Chapter 085

Chapter 85: Want her to clean up your mess? Not a chance

You Bing Yue’s momentum was fierce, and her eyes flashed cold as she said: “Once the membership fee is paid, it will not be refunded. We agreed to that from the start, and you signed the contract!”

The young man and those closest to him were startled by her presence and took a step back. Those farther away, who did not feel the killing air from her, kept shouting in anger: “Refund the money! Refund the money!”

Annoyed already, You Bing Yue snapped: “I will repeat myself. You paid by your own choice. Once paid, no refunds. If anyone keeps stirring trouble, do not blame me for being rude!”

The crowd, stoked by her tone, forgot their fear for a moment and yelled back: “You are in the wrong. I want to see how exactly you plan to be rude!”

You Bing Yue gave a cold laugh and said: “So stubborn. In that case, do not blame me.”

In a blink she was in front of the young man. She struck with one palm and sent him flying. He crashed into the people behind him, and three or four fell like a row of toppling tiles. You Bing Yue planted a foot on his chest and said, icy and flat: “Get lost.”

No one had expected this beautiful, cold, and slender woman to throw hands. Even more shocking was how strong she was, dropping four or five men in a breath. The crowd went silent for a heartbeat, then exploded again: “You are the ones in the wrong, and you still hurt people. Just wait, we are reporting this to the magistrate!”

That was when Du Zi Heng arrived.

He took in the chaos and, most of all, the sight of You Bing Yue stepping on a man as she spoke big words. His vision went dark and he snapped: “Bing Yue! Let him go!”

She had not expected him to order her without asking what happened, and to glare as if he wanted to eat her alive. She shot back: “Du Zi Heng, are you blind? I am helping you deal with these troublemakers!”

His head buzzed. He hurried forward, grabbed her arm, and tried to pull her aside.

Inside, the shopkeeper and the clerks saw the young master and came out to help calm the crowd.

While guiding You Bing Yue back into the shop, Du Zi Heng told the shopkeeper: “Tell our customers the store is only closed for repairs for two days and will reopen in at most three.”

“After reopening, we will stop the free tea and snacks. We go back to the old buying and borrowing rules. Those who paid for membership can bring their membership token for a refund.”

Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Yu Zhi Yi standing in the nearby alley. His face went stiff. Embarrassment pricked him. Her warning echoed in his mind. She had told him he would lose money and should spend less for a while, or he would have no cash to clean up the mess later. He should not have doubted her. But regret came too late.

As the door shut, You Bing Yue’s angry voice still came through the boards: “Du Zi Heng, you do not know a good heart when you see one! I was clearly helping you, and you take the side of the rabble outside!”

When the door clicked closed, their voices were sealed inside.

With Du Zi Heng’s promise and the shop staff soothing tempers, the restless crowd slowly broke up. Peace returned to the front of the bookstore.

Red Luan sighed, half amused and half regretful, and said: “What a pity they could not argue in front of us. Are we outsiders now?”

Yu Zhi Yi could not help a laugh and said: “Alright, the fun is over. Let’s go back and talk business.”

Red Luan tipped her chin at her and said: “Sister, you are not going to clean up his mess for him, right?”

“That goes without saying,” said Yu Zhi Yi. She was not that idle.

They returned to Splendid Brocade Workshop and picked up their earlier topic.

Red Luan said: “Find a few people you trust to run a charity. If it is not for profit, then their job is to find who needs help and to make plans for that help.”

“For example, people with disabilities or the elderly and children with no one to rely on could get a basic living guarantee. For young children, we should not only keep them fed but also help them afford school.”

“And when disasters strike, the charity could buy grain and send it to the disaster areas for relief.”

She bit her lip and added: “But the first person to try something new takes a big risk. Think it through. If you start a charity, you will face doubts from all sides.”

Do not underestimate the dark side of people. Some folks give not a single coin, yet they stare hard at those who already give, picking them apart. In this era, there are no charities yet. The first one will find each step heavy. Charity brings a good name, and once one rich person does it, people will ask why the other rich and powerful do not. It is easy to breed hate.

Yu Zhi Yi said lightly: “No problem. I will use my own money to do good. Anyone who spreads lies will either never dare speak again, or never again be able to open their mouth to speak.”

A fierce thrill ran over Red Luan’s scalp at that bold line, and her own ambition rose. She said: “Good! If this is your cause, of course I will support it. I will donate too.”

Yu Zhi Yi blinked and said: “Ah. I did not come to ask you for donations.”

“Silly, I know,” Red Luan said with a smile. “Even if you did, that is fine. My name is out there now.” She patted the purse at her waist and said: “See? My coin bag is plump. Giving tens or even a hundred taels each month is no pressure at all.”

She decided to treat it as praying for the parents, in that other world, who lost their child too soon.

“Alright,” said Yu Zhi Yi.

Since Red Luan insisted, Yu Zhi Yi did not argue. Merit is something most people cannot see or touch, and maybe you never use it in this life, but it is real. With merit guarding you, filthy things cannot get close. In the next life, you can be born into wealth and happiness.

Because Yu Zhi Yi did not often go out, Red Luan would handle the work. Yu Zhi Yi only needed to fund it.

The next day, Yu Zhi Yi had fifty thousand taels of silver delivered.

Red Luan stared. She knew her friend wanted to do good, but she had not expected it to be this big. Fifty thousand taels would be like five or six million in her world. Her sister had donated it without even blinking.

Red Luan looked at Yu Zhi Yi. Yu Zhi Yi blinked back at her, just as serious.

Red Luan sighed inwardly, accepted the fact that her “pitiful little” sister was secretly a rich lady, and donated five hundred taels within her means.

After they settled things, Yu Zhi Yi went back to Du Manor.

As her carriage reached the gate, a big Buddha seemed to be planted in the way. Du Zi Heng walked up to meet her.

Yu Zhi Yi became wary at once and said: “I already said, no refunds.”

She had warned him at the skirt auction. Spend within your means. If he regretted it later, she would not return the money, and she would not take the skirt back. [He wants to squeeze money from me to wipe his mess? Not a chance.]