The female anchor turned into the dean of an ancient academy

As soon as Yu Lan opened her mouth, the surroundings suddenly became quiet, and you could hear a pin drop. Boss Liu narrowed his shrewd rat eyes and looked Yu Lan up and down, as if trying to find a flower in her.

"Miss, are you kidding me? This is a century-old pine tree that costs three hundred taels of silver. Can you afford it?" Boss Liu said sarcastically. In his eyes, Yu Lan was just an ignorant girl who came here just to join in the fun.

Yu Lan chuckled softly, then calmly pulled out a stack of banknotes from her sleeve and waved them in front of Boss Liu. "Can't afford it? Boss Liu, as long as the item is good, I can afford it, not to mention three hundred taels, even three thousand taels!"

Boss Liu's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He'd been in this business for so many years, and he'd never seen a customer so generous. It looked like he'd hit the jackpot today! He quickly put on a smile, nodding and saying, "That's right, young lady! Since you're so forthcoming, let's discuss the details of this wood!"

Yu Lan put away the banknotes, walked to a century-old pine tree, examined it carefully, and then turned to Boss Liu and said, "Three hundred taels per tree, I can accept it, but I have a few conditions."

When Boss Liu heard that there was a chance, he nodded quickly and said, "Go ahead, young lady. As long as you can buy these timbers, any terms are negotiable!"

"First, the length and thickness of these woods must comply with the standards of our academy. Not a single piece can be missing!" Yu Lan raised a finger, her tone unquestionable.

"Of course, of course!" Boss Liu wiped the sweat from his forehead, but his heart began to beat fast. He had already tampered with this batch of timber in order to make huge profits from it. Now that Yu Lan asked him to do so, he would be in a difficult situation.

"Secondly, the quality of all wood must be top-notch, without any problems such as decay, insect damage, cracking, etc." Yu Lan continued, staring at Boss Liu with sharp eyes, as if she wanted to see through him.

Boss Liu's smile faltered, and he stammered, "Well... girl, you know, this century-old pine tree is bound to have some minor flaws, right?"

"Minor flaw? If it's just a minor flaw, I won't say anything." Yu Lan sneered, "But if I find out that you're passing off inferior wood as good quality and deliberately using low-quality wood to fool us, don't blame me for turning my back on you!"

"Third, after all the timber is delivered to the academy, we will conduct strict inspection and acceptance. If we find any that does not meet the standards, you will be responsible for returning all of them and bear all transportation costs. At the same time, you must compensate our construction team for the delayed construction time!" Yu Lan stated her conditions in one breath, with a firm tone, leaving no room for negotiation.

Boss Liu was completely dumbfounded. He never dreamed that this seemingly weak girl was so shrewd and calculated everything so carefully that he couldn't get any advantage at all!

He opened his mouth and wanted to refute, but looking at Yu Lan's oppressive eyes, he couldn't say a word.

"What? Boss Liu is unwilling to agree?" Yu Lan raised her eyebrows and looked at him with a smile.

"No, no, no, I agree, I agree!" Boss Liu nodded and agreed quickly, as if he was afraid that Yu Lan would go back on her word.

"In that case, let's sign the contract!" Yu Lan took out a contract that had been prepared long ago from her sleeve. It clearly stated the rights and obligations of both parties, and every clause was extremely unfavorable to Boss Liu.

Boss Liu looked at the contract Yu Lan handed over. His fat hands trembled, and he could hardly hold the wolf-hair brush used for signing. His small eyes rolled around, trying to find a trace of room for bargaining from Yu Lan's calm face.

"What? Boss Liu, are you regretting this?" Yu Lan's lips curled up in a playful arc, with a hint of sarcasm in her tone, "This is the condition you agreed to. Isn't it a bit too late to regret it now?"

"No, no, no, you're joking, young lady. How could I go back on my word?" Boss Liu's face was filled with a flattering smile, as if the hesitation and struggle just now were just an illusion. "Since young lady is so straightforward, I naturally can't fall behind. This contract, I sign!"

After saying that, Boss Liu gritted his teeth and signed his name on the contract that was like a contract of sale to him. Looking at the bright red fingerprints, Boss Liu's heart was bleeding. This was his life savings!

However, when he saw Yu Lan's clear and bright eyes, and the group of aggressive academy students behind her, he knew that if he did not sign the contract today, whether he could survive in Linkang Prefecture would be another matter.

After signing the contract, Yu Lan took Liu Xiaoke and the others out of the lumber shop. As they watched them leave, the smile on Boss Liu's face gradually disappeared, replaced by a sinister and vicious look.

"Hmph, little girl, you're too young to fight with me!" Boss Liu cursed in a low voice.

The next day, truckloads of lumber arrived at Zhaoyin Academy. Looking at the piles of lumber, Boss Liu felt a surge of pride, as if he could already see piles of silver flying toward him.

"Ms. Yu Lan, the timber has been delivered. Look..." Boss Liu rubbed his hands and said to Yu Lan with a smile on his face.

"Thank you for your hard work, Boss Liu." Yu Lan smiled slightly, then turned to Liu Xiaoke behind her and said, "Xiao Ke, go check the goods."

"Yes, Sister Yulan." Liu Xiaoke responded and started to inspect the wood with several students from the craftsman department.

Boss Liu looked at the busy crowd and sneered inwardly, "A bunch of immature kids, you dare to come and inspect my goods? You really don't know what you are capable of!"

However, Boss Liu's pride did not last long, and soon his face turned ugly. He saw that when Liu Xiaoke was inspecting the wood, he actually took out a small hammer, gently tapped each piece of wood, and sniffed it from time to time.

"What is this kid doing?" Boss Liu suddenly felt an ominous premonition.

Sure enough, not long after, Liu Xiaoke pointed at one of the pieces of wood and said to Yu Lan, "Sister Yu Lan, come and see, there's something wrong with this piece of wood!"

Yu Lan walked forward and observed it carefully, then her face darkened and she asked, "Xiao Ke, are you sure?"

"I'm sure!" Liu Xiaoke nodded and said firmly, "Although this piece of wood looks intact on the surface, when I hit it with a hammer, it made a muffled sound and had a faint musty smell. This means that the wood has begun to rot inside!"

"What?!" Boss Liu's face suddenly changed when he heard this. He rushed forward, grabbed Liu Xiaoke by the collar, and roared, "Boy, what nonsense are you talking about? My wood is all top-quality, century-old pine. How could it possibly rot?"