USWHC -Chapter 263 Getting Rich (Part 3)

“Ah, my xiucai! My provincial exam! How did I end up unable to take it?” Ji Yi suddenly broke his usual calm and started muttering nonstop, clearly heartbroken about missing the exam.

Seeing him like this, Huaihua also sighed repeatedly. “Exactly! Brother Ji Yi is so smart. It’s such a pity that you can’t take the exam!”

“That’s right. I’m sure that as long as I could take it, I’d definitely pass!” Ji Yi said regretfully. “Why is my fate so miserable? I just saw a tiny bit of hope, and then—whoosh—it disappeared!”

Listening to the two of them going back and forth about this the entire morning, Zhu Jie felt like her head was about to split in two.

The money was gone. All of it!

Only her jade hairpin remained, because she had hidden it too carefully. Even the jade bracelet the Sun family had given her had been stolen along with the money. The thief had been thorough, that was for sure.

Now their family didn’t even have rice for tomorrow. If they just kept sitting around like this, they might not even know what they would eat the day after tomorrow. Talking about exams at a time like this was practically a joke.

“Can’t you borrow some more money from your friends?” Zhu Jie asked Ji Yi cautiously.

Ji Yi looked at her in shock, as if he couldn’t believe she had asked that. “What do you think?”

It really wasn’t easy to ask. Besides, life couldn’t go on like this forever. Were they supposed to live by constantly reaching out to others for money?

But right now, it seemed the only option in front of her was to sell the jade hairpin.

Yet she couldn’t sell it.

If she sold it, Ji Yi might have something to eat—but what about her? She might very well get caught and dragged back. That was a risk she didn’t want to take.

Besides, life couldn’t rely on pawning things forever. Sooner or later the money would run out.

Zhu Jie had always believed that money was earned, not simply hoarded. And perhaps she should leave something behind for Ji Yi as well.

A small business?

But without capital, how could you start one? Build wealth through finance? Sell lottery tickets? Trade stocks?

Heh. That would attract way too much attention. And those kinds of things required large sums of money as backing anyway. Otherwise, people would quickly mistake her for a fraud and have her arrested.

Which wealth-building technique is the best? In ancient Xiangshui Village, look no further than Zhu Jie!

Inside her mind, Zhu Jie kept reviewing the Eighteen Survival Rules she had prepared long ago. Which one could help her quietly make money without drawing attention?

Suddenly, she slapped the table.

Bang!

“No! We can’t keep living like this!”

Ji Yi watched as Zhu Jie looked like she was on the verge of going crazy. She turned around and headed straight into her room, grabbing her hair as she walked—messing it up into a shiny bird’s nest hairstyle.

Oh no…

Ji Yi suddenly felt a little guilty. Had he pushed her too far? Was she about to lose her mind because of this?

Just as he was hesitating over whether he should go comfort her, Zhu Jie suddenly rushed back out of the room. She had a basket slung over her arm.

Was she planning to go up the mountains and dig wild vegetables? Had she accepted the harsh reality of being poor that quickly?

Wait… but it didn’t look like she was digging wild vegetables.

Zhu Jie didn’t even leave the house. Instead, she started busying herself in the courtyard.

With a big sweep of her hand—

Oh no!

The small flowers she had planted just last month, which had only just begun to sprout buds, were ruthlessly plucked off by her!

What?!

Had she really gone crazy? Was she about to destroy flowers with such vicious hands? What had those poor flowers ever done to her?

In just a few moments, she had torn up the entire flower bed—flowers and leaves alike.

“W-What are you doing?” Ji Yi asked nervously, staring at her. If she had really gone mad over this, his guilt would be enormous.

Zhu Jie suddenly stood up and said to him firmly, “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get to take the exam.”

“Well… actually… it’s not that urgent. I could take it next year,” Ji Yi said cautiously.

But Zhu Jie looked as if she had just been injected with adrenaline, her face full of excitement.

“That’s right! At this season, the fruit trees should all be in bloom. The riverside must be full of blossoms now! Come on—take me to the river!”

“Huh?” Ji Yi was stunned. Had she changed from destroying flowers to attacking even more flowers now that she’d gone crazy?

“Sister… what are you planning to do?” Huaihua asked timidly. She was a little frightened too. Zhu Jie had suddenly become so strange.

“Secret!” Zhu Jie said with a clever smile, looking mysterious.