spoiled brat

Chapter 4.4. A Crossroads (Part Two)

Seeing that the Bodhisattva was about to spout some more nonsensical nonsense, Zhao Zhao rushed forward, wanting to slap him away and wake up from her dream.

Before she could even touch the Bodhisattva, she was suddenly patted on the shoulder.

The dream faded, and before me was Xiaoduo's panicked face.

"Zhao Zhao'er, wake up quickly."

Zhao Zhao rubbed her eyes, still not understanding what was going on, when she heard a flurry of footsteps coming from outside the courtyard.

A dozen or so women stormed into the courtyard, shouting incoherently:

"Yun'er, you wretched bitch, give me back my money!!!"

They made as if they were about to barge inside, as if they had a deep-seated grudge.

Zhao Zhao was tactful and didn't like to meddle in other people's business, but thinking of Yun'er's suffering last night, she still got up to stop them:
"Let's talk about it in a few days. She just had a miscarriage last night."

"Abortion? As if everyone in this brothel has gone through that!" The woman in the lead sneered. "Even if she turns to ashes, she'll still have to cough up our money!"

Yun'er usually receives many rewards and is quite wealthy, so how could she be in debt?
"She gave money to Zhao Si so that he could lend money at exorbitant interest rates and then show it off to us after making money!"

"Exactly! She said she earned more interest in a month than we did in six months of prostitution, and she tricked us into joining in. We were all scammed!"

"She was pregnant, and Madam Yu asked Zhao Si to redeem her. But not only did Zhao Si not come, he also refused to return the money we had left with him!"

The crowd grew angrier as they talked, pushing Zhao Zhao aside and surging into the house, quickly filling the entire room.

Seeing that things were going badly, Zhao Zhao said to Xiao Duo, "Quickly go and invite Mother Yu!"

Inside the room, Yun'er was pulled off the bed and lightly tossed to the ground.

She was usually arrogant and domineering, and had never been so miserable before.

Seeing her pathetic state, everyone felt a surge of satisfaction. Coupled with their own financial losses, they all wanted nothing more than to trample on her.

"Stop playing the victim! Aren't you usually so arrogant?! Try being tough again!"

"You bitch, pay me back! Or we'll tear your face off!"

"She was completely deceived by a man, and now she wants to drag us down with her!"

Yun'er was pushed and shoved until she knelt down, too weak to stand up.

But she was a stubborn person and retorted defiantly:

"Did I hold a knife to your throats and force you to pay?! You were all smiles when you were making money, and now that you can't get your money back, you're blaming me for it all?!"

This caused a huge uproar, with countless hands reaching out to Yun'er, as if they wanted to devour her alive.

Before long, blood began to seep from beneath Yun'er, instantly spreading a crimson stain across the stone bricks.

This is going to cause a massive hemorrhage.

Zhao Zhao, drawing strength from who-knows-where, squeezed in front of Yun'er, shielding her with her frail body:

"We're all suffering people, why make things difficult for each other? Are you suggesting we kill her?"

Someone said bitterly, "Because of her, I lost my life savings of many years. What's the difference between that and killing me?!"

These words added fuel to the fire, intensifying the crowd's anger.

Everyone suffers in a unique way, experiencing pain in a one-in-a-million manner; who has it easier than anyone else?

They hit Zhao Zhao too; some pulled her hair, some grabbed her arms, and some poked her cheeks.

The wound that had almost healed reopened, and Zhao Zhao gasped for breath in pain. Yun'er, whom she was protecting, had already fainted and was terribly cold all over.

can not wait anymore.

In a moment of extreme crisis, Zhao Zhao shouted:

Give me a month, and I'll help you get your money back!

One person stopped, then two people stopped... The room fell silent, and everyone's eyes were on Zhao Zhao's face.

Everyone knows she's a sly little bastard who has made a lot of money with her cleverness, but how can those underhanded tricks get her money back from the bully Zhao Si?
Although it's unlikely, everything seems like a straw to a drowning person.

Someone broke the silence and whispered, "Zhao Zhao'er, don't lie to us..."

Zhao Zhao stole a few glances outside, wondering why Xiao Duo hadn't come yet.
What should I say to hold out until Mother Yu comes to the rescue?
"Are you hoping for Aunt Yu to come? She's a smart woman; she won't get involved in this kind of thing."

One person blocked Zhao Zhao's view and threatened:

"Either leave, or come up with a solution."

A series of hurried footsteps sounded outside, and Xiao Duo leaned against the doorpost, panting heavily.

"Zhao Zhao'er, Mother Yu isn't coming!"

Mother Yu turned a blind eye to the matter; she couldn't possibly suppress the group of girls in the building just to protect Yun'er.

Zhao Zhao sighed, knowing she had gotten herself into a mess, but now she was in a bind and had no choice but to try anything.

"I have a way, but I need your help."

Her calm tone and confident demeanor intimidated everyone.

"What can you do?"

Zhao Zhao remained silent, gesturing for Xiao Duo to step forward, pick up Yun'er, and walk away.

Seeing that everyone was about to stop her, Zhao Zhao said coldly:

“I won’t say anything if she doesn’t leave. If you think it’s better to drag her to her death than to get your money back, then keep stopping her.”

The group parted to make way for Xiao Duo and Yun'er.

Only Zhao Zhao remained in the room, and she met everyone's gazes without any stage fright:

"I'm young and don't have many opportunities to go to the front building. So please tell me what happened in detail, ladies."

The crowd started chattering, each saying their own thing.

Amidst the chaotic noise, Zhao Zhao pieced together the cause and course of events—

Zhao Si was originally a minor official in the government office, but he was removed from the official register because he made a mistake.

Relying on his past connections, he became a local thug and swindled money through extortion.

After that, he met Yun'er.

Yun'er initially looked down on him, but Zhao Si pretended to be weak while actually being strong, and won Yun'er over with his superb acting skills.

He said he wanted to redeem Yun'er, but nowadays, making money in any business is too slow, and after thinking it over, lending money at exorbitant interest rates is the most profitable option.

Yun'er was wary and didn't believe him.

But later, as she watched Zhao Si gradually become wealthy, turning ten taels into a hundred taels, a hundred taels into two hundred taels, and his silver taels increased exponentially, she began to feel the urge to do the same.

She first invested a small amount to test the waters, and Zhao Si always rewarded her double each time.

As a result, she trusted Zhao Si more and more and invested more and more money.

Not only did she gamble away all her savings, but all the women in the building also jumped into the fire pit.

A few days ago, Yun'er had a fight with Zhao Si and asked why he hadn't redeemed her yet.

Zhao Si sneered, "Why would I spend money to buy a stinking whore?"

"Later, when we went to Zhao Si to ask for the money back, he ordered his men to chase after us and beat us up."

A woman walked up to Zhao Zhao, pulled up her sleeve, and revealed a patch of bruises on her arm.

Another woman lifted her bangs, revealing swollen, red sideburns, and cried:

“That beast used our money as capital and made a fortune. Now he has a very good relationship with the government... The peddlers and laborers we know are of no help at all.”

Zhao Zhao frowned, pondered for a moment, and asked:
Who does Zhao Si usually lend money to?

The group looked at each other, puzzled as to what this had to do with money.

Zhao Zhao met their questioning gazes and said earnestly:
“This is very important.”

This is a difficult question to answer.

Usury, or loan sharking, is nothing to be proud of.

In a society that values ​​relationships, everyone is concerned about saving face and doesn't want to air their dirty laundry in public.

People who borrow money usually do so quietly and repay it discreetly, without making a sound.

Someone said, "They've all borrowed money, so they're probably all poor people."

“Zhao Si, that kind of bully, sets an interest rate of 30% per month.”

Zhao Zhao shook her head. "Would an honest poor person dare to lend money? If they can't pay it back, at best they'll be harassed and bullied every day; at worst, Zhao Si might bribe his way into a lawsuit and throw them in jail."

Someone exclaimed in surprise, "It's strange, Zhao Si made a fortune lending money at exorbitant interest rates, so he should have had a lot of customers, but we haven't run into a single one."

Zhao Zhao sensed an opportunity: "If he lends money everywhere, there will always be bad debts he can't collect, but we've never heard of him breaking ties with anyone." "So he only lends money to a few stable clients!"

“Yes.” Zhao Zhao nodded. “These customers who have been exploited by him for a long time must have fluctuated a lot in terms of money, otherwise they wouldn’t need to borrow money to make ends meet.”

Everyone looked at Zhao Zhao, listening to her continue, "Moreover, they are all highly profitable businesses, with substantial profits."

Some people asked in bewilderment, "If they can make money, they must have connections with the government. Why would they keep borrowing money from Zhao Si and willingly let him exploit them for years?"

That is a point of doubt.

Zhao Zhao lowered her eyes and thought for a while before slowly saying, "These people are just like us, they're lowly and despicable. Even if you offer them money, those officials won't deign to associate with them."

The room darkened, and a suffocating silence fell.

With a bang, someone slammed their hand on the table and said, "What's the use of knowing who Zhao Si's clients are?!"

“It will be very useful,” Zhao Zhao said. “The reason we can’t get our money back is because we don’t have any means to check him or threaten him.”

"Will finding Zhao Si's client allow us to subdue him?"

“Zhao Si is making huge profits. How could the officials tolerate him? He can still make a living now only because people with more power and influence than him haven’t discovered this opportunity.”

Zhao Zhao only revealed a fraction of what he meant: "If we find the treasure trove that makes his money grow, and then help the higher-ups get in touch, what is Zhao Si to us?"

"So all we need to do is seize this point and threaten Zhao Si to cough up the money!"

The crowd, their faces beaming with joy, gathered around Zhao Zhao: "Then who exactly is his client?"

Zhao Zhao lowered her eyes and remained silent, keeping everyone in suspense.

She never helps without expecting something in return.

Knowing her greedy and avaricious nature, someone quickly took off the bracelet from their wrist and handed it to her, coaxing her softly:

“Zhao Zhao’er… help your sisters. When the money is returned, you will definitely be rewarded.”

Zhao Zhao glanced up, then looked away.

Everyone assumed she looked down on the bracelet, so they offered her even better things to please her, all of which were rare and exquisite items that Zhao Zhao had never seen before.

On a normal day, Zhao Zhao would definitely be so happy she would faint.

But she just sat there quietly, making her own plans in her mind.

She wants more.

A cough suddenly sounded outside the door, hoarse like a broken pipa.

Everyone stood up and bowed, saying, "Mom."

Holding her new opium pipe, Madam Yu entered the house, sat in the main seat, and coldly surveyed everyone:

"You're all old and feeble, yet when you run into trouble, you flock to a maid for advice. Besides taking your anger out on your own sisters, what other skills do you have? Not a single one of you is any good!"

Her words were authoritative, and everyone lowered their heads, obediently listening to her reprimand.

“Among you, there are those who were sold into this family by their parents because they were poor, those who were pawned in by men, and those who were born and raised as prostitutes.”

"No matter what kind, haven't you seen enough bad people since you were young? Why have you suffered so much, yet still not learned anything?"

"I'm asking you, what's the most forbidden thing in our building?"

Everyone lowered their heads and remained silent, not daring to respond.

Yu's mother's eyes suddenly turned cold, as if she was displeased.

Zhao Zhao didn't dare let her words fall to the ground, and quickly said:

"Trust men."

Mother Yu often said that a woman who is a prostitute must be ruthless and determined, only caring about her own interests in her words and deeds, and never being sincere.

A prostitute, after all, always has to deceive and bluff.

If you want to succeed in this line of work, you can't trust any man.

No matter how sincere they are or how desperate they are to abandon their families and lives, they are not worthy of being trusted.

"Don't trust men, don't trust men. I've said this a million times, I wish I could implant it into your brains."

Mrs. Yu gave a cold laugh and continued:
"You're tired of hearing this, and I thought you understood, but who knew you wouldn't trust men you've had dealings with, yet you have complete faith in other people's men!"

"I warned you before about investing money in Zhao Si, not to bet on anyone other than yourselves. But you two, you rushed to jump into the fire. You're truly hopeless devils who can't be reasoned with."

The crowd looked at Madam Yu with pitiful eyes, hoping she would step in and uphold justice, but she coldly replied:

"If you get your money back, it's because the Bodhisattva has blessed you. If you don't, you can only blame yourselves for being blind and unable to see the truth!"

Zhao Zhao kept his nose down and his eyes closed, thinking to himself that this damned Bodhisattva would never grant him any divine intervention.

"Everyone, get out," said Madam Yu as her last words.

Just as Zhao Zhao was about to move her foot to leave, she was stopped:
"You stay."

Everyone left, leaving only the two of them.

Mother Yu gestured for Zhao Zhao to sit down, but Zhao Zhao didn't dare. Instead, she stood obediently in front of her, letting her look her over.

Zhao Zhao was actually very afraid of her, just like a mouse is afraid of a cat or a snake is afraid of an eagle.

She was too experienced; she could always see through Zhao Zhao's thoughts and schemes, preventing Zhao Zhao from showing off her supposedly cleverness.

“I heard everything you just said outside.”

Zhao Zhao's temples throbbed, and she said modestly, "Mom, you're too kind."

"Please excuse my poor choice?" Madam Yu exhaled smoke softly. "Zhao Zhao'er, I didn't choose the wrong person. You're a smart one."

"Just spouting some nonsense."

“From what you just said, I can tell that you want to take her place.” Mother Yu used her pipe to lift Zhao Zhao’s chin. “You’re not only smart, but also very ambitious.”

Zhao Zhao pretended not to understand, revealing the smile that a thirteen-year-old girl should have:

"Mom, what ambition could a virgin prostitute like me, without even a lamp hanging up?"

Yu's mother propped her head up and looked at Zhao Zhao with a smile but said nothing.

His eyes held a mixture of expectation and mockery.

Looking into her eyes, Zhao Zhao thought of the plump bait on the fishing hook and the clinking dice in the jar on the gambling table.

Should we take a gamble?
Zhao Zhao suddenly knelt down, determined to risk everything:

"Mom, please help me connect the wires!"

Mrs. Yu flicked her cigarette ash and said lazily, "Oh?"

“I know that my mother has been running her business in the county for many years and has connections with several high-ranking officials.”

Zhao Zhao crawled a few steps on her knees, her bright, watery eyes gazing at her mother, Yu:
"If I can figure out how Zhao Si makes money, I can take his place! At that time, I would like to ask my mother to help me make connections and give me a chance to show my respect to the men."

"What good will it do me to help you?" Yu's mother asked.

"Mom, didn't we agree that I would stay here to take care of you in your old age and see you off when you die?"

Zhao Zhao smiled and playfully punched Yu's mother's knee:

"The more ways I make money, the more confident you will be in spending money in the future. If I maintain good relations with the officials in the county, won't I be able to help you out in other places as well?"

Lending money at exorbitant interest rates is ultimately a shameful business, and even legitimate officials are embarrassed to do it; they can only seek profit through their subordinates.

"But Zhao Si has powerful backers. What makes you think you've found a way to get ahead of Zhao Si? And what makes you think the higher-ups would choose a young girl like you?"

As she spoke, a mocking glint appeared in Yu's mother's eyes.

What can a woman rely on to get a man? It's nothing more than her youth and beauty.

Although Zhao Zhao is good-looking, she is not outstanding.

Moreover, men choose women no differently than they choose playthings; besides looking at appearance, they also have to consider character.

Zhao Zhao is delicate and graceful, but she cannot hide the untamed wildness in her bones.

Any man with a modicum of intelligence would never consider such a scheming scoundrel as his bedmate.

"Because I am more clever and resourceful than Zhao Si, and I am more efficient and decisive in my work."

Zhao Zhao met her gaze and said, word by word:

“If the gentlemen choose me, I can make them earn even more.”

Her words were interesting, and Yu's mother smiled:

"Is this all you're thinking of to earn money to support your mother?"

“Mom, I do everything for profit, there’s no need to put on a show of being forced to.”

Zhao Zhao bowed deeply and said frankly:
"I consider myself intelligent, capable of thinking of things others can't. Since I possess such cunning and shrewdness, how could I not have matching ambition?"