Silly Shizun pretended to be tough, but of course Chen Qing saw right through it. She took out a silver ingot and placed it on the bedside.
“Drink this bowl of tonic soup, and this silver ingot is yours. At tonight’s night market, you can buy whatever you want with this silver ingot.”
“Really?!”
Hearing the sound of the silver ingot clinking on the table, Su Mu instantly poked her little head out from under the covers.
Ever since transmigrating to this world, her money pouch had always been empty.
Even if she had a chance to pocket some silver, it would immediately be snatched away by this unreasonable villain.
Now she finally had a chance to touch some money.
Seeing Silly Shizun’s money-grubbing look, a hint of helplessness flashed in Chen Qing’s eyes.
Being so money-obsessed only increased the risk of her being tricked by other bad women.
Although Su Mu was very tempted by the silver ingot on the table,
she still knew the principle of bargaining. This detestable villain had finally softened her attitude today for once.
She had to extort a bit more silver.
Su Mu’s little eyes darted around, and Chen Qing immediately knew what little scheme she was cooking up.
No need to guess—this Silly Shizun was definitely thinking of squeezing more benefits out of her.
Chen Qing simply stared at Su Mu with amused eyes.
“This medicine is both bitter and astringent, and it’s such a big bowl. It absolutely requires ten silver ingots!”
Chen Qing hadn’t expected Silly Shizun to be so greedy.
She had thought she might ask for two more at most, but she directly demanded ten times as much.
If she let this Silly Shizun manage a warehouse, it probably wouldn’t take two days for her grubby little hands to empty it out.
Seeing Chen Qing’s surprised look, Su Mu realized she might have asked for too much.
“Ahem, actually, considering we’ve spent these past few days together, I can reluctantly accept a bit less—eight ingots. Can’t go any lower.”
Chen Qing didn’t answer Su Mu. Instead, she reached for the silver ingot on the table.
Seeing Chen Qing about to take back the silver ingot she’d already put out, Su Mu hurriedly grabbed her hand.
“Five—five ingots! That’s low enough, right!”
Seeing Chen Qing still pulling back, Su Mu painfully dropped the price further.
“Three ingots! That’s more than half off already. Really can’t go any lower!”
“Half an ingot.”
Chen Qing’s flat words landed in Su Mu’s ears like a heavy hammer.
Not only had she failed to gain more benefits, but even the original one ingot had been cut in half.
“If Shizun doesn’t want it, I’ll take back this tiny half ingot of silver.”
Seeing the smile on Chen Qing’s face, Su Mu really wanted to bite her shoulder again.
This person even admitted half an ingot was paltry—this villain didn’t play by the rules at all.
Sure, ten ingots was a bit much, but this was bargaining. Who started by slashing straight into the principal?
But Chen Qing’s movements showed she was really going to take the silver ingot back. Su Mu could only swallow her bleeding heart and shout hurriedly.
“I want it! I want it!”
Seeing Silly Shizun compromise, Chen Qing handed the silver ingot to her.
“Here’s one silver ingot. Remember, Shizun—you still owe me half an ingot.”
Su Mu ignored the stingy Chen Qing and lovingly stuffed the silver ingot into her pocket.
Although it was only one silver ingot, there were still plenty of things she could do with it.
She would definitely make this detestable villain regret handing this silver ingot over to her.
As for the half ingot she owed the villain, she’d earned that debt fair and square—why should she repay it?
Once she used this half ingot’s worth to counter-kill the villain, she’d make the stingy, detestable villain pay daily tribute of half an ingot and force her to drink nasty tonic soup every day.
“You’ve taken the silver ingot. Now drink.”
Chen Qing held the “tonic soup” in front of Su Mu.
Looking at the somewhat black, steaming medicinal broth, Su Mu swallowed and took the bowl.
Although she’d drunk it before, just thinking of its bitter, astringent taste made her resist.
But after a moment of hesitation, she still brought the rim to her soft lips, closed her eyes, and gulped it down.
“Ptoo ptoo ptoo—it’s so gross!”
After downing it in one go, Su Mu disgustedly shoved the bowl back to Chen Qing.
Chen Qing took the bowl and popped a sugar cube into Su Mu’s mouth.
“Eat this candy; it’ll dilute the bitterness a bit.”
Although Chen Qing had been quite thoughtful this time, Su Mu still felt something was off.
Chen Qing eyed the dregs at the bottom of the bowl, thinking she’d buy more later to stock up for Silly Shizun.
After all, today while bullying Silly Shizun, she’d confirmed that the vendor at the Flower and Bird Market hadn’t lied—this Mao Root Grass was indeed quite useful.
Su Mu had no idea yet that this bitter tonic soup might torment her indefinitely.
Right now, her thoughts had already flown to the lively street outside the window.
She wondered if this Small Town had shops selling poison or hidden weapons. Today, she’d make this detestable villain who bullied her daily pay the price!
The restless Su Mu simply threw off the covers, padded over on her white, soft little feet, and trotted to the window.
The sky outside hadn’t fully darkened yet.
But the streets were already bustling. Vendors had set up their stalls early along both sides, hawking their wares.
A colorful throng of people breathed life into the street.
“The night market has started. Let’s go shopping!”
Su Mu looked at Chen Qing excitedly, her eager eyes sparkling with lively charm.
“Shizun, you planning to go shopping in that?”
Hearing this, Su Mu realized she was still wearing the thin nightgown Chen Qing had changed her into. Going out like that would draw the eyes of the entire street.
Her own clothes had gotten soaked during Chen Qing’s “bullying” and were unwearable now.
But remembering that this no-clothes predicament was all because of the detestable villain before her,
Su Mu’s little teeth gritted in fury again.
Seeing Silly Shizun’s annoyed expression, Chen Qing pulled out a waist-cinching brocade robe. She’d bought it while Silly Shizun was asleep.
Although Su Mu felt a bit peeved inside, the priority now was to get dressed quickly, grab her little silver ingot, hit the night market for some hidden weapons or poison, and show Chen Qing what she was made of.
Seeing her Host courting death again, the System couldn’t resist chiming in.
【Host, I’ve reminded you already. If the villain finds out you poisoned her, I can’t save you. You’ll be done for—don’t blame me then.】
The System had been cowed into submission by Su Mu’s scoldings. Before she got punished, it needed to preemptively shield itself from blame.
“Don’t worry. I’ve already figured out how to deal with this villain. Can’t beat her with fists, so I’ll outsmart her. System, wait for my good news.”
Seeing her Host’s confident air, the System silently mourned for her in its heart.
Just as it knew it couldn’t win arguments against this Host, she knew full well that whenever this Host brimmed with confidence, disaster was sure to follow.
