The waiter stood there in a daze for a long time but still didn’t see that beautiful young lady from last night.

How could the person just disappear?

Strange!

“Huh?” The waiter returned to the inn and ran over to ask the shopkeeper: “Shopkeeper, tell me, why has that young lady from last night disappeared?”

The shopkeeper also looked outside and saw Jingrong and the others mounting horses and leaving. He was also puzzled: “Yes, I didn’t see her either, but there’s an extra handsome young scholar in that group.”

“Really strange.”

“Alright, alright, hurry and get to work.”

“Right away!”

The waiter took his towel and went to work.

But the shopkeeper kept straining to look at Jingrong’s group.

Until they left.

Yiwu.

The Zhao Family Troupe became famous from a single play—”Ghost Bride Buries Her Husband.”

All of Yiwu was discussing it.

The originally somewhat declining Zhao Family Troupe became an overnight sensation because of this.

It became a famous theater troupe in Yiwu. Everyone wanted to see their plays. Those leading dan role actors all flocked to the Zhao Family Troupe.

Hoping to perform that ghost bride and that vicious husband!

Over several days, whenever the Zhao Family Troupe staged a play, almost every performance was sold out.

Some wealthy people were even willing to pay high prices to buy seats to watch this play.

Therefore, the threshold of the Zhao Family Troupe was nearly trampled through.

Lavish gifts were continuously sent here.

They piled up!

Either Master Li was inviting them to perform, or Madam Zhou was inviting them to perform…

An endless stream!

Each payment was more than the last!

Each gift was more valuable than the previous!

Uncle Da, the steward of the Li family, said to Troupe Master Tao with a spring breeze smile: “Old Troupe Master, our master is very sincere. You bring your Zhao Family Troupe to the estate to perform once—you can name your price for the silver.”

Lao Tao smiled until his mouth couldn’t close.

He took a sip of tea.

He said: “Uncle Da, the Zhao Family Troupe has really been very busy recently. The stage there keeps us busy every night—we really can’t spare the time.”

“But my master truly loves this play of yours.”

“We’re honored by your master’s appreciation. How about this—after we free up time next month, I’ll definitely bring my Zhao Family Troupe to the estate.”

“Still have to wait until next month?”

“Only next month is possible.”

Uncle Da thought about it and pondered in his heart for a long while before saying: “Alright then, I’ll first go back and discuss it with my master.”

“Excellent.”

Uncle Da left all the gifts he had brought, walking away reluctantly.

Troupe Master Tao smiled smugly and took another sip of tea.

A short while later, a man came in and bowed to ask: “Troupe Master, why didn’t you agree? The price Master Li offered is not low! We’d have to work five nights to earn that sum.”

Lao Tao glanced at him. “I told you that you don’t know what business is—you don’t even understand this.”

“What does the troupe master mean?”

“That Master Li is extremely superstitious about ghosts and spirits—you could say he’s reached the point of obsession. So our ‘Ghost Bride Buries Her Husband’ is very much to his taste. To get us to perform at his estate, he has sent people several times already. If today he can offer fifty taels to invite us, tomorrow he can offer one hundred taels. For what pleases his heart, he will definitely throw more silver.”

This was good business knowledge!

That person nodded and gave a thumbs up. “The troupe master is still more thoughtful.”

Lao Tao stroked his chin and pondered: “Tomorrow I’ll go find Song Zhi again—I need to have him write another ghost and monster script.”

“Troupe Master, you’d better hurry.”

“What’s wrong?”

“If people find out that script was written by Song Zhi, all the theater troupes will definitely go looking for him to write scripts.”

Lao Tao slapped his thigh: “Oh no, I almost forgot about this! I need to hurry and find Song Zhi, have him sign a contract with my Zhao Family Troupe. Such a talented person cannot be poached by other theater troupes.”

He hurried off to find Song Zhi.

At this moment, Song Zhi was at the market selling vegetables.

Early this morning, he had pulled several heads of cabbage from his vegetable garden to bring here and sell.

He had been sitting all morning and hadn’t successfully sold a single cabbage!

This couldn’t be blamed on him—one could only say those cabbages looked too ugly, dried and shriveled, still covered with mud. At a glance, they looked unappetizing.

Occasionally when a few people came to ask the price, he held a book and read, not even lifting his head as he said: “Five wen.”

“This cabbage is so dirty—three wen.”

He continued reading while replying: “Ugly they may be, but they were just pulled from the ground—fresh.”

“Wrinkled like this, where’s the freshness?”

“How can one judge things by their appearance?”

“So are you selling or not?”

He thought about it, put down his book, looked at those dried-up cabbages in front of him with heartache, then raised his head and said to the woman: “Since you’re so persistent, you’re somewhat similar to me. Fine then, three wen it is.”

The woman frowned, thinking this person was quite strange.

But in the end, she still paid and took the cabbage away.

One after another, he sold all the cabbages in his hands for three wen each. Holding the pitifully small amount of silver, he shouldered the empty basket preparing to go home.

But when passing by a bookshop, he stopped again.

“Song Zhi, oh Song Zhi, you cannot buy books again today!” He told himself, forcibly resisting the impulse, gritted his teeth, and continued walking.

But in the end, he couldn’t resist and stopped.

He put the empty basket in his hands outside!

He rubbed the mud off his feet before going in.

He browsed inside for quite a while and selected a poetry collection, paying all the money he had earned from selling cabbages.

He came out.

But—

His empty basket was gone.

“Ah…” He sighed.

He planned to search for it, thinking it might have been taken by mischievous children nearby.

But from a distance, he saw Troupe Master Tao.

“Master Song!” Lao Tao shouted to him from afar.

“Troupe Master Tao?”

“Finally found you! Why aren’t you at home? What are you doing here?” Troupe Master Tao was covered in sweat.

Song Zhi said: “I came out to sell vegetables.”

“What vegetables are you selling! The script you wrote is a huge hit—you’re about to become famous in Yiwu.”

“Oh!”

Oh?

Song Zhi was clearly very calm.

Troupe Master Tao froze for a moment, then grabbed his hand and said: “Come, come, come, I have important business to discuss with you.”

Song Zhi asked seriously: “Is it about the silver?”

“Uh!”

“That bag of rice you gave me last time is almost finished. Troupe Master Tao, you truly sent timely help in the snow.”

“That…”

“What’s wrong? Did it not sell well? But didn’t you just say it was a huge hit?”

Troupe Master Tao smiled: “Come with me first, we’ll discuss the silver matter together.”

“Alright, but…”

“But what?”

“My basket for holding cabbages was taken by someone—let me look for it.”

“That basket isn’t worth a few wen. I’ll give you one later.”

“But…”

“No buts, come, come, come!”

Troupe Master Tao forcibly dragged him toward the Zhao Family Troupe. Song Zhi still kept thinking about his basket—after all, he was used to using it.