Chapter 103 - The Crafty And Cold-hearted Miss Li

Li Ming motioned the four youths to settle down on the seats that were arranged around the table on which she was currently sitting.

Lei Yong, Zhou Han, Lei Xiao Ting and Sue Mei, all of them slowly moved around and settled down on their seats.

"So, have you guys found any ideas?" Li Ming asked as she fixed her gaze on the four candidates who were looking a lot more confident than the last time when they visited her.

"After discussing the topic among the four of us, we actually found a few ideas that could help us in getting all the necessary information." Zhou Han told her with a confident tone.

Li Ming was actually surprised to see that the four of them were no longer hesitant and unsure about themselves. Their postures, eyes and words, all held a new level of confidence.

"Alright! I'm all ears." Li Ming gave her permission for them to start explaining their plans.

"As we have already concluded that Inns, brothels, or music houses are the best places where we could find the workers and managers of various inns resting and chatting around. Therefore we will target these places." Lei Yong said as he looked at all the other three members of his team and then at Miss Li.

Li Ming nodded her head and signaled him to continue.

"We can't ask them questions about their businesses directly but we can still lure the information out of them." He finished with a small smile playing on his lips.

Li Ming raised her eyebrows at him as she said, "Stop playing around things that I'm already aware of."

The four of the youths hurriedly nodded their heads, their smiles disappeared and a serious look took over their expressions.

"What people love most is bragging. We can always found someone who's either bragging about their wealth or their business. If we trigger the ego of these people at the right time and within the right limit, we could make these people let out some inside details of their businesses." Sue Mei said and waited for Li Ming's opinion.

"You are actually right. This plan isn't really bad but you will need to find out exactly whom you can trigger and whom you can't. I don't want to spend my time saving you guys from problems." Li Ming told them and they nodded their heads in understanding.

"We can wander around the market and find more information about the lower rank servants working in these inns. If there are people who need help or those who are already cheating their Masters for money, we can lure these people into our trap. They probably can't give us details like those related to the accounts and VIP customers, but they can still give us enough information."

"For example, who visits their shops the most and how frequently. The name of the accountant, manager, and maybe even the owner can be revealed if proposed the right amount of money." Lei Xiao Ting explained.

Li Ming chuckled at the last part. She wasn't expecting that to be honest, "The entire idea sounds good but I didn't know that you guys are up for using money as your advantage. Last I remember you all looked horrified when I suggested it. Now suddenly you are up for using this idea. What has changed?" 

She really was curious to know exactly what changed their mindset.

"Well, let's just say we finally realized that you can either aim for profit in the line of business or at honesty and morality. This world is in the hands of those in power and everyone in power is doing business in one way or another. That means that none of our business opponents are people with pure and kind hearts. We are just going to do business too." Zhou Han replied to her question and the other nodded their heads in agreement.

Li Ming could see honesty in their eyes and their thoughts.

Her mind-reading ability was the main reason she never questioned the faithfulness of these four.

They were probably not devoted to her with their soul but they had respect for her in their hearts and they appreciate everything that she had done for the Dongji village and its people. Most of all, they were thankful to her for saving them from the slavery that they had been doing for the past few years.

"Good to know that you are learning the rules of this game. Of course, it will take time and experience for you all to become a good player but you are starting off pretty good." Li Ming praised the four of them and watched as a slight glimpse of happiness entered their eyes.

The happiness of being praised by their Master. Other than that slight glimpse nothing changed in their expressions or posture.

"So, moving on. Let's say we find out the name of the accountant or the manager of a particular inn. Now, our next move will be to find out more about his personality and nature. Asking around people casually about a certain person won't be much of a problem. For example, let's say we go to the black market and enter into some random inn. There are also other people there passing their time. Everyone is talking about some daily life topics and we direct that topic to the businesses that are doing well in the black market. Wait for them to indulge deeper into the talk and then one of us suddenly says, " Oh! I heard that the Miss Li of Black Jade Inn is a very crafty and cold-hearted person." The people who are sitting there are either the people working in the Black market or the customers. Most of them would know about your true personality and after hearing our words they sure will try to clear our misunderstandings by telling us about your true personality. Just like this way we can make them spill about the personalities of other famous people of the Black market too. And this same idea can be used in the city market. What do you think of this idea Miss Li?" Lei Yong asked eagerly as he stopped explaining the idea.

The others stared at Lei Yong like he had grown a second head. But they were not at fault. The cold aura that had suddenly taken over their surroundings made shivers ran down their spine.

Lei Yong first stared at his companions in confusion to exactly what had happened and when he felt the sudden drop in the temperature, his eyes moved towards Miss Li.

There was a cold look in her eyes and the cold aura was definitely coming from her.

He had no idea exactly what had happened that made Miss Li angry but his confusion soon turned into horror as his mind registered the words that he heard next.

"I think when you randomly choose an inn while wandering around the black market to find information about the true personalities of the managers and owners of various Inns, don't end up in the Black Jade Inn. I'm doubtful that calling me crafty and cold-hearted in front of my own people would lead to them clearing your misunderstandings. I don't want the entire Dongji village to stop their daily lives only to join your funeral." Her voice was a deep chilly warning that made Lei Yong gulped down his saliva in fear.

How could he be so foolish? Lei Yong cursed himself in his mind as he tried to find some way to loosen the thickness that had taken over the air inside the room.

The other three, Sue Mei, Zhou Han, and especially Lei Xiao Ting, were struggling to control their hands that were itching to strangle the stupid Lei Yong.

Sometimes, the boy could lose his mind and utter some words that could end up as a decree of his death. And currently, he had once again shown this great side of his mind which was either completely empty or was too full of garbage.

"Haha...! I was just giving an example." His words came out more of a squeak than an attempt of loosening the heaviness. Little beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and the other three prepared themselves to flee from the room if the situation demanded.

"Really? What a coincidence! I was also just giving an explanation. As far as I can think, there are worse futures than death for those who call me crafty." Li Ming replied with an evil glint in her eyes.

Her words made everyone gulped down in fear. Lei Yong was almost on the verge of a mental break down and just when everyone was ready to say their final goodbye to Lei Yong, the temperature of the room returned back to its normal self. 

"Alright! I think the idea of finding information about the personalities of some certain people would be a good idea and I also approve of this plan. After finding out about their personalities you all will be aware of whom you can trigger and how much. You will only need to aim at their ego and the rest of the task is done. Now, there's a last thing remaining." Li Ming told everyone as a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.