Time Travel: Brothel Maid

Yingniang shook her head, her eyes revealing determination, and said confidently, "Zhou Lang is not that kind of person. He will treat me well."

When a man pursues you, he will naturally say all the good things about you.

But love is something that cannot be seen or touched. Once it fades, what can you do about it?

It will be no use regretting then.

Once a woman falls in love, she becomes brainless.

Xiao Guoer knew that Yingniang was determined to follow Zhou Fangye now, and ten oxen could not pull her back.

"Then will you just stay in the backyard of the Zhou Mansion, be a woman who never leaves the house and only knows how to wait for her husband's favor? Not only do you have to look at your husband's face, but you also have to look at the mood of your mistress. What's the difference between such a life and that of a puppet? Maybe it's better to be free in Zuihua Tower?"

Yingniang was puzzled when she heard Xiaoguoer say this, "But aren't all women in the world like this? They take care of their husbands and children for their whole lives. Besides, I'm a brothel girl, and it's my good fortune to marry Zhou Lang as a concubine. What else can I do?"

Xiao Guoer stopped what she was doing, raised her head again, looked at Yingniang seriously, and her voice was more serious than ever before.

"Sister, women also have the right to live the life they want. They can also earn money to support themselves through their own efforts, and they don't have to rely on others to live."

"Although we are born in a disadvantaged position, it is not easy for women to live on their own in this world. But I think that life without freedom is boring even if it is fine clothes and delicious food."

"Even if it's hard, I would rather live freely."

Seeing Yingniang's serious expression, Xiao Guoer slowed down her tone, "But since you are sure that Mr. Zhou loves you, I think it is right. Don't worry, I will go with you to the Zhou family and continue to be your maid."

If you can really live well, she will be relieved. If not, she will take her away from the Zhou Mansion and live their own lives.

Yingniang nodded, "Zhou Lang will definitely not let us down."

Having said that, I still felt a little gloomy in my heart because of Xiaoguoer's words.

Yes, since ancient times, being a concubine has never been considered desirable by young ladies from respectable families, and even girls from poor families mostly do not want to be concubines.

Although they could have no worries about food and clothing, and could live a peaceful life if they met a kind and good-natured mistress, it was not uncommon for her to beat and scold their concubines at will, or even worse, to sell them off for no reason.

A concubine is engaged in commercial transactions and has a lowly status.

But with her status, it is impossible for Zhou Lang, who is in his status, to marry her. She knows this well.

I don’t know what kind of lady from aristocratic family Zhou Lang will marry in the future.

Yingniang watched Xiaoguoer working hard and suddenly a thought popped into her mind: Can a woman really live comfortably on her own?

As soon as this thought came to my mind, I quickly rejected it.

Xiaoguoer has countless creative ideas that can make money.

But what about her? She had been in the brothel for so many years, and all she had learned was how to serve men. Even her famous pipa was for pleasing men.

For a weak woman like her, what else could she do if she didn't marry Zhou Lang? Living alone with Xiao Guo'er would only become a burden to her.

She could see that Xiao Guoer was not someone who was willing to be confined to the backyard, so once she had established herself in the Zhou Mansion, she would let her live the life she wanted.

-

Xiao Guoer is a man of action, and since he has decided to open a "lottery shop" in this era.

You have to choose a store first.

The reason why we don’t set up a stall anywhere is because the “lottery” business is special and it needs to be built on trust.

If you set up a stall anywhere, you can save the cost of renting a store, but people probably won't believe that a small vendor who can disappear at any time can fulfill his promise and pay the prize on time.

Renting a store can allow people to establish the first sense of trust, at least knowing that she, the shopkeeper, will not be able to run away for a while.

A deeper level of trust is believing that she can fulfill her promise to them and "redeem the prize" according to the agreement.

This will have to be established slowly in the days to come. This era is not as developed as modern information age, where what happened in the last hour can spread across the Internet and the whole country in the next hour.

It might take half a decade or even longer to let people in Beijing know that there is a "lottery shop" that can make them rich overnight.

But she believed that once the "lottery shop" became known to people in Beijing, she would be close to achieving financial freedom.

They did what they said. The next day, Xiao Guoer found an excuse to leave Zuihualou and go to the market.

Of course, Mother Qin couldn't avoid saying some unpleasant words. Xiao Guoer didn't show it on her face, but she secretly thought that if the lottery shop opened, she would have to stay in the lottery shop every day, but she couldn't find excuses every day, this was not a long-term solution.

It seems that she has to find a way to redeem her and Yingniang as soon as possible.

It was unknown how long she would have to wait for Zhou Fangye to get the job done, and she had to make preparations for both scenarios. If Zhou Fangye had already emptied the money, she would have to find a way to make up for it.

But a few hundred taels is not a small number. If a lottery shop is opened, perhaps it can make money in a month or so. But if I can't redeem myself and can't go in and out freely every day to do business, there is no way to run the lottery shop.

This is a dead end.

Alas, there’s no point in thinking too much, I should first look for a suitable store.

"Lottery" was a rare and unheard-of thing in that era, so it was necessary to open a store in a place with a large flow of people so that it could be known to people in Beijing as soon as possible.

So Xiao Guoer came to Yongxing Street, the most lively and prosperous street in Shangjing.

The largest branch of her favorite Tang Kee Dim Sum Shop is located here.

Yongxing Street is home to the most profitable shops from all walks of life in the capital city. Of course, the rents for shops here are also the most expensive.

But even the most expensive store on Yongxing Street is hard to find.

Xiao Guoer walked back and forth from beginning to end, her calves became thinner after walking around a circle, but she didn't see any vacant stores or stores that were looking to be sold or rented out.

Alas, in ancient times, the emperor died before he could complete his business. Now, her little Guoer has failed in her business and has to rent a house.

Xiao Guoer, who couldn't find a suitable store, was already starving.

At noon, all the restaurants of all sizes on Yongxing Street were packed with customers, and the aroma of steamed rice, boiled meat and various dishes filled the entire street.

Xiao Guoer felt that the saliva in her mouth was secreted more vigorously.

Even if I can’t make money, I can’t starve to death.

"Sir, would you like to have a meal? Please come in." The waiter standing at the door of the store greeted the visitor politely.

Xiao Guoer looked up at the plaque and realized that she had arrived at Jinxianglou, a famous restaurant on Yongxing Street.

Faced with the waiter's sincere solicitation, Xiao Guoer hesitated for only a moment and then walked in.

Although the food here is not cheap, she is in a bad mood at the moment, and when she is in a bad mood, she needs the comfort of delicious food even more.

"Guest sir, how many are there?"

"Only me."

The waiter led Xiao Guoer to sit down at a small table temporarily supported by a wooden board.

Xiao Guoer didn't expect that such a big restaurant would have such simple tables.

After a little thought, I understood the waiter's intention.

She was alone and it was peak dining time, so why should she take up a large table for several people and delay the store's business?

He didn't say anything, just named the dish, "One serving of braised pork elbow and one bowl of white rice."

The waiter answered loudly, "Okay, have some tea first and wait for a moment."

After saying that, he went to busy himself greeting other guests.

Xiao Guoer held her chin in her hand with boredom, her face full of sorrow, and she whispered from the bottom of her heart, "Starting a business is really hard."

Braised pork elbow in soy sauce is the signature dish of Jinxianglou. Xiao Guoer felt much better when she saw the shiny and fragrant braised pork elbow brought to the table by the waiter.

There is no bad mood that can't be soothed by a delicious meal. If there is, have two meals.

Xiaoguo picked up the chopsticks and was about to pick up the mouth-watering pork elbow in sauce when she suddenly felt a strong impact at her elbow, which pushed her forward.

The makeshift small table made of wooden boards fell down in an instant, and the tender, greasy pork elbow rolled off the table to the ground, covered with dust.

Xiao Guo'er held a pair of empty chopsticks in her hand, and her mood, which had improved a bit, suddenly took a turn for the worse.

She wants to kill someone!