ATP Chapter 31

All the Protagonists I’ve Scummed Came To Me For Revenge Chapter 31: Abandoned Daughter of a Rich Family (2)

Before the girl could ask her for money, Xia Yu spoke first, saying, “But I don’t have any money on me right now.”

The girl knew, of course, that Xia Yu had no money on her. She had even looked for her yesterday, but apart from the clothes, she hadn’t seen anything else of value on Xia Yu.

“So how much money are you planning to give me?”

The girl looked at Xia Yu with shining eyes, her eyes almost turning into money. Xia Yu didn’t find it cliché; she was just a little beggar whose life depended on her every move, so it would be strange if she didn’t love money.

Xia Yu extended her right index finger, making a “one” gesture. The girl exclaimed in surprise, “One hundred taels!”

Her voice was filled with trepidation and shock. She had exaggerated the figure, after all, Xia Yu was clearly a wealthy person, and wealthy people wouldn’t be so stingy, right?

Xia Yu smiled and shook her head.

“Ten taels,” the girl asked tentatively again. Although she was somewhat disappointed, she was still very happy. Ten taels was not a small amount; it was enough for her to survive the winter.

Xia Yu shook her head again.

The girl lost her composure and said incredulously, “You’re not only planning to give me one tael of silver, are you? You don’t look like a pauper. Is your life only worth one tael of silver?!”

That’s going too far!

One tael of silver was certainly a lot for a beggar like her, but Xia Yu looked like a very wealthy person!

A set of clothes must cost tens or even hundreds of taels of silver, right? And they’re only offering me one tael as payment? This is infuriating!

Xia Yu said helplessly, “One thousand taels.”

The girl’s anger vanished instantly. She stared wide-eyed at Xia Yu, who had her mouth agape in disbelief. She had never heard of so much money in her life.

One thousand taels

How much is a thousand taels?

One tael of silver could allow her to live for a month, one hundred taels could buy the cheapest house, and she wouldn’t have to endure the freezing cold anymore. One thousand taels would be enough to make her a rich person!

You’ll never run out of money, will you?!

The girl’s eyes turned completely into the shape of gold ingots, but after the initial euphoria subsided, she felt something was amiss and said hesitantly, “That’s too much, one hundred taels is enough.”

“Not much,” Xia Yu said. “If it weren’t for your kindness in saving me, I probably wouldn’t be alive today.”

In the middle of nowhere, by the river, wild animals might come to drink, find her, and then feast on her.

Upon receiving confirmation, the girl couldn’t help but ask, “Really? You really want to give me a thousand taels?”

“I’m not lying, especially since you’re my savior,” Xia Yu said with a smile. “However, I don’t have any money on me right now, so I’ll have to wait a while before I can give it to you.”

“No problem, no problem!” As long as there is money, she can completely understand if it takes a while. After all, Xia Yu doesn’t have a single copper coin on her. If she were told to give it to her immediately, she wouldn’t believe it.

“By the way, miss, could you tell me your name?”

“Xin’er, my name is Xin’er.”

Xia Yu nodded and said, “Miss Xin’er, I would like to ask where this place is, and what year and month it is in China and Germany.”

Xin’er was blinded by the weight of a thousand taels of silver and didn’t think about why Xia Yu didn’t even know how many years it was. She directly answered, “This is Le’an County. This year is the tenth month of the thirteenth year of Zhongde.”

Thirteen years of Sino-German relations.

Xia Yu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself that at least it hadn’t been resurrected just moments after she left. The story ended in the sixth year of the Sino-German conflict, and now a full seven years had passed; her own affairs were probably long over.

She was just a remnant of the previous dynasty who didn’t cause any major trouble.

“Le’an County is really far away. My home is in Yangzhou.”

Yangzhou.

Yangzhou is a very prosperous place, and it’s said to have many wealthy people. This person in front of me must be a high-ranking official or nobleman from Yangzhou!

Xin’er’s eyes lit up as she imagined it.

“Gurgle—”

Xia Yu hadn’t eaten all day, and when her stomach growled, she blushed and felt embarrassed. But Xin’er, thinking that Xia Yu was a rich woman, gave her the leftover steamed buns she had hidden away.

Xin’er said shyly, “This is all I have. Please don’t mind it.”

“How could I possibly dislike you? I’m too grateful to Miss Xin’er.” The steamed bun was a bit bigger than modern steamed buns. Xia Yu split the steamed bun in half and handed one half to Xin’er: “Miss Xin’er, would you like some too? Half a bun is enough for me.”

Xin’er was prepared to go hungry in the morning, but she was stunned when she saw Xia Yu, who had an extraordinary background, hand her a steamed bun. She didn’t expect Xia Yu to share half with her.

“Thank you.” Xin’er took the half-steamed bun. Listening to Xia Yu’s caring words, her nose and eyes felt a little sore. She had never met anyone so kind to her since her grandfather passed away.

Yes, be good to her.

Xin’er thought that Xia Yu was being kind to her by sharing half a steamed bun with her, completely forgetting that the steamed bun was hers and that if anyone should share it, it should be her sharing half with Xia Yu.

“I’ve heard my grandfather say that Yunzhou and Yangzhou are very far apart.”

“Yes, so going back is a troublesome thing.” Xia Yu smiled, not mentioning how she got here. Xin’er didn’t ask either. She wasn’t stupid. Xia Yu’s unconsciousness by the river seemed to indicate some kind of conspiracy.

“This is my first time in Yunzhou, and I don’t know anyone here, so I might have to wait until I return to Yangzhou to give you the money.”

Xin’er asked, “How are you going to get to Yangzhou?”

“Let’s earn enough for the journey here first. I can’t possibly walk all the way to Yangzhou on foot; it’s not safe in this world.”

Xin’er nodded, deeply moved.

Xia Yu spoke very kindly, and even though she knew Xin’er was a beggar, she didn’t look down on her, always wearing a gentle smile. Xin’er’s goodwill and trust towards Xia Yu increased dramatically, and she firmly believed that Xia Yu would give her a thousand taels of silver as a reward.

After eating the only half-eaten steamed bun, Xin’er finally spoke up: “Shall we go to Le’an County now? Let me tell you, there’s Le’an Temple right next to Le’an County. Many high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants come here to worship Buddha. If we go begging now, we might get a lot of money if we’re lucky. If we meet a rich and charitable person, they might be able to raise enough money for your journey back to Yangzhou right away!”

Xia Yu looked at Xin’er with a smile.

Le’an County is famous because of the renowned Le’an Temple. There are many incense and candle vendors in the county. After entering Le’an County, Xia Yu also saw some people dressed as beggars begging.

Xin’er looked at the beggars with shifty eyes and pushed her, saying, “You should leave now, don’t stand with me.”

“Then I’ll go find out some information. We’ll meet here at noon.”

“OK!”

She had never heard of Le’an County, let alone been there. Since she died in Yunzhou, she knew she must still be in Yunzhou.

Xia Yu was penniless, but she asked Xin’er for ten coins. This was all the money Xin’er had saved from begging; one coin could buy a steamed bun, and three coins could buy a bowl of noodles here.

Ten coins were a huge sum for the little beggar. People are wicked, but Xin’er firmly believed that Xia Yu was a good person and would give her a thousand taels of silver. Therefore, she reluctantly gave all ten coins she had saved to Xia Yu, comforting herself that this was just an initial investment.

Of course, no one would stoop so low as to cheat a beggar out of his money, and Xia Yu certainly wouldn’t. She had her reasons for wanting the ten coins; she needed some initial capital to make money. Although ten coins was a small amount, she didn’t have a single coin to begin with.

She wasn’t from Yangzhou, and the story about getting a thousand taels of silver in Yangzhou was a lie. But she was confident she could earn a thousand taels, based on the preparations she had made for this world and the books she had read.

However, to do business, you need to have your own strength and connections. Otherwise, once your business grows big, someone might steal your profits, unless you only do small-scale business and don’t offer those high-profit items.

Weighing the ten coins in her hand, Xia Yu went to the East Market and began to investigate the market and prices. It took her more than an hour to figure it out. She wrote down everything and then went to the South Market, where she used the same method to inquire about the prices and information of many shops.

For ten coins, she bought a medicinal herb for ten coins at a herbal medicine shop in the South Market. Then she returned to the East Market and sold the same herb, worth ten coins, to a herbal medicine shop in the East Market that urgently needed the herb for thirteen coins. She then bought some other things at the herbal medicine shop in the East Market and returned to the South Market to continue selling.

Prices in the East Market and the South Market are not entirely the same between shops. In particular, some urgently needed items may have their prices temporarily raised, which can be profitable. You can buy low and sell high to make a fortune.

However, given her limited initial capital, she could only start with the cheapest options and gradually accumulate savings.

By noon, she had run back and forth more than ten times. If she weren’t in good health, she probably would be too tired to walk now.

Near the city gate, Xin’er was looking around, probably searching for Xia Yu. Xia Yu walked over with a smile on her lips.

“Sister Xia, over here.”

Xin’er’s eyes lit up when she saw her, but then she looked to the side. She wanted to grab Xia Yu, but seeing Xia Yu’s clean clothes and then looking at the dust that Xia Yu had deliberately made herself look miserable and disheveled, she gave up the idea.

But this did not dampen her enthusiasm. She excitedly led Xia Yu to a quiet house.

“I knew there would be so many people making pilgrimages in October. Whether they’re good people or not, they all come to worship. We should still do good deeds and show kindness.” Xin’er said proudly, showing off her spoils from the morning: “Look, I met a really rich man today. He gave me a piece of silver!”

Silver fragments are cut from silver ingots. Because silver ingots were too large to trade easily, this method of exchange arose among the common people. This piece of silver fragment doesn’t look very big, probably only about one tael, but one tael of silver is equivalent to a hundred copper coins.

The harvest she made in just one morning far exceeded what she had earned from running around until her legs were about to give out. Xia Yu sighed slightly and nodded, saying, “Money can be a powerful motivator. Did no one else see you?”

One or two coins is already quite a lot. Xin’er is still only a thirteen-year-old child. If a beggar were to covet the money in her hand and try to snatch it, she would be absolutely unable to stop him and would even get hurt.

“No, no, I’m being very careful!” Xin’er’s lips were always curved in a smile, she was especially happy, if she had a tail, it would definitely be wagging very hard right now.

“That’s good.”

Xia Yu took out the money she had earned from the price difference that morning. She started with ten coins, and now the coins in her hand had multiplied several times. The more money she had, the greater the profit she could make. It was a process.

“How much is this?” Xin’er stared in disbelief at the large wad of money in her hand, exclaiming in surprise, “Sister Xia, how did you get so much money?”

Begging?

Xin’er immediately dismissed the idea upon seeing Xia Yu, after all, Xia Yu didn’t look like the type to be a beggar.

“It’s forty-seven coins in total. After deducting the ten coins you gave me, I made a net profit of thirty-seven coins.”

“You made money!” Xin’er’s eyes widened. She hadn’t seen Xia Yu bring anything to sell. She said incredulously, “How could you have made money in just one morning!”