The Lu Family from Wu County is certainly not afraid of the Xiao Family from Lanling, but he is just a dog beneath the Lu Family, not even considered a servant, so how dare he jump around in front of Xiao Mingfu. In the Tang Dynasty, the social status of merchants was extremely low. Despite having wealth, in the eyes of the noble families, they were not even as good as peasants and received no respect. The Tang legal code even explicitly stated that merchants could not eat with gentlemen, could not join the military, could not enter officialdom, could not ride horses, and could not wear brocade. If a peasant fell into hardship or was oppressed by the powerful, scholars would risk their own safety to help, and could righteously claim that they were simply restoring peace to the world and justice to the peasants. In most cases, they could gain a good reputation for not fearing the powerful, which would be endlessly beneficial to them. But there was not a single scholar who would say an extra word to a merchant, let alone help them. It was already considered charitable for scholars not to trample further on a fallen merchant. Li Shimin did provide protection to foreign merchants living and doing business in Chang’an. Under the policy of Hu and Han unity, the days for Hu Merchants weren’t too difficult, which helped make Tang Dynasty Chang’an an international trade center and promoted economic prosperity. In return, these merchants spread Tang culture around the world as they conducted business, strengthening global recognition of the Great Tang, creating the grand occasion of all nations paying tribute. But for domestic merchants of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin was extremely disdainful, considering trade a vile profession. He thought merchants produced nothing, only buying and selling, taking advantage of others, and stealing the fruits of peasants’ labor, a disgraceful act. Clearly, in the later years of Li Shimin’s reign, he desperately needed money to cover the costs of continuous warfare. He even organized various levels of government offices to borrow money from the court, setting up a "Money Catching Order." Each one had to borrow 50,000 coins from the court, paying back annual interest of 48,000 coins, a 96% annual interest rate. That the later Tang Emperor Li Shimin ran such a grand high-interest business yet never thought of taxing merchants is outright contemptuous of them! Thus, Lu Daxiong dared not ignore Lin Wanwan’s words. An ordinary ranger is a completely different concept from a ranger backed by a powerful family. If Lu Daxiong were just a rootless wanderer, that would be one thing. But he’s not—his entire family is in Mao County! The County Magistrate is their parental official! Ever since he heard the words "Xiao Zifang," Lu Daxiong had unknowingly sat up straight, his voice and aura weakening: "I’ll see what I can do, it’s hard to find a ready-made sea ship." Lin Wanwan pushed the remaining pepper on the tea table to him, nonchalantly saying: "Use these to pave the way. There’s no ship that can’t be bought with pepper and gold. If there is, just add more, don’t be afraid to spend money. Snakes have their paths, and mice have theirs. I trust you." Lu Daxiong’s eyes flickered, and his hand under the tea table loosened and tightened again, finally unable to help but say: "Aren’t you afraid I’ll run off with the pepper?" Lin Wanwan chuckled lowly, casually took a fruit from the fruit basket, opened her multipurpose ax-hammer to use the saw blade knife inside, inserting the fragrant pear to feed the little elephant, not even looking at him, lazily countering: "Do you dare?" "I... I don’t dare," Lu Daxiong lowered his burly head. It must be said, Lin Wanwan’s calm demeanor and extravagant manner indeed subdued him. Even though it was immediately clear that she couldn’t be a well-behaved noble maiden, with this outfit that wasn’t quite Hu clothing or Han clothing, which no proper noble maiden would wear. But just by that exquisitely crafted ax-hammer she carried, he knew she wasn’t someone to mess with. This kind of thing must be a product of places like the Military Equipment Supervision and Weiwei Temple; there’s no way such craftsmanship could exist among the common folk. As long as the other party pays enough, what’s wrong with running errands for her? Buying and selling is business, and running errands for the nobility is also business. After the negotiations were settled, Lin Wanwan lifted the curtain and left, in such a hurry that she didn’t even drink her tea, leaving a handful of pepper on the counter grandly. Lu Daxiong reluctantly glanced at the ready-brewed tea of the shopkeeper, poured himself a few cups as he headed out, swallowing them in one gulp before catching up. This was top-grade tea! With all sorts of spices added that he usually couldn’t afford! "Lady Zhen, aren’t you going to have some of the tea you ordered?" Newest update provided by novel·fıre·net Lin Wanwan coldly said: "Don’t call me Lady Zhen, call me madam or young master Zhen, I can’t stand being called lady." "Yes, madam," Lu Daxiong twitched his mouth, not understanding what about the word "lady" offended her. With a translator now in hand, Lin Wanwan could finally loosen up. To deal with this captain, she had fully played up her acting skills. Even now, she was still on edge, the ax-hammer she held in her hand without putting it away was the best proof. If someone wanted to kill and rob, she wouldn’t mind letting the ax-hammer taste some blood. Fortunately, Lu Daxiong wasn’t a desperado. Though also living off the sea, one was fishing, while the other was doing business buying and selling, the richer they were, the more they treasured life, unlike those fishers from Lin Family Manor who lived off the sea. People from Lin Family Manor could fight life and death with others over a small amount of money or a mouthful of water during a drought with harpoons in hand, but Lu Daxiong evidently didn’t dare. He followed behind Lin Wanwan, dutifully acting as her interpreter, watching her order a whole ship of Yellow Flower Pear Wood without batting an eye, and unbelievably pulling out a whole set of glass tea sets and a full bottle of pepper from a tea caddy for payment! After purchasing the Yellow Flower Pear Wood, the two parted ways, agreeing to meet at the docks’ warehouse the next day. Since the Lu family’s ship was there, Lin Wanwan wasn’t afraid of the other side running off, and even during the purchase of the Yellow Flower Pear Wood, she directly let Lu Daxiong sign the contract with the lumber merchant on her behalf. After these events, Lu Daxiong no longer doubted Lin Wanwan’s high family status. How could ordinary people possess such financial resources and courage? To think today was only their first meeting, yet why did she trust she could handle him? But the more nonchalant Lin Wanwan acted, as if she wouldn’t even bat an eye if she squandered all these things, the less Lu Daxiong dared to act rashly. He even suspected that she might be from the Xiao Family, intentionally using the surname Zhen as a cover. Aside from her extravagant noble demeanor, Lin Wanwan also appeared fully confident when she directly sought out the group of old beggars controlling the young beggars. At the time, Lu Daxiong harbored ill intentions, thinking he would watch Lin Wanwan make a fool of herself. After all, no matter how rich, she was just a woman, and with only a useless little elephant by her side. Did she think the vagrant old beggars on the streets would abide by rules like respectable merchants with families and careers like him?