"Make do with this for now, my lady. Once we earn more money, I'll buy you a jade one."
Lu Youqing toyed with the silver hairpin Qin Ke had given her. Hearing his words, she looked up at him and smiled softly.
"I don't care about those things."
Whether a gift was expensive or not was never important to her. What mattered far more was the person giving it—and the sincerity behind it—rather than material value.
After leaving the jewelry shop, Qin Ke bought some pastries as well. He had never tasted ancient-era sweets before, so he picked up a little of everything.
Holding the pastries in one hand and Lu Youqing's hand in the other, they eventually wandered to the slave market. Qin Ke recalled that he had previously asked the broker to keep an eye out for someone with carpentry skills. Since quite some time had passed, he decided to stop by and ask.
"Sir, we really haven't come across anyone like that recently," the broker shook his head. Then he suddenly leaned closer and lowered his voice. "However, a few days ago we did get someone who knows martial arts. He's willing to sell himself as a servant. Are you interested?"
"Oh?" Qin Ke raised an eyebrow, immediately intrigued.
Seeing his interest, the broker explained the situation.
The man's name was Lei Zhong. He had been taken in by an escort agency as a child and trained in martial arts. From a young age, he traveled with escort convoys. Half a month ago, however, while escorting goods past the foot of Luming Mountain, they were ambushed by bandits.
The escort agency had traveled far and wide for years and was highly experienced. Everyone knew some martial skills, and incidents were rare. But this group of bandits was especially despicable. They had disguised women and children as refugees and mixed them into the convoy, secretly drugging the escorts' tea.
By the time the convoy reached the mountain foothills, the bandits revealed themselves.
Taking advantage of the drug's effects, they not only seized the goods but slaughtered the escort agency members as well. Lei Zhong survived only because he had injured his arm during the previous escort and had stayed behind to guard the agency. By the time he rushed to Luming Mountain after hearing the news, his master and fellow disciples lay dead in the wilderness.
Grief-stricken, he collected their bodies alone.
Before he could even give them proper burials, the client whose goods had been lost came demanding compensation, threatening to drag Lei Zhong to the authorities if payment was not made.
With no backing and no strength to resist, Lei Zhong had no choice but to sell off the escort agency's shop and remaining assets. After compensating the losses, almost nothing remained.
To ensure that his fellow disciples could be laid to rest, he could only sell himself.
"So what you're saying is that his condition is that his fellow disciples must first be buried properly?" Qin Ke said. This reminded him of the old saying from his previous life—selling oneself to pay for a burial.
"That's right. He said he doesn't want a single coin for himself, only that his brothers be buried. The burial expenses are substantial. Many families were interested in him, but once they heard that condition, they backed out."
Lu Youqing understood. Most households bought servants for guarding the home or doing chores. Martial skills were a bonus, but not worth such a high cost.
"May we see him first?" she asked. She could tell Qin Ke was already tempted—and she herself felt the same.
Someone skilled in combat and loyal by nature was exactly what they needed right now.
"Of course. Please wait a moment."
Before long, the broker led over a tall, broad-shouldered young man with a square, resolute face.
Qin Ke saw his steady, powerful stride and calm determination. His initial interest immediately solidified.
"How many coffins do you need? How much silver is required to give them proper burials? Do you have a figure in mind?" Lu Youqing asked directly.
"Thirteen brothers," Lei Zhong replied evenly, standing straight-backed. "They are currently placed at the City God Temple outside town. I need twenty-five taels. Once they are buried, this life of mine will belong to you."
Hearing the amount, Qin Ke finally understood why no one had bought him. An ordinary servant cost only five taels—Han Qi, for instance. Lei Zhong's price was five times that.
After a moment of contemplation, Lu Youqing looked at Qin Ke. He understood immediately and pulled out thirty taels, tossing them to Lei Zhong.
Lei Zhong caught the silver, frowned, and looked at Qin Ke.
"It's too much."
"The extra is for better coffins for your brothers," Qin Ke said with a smile, wrapping an arm around Lu Youqing's waist and telling him their home address. "Once you've settled everything, come find me in the village."
Lei Zhong stared at the couple's retreating figures, clenching the silver tightly in his hand and engraving their faces into his memory.
"Aren't you afraid he'll take the money and disappear?" Lu Youqing asked once they were back on the street, smiling faintly.
Qin Ke turned to meet her gaze, looking straight into her perceptive eyes.
"You already know the answer, don't you?"
Lu Youqing lowered her head and looked at her toes, speaking softly.
"Yes. Someone like him values loyalty above all else. Once he feels indebted, he'll follow you wholeheartedly. That's far more reliable than any contract."
"That just proves how well we understand each other," Qin Ke laughed. "And even if we were wrong, we can consider it a good deed."
They chatted and laughed as they returned to the stall, where Li Nanqiao and Han Qi were already packing up.
"Sold out?" Qin Ke glanced at the empty cart.
Li Nanqiao slid the board back onto the cart and said happily,
"Yes! Someone just bought the last five watermelons all at once."
"Excellent. Today's results are great," Qin Ke waved his hand grandly. "Come on, lunch is on me."
Everyone climbed onto the cart cheerfully. Qin Ke found a bun shop and treated everyone to a hearty meal.
Only after eating their fill did they head home. That night, after Li Nanqiao and the others left, Lu Youqing and Qin Ke sat in the bedroom to tally the accounts.
Including the watermelons Qin Ke had secretly added from his system space, they had brought nearly one hundred melons. Excluding the free samples, they sold one hundred and twelve in total, earning fifty-six taels.
Earning over fifty taels in a single day left even the well-informed Lu Youqing astonished.
Qin Ke had already calculated the yield. One mu of watermelon fields produced about 8,000 jin. At roughly ten jin per melon, that meant around eight hundred melons per mu. With five mu, the total output would be about four thousand melons.
Even at their current price, those fields alone could bring in over two thousand taels.
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Currently at chapter 144 for advance chapters
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