Chapter 53 Collecting Manuscript Fees at the Mailbox Authentic Yellow River Carp

Lan Shuangyu did not answer Tao Erni's question because the light rain suddenly intensified. A small umbrella could not cover the two girls. In her anxiety, Tao Erni lifted the table to use as an umbrella and told Lan Shuangyu to take the stove and other things and follow her to the funeral shop where they had discussed the paper money business to take shelter from the rain.

The shopkeeper had just received an urgent order and was worried about not having any workers because of the rain, when two strong laborers appeared out of nowhere. They not only paid Lan Tao and his companion a high price, but also provided them with a lunch with meat.

"We'll continue working this afternoon. Don't worry, I'll pay you every day you work, and I'll never delay payment."

The boss patted his chest and painted a rosy picture for the two of them, showing no intention of doing anything malicious. That table was so big that even an ordinary man might not be able to lift it. What if he tried to play tricks and the girl smashed the table on his head? Not to mention that Tao Erniu was also responsible for his paper ingot business.

Lan and Tao looked at the drizzle, which had shrunk but never stopped, and calculated the money they had earned that morning. They readily agreed.

...

While the two people at the paper craft shop were eating, Yao Xiaoyu took advantage of the lunch break to openly carry her suitcase out of the hospital, enter a small hotel she had scouted out beforehand, give someone copper coins to fetch hot water to wash her face, and then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

This is the scene that the waiter saw when he carried the basin of water out. The moment the door closed, Yao Xiaoyu got off the bed and began to change her clothes—first she tied her hair into a braid all at the back, then she put on a melon-shaped hat, changed her clothes, shoes and socks, put on some cheap makeup, added two black moles to her eyebrows, and once she put on the cloak, she had a completely different image.

It feels like something's missing?

Yao Xiaoyu pondered for a while, then her eyes suddenly lit up. She tucked a dagger into her waistband, put a pebble on her tongue, tried to say a few words, nodded in satisfaction, and then darted out the window.

Putting pebbles in your mouth will make your voice a little muffled and change your tone. It can't be used for a long time, but it's still a good temporary trick for people who can't fake their voice.

The carefully chosen room was a single room on the first floor, which was more secluded and much safer than the place where I withdrew money last time.

"Go to the entrance of Xiangzhen Street."

Yao Xiaoyu stopped a coachman and said something. The cunning coachman sized up the young master in front of him who was speaking incoherently and asked for a high price.

He's a smart man. This young master clearly has no experience. He doesn't even know to change his hairstyle when he's dressed as a woman. His makeup is so shoddy. He doesn't even bother to cover up his two moles. He's wearing gold-threaded boots and hasn't even bothered to sing. He looks like a fat, stupid sheep... ugh, a rich guy.

Yao Xiaoyu paid the fare and got on the rickshaw without hesitation. Once the rickshaw started moving, she showed the same triumphant smile as the driver.

Role-playing is a trick that you get used to after a few tries. The driver thought she was a man pretending to be a woman, but in fact she was a woman pretending to be a man. The two moles that were sticking out were also deliberately left as memorability, the main point being that it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake.

I wonder if Ms. Qiu's articles can be exchanged for money.

Yao Xiaoyu thought expectantly. She wanted money but also wanted to ensure her safety. So when she sent out the article under the pen name Miss Qiu, she did not leave a detailed address, but wrote in the letter that if they wanted to pay her, they should put an anonymous banknote in the envelope and send it to the mailbox on Xiangzhen Street.

This was a bug she accidentally discovered after scouting the area—there were very few houses and not many people living in the Xiangzhen Street area, and the postman only came to collect the mail about once a week. Moreover, because the mailbox had been used for a long time, there was a crack at the bottom, and the letters that were dropped in could be taken out directly through the crack. Yao Xiaoyu took advantage of this time difference.

And even the heavens are on her side; rain is a natural eraser that removes marks, and today is the fifth day after the agreed date.

Hopefully, she can successfully receive payment for Ms. Qiu's article, since she is really broke lately.

Yao Xiaoyu prayed fervently in the rickshaw—the money exchange activity on New Year's Eve had almost drained her of her silver dollars. The silver dollars she earned each week were enough for food, but when you add the cost of making clothes at the poor seamstress's, the cost of Wenrou's surgery and nursing care, and some other miscellaneous expenses that Yao Xiaoyu had on a whim, she was finding herself in a bit of a predicament.

The copyright fees are substantial, but payment is only made after the print run is complete, so it won't be available anytime soon—it's a long shot and won't solve the immediate problem. As for the gold bars that come with them… she should focus on writing more articles. Unless it's time to buy a house or absolutely necessary, no one should expect her to be separated from her beloved little yellow croakers!

"arrive."

The rickshaw stopped, and Yao Xiaoyu handed over the money, refusing the driver's offer to sell her the rickshaw for the return trip. She then disappeared into the alley. The driver waited there for a while, even going into the alley to take a look, before clicking his tongue in regret and leaving.

Clutching the dagger, Yao Xiaoyu weaved left and right, then quickly ran towards the mailbox, keeping her eyes and ears open. Taking advantage of the large area covered by her cloak, she swiftly felt for the letter through the crack.

One, two, three, four, five... Yao Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment, then decisively decided to look next to the mailbox. The first one wasn't it, the second one wasn't it, the third one... "Miss Qiu, editor of Ta Kung Pao, that's it!"

Yao Xiaoyu put the other letters back, smeared some mud on the cracks, and quickly darted into the alley again. The residents were busy taking shelter from the rain and did not notice the figure that came and went by the mailbox.

With everything going smoothly, Yao Xiaoyu put the letter in her pocket, walked out of Xiangzhen Street along the alley, and washed her hands in a puddle before hailing a rickshaw and returning to a place fifty meters from the hotel.

"call--"

Yao Xiaoyu breathed a sigh of relief after successfully climbing over the window. She quickly removed her makeup, changed her clothes, and headed out the door, looking refreshed.

"That young lady must have had a good night's sleep."

The people at the hotel entrance, seeing Yao Xiaoyu's deliberately flushed face, made a reasonable deduction.

Having successfully received the letter, Yao Xiaoyu rubbed her stomach, which was growling every three steps, and wasn't in a hurry to go to work. She casually found a clean restaurant and asked about their signature dishes.

"Our sweet and sour pork skewers and wide sauce are top-notch."

The waitress-looking girl tossed her braid and said crisply. Seeing the girl's confidence and being really hungry, Yao Xiaoyu ordered one of each dish, just hoping the food would be served quickly.

"Dad, one sweet and sour pork ribs and a bowl of wide sauce!"

The girl stomped behind the curtain, and Yao Xiaoyu finally understood why they could let girls work as shop assistants here—it was a family business!

I just don't know how good their skills are.

Perhaps the girl inside said something, because Yao Xiaoyu's dishes were served very quickly. Two bowls, almost bigger than her head, were filled to the brim, and the aroma wafted over. Yao Xiaoyu, who originally wanted to wait for them to cool down before eating, couldn't resist and directly picked up a piece of fish and put it in her mouth.

tasty!

Sweet and sour carp is just that. It looks ordinary, but once you taste it, you'll find that it has no muddy taste at all, and you can't taste any rough texture. The meat melts in your mouth with just a touch of your tongue.

"These are Yellow River carp that my dad personally selected. He put them in a water tank and starved them for three whole days."

The girl proudly tossed her braids. Her family had a great reputation in Beiping, and many gourmets specifically requested this dish, saying that the tendons were removed cleanly and the fish meat was tender enough.

Thanks to her skill in cooking fish, her father started saving up for her dowry from the time she was born. If it weren't for that slut taking a liking to her, they wouldn't have come to Shanghai with only their valuables, leaving her father to start all over again at his advanced age.

"Your store is definitely going to grow big!"

Listening to the girl's explanation, Yao Xiaoyu felt that the fish in her mouth tasted even more delicious. She finally understood why when eating at expensive restaurants on TV, there was always someone explaining how the dishes were made and their origins. There was a real difference between having an explanation and not having one!

Wide sauce is thin noodles that are first boiled and then fried. Yao Xiaoyu didn't know why it was called that, she just assumed it was a common term like "willow leaf wide soup" in ramen. The noodles were topped with a sweet and sour sauce made with carp. It should have been sweet and cloying, but it was surprisingly refreshing. Chewing it with the fish meat made it even more delicious!

The portions of carp and noodles were very generous, and Yao Xiaoyu managed to stuff them all into her stomach before leaning against the wall to leave the restaurant. The rain that had started last night had stopped sometime earlier, and the sun shone on the road, creating shimmering waves in many places.

When Yao Xiaoyu arrived at the hospital, the sun had already moved to the west. Aunt Gu, who was helping Yao Xiaoyu cover for her, naturally slipped away, leaving Yao Xiaoyu, who had the task of locking the door, alone in the Western medicine pharmacy.

I just happened to read the letter.

Relaxed, Yao Xiaoyu opened the box a crack and pulled out the cleverly placed letter. The letter was sealed tightly. Yao Xiaoyu carefully opened it and first glanced at the amount on the banknote.

Sixty yuan?!

Ms. Qiu's article totaled more than 12,000 words, which is equivalent to five yuan per thousand words. The payment for short stories is indeed higher than that for long stories, but this payment is still at a mid-to-high level in the short story industry.

The moment the payment was calculated, Yao Xiaoyu even considered writing only short stories. If it weren't for the turmoil in the education sector stirred up by Ms. Qiu's article, which has yet to subside, and the two yuan payment for the gold-patterned bowl, Yao Xiaoyu's main writing direction might have really changed.

After all, she didn't expect to be remembered in history. In this life, what she pursued was just a few coins.

Putting everything else aside, the plate of sweet and sour carp she ate today was priced in silver dollars!

"This is……"

Yao Xiaoyu enjoyed the feeling of being surrounded by gold and silver for a while before discovering that in addition to the banknotes, there was also a piece of paper tucked inside the envelope. When she pulled it out, she found that it was a letter written to her by the female editor of the Daping Daily.

The content was brief. First, it praised the submitted article, then it assured the newspaper that it would not investigate Yao Xiaoyu's identity, followed by an explanation of the payment, and finally, it welcomed further submissions. The font was bold, and the sentences were elegant and concise.

Yao Xiaoyu looked at the words written on the paper. This letter was written by the female editor herself when no one was around and she put it in the mailbox on Xiangzhen Street. Even though she knew it was for her future manuscripts, she couldn't help but feel a sense of goodwill towards her.

As expected of Editor-in-Chief Lü, she's terrifying!

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Author's Note: A small detail: The reason Aunt Gu is so keen on skipping work is that her family recently took on a craft job folding paper ingots. However, these things are bulky and not as easy to carry as needles and thread. Moreover, things used for funerals in hospitals are taboo, so she can only do them at home.

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I originally wrote a story about Lan Shuangyu, more than 1,000 words, but then felt it wasn't very relevant to the main story, so I pulled it out and plan to release it as a separate side story after the story is finished.

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I'm thinking of writing a short Chinese horror story. Should I use the pseudonym "Miss Qiu," or a new pseudonym like "Pink Furry Rabbit" or "Sky Blue Big Cat"? Or do you have any good pseudonym recommendations?

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