Traveling through ancient times: daily life on the run

Chapter 422: Finding a livelihood 4

Qin Luoqie certainly wasn't going to give up so easily. She thought for a moment, then asked a villager to buy some paper and a pen. Then, finding a quiet spot, she hurriedly wrote a line in Qin Bingrui's name.

"I, Qin Bingrui, was stranded while passing through Quanshui Village. I owe Miss Su Xiaoxiao a meal. In due time, I will repay her with gratitude."

After saying that, he snorted: "Haha, I am really smart."

I guess this way she can earn more money, or at least get the most profitable job, right?

When Gu Zichen came back, he heard that she was introduced by Miss Qin and was very enthusiastic towards her. He immediately expressed his willingness to keep her to work and provide her with food and accommodation. As for the wages, he asked her to work for a few days first.

Luo Yu was originally looking forward to the days of having food and shelter, and no longer having to hide and be hunted by others. What's the difference between this and living a god-like life?

After two days in Taohua Village, Luo Yu realized how naive he had been. Every day, just after the hour of Mao, he would be woken up by the gongs and drums of the headman to go to the mountains to collect wood. The nearby mountains were newly planted with trees, so they had to go to the mountains more than ten miles away to cut trees and bring back the wood.

Fortunately, Su Xiaoxiao was strong enough, and she and the strongest man moved the most trees in a day. The accountant told Luo Yu that earning two taels of silver a month by doing this would be a small amount for her.

After hearing this, Luo Yu was so angry that she wanted to throw away the huge tree trunk she was holding, which was almost as thick as her waist. She persisted for two days, waking up at 12:00 AM every day to cut and carry trees in the mountains, returning at noon for lunch and a half-hour nap, then cutting and polishing wood in the afternoon, working non-stop until dinner at 12:00 PM. After dinner, she spent another two hours assembling simple models with the master craftsman.

On this day, being able to sleep soundly for three hours was a blessing. Luo Yu felt miserable, while others were smiling and happy every day, as if their lives had a purpose.

After two days of work, Luo Yu was exhausted. At noon, she squatted at the village entrance, lost in thought. Bored, she touched her palms. The skin was rough and calloused. Even the hands of an old man in his seventies or eighties would feel more comfortable. Then, subconsciously, she touched her stomach. After all these days of hard work, it seemed to have shrunk and become firmer.

Luo Yu scratched her messy hair in annoyance. These past few days, she'd been hanging out with a bunch of men, eating and drinking for free, and no one seemed to treat her like a woman. She was safe, but she felt uneasy about being so poor. No, she had to change her environment and make money. Lots of it.

Thinking of this, Luo Yu stood up and patted herself roughly. She found Gu Zichen and had a talk. Gu Zichen was a down-to-earth man. Seeing that she was a girl after all, it was not suitable for her to stay in a place full of men, he gave her a few taels of silver as a gift. Luo Yu touched the silver and felt a pang of pain in her heart. If she had made money the way ordinary people did, she would probably have had to rely on her physical strength.

Well, let's go to the city first to see if there are any other opportunities! I took a ride on an ox cart, which took more than two hours to reach Tanzhou City. When I passed Xiaoyao Mountain Villa on the way, the aunties sitting in the cart chattered, as if they were discussing when the young Murong Manor owner would get married and who would be so lucky to marry into the Murong family.

Luo Yu was almost falling asleep when he heard an aunt say, "I heard that the Qiao family in the north wants to form a marriage alliance with the Murong family. It's said that the youngest and most precious daughter of the Qiao family's eldest master is now eighteen years old and has always refused to marry. But when she met Murong Huaijin, the young master of the Murong family in Tanzhou, she insisted on marrying only him."

"This daughter from a wealthy family is truly unique. She dares to pursue her love so boldly."

"Tsk tsk, it's just lust!"

Luo Yu's sleepiness was completely gone, so he asked, "What does Master Murong think? Has he met the girl from the Qiao family?"

Several aunties turned their heads to look at her, with surprised expressions, as if they suddenly knew of her existence.

"Why are you, a young girl, asking this?"

Luo Yu was puzzled: "Can't a virgin ask this kind of question?"

"Well, it's not impossible, but it's better if you don't listen to this kind of thing between men and women."

Luo Yu lazily turned over and said with a smile: "I will get married sooner or later, so why should I be afraid of listening? I love to hear whatever you say, no matter how explicit it is."

"Hahaha……"

At three quarters past the hour of the twilight hour, Luo Yu got off the oxcart and stood outside the gate of Tanzhou City, stretching herself lazily. It seemed as if good days were about to arrive.

After finding an inn to stay in, she made a careful plan. If she didn't sell her original skills, she could only make money by using some tricks, so she tried the water first.

She bought some paper, pen and ink, and spent an hour writing the Arabic numerals from 1 to 600 on a piece of paper with her left hand, wasting several sheets of paper.

She calculated the time it would take to write all 600 Arabic numerals in one go, and found it would take about half an incense stick of time. She set the time at one incense stick, because many people had never seen these Arabic numerals before, and she wanted to give them ample time to get used to them. If she wrote all 600 numbers correctly within the time limit, she would receive 100 wen. If she made any mistakes, she would have to pay 30 wen for the paper and pen.

To this end, she spent one or two taels of silver to rent two tables and a few stools from the innkeeper, so that several people could write at the same time. Luo Yu roughly calculated that if she worked for four hours a day, serving about twenty customers during the time it takes to write an incense stick, she could earn about ten taels of silver a day. Of course, this was based on the best efficiency. If business was average, she could earn two or three taels of silver a day, which would barely cover her travel expenses for two months, provided no one copied her business.

The next day, Luo Lu asked someone to move three tables and a few stools to the busiest street in Tanzhou City. Most of the people coming and going on this street were wealthy families, and the surrounding shops were mostly entertainment-oriented. Luo Lu paid a five-cent stall fee and then set up a makeshift flag with the words written on it with her left hand: Street Games!

There was a cute and lively cartoon character drawn under the flag, with some Arabic numerals twisted crookedly on it, and the rules of the game were written in big words on paper under the flag.

There weren't many people watching. Luo Yu rolled a piece of paper into a trumpet shape and shouted to the crowd, "Come and see, it'll take you at most half an incense stick of time to earn 100 coins. It's a fair game, and anyone can play it!"

She called out several times, but no one paid any attention to her.

Isn't this too unfair? Is it because her current appearance is too scary? Although Luo Yu hasn't found a bronze mirror to look at her face in the past few days, at least her hair is carefully combed, and her clothes, although old, are clean. How ugly can she be?

How could Luo Yu give up so easily? She thought for a moment, and when she saw a man dressed like an elegant scholar passing by, she quickly called out, "Great scholar ahead, please stay, please stay!"

The man looked back and saw a plump, fair girl waving at him. He looked around and saw no one else around.

"Yes, it's you. I can tell at a glance that you are a rare talent in Tanzhou City!"