Chapter 88: Business

Steal clothes to marry a fairy…

With Liu Liwa’s shout, the dark scene fell into chaos. Due to the dim lighting, everyone could only tell who was Fairy Eldest Sister and who was Fairy Second Sister by the clothes the girls wore. Each had her own charms—some voluptuous, some slender. They saw girls in tight outfits with curves, long legs, and slim waists being carried off by gentlemen one after another. Laughter and playful shouts filled the air. Intoxication Pavilion truly seemed to have become a celestial palace, except it was being wrecked by the Monkey King.

When the lights in Intoxication Pavilion were relit and the hall became bright again, those twenty-plus celestial maidens had all been snatched up. Only torn shreds of clothing were left on the floor, along with socks and loincloths. Those men were too ruthless! If some foolish lad really grabbed a fairy’s underwear, forget about the fairy marrying him—he’d be lucky not to get struck by lightning!

“Is this the effect you wanted to show me?” Miss Zhao picked up a strip of torn cloth and looked at him sideways.

Liu Liwa wore his usual confident smile, much like Miss Zhao’s. “Don’t worry, results will come soon.”

The two sat at the table drinking tea. Yang Xiaosi and his crew, having received benefits from Liu Liwa, were diligently cleaning up the mess. Miss Liuyun was rewarded with ten silver taels. Holding her Ya Qin, she glanced at Liu Liwa and Miss Zhao, then left without a word.

Before they finished a cup of tea, the scene Liu Liwa had been waiting for appeared. Doors on the second and third floors opened one by one. The so-called VIP-class girls could no longer sit still. A few days earlier, Liu Liwa’s storytelling had piqued the guests’ interest, and those girls had quietly made money. But today, Liu Liwa showed off new clothes, and all the guests were drawn to those celestial maidens. In terms of looks, these VIP girls were indeed better than the first-floor girls. But in a pleasure house, even the prettiest girl could grow stale in the guests’ eyes. Since looks couldn’t be changed, the only way to create a fresh appeal was to highlight other features and change their clothing style. For instance, the first girl to come forward had an average figure, but if she wore the tight outfit designed by Miss Zhao, she could appear curvy. Another girl had fair, smooth skin; if she wore a rosy cloud dress, her skin would seem to glow. These were their selling points to reshape their image and attract guests.

In the past, these girls rarely showed themselves, and even if they did, they wouldn’t pay any attention to a brothel steward like Liu Liwa. But now, they put on their customer-service faces, full of flattery, waving handkerchiefs and emitting fragrant scents. “Brother Xiaoqi, you’re so clever! You always find new tricks to please the guests—you’re even better than us!”

Good grief, was that a compliment for a man? Liu Liwa shivered all over and quickly said, “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. You ladies are extraordinarily beautiful and have many patrons—how could I compare to you?”

“Patrons?” A girl with a chubby, baby-faced look pouted and said sadly, “Look around—where are the patrons now? They’ve all been lured away by those celestial maidens!”

Her expression seemed sad, but she was really here to blame him. Liu Liwa spread his hands helplessly. “The guests just want a change of taste. With your looks, they’ll come back to you sooner or later!”

“I want them back now. I want to be a celestial maiden too.” A busty woman stepped forward, swaying her “Summit of the Maiden” in front of Liu Liwa. Her direct words fully proved that big breasts didn’t mean brains.

“Yes, yes! We want to be celestial maidens too. We want those rainbow-cloud fairy dresses and rosy veils.” The girls shouted in unison.

Another girl still looked down on Liu Liwa and directly tossed out a silver tael, saying coldly, “I want that tight-fitting dress. This silver should be enough, right?”

Darn! Liu Liwa cursed inwardly. Everyone else was all smiles, but this one—even when asking for a favor, she was so arrogant. Besides, even with a tight dress, her figure wouldn’t show much.

However, she set a good example for the other girls. These girls knew how realistic the world was better than anyone. They immediately took out silver, though none offered much—just the usual price for clothes. But dozens of girls together added up to about a hundred silver taels. Liu Liwa calculated: Miss Zhao’s dresses weren’t luxury items, but they were high-quality. Of course, Liu Liwa wasn’t satisfied. If they didn’t make them into luxury items, it would be a disservice to the “An Luwei” brand.

But Miss Zhao didn’t share his firm belief. Seeing the shiny silver before her, she reached out to take it. This was her first bucket of gold since starting on her own, and the first time her designs were recognized. The double joy made her ecstatic.

But just as she was about to touch her first bucket of gold, a large hand swept in like a broom, pushing the pile of silver back toward the girls. Liu Liwa wore a cold smile and said, “Sorry, ladies. I don’t think those clothes suit you.”

“How don’t they suit me? I think that backless one would look great on me.” One girl said naively.

“It’s not that they don’t suit you—he thinks the silver is too little.” Another girl said calmly, her eyes full of disdain.

Liu Liwa didn’t care at all. Business was business: you buy, I sell. You buy happily, I sell happily. It’s a fair trade where both sides are willing. Everyone liked luxury items, but it was pointless to curse if you couldn’t afford them. Instead, you could treat luxury as motivation to work hard. When you finally owned one, the joy and sense of achievement would surpass the luxury item itself.

So Liu Liwa said cheerfully, “That’s right. The silver you offered is indeed too little. If you like that backless dress, it costs at least eighty silver taels. Not one copper coin less.”

“Eighty taels?” The girls and Miss Zhao exclaimed together. No one knew better than Miss Zhao that although that dress was made of high-quality silk, the cost was no more than five taels. No wonder he said: the less fabric, the more profit. He was truly ruthless.

The girls glared at him with fiery eyes. One of them said, “Did those first-floor floozees buy their clothes for that much silver? Do they even have that much?”

Hmph! Liu Liwa snorted. He hated their condescending attitude and looking down on others. He said irritably, “Of course. Those girls are often suppressed by you, with guests taken away, so they’re unwilling to accept it. Even if it meant spending all their savings, they strived to change their image and compete with you. It seems to be working well now. But they had no choice—they were forced to a dead end, and poverty sparked change. That’s why I said, these clothes aren’t for you!”

After saying this, he actually felt a sense of lifting his head high. Maybe it was because they were all commoners, like those girls, used to being oppressed and excluded, so he never missed a chance to fight back.

Miss Zhao was even more surprised. She hadn’t expected that besides being clever, good at seizing opportunities, and profit-driven, this guy also had a chivalrous heart to help the weak against the strong…