Chapter 282: This Will Mend My Relationship With Her
Everyone knew that exiled criminals, even if they fled to another country, could never return home unless they wanted to be branded as traitors and executed as foreign spies if discovered by the Lan Yue Emperor.
And Yu Luo’s situation was even more delicate—she had been exiled from a noble household. If she was caught in Yueyang City, the consequences would be far worse than for ordinary exiles.
Thinking of this, Zhang Hu couldn’t help but feel deeply worried for her.
“I only came because I was worried about you all. It’s just a thousand miles—so I took the chance to check things out here.”
“Miss, you truly have unbelievable abilities. How did you even know we were in Yueyang City?”
“There’s only one inn in the border town. I asked the innkeeper, and he said you had left around midnight last night—so I followed you here. Anyway, making money isn’t the priority. Your safety comes first. If things go wrong, abandon the goods and save yourselves. And whatever happens, don’t expose your identities.”
Hearing this, the group of men was deeply moved.
“Understood, Miss! But you won’t believe it—Hu Liu and Wu Er have been amazing! The watermelon—oh wait, they call it ‘cool melon’ here—Hu Liu set the price at four taels per pound, and the rich folks still called it cheap! And those red tomatoes? Three taels per pound! Some rich families are buying them by the dozens of pounds! Even ordinary folks are getting a few just to try.”
Hearing this, Yu Luo raised an eyebrow in surprise.
“That’s more than double my expected price!”
Clearly, this first test run was an overwhelming success.
“A single watermelon weighs at least seven or eight pounds. Bringing Hu Liu along was the right decision. But I’ll say this again—profits are secondary. Your lives are more important. Don’t pick fights—it’s always better to avoid unnecessary conflicts. If our identities are exposed here, none of us will make it back.”
Seeing how much higher the fruit prices were than she had predicted, Yu Luo grew even more cautious. She didn’t want her men risking their lives for silver.
“Don’t worry, Miss! We won’t cause trouble. Peace above all else!”
Yu Luo nodded and picked up the cloth sack from Zhang Hu’s hands.
“You all go to the Eastern Market. If I don’t show up, don’t look for me. I’ll return to the small courtyard.”
“Yes, Miss!”
With that, Yu Luo headed down a side alley, vanishing into the streets.
Meanwhile, Ye Lu and Ah Zan, who had been secretly tailing her, searched for a long time but found no sign of her—only Zhang Hu’s group heading toward the Eastern Market.
“Where did she go? Did she leave first? Master, should we keep following?”
“If we can’t find her, we’ll follow her men instead. So long as we follow them, we’ll find her sooner or later.”
When Zhang Hu’s group arrived at the Eastern Market, they immediately heard the familiar shouts of their fellow merchants.
Looking ahead, they saw a long row of fruit stalls, already surrounded by customers.
Somehow, Hu Liu and Wu Er had borrowed wooden boards to create a proper stall, displaying baskets of tomatoes and rows of neatly stacked watermelons.
A constant stream of customers crowded around, asking for prices and making purchases.
“This market is incredible! Look at all those people wearing matching clothes—they must be household servants sent by wealthy families to do the shopping.”
“The guy who told us about this market was right! We’re selling out fast—we’ll get rid of all ten carts of fruit in no time!”
The men grinned with excitement.
Seeing such good business, their days of exhaustion and risk-taking suddenly felt worth it.
At this rate, they could sell everything in the fields and earn enough silver to sustain the entire settlement without burdening Yu Luo and the others.
Zhang Hu and his team quietly moved behind the stalls to help guard the fruit. With prices this high, even losing a single fruit would feel like a huge loss.
Meanwhile, Ye Lu and Ah Zan had stealthily followed them.
“Master! They’re selling watermelons—a lot of them! Even bigger and redder than the ones Xi Mo Kingdom sends to the imperial palace!”
Ah Zan whispered in shock.
“I even saw two people pooling money to buy one watermelon together! And those red fruits—customers are lining up to taste samples before buying them in bulk. Everyone who tries them ends up buying some! The only ones who don’t are those who simply can’t afford it!”
Ye Lu’s eyes widened.
“They’re selling… watermelons?!”
“That means… those carts they brought into the courtyard were full of fruit?!”
Ye Lu’s mind raced.
As a noble, he knew exactly how rare watermelons were.
If not for Xi Mo Kingdom sending a yearly tribute to the imperial family, even he wouldn’t have tasted one.
In the capital, receiving a watermelon as a gift was considered a huge honor. Some wealthy families even resold them for over a hundred taels each.
Yet here they were, selling tons of them, in public, like common fruit!
“How does that girl have so many? And why is she selling them so casually?!”
Ah Zan, watching his master’s expression, suddenly had an idea.
“Master, why don’t we buy a whole batch and resell them in the capital? These fruits are worth a fortune there! You’d make a massive profit, and at the same time, you’d be secretly helping her. Wouldn’t that be a win-win?”
Ye Lu’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Brilliant!”
“If I do this, she’ll owe me a favor! Maybe I can even fix my terrible first impression!”
“Why not?!”
“Guards!”
At his command, a black-clad figure descended from the rooftops, startling nearby pedestrians, who quickly backed away in fear.
“Go find out how many watermelons and tomatoes they have. Buy everything. Send it all to my businesses in the capital immediately!”
