"Ten thousand taels? This Fengji Sect leader really dares to ask for such an exorbitant amount. Does he want to bankrupt and disband your Xiaoling Sect?" Yuan Doudou had read many martial arts novels, but she had never seen anything so outrageous.
The radical faction is more like a bandit faction, specializing in kidnapping and extortion.
Ye Xiaoqian knew that the Fengji Sect had ill intentions. According to her nature, she would have led her fellow disciples to destroy the Fengji Sect. However, her senior brother Zhang Xianda disagreed, as their master Zhang Xiaoyao was still in the hands of the other side, and they could not act rashly.
"Alright, you know what happened. I'm leaving." Ye Xiaoqian had scraped together five hundred taels of silver and was anxious to take it back to his senior brother in Chengdu.
When Yuan Doudou saw her turn to leave, her eyes immediately reddened, and she grabbed her wrist.
"Wait a minute."
Yuan Doudou, heavily pregnant, swayed into the house and came out quickly.
"Here is one hundred taels, a token of our appreciation from An Rong and me."
One hundred taels, three months' income for the shop.
"DouDou, do you know why I've been keeping this from you?"
Yuan Doudou replied without hesitation, "I was afraid I'd worry."
"I knew you'd worry if I told you." Ye Xiaoqian's eyes reddened. What she saw was exactly what she thought: Yuan Doudou genuinely treated her like a sister.
"Stop talking nonsense. If you consider me a sister, you have to take this money. Otherwise, I'll never talk to you again." Yuan Doudou pretended to be about to get angry.
An Rong also came to Yuan Doudou's side and tried to persuade Ye Xiaoqian.
"We're all friends, so if we encounter any difficulties, you'll help us too, won't you?"
Ye Xiaoqian knew she had no right to refuse; she had to take the money whether she wanted it or not.
"Okay, consider it a loan from me. I'll pay you back with interest when I come back next time." Ye Xiaoqian took the money bag and put it in her pocket.
After saying goodbye to Ye Xiaoqian, Yuan Doudou felt a sense of emptiness in her heart.
Sichuan is a long and arduous journey, and we don't know what the situation will be like when we get there. If money can't solve the problem, the worst outcome will be a fight between the two factions, a fight to the death, or at worst, mutual destruction.
They had known each other for almost a year and had been living in the same courtyard during that time. Suddenly being separated from each other, Yuan Doudou really felt uncomfortable.
"Missing Xiaoqian?" An Rong came out of the kitchen and saw Yuan Doudou lost in thought.
Yuan Doudou snapped out of her thoughts and smiled faintly.
"Xiao Qian has only been gone for three days, but it feels like three months. An Rong, do you think she might be in trouble?"
It wasn't that she was overthinking it; the tavern was bustling with people, and she had heard more than one person say that the road to Chuandu was rife with bandits, who were committing murder, robbery, and all sorts of evil deeds.
"Don't worry, Xiaoqian is very skilled. Most people would avoid her." An Rong had witnessed Ye Xiaoqian's strength. She wasn't even afraid of lions, so she wouldn't care about bandits or robbers.
Yuan Doudou felt a little better and hoped that Ye Xiaoqian would arrive in Chuandu safely. They had agreed that as soon as Xiaoqian arrived, they would send a message by carrier pigeon to let her know that she was safe.
Lu Xi brought out a plate of cold dishes and served them to the guests.
Since Ye Xiaoqian got into trouble, Lu Xi has become increasingly capable. He has taken on almost all the chores in the kitchen. He followed Dou Dou and An Rong and learned how to cook various dishes. He also knows how to cut and prepare vegetables very well.
"Lu Xi, come and rest for a while." Yuan Doudou beckoned.
Lu Xi was wearing a newly made cotton coat and a hat on her head, both to keep her warm and to protect her from dirt.
In three months, Lu Xi grew taller and stronger, and had more energy to work.
"Sister Dou Dou, I'm not tired." Lu Xi entered the kitchen with a smile. He mainly assisted An Rong, and he prepared most of the side dishes on his own.
Yuan Doudou was responsible for greeting guests, collecting money, and seeing them off at the front, so she hardly ever went into the kitchen.
"Lord Lu, what brings you here at this hour?"
At lunchtime, Yuan Doudou was somewhat surprised to see Lu Chaoyang come in from outside.
Lu Chaoyang had a stern face and looked around, seemingly searching for someone.
"Where is Miss Ye?" Lu Chaoyang hadn't come for three days and didn't know anything about Ye Xiaoqian.
Yuan Doudou treated him like one of her own and didn't hide anything from him.
"Xiaoqian has gone back to Sichuan."
As soon as Yuan Doudou finished speaking, she saw the smile on Lu Chaoyang's lips.
That smile looks very unfriendly.
"Lord Lu, do you need to see her?" Ye Xiaoqian is a patriotic and law-abiding person, she shouldn't have done anything wrong in Lu Chaoyang's hands.
Lu Chaoyang wanted to say that since she was highly skilled in martial arts, she should stay by his side and protect him.
"It's nothing." Lu Chaoyang refrained from changing his answer, "She's not here?"
Helpless, Yuan Doudou told the truth, omitting some things she shouldn't have said.
"This is clearly kidnapping and extortion. We should just report it to the authorities. Why go through all this trouble?" If the kidnappers are deliberately causing trouble, even if they manage to scrape together 10,000 taels, the other party will not be satisfied.
Yuan Doudou suddenly realized that she was still a person of the rule of law and hadn't even thought of asking Ye Xiaoqian to report it to the authorities.
"The affairs of the martial world are settled within the martial world; that's the rule." An Rong stepped forward, repeating Ye Xiaoqian's answer from that night.
When An Rong learned of the Xiaoling Sect's predicament, his first thought was to report it to the authorities.
Ye Xiaoqian's expression at the time was extremely contemptuous. In her opinion, the government was nothing but bullshit, not even worth as much as bullshit.
Lu Chaoyang disagreed: "I think she's just too self-important. Oh well, if she can't handle it, she'll come back."
He has acquaintances in Chuandu. If Ye Xiaoqian comes to him for help, he might consider whether or not to help.
"Lord Lu, the same three dishes as always, please enjoy." Lu Xi brought out the side dishes and arranged them one by one.
"DouDou, look how well you've raised Lu Xi. She's even more professional than the waiters at the big restaurants." Lu Chaoyang looked at Lu Xi with newfound respect. Before, when Lu Xi was at the Lu residence, she would always lower her head and remain silent whenever she saw him.
Yuan Doudou laughed and said, "I didn't teach her anything. Lu Xi is very smart; she can learn it at a glance."
As Yuan Doudou thought about how the business at the shop was gradually improving and her belly was getting bigger, she realized that the shop was clearly short-staffed and needed to hire a kitchen helper as soon as possible.
On this day, Yuan Doudou accompanied An Rong to the market to buy groceries and they encountered a group of people watching a commotion.
"Selling herself into servitude to bury her father."
Yuan Doudou was very curious when she heard someone say this. She had only seen this kind of scene on TV, and she never expected that it would actually happen in real life.
"An Rong, I want to see."
An Rong didn't want to watch the commotion, but she also didn't want to disappoint Dou Dou, so she pushed through the crowd and protected her as she walked to the front.
A young woman dressed in hemp clothing was kneeling on the ground, with a dead body lying beside her.
"Miss, how much will the funeral expenses be?" Yuan Doudou asked, bending down.
Huang Rong heard a melodious, bell-like voice, and she slowly looked up to see a face more benevolent than that of a Bodhisattva.
"Coffin and burial plot, twenty taels of silver," she said softly, her voice slightly choked.
She knelt there for an hour, and at least ten people asked her the price, but they all shook their heads and left when they heard it was twenty taels.
"Twenty taels? Oh dear, who can afford that?" In a typical household, buying a maid would cost at most five taels.
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