Chapter 141

Last night, Xie Xubai's consciousness stayed by Lü Jiu's side.

After leaving them, Lü Jiu first strolled around Thirteenth Street, roughly familiarizing himself with the area. Then, he compared prices at several dry goods stores, bought a few durable flatbreads from the cheapest one, and wandered around the various commercial districts and streets.

Finally, we arrived at the ferry dock.

As autumn deepened, the sky grew overcast and gray, lending an air of desolation. Ships were moored along the shore, their chimneys billowing black smoke and their engines emitting a cacophony of malfunctioning bellows. The sea surged and crashed against the brick steps below the shore, wave after wave, creating white spray.

Compared to those ships, Lü Jiu was small and inconspicuous, not even as tall as a shipping container.

The boatmen came and went without disturbing anyone. He took off his shoes, walked to the stone step submerged in seawater, and when he put his foot into the water, he subconsciously pulled it back, as if he was choked by the cold. But less than a second later, he put his whole foot in and began to wash his entire body expressionlessly.

Lu Jiu hadn't showered for at least two weeks, and after crawling and rolling around in the filthy alley, a thick layer of mud had formed on his body. He used all his strength, scrubbing off the grime like a rag, leaving red marks on his skin, but he didn't even blink.

After finishing, Lü Jiu went ashore, soaking wet.

Perhaps he injured his foot during the fight with the strong man, because his legs suddenly went weak and he slipped. Just as he was about to hit his head on the steps, Xie Xubai raised his finger.

A gust of wind blew by, as if an invisible hand had supported Lü Jiu's body. After regaining his balance, he looked up in surprise: "Who?"

But no one was seen.

Lu Jiu looked around and saw that there was no one around, but the feeling of being supported was real, which made him feel a little surprised and uncertain.

The wind was strong at the ferry crossing, and he was soaking wet, making him susceptible to catching a cold. After standing there for a while and finding nothing, Lü Jiu could only leave with a frown.

Lu Jiu walked carefully, and as he walked, he slipped into a corner of the stacked containers, took out a relatively clean change of clothes from his bundle, and quickly changed into them.

After all this commotion, the little mud monkey beggar was completely transformed.

Xie Xubai saw this and suddenly realized that when Lü Jiu became Lü Xiangcai, he did not use his true appearance completely.

The other person's bone structure and appearance can be described as naturally perfect. He had the beauty of a future beauty even in his teens. Even if he was wearing coarse clothes and his appearance was not outstanding, people who noticed him on the street would probably not be able to help but take a second look and exclaim, "What a beautiful and handsome child!"

Finally, Lü Jiu carefully packed the money into his pocket, hid the bundle in a pile of miscellaneous items, and made his way to a coastal port.

The ships docked at this harbor were clearly different from other merchant ships and cargo vessels. Counting from the bottom up, they had five decks, their exteriors lavishly decorated, and colorful lights resembling iridescent glass. On the top deck, many elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen stood, holding glasses of red wine, chatting and laughing to the accompaniment of romantic, lingering music.

It was obvious that a banquet was about to be held on this luxury ship, and the passengers boarding were all wealthy people. Street vending wasn't allowed here, but the wealthy were so generous that even the vendors, carrying baskets, came to sell their wares.

After observing for a few minutes, Lü Jiu walked over to a young flower seller.

The flower seller's business was not good. Even though he tried his best to promote his flowers, passersby didn't even bother to glance at them. Occasionally, a few people would seem interested, stop and linger, and after glancing at his flower basket, they would lose interest and turn away.

Seeing that he hadn't sold a single flower in his basket, the flower-selling child looked dejected and was almost about to cry in frustration. Just then, Lü Jiu approached and teased him with a smile, "Do you even know how to sell anything?"

Anyone would be angry to be questioned and ridiculed like that, and it's fair to say that Lü Jiu's face perfectly served as a fire extinguisher.

Turning his head, he saw Lü Jiu smiling and chatting. The flower-selling child, who was about to unleash a torrent of anger, stammered, and after a few seconds retorted indignantly, "Who are you? I can't do it, do you?"

“I really do know how.” Lu Jiu raised an eyebrow and said, “How about this, we’ll work together. I’ll help you sell all the flowers, and I’ll get 70% of the profits.”

The flower-selling boy was stunned when he was told that the seller would take 70% of the profits from his sales: "What? 70%? You must be dreaming!"

Lu Jiu crossed her arms and looked at him matter-of-factly: "This ship is about to depart. If you can't think of a way to sell the flowers, this whole basket of flowers will rot in your hands. It's not easy to find flowers in autumn. I bet you haven't done anything else all day but picked and sold flowers. If the flowers are left until tomorrow, they'll wilt and won't sell at all. You've been working so hard and haven't earned a single penny. Even if you don't go hungry, your family will scold you. Do you really want that?"

The flower-selling child, having his weakness exposed, glared at Lü Jiu, unable to utter a word in rebuttal.

Lü Jiu laughed and said, "Since you can't sell them anyway, let me try. It won't hurt us, and it won't be any worse than it is now."

"I guarantee that the money you end up with will be more than what you originally spent on selling all of these."

The flower seller was tempted by his words, but felt that splitting the price 30/70 was too unfair. After some haggling with Lü Jiu, they finally settled on a 50/50 split.

Upon hearing the final division of profits, Lü Jiu subtly curled the corners of her lips.

Xie Xubai, watching from the sidelines, couldn't help but chuckle. He guessed that this guy was deliberately asking for an exorbitant price so that the flower seller would have room to bargain, and naturally, he happily accepted his unreasonable request.

When Lü Jiu received the flower basket, her first step was to pick and choose, throwing away more than half of the flowers without hesitation. The flower seller was shocked to see this and rushed to pick up the flowers with heartache, about to get angry again: "What are you doing?"

"Are you stupid?" Lu Jiu took out some colorful rope and paper he had picked up from somewhere. Although they were just scraps that people had discarded, he skillfully folded and tied them, and they immediately became exquisite little decorations.

Lü Jiu: "No matter how beautiful your flowers are, can they be better than the varieties that rich people carefully select in flower shops? Those wilted, not bright enough, and with fallen petals, they will only offend their eyes. That's why you didn't sell them before."

As Lü Jiu spoke, she tied the decorations to the flowers without looking up: "Let alone flowers, they wouldn't lack even more beautiful and valuable jewelry. So, if they're willing to buy flowers, it's either because they feel sorry for the seller or because they've suddenly become interested. You have to make your flowers have value that suits their taste and appeal to them."

The flower-selling child hadn't been to school much and didn't know anything about "appeal" or "value," so he listened in bewilderment.

When she came to her senses, Lü Jiu was already walking towards a couple who were about to board a boat not far away, holding the flowers.

The man and woman were arm in arm, whispering sweet nothings and laughing happily. It was at this moment that Lü Jiu came to them.

“Handsome sir, would you like to buy two bouquets of flowers?” Lu Jiu raised her head to look at the man, but handed the intertwined flowers to the woman, smiling cutely and blinking. “These two flowers are flowers of unwavering devotion. They have different roots, but in the process of growing, their branches and leaves have crossed the stone fence and are tightly connected. No matter how strong the wind and rain, they cannot be separated.”

"If you buy them, you will be able to stay together with your loved one forever, live happily ever after, and have unwavering love."

The flower seller craned his neck and stood on tiptoe, watching eagerly from behind.

Seeing the woman delighted by his flattery, the man smiled and accepted the flowers. He eagerly asked Lü Xiangcai, who had just returned, "You actually sold them! You were walking so fast just now, I forgot to tell you that each flower costs at least three copper coins. How much did you sell them for?"

Lu Jiu glanced at him with a smile and tossed the money in his hand over.

The flower seller quickly caught it, opened his hand, and stared in shock, feeling as if he were being blinded by the gleaming silver light in his palm. He was so excited that he couldn't speak coherently: "My God!"

They actually sold a silver dollar! A silver dollar! That's enough to exchange for over 120 copper coins, enough to buy several kilograms of pork!!

Lu Jiu said lazily, "So, what do you think? I told you you could make more money than this basket, I wasn't lying, was I?"

The flower seller, holding the money in his hand, prostrated himself before Lü Jiu, saying, "No, no, you're amazing! You're incredible!"

"Good to know." Lü Jiu gestured without any burden. "Let's talk about the profit sharing. You get four, I get six."

The flower seller was stunned: "Huh? Didn't we agree on this...?"

"If you don't want to, then forget it. We won't sell it. Let's find a place to exchange it for money and split the profits." Lü Jiu snatched the silver coins from his hand and turned away without any hesitation.

"No, no, no, I'm willing! Wait a minute! I'm willing, I'm willing!" The flower seller couldn't bear to watch this money tree run away, so he quickly chased after it and reluctantly agreed to Lü Jiu's request.

Xie Xubai saw this and shook his head with a smile.

After spending less than half a day observing and getting to know each other, he had a general idea of ​​Lü Jiu's temperament at this stage.

Cautious and intelligent, self-reliant is a given; seemingly indifferent but easily softened, yet never hesitant when it comes to parting ways.

Furthermore, even if the profits are split in half, they will still try to get a little more; they absolutely refuse to suffer a loss.

The nights in the metropolis are filled with song and dance, but they are not necessarily peaceful. They are both children, weak and helpless. If they earn too much money, they will easily become targets of others' covetousness.

Lü Jiu probably knew this, so he agreed with the flower seller to stop selling after an hour, so that they could find a safe place to stay before evening.

But just as they finished selling the flowers and were about to leave, a passenger ship suddenly appeared on the sea.

Under the fiery red sky painted by dusk, the colossal vessel roared into the harbor and docked at the shore.

As Lü Jiu walked out of the intersection, he suddenly felt a sudden, inexplicable palpitation. He clutched his chest, turned back, and hid behind a carriage.

The passenger ship lowered its gangway, and a group of passengers disembarked one after another.

Lu Jiu stared intently. Until he saw a man in a Tang suit and a melon-shaped hat appear with several subordinates, he seemed caught off guard, and his pupils suddenly dilated by three-tenths of an inch.

Luofu!

Xie Xubai couldn't hear Lü Jiu's thoughts, but he could roughly guess what Lü Jiu was thinking from the details of her panicked and surprised expression.

Why would the Luofu Temple, which is a thousand kilometers away, come here? Did it abandon its theater business to come and arrest him personally?

Completely baffled, Lü Jiu huddled beside the carriage, his face terribly grim. Uncontrollably, he put his trembling fingers in his mouth and began to bite. He didn't react even when the tips of his teeth broke the skin and bled.

Seeing that Luofutu was about to leave, he gritted his teeth and decided to follow Luofutu, but dared not get too close for fear of being discovered.

Fortunately, he hid it well. Luo Futu seemed to really have business to discuss. He first met with a few strangers, then went to the guild hall with a smile on his face, and then attended some tea banquet. He didn't realize that there was a little tail following him.

Until the dead of night, a man, acting suspiciously, came to the inn where Luofutu was staying and knocked on the door with his finger.

The lamp under the door cast a dim, white light, illuminating the other person's face hidden in the shadows.

Lu Jiu's brow twitched violently.

Xie Xubai couldn't help but frown. He was familiar with that man; he was the Gu family steward who had been by Gu Nan's side during the day.