Sister, can I be a maid too?

The proprietress took the book and glanced at it: "Thirty-five."

"So expensive?" Jiang Yubai picked up the book, looked at it, and clicked his tongue. "Are the pages made of gold, or is the cover inlaid with gold?"

The proprietress frowned at the flippant tone: "Everything here has clearly marked prices."

"A clearly marked price?" Jiang Yubai frowned as well. "How come I remember this book only selling for twenty-something yuan in other bookstores?"

"Then go buy it from another store."

The proprietress spoke in a curt tone and reached out to take the book back.

"Never mind, it's more convenient here," Jiang Yubai said, turning his wrist to tuck the book into his coat and nodding. "Speaking of which, are your books... guaranteed to be new?"

Seeing that he seemed interested in buying, the proprietress softened her tone slightly: "New. All the books here are sourced from the printing factory, and we guarantee they are all brand new."

Jiang Yubai casually flipped through a few pages, as if he had discovered something, and said with dissatisfaction:

"There are creases here, how can this be considered brand new? Go and get me a replacement."

There was indeed a faint crease on the page.

The proprietress glanced at him, took the book, and turned to go into the inner storeroom.

A short while later, she came out with a new book and placed it on the counter: "Here you go."

Jiang Yubai picked it up and flipped through it, then frowned again: "This cover is dusty and dirty. Go get another clean one."

At this point, even the most clueless proprietress would have figured it out.

She frowned, her tone turning completely serious: "You brat, you've come here specifically to cause trouble, haven't you?"

Jiang Yubai didn't reply, but instead looked around the shop: "Boss Zhao, your shop... business should be alright usually, right?"

To be honest, although this area isn't exactly a bustling neighborhood, the location is really good—besides the Third Middle School, there's also a junior high school and two primary schools nearby.

The student traffic alone is enough to support this shop.

"What are you doing here? Get out of here right now!" The landlady's tone was already tinged with anger.

Jiang Yubai seemed oblivious to the warning in her words and continued slowly, "Now that business is picking up, shouldn't the rent go up a bit too?"

"What business is it of yours how the rent is?" The landlady's face darkened completely. "If you don't leave, I'm going to call for help."

"How much the rent is... of course it's my business."

Jiang Yubai tossed the book he was holding onto the counter, crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow:

"I'm just here to collect rent."

Upon hearing this, the proprietress's almost explosive expression immediately stopped.

She raised her eyes and carefully looked Jiang Yubai up and down, her tone full of suspicion:

"What did you say?"

"This month's rent," Jiang Yubai said calmly, "I'm here to collect it."

The proprietress still frowned: "Isn't it usually Mr. Qin who comes?"

“Yes,” Jiang Yubai nodded, “It’s my turn today.”

Before she could speak again, he continued, "We've been renting this shop... for at least two years, haven't we?"

"The first year's contract was for 4,200 yuan per month. When we renewed the lease last year, it increased to 4,600 yuan. Now the contract is about to expire, shouldn't we renegotiate the rent?"

Upon hearing this, the proprietress, who had been full of doubts, immediately believed it to some extent.

After all, details such as the rent amount and the length of the lease match up, and these data are basically only known to the renter and the landlord.

She hesitated for a moment: "Didn't we already agree on the rent with Mr. Qin? Also, what is your surname?"

"Your surname is Jiang," Jiang Yubai said with a polite smile. "The previous agreement is null and void. Do as I say."

The proprietress frowned again, instinctively reaching for her phone to call and confirm.

After all, rent negotiations shouldn't be taken so lightly, changing so easily.

Moreover, the person in front of him looked to be no more than eighteen or nineteen years old, a student, and certainly didn't seem like a proper landlord.

But the other party described the details of the rent perfectly, which made her hesitant to completely deny it.

Adhering to the principle of "better safe than sorry," she ultimately suppressed her doubts and decided to listen to what he had to say first.

“So,” she softened her tone and asked tentatively, “you mean…?”

"What I mean is... let's raise the monthly rent to seven thousand this year," Jiang Yubai said casually.

The proprietress stood there stunned, taking several seconds to react before her voice suddenly rose: "Seven thousand?! Didn't we agree that it would only go up to five thousand?!"

“Yes,” Jiang Yubai nodded, his expression unchanged, “It’s been changed to seven thousand now.”

The proprietress squinted at him for a long time, then suddenly reached for the phone on the counter, quickly found a number, and dialed it.

The ringtone rang for more than ten seconds before a woman's voice came from the other end of the phone:

"Hey?"

The proprietress quickly brought the phone to her ear, softening her tone:

"Hello, Mr. Qin, it's me, Zhao Chunhua, who rented this shop next to Yunlan Elementary School."

"Oh yes, it's me. I wanted to ask, this year's rent... is it still the same as we agreed before, right?"

The person on the other end of the phone seemed to have given her the answer she wanted, and the proprietress's face immediately brightened.

She glared at Jiang Yubai and then pressed the speakerphone button.

"Hey Mr. Qin, someone came to the store today, claiming to be from your landlord's family, and immediately said they wanted to raise my monthly rent to seven thousand."

The woman's voice on the other end of the phone sounded somewhat amused:

"Seven thousand? He says he's the landlord, so he's the landlord? You actually believe such a fraudster?"

"I didn't want to believe it either," the landlady complained, "but he recited our rent and lease term exactly as stated, down to the last detail, so I..."

Upon hearing this, the woman's tone on the phone became noticeably serious:

"Is that so? I'm afraid some businesses are just trying to cause trouble because they're doing well. Can you describe what he looks like?"

“He’s right here in the shop. You can talk to him,” the proprietress said confidently, handing over her phone and sneering, “He’s our landlord.”

Jiang Yubai took the phone, and a woman's voice, clearly tinged with anger, came from the other end:

"Who are you? Which company sent you? Haven't you heard of me? Now you dare to trespass on my territory?"

“I’ve heard of you,” Jiang Yubai replied irritably. “I’ve heard of your great name since I was in my mother’s womb.”

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone for several seconds:

"......son?"

Chapter 19 He was using all my words!

Upon hearing the word "son," the proprietress's smug expression instantly froze on the spot.

Jiang Yubai held up his phone, his tone helpless: "Yes, Mom, didn't you tell me to come and collect the rent?"

"Oh right, I almost forgot while I was out having fun," the voice on the other end of the phone immediately lightened. "Then you can handle it. I'll hang up now."

The landlady couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward, urgently saying into her phone, "Mr. Qin! We clearly agreed on a monthly rent of five thousand!"

“The previous ones don’t count,” the voice said lazily. “You should discuss it with my son.”

The landlady's face turned pale instantly, and her voice rose: "You're all ganging up on me! The rent shouldn't be increased like this! How can I dare to renew the lease?!"

"If you're not going to rent, then move out as soon as possible," the voice on the phone said impatiently. "If you don't rent, there are plenty of people who want to. You can talk to my son about it. Bye."

Beep, beep, beep—

The busy signal rang out crisply and decisively.

Jiang Yubai shrugged and put the phone back on the counter.

You know what, being a villain is actually kind of fun.

The proprietress across the street turned pale and then flushed, finally managing to force a smile:

"Landlord Jiang... seven thousand in rent is indeed too high. My small business really can't afford it. Could you perhaps..."

Upon seeing this, Jiang Yubai raised an eyebrow and inwardly exclaimed "Whoa!"

Even after he made his stance clear, Boss Zhao still didn't want to part ways and was still thinking about discussing it further. It seems this shop is really quite profitable.

And Jiang Yubai's thinking was correct.

Although this is considered the oldest part of the old town, and rents have never gone up, it is still a prime location because it is next to several schools.

Seeing that the landlady had thrown the question back at him, Jiang Yubai sighed and immediately began to complain:

“Mr. Zhao, it’s not that I’m deliberately making things difficult for you. As you’ve seen, it’s really tough being a landlord these days.”

"Bank interest rates keep rising, and the expenses for shop maintenance are also high. We need money here and there... We really can't manage the cash flow."

—What nonsense are you spouting? You're just sitting around collecting rent and now you're complaining?

The landlady cursed inwardly, but still had to force a smile: "We know, we know, it's not easy for you landlords either, we understand."

"But... I discussed five thousand with President Qin before, and he agreed. Is it really that much to suddenly raise my monthly rent by two thousand...?"

Jiang Yu waved his hand, looking like he couldn't be bothered to explain to her:

“This is our shop. You’ve been using it for two years. These bookshelves and counters are all new additions, right? The paint on the walls has been scratched in several places.”

"I'm not going to argue with you about these things, and I'm still willing to continue renting to you, it's just a small rent increase, and you still want to be picky?"

He paused, as if recalling something, and then added:

"Besides, does the contract specify a clear amount? No, so I can raise it however much I want."

"If it really doesn't work out, you should pay your rent from last month right away, and then don't come back. My shop can't accommodate someone as big as you."

Hearing this argument, which was clearly just a pretext to cause trouble, the proprietress felt a lump in her throat and almost couldn't catch her breath.

But amidst her annoyance, she vaguely felt that the tone of voice sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before.

Without time to think it through, the proprietress took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, saying: