Chapter 73 Ways to Earn Money

Chapter 73: The Path to Making Money

Meng Shu stood on the balcony for a while, letting the cold wind cool his head before returning to the dining table, firing off questions like a machine gun: "Are you sure it's one billion? The one with a hundred million, then a billion?"

His fists were clenched, and his teeth were nearly ground to dust.

Meanwhile, Ling Maomao was completely oblivious, focused solely on crafting the equipment. "Yeah, that's the one."

"Really not joking?"

"No." Ling Qingjue's deep pupils contracted slightly, as if in surprise. "Why would I joke with you?"

After a brief silence, Meng Shu decided to be honest with him. "One billion is a bit... mind-boggling. Even if I were writing a fake check, I wouldn't dare put that number down. In three days, it's probably impossible to gather."

Hearing this, Ling Qingjue showed a hint of visible frustration, quickly reverting to his usual aloof expression. "Oh. Then I'll figure it out myself."

"How?"

"I'll kill people and charge them an exorbitant resurrection fee."

Meng Shu: "..."

You'll end up catching the cops' attention at this rate.

He sat down next to Ling Qingjue, asking cautiously, "Is this one billion really important?"

I need to quickly make a proper set of equipment for Meng Shu, so he can go fight in more dangerous places and raise his favorability. This is about my future marriage—one billion is really important.

So Ling Qingjue nodded. "Mm."

Meng Shu felt the exhaustion of a husband working hard all day only to come home and find his wife had gambled away one billion in debt. He couldn't scold her, couldn't hit her, and the more he thought about it, the funnier it seemed. He couldn't help but laugh.

The laugh was soft, barely audible, but Ling Qingjue still heard it.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing. Just laughing at how poor I am."

This wasn't a cat anymore; it was a gold-devouring beast!

He was poor in the original world, and now, after transmigrating to a world where making money was easier than spending it, he was still poor.

It must be fate—his destiny was written with the character for 'poverty.'

Seeing his expression, Ling Qingjue guessed that one billion was a lot to a human. After a moment's thought, he said, "Forget it. You don't have to do it. I'll think of something."

Meng Shu waved his hand. "Don't do anything rash. I'm really scared you'll get arrested by the cops one day."

"Didn't you say it was a lot?" Ling Qingjue asked.

"It is a lot, but there should be a way." Meng Shu leaned closer. "Just this once. If you make such an unreasonable request again, I won't agree."

Ling Qingjue thought, So this is an unreasonable request.

He also thought, Even so, Meng Shu still agreed to it.

...

"How much did you say? How much? Say that again if you dare!"

At the Adventurers' Guild, Jia Zhao was wiping the counter with a rag, his voice incredulous. "Do you even hear what you're saying? You're asking for one billion? Do you think this place is a bank? Even a bank doesn't have that much cash!"

He was wearing an apron, and after wiping the counter, he moved to clean the shelves. "Get lost. Don't come here to give me a headache."

"Isn't there really a mission worth one billion?" Meng Shu asked with pleading eyes.

"I told you, no! Moon Bay is so poor that even the birds don't shit here. The most an ordinary commission is worth is ten to twenty thousand. You're asking for one billion—even if you added up all the commissions in the entire Moon Bay, it wouldn't come close to the zeroes."

"Then do you have any way to make money?"

Jia Zhao threw the rag into a basin of water, rubbing it while rolling his eyes in exasperation. "If I had a way to make money, would I be doing the work myself? Can't you see the Adventurers' Guild is so broke it's falling apart? I was about to borrow money from you."

Meng Shu glanced around the dilapidated Adventurers' Guild. It was indeed poor—there was a hole in the ceiling that hadn't been fixed yet.

"Aren't you supposed to be some kind of Law Agent? How can you be this poor?"

"I haven't graduated yet. No job, so of course I'm poor."

"Then what about the money you usually earn?" Meng Shu remembered that Jia Zhao took on a lot of missions; logically, he should have saved some.

Jia Zhao let out an ambiguous chuckle. "Who knows?"

In any case, he had no money.

Meng Shu asked, "I heard you can predict the future."

"A little. Why?"

"How about predicting the lottery numbers for the next three days?" Meng Shu's eyes were full of hope.

Jia Zhao decisively threw the rag at Meng Shu. "Do you think astrological divination is a joke? Get lost! Right now!"

Meng Shu dodged to the side, rubbed his nose, and gave a shy smile. "Can't do it? I thought you could predict anything."

"I'm just a provisional Law Agent! I haven't fully mastered astrological divination yet. I need to accomplish something big before I can be confirmed." Jia Zhao paused, then added, "And even if I were confirmed, I wouldn't go around predicting lottery numbers. I'd be struck by lightning."

Meng Shu realized buying lottery tickets wasn't an option. "Then what do you think I can do to get one billion in three days?"

Jia Zhao’s expression turned cold as he picked up the rag, washed it again, and continued cleaning. "There aren't many rich people in our town. If anyone is, it's Xu Linzhou. His family has money. His parents are merchants, controlling all the trade and economy in Moon Bay—from food and clothing to magic tools, they have a hand in everything. The monster cores you collect from kills, after being handed over to the Adventurers' Guild, are bought at high prices by their people and shipped to the big cities for sale."

"So he's really a young master... He's monopolized the entire town's economy."

"But his parents are also philanthropists—certified philanthropists by the law. They've made a lot of money, but they've also given a lot away. More than half of Moon Bay's buildings were funded by them. Even though they've monopolized the economy, the residents have no complaints. The couple has a great reputation. The king once wanted to grant them a title, but they refused, or they'd be nobles by now."

Meng Shu said, "I didn't realize I had someone so rich right beside me."

He thought Xu Linzhou was just moderately well-off, not this level of wealthy.

He really had been underestimating him.

"Their family should be able to come up with one billion in cash, depending on whether they're willing."

"With that kind of number, they'd definitely think I was joking." Besides, Meng Shu didn't want to get involved with Xu Linzhou. Xu Linzhou was even more high-maintenance than Ling Qingjue—both weak and wanting to play, always demanding Meng Shu give him gifts every time they met.

If Meng Shu obliged, Ling Qingjue would throw a tantrum.

If he didn't, Xu Linzhou would throw a tantrum.

Caught between these two masters, Meng Shu found it easier to just avoid them.

Jia Zhao said, "I have another idea."

"What?"

"Let's lure Xu Linzhou out, drown him in the water, and then blackmail his parents for one billion."