was the business district. The White Dew Building was located in Reed Avenue.
Sun Mo wanted to head to the most luxurious hotel here. However, An Xinhui didn’t agree, as she felt it was too extravagant. In any case, this place was quite near as well.
However, after checking with two hotels, they were indeed fully booked. The carriages stopped. “What did I say? Right now, it’s the peak season. Even if you are willing to spend money, you won’t be able to book a room! Zhang Hanfu mocked. Sun Mo didn’t waste time speaking. He took out a map of the White Dew City from his bag.
“Teacher, I made a marking. Near the White Dew Building, within 1,000 meters, there are a total of 37 high-grade hotels that have the capacity for all of us to stay!”
Li Ziqi ran over and opened a map.
Jin Mujie and the others were at the side too. They only took a glance and their eyes immediately brightened, filled with praise for Li Ziqi.
On the map, with the White Dew Building as the center, three other circles were drawn roughly 500 meters away from it. Also, the tiers and pricing of the hotels were listed separately using different colors.
“For the peak hotels, there are a total of twelve of them. However, hotels like this value their reputations very much. Even if we want to spam money, we most probably wouldn’t be able to get any rooms.”
Li Ziqi analyzed, “Hence, I suggest searching from the second tier. We can give these five hotels a try!”
“When did you begin to collect this information?”
Gu Xiuxun was curious.
“Half a month before we set off!”
Li Ziqi was only trying to be prepared for a rainy day. Also, she wanted her teacher to be able to stay in better lodging. If the lodging arranged by the school wasn’t comfortable, she would use cash from her private stash to book a better room in a better hotel for her teacher.
“Which hotel do you think is the best?”
Sun Mo asked. With regard to the little sunny egg’s shocking performances, he was already used to them.
“This hotel, Ten Thousand Maple. Although its distance is slightly further to the White Dew Building, the scenery there is excellent. We would be able to admire the beauty of the White Dew River during the night!”
Li Ziqi had long since done her research, hence, she immediately gave an answer. “Besides, I heard that their ‘maple leaf grilled fish’ is excellent!”
“The 30,000 taels you mentioned is the expenditure to stay there for a single night. My heavens, we have so many people. How many rooms would we need? We would roughly need at least fifty rooms. This means that we would need to spend tens of thousands of taels for a single night!”
Zhang Hanfu clicked his tongue.
“Not only that. The rooms would surely be reserved in advance. If we want to get them, we might have to pay three times the price.”
Jin Mujie shook her head. The price was too high, and it wasn’t worth it.
“How many people can one of their rooms contain? I’m afraid fifty rooms might not even be enough!”
Zhang Hanfu continued pouring cold water, but before he could finish, Li Ziqi shot back.
“What rooms? It’s too troublesome. Just book the entire hotel!”
Li Ziqi directly exuded the feeling of ‘immense wealth’. A young lady that didn’t lack money was simply so tyrannical, capable of doing whatever she wanted. “Book? What book?” Ying Baiwu didn’t understand.
“Naturally, it means that we will pay the hotel enough to rent the entire venue!”
Li Ziqi’s tone was as it should be by rights, stunning everyone. This was especially so for Zhang Hanfu, he was completely dumbfounded.
“Ah? How much do we have to spend then?”
Ying Baiwu was still in a daze. The concept of booking an entire hotel had never appeared in her mind before.
The poor would never understand the world of the rich.
“Let it be this place then!”
Sun Mo decided Not long later, the carriages arrived outside the Ten Thousand Maple hotel. An Xinhui and a group of teachers entered to check things out. The others stayed outside.
Li Ziqi naturally followed behind Sun Mo. She was like a little secretary.
“I apologize. Everyone, all of our rooms are already reserved.” The boss’s surname was Lei. He was a middle-aged man with a big stomach and heavy eye bags. With a single look, one could tell that he was suffering from a lack of sleep.
“How much is the penalty fee here?”
Li Ziqi asked. For a minor matter like this, she mustn’t trouble her teacher.
Boss Lei surveyed Li Ziqi, not daring to slight her at all. Those in this line of business were all astute judges of character. The aura that Li Ziqi exuded reflected her impressive background. She was definitely the descendant of a major wealthy clan.
“It used to be 30%, but it is 70% now.”
Boss Lei smiled. “We will pay the penalty fee. You should go and explain to the room occupants. We are willing to pay three times the price of a room...”
Before Li Ziqi finished speaking, another group of people entered and interrupted their conversation.
“Boss, we want to book your entire hotel.” The young man in the lead spoke. He turned his head and explained to the girl beside him, “The grilled fish here isn’t bad. We can give it a try during the night!” “Why are the rest of you still standing here? Quickly go and move the luggage over!”
The young man shouted at the hotel staff who were standing nearby, acting like a wealthy lord.
Boss Lei felt an ache in his teeth. What day was this? Did the god of wealth arrive? However, this money could burn his hands if he was not careful!
There was no need to mention anything about the girl; she had an outstanding demeanor. The young man wasn’t bad as well. He wanted to book the entire hotel but didn’t mention the money needed. He was either extremely wealthy or a swindler.
From the looks of things, he didn’t seem to be the latter.
“Where’s the tea and pastries? Do you guys have such low judgment and enthusiasm?”
The young man frowned and berated. Just from a look, one could tell that he was an affluent second-generation who was used to having his way and bossing others around in an arrogant manner.