My Brother Bennett, with such a small commission, whether I get it or not, I just can't feel happy. Brian Grant said insincerely, "Brother Bennett, you have a point."

He then looked at William Harper in confusion, as if to ask, what he said makes sense, so why aren't you selling?

William Harper truly felt like crying but had no tears—such a pig-headed teammate! But he wasn't easy to deal with either, so he said to Charles Bennett, "Young Master Bennett, what you say is reasonable, but after all, we are entrusted by others. We still hope to wait and see if anyone else will offer a higher price."

"So that's how it is." Brian Grant nodded thoughtfully.

Charles Bennett had just been teasing Brian Grant for fun; he knew perfectly well that William Harper was the main negotiator. So he said, "Steward Harper, we're all old acquaintances here, so I'll be frank. If someone wanted to buy Chen Lou, they would have shown up long ago—why wait until today? I know our The Bennett Family has snatched quite a few deals from you recently, but as brokers, we must never act out of spite. Where there should be competition, let there be competition; where there should be cooperation, we must cooperate. Otherwise, we'll ruin the reputation of our trade, and I don't think our employers want to see us using their interests as weapons in our own rivalry."

What a skillful move! Brian Grant secretly praised him. In just a few simple words, he had included all four elements: threat, pressure, benefit, and temptation.

Especially that last point—it was very sensitive. As employers, all they care about is their own interests; they absolutely don't want to see brokers using their interests for their own purposes. Charles Bennett was actually putting pressure on The Harper Family: if you don't sell, you're settling a personal score under the guise of business.

But Charles Bennett didn't know that Helen Brooks had specifically requested not to sell to Jinyu Lou, so William Harper was fearless. Still, he wouldn't make this clear, since in business, the last thing you want is to close off all options. He replied, neither humble nor arrogant, "Our The Harper Family has been in this business for some time; we don't need Young Master Bennett to teach us how to do things, nor do we need Young Master Bennett to worry about us. I believe, with the strength of our The Harper Family, you are certainly not the only buyer."

Charles Bennett's expression changed, and he sneered, "If you come to us on your own initiative in the future, the price may not be the same."

Brian Grant nodded to himself. Don't worry, it definitely won't be this price. This price is only suitable for your level, not for mine.

William Harper laughed, "Young Master Bennett, are you threatening our The Harper Family?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."

Charles Bennett stood up and said, "In that case, I, Bennett, will take my leave."

At the start of negotiations, he had to maintain a strong stance, since he already had the advantage. Therefore, he needed to put enough pressure on the The Harper Family.

However, the The Harper Family had taken on this deal mainly to counter the recent suppression from the The Bennett Family. Sarah Harper's intention was simple: to use this transaction to make the competition between the The Harper Family and the The Bennett Family open and intense. After all, the The Harper Family had nowhere left to retreat.

After seeing Charles Bennett off, Brian Grant returned to his room, while William Harper went to report to Sarah Harper. "Everything went just as Miss predicted. That Charles Bennett was extremely arrogant and didn't take our The Harper Family seriously at all."

Upon hearing this, Sarah Harper's face remained expressionless. She suddenly asked, "What did Son-in-law say?"

William Harper was puzzled—why had Miss been so interested in Son-in-law lately? He replied, "If I hadn't been there, Son-in-law would probably have messed things up again."

"And what do you mean by that?" Sarah Harper asked.

William Harper immediately recounted Brian Grant's behavior just now to Sarah Harper. In fact, he hadn't wanted to say it, since it was really demoralizing.

Sarah Harper pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Have you noticed that Son-in-law seems a bit different lately?"

William Harper shook his head and said, "Why do you ask, Miss? Son-in-law is just the same as before." He added silently in his heart, as foolish as ever.

Sarah Harper nodded slightly, thinking to herself, it seems I was overthinking it. Then she said seriously, "Spread the word tomorrow that the property will be split up and sold."

……

The next day, the The Harper Family released the news that Chen Lou would be split up and sold. This news was like a huge stone thrown into the stagnant waters of Liangyuan, stirring everything up. The reason Chen Lou had lasted so long was largely due to its kitchen. Some foodies didn't care about fake wine—they just wanted to eat at Chen Lou. So anyone in the restaurant business wanted to get their hands on Chen Lou's kitchen. They just weren't interested in going to Liangyuan, since Jinyu Lou was there and there was no profit to be made.

The most excited of all was the owner of Zuixiao Lou, David Clark.

"Master, I've already gone to inquire, and the news is indeed true. The The Harper Family really intends to split up and sell Chen Lou."

The manager of Zuixiao Lou, Jack Mason, hurried to the backyard to report to David Clark.

Upon hearing this, David Clark was overjoyed and stood up. "Go contact the The Harper Family immediately."

Jack Mason asked, "Master, do you really want to buy Chen Lou's kitchen?"

"Of course! Who wouldn't want Chen Lou's kitchen? Besides, if George Reed gets it, it'll be even harder to shake his position in the restaurant world in the future." David Clark walked to the window and sighed, "Now, our Zuixiao Lou has reached its limit. If we can't get in touch with those high officials and nobles, it's almost impossible to go any further."

And it wasn't just Yunxiao Lou—almost every major restaurant in the capital sent people to the The Harper Family to inquire.