Chapter 84: Damn It, Refund My Money!
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You Bing Yue glared coldly at Yu Zhi Yi, her voice dripping with menace: “You’d better pray this has nothing to do with you. Otherwise, I won’t let you off!”
Yu Zhi Yi picked at her ear nonchalantly. “Oh? But what could you possibly do to me?”
You Bing Yue stumbled as she was about to descend the stairs, almost tumbling down in her fury. Embarrassed and enraged, she clenched her fists but couldn’t come up with a single way to deal with Yu Zhi Yi. She knew she couldn’t overpower her physically, but…
That woman was holed up behind some defensive formation, utterly untouchable! Behind her, she could feel the scornful gazes of those spineless spectators who stood by, waiting for a show. The weight of their disdain pressed on her, and she feared that if she turned back, she’d be unable to resist clawing out the eyes of those who dared judge her!
“Let’s go! Let’s watch the drama unfold!” Red Luan grabbed You Bing Yue’s hand enthusiastically, dragging her downstairs and heading straight for South Wind Bookstore.
Yu Zhi Yi chuckled softly at Red Luan’s eagerness. Though she already knew the story behind the commotion, she let her go along with her curiosity.
Red Luan, being familiar with the area, quickly picked a prime spot for spectating.
By then, You Bing Yue had stormed up to the entrance of South Wind Bookstore.
Inside, the shopkeeper and staff were trembling behind the wooden doors. Faced with a furious mob, none of them dared step out to confront the situation. The shopkeeper whispered anxiously to one of his assistants, “Where is the young master? Why hasn’t he come yet?”
The assistant grimaced. “We’ve already sent someone to notify him. It’ll take a while longer.”
Outside, the mob’s angry shouting showed no signs of stopping. Seeing the shop’s employees cower behind closed doors, some hot-tempered individuals began banging on the door.
The shopkeeper and his staff scrambled to reinforce the barricade, but with only a dozen of them against a mob of hundreds, their efforts were woefully insufficient.
It was at this critical moment that You Bing Yue appeared.
“Stop!” she commanded, her icy voice cutting through the chaos. Her authoritative tone momentarily quelled the mob’s anger, and the crowd stilled.
Red Luan handed a handful of sunflower seeds to Yu Zhi Yi. “Huh, I have to admit, this woman’s got some guts.”
Indeed, her poise was impressive—facing down a mob without flinching. In an era where many noblewomen would have been paralyzed at the sight of such turmoil, her composure was a rarity.
Yu Zhi Yi accepted the seeds but wasn’t in the mood to eat. A few moments later, a neatly shelled sunflower seed was presented to her. She hesitated before taking it, this time choosing not to waste the gesture. Red Luan, meanwhile, took back the unshelled seeds and cracked them open with relish.
The commotion outside the bookstore continued.
With a frosty expression, You Bing Yue began questioning the crowd about their grievances.
“Who’s causing trouble? Or is it your shop that’s scamming us?” A burly young man stepped forward. Despite wearing a scholar’s attire, his demeanor was far from refined. Yet, he truly was a scholar.
“And how exactly did we scam you?” Already seething from her encounter at Splendid Embroidery Workshop, You Bing Yue’s temper boiled over, her tone sharp and confrontational.
“You swindled money from us poor folk and then shirked responsibility!” The young man’s face turned red with fury. “Black-hearted bookstore! Heartless steward! Do you think you deserve the praise the capital heaps on you?!”
Red Luan, impatient with the lack of specifics, groaned, “For heaven’s sake, what did South Wind Bookstore do? Just spit it out already!”
Yu Zhi Yi couldn’t help but smile at her companion’s restlessness. She explained in a calm tone, “It’s about money.”
Since the events were bound to unfold, she didn’t mind revealing the details. After all, she had known about this for a while—not through divination, but by word of mouth. “To attract customers, You Bing Yue introduced a series of measures—free tea and snacks, allowing impoverished scholars to transcribe books without charge, and so on.”
“These tactics were purely for publicity, a case of losing money to gain attention.”
“I’ve heard about some of those,” Red Luan interjected. “But weren’t those people benefiting from her generosity?”
“I suppose you could say that,” Yu Zhi Yi continued. “But those were merely bait. The real money-making scheme was her membership system. For just two taels of silver, anyone could become a member of the bookstore.”
She paused for effect before adding, “The freebies—tea, snacks, everything—were only offered for a limited time. Starting a week ago, only paying members could continue to enjoy those perks.”
“But not many scholars could afford the two taels. And during the freebie phase, many opportunists—not even scholars—took advantage, flooding the shop just for the free food and drinks.”
“The cost was staggering—unlimited tea and snacks every day, costing around ten taels of silver daily. And because the crowd grew so large, the bookstore’s stock of books had to increase four- or fivefold.”
“Within less than a month, the shop had spent over five thousand taels on operating costs.”
“And they only made five hundred taels from membership fees?” Red Luan gasped.
Yu Zhi Yi nodded. “The cost of tea and snacks was manageable—around two or three hundred taels a month. But the real burden came from the books. A single volume cost at least a tael, sometimes two or three. To meet demand, the shop brought in two or three thousand books, skyrocketing their expenses.”
Red Luan let out a low whistle. “Five thousand taels spent to earn five hundred… You Bing Yue sure is generous—a true philanthropist for the masses.”
Yu Zhi Yi chuckled lightly and resumed, “The protesters outside? Most of them are paying members. You Bing Yue promised them unlimited access to all books for a month, plus tea and snacks, with potential prize money for competition winners.”
“But after half a month of this extravagance, the shop has run out of funds. They can’t even afford tea leaves or pastries anymore.”
“Which means… the store’s shutting down.”
Red Luan offered Yu Zhi Yi another shelled seed. “This is turning into quite the spectacle.”
At that moment, the young man outside bellowed, “Your shop promised us unlimited access to books and refreshments for a whole month when we paid the membership fee! And now you’re closing the store?”
“Scammers! Either let us in or refund our money!”
“Yeah! Refund our money!” the crowd roared.