Chapter 428: Chapter 306: Black Intermediary of the Otherworld
This world wasn’t Blue Star; there were no laws against child labor.
Even children had to work. So for the woman before him to have come to Dongwu City alone with a merchant caravan to find a job seemed perfectly normal.
"Sir, is there anything else? If not, I’d like to find a place to stay before it gets too late," the woman said.
"You’re completely broke, aren’t you? You can’t even afford to eat. When you say you’re looking for a place to stay, do you mean you’re planning to sleep on the street?" Lin Li asked bluntly.
"..." The woman fell silent again.
’Well, I was right again. This woman really is planning to sleep on the street...’ Lin Li thought as he looked at the woman he had just saved. After a moment’s consideration, he pulled a Two Silver Coin bill from his pocket and offered it to her.
"Sir?"
"Take it."
The woman shook her head, not reaching for the money. Lin Li had already paid for her treatment at the clinic; she couldn’t possibly bring herself to accept more from him.
"You’re broke. You won’t survive in Dongwu City like this. Just consider these Two Silver Coins a loan. You can pay me back once you’ve earned some money," Lin Li said, trying a more tactful approach so she would accept his help.
The woman looked up at Lin Li, her gaze peeking through the strands of hair covering her forehead and resting on her savior’s face. "Sir, thank you for your help," she said, full of gratitude. "You already paid for my treatment. I absolutely cannot take this money."
"Why are you so stubborn? I already told you, it’s not a handout," Lin Li said with a helpless look. ’Why is it so hard just to help someone?’ he thought.
"My mother taught me from a young age not to accept charity," the woman said, before making a proposal that took Lin Li by surprise.
"Sir, I’m very good at laundry and cooking. Could I come work for you? I don’t ask for much—just eight hundred coppers a month would be enough."
"..."
’This woman is certainly strange. She refuses free money but asks me for a job as a housekeeper. Unfortunately, I don’t even have a home here in the Spirit Realm, so I have no need for one.’
’Still, her words are a good reminder. It’s about time I found a permanent residence here in Dongwu City.’
’After all, I’ll be coming to Dongwu City frequently. Having a place of my own would help me blend in, and I’d have an answer if anyone asks where I live.’
When the woman saw Lin Li staring at her blankly without a word, she assumed her proposal had displeased her savior. She was just about to retract her offer when she heard him speak.
"I only arrived in Dongwu City a few days ago myself and have been staying in an inn. I was just planning to buy a house and settle down here.
Once I do, I’ll need someone to help with the housework. If you’re willing, you can come be my housekeeper... And as for your wages, it certainly won’t be just eight hundred coppers a month."
’What’s a housekeeper?’ the woman wondered. But from the context, she could guess it meant a servant who did housework.
The woman was penniless and desperate. The wage didn’t matter to her; just having a job and a place to live was more than she could ask for.
Hearing Lin Li offer to hire her, she immediately nodded. "I’m willing."
"Alright. I’ll get you a room at an inn for now. You can start work officially once I’ve bought a house in a few days."
"Okay."
After all the twists and turns she’d been through since arriving in Dongwu City, and after nearly losing her life in the robbery, hearing this kind-hearted savior offer her a job and take her in felt like a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
"I don’t believe I know your name yet. Shall we introduce ourselves?"
Having decided to purchase a property in Dongwu City as his future base in this world, Lin Li smiled at the woman who would soon be his housekeeper and said,
"My name is Lin Li."
"My name is Qin Muqing."
After exchanging names, Lin Li took the woman, Qin Muqing, to an inn. He got two rooms, then asked the innkeeper to send a meal to Qin Muqing’s room.
According to Qin Muqing, she hadn’t eaten since noon, so Lin Li figured she must be starving.
In Qin Muqing’s room, Lin Li watched the waiter leave to prepare her meal, then turned to her as she sat on the edge of the bed. "He’ll bring you a meal shortly," he said. "If it’s not enough, just ask for more. Have them put it on my tab; I’ll settle it later..."
"Okay," Qin Muqing nodded obediently. At that moment, Lin Li’s gaze fell on the bag beside her, and he asked casually,
"Is there something important in that bag? The situation just now was so dangerous, yet you refused to let go no matter what."
"Clothes," Qin Muqing said.
"Uh..." Lin Li was once again left speechless by this honest, almost simple-minded woman. He couldn’t believe she had been willing to risk her life for a few pieces of clothing.
But then he considered that she had come all the way from a countryside village to work in Dongwu City, only to not find a job and get scammed out of all her money.
The clothes in her bag were her last remaining possessions. From that perspective, he could understand why she wouldn’t let go of a few articles of clothing that seemed worthless to him, even in such a dangerous situation.
The sun had set, and it was getting late. It was time for Lin Li to return to Blue Star.
He stood up and said to Qin Muqing, "Alright, let’s leave it at that for now. I’m a bit tired, so I’m going to go back to my room and rest. I’ll see you tomorrow."
"Sir, aren’t you going to have dinner?" Qin Muqing asked.
"I’ve already eaten. Uh... you should do something with your hair. It’s not good to leave it so disheveled."
Hearing this, Qin Muqing immediately smoothed back her disheveled hair and tied it into a ponytail.
Her face, which had been hidden by her loose hair, was suddenly revealed.
This woman, Qin Muqing, looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six. Her features were plain—the kind of average face you wouldn’t notice in a crowd.
’Good, at least she’s not a young girl,’ Lin Li mused to himself upon seeing Qin Muqing’s unveiled face. ’Otherwise, once I buy the house, I’d feel guilty having a minor do my housework...’
Then, he took out a tube of healing ointment that he had bought at a pharmacy on Blue Star and placed it on the table.
He hadn’t bought the ointment prescribed by the physician at the clinic earlier because it was just an ordinary salve.
After all, the effects of a regular salve couldn’t compare to this healing ointment, which was specially made for Exotic Beast Hunters.
"After dinner, apply this ointment to your injuries," Lin Li instructed before heading for the door.
Qin Muqing quickly stood up and saw him to the door. Only after watching him enter the adjacent room did she close her own.
The moment Qin Muqing was alone in the room, her entire demeanor shifted. The woman who had seemed simple and honest, with a dull look in her eyes, was gone. Her aura became sharp and vibrant, and her once-vacant eyes were now clear, bright, and radiantly alive.
Her transformation complete, Qin Muqing walked to the bed, sat on the edge, and picked up the bag she had earlier protected with her life. She placed it on her shapely thighs.
She untied the bag. Inside were a few ordinary linen clothes.
Qin Muqing rummaged through the linen clothes and pulled out a round jade pearl the size of a pigeon’s egg.
"It’s almost time. Good thing he left on his own. Otherwise, things could have gotten a little complicated."
Qin Muqing muttered to herself, holding the pigeon-egg-sized jade pearl in her hand.
A few seconds after she spoke, her plain face began to ripple, like the surface of a calm lake disturbed by a small stone.
When the ripples subsided, a stunningly beautiful woman appeared in the room. Her cheeks were rosy, her skin was like luminous alabaster, and she exuded a captivating charm.
...
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