Chapter 27: Earning Money by Writing Books

The sunlight was a bit glaring.

On the way back, Su Dafang looked utterly dejected. He had traveled all this distance to treat a patient, only to end up earning not a single copper. To make matters worse, he had been lectured by a young girl.

"You old man, skulking in with shifty eyes the moment you arrived—you must be one of their good-for-nothing cronies! It was because you lot called him out that night that he got injured, and now you have the nerve to ask for money? You should be compensating us! One tael and two coins of silver, hand it over!"

"..."

Su Dafang felt deeply wronged. He was at such an advanced age; how could he possibly be a "good-for-nothing crony" to those little rascals? Besides, he clearly had thick brows and large, bright eyes, looking upright and honest—where exactly were his eyes "shifty" or his demeanor "skulking"?

Seeing the girl’s rage and the red-tasseled spear looming threateningly behind her, the two dared not press for payment and slunk away in humiliation.

"Zijun, about today’s consultation fee..."

"Master, just deduct it from my allowance."

Luo Zijun was in a good mood. Things were finally progressing; he had seen Xu Xian. Since he hadn't asked for a fee and had been scolded by the man's sister, Xu Xian essentially owed him a favor. It would be easier to manipulate him in the future.

Su Dafang rolled his eyes. "You still have an allowance? Your little pittance of an allowance was long ago deducted to nothing by your senior sister."

Luo Zijun was stunned. "Wasn't it only twenty coins deducted?"

Su Dafang glanced at him. "Your senior sister said that lately, you’ve not only been peeking at her chest every day but also at her feet, so she’s increasing the deductions. What do you think she was calculating this morning? She was tallying up exactly how much you currently owe her!"

Luo Zijun: "..."

"Master, I am innocent."

"Complaining to me is useless. You haven't been peeking at me. Go back and complain to your senior sister."

"Can't you, Master, do something about that girl?"

"It’s more like she does something about me."

"You are the grandfather, not her."

"We have our own arrangement. She calls me Grandfather, and I call her the Little Ancestor."

"..."

The two chatted aimlessly until they returned to the Baohetang Pharmacy. A middle-aged woman was sitting inside. Seeing them return, she pleaded, "Dr. Su, my old man is on his last legs, please, you must go take a look."

"Sigh..."

Su Dafang let out a long breath, took the medical kit from Luo Zijun’s shoulder, and said, "Stay here and read your books. I’ll go myself."

Suddenly, he turned to Su Qingling behind the counter and added, "Deduct another one tael and two coins of silver from this brat!"

Su Qingling immediately lowered her head, the abacus beads clattering under her fingers.

Su Dafang left with the woman. Luo Zijun had caught their conversation.

"Wasn't he fine a few days ago? Did the medicine I prescribed not work?"

"It worked, he was almost better, but last night he got up to go to the outhouse and suddenly screamed before fainting from fright. When he woke up, he said he saw a very large snake, and since then he’s been bedridden..."

Luo Zijun’s heart skipped a beat. A very large snake? He was extremely sensitive to snakes lately. But if it were Lady White, she shouldn't have been out that late scaring people. Could it be Xiaoqing? That girl was mischievous and eccentric; she might really do something like that.

Wait! How did he know Xiaoqing was mischievous? And how did he know Lady White wouldn't go out to scare people on purpose? Their personalities were things he had only read about in books or seen on television; he couldn't take them as absolute truth. Perhaps the Bai and Xiaoqing of this world had entirely different temperaments?

Just as he was frowning in thought, Su Qingling spoke coldly, "You now owe me three taels and two coins of silver."

Luo Zijun looked up at her. Her towering, prominent peaks were once again brazenly displayed on the counter, looking as if they reigned supreme over the world.

"It’s three taels and three coins now!"

"On what grounds?"

"You just peeked again!"

"Didn't you say before that if you deducted thirty coins from my monthly allowance, I could look every day?"

"I’ve grown recently, so the price has gone up!"

"..."

Luo Zijun ignored her and turned into the back room. He had to find a way to make money. Whether it was to hang out with Xu Xian, trip up Lady White, or enter the academy to study, he needed funds. He couldn't rely on this place; not only was there no money to be made, but he also ended up owing more. Of course, he didn't believe the girl would truly dare to make him pay out of his own pocket.

"Write books or poetry to earn money?"

"Or, start a small business?"

A business was out of the question; it required capital and time. He had tasks to complete, so that wouldn't work. As for writing, that was feasible, but he needed a channel.

"The Tianxian Pavilion? That lady named Chujian?"

He thought it over carefully and felt that was his only real option. And it wasn't guaranteed to work; he would need to ask her first. As for Su Bie and the others, he didn't want them to know about his talents just yet. After all, he still needed to get close to Xu Xian. If he were too dazzling, no one would want to get close to him, lest they become mere background decoration.

"I’ll start by writing a simple story to test the waters."

He pondered for a while, then fetched his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. As he ground the ink, he rehearsed the story. Fortunately, he had read all these stories before. The Master of the Moon Palace had granted him a "golden finger," and he could recall almost every word he had ever read.

He dipped his brush and began to write. On the snow-white rice paper, three characters soon appeared: *The Western Chamber*.

It truly was a special constitution. He felt his mental capacity had increased not just a little, but many times over compared to before. With the story in his heart, his writing flowed like a divine inspiration. Soon, he had filled several large sheets of paper.

Just as he was about to switch to a new sheet, a cold voice came from behind him: "I haven't finished reading it yet."

Huh?

Luo Zijun was startled. He turned to see his senior sister standing behind him, staring at the sheet of paper he had just filled, her towering chest almost brushing against his face.

She had indeed grown.

"Pay up!"

Luo Zijun snapped back to reality, grabbed a blank sheet of paper, and covered the one he had just finished. So you want to deduct my money, girl!

"Oh, so you want money, do you?"

Su Qingling gave him a cold look and suddenly pinched his waist. "Here you go!"

Luo Zijun reacted quickly and immediately reached out to pinch her waist in return.

"Ah!"

Both of them cried out.

"Let go!" Su Qingling gritted her teeth while twisting.

Luo Zijun also gritted his teeth while twisting back. "You first!"

They both applied more force, their faces breaking into cold sweat as they hissed in pain. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, they both released their grips.

Su Qingling said viciously, "I’m going to tell your sister!"

Luo Zijun replied, "I’m going to tell your grandfather!"

Su Qingling: "I am my grandfather’s Little Ancestor! Telling him won't do any good!"

Luo Zijun: "I... I am my sister’s little darling! Telling her won't do any good either!"

They were like needles against wheat awns, neither willing to yield. After a long standoff, Su Qingling retracted her cold gaze, sat opposite him, and said, "I’ll show you my feet, and you let me read your article."

Luo Zijun immediately refused. "I don't have that fetish!"

Su Qingling didn't speak; she simply lifted her skirt slightly. Beneath it, a pair of delicate maiden feet in white embroidered shoes were revealed.

Luo Zijun said, "Senior sister, I really don't—"

Su Qingling suddenly bent her slender waist, her long black hair cascading down, and reached out to remove one of her white embroidered shoes, revealing a slender, pale-socked foot resting on the shoe.

"..."

Su Qingling stared at him, expressionless.

"Senior sister, don't be like this. I really don't have that fetish!"

Luo Zijun kept his eyes straight, quickly folded the paper he had just written on, and pushed it toward her. "It’s just an article. If you want to read it, then read it. There’s no need for this; I’m not that stingy."

Su Qingling ignored him and began to read. Luo Zijun also lowered his head, dipped his brush, and continued to write.

The story of *The Western Chamber* was not complicated. It told of a scholar who encountered a wealthy young lady at a temple, overcame obstacles, and eventually became a wedded couple. However, Luo Zijun decided to alter it. He changed the ending so that the scholar was fickle and heartless, ultimately betraying the lady.

If this book were to circulate and Lady White read this ending, she might become wary of a certain scholar in her heart. Therefore, Luo Zijun decided that any scholar he wrote about in the future would not have a happy ending.

He wrote until dusk. After finishing the final sheet, Luo Zijun declared it complete. Su Qingling had also finished reading the last page.

"Why did Zhang Sheng betray her?" she asked.

Luo Zijun stood up, stretching his limbs, and said, "It’s written clearly enough. Zhang Sheng passed the imperial examinations with high honors, his status was vastly different from before, and he had grown bored of Cui Yingying, so naturally, he didn't want her anymore."

"Are all men like that?"

"Yes."

"And you?"

"Of course, I am too."

Seeing she had finished, Luo Zijun gathered the papers, organized them, and prepared to leave.

Su Qingling put on her shoes, gave him another look, and said with disdain, "This story is just a daydream of a poor boy before he dies. As if a wealthy young lady would ever fall for him."

Luo Zijun nodded. "Senior sister is right; that’s what I think too."

Su Qingling said coldly, "Didn't you write it?"

Luo Zijun replied, "I made it up."

Su Qingling scoffed and ignored him, heading toward the counter. Luo Zijun tidied the desk, wiped the area with a rag, and said, "Senior sister, I’m leaving now."

Su Qingling was clicking away at the abacus behind the counter and didn't respond. Luo Zijun walked toward the door.

Suddenly, Su Qingling called out coldly from behind, "Did you forget something?"

Luo Zijun turned back, looking lost. "Forget what?"

Su Qingling looked at him with a cold, beautiful face and said nothing more.

"If you won't say it, then forget it. If I forgot, it probably wasn't anything important."

Luo Zijun shrugged, walked out the door, and soon vanished into the streets outside. Su Qingling stood behind the counter, slowly clenching her fists.

A moment later, a head poked out from the left doorframe, staring at her. "Senior sister, you didn't cry from anger, did you?"

Su Qingling’s face was frosty; she remained silent.

"Let’s go, let’s go. Come to my place for dinner. If I don't bring you back, I probably won't be able to get back in myself."

Luo Zijun entered the shop to help her tidy up and close the door. Su Qingling crept up to him silently, and then, catching him off guard, she suddenly extended her nails and gave his backside a sharp, painful scratch before turning and running away!

"Su Qingling, you just wait!"

Luo Zijun hissed, locked the door, and chased after her while rubbing his bottom.

Not long after the two had left, Su Dafang returned with his medical kit. Seeing the closed shop and the heavy lock on the door, he was left dumbfounded.

Meanwhile, the Sun Jintang family had already arrived at Willow Leaf Alley, carrying gifts of apology.