Chapter 27: Writing Books to Earn Money

The sunlight was a bit blinding.

On the way back, Su Dafang looked depressed.

He had run so far to see a patient.

Not only did he fail to earn a single copper, but he was also lectured by a young girl.

"You old man, the moment you stepped through the door you were shifty-eyed and timid; you must be one of their cronies!"

"..."

Su Dafang felt very wronged.

At his age, how could he be a crony to those little brats?

Seeing the young girl get angry with her Red Tasseled Spear looming threateningly behind her, Su Dafang didn't dare ask for money and slunk away.

"Zijun, the medical fees for today..."

"Master, just deduct it from my allowance."

Luo Zijun was in a very good mood right now.

Things were finally making progress; he had met Xu Xian.

Since he didn't ask for a consultation fee and was scolded by the other party's sister, Xu Xian owed him a favor.

It would be easier to handle him when they met in the future.

Su Dafang rolled his eyes: "You still have an allowance? That little bit of allowance you had was already deducted by your senior sister."

Luo Zijun was stunned: "Didn't she only deduct twenty coppers?"

Su Dafang glanced at him and said: "Your senior sister said that recently you haven't just been peeking at her chest every day, but also her feet, so she has to deduct more. What do you think she was calculating this morning? She was calculating how much money you owe her in total right now!"

Luo Zijun: "..."

"Master, I am wronged."

"It's useless to cry injustice to me; you didn't peek at me. Go back and cry to your senior sister."

"Can't Master discipline that girl?"

"It's more like she disciplines me."

"You are the grandfather, she isn't the grandfather."

"We each have our own way of addressing each other; she calls me grandfather, and I call her my little ancestor."

"..."

The two chatted aimlessly all the way back to Bao'an Hall.

An older woman was sitting inside, and seeing them return, she said hurriedly: "Su Dafu, my old man is dying, please go take a look."

"Sigh..."

Su Dafang sighed, took the Medicine Chest from Luo Zijun's shoulder, and said: "You stay at the shop and study, I'll go myself."

Then, he suddenly said to Su Qingling behind the counter: "Deduct another one mace and two coppers of silver from this brat!"

Su Qingling immediately lowered her head and clicked away on the abacus.

Su Dafang and the woman left the door together.

Luo Zijun heard their conversation.

"Wasn't he fine a few days ago? Was the medicine I prescribed not effective?"

"It was effective, he was almost better, but last night he got up to go to the latrine, suddenly let out a scream, and fainted from fright. When he woke up, he said he saw a very large snake, and then he was bedridden..."

Luo Zijun's heart stirred. A very large snake?

He was very sensitive to snakes right now.

But if it were Bai Niangzi, she shouldn't be out scaring people that late at night.

Could it be Xiao Qing?

That girl Xiao Qing was eccentric and mischievous; she might actually do something like that.

No!

How did he know Xiao Qing was eccentric and mischievous?

And how did he know that Bai Niangzi wouldn't go out to scare people on purpose?

He had only seen their personalities in books and on television; they couldn't be taken as truth at all.

Perhaps the Xiaobai and Xiao Qing of this world had completely different personalities?

Just as he was frowning and thinking, Su Qingling suddenly said coldly: "You owe me a total of three mace and two coppers of silver."

Luo Zijun looked up at her.

Those towering, prominent peaks were once again brazenly displayed on the counter, looking as if they reigned supreme over the world.

"It's three mace and three coppers now!"

"On what grounds?"

"You just peeked again!"

"Didn't we agree before that if you gave me thirty coppers less each month, I could look every day?"

"I've grown again recently, so the price has to go up!"

"..."

Luo Zijun ignored her and turned to go into the back room.

He had to find a way to earn some money.

Whether it was to go play with Xu Xian, trip up Bai Niangzi, or enter the Academy to study, he would need money.

He couldn't count on this place; not only could he not earn money, but he had to pay out of pocket.

Of course, he didn't believe this girl would actually dare to make him pay out of pocket.

"Write books or poetry to earn money?"

"Or, do some small business?"

Doing business is out of the question; it requires capital and also time.

He has a mission to complete, so that definitely won't work.

As for writing books or poetry, that is possible, but he must first find a channel.

"Tianxian Pavilion? That Miss Chujian?"

He thought about it carefully and felt that this was his only channel.

Moreover, it might not even work; he needs to ask the other party first.

As for Su Bie and the others, he does not want them to know about his talent for the time being.

After all, he still needs to get close to Xu Xian.

If one is too dazzling, no one is willing to get too close and become a mere foil.

"Let's write a simple story first to test it out."

He thought carefully for a while, immediately fetched the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began thinking of a story while grinding the ink.

Fortunately, he had read all these stories before.

The voice in his mind had given him a Golden Finger again; he remembered the texts he had once read almost word for word.

He picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write.

On the snow-white rice paper, three characters soon appeared: "West Chamber Romance".

It really is a special constitution.

He felt that his mental capacity had improved not just a little, but many times over compared to before.

With a story in his heart, his writing was as if guided by a god.

Soon, he had written fluently across several large sheets of rice paper.

Just as he was about to switch to the next sheet of rice paper, a cold voice suddenly came from behind him: "I haven't finished reading yet."

Hm?

Luo Zijun was startled.

Turning his head to look, he saw that his senior sister had appeared behind him at some point and was staring at the sheet of rice paper he had just finished writing on; the towering peaks on her chest were almost pressing against his face. It had indeed grown again.

"Give me money!"

Luo Zijun reacted, immediately grabbed a blank sheet of rice paper, and covered the one he had just written on.

Trying to dock my pay, you girl!

"You want money, right?"

Su Qingling gave him a cold look and suddenly pinched his waist: "Here you go!"

Luo Zijun reacted quickly and immediately reached out to pinch her waist as well.

"Ah!"

Both of them cried out at the same time.

"Let go!"

Su Qingling gritted her teeth while twisting.

!

Luo Zijun also gritted his teeth while twisting: "You first!"

Both of them exerted more force, both hissing in pain and breaking out in a cold sweat.

In the end, unable to bear the pain, both of them let go.

Su Qingling said resentfully: "I'm going to tell your sister!"

Luo Zijun said: "I'm going to tell your grandfather!"

Su Qingling: "I am my grandfather's little ancestor! Telling him is useless!"

Luo Zijun: "I... I am my sister's little treasure! Telling her is useless!"

The two were like needles against awns, neither willing to give in.

They stood in a standoff for a long time.

Su Qingling finally withdrew her cold gaze, sat down opposite him, and said: "I'll let you see my feet, you let me see the article."

Luo Zijun immediately refused: "I don't have that fetish!"

Su Qingling didn't speak and gently pulled up her skirt.

Beneath the skirt, a pair of the young girl's slender feet in white embroidered shoes suddenly appeared.

Luo Zijun said: "Senior sister, I really don't..."

Su Qingling suddenly bent her slender waist again, her long black hair falling down, and then reached out to take off one of her white embroidered shoes, revealing a slender, delicate foot in a white sock, which she placed on the shoe.

"..."

Su Qingling looked at him expressionlessly.

"Senior sister, don't be like this, I really don't have that fetish!"

Luo Zijun looked straight ahead, immediately stacked the rice paper he had just written on, and pushed it in front of her: "It's just an article, senior sister can read it if she wants, there's no need for this, I'm not that stingy."

Su Qingling ignored him and lowered her head to read.

Luo Zijun also lowered his head, then picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and continued writing.

The story of "West Chamber Romance" is not complicated.

It tells the story of a scholar who meets a wealthy Young Lady at a temple, overcomes various obstacles, and eventually, the lovers are united.

However, Luo Zijun decided to make some changes.

The ending turned into that scholar being heartless and unrighteous, ultimately betraying that wealthy Young Lady.

If this book were to circulate by then and Bai Niangzi saw this ending, perhaps she would be wary of a certain scholar in her heart.

Therefore, Luo Zijun decided that from now on, whenever he wrote about a scholar in a book, there could not be too good of an ending.

He wrote until evening.

After Luo Zijun finished writing the last sheet of rice paper, he declared it complete.

Su Qingling also finished reading the last sheet in its entirety.

"Why did Zhang Sheng betray her?"

She asked.

Luo Zijun stood up, stretching his limbs as he said, "It is written very clearly above; Zhang Sheng passed the imperial examination with high honors, his status was vastly different from before, and having grown tired of playing with Cui Yingying, he naturally did not want her anymore."

"Are all men like this?"

"Yes."

"What about you?"

"I am, of course, the same."

Seeing that she had finished reading, Luo Zijun gathered all the rice paper, tidied it up, and prepared to take it away.

Su Qingling put on her shoes, glanced at him again, and said with disdain, "This story is just a daydream of a poor boy before he dies; would a dignified wealthy Young Lady like him?"

Luo Zijun nodded and said, "Senior Sister is right, that is what I think too."

Su Qingling said coldly, "Isn't this what you wrote?"

Luo Zijun said, "I made it up."

Su Qingling scoffed, ignored him further, and went to the counter.

Luo Zijun tidied the table, went to get a rag to wipe everything down, and then, holding the written article, said, "Senior Sister, I am leaving first then."

Su Qingling was clicking the abacus behind the counter and did not acknowledge him.

Luo Zijun walked toward the door.

Su Qingling suddenly said coldly from behind, "Did you forget something?"

Luo Zijun turned his head, looking bewildered: "Forget what?"

Su Qingling looked at him with a cold, pretty face and did not speak again.

"If Senior Sister won't say, then forget it; if I forgot, I forgot, it probably wasn't anything important anyway."

Luo Zijun shrugged, went out the door, and soon disappeared into the street outside.

Su Qingling stood behind the counter and slowly clenched her fists.

A moment later.

A head suddenly poked out from the left door frame, staring at her as he said, "Senior Sister, you aren't angry to the point of tears, are you?"

Su Qingling's pretty face was frosty, and she did not speak.

"Let's go, let's go, go to my house to eat. If I don't bring you back, I probably won't be able to go back either."

Luo Zijun entered the shop to help her tidy up and close the door.

Su Qingling silently approached him, then, catching him off guard, suddenly extended her fingernails, gave his butt a fierce scratch, and turned to run!

"Su Qingling, you just wait!"

Luo Zijun hissed, immediately locked the door, and chased after her while rubbing his butt.

Not long after the two left.

Su Dafang returned carrying his Medicine Chest, and seeing the closed shop and the iron lock on the door, he was immediately dumbfounded.

At this moment, Xu Xian's pageboy happened to arrive, delivering the one qian and two wen of silver that hadn't been given in the morning, and told him, "My Young Lady said that if my Young Master's illness has not improved, she will come to the shop to find you herself."

After finishing, he left.

At the same time.

Sun Jintang's family had already arrived at Willow Leaf Alley, carrying gifts of apology.

(End of this chapter)