“Wart, she’s just a child. She definitely doesn’t understand any of this.”
“Haha, there are plenty of kids her age in factories. What’s there not to understand?” Wart said with narrowed eyes and a teasing smile. Then he added to Ye Qingning, “I even saw the foreman throw out two kids last night. Covered in blood…”
Seeing no fear at all on Ye Qingning’s face, Wart spat on the ground in annoyance.
Ye Qingning frowned, which only made her more determined to take a bath.
“Wart, why are you wasting so much breath on her? She’s just a piece of goods anyway.”
“True. Sell her to Old Madam Sun?”
“She can’t afford the price. If we’re selling, we sell to the best place.”
“Fair enough, hahaha…”
When Ye Qingning and the others arrived, the Boss Li that Wart and Baldy were looking for was currently speaking in broken pidgin English, nodding and smiling at a foreigner.
“If I could speak a few foreign words, I’d be doing way better than now!”
“You and I can’t even read properly. Stop dreaming, hahaha…”
“This whole street is in this business?”
“That’s right. We even picked the best spot for you! Once you make money, don’t forget to thank us!”
“No need to wait until then.”
“What?”
Ye Qingning’s voice was too soft; they didn’t hear her clearly.
“Gentlemen, what brings you here?”
At that moment, Boss Li walked over. He stood at a distance while speaking to them. When he saw Ye Qingning, a flash of interest crossed his eyes before quickly disappearing.
“Boss Li, let’s be honest. Take a look at this girl—what do you think?”
Boss Li was no longer the same polite man who had been speaking with the foreigner. He straightened his chest and looked down at Wart and Baldy. He didn’t even glance at Ye Qingning and simply said, “Too young.”
“Boss Li, raise her for a few years and you’ll make a fortune.”
“Who knows what things will be like in a few years?”
“Ten silver dollars. We only want ten silver dollars. How about it?”
“Is your place clean?” Ye Qingning asked while looking at Boss Li.
“Clean? Of course. We have people cleaning here every day.”
“I’ll give you 100. Deal with them. Then take me to see the most beautiful girl here.”
Ye Qingning took out Free Country banknotes and looked at Boss Li, her tone calm and indifferent.
Boss Li froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Deal.”
“Boss Li, wait—” Wart and Baldy never expected things to turn out like this. If they had known this brat was so rich, why would they have come here at all?
Boss Li ignored them and clapped his hands. Several burly men immediately appeared.
The two of them were gagged and dragged away.
“May I ask how I should address you, Miss?” Boss Li said politely.
“Ye.” Ye Qingning replied as she handed over the money. Boss Li took it and examined it carefully.
After thinking it over, he respectfully said, “Miss Ye, please follow me.”
“I want the best and cleanest room.”
“Of course.”
Boss Li led her to a room in a corner and knocked.
“It’s me.”
Immediately, rustling sounds came from inside. With a click, the door opened, revealing a small and delicate face.
“Boss.”
“Take good care of our honored guest today.”
The girl visibly stiffened, her expression changing. She bit her lip and looked up at Boss Li.
Then she noticed Ye Qingning behind him and relaxed slightly, a hint of embarrassment appearing on her face. “Understood, Boss.”
“Miss Ye, this is Rose. She will be taking care of you today. If you need anything, just tell her.”
“Mm.” Ye Qingning nodded slightly.
“Is this place clean?” she asked. She planned to find a better hotel tomorrow.
Earlier, she hadn’t made things clear, and the coachman had probably tried to save her money by taking her to a cheap inn.
Did she still look as poor as in her previous life? Should she have just handed out a banknote directly?
From tomorrow onward, she would do exactly that.
Silver dollars were at least still valuable. Banknotes would eventually become worthless.
As for not having banknotes right now—what did that have to do with tomorrow’s her?
Nothing.
“I… I haven’t served anyone before…” Rose blushed deeply and lowered her head, secretly glancing at Ye Qingning.
She was very curious. This was her first time seeing a guest.
This little girl must be special to Boss Li.
Realizing she had been misunderstood, Ye Qingning quickly explained, “I was asking if there are lice or anything like that.”
“No, no!” Rose’s face turned bright red. What had she just said to a child?!
Ye Qingning hadn’t expected someone this easily embarrassed. She looked like a blooming flower.
Was she being kept here by someone?
“I want to take a bath, and have some food prepared.”
“Yes! I’ll go arrange it right away.”
Rose quickly left, almost fleeing the room.
Only after confirming the surroundings were safe did Ye Qingning sit down.
This street was indeed lively—there was already business even in broad daylight.
She had locked onto two shops just now, having overheard their accounting conversations and learned that their backers were Japan and the so-called “constantly expelled people.”
She had just returned to the country and was short on spending money in her space. And now, money was being delivered straight to her.
Very profitable—boxes and boxes of it being moved onto carts.
“Miss, the hot water is ready. The food is being prepared,” Rose said, now calm and composed.
“Mm.”
Rose helped Ye Qingning bathe and change clothes.
Ye Qingning thought to herself: This was the first time someone had served her like this. She was truly falling into depravity.
There were even flower petals in the bathtub—it smelled wonderful.
“Why did you end up here?” Ye Qingning asked, letting Rose sit down to eat with her.
“My father borrowed from loan sharks but couldn’t repay it, so he jumped into a river. They caught me and sold me here,” Rose said calmly, as if talking about someone else’s life.
“Loan sharks?”
“Yes… back home we urgently needed money. My father—”
“Who runs these loan sharks?”
“My father borrowed from people from Taiyou Country. I don’t know anything else.”
“Where do they live? I’ll go borrow some too.”
“Miss, no! Never touch loan sharks! Interest piles up on interest—it multiplies in no time. It can kill people!” Rose hurriedly warned her.
“Mm. Where are they?”
Rose hesitated, then finally gave in, “XX Street. Most of them are there.”
“Mm.”
Seeing that Ye Qingning didn’t react further, Rose sighed in relief, thinking she had just been curious.
After eating, Ye Qingning rested for a while, listening to the creaking of a fan turning above.
Then she stood up and left.
First, she didn’t want to fall asleep listening to inappropriate noises at night. Second, she had already mapped out the routes.
She had just arrived in this place—no one had welcomed her.
So she would hold her own welcome ceremony.
With her favorite thing—
Gold.
She would not mistreat herself.