Reborn as a Cube Man in the Late Ming Dynasty

"Traveling merchants, you don't look like yourselves!" Miao Zhiming frowned as he sized up the burly man and the fierce-looking men behind him.

"Young master, you jest," the burly man said helplessly. "In this chaotic world, those who dare to run outside the city are all fearless. If they are skinny and thin, they might not even be able to save themselves, let alone transport goods. Young master, don't you agree?"

"That makes some sense," Miao Zhiming said thoughtfully.

"Besides, isn't the young master afraid we're robbers? Men, bring over the goods we're replenishing today!" The burly man pressed his advantage, ordering the men behind him to take down the loads they were carrying, remove the cloth covering them, and reveal the goods inside.

"Look, how could I dare to lie to you, young master! I won't hide it from you, young master, you don't know, the quality of your dye is extraordinary. If it were transported to other counties, it could fetch several times more than the price you just sold it for."

"We sincerely want to make a deal with you, young master."

"But with so little cargo, I'm afraid it won't even cover your travel expenses, will it?" Miao Zhiming's wary expression softened slightly, but he was still somewhat skeptical, and he continued to ask.

"Haha, this amount of goods is certainly not enough. We bought them separately. This is only a small portion. If you don't believe me, young master, you can come with us to see for yourself. Don't worry, this is inside the city, and the goods are right next to the city wall. If we try to harm you along the way, we won't be able to escape either."

Miao Zhiming stared intently at the burly man, and seeing his calm demeanor, he relaxed and bowed apologetically to the man, saying, "I misunderstood you. There are just too many scoundrels in this world, and we have to be careful. Please forgive me."

He said to the militiamen, "Put down your weapons. Don't point your iron swords at others; it's dangerous."

The militiamen surrounding Miao Zhiming exchanged strange glances, sensing something amiss.

Brother Zhiming never refers to himself as "Young Master".

There's something wrong with this group!

The militiamen nodded, sheathed their iron swords, drew their wooden swords from their waists, gripped them tightly, and stared at the so-called itinerant merchants.

Miao Zhiming said irritably, "Look at this... Oh, please don't be offended, righteous man, that's just how they are, they have to have a sword in their hand."

"It's alright, it's alright, I understand. If I weren't on guard, I would have been taken advantage of long ago. Besides, it's just a wooden sword, nothing will happen. We're all江湖儿女 (jianghu children), we don't care about such formalities. I don't mind at all," the burly man said heartily. "My name is Yang Heyu, may I ask how you are addressed, sir?"

"Brother He Yu is truly generous," Miao Zhiming cupped his hands and replied sincerely, "I am Qiao Mincai."

Yang Heyu also cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Ah, so it's Young Master Qiao! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Miao Zhiming coughed lightly and asked cautiously, "Brother Heyu, you just said that you could raise the price of the dye. How much could you offer? Don't worry, we still have some in our village, and quite a lot. Only a small portion is sold to shops. But whether we sell or not depends on your sincerity!"

"Young Master Qiao, as you know, we're just making a living through hard work. The travel expenses alone will cost a lot, so we can only increase the price by 50% at most. We hope you can understand," Yang Heyu said with a smile.

"Fifty percent?" Miao Zhiming exclaimed in surprise. Realizing his lapse in composure, he pretended to hesitate and said, "Fifty percent... that's too little. I need to think about it some more."

"Young Master Qiao, what do you think of 60%?"

"..."

"Add another 10%, making it 70%?"

"..."

"Eighty percent! Young Master Qiao, we really can't add any more, otherwise we won't make much money." A sinister glint flashed in Yang Heyu's eyes as he spoke resolutely.

"Alright, you said it yourself!" Miao Zhiming's lips curled into a smug look. "Eighty percent?"

Yang Heyu smiled obsequiously and said, "Eighty percent. As long as you sell, young master, I won't shortchange you even a fraction. I've been traveling the world for so many years, and my reputation is the only thing I rely on. I would never deceive you, young master."

Miao Zhiming smiled and said, "It's settled then! But where will we find you later? Our people have some business to attend to in the city, so it might take a while. Don't worry, it won't be long!"

"Is that so? It's alright, we can wait another day or two. What do you think, young master?" Yang Heyu thought for a moment and then tentatively asked, "I'll have one of my men follow you. If you're ready to leave, have him come back and let us know?"

"Okay!" Miao Zhiming said after a moment's hesitation.

"Wei Si, come here!" Yang Heyu called out, and a thin young man walked out from behind him.

"Young Master Qiao, what do you think of him?" Yang Heyu patiently explained, "Among us rough men, he is the most frail and scholarly. I don't think he would catch your eye."

"Okay, he's the one!"

Miao Zhiming said calmly and unhurriedly.

Wei Si stepped forward and said with a simple, honest smile, "This humble servant is Wei Si. Thank you for your trouble, Young Master Qiao!"

"Well," Miao Zhiming said, raising his chin, "since everything has been settled, we'll be leaving now."

"Take care, Mr. Qiao~"

Yang Heyu and the others cupped their hands in greeting.

Seeing Miao Zhiming and the others, Yang Heyu's smiling face instantly turned gloomy.

Haha, you dare to call yourself a young master? Don't you even look at what you're wearing?

They actually took the compliments seriously after a few compliments.

Still so greedy!

But that's fine too; it's easy to fool those self-righteous guys.

He wasn't lying; if the other side was stronger than them, then they were indeed itinerant merchants.

But if it's any other situation, then don't blame them for resorting to robbery!

Those who can enter the city gates and dare to show their faces are unlikely to be rebelling bandits or people from mountain strongholds.

Those people don't have the guts!

Yang Heyu heard it clearly: Qiao Mincai was talking about the village!

How big can a village be? And how many capable fighters are there?

Although it may be a lie, even the name Qiao Mincai may be fake.

The greater the risk, the greater the reward.

That dye can't be faked!

This is an incredibly profitable business.

"Tell the brothers to get ready, and make sure they don't give themselves away. This is a big deal," Yang Heyu said coldly. "Anyone who dares to ruin things won't be able to hold back!"

"Brother, I have a feeling something's not right. Where would the dye come from in a village?" the scarred man whispered.

"Why do you think I let Wei Si come along?" Yang Heyu glanced at the scarred man. "Wei Si isn't good at fighting, but he's excellent at gathering information. Letting him go will allow us to assess the situation and then make our next move!"

"Anyway, no matter what happens, I'm going to keep this batch of dye!"

Yang Heyu grinned maliciously.

He didn't see at all the intriguing smile that Miao Zhiming gave before leaving.

The prey has taken the bait!