Chapter 84 - 82: A Born Salesperson

Chapter 84: Chapter 82: A Born Salesperson

The next morning, when Mirana woke up, the sky was already bright.

A light mist filled the forest, and the air was fresh with the scent of soil and plants. The melodious chirping of robins filled the air, painting a scene of peace and tranquility.

"Why didn’t you wake me?"

Sitting up, she watched Lu Wei packing his bag and asked blankly, "Did you fall asleep too?"

’What is she talking about!’

’How could a responsible man like me possibly fall asleep on watch!’

’I just dozed off for a bit! That’s all!’

"Ahem, of course not."

Lu Wei glanced back at her, then guiltily turned away again, continuing to pretend to pack his bag.

Probably because of his headache, he had indeed accidentally fallen asleep last night.

He’d probably slept for a good seven or eight hours... In any case, he had only just woken up half an hour ago.

And of course, such negligence was extremely dangerous.

Generally speaking, if someone made this kind of mistake, they would be immediately kicked out of the party.

After all, it was gambling with the lives of the entire team.

However...

"I figured you needed the rest more, so I didn’t wake you."

Stuffing the two goblin heads, wrapped in burlap, into his backpack, Lu Wei said shamelessly, "Besides, I slept a lot during the day yesterday, so I wasn’t that tired."

"Oh, you must be exhausted..."

Mirana was taken aback, a look of emotion in her eyes.

A moment later, she quickly climbed out of her sleeping bag, walked over, and asked in a low voice, "Do you want to rest for a bit now?"

"It’s fine, I can handle it."

Lu Wei put on a magnanimous "don’t worry about me" expression. "Let’s just head back early. Today is already the fourth day. If we delay any longer and run into any trouble on the road, we won’t make it back in time to turn in the quest."

"Then... then okay."

After a moment’s thought, Mirana nodded and said softly, "I’ll go prepare breakfast then."

"Alright..."

’Wait, why is this woman suddenly speaking so gently?’

’Don’t tell me she’s actually fallen for me?’

’Well, it doesn’t seem that strange.’

’After all, I did save her. Falling in love with your savior is a perfectly reasonable thing to happen.’

’Like Bai Ya... huh? Have I really saved two women without even realizing it?’

’How cliché...’

Watching Mirana’s back as she carried the stew pot to the stream to fetch water, Lu Wei suddenly fell into deep thought.

Given the current situation, if this were a traditional "Hero vs. Evil Dragon" novel, he should be about to start a shameless, blissful life with these young women.

Unfortunately, for a man whose career was just getting started and who aimed to become the richest man on the continent, romance was undoubtedly a waste of time!

’Unless it’s a princess, a female Dragon, or someone like that...’

’In any case, please don’t let our pure, comradely relationship be corrupted!’

[Earn one hundred Gold Coins through mutually acknowledged, genuine transactions. (6.88/100)]

Looking at the steadily rising progress bar on the panel, Lu Wei made up his mind—

Before his Professional Promotion, whether it was Bai Ya or Mirana, they could flirt with him or get frisky all they wanted.

But becoming his girlfriend was absolutely out of the question!

...

...

"Welcome~"

"Our store has all sorts of goods, as well as fresh mushroom soup and roasted meat. Please, feel free to browse."

"There’s free Pine Needle Tea over there. Would you like me to pour you a cup?"

Dome Pillar, Golden Sword Hu Grocery Store.

Beneath the sign hanging high on a tree trunk, the "brick-and-mortar store" Lu Wei had imagined was already starting to take shape.

Although they were short-staffed, after two and a half days of hard work, several debarked logs now stood on the foundation, looking quite respectable at a glance.

But with their current resources, this was as far as they could get.

After all, Zovir had only ever built cowsheds, which just needed a thatched roof once the frame was up.

A house, however, required walls, doors, and windows.

So, if they truly wanted to finish this small wooden cabin, they would ultimately have to hire carpenters and stonemasons from town.

They might even have to hire a few laborers.

Hiring them should be possible, but it would definitely cost more money.

He estimated it would cost at least two to three times the market rate.

Fortunately, the grocery store’s profits seemed pretty good so far, and should be able to justify such a high investment.

"I’m sorry, miss. I don’t have the authority to change the price. If I sell it to you for cheaper, I won’t be able to eat..."

In front of a blonde female human Adventurer, Anna tilted her head back, her voice childish, her large, watery eyes filled with innocence.

It had to be said, she truly had an immense Talent for sales. With just two days of practical training, she had already completely mastered all the techniques Lu Wei had taught her.

She even seemed to be taking them to a whole new level.

Since the goal was to evoke sympathy, what could be more pitiful than a child who often went hungry and would be abused by her boss if she didn’t meet her sales quota!

"That’s despicable!!"

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the blonde girl began to tremble with rage, glaring at Bai Ya and Furen in the distance.

"Which one is your boss! I have to teach him a lesson!"

"No, no, it’s not them."

Anna quickly shook her head. "My boss isn’t here."

"What... I see!"

The blonde girl’s eyes widened. "He makes you all run a stall in such a dangerous place while he’s off carousing in town, right!"

"I’m not sure about that."

Anna lowered her head. "All I know is that he left with a beautiful young lady."

"...Just as I thought! That’s men for you!"

The blonde girl grew even more furious, even turning to glare at her two bewildered male companions behind her.

And since the "despicable boss" wasn’t around, there was only one way she could help the poor little salesgirl in front of her.

"Alright, don’t be afraid."

Gently patting Anna’s head, she said softly, "I’ll buy all of these."

"Oh, miss, thank you! Thank you so much!"

Anna froze for a second, then began bowing and thanking her repeatedly, her eyes seemingly glistening with tears...

"..."

"Is this really okay?"

Meanwhile, as Anna once again sold five Silver Coins’ worth of goods, Bai Ya and Furen, who had witnessed everything, both wore worried expressions.

Although they had been focused on "building the house" for the past two days and had left the sales to Anna, they had a general idea of how she closed each deal.

It could be said that aside from a few rare cases of "genuine need," almost every other sale was made this way.

And this made the honest Bai Ya and Furen feel a bit... uneasy.

"It’s true she sold the goods, but she shouldn’t lie."

"Exactly. Anna’s so young. If this continues, she’ll definitely become a Crafty Merchant."

"Perhaps we should talk to her."

"Mm... Anna, come over here!"

Seeing that the three customers had paid and left, Bai Ya immediately called Anna over.

"Miss Bai Ya, here’s the money from the sale. Two bottles of Healing Ointment, one packet of Insect Repellent Powder..."

Anna trotted over, happily handing the Silver Coins to Bai Ya while reporting the items sold.

Because of Bai Ya’s incredible memory, she had been temporarily acting as the "ledger" for the past few days. All income was given to her to be recorded.

"Mm, okay."

She nodded, put the Silver Coins into the money pouch, and then looked at Furen.

He understood the signal and immediately said with great seriousness:

"Anna, even though you’ve sold a lot of goods these past few days, you need to know that it’s wrong to deceive customers."

"Huh?"

Anna paused, then quickly shook her head. "Mr. Furen, I didn’t deceive any customers."

"Don’t try to argue, we heard everything."

Seeing that she was still being stubborn, Furen’s expression hardened. "Just now, you said that if you gave the customer a discount, you wouldn’t be able to eat... We’ve never forbidden you from eating, have we?"

Anna lowered her head. "No..."

"And Lu Wei never said that either, right?"

"No..."

"So isn’t that deceiving the customer?"

"Th-that’s..."

Faced with Furen’s irrefutable evidence, Anna began to stammer.

She kept her head down, her face turning bright red, and only after a long moment did she explain in a small voice:

"It was my own..."

"Hm? What do you mean?" Furen and Bai Ya were taken aback.

"I-It’s because I don’t want to betray Mr. Lu Wei’s trust in me."

Anna looked up, her face flushed, and answered, "So I decided that if I can’t sell the goods at their original price, I’ll punish myself by not eating."

"..."

’Huh? She punishes herself?’

’It sounds reasonable enough.’

’But something feels off...’

Their eyes wide, Furen and Bai Ya were both completely bewildered for a moment.

Then, the quicker-to-react Furen immediately asked another question:

"Then what about after that? Why did you say you didn’t know where Lu Wei went?"

"Because I really don’t know..."

"Then... then how do you explain him leaving with a beautiful young lady!"

"That..."

Anna was about to answer when, at that exact moment, Zovir, who had gone into the woods to fetch water, suddenly came running back.

He shouted excitedly as he ran:

"Mr. Lu Wei and Miss Mirana are back!"

"..."

Blinking, Anna tilted her head up and gazed silently at the dumbfounded Furen and Bai Ya, her innocent eyes seeming to ask—

’Mr. Idiot and Miss Fool, do you still need this lady to explain?’