Chapter 8: Master, We Are Rich!
Gu Qingluan sat with her legs crossed on the pirate leader's tiger-head chair, enjoying grapes while listening to Bo He tallies up the assets on the pirate ship.
The pirates were all bound together, their faces turning pale.
Those were the spoils they had plundered earlier in the morning!
Who would have thought that a little brat singing a song would lead to them losing the entire ship?
It was a great humiliation!
Utterly infuriating!
Gu Xiaonan chewed on grapes, his cheeks puffed up, and he excitedly asked, "Master, does this mean we're going to be rich?"
"Gu Xiaonan!" Gu Qingluan's expression turned serious. "What did I teach you? How could you steal other people's belongings and claim them as your own?"
Gu Xiaonan immediately admitted his mistake.
Satisfied with the response, Gu Qingluan changed the topic. "Why don't you ask these gentlemen if they are willing to pay to avoid further trouble?"
"Yes, yes!" Gu Xiaonan's eyes lit up, and he turned to address the pirate chief. "Mr. Pirate, I'm sure your life must be quite valuable, right?"
The pirate chief glared at Gu Xiaonan, his anger wishing to drink his blood and tear him apart. "Brat, despite your young age, your mind is quite twisted! Today, I admit defeat, but I won't allow you to take my money!"
"If you're unwilling, then forget it," Gu Xiaonan replied with a gentle shake of his head. Ignoring the furious pirate leader, he cast his bright gaze upon the others. "Are the rest of you uninterested as well?"
The other pirates were not as resolute as their leader.
The bearded man quickly glanced at the pirate chief before asking hopefully, "Young hero, my life holds considerable value. Would it be possible for me to offer a ransom for my own release?
"Zhao Ba!" the pirate leader bellowed angrily in response.
Startled, the bearded man flinched and cautiously continued, "Boss, there's a saying that goes, 'If something is left behind, there's no need to worry about it burning.' Since we are all prisoners here, and the possessions in question do not truly belong to us, if we help them to keep their dignity, we can comply. This way, we can preserve our lives without incurring any financial loss."
"Yes, yes, Boss. Let's consider today's work as a freebie. We get to keep our lives, so what more could we ask for?" the subordinates persuaded the pirate chief.
Gradually, the pirate chief began to relent. "Kid, are you really willing to let us go?"
"You can buy your own lives with money," Gu Xiaonan said with a mischievous smile.
"I'll pay, I'll pay for my life!" the bearded man Zhao Ba immediately responded.
"I'll pay mine too!"
Gu Xiaonan nodded happily. "Alright then, one by one. Each person, state your price. Bo He, please keep a record for them. All these pirates are so formidable, we shouldn't charge them cheaply."
Bo He smiled and agreed. She held a pen in one hand and an account book in the other. She recorded the value of each pirate and even made them sign.
The total is 1,035,000 taels of silver.
Gu Xiaonan waved her little hand. "Round it down and count it as one million taels for all of you."
Just now, Bo He had tallied the assets on the pirate ship to a total of one million taels, neither too much nor too little, just right.
Gu Xiaonan held onto the account book excitedly and exclaimed, "Master, now we have money! So much money!"
Gu Qingluan took the account book and casually flipped through its pages a few times. With a satisfied smile, she rolled it up and tucked it into her sleeve. "Xiao Nan, be a good child. This account book is very valuable. It's best kept in the hands of an adult. You're still young, so it's not safe for you to carry such a large sum of money."
"Ah?" Gu Xiaonan looked at the account book reluctantly, but then feigned a magnanimous expression and turned away. "Yes, it was originally Xiao Nan's way of showing filial piety to Master."
"Can you release us now?" the pirate chief pleaded, struggling against the ropes.
"Hmm, release you? Where do you think you're going?" Gu Xiaonan turned around and looked at them.
"Are you reneging on your promise?" the pirate chief protested. "We just signed the papers to pay a ransom to free ourselves!"
"Where's the money?" Gu Xiaonan stretched out her chubby little hand.
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