YA Ch43: Making Money

During the afternoon livestream, Lu Yu was listless.

Hua Wenyuan, full of energy, directed the hiding of the money in the mountains. They continued on their journey with ease, not worrying about being questioned along the way. Once the heat died down, they planned to return with their personal guards to retrieve the silver.

“This money isn’t much, but it’s the first step,” Hua Wenyuan said to himself, leaning against the carriage shaft.

“What first step?” Xie Zhongyun didn’t understand. He just thought robbing eunuchs was particularly fun. “Brother, if there’s a next time, call me along.”

Hua Wenyuan glanced at him and shook his head. “Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.” This was his first step in breaking away from the court. After robbing the toll station, he was no longer the loyal General Hua.

Wanting to find someone to talk to, but knowing his cousin was too dull to understand, Hua Wenyuan turned his gaze to the unexpected arrival of his cheap second uncle. “Second Uncle, what do you think is the best way to use these five thousand taels?”

“What do you think?” Lu Yu responded perfunctorily.

“I want to make a batch of crossbows,” Hua Wenyuan said, stroking his chin. Five thousand taels wasn’t a small amount, but it wasn’t a lot either. Using it to support a private army would be like a drop in the ocean.

The Hua family had its own method of raising personal guards. These guards were skilled in archery and swordsmanship, and each was fearless in battle. Such a force was very useful for assaults on the battlefield, but after everything he’d experienced in his past life, Hua Wenyuan felt it wasn’t enough. He recalled the crossbows he had seen beyond the Great Wall in his previous life. If he could equip his guards with short crossbows, they could be used as secret assassins. Then, killing anyone would be easy, and many things would become much simpler.

He eagerly shared this exciting idea with his second uncle, but Lu Yu just responded with vague “uh-huhs.”

“What’s wrong with Second Uncle?” Hua Wenyuan finally noticed something was off.

Lu Yu, lying weakly in Ming Yan’s arms, waved his hand. “It’s nothing, just the aftereffects of taking an elixir.”

Ming Yan chuckled softly.

During the noon break, Lu Yu had a nosebleed and, in a fit of self-pity, started acting shamelessly, claiming that Ming Yan’s laughter had hurt his self-esteem and demanding compensation during the livestream. The so-called compensation was lying in Ming Yan’s arms in the carriage to make up for the nap he missed.

Hua Wenyuan lamented, “Then this elixir can’t be used on the battlefield.”

The battlefield was ever-changing. One moment you might be full of strength, and the next, you could be lying helpless on the ground. If the enemy launched a surprise attack, you’d be defenseless.

Feeling annoyed, Lu Yu began to lecture his son. “Young people shouldn’t always look for shortcuts. You eat a meal one bite at a time, and you conquer the world one step at a time.”

Beside them, Xie Zhongyun, who was stuffing a bun into his mouth, nodded in agreement. “Right, one bite at a time. This bun is really tasty, hehe.” He was hugging a small wooden barrel filled with large buns bought from a roadside tea house, eating with gusto.

Lu Yu clicked his tongue in disgust. “Tsk, what are you agreeing with? You don’t eat one bite at a time; you eat by the bucket. Do you know where the term ‘rice bucket’ comes from?”

Xie Zhongyun snorted. “I’m not a rice bucket. At most, I’m a rice vat, the kind that can lift a tripod. It’s a shame I can only eat this vat. There’s a place in the next town with some really good braised pork knuckles, but I might not have room for it.”

Lu Yu looked up and said to Ming Yan, “Great, now he’s not just a rice vat; he’s also illiterate.”

“Stop teasing him,” Ming Yan chuckled.

In the simulator’s world, everything was drawn by the art team, and the characters were all beautified by the system. Ming Yan was already good-looking, and in this ancient setting, with long hair and sharp eyebrows, his attractiveness level had gone up a notch. When he smiled, he was as beautiful as a clear breeze and a bright moon.

Lu Yu, staring at this smile, almost forgot his lines. It wasn’t until Ming Yan nudged him that he snapped out of it. Clearing his throat, he pulled out a small triangular tablet from his sleeve and handed it over like a gorilla offering a banana. “This is Jiang Zuo Digestive Pills. If you take it, you can keep eating the braised pork knuckles.”

“Really?” The little fatty hesitated as he took the pill.

On the livestream chat:

[If I’m not mistaken, this is an ad, right?]

[It fits so seamlessly that I’d believe it if the pill weren’t hard. Is this scene in the original novel?]

[I’m a fan of the original novel, let me answer—no! There’s no mention of the little fatty eating buns in the original. After Hua Wenyuan robbed the toll station, he went straight to the personal guards’ camp. This must be something the developers added.]

[OneSong: Dog Lu is awesome! This is perfect. Count me in—add me to the story!]

[OneSong gifted—100 Supreme Banana Yachts]

[Whoa, that’s a thousand yuan per yacht!]

After Lu Yu ended the livestream, he saw that the top viewer had donated so much money. Clicking his tongue, he remarked, “This guy is generous. Xiao Jiang, keep an eye on him. When his donations hit a million, contact him and ask if he wants to play a small soldier role.”

Xiao Jiang nodded, “Got it.”

Ming Yan frowned slightly and, after leaving the control room and finding they were alone, said, “Isn’t this a bit inappropriate?” If Lu Yu started inviting people to join the livestream just because of their donations, it could damage the reputation of their company and Han Di Ba Yu.

Lu Yu had always treasured the characters in his novels, never allowing anyone to interfere. If he now compromised his principles for a million-dollar donation, it would make all his previous insistence look like a joke.

“It’s fine,” Lu Yu replied, unconcerned.

“Lu Yu.” Ming Yan grabbed Lu Yu’s wrist, pulling him back. With a serious expression, he said, “I don’t want you to compromise your creative principles just for money. There’s no need to rush.”

Lu Yu looked at his wrist being held, blinked, and then looked up. “Yan-ge, you’re worried about me.” He stated this as a fact, not a question. As he spoke, a grin slowly spread across his face, almost reaching his ears.

Issues like an author’s integrity and reputation are usually too subtle for most people to grasp. But Ming Yan understood, and he cared.

Lu Yu felt like he was walking on air.

“What’s the big deal?” Lao Yang walked over, exposing Lu Yu’s weakness. “He never had any principles. If someone donates a million, he’ll even fly over to have dinner with them. Asking someone to play a small soldier is nothing.”

Lu Yu turned his head and glared at him.

Yang Chen was completely unthreatened, continuing to blabber on, “When he was writing Golden House, during the monthly rankings, he was competing with another author for the top spot. He did something just as embarrassing. But the guy he was competing with was even worse—he outright sold himself in the comments section of his novel, saying whoever helped him win would get a ‘special service’ if they flew over.”

Ming Yan let go of Lu Yu’s hand, realizing he had overthought it. Web novel writers didn’t really have much dignity.

Lu Yu lifted his foot to kick Yang Chen, then grabbed him by the neck, gritting his teeth, “Can’t you just keep your mouth shut? Yan-ge finally felt sorry for me for a moment, and you just had to mess it up.”

“Hehe,” Yang Chen, even while being choked, didn’t forget to be cheeky, engaging in a foot-stepping game with Lu Yu, “Though it’s fun to see you suffer, you should still be careful. Remember your buddy? Last time, he went to thank his top donor in person, only to find out the guy invited him over for a real-life fight. It was pretty dangerous.”

Lu Yu was startled, stopping the foot-stepping game. He wanted to ask for more details but felt awkward since it was likely Lu Dayu who had told Yang about it. Instead, he looked at Ming Yan for help.

Ming Yan raised an eyebrow slightly and asked with a smile, “What was that about?”

“Oh, it’s because he killed off the donor’s favorite female character,” Yang Chen enjoyed telling this story, especially since Lu Yu wasn’t interrupting for once. He was satisfied as he continued, “The guy donated a million to lure him over, then forced him to sign an agreement to write a side story to bring the female character back to life, which saved him from getting beaten up.”

“Tsk, no backbone. A man should stand by his principles, even at the cost of his life. There’s no way I’d do that. I wouldn’t bring a dead character back to life, even for ten million,” Lu Yu declared confidently. Seeing the worry reappear in Ming Yan’s eyes, he quickly added, “Uh, at most, I’d write a private alternate ending for the donor to read in secret.”

Just then, Xiao Jiang came running out and said, “Boss Lu, there’s something else. Luo Chaoxi’s family has contacted us through a lawyer. They want to meet with you to discuss compensation. His family is pretty anxious and hopes to sign the settlement agreement quickly to get him released.”

This almost-forgotten troublemaker had been arrested a few days ago. For openly sabotaging production and causing significant damage, if he couldn’t get a settlement letter from Chenyu Technology, he could be looking at six or seven years in prison.

Lu Yu pouted, unwilling, “Meet for what? I’m swamped. It’s all his fault, and now I’ve got a bunch of holes to patch up. Isn’t it good for him to stay in detention for a few more days and lose some weight on that gruel?”

“Got it,” Xiao Jiang replied, noting in the AI’s memo, Boss Lu wants him to drink a few more days of gruel before coming out “Should I arrange for you to meet with the lawyer tonight?” Whether to settle, and how much compensation was needed, all needed to be discussed with the lawyer first.

Lu Yu shook his head, “I’ve got plans tonight; no rush on the lawyer.”

“What’s going on tonight?” Ming Yan asked curiously.

Lu Yu grinned smugly and whispered in his ear, “Delivering some deer blood wine to the father-in-law.”

Ming Yan: “…”

“Are you coming?” Lu Yu asked Ming Yan, feigning politeness, “If you don’t, all the snacks Mom makes will be mine.”

Just as Lu Yu was about to leave early to have dinner at his in-laws, Yang Chen, who had already walked far away, turned back and slapped his forehead, “Oh right, I already placed the order for the new security system, just letting you know. The advance payments from those ads you secured are just enough to cover the deposit.”

Lu Yu: “???”

Yang Chen, still feeling that wasn’t stimulating enough, patted his shoulder and said, “It’ll probably take about a week to install. Once it’s done, you’ll need to pay the balance, so make sure to earn more money from those livestreams.”

Lu Yu could hardly believe his ears, “I just filled my pockets this morning, and you’ve already emptied them out by the afternoon, leaving me in debt!”

Ming Yan stifled a laugh and waved Xiao Jiang over, instructing, “Have the lawyer come by tomorrow.” The once-wealthy Boss Lu, who had just become poor again, needed to talk to the lawyer as soon as possible.

Yang Chen innocently spread his hands and said, “Hey, this was your idea in the first place. Back when you told me to get this and that, what did you say? You said you’d be responsible for earning money to support the family, and I only needed to be responsible for…”

Lu Yu squinted at the bald-headed Yang Chen, waiting to see how he had the nerve to say the words “being as beautiful as a flower.”

Yang Chen faltered under his gaze, stuttering as he finished, “For spending it like water.”