Chapter 89: Picking Up Money

Watching their departing figures, the shopkeeper sighed. “They left so soon. I expect business will return to its usual pace now.”

The waiter also lamented from the side, “Yeah. Ever since that incident at Yuelai Restaurant, so many people have been flocking to our inn to eat and stay just to see them. Now that they’re gone, I bet those people will be leaving in the next few days too.”

The shopkeeper smiled and shook his head, rapping the waiter on the head with his brush pen. “What are you still standing here for? Get back to work. We still have plenty of guests today.”

The two who had already left Hecheng had no idea that because of them, that inn had been packed for days, and the owner had made a fortune.

***

Linjiu City was exceptionally prosperous.

That Young Master Wang from before hadn’t been bragging; he truly had the capital to be arrogant.

Anyone who could establish a business in Linjiu City could be described as having immense wealth. A large part of why the Su Family’s foundation was so solid was that they held property in Linjiu City.

But even the Su Family’s wealth paled in comparison to the powers that had been rooted in Linjiu City for generations.

The moment he entered Linjiu City, Lian Li felt like a country bumpkin entering the capital. Even though he was originally from the twenty-first century, he couldn’t help but marvel at the city’s prosperity.

In other cities, perhaps only the main roads would be paved smooth with stone, while the side alleys were generally ignored. But Linjiu City was different; as long as it was a path, it had to be paved with stone, as if the planners had a severe case of OCD.

Lian Li and Yun Huizhou led their horses along the roads of Linjiu City. To be honest, Lian Li was actually a bit afraid that his horse might relieve itself on these stone slabs, leading to him being arrested for damaging public sanitation.

Seeing him staring intently at the horse’s rear, Yun Huizhou asked, “Why do you keep staring at the horse’s backside?”

Lian Li replied, “I’m afraid the horse will drop something on the ground and they’ll arrest us. Actually, being arrested is fine; I’m just afraid they’ll fine us. Looking at the wealthy atmosphere of this city, I’m really worried we didn’t bring enough money to pay the fines.”

“That won’t happen. If they arrested and fined people every time a horse relieved itself, Linjiu City wouldn’t be this prosperous; many people wouldn’t come here.” Yun Huizhou reached out to turn Lian Li’s face back, making him look at the road instead of the horse’s rear, before continuing, “Every road has people specifically assigned to clean it. Look over there.”

Lian Li looked in the direction he pointed and saw a swordsman leading a horse, and his horse happened to be relieving itself.

The swordsman acted as if he hadn’t seen a thing and continued walking.

Before he had even gone ten meters, a person wearing a grey short-coat emerged from a corner holding a broom and a dustpan, sweeping away the droppings left by the horse.

As soon as the sweeper left, another person in a grey short-coat immediately appeared carrying a mop, a bucket, and a rag. He first mopped the area and then knelt down to wipe it clean with the rag.

This entire operation left Lian Li dumbfounded. He marveled to Yun Huizhou, “They handle that so fast.”

“Of course,” Yun Huizhou said. “They earn three taels of silver a month. Three people rotate per day, each working for eight hours, with four days off a month—though they can only take those days off during the night shifts. With such a good job, if you aren’t diligent and get fired, there are plenty of people fighting to take your place.”

Lian Li rubbed his nose, thinking that if Yun Huizhou hadn’t been willing to take him back to Drunken Dream Island and no other sect would have accepted him, he probably would have crawled here to do this job if he’d known about these benefits.

Before he could finish marveling at the welfare and treatment, he heard a sudden commotion up ahead.

“What’s going on over there?” Lian Li craned his neck to look forward.

Yun Huizhou shook his head and reached out to grab a passerby who was running in that direction. “Brother, what’s happening over there? Why are so many people heading that way?”

The man he grabbed was in a hurry and tried to shake off Yun Huizhou’s hand, but found he couldn’t. He could only say urgently, “Young Master Jiang lost a bet to Young Master Ma, and now he’s scattering money from Hehui Tower! Let go of me quickly! If I get there late, I won’t be able to squeeze to the front and I won’t be able to pick up any money!”

Seeing that the man was truly anxious, Yun Huizhou quickly let him go. The man ran toward Hehui Tower without looking back.

Yun Huizhou turned around, intending to speak to Lian Li, only to find that Lian Li had already run quite a distance away.

“Lian Li?” Yun Huizhou called out in confusion.

Lian Li shouted back, “Haha! There really is such a thing as money falling from the sky! I’m going to pick some up! Only a bastard doesn’t take advantage of a freebie!”

Yun Huizhou, who had no intention of going to pick up money, began to question his life choices.

Was he that bad to Lian Li? Had he deprived Lian Li of food or clothes, or failed to give him money to spend? Why did this person get so excited the moment he heard about picking up money?

To prove he wasn’t the “bastard” Lian Li spoke of, Yun Huizhou could only lead the two horses and chase after him toward Hehui Tower.

By the time Lian Li reached the front of Hehui Tower, he found the area completely packed.

Leading two horses, Yun Huizhou was naturally not as nimble as Lian Li. He could only watch as Lian Li slipped into the crowd with a few quick movements, while he was completely unable to keep up.

He turned to glare at Ice Treader, who was chewing on some fodder.

Ice Treader didn’t register his gaze at all. After finishing the fodder in its mouth, it lowered its head toward the small bag Yun Huizhou was carrying. With a flick of its tongue, it snatched another mouthful of horse grass from the bag.

The horse Lian Li had been riding saw Ice Treader’s actions and followed suit, doing the exact same thing.

Yun Huizhou looked at the two of them and finally raised his hand to give one horse a light smack on the forehead. “All you know is how to eat. The person is already gone.”

Ice Treader, having been hit for no apparent reason, looked at Yun Huizhou with large, innocent eyes, as if it didn’t understand why its master had suddenly struck it. Was it no longer its master’s favorite good baby?

Then, Ice Treader got angry. It stood its ground and refused to move.

When Yun Huizhou pulled forward, it backed up. When Yun Huizhou pulled left, it went right. When Yun Huizhou changed direction, intending to return the way they came, it tried to push into the crowd.

In short, it did the exact opposite of whatever Yun Huizhou wanted.

Lian Li’s horse was much better behaved; it honestly listened to Yun Huizhou and did whatever it was told.

But since Yun Huizhou couldn’t do anything about Ice Treader, the other horse couldn’t move either. Thus, the man and the two horses were stuck in a stalemate.

The surrounding crowd grew larger and larger. Gradually, their position shifted from the edge of the crowd to the very center.

Now, even if Ice Treader cooperated, they wouldn’t be able to move much.

Left with no choice, Yun Huizhou could only stand in the crowd holding the two horses. Because of Ice Treader’s tantrum, Yun Huizhou could no longer find any sign of Lian Li.