"Boss, it's too... uh... that guy still doesn't want to see you."
"He said it himself? Why didn't he see me?"
Liu Yue opened his mouth to catch a peanut that was thrown to him, chewing it for a while before asking the question, with no emotion visible on his calm face.
The chief steward standing below glanced at Liu Yue cautiously and lowered his voice for no reason, "I didn't see him or Zhou Zhiyuan. It was... the Zhou family's doorman who notified me."
Liu Yue pushed open the flower rice and closed the account book, then stood up and walked around the manager twice with a frown. The manager felt his throat tighten and his mouth dry.
"I understand. You can go down."
Liu Yue suddenly waved his hand and let him go. The steward heaved a sigh of relief and retreated quietly. Only after closing the door did he dare to wipe the faint sweat stains on his forehead with his sleeve.
"Boss, I see the chief steward is very nervous. I guess he's afraid that you will punish him," the Cao Gang's strategist Hei Muzi chuckled.
Liu Yue stared at him in surprise, "Why would I punish him? It's not up to him to decide whether he wants to see me or not. I'm very easy-going, friendly and kind."
Hei Muzi and the two maids standing in the room rolled their eyes and were about to speak when Liu Yue suddenly raised his hand to stop him, then chopped the air with his arm.
"I was wrong! If you can't get into the Eastern Palace, you shouldn't go to the Zhou family. Besides, the steward is too low-ranking. If you go, at least the steward will reply."
After Liu Yue came to his senses, he gave instructions repeatedly, not giving Hei Muzi a chance to interrupt, "Please write me a visiting card, and I will go to the Ministry of Industry to look for him in person tomorrow!"
"Yinbao and Jinbao, you two, prepare your clothes for me and I will go there early tomorrow morning."
"Boss, how about... I go and make an appointment with him tomorrow for you, and then you can go to meet him formally?"
"Yes, boss. You are the boss of Cao Gang. How can you go and make an appointment in person?" Jinyu and Yinyu nodded repeatedly in agreement to Heimuzi's suggestion.
"You guys! When the Cao Gang returned to Feilongmen, they should have given the prince some respect. Besides, Feilongmen is long gone, and we have nothing to do with them now."
Liu Yue glanced at the two maids and said, "Don't say this in the future. It will make people laugh and embarrass me."
Jin Bao and Yin Bao pouted their lips in dissatisfaction, "Boss, you are beautiful, ruthless, smart and capable. Others want to see you but it depends on your mood. But this Song guy doesn't know how to appreciate it."
Liu Yue held his forehead and twitched his lips, "You think I'm too old, don't you? Song is the prince after all, how dare you say that? If you keep talking nonsense, you won't be allowed to eat."
After stopping the two ignorant maids, Liu Yue started talking about business with Hei Muzi again.
"This Song guy is stubborn. Even if you go there tomorrow, he may not agree to meet me. But you can go there first and show your sincerity to someone of a higher rank."
Hei Muzi took the order and went to prepare to leave without saying anything else. Liu Yue walked around the room twice with a frown on his face, then sat down and sighed into the account book.
"Boss, that Song guy has taken away a lot of our business. Are we very poor now?" Jinbiao and Yinbiao looked at each other. The boss's look really made them worried.
When Liu Yue heard this, she howled in her heart, "The profit is less every month. My goal of saving enough money to support a top concubine is getting further away. I hate this guy named Song for his actions."
But she didn't show it at all on her face, "No matter how poor our Cao Gang can be, how poor can we be? We will not be short of your monthly wages, and we will not be short of your rouge, powder, and snacks."
Jinbiao and Yinbiao looked at each other again, and finally Jinbiao bit his lip, mustered up the courage and spoke in a low voice.
"Boss, we are thinking about you. You are already eighteen years old, and you are the awe-inspiring boss. If you don't have money for a dowry, we are afraid that you will not be able to get married."
Upon hearing this, Liu Yue grinned grimly and stepped forward, "Why do you want to get married? I'll pick a good day next time and take you both in!" After saying this, he looked up and down at the two girls with a meaningful look.
Yin Yu's face turned pale instantly, and he pointed at Liu Yue and asked Jin Yu stutteringly, "Sister Jin Jin Yu, has the leader... gone mad?"
Jin Yu's face flushed red, and he dragged Yin Yu out. When they reached the door, he turned around and shouted at Liu Yue, "Boss, you are so shameless! Look how scared Yin Yu is, humph!"
(End of this chapter)