Expelled from the Duke's mansion, the fake heiress is richer than a country.

Chapter 120 Petty Scoundrels

"No!"

Lin Fang waved his hand decisively: "Our Lin family only knows a little about inkstone making. You, Miss Yu, can negotiate a partnership with anyone else just as easily. How can we let you both invest money and bear the risks?"

"This old man has lived most of his life, he still cares about his reputation! How about this, Miss Yu, you can fund the construction of an inkstone workshop in the future, hire this old man to make inkstones for the workshop, and pay him a wage that is slightly higher than that of an ordinary worker!"

He has excellent skills, and it's reasonable for him to be paid like a skilled worker.

Yu Wanran admired the old man's honesty and integrity. He had only wanted to help the Lin family out of respect for Lin Anzhi. Now, he was seriously discussing cooperation with Lin Fang, treating him with sincerity.

"Grandpa Lin, if we build a workshop, we'll definitely need to hire a lot of workers. Those who aren't skilled at making inkstones will inevitably have to ask you for advice. As the master craftsman, haven't you done a great job of helping the workshop? You should get a share of the profits!"

Moreover, how many people can be grateful for a moment and for a lifetime? It's far more effective to be bound by shared interests. Only when people treat the workshop as their own home will they dedicate themselves wholeheartedly.

Yu Wanran was determined to tie the Lin family to the trade of Chengni inkstones. Craftsmen who could make inkstones were easy to find, but loyal and trustworthy partners were rare.

She hoped the Lin family could become a foothold for her development in Tongcheng, and also give Lin Anzhi a chance to change his fate.

She held up four fingers: "Forty percent! Grandpa Lin, is forty percent okay with you taking it?"

Lin Fang stubbornly shook his head. The Lin family does not accept charity without a reason; a great favor is a great enmity!

"One-tenth! Miss Yu, this is the highest reward the employer has ever given to a worker who has made a contribution."

"Thirty percent!"

"One percent!"

"At least 20%!"

Yu Wanran was speechless.

She knew the future booming market for Chengni inkstones, so she wanted to offer a price that wouldn't cause the Lin family to regret it later or even resent her. However, Old Master Lin was stubborn and only cared about the present!

Song Lianghan, Yan Qing, and the others standing nearby were equally speechless. This was the first time they had ever seen two parties arguing not about competing for profits, but about wanting to give each other benefits.

Lin Fang reluctantly agreed.

He secretly resolved that if the other party truly opened an inkstone-making workshop, he would use all his skills to lead the workshop staff in producing the finest Chengni inkstones. He couldn't let Miss Yu suffer a huge loss!

After Yu Wanran wearily walked out of the hiding place and sat down to rest by the campfire, Lin Fang sighed heavily and said to the two brothers, Song Lianghan and Lin Anzhi, who were standing there dumbfounded.

"This Miss Yu is not cut out for business!"

How can a businessman who is so soft-hearted and lenient possibly make a fortune?

Lin Anzhi moved his lips, hesitatingly saying, "Grandpa, I think Sister Yu wants to help us..."

Only if they agree to be employed by him in the future can the other party legitimately provide money for Lin Fang's medical treatment and help them live. When doing good deeds, we must not forget to protect their self-esteem.

After understanding this, the Lin family grandfather and grandson felt even more grateful to Yu Wanran.

It's fair to say there was a misunderstanding involved...

Early the next morning, Yu Wanran arranged for the Lin family grandfather and grandson to wait at their hideout for two days. The four of them followed Song Lianghan to the bandit strongholds to the north and south to investigate their strength.

Yanqing's lightness skill is superb.

He easily infiltrated the enemy's lair where Song Lianghan couldn't go, gathering detailed intelligence and bringing it back.

The monk Xu in the north has about a hundred men under his command; the mad dog in the south has about seventy or eighty men under his command.

Despite not having as many men as Monk Xu, Mad Dog truly lived up to his name! His henchmen were mostly vicious and ruthless. In the cave, Yan Qing even found several human skins that Mad Dog's gang had skinned off.

As for Monk Xu, his lair held many women, all villagers he had plundered from the surrounding area. During the bandit suppression, they also had to guard against the bandits becoming desperate and harming the hostages.

Yu Wanran took out paper and pen hidden in the basket and, based on Song Lianghan and Yan Qing's descriptions, drew detailed topographical maps of the two bandit strongholds. Important places were circled and marked with a pen.

Having obtained accurate intelligence, the next step is to see if Xue and Yu have the courage to lead their troops to completely eradicate the bandits.

I hope that in this lifetime, the people can enjoy a peaceful life sooner rather than later, when the Chengni inkstone is made available and the ravaged villages slowly recover and rebuild.

Heading to the riverbank, Yu Wanran prepared to pick up the Lin family grandfather and grandson and return to the city overnight.

Before they even got close, they heard the fierce barking of the big yellow dog Dun Dun coming from the direction of the wrecked ship, mixed with Lin Anzhi's heart-wrenching cries.

“Grandpa…Grandpa!”

A chill ran down their spines.

Oh no, we didn't leave anyone to protect the Lin family grandfather and grandson. Could they have run into bandits?

Yu Wanran made a gesture, and everyone immediately bent down, took out their weapons, quickened their pace, and used the cover of night to rapidly approach the wrecked ship.

From afar, a man could be seen holding a torch in one hand and grabbing Lin Anzhi by the neck with the other, standing outside the wrecked boat, glaring fiercely at Lin Fang, who was lying below the boat.

"Old man, you must still have money on you. Hand it over now! Otherwise, I'll strangle you and throw you into the river to feed the fish!"

Dundun was kicked several times and lay on the ground unable to move.

Yu Wanran and her group were furious.

What kind of scoundrel is this, so vicious! Didn't the Lin family grandfather and grandson say that bandits haven't been coming to the river lately? Who is this person? Dressed in rags, he looks like one of the other survivors?

Fearing to alert the other party and harm Lin Anzhi, Yan Qing used her lightness skill to slowly approach. When she got close, she flicked a dagger, which pierced the man's wrist!

The man jumped three feet high in pain. He dropped Lin Anzhi, clutched his own hand, and screamed in agony. Of course, he didn't have a chance to scream much longer, as Qiu Yan and Dou Yi arrived and subdued him on the ground.

Lin Anzhi was rescued and quickly scrambled under the boat, clinging tightly to his grandfather Lin Fang, his face still showing lingering fear.

Upon seeing his friend in trouble, Song Lianghan felt a wave of fear and rushed to their side to inquire about their plight.

"Xiao An, Grandpa Lin, are you alright?"

Lin Zhian secretly wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes and looked gratefully at Yu Wanran and her group: "It's alright... It's good that you came back in time, Sister Yu!"

Yu Wanran glanced at the person on the ground who was still crying out, her brows furrowing slightly.

"Who is this person?"

He appeared to be a fellow victim of misfortune, along with Song Lianghan and the Lin family grandfather and grandson, but in the end, he murdered them for their money!

Lin Fang hugged his grandson, whom he had lost and then found again, overjoyed. This was the only heir of the Lin family! If anything had happened to Lin Anzhi, there would be no point in living for this old man.

Hearing this, he glanced at the person on the ground with disgust.

"This guy's name is Wang Erlai. He used to be from our village! We thought he was long dead, but we didn't expect him to still be alive?"

“He came here and threatened us. We gave him all our food and that Chengni inkstone! He still wouldn’t let it go… Luckily you came back in time!”

It’s true that good people don’t live long, and disasters last for thousands of years.

Wang Erlai, that bastard, is just lucky to be alive!

Seeing that things were not going well, Wang Erlai had already prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed for mercy.

Yu Wanran straightened up, raised her chin at Yan Qing, and gave him a wink.

Yanqing was all too familiar with his master's orders. He nodded, went over, grabbed Wang Erlai, and dragged him aside.