Chapter Eighty-Two: I Want to Marry Ten Wives

Returning to the tavern in high spirits, Ye Qiu barely had a chance to catch his breath before Cao He approached, puzzled. "Boss, did something good happen? You're grinning like a fool."

"You know nothing! We're about to strike it rich..." Ye Qiu shot him a contemptuous look. How could Cao He possibly understand Ye Qiu’s ambition to profit from this looming war?

Once the fighting started, the goods Ye Qiu could produce would become highly sought after. If anyone was going to get rich, it would be him.

"Get rich? How? Isn't there a war coming? How could we possibly make money? I saw a few skulls appear in the sky, like a new space opened up, and the entire wasteland is chaos, corpses everywhere. Boss, are you alright? Shouldn't your first thought be to escape? How could you be thinking about getting rich?"

Cao He questioned him, baffled. Was this really the boss he knew? The one who always surrendered at the first sign of trouble, turning tail and running if things went south—where had he gone?

Ye Qiu glared at him, snapping, "You know nothing! That's why I keep telling you about vision, about perspective. Your horizons are way too narrow, so you'll only ever scrape by at this level. With thinking like yours, how can you be my right-hand man? If you can't even grasp this, you'd be better off feeding pigs."

Good grief, why is it that other transmigrators have clever, capable subordinates, but mine are all fools?

Cao He was so thoroughly scolded he couldn't utter a word, staring blankly in confusion.

Why am I only fit to feed pigs?

Ye Qiu continued, "Yes, war is breaking out, but think about it—what does a massive battle need? What do we have?"

"What does it need?" Cao He pondered, scratching his head. "Weapons?"

"Exactly! Weapons. In a large-scale war, nothing is in higher demand than weapons, and that's what we have in abundance. Besides weapons, we have fruit, herbs—these are hot commodities now, they'll sell like crazy! Just wait and see, this time we’re going to make a killing. Heh... and then we'll be rich."

"I've already made up my mind. When I have money, I’ll marry ten saintesses! Just thinking about it makes me excited..."

Ye Qiu's laughter turned mad and wicked as he spoke, even Cao He joined in. "Oh... so there’s such a good thing? Heh, Boss, I want a wife too, but I won’t compete with you—I only like other people's young wives..."

"You bastard, calling you Cao the Rascal is no exaggeration, you really have no ambition..."

Ye Qiu was speechless. Good grief... this guy really did have unique tastes; no wonder Ye Qiu always called him Cao the Rascal. In fact, Ye Qiu had noticed this hobby long ago, and so the nickname fit perfectly.

"Hmm, this won’t do! I’ll have to watch out for this brat, or he might cuckold me someday."

Just the thought was terrifying. With someone constantly eyeing other people's wives nearby, who could endure that?

"Enough nonsense! Get to work. Renovate the tavern, reorganize the shelves, take the weapons from the warehouse and put them on display for sale."

Ye Qiu ignored Cao He's unsavory ambitions. He had already decided: once he had money, he would marry ten wives. Heh, even if ten was too many, surely one would do? It’s not like he’d lack money...

"Alright, I'll get to it right away..."

Cao He responded enthusiastically and hurried off to the warehouse to prepare the goods.

Meanwhile, Ye Qiu sat contentedly in the main hall, already picturing the moment he'd reach the pinnacle of his life.

"Wonderful, truly wonderful! Once I've made enough, I’ll marry ten wives—five to warm the bed, five to serve me, a life of comfort... perfect..."

The more he thought, the more excited he became, unable to keep his thoughts to himself. The Sky-Devouring Sparrow beside him looked at him with disdain, thinking, "Such paltry ambition? Ten wives? If it were me, I'd want at least a hundred..."

"Who wants to marry ten wives?"

At that moment, a cold voice sounded from the doorway. Hearing it, Ye Qiu's heart skipped a beat—trouble was coming.

"Damn, why has she come again..."

Ye Qiu was instantly embarrassed; his sweet dreams shattered by reality's slap.

The visitor was none other than Yue Chan. She stood there, face icy and lips curled in an odd smile, staring at Ye Qiu so intently that he felt uneasy.

"Why is she looking at me like that? What business is it of hers if I marry wives..."

Ye Qiu was suddenly tongue-tied, nervous for reasons he couldn’t explain. Whenever he saw Yue Chan, a sense of panic overtook him—perhaps from too many guilty deeds in the past.

Seeing his creditor was enough to make him anxious.

Yes, that must be it! Otherwise, why would I panic? I’m a great man—unflinching even if Mount Tai collapsed before me, that’s just basic composure.

"Uh... haha... nothing, nothing, you must’ve misheard. No one said anything about marrying ten wives, definitely not, you must've heard wrong..."

Ye Qiu spoke anxiously.

Yue Chan questioned, "Is that so?"

She clearly didn’t believe Ye Qiu's nonsense. This man had many good qualities, but an honest tongue wasn’t one of them—his words were always wild, lies flowing freely...

"Of course it's true! Who am I, if not an upright gentleman? How could I have such sordid thoughts? Absolutely impossible..."

Boasting so much, Ye Qiu almost convinced himself he was a saint, replying calmly.

The Sky-Devouring Sparrow shot him a contemptuous look, thinking, "Coward, what are you afraid of? Just a woman and you’re scared? Spineless weakling. You were just talking about marrying ten wives, and now you’re suddenly a paragon of virtue? Where’s your lofty ambition?"

It looked at Ye Qiu with disappointment, but suddenly Yue Chan turned her cold gaze on it. "Is he telling the truth?"

"Eh? Don’t ask me, how should I know..."

Now it was the Sky-Devouring Sparrow's turn to panic. Damn... I’m just here for the show, how would I know anything?

This is bad, this woman kills without blinking.

Ironically, it had just been scorning Ye Qiu, but now it was even more flustered, its face pale with fright.

The Sky-Devouring Sparrow was bewildered. It feared Yue Chan, whose ruthlessness was legendary—a slap from her could end its life. But if it sold out Ye Qiu, things might be even worse—Ye Qiu could be truly cruel, with a hundred ways to torment you.

Yue Chan, at least, would kill you quickly. Ye Qiu, on the other hand, could make you wish for death.

"Uh... haha, haha... alright, I admit it, I said that earlier!"

The Sky-Devouring Sparrow forced a smile, taking the blame for Ye Qiu.

As soon as it finished, it felt a chill down its back, cold sweat breaking out. So unfair... caught between two threats.

Why am I always the one getting hurt? Ever since I appeared, I've been on the losing end. Couldn't the idiot author let me win just once?