Chapter 6 Return to Dongdu
"So, sir, what you mean is that you don't even have two cents on you?"
Zhao Yushu nodded awkwardly, holding a banknote tightly in his hand, a little at a loss.
The boss touched his chin and asked, "Why are you here, young master?"
"Uh, junior, that is, I am, no, I am from Xijing Lianshao"
"Oh, my Lord, this bowl of tea is only one cent. It's not expensive, right?"
Zhao Yushu nodded: "Good quality and low price"
"Oh, the young master drank two bowls, right?"
Zhao Yushu continued to nod: "No more, no less"
"In that case, you should give me two cents, right?"
Zhao Yushu was sweating profusely: "It's reasonable"
"Where's the money?"
“Yes, here it is.”
"Take a silver note of 1,000 taels and pay me two cents! Could it be that you are a noble from Xijing, specially coming here to amuse the people of Dongdu?"
"I'm not!" Zhao Yushu wanted to cry. At this moment, he deeply understood what it meant to be defeated by a penny. No, two pennies would make a hero fall.
"My dear father, I don't think this gentleman is greedy for your two cents for tea, so I will treat him."
Heavenly sound! This clear and bright voice is so beautiful. There are still many good people in the world, unlike those jailers, princesses and black-clad people who want to kill me as soon as they see me.
Zhao Yushu turned around and saw a young man in white sitting at the table, bowing to him. Sitting at the same table with him was an old man who looked like a butler. There were four sturdy guards sitting at the table next to him. They must be the young masters of a wealthy family in Dongdu.
"Thank you, sir! Please tell me your name and address. I will exchange the money for silver when I get to the city and send it to your house." Zhao Yushu had also watched TV dramas, so he could still speak a few elegant words.
"Hahaha, you are too polite, sir. It's just two cents. If you don't mind, why don't you sit down with me? I am also very curious. How can you carry a thousand taels of silver without any small change?"
Zhao Yushu was not polite and walked straight to the table and sat down. The old housekeeper smiled and asked the boss to serve another pot of tea.
"I am ashamed to say that my name is Zhao Yushu. I was originally a scholar from Xijing. I came to Dongdu to study because of his reputation. But I accidentally fell into the water on the way. All my luggage and books were lost, and my clothes were torn. I am left with only these banknotes."
After Zhao Yushu crawled out of the Jade Rat's safe house, he went around to the west gate of Dongdu. He was really thirsty, so he ordered two bowls of coarse tea. After drinking, he remembered that he had no change. Fortunately, he was smart and made up an excuse for himself when the boss pointed at his nose and scolded him. What if someone asked about it? And sure enough, someone did ask.
Zhao Yushu took the opportunity to show the young master the tear in his black robe. The young master was surprised and nodded repeatedly: "Brother Zhao is really a lucky man."
Zhao Yushu took a sip of tea and said, "Sir, aren't you afraid that my banknotes are fake and I am lying?"
The rich boy laughed again: "If the banknotes of Huibao Merchants are fake, others may not be able to recognize them, but I will definitely be able to tell the truth."
"Ahem, Master, it's time to go. The master is waiting for you." The butler beside him coughed twice, interrupting the rich boy's words. Zhao Yushu was so smart that he immediately thought that this man might have some relationship with Huibao Merchants. He pretended not to know and stood up and bowed.
"Thank you for your hospitality, sir. I should leave early. If there is a chance in the future, I will treat you to a pot of good tea."
"Okay, let me ask you one last question. Which academy will Brother Zhao study in?"
Zhao Yushu thought to himself, how would I know this? But I am a professional at passing the buck: "I'm new here and don't know much. Do you have any recommendations, young master?"
"If you want to recommend, it's naturally the best. What a coincidence, in five days, you will be the number one in Dongdu, or the number one in the world. It's the day when Baima Academy recruits new students. I wish Brother Zhao a successful start."
Baima Academy, a temple in the previous life that became an academy?
Zhao Yushu thanked him and headed towards Dongdu.
"Uncle Zhang, is there any problem?" After Zhao Yushu left, the rich young man asked calmly, waving his folding fan.
"I can't see any fluctuations in spiritual power, so he shouldn't be a cultivator, but his steps are steady, so I think he has practiced footwork." The butler commented calmly: "Also, the young master shouldn't reveal his identity."
The young master didn't care: "If he came for me, he must know my identity. If it's really a chance meeting, it doesn't matter whether he knows it or not. But he left first even though he knew we were going to leave. He is not a person who curry favor with others. Haha, Xijing students have some backbone."
The housekeeper sighed and said no more. Anyway, it was only ten miles away from the Eastern Capital. It was in broad daylight, so there wouldn't be any trouble.
Ten miles was nothing to Zhao Yushu, but he was really hungry. He drank three bowls of tea, which was just enough to fill his stomach. He couldn't walk fast. By the time he arrived at the west gate of the East Capital, it was already dusk.
"This portrait?" Zhao Yushu watched as several soldiers posted a wanted poster next to the city gate. The person in the portrait was completely black, with a hat on his head, and even his eyes were not exposed. It was obviously the man in black. However, only those in the know knew this. For ordinary people...
"This is a ghost, how can I recognize it!" Sure enough, someone started cursing. When the sergeant heard it, he instinctively wanted to teach the troublemaker a lesson, but he subconsciously looked at the wanted poster a few more times and thought to himself, "This is a ghost, how can I recognize it?"
Zhao Yushu held back his laughter as he walked into the city gate and showed his household certificate to the soldiers. Xijing was indeed the capital of the kingdom. People in Xijing had special privileges and did not have to pay taxes when entering the east.
"This young man looks unfamiliar. Is this your first time in our Eastern Capital?" Zhao Yushu, who had just entered the city gate and was sighing at the amazing ancient buildings in the Central Plains, was startled. When he turned around, he saw a young man with a missing front tooth looking at him with a smile.
"You are kidding me, there must be thousands of people coming in through this city gate every day, you must be a stranger to them," Zhao Yushu said with disdain.
"This gentleman is right. I am too clever to remember so many people, but I don't have your temperament..."
"Just say two"
"Hehe, second, of course no one is like you, who stood there looking around as soon as he entered the city. Isn't it telling us that you just arrived in Dongdu?"
Zhao Yushu curled his lips: "Why are you calling me?"
"You are here for the first time in Dongdu. Are you here to visit relatives or friends? Do you need me to call a sedan chair for you and show you the way?"
"How do you calculate the money?"
"What you said, talking about money is not vulgar, hey, call a sedan chair for five cents, you pay the sedan chair fare at the place, if you go around, 50 cents a day, it's very cheap"
Zhao Yushu thought about it and decided that he really needed a local tyrant. Otherwise, in such a big city, it would take him a long time to find even an inn. Besides, he was very hungry.
"Okay, fifty cents. Take me to a restaurant first. Uh, no, take me to Huibao Merchants first."
"What about this money?"
"I don't have any money, otherwise why would I go to Huibao Merchants? I can only give it to you after I change the money."
Xiao Jingling hesitated for a moment and said: "Okay, come with me, it will only take an incense stick of time. We have to hurry, because we will close at night."
The two hurried and finally arrived at the branch of Huibao Dashang before the sunset.
"My goodness, this silver has a high artistic value, it's as tall as several floors." This was the first time Zhao Yushu had seen a six-story ancient building. Most of the ones he had seen on TV before were two-story buildings. This was indeed the most expensive Huibao merchant.
"Hey, this gentleman wants to exchange some silver."
"How many?"
Zhao Yushu bid a silver note: "One thousand taels"
The little smart guy suddenly widened his eyes
"How would you like to change it, sir?"
"I'm new to Dongdu and I'm planning to study. I don't know much about it. Please give me some information, both in small and large quantities."
The waiter took the banknote and showed it to the sleepy old priest next to him. The old priest opened his eyes and a light flashed. Then he nodded slightly and continued to doze off.
"High-tech, spiritual power to prevent counterfeiting"
"You are indeed a scholar, I don't understand a word you said."
The clerk knew what was needed, so he counted out several hundred-liang silver notes, and then took out several fifty-liang, twenty-liang, and ten-liang notes. Finally, he gave him several ingots of silver, some large and some small, and packed them into a small cloth bag.
"Guests, please count"
Zhao Yushu took out a tael of silver and threw it to Xiao Jiling: "Take me to dinner! Quickly!"