Qu Biyao returned home and went to the outer courtyard. Her five-year-old brother lay on the bed, and his eyes lit up with surprise when he saw his sister enter.
"Ce'er, look what I have!" Qu Biyao took out candied hawthorns, and Qu Ce's eyes sparkled.
"Sister, it's candied hawthorns! Hurry, help me up. Even if I can't eat it, it's good to smell it," Qu Ce said sensibly, leaning against his sister's embrace after being helped up. From birth, he had been accustomed to medicinal soups, and his diet was meticulously managed. He had never eaten food from outside the home.
"Young Master, smell it. These candied hawthorns smell sweet too!" Xi'er brought the candied hawthorns closer to Qu Ce's nose.
"Mmm, Sister Xi'er, I can smell it. It's so sweet!" Although he couldn't eat it, he could truly smell the sweet fruit fragrance, a taste completely different from medicinal soup. He really wanted to eat it!
"Ce'er, when you get better, I'll take you to eat even more delicious things." Qu Biyao secretly wiped away tears. The spirit doctor had said that Ce'er had less than a month to live.
"Miss, we finally found you." Le'er, another maid of Qu Biyao, rushed in.
"Le'er, where are your manners? What's the hurry?" It was the first time Qu Biyao had seen her senior maid in such a flustered state.
"Please punish me, Miss. Le'er was rude. Something has happened at the bank. A guest from out of town took a Qu family bank note to exchange for spirit stones. But our bank doesn't have that much right now." Le'er calmed down upon hearing her mistress's gentle voice.
"Oh, the bank's current spirit stone reserves are insufficient? How much does this person want to exchange?"
Qu Biyao was surprised. This was the main branch of the Qu family bank, which had reserves of thirty million top-grade spirit stones. After all, cultivators rarely deposited spirit stones in banks; they all had spirit rings for storage. Her Qu family's business was the transactions between sects, and the bank served as a guarantor for these transactions. They earned interest on the money deposited in the bank, calculated daily. The Qu family bank's reach across the Tianchen Continent relied on its reputation, so this matter was serious. She had to see it for herself. If it were maliciously exposed that the Qu family bank could only accept deposits but not honor withdrawals, it would be a devastating blow to the bank. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"Sister, you go and be busy. Ce'er is also tired. Sister will come to see me tomorrow." Qu Ce, upon hearing that there was trouble at the bank, sensibly asked his sister to leave.
"Ce'er, I'm sorry. Sister promised to spend time with you today, and I've broken my promise again." Qu Biyao felt guilty. She was always busy and spent too little time with her brother.
Her father was often away. After entrusting the bank to her management, her father went on further travels. Was eternal life truly more important than accompanying family? Her mother had died after giving birth to her brother, and Ce'er was often only accompanied by servants.
Her second uncle's family was watching covetously, ready to trip her up at any moment. She strongly suspected that the out-of-town guest wanting to exchange such a large amount of spirit stones was orchestrated by her second uncle.
Qu Ce watched his sister's hurried departure and lay down obediently. Xi'er stayed beside him.
"Sister Xi'er, what is it like outside? Is there a lot of fun outside?"
"Mmm, Young Master, it's very lively outside. There's everything, food, fun, drinks, more than I can count..." Xi'er babbled to entertain her young master, knowing he enjoyed hearing these things, but unfortunately, he couldn't go out.
Qu Biyao and Le'er arrived at the bank by carriage. The shopkeeper was anxiously pacing. The guest was of noble status and could not be offended. Seeing the young mistress of the family arrive, he instantly found his backbone and breathed a sigh of relief. Since the young mistress took charge of the Qu family, she had acted decisively, expanding the Qu family bank across the entire Tianchen Continent in just five years. He believed in the young mistress's abilities!
"Miss, you're finally here. The guest's promissory note shows no signs of forgery, nor does it seem like they are here to cause trouble. Furthermore, this person, I recognize his token. His life-bound weapon is an abacus. As far as I know, Elder Zhu of the Chaotian Immortal Sect was renowned throughout the world with an abacus two hundred years ago."
Shopkeeper Qu stroked his beard and spoke slowly. Shopkeeper Qu was an uncle from the Qu family's direct lineage. If the Qu family fell, it would directly affect his own family. For a large family, prosperity and ruin were shared. If this matter was not handled properly, the Qu family would be in peril!
"Fifth Uncle, don't worry. Where is the person? I'll go meet him!" Qu Biyao suppressed her thoughts and decided to meet the person first.
"He's in the private room upstairs. You go up quickly, and I'll get some credentials!" Shopkeeper Qu went to get the relevant account books.
"Alright, I'm going. Our Qu family values integrity above all else, and we will be fine." After speaking, Qu Biyao, accompanied by her maid Le'er, went upstairs.
Upstairs, Shopkeeper Zhu and his companions had been waiting for nearly half an hour, having drunk several cups of tea. The bank's shopkeeper had been making excuses. Steward Zhu thought to himself, could something have gone wrong? Would he be able to obtain the spirit stones smoothly today?
"Apologies for keeping the esteemed guest waiting. I am Qu Biyao, the manager of the Qu family bank. Greetings to all of you." Upon entering the room, Qu Biyao put on a smile and spoke with apologetic sincerity.
"Miss Qu, no need for formalities. My surname is Zhu. I believe your shopkeeper has already informed Miss Qu of our purpose." Steward Zhu was a little surprised when a beautiful woman entered the room. He hadn't expected the person behind the Qu family bank to be so young. He observed her cultivation as being at the Golden Core stage.
Qu Biyao was also sizing up Steward Zhu and his group. She was secretly startled. The cultivation levels of these people were uncertain; she couldn't discern their true cultivation, but she vaguely felt that even the people who looked like servants in the room were stronger than her. She became extremely cautious, unsure if the other party was friend or foe.
"Yes, Senior Zhu, could you please tell me why you are exchanging such a large sum of spirit stones at once? To be honest, the bank's reserves are limited, and it's too late to mobilize spirit stones from nearby banks." Qu Biyao decided to tell the truth. These people were currently beyond their ability to provoke.
Steward Zhu hadn't expected this to be the issue. His original intention was to withdraw all the earnings from all the hotpot restaurants that had been deposited in the bank at once. Indeed, when he received the promissory notes, he was too happy. He should have withdrawn them in installments.
"I see. I thought there was an issue with my bank deposit voucher. This is due to Zhu's lack of foresight."
"No, no, it's our fault. Senior Zhu, I can currently exchange twenty-five million top-grade spirit stones for you. The remaining ten million will have to wait for other branches to transfer. It will take three days."
Qu Biyao didn't expect the other party to be so agreeable. She looked at the promissory note; it was indeed genuine. He also claimed his surname was Zhu, which meant he was likely Shopkeeper Zhu from Pearl City. Their hotpot restaurant business was currently booming across the entire Tianchen Continent. She had heard some time ago that the hotpot restaurants had changed hands and were all sold to the Chaotian Immortal Sect in exchange for cash. So, this matter seemed true. With such a large sum of spirit stones entering her bank, how could she not be aware of it? However, she never expected them to come to Molu City to make the exchange.
Steward Zhu hesitated. He thought that the immortal maiden liked beautiful jade and gems, and wondered if he could propose something.
"Miss Qu, I have a suggestion..."