Tipped Twenty Gold Coins

But obviously, she couldn't just elope with a stranger she barely knew.

Kelly called to the maid beside her. "Go on, give this to him."

The maid took the purse her young mistress handed her and immediately went downstairs.

"Hmm, what did you give him?"

When Nina, her close friend, asked, Kelly answered frankly, "Meeting is fate. I just gave him some coins."

Nina didn't think much of it. Money was nothing to people of their standing, so giving some away was no big deal.

The people around Matthews saw that the spoiled young lord had left and didn't dare crowd around him again.

"Hey, Mia, pack up and let's go. Looks like it's not happening today."

"Yeah, it's all Rory's fault."

Matthews rubbed her head and comforted her. "We can use a little trick to deal with that bootlicker from earlier."

Matthews looked up at the sky, then continued, "We can't afford to provoke a spoiled young lord like Rory yet. We have to get stronger. Then no one will dare mess with you!"

Mia nodded hard and said to Matthews, "Brother, when Mia grows up, she'll become a powerful mage and protect you!"

"Hahaha, good. Our Mia has ambition!"

The siblings began packing up to leave when they heard someone call out, "Wait!"

Matthews didn't know anyone in this city and didn't think the call was meant for him. He ignored it and turned to leave.

"The siblings up ahead, please wait!"

When Matthews saw the woman hurrying after him, he asked, "May I ask why you called out to me?"

"Here, this is a reward from my young mistress."

Matthews saw the pretty embroidered purse the woman held out, but didn't take it right away. He made his living performing for small tips. After what had just happened with Rory, he couldn't help being cautious.

"May I ask your young mistress's name? I'd like to repay her kindness someday."

"My young mistress is Kelly, the eldest daughter of the Berna Family. She certainly doesn't expect you to repay her."

She handed him the purse, and Matthews accepted it and thanked her.

Then he took a folding fan from his bag and handed it to the maid. "Matthews thanks Miss Kelly for her generosity. I made this myself. It may not be worth much, but please accept it as a return gift."

The maid looked at the fan, thought about the young ladies' conversation from earlier, and accepted it.

While the two were talking, Rory Doyle walked into the restaurant. It belonged to his family, and his subordinates had naturally reported that the city lord's daughter was dining there. So he had hurried over.

"Good day, Miss Nina. Miss Kelly."

Rory promptly sat down across from them, then called toward the entrance, "Bring out the new dishes! From now on, Miss Nina can order whatever she likes whenever she comes."

Nina replied graciously, "You're too kind, Mr. Rory. We've already finished eating."

Kelly simply ignored the spoiled young man she disliked. She already hated the idea of an arranged marriage, and this fat man was nothing like the handsome men she was attracted to. Naturally, she wasn't going to be friendly to him.

"Hahaha, there's no need to be so polite."

Rory laughed, apparently not minding the unfriendly atmosphere between the two women at all.

Just then, the maid who had gone to deliver the gift to Matthews returned and handed Kelly a folding fan.

"Miss Kelly, this is his return gift."

Kelly took it, unfolded it, and turned it over in her hands. "Did you ask his name?"

"Miss Kelly, he said his name is Matthews."

"Hmm."

Rory saw Kelly playing with something he'd never seen before and asked curiously, "What's that? Can I take a look?"

"No. Someone gave it to me as a return gift."

Rory smiled awkwardly, then told the servants to bring out a fresh round of dishes.

Matthews hefted the purse in his hand. He knew that a place like this was full of prying eyes, so he couldn't count the money in public. He took Mia by the hand and left.

"Wow, so many gold coins!"

On the road outside the city, Matthews could hardly believe that Kelly, the eldest daughter of the Berna Family, whom he'd never even met, had given him twenty gold coins.

To put it in perspective, he'd previously sold more than a dozen animal pelts for just two silver coins. A thousand copper coins made one silver coin, and ten silver coins made one gold coin.

Back in his old world, a wolf pelt went for around three hundred yuan in some remote areas. That meant one hundred and fifty copper coins were worth about three hundred yuan. One copper coin was worth about two yuan, one silver coin about two thousand yuan, and one gold coin around twenty thousand. In other words, some rich person had just casually tipped him the equivalent of four hundred thousand yuan.

"Yeah, that's what you call rich."

Mia's eyes sparkled with golden coins. She snatched the money and tried to stuff it into her arms. "Mine! It's all mine!"

"No. This is money someone gave me."

The siblings wrestled over the coins out in the open. A moment later, Matthews said, "All right, now we have enough money for the magical talent test."

Mia pouted so hard you could hang a bottle of soda from her lips. She was upset because she hadn't managed to grab even one gold coin. Matthews had snatched them all away.

"Hmph. I'm not forgiving you."

"When we get to the capital, I'll buy you a pretty dress."

Mia's cloudy expression instantly brightened. "Really?"

Matthews knew all about making empty promises. During his summer internship, that rotten exploitative boss had constantly fooled poor students like them. He didn't see anything wrong with using the same trick to fool a seven-year-old girl.

When they reached the next city, Mia looked at the gong in her hands and said to Matthews reluctantly, "Brother, do we have to perform for money again?"

"Of course. What else are we going to eat?"

"But don't we have money?"

Matthews immediately covered her mouth and gave her a stern look. "Hmm? How could we have money? We only have a few dozen copper coins. What can that buy?"

"Hmph, Brother. You're even worse than that exploitative boss you told me about."

"Get to work. I shouldn't have told you those stories."

As soon as she heard Matthews threaten to stop telling her stories, Mia immediately gave in. She was used to falling asleep every night after listening to her brother's stories. She'd grown to love them and couldn't possibly let him stop telling such interesting tales.

"Step right up! Don't miss out! My sister and I are new to your fine city. Let us put on a show to earn our keep!"

"If you have money, show your support with a coin. If you don't, show your support with a crowd!"

The clear voice of the little girl, accompanied by the sound of the gong, immediately drew a crowd. People showed their support as the siblings performed, and they earned a decent amount.