The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#225 - The smell of money

"Zhao Daguan, your luck has truly been flourishing lately! It fills us with envy."

"Indeed, the Nanyang maritime trade is a lucrative business, its profits making everyone's eyes red with jealousy. However, the initial investment required is too large, and the risks are extremely high. Out of ten ships that set sail, perhaps only one might return. Therefore, even wealthy merchants and powerful businessmen have seen their families ruined by maritime ventures."

"But Zhao Daguan, your fleet returned in its entirety on its first voyage! Not only did you sell all the tea and silk you carried, but you also brought back a ship full of ivory and jewelry. The profit from this single trip must be close to a million taels of silver!"

"Oh, right, I also heard that Zhao Daguan, you managed to obtain salt permits through Eunuch He's connections and are planning to sell salt in Qingzhou. This is another guaranteed profitable venture! However, I'm afraid some ignorant troublemakers might cause you problems in Qingzhou. I'm not talented, but I know some martial arts friends in Qingzhou who can help you deter those petty thieves!"

A gaunt man with a jade thumb ring flattered him, personally pouring wine for the plump merchant surnamed Zhao.

However, the latter waved his hand magnanimously upon hearing this, saying heroically, "What need do I have for martial artists! With my current luck, what does it matter if people target me? In the end, they'll just be coming to give me money! Hahahaha."

His words were truly too arrogant, to the point that everyone else at the table exchanged glances, unable to even force a smile.

Seeing their expressions, Zhao Daguan became even more pleased with himself. He drained the fine wine in his cup and looked at the others askance, "Don't believe me? Just a month ago, I went out of the city to discuss business with someone and ran into a gang of notorious bandits who kidnapped me, intending to demand a ransom.

They probably didn't want to leave me alive, so they spoke without restraint in front of me, even revealing the location where they hid their money. However, they then ran into a chivalrous expert.

As a result, they all lost their lives, and I not only escaped unscathed from their clutches, but I also ran to the place where they buried the money and dug up a thousand taels of gold and at least one hundred thousand taels of silver worth of antiques and calligraphy!"

Everyone listened in astonishment.

Clearly, none of them had expected Zhao Daguan's luck to be so outrageously good.

But Zhao Daguan hadn't finished speaking. He continued, "However, this windfall caused me to be targeted by a garrison general. He falsely accused me of being a spy for an enemy country, intending to imprison me and seize my family fortune.

But unexpectedly, it led me to become acquainted with Eunuch He, who holds immense power in the court. Eunuch He loves painting, and I presented him with three ancient paintings I obtained from those bandits. Not only did I avert the danger, but I also gained a powerful backer who holds sway over the entire court.

Eunuch He helped me obtain salt permits. This time, I want to see how much more I can earn!" Zhao Daguan's laughter grew more unrestrained as he spoke, shaking the roof tiles.

Upon hearing this, everyone raised their glasses and congratulated Zhao Daguan again.

Their eyes held envy, jealousy, and resentment, but no matter what, everyone had to admit that Zhao Daguan's luck was terrifyingly strong.

It also strengthened their resolve to follow Zhao Daguan, hoping to at least get some soup if he ate the meat.

But none of them expected that in the next moment, the extremely pleased Zhao Daguan would suffer a reversal of fortune.

A black cat suddenly appeared from who knows where, jumping from the roof beam directly onto the dining table and biting Zhao Daguan's right hand.

Zhao Daguan immediately let out a scream.

At the same time, Lu Jing greedily sucked, drawing the thing from Zhao Daguan's body into his own mouth. It was a golden ingot. Lu Jing often heard people talk about the taste of money.

And this time, he finally truly tasted the taste of money.

The taste was indeed delicious. Lu Jing burped contentedly and, before Zhao Daguan could grab him, he kicked his legs and jumped off the table, knocking over a bowl of fish soup.

Then, he nimbly twisted his body, broke through the encirclement of the people at the table, and quickly scurried up the railing on the second floor.

"Catch it! Catch it for me!" Zhao Daguan roared behind him, "I'm going to kill this little beast!"

However, Lu Jing's body had already leaped out, landing on a slightly lower awning across the street. Then, with a flick of his tail, he disappeared into the streets.

Lu Jing didn't have time to savor the thing he had eaten and that thrilling moment.

The next moment, he was standing by a small bridge, and in front of him was a woman standing by the bridge, about thirty years old. To say that this age is not too old.

Especially in Lu Jing's previous life, she hadn't even reached the layoff line.

But there was already white hair at her temples, and she looked extremely haggard, covering her face and sobbing, "Why, why is my life so bitter? My father died when I was young, and then my mother.

I finally got married, but in less than a year, my husband was conscripted into the army and died in battle from a stray arrow. Fortunately, I was already pregnant at that time, and the child in my belly was my only hope for survival.

But just as my child grew to be ten years old, he fell into the river and drowned. After that, I found another man and remarried, but in less than three years, he was helping someone repair a house and accidentally fell from the roof, breaking his neck.

"Wuwuwu... everyone around me is dead. What's the point of living? I might as well die."

She cried and wanted to jump off the bridge, but then her ankle hurt. She turned her head and saw that a black cat had just bitten her. The woman looked at the black cat, but she didn't exclaim in surprise. Instead, she said a little痴痴 道, "What, don't you want me to jump down?"

However, the black cat couldn't speak. It just silently savored the thing it had swallowed earlier. It was a ball of death energy. The taste was a bit strange, feeling like it had just drunk a bowl of douzhi.

It was a little disgusting at first, but the aftertaste was actually not bad. Lu Jing ignored the woman by the bridge, licked his lips, and ran into the night again.

After that, he met the poet whose thoughts flowed like a spring, saw the stunning beauty who was known as a femme fatale, the scholar who repeatedly failed the examinations, the gambler with terrible luck…

For example, he once spat the golden ingot he ate onto a beggar begging on the street. Not long after, the latter found a bag of gold in the Buddha statue in the dilapidated temple where he lived.

For example, he spat out a cloud of rosy vapor that he had eaten from the poet onto a child who had just started elementary school. The latter looked at the big goose in his chicken coop and immediately blurted out a metrical poem, which was hailed as a child prodigy by the surrounding villages.