There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 88 Precious Treasures

A burly, uncouth man bullying two delicate, pretty young girls in the street—no one would stand up for that. Passersby immediately stood up to speak up for Li Shuchen.

Pedestrian A: "This old man is blatantly lying. It was clearly his daughter who bumped into that little girl, but he insists that the little girl injured his daughter and demands compensation from the girl. He's asking for twenty taels of silver right off the bat. He's shameless!"

Pedestrian B: "Ugh, I know this guy. He does this kind of thing all the time. He's swindled a lot of people out of money, both openly and secretly."

Pedestrian C: "Tsk tsk tsk, a grown man like him, doing these shameless things, just to avoid paying others back, huh?"

Nobody's money grows on trees. Wenwen's money is hard-earned, every penny earned with tears and blood. This person has no conscience; he should pay back the money immediately.

"Yes, hurry up and pay up."

"Losing money, losing money!"

Upon realizing the negative public opinion and the presence of acquaintances in the crowd, the middle-aged man, fearing it would negatively impact his son's imperial examinations, immediately changed his attitude and tone.

"Miss, I'm so sorry, I'm here to apologize."

Then nothing more happened; he just stood there glaring at his daughter.

They apologized, but didn't mention any compensation.

Li Shuchen crossed his arms, glanced at him, and said casually, "Oh~, what's the use of apologizing? You're her father. She may not have money, but you certainly do. One hundred taels of silver, not a penny less."

The middle-aged man stammered, "Miss, I really don't have that much money."

Li Shuchen: "Then I'll call your whole family to come and carry the bags. Don't you have a son? Each of you can earn three hundred coins a day."

The three of you working together earn a total of nine hundred coins a day, and in less than four months you'll have earned one hundred taels of silver.

"At that time, I will have someone watch over you. You will only be allowed to leave when you have earned one hundred taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man thought, "The whole family has to work for her? No way! Yao'er is leaving with Liu Laowu tomorrow."

Tianci is physically weak and cannot do heavy work. Moreover, he has to study and will take the imperial examination next year. He spends all his time doing chores for her. Wouldn't that prevent Tianci from becoming a successful candidate in the imperial examination?

But even if he worked himself to the bone, he wouldn't earn that much money. Carrying sacks was dirty and tiring, and his body couldn't handle it. He could only earn a hundred or so coins a day at most, and he didn't want to do it at all.

His eyes darted around in their sockets, and after glancing at Yao'er, he pondered, "Perhaps I should sell Yao'er to this young lady?"

He weighed the options in his mind; he could tell the difference between one hundred taels of silver and twenty taels.

He then said, "I'm selling this girl to you as compensation for the ginseng. She's strong and can do a lot of work."

She can definitely earn you a hundred taels of silver in her lifetime. Miss, buying her is a sure thing, you won't lose money.

When Yao'er heard her father say these words, it felt like being stabbed in the heart by the person she trusted most.

Over the years, she has been earning money for her family, especially for Tianci, while her beloved younger brother only knows how to ask her for money and has never shown her any concern whatsoever.

Now her father wants to sell her to someone else.

Even though I had expected it, my heart was still struck with pain.

Li Shuchen sneered, "Oh~, you were just calling her your precious daughter, and now you're selling her off? Tsk, I thought you were so fond of her. Fine, I don't like to force people, so just sign her indenture."

After Li Shuchen finished speaking, the middle-aged man immediately took out a contract of indenture from his pocket and handed it to Li Shuchen.

Li Shuchen took it and saw that it was Yao'er's indenture, the original text of which was as follows:

Chen Wude had a daughter named Yao'er, seventeen years old, and asked a matchmaker to arrange for her to be sold to Liu Laowu as a prostitute.

The man signed his name and pressed his fingerprint, indicating that he had prepared in advance.

He was going to sell Yao'er to Liu Laowu, not marry her to Liu Laowu as he claimed.

He really doesn't deserve to be a father.

Yao'er naturally saw it too; now her heart was ashen, and she no longer thought of it.

Li Shuchen tossed the contract back: "The buyer's name is wrong."

Did they think she was illiterate and wanted to deceive her?

Chen Wude picked up the indenture and said with a grin, "I'll change it right away, I'll change it right away."

He borrowed a pen from a scholar on the street.

Chen Wude: "May I ask your name, young lady?"

Li Shuchen said calmly, "Li Shuchen."

Chen Wude scribbled and drew on the paper, made the corrections, and handed it to Li Shuchen.

Li Shuchen read it carefully again, and the original text became...

Chen Wude has a daughter named Yao'er, who is seventeen years old. He asked a matchmaker to arrange for Yao'er to be sold into slavery to Li Shuchen.

Li Shuchen glanced at Chen Wude, his eyes clearly showing that he saw through the old man's ulterior motives. He knew perfectly well what the old scoundrel was trying to achieve by selling his daughter to Liu Laowu.

Completely disregarding the pain his daughter would endure and the life she would face.

Chen Wude was startled by Li Shuchen's gaze, sensing her intense killing intent, and shrank back.

"I've given you the contract of indenture. I'm leaving now."

After saying that, he turned and quickly left the crowd.

Li Shuchen then leisurely put away the indenture, saying arrogantly, "Let's go."

Yao'er quickly put the ginseng back into the wooden box, hugged the box, and followed Li Shuchen without even glancing at the middle-aged man.

Such a father is not worth her longing for.

On the way back to the inn

Yao'er: "I'm sorry, Miss, I accidentally broke your ginseng."

Li Shuchen smiled and comforted her, "It's alright. Stewing one is too nourishing. Anyway, it'll have to be cut open, so it saves me the trouble, doesn't it?"

Yao'er felt warmed by Li Shuchen's words. Her mistress was so kind; she wasn't angry with her. This told her she hadn't chosen the wrong person.

Judging from the girl behind her, dressed in pink cotton clothes and with a fluffy flower in her hair, she clearly treated her servants well.

Li Shuchen: "I don't like your name. How about I give you a new one?"

Yao'er said happily, "I would like to ask Miss to bestow a name upon me."

Li Shuchen thought for a moment and said, "The character 'Yu' means precious treasure. I hope that you will regard yourself as a precious treasure in the future, cherish yourself, and love yourself. So, let's call you Yu'er, what do you think?"

Yao'er whispered twice, "Yu'er, Yu'er."

The more I read it, the better it sounds; the more I read it, the more I like it. Yu'er sounds much better than Yao'er.

He quickly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you so much, Miss, for bestowing upon me a name! Thank you so much, Miss, for bestowing upon me a name!"

The three of them returned to the Happiness Inn together.

Li Shuchen: "Uncle Xu, this is Yu'er. From now on, she will work as a waiter alongside Xiao Feng."

Shopkeeper Xu: "Okay"

Li Shuchen: "Grape, take her to the backyard to take a bath and change her clothes."

Li Shuchen stood outside for half a day trying to win over Yu'er, and he got rich quick.

Now that I have a spare moment, I quickly went to the kitchen, drank a pot of cold boiled water (without even adding tea leaves).

After finishing my drink, I felt refreshed and busied myself in the customer area for a while. Watching the steady stream of customers coming to eat filled me with joy.

Who told her to be so generous with the ice? The inn was cool and comfortable.

Grape: "Miss, Yu'er is ready to wash."

Li Shuchen turned to look at Yu'er. Yu'er had finished her bath and changed her clothes; she looked quite pretty, but...