Did You Mean Gangzi Bought His Own Bedding? (Second Update)

And so—

A roasted chicken, bring one.

Braised pork belly, bring a portion.

Steamed abalone, bring a whole plate.

Dim sum, bring two tiers.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, bring a pot.

No, make it a feast!

Anyway, he would eat first and wait while he ate.

As it turned out, he had been eating ever since.

Yu Xiaogang swallowed with difficulty and beckoned the cafeteria matron over.

"Um... check, please."

The matron walked over with the bill and slapped it down in front of him, expressionless.

"That'll be 103 Silver Spirit Coins in total. I'll round it down for you; one Gold Spirit Coin will do."

Yu Xiaogang's movements froze.

"How... how much?"

"One Gold Spirit Coin," the matron repeated, her eyes filled with a hint of disdain, as if to say, why act like a big shot if you can't afford the bill?

Yu Xiaogang's lips trembled.

One Gold Spirit Coin.

Equal to one hundred Silver Spirit Coins.

Equal to ten thousand Copper Spirit Coins.

His monthly allowance was only twenty Silver Spirit Coins.

This one meal had cost him five months of his allowance.

Yu Xiaogang tremblingly pulled out his coin purse and emptied it—dozens of Silver Spirit Coins and a pile of Copper Spirit Coins, all scattered and fragmented, didn't even add up to half the amount.

The matron's gaze grew even more disdainful.

"No money?"

Yu Xiaogang squeezed out a smile that looked worse than a cry: "Um... is it possible to put this on credit?"

The matron sneered: "Credit? Do you think this place belongs to your family?"

Yu Xiaogang's face flushed bright red.

Several kitchen staff members who were cleaning up stopped their work and watched the scene with great interest.

Yu Xiaogang felt his face burning.

Gritting his teeth, he took out everything valuable he had on him—dozens of Silver Spirit Coins, a pile of Copper Spirit Coins, an ancestral jade pendant, a pen he had used for ten years, and a... handkerchief for wiping his nose?

The matron counted everything up with a blank expression, kept the jade pendant and the pen, and pushed the Copper Spirit Coins and the handkerchief back to him.

"You're still short thirty Silver Spirit Coins. Pay it by tomorrow, or don't expect to get your things back."

Yu Xiaogang's face turned from red to white, from white to green, and finally settled on a sickly ash-gray.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but only a raspy "h-h-h" sound came from his throat.

Finally, he stood up and stumbled out of the cafeteria.

Behind him, the matron's voice rang out: "Remember to bring the money tomorrow! Otherwise, I'll have your dormitory cleared out!"

Yu Xiaogang's footsteps faltered.

Then he walked even faster.

Once again, he was utterly wretched.

Outside, the autumn wind was bleak.

On a September night, the temperature difference was absurd. It had been warm and sunny during the day, but now it was bone-chillingly cold.

Yu Xiaogang hunched his shoulders and hugged his arms, walking aimlessly through the academy.

Cold.

It was fucking freezing.

He thought of his bedding.

That old quilt he had used for over a decade had a huge hole in it, with the cotton spilling out. He had originally planned to buy a new one today, but instead...

He had eaten it all away.

Yu Xiaogang sniffled, his eyes stinging.

He looked up at the night sky; the moon was large and round, its light spilling onto the ground like a layer of frost.

It was so cold.

He continued walking forward.

As he walked, his peripheral vision caught a dark shadow.

Yu Xiaogang stopped in his tracks and looked closely.

It was a person.

A student, wearing the tattered, second-hand uniform of a Work-Study Student, was carrying a quilt in his arms and heading in a certain direction.

Yu Xiaogang's gaze fell upon that quilt.

It was new.

It looked very thick.

Very warm.

His eyes lit up.

"Excuse me... classmate!"

He quickened his pace to catch up.

The student stopped and looked back—it was Er Gou from Dormitory Seven.

Er Gou looked at the middle-aged man before him with vigilance: "What do you want?"

Yu Xiaogang squeezed out a smile and pointed at the quilt in his arms: "This... are you selling it?"

Er Gou was stunned for a moment.

He looked down at the quilt in his arms—this was the one the Grandmaster had sent over. He didn't know if there was something wrong with it, but Boss Su had said it was just taking up space and might as well be thrown away.

He had been on his way to throw it out when he was intercepted halfway.

Er Gou looked at Yu Xiaogang suspiciously: "You want to buy it?"

Yu Xiaogang nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! How much?"

Er Gou thought for a moment.

This quilt was a gift from the Grandmaster. Who was the Grandmaster? It seemed to be this person right in front of him, didn't it?

Although he didn't know Yu Xiaogang personally, he had heard Wang Sheng say that some "Grandmaster" had been rendered speechless by Boss Su and had even sent a quilt over, likely to harm them. Based on the description of his appearance, it seemed to be this very man.

Now this person wanted to buy the quilt he had sent himself?

Er Gou scratched his head, feeling that the logic was a bit strange.

But he was too lazy to think that much.

In any case, the quilt was meant to be thrown away; if he could exchange it for some money, why not?

"Five Silver Spirit Coins," Er Gou quoted a price.

Yu Xiaogang's face fell.

He had just spent a Gold Spirit Coin, and now he only had a dozen or so Copper Spirit Coins left on him. Where would he get five Silver Spirit Coins?

"That's too expensive..." he said with difficulty, "Can you make it cheaper?"

Er Gou sighed: "Forget it, you look pathetic enough. Two Silver Spirit Coins, not a copper less."

Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth.

Two Silver Spirit Coins—he could scrape that together if he really tried.

He emptied his coin purse, poured all the Copper Spirit Coins into his hand, and even fished another Silver Spirit Coin out from his crotch. He counted and recounted until he finally gathered the equivalent of two Silver Spirit Coins in copper, then handed them to Er Gou with both hands.

Er Gou took the heavy pile of copper coins and nodded in satisfaction.

He shoved the quilt into Yu Xiaogang's arms and turned to run.

He was afraid the man might change his mind.

Yu Xiaogang held the quilt, feeling that it looked somewhat familiar. But all new quilts looked about the same, so he didn't think much of it—as long as it was warm, that was enough.

His eyes suddenly felt a little hot.

Finally...

Finally, something good had happened.

He hugged the quilt tightly to his chest and strode toward the place where he lived.

Tonight, he finally wouldn't have to freeze.

As expected, he was a man of destiny; just as he was getting sleepy, someone had brought him a pillow!

Er Gou ran all the way back to Dormitory Seven.

He pushed the door open, and the room was still lively and bustling inside.

The hotpot stall had just closed, and a group of people were busy clearing away the bowls and chopsticks.

Tang San was in the corner, scrubbing the pot until it shone.

Su Mo sat on the edge of the bed, lost in thought.

Er Gou walked up to Tang San and slapped the pile of copper coins into his hand.

"Here."

Tang San stared at the money in his palm, stunned.

"What is this?"

Er Gou recounted the entire sequence of events.

After listening, Tang San's expression turned subtle.

He looked toward Su Mo: "Master, that Grandmaster... spent two Silver Spirit Coins to buy back the bedding he brought himself."

Su Mo was silent for a second.

Then, he laughed.

He laughed with genuine sincerity.

"That fellow Gangzi is quite interesting."

Tang San laughed as well.

He placed the copper coins on the table and asked: "Master, how should we handle this money?"

Su Mo looked at the pile of copper coins.

Two Silver Spirit Coins—it wasn't a fortune, but it wasn't a pittance either.

However, this incident reminded him of a more important issue—

Money.

In Notting City, eating cost money, buying cultivation resources cost money, and eventually, hiring Dugu Bo to treat his mother would cost even more money.

Currently, the purchasing power of one Silver Spirit Coin was equivalent to one hundred yuan in his past life.

The meager savings he had on him now, plus the thirty Silver Spirit Coins gifted by Su Yuntao, were barely enough to get by for a while.

But sitting around and eating through his savings was no way to live.

He had to find a way to make money.