A Brilliant Businessman

William walked to the back door of Suxin Pavilion, where several carriages he had brought were already parked outside, and porters stood ready to move goods.

Princess Mira saw the scene and thought this foreign merchant must be quite sincere about buying, so she felt relieved.

William said, "Princess, I left in a hurry and didn’t bring any money. So, I’ll leave something as collateral. When I go back to get the money, I’ll return and reclaim my collateral."

"Sure, as long as the business gets done quickly, anything is fine." Princess Mira was already driven crazy by all the spices.

"Alright, everyone, load the goods onto the carriages!" William shouted outside, and the porters came in orderly to move the spices.

Princess Mira watched as the goods were being moved and hesitated, saying, "But you don’t have any money."

William spread his hands and said, "I told you, I didn’t bring money. I’ll leave collateral. Look, this bag of my Sichuan peppercorns—I’ll leave it here as security. When I go back and get the money, I’ll pay you."

William pointed to a bag of Sichuan peppercorns in the corner.

Princess Mira was a bit confused and said, "But isn’t that my spice?"

"Oh, just now it was your spice, but didn’t you sell it to me? So now it’s mine. This bag of spice is worth twenty gold taels. By leaving such a valuable item here, I’m showing great sincerity." William said.

Princess Mira let out an "oh" and nodded in a daze—it really did make sense.

William saw Princess Mira’s puzzled look and couldn’t help but smirk. Then he directed the porters to swiftly load all the spices onto the carriages.

Eager to seal the deal, Princess Mira even stepped aside to make way for the porters.

With so many hands, the spices quickly filled several carts, leaving only the bag of Sichuan peppercorns as ‘collateral’ in the now-empty storeroom.

William looked at Princess Mira and said, "Your Highness, I trust you deeply, which is why I’m leaving such valuable spices as collateral. But as businesspeople, we must follow the rules. Since you’re holding my collateral, you need to give me a deposit. Otherwise, if you keep my spices, where would I seek justice? Of course, I know you’re honorable and wouldn’t do such a thing, but as a merchant, I have my principles—so I’ll need a deposit from Your Highness."

"Taking collateral and giving a deposit... That does sound right." Princess Mira thought it over—William’s reasoning was solid. She rummaged through her things and produced a silver certificate worth a thousand taels.

That thousand-tael certificate was originally used as a deposit at the Western-Style Auction, then returned to her after the event. It was the only private money Princess Mira had left.

Princess Mira handed the thousand-tael silver certificate to William and said, "Here’s your deposit."

William accepted the certificate with great elegance, slipped it into his pocket, and smiled at Princess Mira. "Your Highness, you truly are an excellent businesswoman. I’ll go fetch the money now and return soon to redeem my collateral. Please wait for me here."

"Alright, but make sure you come back soon. I’ll be waiting right here," Princess Mira said.

William bowed to Princess Mira, walked gracefully out the back door, got into the carriage, and left with his men and goods.

Princess Mira watched the convoy leave, feeling delighted. "Wonderful, the spices are finally sold! If I’m short on money, I’ll figure something else out. At least I don’t have to worry about those spices anymore!"