Scumbag Chapter 171 The Reformed White-Eyed Wolf General (37)

"But, what can we do?" Jin Yuping wasn't as optimistic as Shi Jing. So many things in this life had changed. They had no status, no position

"But, what can we do?" Jin Yuping wasn't as optimistic as Shi Jing. So many things in this life had changed. They had no status, no position

"But, what can we do?"

Jin Yuping wasn't as optimistic as Shi Jing.

So many things in this life had changed. They had no status, no position, so how could they even enter the Wei Family’s residence?

Shi Jing might just be caught and treated as a thief the moment he stepped in, then hauled off to the authorities.

"Bribe the midwives. I know the two midwives from our past life."

Shi Jing still remembered. Back then, he had secretly contacted the midwives and given them a large sum of silver, instructing them to tamper with Huiniang's delivery so she could never bear children again.

As a result, Huiniang was injured during childbirth and never conceived again. Huier became the sole heir of the Count’s Mansion.

Fengtian had been keeping an eye on the noodle stall recently. When it overheard the couple's scheming, it was so furious it wanted to punch them.

‘How can there be such vicious and selfish people?’

Fengtian immediately went back to complain to Mingting. Truth be told, Huiniang and her daughter were the real victims here.

In the original timeline, Huiniang fell ill and died not long after being driven out of the Count’s Mansion, and her daughter was poisoned to death.

All of this happened because the cannon fodder is not worthy of being a husband and a father! If he had been a responsible and reliable husband or father, how could others have harmed them?

[I don’t feel the slightest bit of sympathy for the cannon fodder now.] Fengtian grumbled, puffing up like an angry ball, [I’m not taking on tasks like this anymore, it's too disgusting!]

If it weren't for the original owner's unique space, Fengtian wouldn't accept such a task.

Although the original owner had actively fought against the Eastern Sea pirates, when it came to his wife and children, he was nothing but scum.

"Don’t worry. If they think they can swap children, they’re delusional!"

Mingting sneered.

Huiniang had just given birth at the end of the year, and her body hadn’t fully recovered yet. After a natural delivery, she needed at least a year or two to recuperate. Did they think he would let his wife get pregnant again so soon? What did they take him for?

‘Let those parasitic leeches keep dreaming!’

…

Mingting’s letter reached Emperor Chang.

During his months as a pirate, Mingting had maintained the habit of writing to Emperor Chang.

Some letters were written on the ship, others after they captured islands, so there was a strong smell of the ocean on the letter paper, and occasionally, traces of blood.

Mingting’s pirate life was described in a way that was both thrilling and perilous. When reading the letters, Emperor Chang’s heart raced as if he were experiencing it himself.

Mingting wasn’t highly educated, and his vocabulary was limited, so his letters were written in plain, straightforward language, with a few typos here and there.

Some letters had oddly shaped characters, likely written while the ship rocked on rough seas.

After finishing the letters, Emperor Chang actually felt a little envious of Mingting.

The throne had trapped him in the capital, and he could no longer lead his troops to charge into battle as he did in the past.

However, through Mingting’s letters, Emperor Chang gained a deeper understanding of life at sea.

People feared the ocean, and it’s mostly because they didn’t know how to survive on it.

But for someone like Mingting, who could read the weather, navigate, and knew the sea routes, the ocean wasn’t as terrifying as people imagined.

Especially since maritime transport was far faster than land transport. Zheng State had many coastal cities and a long coastline, so perhaps they could make use of it…

Emperor Chang held the letter and fell into deep thought.

The reason why the previous dynasty was prosperous and wealthy in the first few decades after its founding was largely due to the wealth brought by thriving maritime trade. The royal treasury of the previous dynasty still has the treasures from overseas like ivory, coral, ambergris, and storax oil...

If it weren't for the Eastern Sea pirates blockading the coasts and raiding the shores, maritime trade wouldn’t have been cut off.

Emperor Chang decided to have someone look up records of the previous dynasty’s maritime trade.

‘If the Eastern Sea pirates and other pirates on the sea were solved by Count of Dingyuan, reviving maritime trade would have to be prioritized.’

Aside from documenting his pirate life, Mingting also meticulously recorded each soldier’s achievements in his letters, allowing Emperor Chang to see their contributions.

His behavior of not being greedy for merit only made the emperor trust him more.

Once the seas were pacified, he would reward these heroes handsomely!

…

With the Eastern Sea pirates lying low for the winter, Mingting’s Red Turban Pirate didn’t need to set sail. His daily routine consisted of training soldiers by the shore, returning to Ning’an on his days off each month.

Jin Yuping’s belly swelled as expected.

This time, her morning sickness was especially severe. She vomited everything she ate, and within two months, she was retching constantly and could not eat anything. She lost weight at a visible speed.

After another bout of vomiting that left her in tears, Jin Yuping wiped her mouth, feeling lost.

She had never suffered like this in her past life!

Now that the weather had turned cold, fewer and fewer people eat noodles outdoors.

Everyone preferred the warmth of hotpots in restaurant, so who would willingly brave the cold wind by the roadside?

Shi Jing was no help. Her body was unwell, and with the winter chill, she could only run the stall for half a day. After deducting costs, the earnings barely covered their living expenses.

This kind of life was unbearable. She wondered if she had been reborn just to live like this.

Jin Yuping refused to accept it.

Now, what’s worse than poverty was the hopelessness… the feeling that there was no way out.

Though they still had some money left from selling the jade pendant, they couldn’t just rely on dwindling savings forever.

Jin Yuping wants Shi Jing to go out and find something to do.

Whether as an accountant, a scribe, or even writing letters for others, it can more or less subsidize the family expenses. Or, he could open a private school in the rural outskirts and teach students.

As a result, Shi Jing couldn't let go of his pride and stubbornly refused to lower himself.

If Jin Yuping argued with him, he would say that the money from selling the jade pendant was enough to sustain them.

In her past life, Jin Yuping despised Wei Mingting for being a horse slave… He’s a rough man who is uneducated, illiterate, and only good at fighting.

She liked scholars like Shi Jing, who were well-read and eloquent.

But now, faced with real hardship, Jin Yuping finally understood the saying, ‘Of all useless things, a scholar is the worst’. (T/N: It implied that book knowledge without practical skills is worthless.)

As her belly grew day by day and their savings dwindled, Jin Yuping grew increasingly worried. She wondered if they would even have enough money left to bribe the midwives and swap the babies.

The only thing that made her happy was that she overheard the conversation between the two servants of the Wei Family’s residence that Huiniang was pregnant.

This is great news!

Originally, Jin Yuping was worried that because of her and Shi Jing's rebirth, this matter would change, but she didn't expect everything to be the same as before.

Every day, she prayed for the delivery date to come quickly so they could successfully switch the babies.

The ‘news’ Jin Yuping had overheard was actually planted by Mingting, who had deliberately arranged for Wei Family’s servants to discuss it near her noodle stall.

Seeing the female protagonist suddenly full of motivation, and even the lazy Shi Jing regaining his drive, Mingting found it all quite amusing.

‘I wonder how they would react when they discovered the truth. Would they be unable to accept reality?’