Chapter 18: The Road to Civilization
A moment later, Jin Yao woke up just as Master Xiang had said.
"Oh my god, I was so scared, I survived?" Jin Yao was relieved when he opened his eyes and saw Han Fei, and asked hurriedly.
"It turns out you were really pretending!" Han Fei and Li Si were speechless. They almost believed it. With such acting skills, it would be a waste of talent if he didn't become an actor.
"No, why am I in your room? I clearly remember that I am..." Jin Yao looked at Han Fei and Li Si, muttering a little depressed. He had already found a place to lie down, so why did he appear in the room of two grown men?
"..." Han Fei wanted to throw Jin Yao out directly. Do you know how much face I lost in bringing you back? And you still look down on us!
"Brother Yao, you should think about how to compensate her for hugging and kissing a girl in public !" Li Sike was not done yet, they still owed the dancer an explanation.
Most dancers can be sent away with just a few dollars, but the dancers who can come to the Jixia Academy to perform dances all have powerful people behind them and are not so easy to send away.
"I have no money!" Jin Yao's face froze. He seduced Gongsun Linglong's jade pendant and took Han Fei's jade pendant, which showed how poor he was.
"Money may not solve the problem!" Han Fei was speechless. These dancers might not necessarily be willing to come to the Jixia Academy to dance, but even if they themselves were unwilling, the forces behind them would make them willing to do so, so as to make friends with scholars and dignitaries.
"A Confucian disciple, chosen by the Yin-Yang School. If nothing unexpected happens, she will become a big figure in the Yin-Yang School in the future. Does Xue'er have any intentions towards her?" A beautiful woman asked the young but beautiful white-haired girl in the side hall where the dancers were resting.
Although they are dancers and have no choice, they are selected to come to the Jixia Academy and have a certain degree of choice. The forces behind them will not force them too much.
The white-haired girl was as cold as ever and shook her head. They had only met once, and the other person had disheveled hair like a madman, so it was hard to have a good impression of him.
"Alas, you should know that it is difficult for people like us to have a good result. It is not easy to find someone of the same age." The beautiful woman sighed. He was still too young. The young man had unlimited achievements in the future and it was beyond their reach. If they did not seize the opportunity now, they would only become playthings of the powerful in the future.
"Teacher, do you hope that I can marry that young scholar?" The Snow Girl asked the beautiful woman who was both her teacher and mother.
The beautiful woman sighed, "This is just the teacher's expectation, the other party may not be willing!"
Being able to escape from the hell of being a dancer and become a concubine of a scholar is a kind of relief. However, given the romantic nature of Confucian scholars, they may not be willing to accept them. They are more likely to just reward them with some money and send them off.
"Why aren't you dead?" Gongsun Linglong pestered her second uncle to take her to see Jin Yao.
As soon as I entered the room, I saw the lively Jin Yao, Han Fei and Li Si sitting on cushions, holding their foreheads and sighing.
"I'm almost dying. Do you have any money? Lend me some!" Jin Yao looked at Gongsun Linglong and asked directly.
He had discussed this with Han Fei and Li Si and concluded that if someone hugged a prostitute in public, he would either have to take her as a concubine or spend a large sum of money to redeem her and let her leave on her own.
But after asking around, he found out that she was actually a dancer trained by Yan Chunjun of Yan State. It would be difficult to buy her without a huge sum of money. Even Han Fei didn't have that much money.
"Brother Yao, where is your face?" Han Fei and Li Si covered their faces. You are so shameless. You ask a girl for money and it seems like a matter of course.
Han Tan was also shocked. Where is his face? A grown man asking a woman for money. Is this what the Mohist school taught you?
"Forget it, I'll figure it out myself!" Jin Yao's face was also red, as if it was really a bit too much.
"How much do you want?" To everyone's surprise, Gongsun Linglong actually took out her small purse and carefully counted the money, among which was Han Fei's jade pendant.
“???” Han Fei and Li Si were stunned. Comparing yourself with others is really frustrating. Is there actually a girl willing to pay for this guy?
Han Tan's face also froze. You're selling yourself out before you even get married?
"Forget it, I'll find a way!" Jin Yao shook his head, took the Ling Xu that Han Fei had placed next to him, and walked out.
"That's at least a thousand gold coins. Where are you going to get it?" Han Fei asked curiously.
"What do you mean by a thousand gold?" Gongsun Linglong asked curiously. A thousand gold was not a small amount of money. Although she had a lot of pocket money, she would never take a thousand gold with her when she went out.
"Uh~" Han Fei and Li Si looked at each other, then looked at Jin Yao who had already gone far away, and then explained the matter again.
"You scoundrel, you will never change your ways!" Gongsun Linglong cursed and chased after him.
Han Tan followed reluctantly, and Li Si and Han Fei had no choice but to follow.
The group came to an official road outside Linzi City where caravans often traveled, and then they saw Jin Yao skillfully changed into the clothes of a gangster, wearing a black robe, a bamboo hat, and a black scarf on his face.
"He wouldn't want to be a robber, right? This is the capital Linzi!" Han Fei said hesitantly.
"Who are you looking down on?" Jin Yao ignored the strange looks from others and asked, "Is he that kind of uneducated person?"
"A hundred feet ahead, the government is charging a toll. Please slow down and pay for drinking water." Jin Yao said as he put up a sign on the side of the road, and then used Lingxu to carve eye-catching large characters on the sign.
Han Tan, Han Fei, Li Si, and Gongsun Linglong all blinked. How could he do this? Collecting money on behalf of the government? Wasn't he afraid that Qi would cause trouble for him? Moreover, there had been no official order in Linzi to collect money on official roads. Would anyone really pay?
"What do you mean by 'I built this road and I planted these trees'? If you want to pass through here, it's too uncultured to ask for money. We are educated people and we should be civilized and polite!" Jin Yao got a bunch of water bags from somewhere, filled them with water and placed them on the side of the road. He then used his inner force to shake open a few bamboos to lead the mountain spring water to the side of the road, and then sat on the water bags.
"Can he really get the money?" Gongsun Linglong looked at her second uncle Han Tan.
"I don't know whether he can do it or not, but if Linzi finds out, he will definitely be imprisoned!" Han Tan felt helpless and a little regretful for following along. In this way, they seemed to have become accomplices.
However, soon, a caravan from Linzi City passed by Jin Yao, looked at Jin Yao, and without asking any questions, left ten gold coins in exchange for a piece of wood carved by Jin Yao and a few water bags, and continued on their way.
For several hours, not a single caravan had any doubts. They all paid for the water and left.
Jin Yao also politely smiled and helped the other party refill his water supply. He gave him a piece of wood that he had carved which he didn't know if it was useful or not, and watched him leave.
"He must have received nearly a thousand gold coins this afternoon, right?" Han Fei looked at Li Si and asked hesitantly.
It has to be said that the Qi caravans, which had enjoyed peace for decades, were really rich and numerous. In just one afternoon, there were nearly a hundred caravans coming in and out. Based on the average of ten gold pieces per caravan, Jin Yao really earned nearly a thousand gold pieces in just one afternoon.
