Chapter 256-261, Xiaoqing wants to join the gang, White Snake is suspicious
Seeing that Ouyang Feng just stamped his foot and the pleasure boat started moving on its own, Xiaoqing couldn't help but wonder:
"You don't have a boatman on this boat? Is it powered by magic?"
Ouyang Feng said: "It can be considered as a spell drive."
In fact, the people rowing in the bottom cabin are the golden-armored warriors created by the "throwing beans to create soldiers" technique. Of course, it is also okay to say that they are driven by magic.
Xiaoqing did not ask any more questions, but walked into the cabin with a familiar manner. Seeing that there was no one in the cabin, only a table of delicious food, she asked him again:
"Are you the only one on the boat?"
"It's just me for now."
"Then why did you buy such a big pleasure boat?"
Xiaoqing sat down on the chair, picked up the chopsticks unceremoniously, and tasted the dishes. "It's too shabby to not even have a maid."
"It's more comfortable to be alone. Besides, if you want a maid, you can always get one."
Ouyang Feng sat down opposite her, took out a pot of wine and handed it to her.
Xiaoqing took the wine pot, poured herself a cup, drank it happily, and started eating the food with a smile on her face.
"Miss Xiaoqing's family doesn't seem to be wealthy?"
"Hey, you are always exposing other people's shortcomings, right?"
"It can also be understood as speaking one's mind directly and openly."
"But sometimes speaking too directly can be unpopular."
“I don’t need to use words to please people, but many people still like me.”
"You are too proud."
"It's okay. Compared to a friend of mine, I am quite modest. Speaking of which, Miss Xiaoqing is a powerful demon, so why is she still troubled by money?"
Speaking of this, Xiaoqing felt a little depressed:
"Isn't it because of my sister and brother-in-law? My sister doesn't allow me to use magic to make money, and my brother-in-law is a good man. He opened a medicine shop just to help the poor, and often provided free medical treatment and medicine to poor people... The medicine shop seems to be doing a booming business, and its reputation is extremely good, but it can only barely make ends meet."
Ouyang Feng nodded and said:
"Then your brother-in-law is a really good man."
"What's so good about being a good person?"
Xiaoqing curled her lips and said disdainfully:
"In this world, good people don't get rewarded, and only evil people can live freely! By the way, how did you get such a fortune that can rival a country? Tell me a way to make money!"
Ouyang Feng smiled:
"It's mostly through treasure hunting and looting."
Treasure hunting refers to Ouyang Ting's treasure and Yang Gong's treasure house, but there are many more plunders. He robbed Gaochang Kingdom, the royal family of Western Xia and the Dangxiang nobles, and also robbed the Valyrians of Dragon Island. He repatriated all the Valyrians on Dragon Island, but left behind their castles and wealth. The gold and silver accumulated in the huge Dragon Castle were not inferior to Yang Gong's treasure house.
Therefore, even if he put all the proceeds from Ouyang Ting's treasure and Yang Gong's treasure into the treasury of Dayong to support Dayong's development and conquests, his wealth in Longdao Castle alone was enough to rival that of a country.
"Treasure hunting and... looting?"
Xiaoqing exclaimed:
"Treasure hunting is fine, but robbing... is it really appropriate to say such a thing so openly?"
Ouyang Feng said calmly:
"What's inappropriate? In this world, which wealthy family didn't make their fortune by robbing? It's just that some people rob and take advantage of others, while others are more covert and clever. Didn't the throne of the Zhao Song Dynasty also come from an orphan and a widow? The Song Dynasty robbed the Chai family, and the Jin Kingdom in the north robbed the Song Dynasty... The rich robbed the poor, the strong robbed the weak, and the emperor teamed up with the literati to plunder the world. Since ancient times, hasn't the way of man always been to take from the poor to serve the rich?"
Xiao Qing stared at Ouyang Feng for a long time before she laughed:
"You really have a bad temper with me. Come on, let's clink glasses!"
Ouyang Feng raised his teacup and clinked it with hers.
Xiaoqing drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, and asked with a smile:
"Where are you going to make a fortune next time? Take me with you!"
Ouyang Feng shook his head:
"My way of getting rich is not suitable for you."
Xiao Qing wondered:
"Why? If you want to find treasure, I can help you explore the way. If you want to rob, I can help you keep watch. Why is it not suitable for me?"
"There is no suitable treasure for treasure hunting at the moment. As for robbing...if I want to rob, I will rob an entire country."
"Rob... a country?"
Xiaoqing was a little dazed:
"Which country?"
"The Kingdom of Jin and the Kingdom of Song. The royal families, nobles, high-ranking officials, and gentry of these two countries are all excellent targets. If you can get one, not only will your descendants not have to worry about money, but you will also have no problem helping the people of the world."
Xiaoqing laughed at him:
"You are boasting too much! You robbed a country... Do you really think there are no cultivators in Jin and Song? How can those who practice cultivation allow you to do whatever you want?"
Ouyang Feng smiled, and did not explain that he was not robbing in this world, but just said:
"Miss Xiaoqing, if you want to get rich, you can help me do something. I will pay you well. Even if I can't let you eat at Lin'an No. 1 Restaurant every day, at least you can eat at an ordinary restaurant every few days."
Xiaoqing raised her eyebrows and asked:
"What do you want me to do for you?"
"I have a group of exotic snakes, and their gallbladders have the effect of strengthening the body, increasing qi and blood, and improving cultivation. I want to use them to make medicine. But those exotic snakes reproduce too slowly and do not grow very fast, so I cannot use them freely. I think Miss Xiaoqing, since she is a snake demon, should understand snakes better than me, and maybe she can help me solve the problem of the reproduction and growth of those exotic snakes, so that I can use them freely."
"Hey, you said you used snakes to make medicine in front of the snake demon... you think I'm easy to bully, right?"
"They are not the same species. As far as I know, it is common for snakes to eat each other. For example, the king snake likes to eat snakes."
Xiao Qing hummed twice and glanced at Ouyang Feng:
"But I'm not a king cobra. I'm very friendly to my own kind, unlike you humans who will kill each other to no end..."
"Miss Xiaoqing, if you help me raise snakes, I will pay you five strings of cash a month. How about that? As far as I know, the highest monthly salary for the Song Dynasty's imperial guards is only about one string of cash..."
"Come on! Do you want to take advantage of me because I don't know my business? The monthly salary of the Song Dynasty's imperial army is indeed not high, but in addition to copper coins, there are also one or two stone of monthly rations, and clothes every season. This is far more than one string of silver! Besides, who do you think I am? You think you can buy my conscience with just five strings of silver? You underestimate me..."
"Whether it's the monthly salary or the monthly rations for the imperial guards, have they ever been paid out? There are deductions every month. So, I'll give you ten strings of cash a month."
"Oh, you're acting like I've never seen money before..."
"Twenty strings of cash."
"My conscience is priceless."
"That's it."
"Hey, why don't you continue to raise the price? How can you give up halfway so easily?"
Ouyang Feng shook his head and sighed:
"Miss Xiaoqing's conscience is priceless. Even if I am as rich as a country, I am afraid I cannot buy a priceless conscience... Well, to prevent you from saying that I gave up halfway, I will make one last bid. Thirty strings of cash a month, no more."
Xiaoqing slammed the table heavily:
"A word is settled!"
She didn't want to help the evil, but there was no way, Ouyang Feng gave her too much.
Thirty strings of cash a month! This was several times more than the middle and high income earners in the Imperial Guards. My sister and brother-in-law worked from morning till night every day. After deducting daily expenses, they rarely had a string of cash left at the end of the month. They couldn't save up to twenty strings of cash in a year. Now she could get thirty strings of cash a month.
A good meal for the whole family at Fenglelou, the best restaurant in Lin'an Prefecture, would cost about five strings of cash. With this thirty strings of cash, even if the whole family were to go to Fenglelou for a feast every ten days, there would still be fifteen strings of cash left. Where else could one find such a good deal?
Most importantly, the employer is Ouyang Feng.
This point is crucial, otherwise even if you offer her thirty strings of cash a month, you won’t be able to buy off her conscience!
“When will I start work?”
"anytime."
"Then tomorrow. I have to run errands for my brother-in-law today, and after that I have to go back and inform my sister and brother-in-law. I will come to see you tomorrow. Also, you have to pay for my lunch when I work, and I want to go home at night. If you want me to work overnight, you have to pay more!"
"no problem."
After the terms were agreed upon, Xiaoqing quickly cleared most of the delicious food on the table and finished the pot of wine. When she saw the pleasure boat was about to dock, she stood up and said:
"I'm going to deliver the medicine. See you at the same place tomorrow."
Ouyang Feng nodded with a smile:
"Same place."
……
After delivering the medicine, Xiaoqing returned to Baoan Hall on Hefang Street, greeted her brother-in-law Xu Xian who was treating a patient, went to the inner hall, found her sister who was preparing the medicine, and said with great joy:
"Sister, our family doesn't have to worry about money anymore!"
White Snake was slightly startled and whispered:
"Why? Did you steal silver again?"
"Of course not." Xiao Qing smiled proudly, "I found a proper job this time, and the monthly salary is this amount!"
She held up three fingers.
"Three strings of cash?" White Snake heaved a sigh of relief and nodded, "Very good."
"Ha, you underestimated me, didn't you? It's thirty kan!"
"Thirty strings of cash?" White Snake frowned, her eyes showing a look of vigilance: "Which decent employer would offer thirty strings of cash a month? Xiaoqing, you must have been scammed, right?"
Xiaoqing smiled and said:
"He's not a liar, he's a wealthy man with real money. He just arrived in Lin'an yesterday and bought such a big pleasure boat today... Anyway, Xiaobai, don't worry, he looks quite decent and is definitely not a liar."
"Looks pretty good?"
White Snake became even more suspicious:
"Xiaoqing, you have always been very picky. In your eyes, all men are ugly and inferior. It's rare to hear good words from you... Did you run into a bad guy who uses his looks and sweet talk to lure women to brothels or other places?"
"Xiaobai, do you think I don't have eyes?"
Xiaoqing sat down on the chair carelessly, with her long legs slouched over the armrests. She swung her calves while picking up a handful of melon seeds and cracking them:
"That guy is definitely not a liar. He is a man with magical powers. Although he looks like an ordinary person on the surface, he can tell at a glance that I am a snake demon..."
"What?" White Snake was startled and asked nervously, "Your identity was discovered by that person?"
"Oh, Xiaobai, don't worry. That guy is not a Taoist priest who catches monsters. He doesn't care about the little money he makes from catching monsters. He is a big thief."
"Big thief?"
"Well, anyway, anyway, he's just a rich kid with too much money to spend..."
"Even if he has too much money to spend, it is impossible for him to ask for a monthly salary of thirty strings of cash for no reason. Moreover, he is a man with magical powers..."
"That's because the job he asked me to do is a little special. If he hadn't met me, he probably wouldn't have been able to find the right talent."
"Xiaoqing, you have always been idle. Apart from training and fighting, you have no other talents. What talents can you have that would attract others? Could it be that they saw your skills and hired you as a thug?"
"Hey, Xiaobai, you underestimated me again, didn't you? The old saying is true, there are many good horses, but few good horse trainers. Only Ouyang Feng could discover my talent."
"Ouyang Feng?"
"It was the rich young man who hired me. Anyway, he had a keen eye for talent and saw my ability. He visited me three times and offered me a high salary. I saw that he was so sincere, so I reluctantly agreed."
"Three visits to the thatched cottage... Is this phrase used incorrectly?"
"Don't worry about it, it means the same thing anyway."
"What on earth did he ask you to do?"
"He asked me to help him raise snakes."
"..."
"Xiaobai, don't look at me like that. The snakes he raises are definitely not the same species as ours. After all, you and I are both unique spirit snakes of different species. How can we easily meet our own kind?"
"I still think this is unreliable... A monk who can see through your identity at a glance offers you such a high monthly salary for raising snakes for no reason. This is too..."
"Maybe he's attracted by my beauty?" Xiao Qing held her cheeks with both hands, looking narcissistic: "You want to get close to me in this way?"
If this is the case, shouldn't you be more vigilant?
Why did you agree to be hired by the other party and keep speaking well of him?
White Snake complained in her heart and glanced at Xiaoqing's expression. Suddenly, she noticed something strange in her look.
As a seasoned lover and experienced person, Bai Niangzi saw at a glance what Xiaoqing's current look meant. Her heart skipped a beat and she said tentatively:
"By the way, Xiaoqing, your brother-in-law's brother-in-law, Captain Li, said that you are old enough and it is time for you to get married. He is planning to hold a blind date for you and find some young talents from Lin'an Prefecture to be with you..."
"No, no, no! Don't!"
Xiao Qing refused repeatedly and rolled her eyes in annoyance, "How can Lao Li interfere in my marriage? Tell him to stop meddling. I have my own ideas."
"You have your own opinion?"
White Snake frowned slightly, but couldn't say it directly - humans have a deep prejudice against monsters, and human cultivators with magical powers generally discriminate against monster cultivators. She really suspected that the human cultivator named Ouyang Feng had bad intentions towards Xiaoqing.
But looking at Xiaoqing like this, I'm afraid she is already deeply involved. With Xiaoqing's stubborn and extreme personality, if she speaks directly, it will probably only make Xiaoqing unhappy and make her more stubborn.
After thinking for a while, White Snake said:
"When do you plan to go to work?"
"I will go to work early tomorrow morning."
"I'll go with you to meet your boss."
"Why? Are you still worried about him?"
"My younger sister is going out to work, and as her elder sister, it's not right for her to just ignore her, right? At least you should go meet the employer and ask for his help, right?"
"Oh, it's up to you. But if you go with me, don't ask any questions or scare me."
"How dare I scare someone who has magical powers?"
"Okay, you can go with me."
[Please give me a monthly ticket! 】
(End of this chapter)
