knife

Chapter 23 Making a Little Progress Every Day
The carriage suddenly lurched to one side and then landed heavily. Zhang Qingyun was caught off guard, and her head hit the carriage wall with a loud thud. Fortunately, the interior of the carriage was unexpectedly luxurious, and although the upholstered walls were still somewhat sturdy, they did not seriously injure her.

However, such a collision still caused pain.

Covering her head, Zhang Qingyun gasped for breath.

Li Dachui, leaning his upper body against the car wall and stretching his long legs out to Zhang Qingyun's side, chuckled as he looked at Zhang Qingyun's embarrassed state.

“Miss Qingyun, I don’t have the looks of Pan An or Wei Jie. Why are you staring at me like that? Do you want to kill me? That’s impossible. Wei Jie is an empty shell, but my body is stronger than a wild ox. Even if you stare at me for a hundred years, I won’t lose a single hair.”

"Who wants to see you for a hundred years!" Zhang Qingyun put down his hand that was rubbing his head, pointed out the car window, and said, "I'm just wondering, why would a bandit like you have such a grand entrance!"

“I’m a well-known figure outside the Great Wall, even Linghu Ye and Xiao Changche treat me differently. What’s wrong with showing off a bit?” Li Dachui snorted. “Or do you think that we bandits are only meant to be covered in filth and mud?”

"You know that's not what I'm talking about!" Zhang Qingyun snapped angrily. "Stop rambling! Who exactly are you?"

"Who else could I be? Of course, I am Li Dachui!" Li Dachui said seriously, "Didn't I tell you this long ago? I have businesses in Tai'an City. Tai'an City is a den of iniquity, but it is also a place where you can make a fortune every day, as long as you have the ability! And I happen to be a capable person."

Zhang Qingyun shook her head: "That's not entirely true. Li Dachui, do you know? Whenever you say something insincere, you blink rapidly twice. Just now, you blinked again."

"Impossible!" Li Dachui exclaimed. "I've always kept my emotions hidden, and I never express my likes or dislikes. How could I possibly blink!"

Zhang Qingyun pouted, then turned to look out of the car.

"Fatty!" Li Dachui shouted.

Li Kaixin's chubby face immediately appeared outside the car window, his enormous head almost filling the entire window.

"Is what she said true?" Li Dachui asked.

Li Kaixin smiled broadly: "Young Master, what Miss Qingyun said is true."

"You knew all along?"

"I've always known!"

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?" Li Dachui suddenly stood up, pinching the fleshy part of Li Kaixin's face between two fingers. "This is such a huge flaw! If outsiders knew, how could I lie to people in the future?"

"What is there to worry about, young master? Even if outsiders know you are lying to them, they will still pretend not to know and happily let you lie to them. In this world, how many people are worth lying to? If you want something, just ask for it. If they dare not give it to you, just kill them and take it! Ouch, ouch, ouch, young master, let go."

Li Dachui laughed heartily: "That's true, how many people are worth fooling! But I need to change my blinking habit from now on!"

"I will correct it, I will definitely remind you in the future."

"Okay, write it down in your little notebook!"

As soon as Li Dachui spoke, Li Kaixin immediately pulled out a small notebook and an extremely fine charcoal pencil from his pocket and wrote a line of words on it, leaving Zhang Qingyun dumbfounded.

“This is called self-reflection three times a day. Do you know why I’m so strong?” Li Dachui pointed at Li Kaixin: “Improve a little bit every day, and over time, you can become stronger and stronger.”

Zhang Qingyun said irritably, "Your words are nice, but they just don't sound right coming from you. You still haven't told me what you do for a living. I mean, besides being a bandit, what other identity do you have?"

Li Dachui chuckled: "Why would a mere shop assistant like you need to know so much about your boss? What you need to know, you will naturally know."

"I haven't agreed to actually go to your shop yet!" Zhang Qingyun said angrily. "Didn't you say that Tai'an City is full of opportunities and that you can make a fortune every day? Even if I go there, it doesn't mean I'll have to rely on you to survive."

"That's well said!" Li Dachui gave a thumbs up: "There's a brothel called Yingchun in Tai'an City. The top courtesan there is named Xiangling. She's skilled in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and she can also sing beautiful lyrics. You get ten taels of silver for a meeting with her, fifty taels for a cup of tea, and one hundred taels for a meal. As for the headwear fee...?"

"You know so much about her, do you frequent her business?" Zhang Qingyun's face turned pale with anger.

"Miss Xiangling has repeatedly sent invitations to invite our young master to have a meal, but unfortunately our young master doesn't think much of her and has never been to Yingchun Tower. I can testify to that!" Li Kaixin's chubby face blocked the carriage window again as he shouted loudly.

“Whether he goes or not, what does it have to do with me?” Zhang Qingyun said.

“That makes money fast!” Li Dachui said earnestly. “Actually, I’ve also really wanted to open a place like the Spring Festival Gala or something, but I haven’t been able to find a top courtesan who can compare to that Xiangling girl, so I haven’t done it. As for me, if I’m going to do something, I’ll do it the best, or I won’t do it at all. Qingyun, if you’re interested, I’ll provide the funding…”

Before he could finish speaking, Zhang Qingyun grabbed a plate and threw it at him.

Amidst Li Dachui's loud laughter, he grabbed at the air with one hand, and the dish that had been flying in the air landed in his hand. With a casual wave of his hand, the pastries inside the dish were neatly arranged again.

After putting the dishes back in their place, Li Dachui said, "You already owe me a set of tableware. Do you want to owe me more? Or are you saying that you don't care about having too many lice, but you don't care about having too many debts? I've said before that I don't support idlers. You have to choose one."

"I'll become a saleswoman!" Zhang Qingyun gritted her teeth, then said, "I want to get off the train!"

"What's wrong?" "Does a mere salesgirl deserve to ride in such a nice car?"

“Before you officially take office, you are still my guest! Guests naturally need to be treated well!” Li Dachui said, “Once we enter Tai’an City, you will be a sales girl in my shop.”

Zhang Qingyun was so angry that she didn't say a word.

Li Dachui looked at the other person with a smile. The other person's head was tilted slightly, lips were pursed tightly, and chest heaved up and down. The way he was trying his best to hold back his anger was actually quite cute.

There's one downside: she's also somehow learned to throw things without any instruction, showing a tendency to resemble Xia Zhi.

The carriage creaked and groaned forward in the silence between the two.

The carriage was fine, but the road was terrible, swaying and rocking all the way. Zhang Qingyun couldn't sit as comfortably as Li Dachui. No matter how the carriage swayed, that guy remained as still as a rock. Zhang Qingyun looked closely and saw that he hadn't even moved his buttocks, unlike himself, who had to hold onto the handrails with both hands to stay upright.

This is the way of martial arts!

Zhang Qingyun was somewhat envious.

If the carriage hadn't been so softly packed, I probably would have been completely disoriented by now.

This isn't a road at all!

That guy on the other side can be really annoying sometimes, but he's also my and my father's savior, or rather, our creditor.

Zhang Qingyun sighed. When you're under someone's roof, you have no choice but to bow your head.

From now on, I'm afraid I'll be relying on others a lot more often.

On the other hand, although Li Dachui has a nasty mouth, he is still very principled in his actions. Compared to those people in Chang'an, his character is far superior.

Recalling those days of suffering, Zhang Qingyun couldn't help but bite her lip tightly.

An older brother whom she had always regarded as a close friend had shamelessly asked her to give herself to him and become his concubine, and even thought that she was taking a great risk to protect herself.

Thinking back to the resounding slap she gave that guy back then, Zhang Qingyun felt a great sense of satisfaction.

Looking up at Li Dachui, Zhang Qingyun felt she needed to ease the tension.

"Where are your men from the Heavenly Battalion?"

"You mean Little Cat and his gang? They're bandits, so naturally they don't go into Tai'an City. Right now, they're all going home!" Li Dachui said. "Little Cat is an expert at being a bandit, but once they enter Tai'an City, they're under Fatty's control!"

"Is that tiger sitting there with one paw raised, engraved on the outside carriage door, your badge?" Zhang Qingyun asked curiously. "That tiger looks very strange."

"Where's the tiger? It's clearly a cat, a lucky cat." Li Dachui sat up straight, puffed out his cheeks, and waved his elbow near his ear. "It's not a tiger, it's a cat. This isn't our emblem, it's the symbol of Tai'an City, it brings wealth and prosperity!"

"It looks like a tiger!" Zhang Qingyun exclaimed, somewhat surprised. "It's quite rare to find a logo that uses a cat."

“Tai’an City is a business, so naturally we should be more gentle and make money through harmony. Using a fierce tiger as a symbol doesn’t fit the founding principle of Tai’an City, right, Fatty?” Li Dachui said casually.

So the fat man's face blocked the entire car window again: "Yes, Miss Qingyun."

"But wealth, without the support of strong military force, is nothing but fleeting smoke!" Zhang Qingyun sighed.

"So if anyone provokes our Tai'an City, then this amiable cat will sprout wings!" Fatty Li said with a smile.

"What's it called when it has wings growing from its ribs?"

"Xiao!"

"Only when a tiger grows wings can it become a 'xiao'!" Zhang Qingyun exclaimed. "So, it's still a tiger, isn't it?"

"That's clearly a cat!" Li Dachui stubbornly insisted.

It's been a year since I last wrote, and many of my longtime readers are unaware that I've started a new book. Today is my first recommendation for a new book, and I hope those of you who see this will help promote it. Starting over is always a difficult journey! Please vote and add it to your favorites! Thank you!

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(End of this chapter)