Chapter 1393: 1392 low-key shop owner
It wasn’t long before Tan Rou’s bo meal was served. Since it was past the usual dining hour and there weren’t many customers in the shop, the server came over to chat with Tan Rou.
The server knew how to make conversation and, in addition to the bo meal Tan Rou had ordered, he also brought her a small platter of appetizers.
“Which country are you from, ma’am?” the server asked, sitting down at the table next to Tan Rou with a friendly smile.
Tan Rou replied, “I’m from Country C, here to work.”
The server nodded and said, “Oh, you’re from Country C. I have a friend who’s also from there. He es to visit Country J every autumn.”
After some casual conversation, Tan Rou steered the topic towards what she wanted to ask. “I’m looking to buy some fresh flowers but I don’t know which shop has good ones. Could you remend one?”
The server enthusiastically responded, “There’s only one flower shop on this street. If you want to buy flowers, you should go there.”
Tan Rou knew which shop he was talking about but her goal wasn’t really to buy flowers; she was trying to gather information about the flower shop owner. So she said, “Is there only one flower shop? Wouldn’t the flowers be of poor quality? Everyone says that petition breeds better products. If there’s only one shop here, might their flowers not be fresh?”
“That won’t be a problem,” the server explained. “Actually, there were several flower shops on this street before, but ever since Kas opened his flower shop here, other shops were embarrassed to stick around. Kas’s flowers are both beautiful and fresh, and the prices are very reasonable too. Everyone likes to buy from him. As time went by, the other flower shop owners left.”
Tan Rou still appeared puzzled. “If there’s only one flower shop, would the flowers be expensive? I have just started working here and don’t have much money. I can’t afford very expensive flowers.”
The server glanced at the meal Tan Rou had ordered. She noticed his gaze and said, “The money for food is separate; wherever I go I have to eat the best food.”
The server immediately nodded and said, “Right, right, you’re right. When it es to food, you must eat the best.”
Then he continued the conversation about Kas. “You don’t need to worry about the price of the flowers because Kas has never raised his prices. Whatever the initial price was, it is still the same now.”
Tan Rou almost understood what kind of person Kas was. She smiled and said, “If the owner is so good, then surely many people e from other places to buy his flowers, right?”
“No no no,” the server said. “Only people from nearby buy his flowers, and he only sells to locals. If someone from elsewhere es to buy flowers, he won’t sell to them.”
“Why is that?” Tan Rou asked.
The server explained, “Kas is a very low-key person. He says he isn’t selling flowers to make money, but rather to have something to do. If he had too many customers, he wouldn’t be able to handle it. He also doesn’t allow new customers to be brought in. Otherwise, he gets angry.”
Tan Rou could almost guess Kas’s thinking. He wanted to be closer to the palace but was worried about being discovered by the King, so he opened a flower shop as a cover. And the fewer people knew about his shop, the safer he was.
“So how can I go buy flowers?” Tan Rou looked troubled. “I really need to buy some bouquets.”
The server wasn’t just a chatterbox but also someone who liked to help. He said, “What kind of flowers do you need? I’ll go buy them for you.”
Tan Rou couldn’t possibly let him go buy the flowers because wanting to buy flowers was just a cover. What she really intended to do was to understand Kas’s character.
“I’ll go take a look myself,” Tan Rou said. “Because I’m a foreigner, he might sell the flowers to me when he sees my foreign face.”
The server didn’t insist further. He said, “If Kas doesn’t want to sell to you, just tell him I sent you to buy the flowers.”
Tan Rou smiled and nodded. “Thank you,” she said.
Before long, Tan Rou finished her meal. She said, “I’m going to buy flowers now. Hopefully, Mr. Kas won’t be too surprised when he sees me.”
The server found her words a bit odd, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.
“Well, I hope you enjoy your time in Country J!” he said.
Tan Rou waved her hand at him and then headed towards the flower shop across the road.
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