Chapter 14: Selling a Skill

Ruan Xing packed a small bundle with her props and headed out; the guards at the gate only asked two questions before letting her pass. She wandered the streets with her things, looking for a suitable spot to set up her stall.

She could not go to the street with the Weaving Workshop, as Ruan Mu had many acquaintances there among the female workers who knew her. She did not want to go to the street with the Gambling Den, as Ruan Fu frequented it year-round, and setting up a stall there would be a disguised way of challenging Qiye's Gambling Den. Although Qiye would not care, those burly men who watched the floor would certainly look at her with displeasure, and most of the gamblers there would not participate in such street-side gambling games.

After much thought, Ruan Xing could only think of one suitable place: a crossroad. The foot traffic was relatively high, and there were usually some snack vendors gathered there. She had even bought a bun there last time, and the taste was not bad.

It was just that the place was on the edge of Qiye's jurisdiction; half of the territory at the crossroad was managed by a Guan from another area.

However, it was not a big problem. Ruan Xing carried her small bundle and chose an empty spot among the many small stalls, spreading the cloth on the ground and placing three bowls in the middle.

Before she even started calling out, a curious person nearby already asked, "Little girl, what are you selling?"

The breakfast rush had just passed, and the food stall owners were basically idle after their busy spell. Seeing a cute-looking little girl preparing to set up a stall with such seriousness, they all felt the urge to tease her.

Ruan Xing introduced herself with a crisp, childish voice, acting very solemn: "I am selling a skill. I will perform a magic trick for everyone. You guess which bowl the egg is in. Would you uncles and aunties like to play a round?"

She only took out one egg, intending to use a simple method to attract onlookers first, and then switch to a more complex method later to retain customers. As long as ten people spent ten wen at her place today, the money for the Simulation would be enough.

"I think I know this trick of yours. There were wandering performers in our Jiangning City who used to perform it, but I haven't seen it for several years."

"Is that so? I haven't played it before. Little girl, how do you play this?"

Originally, only one or two neighboring stall owners had come over to join the fun at Ruan Xing's small stall, but in this short time, it had really attracted passersby. Ruan Xing extended her small hand without panic and said earnestly, "One copper coin for one guess. If you guess correctly, I will return two coins to you."

Most people living in the Inner City had a stable source of income, and after being well-fed and clothed, they were willing to spend some small change on entertainment. The person who had just asked the price was the middle-aged Baozi Dashu selling buns nearby. He tucked his hands into his sleeves, squatted down, placed one wen on the cloth, and smiled, "Then I'll help you open your business, little boss."

This Baozi Dashu looked somewhat familiar. Ruan Xing knew in her heart that he wanted to look after her business, but she did not refuse. Instead, she turned the three bowls 360 degrees in front of everyone to show them, placed an egg in one of the bowls, and then turned all three bowls upside down on the ground.

The three white porcelain bowls were translucent and identical in glaze; it was extremely difficult to use the bowls as markers. One could only rely on their eyesight to see how many times Ruan Xing's nimble hands had switched them, or simply gamble on luck to guess.

"Uncle, which one do you guess?" Ruan Xing stopped her hands.

The man pointed casually to the middle one, "I'll guess this bowl."

Ruan Xing gave a sweet smile and lifted the porcelain bowl, "Congratulations, Uncle, you guessed right!"

The man was somewhat surprised. Originally, he had wanted to let Ruan Xing earn that one wen, so he hadn't looked very carefully. He didn't expect to actually guess correctly. His expression immediately became complex; this little girl had set up a stall but didn't intend to win—wasn't she just a "money-giving child"? Ruan Xing returned the one wen to the man and picked up the egg, saying somewhat pitifully, "But Uncle, I just started today and haven't earned any money yet. Can I use this egg to pay you instead?"

The market price for eggs was about six for ten wen; using one egg to pay for one wen was actually the man's gain. Of course, he didn't want to take advantage of a child, so he waved his hand hurriedly, "No need, no need. I just played to help the little boss open for business. I don't want the egg. If I take the egg, how will you perform your magic trick?"

"It's okay." Ruan Xing opened the other two bowls and looked up with a smile, "I have two more eggs!"

"Whoa!" The interest of the surrounding crowd, which had originally subsided, was raised again by Ruan Xing. Three bowls and one egg didn't show much technical skill, but among so many people, not a single person had seen when Ruan Xing had put eggs into the other two bowls. This was very worth watching.

The man now understood that Ruan Xing was returning his kindness; she knew he wanted to look after her business, so she had put an egg in all three bowls. No matter which one he guessed, he would be right. This not only repaid the man's kindness but also showed off a skill to prove she had the ability to perform this trick.

Sure enough, this move stirred up everyone's desire to play. The palm-sized area of the small stall was soon surrounded by seven or eight people, packed tight.

"Come, come, let me play a round and see. I'll look carefully this time!"

"Dad, I don't want the sugar cake anymore, I want to play this!"

"Don't crowd, dear customers, one by one." Ruan Xing was all smiles, her hands moving without pause.

In just over a quarter of an hour, she had already earned more than ten wen. Of course, her level was only Gambling Entry, and occasionally her hand speed couldn't keep up, leading to flaws. She would then use her innocent smile to give the customer an egg as compensation.

After all, the money she earned had a use—she had to feed the Simulator, and stealing eggs from the canteen cost nothing.

At this rate, she probably wouldn't even need a day; at most two hours, and the one hundred wen would be gathered. She hadn't stolen many eggs from the canteen when she came out, but it was probably enough.

Unfortunately, peace was always temporary. Before the copper coins in Ruan Xing's hands had even warmed up, two idlers came sniffing around.

They pushed the onlookers aside in an arrogant and boorish manner and said to Ruan Xing, "A yellow-haired girl is setting up a stall too? Do you know whose territory this is? Don't you know how to pay protection money when you set up shop?"

Ruan Xing looked up at them. The two idlers were not very old, looking to be about sixteen or seventeen. In this era, they would have just reached adulthood in an ordinary family, yet they were out idling and joining gangs.

They were of average build, standing with a slouch, their footing not steady, and there were no obvious bulging muscles on their waists, legs, or arms. Ruan Xing could easily determine that these two were just peripheral gang members who hadn't learned any martial arts, usually bullying commoners and extorting money under the name of the Red Head Gang.

She replied calmly, "This is Qiye's territory. Are you representing Qiye to collect protection money?"

"Nonsense!" One of the idlers interrupted her impatiently and kicked over the bowl Ruan Xing had placed on the ground. The bowl rolled a few times; its quality was actually quite good, and it didn't break, only chipped a small piece.

"This is Hu Ye's territory. We brothers are all Hu Ye's men. If you are sensible, you will hand over the money quickly. Otherwise, our Red Head Gang is not something a little brat like you can afford to offend!"

Hearing this, Ruan Xing felt even more relieved. They weren't Qiye's men, so she didn't have to worry about causing trouble. She glanced at the white porcelain bowl that had rolled to the side, "But according to the rules, this side of Shizi Jie belongs to Qiye, and that side is where your Hu Ye is."

"Don't care if it's Hu Ye or Qiye, it's all our Red Head Gang anyway. Why are you talking so much? You don't want to pay?" He had a fierce expression, but on that young, childish face, it was somewhat ridiculous and funny.

Baozi Dashu, who had shown kindness to Ruan Xing at the beginning, pulled her sleeve and whispered to her, "These two are rascals who often hang around this area. Don't reason with them; if you get entangled, you'll have trouble. Just give them a few wen to send them away."

They had the name of the Red Head Gang, and they never asked for much each time—enough for one or two meals was fine, or even food instead of money. Their attitude was overbearing, and they were truly begging for food while standing tall. Most of the stall owners preferred to avoid trouble, and it wasn't worth it to ask Qiye to mediate for this little bit, so they would just pay to send them away.

(End of chapter)