He started by killing his abusive father, and from then on, he embarked on the road to wealth.

Chapter 122 'You are right, no matter what'

“They chose you to negotiate with us, so I believe your position isn’t too low. You’ll mitigate their risks and be loyal to your master. I’ll achieve my goal, pack my bags, and leave. It’s a win-win situation, so why not?” Meng Fuqing continued to persuade.

Yan He licked his fingers, hastily reattached his beard, and then glared at Meng Fuqing. "Easier said than done. They'd rather you hand over the grain to them than to the people."

"Oh, so what if I don't pay?"

Yan He stroked his beard, looking calm and collected, and said, "We have no choice but to resort to force."

“If you wanted to harm us, you wouldn’t have sent someone to waste your breath. You’re just worried about things,” Meng Fuqing said.

"Since you seem to be a smart man, I might as well tell you that our chief used to guard the border. He was promoted to centurion in just one year after joining the army. Later, he was unfortunately captured by the Hu people. Because of his outstanding talent, he was captured for ten years but was not maimed."

Why do you think so many people follow him? It's because he killed the bandit leader and subdued a group of mountain bandits. They've been looking for someone to practice on along the way; you can let your master give him a try.”

Yan He looked at her suspiciously several times. It was hard to tell whether Meng Fuqing's words were true or false, but if their food and weapons were obtained from mountain bandits, it would make sense.

After thinking for a while, she said, "I can help you, but you have to buy me a bottle of Yangxin Dan (a traditional Chinese medicine for nourishing the heart)."

Meng Fuqing: ...

She suspected that the Nourishing Heart Pill was some kind of poison, and that the other party wanted to use it to kill her.

"Isn't it enough that I won't report you as a con artist to get your help?"

Yan He crossed her arms and looked up at the sky. "I can run away early. Anyway, I'm tired of those stingy corrupt officials."

She adopted a nonchalant attitude, saying, "Kill me if you want, just don't tell me before you do it. I'm tired of living anyway."

Meng Fuqing: ...

She stopped pressing and took a step back to ask, "How much is the Nourishing Heart Pill?"

Yan He seemed to have been waiting for her to say that. His eyes lit up, and he immediately took the gourd from his waist and handed it to Meng Fuqing.

"Each one is worth one tael of silver, and if there are a hundred of them, that's one hundred taels! Ten will keep you young forever, a hundred will prolong your life, and if you keep eating them, you might even live forever. Miss Meng is so intelligent, if she eats them, she'll become almost supernaturally wise..."

Meng Fuqing stood quietly listening to her boast, thinking that if this person was properly trained, she might be a good candidate for pyramid schemes.

She waited until the other person was hoarse from talking before she finally spoke: "The medicine in the gourd, one ounce. Please help me, five ounces."

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw Yan He close his eyes tightly and twitch his beard, as if he was secretly cursing her.

Then the other party opened his eyes, took a step closer, and bargained, "Let's make it ten taels."

Meng Fuqing nodded. "Deal."

She finally understood: this girl might not be very loyal to the government, but she certainly loved money.

Yan He cursed Meng Fuqing in his heart, but on the surface he muttered cowardly, "I've never seen anyone bargain like you!"

"Now you've seen it, haven't you?" Meng Fuqing took the gourd she handed him. It was a bit heavy, and when he shook it, he found it was completely full. He didn't know whether to say she was honest or that she really wanted to rip someone off.

On the other side, Lord Hu was already getting unsteady on his feet, and he would occasionally tiptoe to look in the direction of the two people, but he could only see two backs that were half-hidden by the tree trunk.

Just as he was considering whether to call the person back, the two walked over slowly.

Mr. Yan walked steadily, still exuding an ethereal air, with a faint smile on his face, only the gourd at his waist had vanished.

The young woman, surnamed Meng, was holding Mr. Yan's gourd, her face was covered and her expression was not visible, but behind her was a masked man.

As the three approached, Lord Hu opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Yan He.

"Lord Hu, I have reached an agreement with Miss Meng. We can discuss other matters later. Let us take our leave now."

Yan He's voice sounded old again, and she spoke to Meng Fuqing, each word uttered with a hint of gritted teeth: "Miss Meng, until we meet again."

Meng Fuqing smiled and said, "Take care, sir."

Ignoring Lord Hu's bewildered expression, they carefully saw the man off, and then it got dark.

Du Zhong, who had been hiding behind the hillside and hadn't shown himself, walked up in puzzlement. "Didn't you say you were going to show them what I'm capable of? Why did you leave?"

Meng Fuqing shook the gourd in his hand, "I caught a swindler. Could you please help me out?"

On the way back to the back of the hillside, Meng Fuqing was surprised to find that Xie Jin seemed not to have said a single word to her since he appeared.

She turned to look at him, and he was looking at her too.

"Is there something you're trying to say?"

Xie Jin paused slightly and asked, "Are you tired?"

“It’s much better than the tedious journey,” Meng Fuqing said.

As Qi Liang said, it wasn't that they couldn't sell grain to the government, and the subsequent price increase was irrelevant to them. Meng Fuqing spent a day resolving this matter simply because he had a rebellious streak and didn't want to see those people making a fortune.

This also serves to promote the "Twenty Articles," which is beneficial to oneself as well.

While other people's opinions can be disregarded, Xie Jin and Du Zhong's opinions need to be taken into consideration, since they are now in a cooperative relationship.

Du Zhong, who rose from humble beginnings, not only did not oppose Xie Jin, but actually supported him. Xie Jin's attitude, however, remained unclear.

She hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you think my actions have unnecessarily caused trouble?"

"Natural disasters and man-made calamities always harm ordinary people the most." Xie Jin stopped, his deep eyes seemingly sparkling with starlight. "Meng Fuqing, you are right, no matter what."

When Meng Fuqing met his gaze, her eyes widened slightly, and she felt her heart skip a beat for a moment.

This seems to be the absolute conviction she desires, but it seems different when applied to Xie Jin.

She looked away, resumed her steps, and said casually, "There should be results tomorrow, just wait one more night."

"I'll lend you Mu Sheng and Ling Jiu. Let them do whatever they want." Xie Jin followed Meng Fuqing's steps.

The strange feeling in his heart became more pronounced. Meng Fuqing wanted to turn her head to look at him, but refrained from doing so. "I appreciate your kindness, but I have my own men."

Thinking of Niu Er and Qi Liang, Xie Jin felt that neither of them was smart; one was simple-minded and the other was reckless, yet Meng Fuqing valued them both.

He frowned slightly. "Shall I do it?"

Meng Fuqing's mind went blank for a moment. He looked at the man in surprise, and after a long while, he said, "Don't worry, your men won't be idle if something happens."

After saying that, she went back to her place to rest.

The strangeness from before now has a very simple explanation—could Xie Jin have taken a liking to her?

Meng Fuqing couldn't help but look at her small frame, which seemed to be still not fully developed.

In modern times, she would be at the age of first love, but having experienced the apocalypse, she is currently somewhat—incapable of blossoming.

It doesn't seem like the time to think about such things while on the run.

"Sister, what are you looking at?"

Meng Fuqing's deep thoughts were interrupted by Meng Ranran. When she came to her senses, she saw that the other was carrying two bowls of porridge. "I didn't see anything. Are you going to take the porridge to your master?"

“Yes, Master tasted it before and said our porridge is sweet. Ah Li and I also think it’s sweet!” Meng Ranran said, swallowing hard.

"Go quickly," Meng Fuqing stepped forward and whispered, "Remember to check if the man surnamed Xie has had any."

Someone surnamed Xie?

Meng Ranran was a little confused by her sister's inexplicable way of addressing her. "I understand, sister."