64 Madam Lus Shady Deals (2/2)

”The boss is in the lounge.” The young man said. It seemed that he did not plan on escorting her the entire was, as though his only job was to keep watch on there old wooden panels.

Madam Lu soundlessly made her way into the small shop. That had a bright and clean facade. The candles burning gave off a thick smog, making it seem as though one was walking through a nightmarish dream with heavy fog and the dim light of candles that made it through.

”To what do I owe the pleasure of having madam Lu grace me with her presence?” the man who was laying on the lounge asked. His eyes were closed, yet there was still a part of the scarf that covered his cheek, making it seem as though one can look for a while and never be able to see the whole portrait of him.

”This should satisfy you.” Madam Lu said as she threw a banknote on his face.

The man nonchalantly picked up the banknote and lazily opened his eyes, to his surprise, he saw that it was a banknote was for a thousand taels.

He hurriedly sat up and stared at madam Lu with caution. This was way too much money, and a person as stingy as her would not give another this much unless she was to have them do something in return, perhaps something that was too much for him to handle.

”What do you want?” He growled.

Madam Lu gave him an innocent look, as she pulled out another banknote as if to entice him. Then she pulled a bamboo tube from her sleeve and threw it to him.

”Do these things for me, and these banknotes are yours.” Madam Lu said with a smile.

The man slid the slip out of the bamboo tube and unfolded the paper, his eyes twisted into a grin. If one could see the unobscured part of his face, one would see an ugly smile upon it.

”Fair enough.” He agreed to do it. As he placed the paper back into the tube and handed it back to madam Lu. He looked at the banknotes she was holding in her hand as if signaling her to hand it to him.

Madam Lu smiled, slyly putting the other banknote back into her sleeve and said: ”Consider this the other half of the payment once you complete your task.”

[Fine! Sure enough, that narrow minded woman has not changed at all.] he rolled his eyes at her.

”Do you want to see the girls?” The boss asked. It seemed that he would compromise and go against his business motto, just because she gave him something sweet for him to latch his teeth onto.

”Now you're talking, lead the way.” Madam Lu said. She had not thought that he would be willing to let her take a look, and this was not part of her plan, yet now that it had been offered on a silver platter to her, how could she refused.

[Sure enough, she is as greedy as always.] The boss thought to himself.

Yet still, he led the way to his underground chambers, and madam Lu followed strictly behind.

The air had a musty smell to it, making the lungs feel discomfort as one took in a full breath of stringent air. The dirt ground had softened up due to the water piling up from rainfall and melting snow, now becoming somewhat muddy, with a few puddles of sludge here and there.

”This is where you keep them?” Madam Lu asked with a face of disapproval.

The boss shrugged as he led her to a hallway that was paved by a path of dimly lit torches giving off a thick pungent smell of smoke. The whole scene was no different from a dungeon, the only problem being the prisoners that were locked up behind these thick metal cages had not committed a single crime.

Madam Lu took a torch from the holder it had been sitting in and brought them closer to the metal cell, where there were at least five girls locked inside each. The space was small and it was crowded inside, with each person not having much room to themselves, their faces pale as paper from not having seen the sunlight in a while, and their bodies clothed in worn and faded clothing.

Though they were trapped in a small area with barely enough room to maneuver around, their faces were clean from dirt, and their hair was arranged neatly. Perhaps this was so their delicate faces could be seen by a potential buyer.

Madam Lu nodded in satisfaction as she saw that the girls did not move a muscle and were still sitting there lifelessly even after seeing her, it seemed that they had been groomed well.