In the blink of an eye, it was mid-October, and the autumn air was crisp … Yu Shu and her group had been in Anling City for a month.
Yu Shu was making a living by setting up a fortune-telling stall in Autumn Osmanthus Lane. Due to various reasons, business was poor. Sometimes, she didn't even have a customer in a day. On the other hand, the other traders on the street would earn one or two taels of silver a day.
Yu Shu was persistent. Every customer that came would be a customer. She would earnestly calculate their money. Unfortunately, most of the questions were trivial and didn't show her ability. In this way, the gimmick of not collecting money became the reason why the customers didn't return. In the past seven to eight days, there wasn't a single customer who came back to say that she was right and gave them a red packet.
Gradually, Yu Shu couldn't sit still anymore. It wasn't because she ran out of patience, but because she didn't have much money on hand. Buying a house and furniture cost about a hundred taels of silver. She also paid for Jing Chen's medicine, which cost about forty to fifty taels of silver. She only had about twenty to thirty taels of silver left to feed four people. Everything in the capital was expensive. A day's food cost one to two hundred copper coins, and that was cooking at home instead of eating outside.
Since she didn't have enough money, she had to think of ways to earn it. Otherwise, she would be starving after a month. There were places to gamble in Autumn Osmanthus Lane. It was easy to earn money, but Yu Shu didn't dare to try it. She was afraid that she would get used to it. It was better for her to make a proper living.
Xia Mingming didn't go to Autumn Osmanthus Lane with Yu Shu after that day. Seeing that Yu Shu couldn't earn much money, he tried to persuade her, "You can't do it. You should prepare for the Great Yan Examination with me. As long as you can earn a hundred taels of silver and get the Celestial Commissioner's invitation card, you can find any trading house and everyone will be polite to you. You don't have to suffer on the streets." Yu Shu was not moved at all. "It's only September. How can we wait until then? If I don't go and make money, you'll all be starving."
The next day, she woke up early as usual and went out to set up her stall. Yu Xiaoxiu wanted to follow her, but Yu Shu ordered him to read at home. The night before, she gave him math problems to solve. Another reason was that she wanted him to stay at home to cook for Jing Chen. For this reason, she even taught him how to cook noodles. Sometimes, she would cook two dishes first and let them heat them up for lunch.
Xia Mingming was a freeloader who didn't have the slightest sense of shame and would occasionally cause trouble for Yu Shu. But Jing Chen was too self-aware. Although he couldn't be too tired, he would never bother Yu Shu and Yu Xiaoxiu if he could do it himself. After dinner, he would even help to clean up the dishes.
Some time ago, Yu Shu praised his paintings, so she asked him to paste them in the room. He would draw one for her every day, either a naughty Kim Bao, a studying Yu Xiaoxiu, or a bird perched on the eaves. Every day was different, so that Yu Shu, who had been tired all day, could come home and smile happily.
Yu Shu was used to predicting one or two hexagrams for herself before going to bed every night to prevent "trouble". Last night, there was a sign that she had lost money. The next morning, she only took the money for the meal when she went out. She didn't take her purse with her. In the morning, when a few ruffians came to the front of the fortune-telling stall, she realized that losing money was not referring to losing money or being stolen.
"Boy, who told you to set up a stall here to tell fortunes? Do you know where this place is? This is Autumn Osmanthus Lane. The road on the street has to be rented. The Evergreen Gang in the south of the city is in charge of this place. We didn't pay attention to it before and let you occupy this place for a few days. Tell me, what should we do? " These ruffians were very rude. The leader was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. He had thick arms and a collar that reached his chest, revealing a few tufts of chest hair. He spoke with a slight smell of alcohol.
Yu Shu knew that they were here to collect protection fees. She was alone, so she wasn't stupid enough to go against the ruffians. She stood up and politely said, "I'm new here, so I don't know the rules of the street. Please forgive me. May I know how much the rent is here? I'll pay it now."
Seeing that she was tactful, the ruffian leader's attitude became slightly better and he introduced his business, "We collect rent on the second day of every month. Depending on the location, the rent is also different. This place is in the middle of the street and there are many people coming and going. It's ten taels of silver a month. Today is the fifteenth day, so you should pay five taels of silver." Yu Shu inwardly frowned. This group of people really dared to ask for ten taels of silver a month. In a year, it would be more than a hundred taels of silver. It was enough to buy a house. She turned her gaze and looked at the two sides of the street. Seeing that no one was surprised by her actions, everyone seemed to be used to it. It seemed that the local tyrant of Autumn Osmanthus Lane was the Evergreen Gang.
Yu Shu reached for her purse and touched nothing. Only then did she remember that in order to avoid trouble in the morning, she only brought food money with her. She cupped her hands and said, "I'm really sorry. I woke up late this morning and forgot to bring money. How about I pay you tomorrow?" Who would have thought that the ruffian leader's expression would immediately change, "Wait until tomorrow? If you don't come tomorrow, then wouldn't you have occupied this place for a few days for nothing? " … … …
His worries weren't without reason. Autumn Osmanthus Lane wasn't the only place in the south of the city where people moved. There were at least a dozen other places. Outside of Autumn Osmanthus Lane, they weren't under their control. Often, there would be people who didn't want to pay the protection fee and would move to another place every few days.
However, Yu Shu didn't know about this. She smiled and said, "How could that be? I'm not here to cheat people, so where can I go? You can rest assured." Five taels of silver, right? I'll bring the money tomorrow morning. …
After hearing her promise, the ruffian leader sneered. He didn't say a word and raised his leg to kick her little divination stall. The entire cart fell over with a bang. Yu Shu hurriedly took two steps back and tripped over the folding stool. She fell to the side of the road on her butt. The ink on the stall spilled out and splattered all over her head and chest. Paper was scattered all around her, making her look like a mess.
"Ouch!" Yu Shu pressed on her thigh and groaned in pain. She was furious. She propped herself up with one hand and used her sleeve to wipe the ink off her forehead. She secretly clenched her fists and raised her head to look at the ruffian leader. She held back her temper and didn't smash the folding stool on his face.
"Brat, at this time tomorrow, send the money to Mingyuan Gambling House. If you dare to run away, you can try. Even if you hide in the northern part of the city, we'll still be able to find you. Pfft!" The head Chinese ruffian spat a mouthful of thick yellow phlegm onto Yu Shu's shoes.
Yu Shu wasn't a person who could stand being bullied. She was so angry that her teeth were chattering. However, for the sake of making a living, she lowered her head and swallowed her anger. After the three ruffians left, she silently got up from the ground, bent over to pick up the stall, and limped around to pick up the broken pieces that had fallen everywhere.
There were many onlookers on the street, but none of them came forward to help.
After picking up the broken pieces, a tortoise shell was still missing. She couldn't just throw away the two taels of silver that she bought for nothing. Yu Shu squatted on the side of the street and looked at the feet of the passersby. After a while, she finally saw the tortoise shell in the middle of the road. Someone was stepping over it, and it was almost crushed.
She hurriedly bent over and walked forward. Before she reached the tortoise shell, she saw a figure bending down between the legs of the passersby and picking up the tortoise shell.
She hurriedly reached out and squeezed forward, "Sorry, that's me …"
Her words were stuck in her throat. There were passersby passing by. She looked up at the face in front of her and was dumbfounded. She never thought that she would really meet him in such a big city like Anling City, and under such circumstances.
"Is this yours?" Xue Rui handed over the tortoise shell that he had just picked up and looked at the person in front of him. However, the boy's face was covered in black, so he couldn't see his face clearly. He just walked over from the street, so he didn't see the ruffians just now.
Yu Shu saw that his expression was unfamiliar, as if he didn't recognize her. She was stunned for a moment, then recovered and hurriedly took the turtle shell. She coughed and lowered her voice, trying to sound out her thanks. She didn't know if she wanted to see if he didn't recognize her or if she didn't want him to recognize her.
"There's no need for that." Xue Rui glanced at her again, and then he walked past her and entered the tavern behind her.
Yu Shu stood in the same spot for a while. She raised her hand to touch the dried ink on her face. Realization dawned on her. When she turned around, she couldn't see the figure of that person. She lowered her head and bitterly smiled. She couldn't describe the feeling in her heart.
It wasn't the first time that they didn't know each other.
She went to put the things she picked up back into the closet and didn't stay on the street. She pushed the cart and left the street with a heavy heart.
In the bar, Xue Rui sat on the first floor. When he turned his head, he could see the street outside through the window. He held a cup of wine, not drinking a single drop. Only when Yu Shu was out of sight did he retract his gaze and ask Manager Sun who was doing the accounts behind the counter: "What happened at the entrance just now?"
Manager Sun stopped what he was doing and looked out the window. Shaking his head, he said: "Wasn't it because the Evergreen Gang was collecting the rent? That little brother probably didn't have any spare money and was taught a lesson. It can be said that he was unlucky. There were many Sons of Heaven here but he didn't earn many red packets.
Xue Rui asked again: "Does Manager know him?"
"En, that little brother's character isn't bad. The day before he came, he specifically told me that he wanted to take the Dayan Exam but didn't have enough money to spend so he came out. I saw that he had some ability and might be able to win a hundred yuan in the future. Normally, I would take care of him. But from the looks of it, he won't be coming tomorrow."
Xue Rui's eyes flickered. Raising his hand, he drank a cup of wine. After putting down the silver, he stood up and left.
On the way, Yu Shu found a river and washed her face. She tied up her hair and sat alone for a while, waiting for her mood to calm down before returning home.
With the sun shining brightly in the morning, Yu Xiaoxiu suggested carrying a blanket out to dry. Jing Chen helped to tie the rope under the wall.
The door was not closed and Yu Shu pushed it open. Yu Xiaoxiu and Jing Chen heard the door open and turned their heads to see that it was her. Yu Xiaoxiu asked curiously: "Why are you back so early?"
"Business isn't good." Yu Shu nonchalantly placed the wheelbarrow that was missing a wheel against the wall. Rubbing her neck, she entered the house.
Jing Chen looked at her frail back. For some reason, he could sense that she was in a bad mood. Without thinking, he put down the rope in his hand and followed her.
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