Beauty Born with Pride

Chapter Vol. 1 Ch. 13

The chubby shopkeeper's smile disappeared, replaced by an unpleasant expression. However, he held back his words, quickly forcing a grin and instructing his workers, "Hurry up now, serve the noodles."

The shop wasn’t very large, and the arrival of so many people crowded the small space, filling up every table and making the atmosphere feel cramped.

Steaming bowls of noodles were brought out one by one. At first, the beggar children were a little tense, but the sight of the hot noodle soup made them lose their composure. They couldn’t resist any longer, grabbing their chopsticks and devouring the food ravenously. Some even used their hands to grab the noodles, their ravenous hunger apparent for all to see.

"Take it slow, no need to rush," Wei Changle said softly, his heart aching as he watched the scene. "Eat as much as you want, I’ll cover it." Then, turning to the chubby shopkeeper, he added, "Keep the noodles coming. Prepare as much as they need until they’re full."

The shopkeeper smiled and nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Wei Changle took a couple of bites himself, only to frown.

This shopkeeper had boasted that his noodle house was the best on this street, but the taste was mediocre at best—worse than the dry rations Wei Changle had eaten earlier.

However, for the beggar children, this noodle soup was nothing short of a rare delicacy, akin to dragon liver and phoenix marrow.

Like a whirlwind, the group of beggar children devoured almost all of the noodle soup the shop had prepared. Watching as the children finally filled their stomachs, Wei Changle felt a small sense of relief.

"Time to settle the bill," Wei Gu, who had been managing the expenses along the way, announced as the children finished up and prepared to leave. He gestured for the shopkeeper to come over.

The shopkeeper approached with his account book clutched in his hands and a beaming smile on his face. "Everyone had their fill, right?" He glanced at the account book and said, "Altogether, there were 67 bowls of noodle soup. Let’s round it down to 60 bowls. That will be... 65 taels of silver."

"Wait a minute," Wei Changle interrupted, his sharp business acumen kicking in. He stared at the shopkeeper and asked, "Ten wen per bowl, 67 bowls should total 670 wen, which is less than seven qian of silver. How did you come up with 65 taels?"@@@@

Having been a merchant in his previous life, Wei Changle was exceptionally sensitive to numbers and accounts. Along the journey, he had also taken the time to familiarize himself with the local currency.

One tael of silver was roughly equal to 1,000 wen, and in terms of purchasing power, one wen in Da Liang was equivalent to about 20 cents in modern currency. By that calculation, the shopkeeper’s earlier claim of 10 wen per bowl of noodle soup—about 2 yuan—wasn't expensive at all.

But now, the sudden leap to 65 taels was absurd. Wei Changle even wondered if he’d misheard.

"Young master, each bowl of noodle soup contains about 100 strands of noodles. I’m only charging you based on 100 strands per bowl," the chubby shopkeeper explained with a friendly smile. "Each strand of noodle costs 10 wen, so one bowl adds up to exactly 1 tael of silver. Sixty bowls would then be 60 taels. As for the extra five taels, well, I served the finest tea to your table as soon as you sat down."

Wei Changle’s eyes widened.

The price of 10 wen wasn’t for a bowl—it was for a single strand of noodle.

"How interesting, how very interesting!" Wei Changle said, his anger giving way to laughter. He asked, "And what kind of tea could possibly cost five taels of silver per pot?"

The third waiter, armed with a rolling pin, hesitated. Clearly, he had realized they had picked a fight with someone they couldn’t handle. Without another thought, he turned and bolted for the door.

Meanwhile, Zhu Nu had already retrieved the cleaver dropped by the second waiter. With a clenched fist, he began pummeling the man’s face relentlessly. Despite his young age, Zhu Nu’s punches were anything but light. After a few blows, the man’s face was a mess of blood, tears, and snot.

Throughout all of this, Wei Gu sat calmly in his seat, cradling his long wooden box with his eyes closed, as if meditating.

Wei Changle, on the other hand, had been simmering with frustration ever since entering the city and witnessing the hardships of the common folk. This little outburst served as a much-needed release for his pent-up anger, and he felt significantly better afterward.

As he walked forward, the fat shopkeeper lay on the ground groaning in pain. It wasn’t until Wei Changle stepped on the man’s protruding belly that the shopkeeper, tears streaming down his face, began pleading.

"Please... please stop hitting me. I don’t want the money anymore... it was my mistake..."

Wei Changle sneered, "Overcharging customers is one thing, but I can’t stand being pointed at." He continued coldly, "You’re so skilled at fleecing people—how many have you scammed before?"

"No one, I swear! This... this was the first time..." the shopkeeper whimpered.

Before Wei Changle could respond, a commotion broke out outside the shop. Amid the noise, a loud voice shouted, "Where are they? Where are they? If I don’t beat them to death today, I’m not surnamed Tu!"

The sound of heavy footsteps grew louder, and soon, a group of thugs wielding wooden clubs appeared at the entrance.

Leading them was the waiter who had fled earlier, still clutching the rolling pin. He pointed into the shop and said to a man beside him, "Ninth Master, they’re inside. It’s those three—they ate noodles without paying and started causing trouble."

Wei Changle glanced at the man referred to as Ninth Master, and a mocking smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

It was someone Wei Changle recognized: none other than Tu Ninth Master, the man who had earlier used flatbread to barter for a woman’s services. To think he had already finished his "business" and returned so quickly.

"Making trouble on Five Immortals Society’s turf? You must have a death wish," Tu Ninth Master snarled, raising a finger to point at Wei Changle. "Was it you, you little bastard, causing trouble here?"

Wei Changle shook his head with a sigh and muttered to himself, "I just said I hate being pointed at, and now here comes another fool who doesn’t know his place." He chuckled darkly. "In front of me, no one gets to act this arrogant."

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