spoiled brat

Chapter 5. The Opportunity (Part 5)

After thinking for a while, Mother Yu didn't say whether she agreed or not, but only said:

"You should go and find out what's going on with them first."

After saying that, he got up and left.

Zhao Zhao's tense body instantly relaxed. She breathed a sigh of relief and stepped outside.

The moment my foot crossed the threshold, I heard Xiao Duo's cursing voice:

"Zhao Zhao'er, you have no conscience!"

He had been a pimp since he could remember, and having seen many miserable people, he developed a strong sense of justice and could not stand oppression or coercion.

He had just taken Yun'er to see a doctor and then asked Mama Yu to come and help Zhao Zhao out of her predicament.

After finally reaching the door, they heard Zhao Zhao spout a bunch of nonsensical nonsense.

What a brilliant idea to replace them! What a brilliant idea to make those officials earn even more!

"Zhao Si's interest rate is already as high as 30% per month! You just said you could give him even more, doesn't that mean you'll raise the interest rate even higher?!"

Zhao Zhao realized he had misunderstood, thinking she was trying to flatter her superiors, so she raised her finger and swore:

"I guarantee the interest rate will be no higher than 30%. I will also help the women in the building get their money back, every penny of it will be returned."

"you promise?"

“I promise,” Zhao Zhao said, “it’s still nothing. I only have a rough idea in mind, and there’s still one crucial point I haven’t figured out.”

Which place?

"Who exactly is Zhao Si's client?"

Actually, she already had a few candidates in mind, but she wasn't quite sure yet.

Xiao Duo laughed and said, "They're running a business that's extremely profitable, with huge sums of money coming in and going out, but they never manage to save any. How despicable. You really can't imagine someone who meets all these criteria?"

Zhao Zhao pretended not to understand and waited for him to continue.

Xiao Duo is a pimp, but a pimp is still a man, and he can't help but show off his skills in front of women.

He cleared his throat and, in the tone of a private tutor, swayed his head and said:

"Then let the most dashing, talented, and unparalleled young man in the world tell you."

Zhao Zhao casually picked a spring flower from a branch, tore off a petal, threw it into her mouth, and chuckled as she chewed:

"Xiaoduo, please give me some pointers."

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and sunlight dappled Zhao Zhao like scattered gold. Half of her face was hidden under the flowers, making her appear ethereal, but only the cunning and cleverness in her eyes, like a cat's, was undisguised, tinged with a playful smile.

Xiao Duo was so engrossed in watching that her mouth was slightly open until Zhao Zhao threw her a wild fruit from a branch, which brought her back to her senses because of its sourness.

Realizing his lapse in composure, Xiao Duo smacked his lips, swallowing the sour taste. Suppressing his desire to show off, he said directly:
"Porter".

To put it bluntly, the porters were night soil carriers. They were all under the management of the head of the night soil collection team. Every morning, they would go into the city and collect night soil from house to house.

Seeing Zhao Zhao's confusion, Xiao Duo added, "You've never left the city, so you've probably only seen them on the streets and never been to the shacks where they live outside the city."

Indeed, without permission, the girls in the building could only wander around the nearby streets; if they went any further, they would be considered to be running away and would be caught and whipped. Zhao Zhao asked, "Where does the exorbitant profit in this line of work come from?"

Xiao Duo often goes out shopping and hears a lot about worldly affairs, so he explained:

"These porters are all under the supervision of a few designated 'cleaners,' who are in charge of the imperial court's 'cesspool,' enjoying exclusive operating privileges and essentially monopolizing this filthy profession."

"Think about it, does collecting excrement require any capital? After collecting it, you can take it to the landlords in the countryside to fertilize their fields. Isn't that a highly profitable business?"

Zhao Zhao understood immediately and clapped her hands, saying, "Here, we leave the fields fallow in October and start cultivating them in June. After the snow melts in spring, it's the time when the fields need fertilizer, so the barbers make a lot of money. In winter, when the ground freezes, the barbers have no customers and can only borrow money to keep operating. Although it's a very profitable business, they don't have much money left at the end of the year."

"These 'clerks,' seemingly acting on orders from the court to do official business, are actually being put on the hot seat," Xiao Duo sighed. "They are the lowest of the low among merchants; they offer money, but people find it disgusting!"

Zhao Zhao rolled her bright, watery eyes and asked, "How is Sister Yun'er?"

"Don't even mention it." Xiao Duo waved his hand impatiently. "Mother Yu called a doctor and gave her several bowls of nourishing soup. She barely escaped death, but after she woke up, she started going crazy and talking nonsense, constantly asking if Zhao Si had come."

"Let's go find her!"

"Why are you looking for her?"

"Find out Zhao Si's whereabouts through her. It's early spring now, the perfect time to fertilize the fields. The plasterers are making a fortune, and Zhao Si should be heading out of town to collect debts! Just follow his movements, and we can figure out who his regular customers are!"

The two jogged all the way to the room where Yun'er was recuperating.

Xiao Duo said she was talking nonsense, and it was true. Yun'er seemed to be having a nightmare. Although she was in a deep sleep, she was muttering to herself.

Zhao Zhao leaned closer to Yun'er's pillow, trying hard to hear what she was saying, and her eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

Last night, when she was in pain and suffering, she was still able to say a few words cursing Zhao Si to die quickly, but now she is begging Zhao Si to soften his heart and redeem her for the sake of their past relationship.

"Sister Yun'er, he won't come."

Zhao Zhao whispered in her ear, her light, airy voice like a sharp knife:

"He made a lot of money and is living a carefree life outside. He said you're a slut, that you're ridden by a thousand men and slept with by ten thousand, and that if it weren't for the money he was trying to swindle from you, he wouldn't even want to touch you."

In an instant, Yun'er, who had been sleeping, opened her eyes. Her tired eyes were filled with hatred, but her expression softened when she saw that the person in front of her was Zhao Zhao.

She was in poor health, and Zhao Zhao didn't want to bother her too much, so she claimed that she was going to ask Zhao Si for money and asked a few questions briefly.

"You're going to ask for it back? Do you even think you can get it back?" Yun'er said weakly.

Zhao Zhao smiled. Although she was young, whenever a kind of shrewdness appeared on her face that was not annoying, it was always very convincing.

She wasn't a good person, nor did she do good deeds, but she never failed when it came to making money.

“Zhao Si…” Yun’er sighed, her voice barely audible: “He used to tell me that he only came to my place when he was busy with business. Today I learned from Mama Yu that he had been having an affair with a brothel in West Street Alley… Now that we’ve fallen out, he’s probably spending all his time at that woman’s house.”

Zhao Zhao and Xiao Duo exchanged a glance, both of them looking puzzled.

How can you be jealous of a beast after being bitten by it?
Oh well, oh well, this is the first time Yun'er has ever been moved in her twenty years of life.

Zhao Zhao brought the herbal medicine from the table and fed it to her, coaxing her with a smile:

“Sister Yun’er, think about it again. By the time you get the money back, you’ll have almost recovered. What kind of man can’t you get? Don’t even mention Zhao Si, even Zhao Sishi would be licking your boots.”

The prostitutes in the brothel lived entirely by the favor of men.

Yun'er was once obsessed with men's flattery, thinking that she could use her looks to make a fortune. Now that she has suffered this blow, she has truly been shattered to pieces.