Daily Survival After Inheriting a Harem (GL) - Chapter 20

Both of them were top contenders for an Oscar for Best Actress. When they woke up early the next morning, their interactions had returned to normal, as if the “minor friction” from yesterday had never happened, and life seemed to continue in its former “peaceful” manner.

“My Lord, it’s time to get up.”

Pei Yuqing opened the door and entered from outside. Qiu Qi, who was pretending to be asleep, immediately sat upright by reflex upon hearing the sound, her pair of beast ears on her head instantly flattening into “airplane ears” from fright.

Noticing Qiu Qi’s unconcealed fear, Pei Yuqing smiled at her. “My Lord, I just came to bring you congee.”

“Oh, okay.” Qiu Qi stiffly reached out and took the bowl. After just one spoonful, she recognized the familiar taste. “This congee…?”

“Made using your method, My Lord. Does it suit your taste?”

Her airplane ears twitched and then perked up. Qiu Qi nodded, tilted her head back, and chugged it down. “Delicious! Madam’s cooking is truly excellent.”

Pei Yuqing simply smiled without a word, quietly waiting for Qiu Qi to finish eating before getting to the point.

“Butler Yan submitted this. It’s this month’s ledger.”

Qiu Qi wiped her mouth, feeling strange. She remembered that the original ledger had always been fully handled by Yan Wan, without the habit of being reviewed by the original owner every month.

“Okay, I’ll take a look.”

After all, she had a whole family to support, so Qiu Qi felt she needed to understand her financial situation.

She flipped directly to the last page of the ledger.

Monthly Expenditure: 3006 gold, 02 silver, 63 copper

Remaining Balance: 136 gold, 88 silver, 32 copper

Qiu Qi checked countless times to see if a zero was missing from the remaining amount. After being forced to accept reality, she slumped into the chair.

Someone, get me a ventilator!

“How can I be so poor?” She clearly remembered Yan Wan saying she still had a thousand gold just a few days ago. Even after subtracting the extra 250, there was still 750. How did it shrink to just over a hundred in the blink of an eye?

Qiu Qi clutched her chest, unable to accept the reality that a Beast God could be so poor.

“No, I can’t be defeated. The most important thing now is to make money, make money! How did we earn money before, and now we conti—” Qiu Qi stopped mid-sentence as she remembered.

Continuing to make money, easier said than done. But where did the original owner’s money come from before?

—Of course, it was stolen!

If not, how could her personal coffers have been squandered repeatedly and still seemed bottomless?

But could Qiu Qi steal? Even if she had the heart, she didn’t have the guts, and even if she had the guts, she didn’t have the strength. Besides, as a law-abiding citizen who had received nine years of compulsory education, she definitely couldn’t do such a thing.

Pei Yuqing evidently didn’t need to hear the latter half of Qiu Qi’s words to understand her meaning and even proactively pointed her to a clear path.

“The Green Isle Guild, established by the Human Saintess, issued an announcement last week. Completing the tasks in the announcement will grant a bounty of ten thousand gold.”

The Green Isle Guild, though established for only three years, had continuously solved extraordinary cases, earning it great importance from the Human royal family, which in turn doubled the bounty amounts.

The guild’s bounties were open to all races. As long as Qiu Qi wasn’t afraid of losing face, claiming this ten thousand gold would be entirely without psychological burden.

“How… how much?”

“Ten thousand gold.”

Qiu Qi gasped. “Humans are that rich? They can just casually offer ten thousand gold as a bounty.”

Pei Yuqing, “This particular order is special. Its internal ranking is S, so a higher bounty is appropriate. However…”

“However what?”

“However, if you accept the order, you must sign a life-or-death contract with the guild. They bear no responsibility for any accidents during the mission process.”

Qiu Qi leaned back defensively: In the end, they still want my life.

Big liars, QAQ

But Qiu Qi thought about it and felt that this matter wasn’t really suitable for her. Her personality was more suited to staying at home. The closest she’d gotten to detective adventures was watching a few episodes of Conan when she was a child, just because it was popular.

Furthermore, she couldn’t control the Beast Core Orb right now, her spiritual arts were still half-baked, and she hadn’t even flipped to the second page of her weapon manual. If there was any progress to speak of, it was her improved skill in flipping fried rice.

In such a self-preserving state, who had the leisure to do such charitable things?

“Oh, I see. This matter is quite important, so let’s discuss it at length.” Qiu Qi clenched her right hand into a fist and placed it by her lips, coughing, intending to first clarify the remaining accounts. “Can you call Butler Yan? I want to ask about the ledger.”

Pei Yuqing nodded. “Alright.”

Yan Wan arrived fashionably late. The moment Qiu Qi saw her, she went straight to the point, asking about the whereabouts of the missing six hundred-plus gold.

Yan Wan bowed. “My Lord, I have made detailed records of all expenditures. You may review them.”

Qiu Qi took the record book and, with trembling hands, began to flip through it.

The beginning was fine, just scattered small expenses of a few copper or silver. Then she got to the middle.

Monthly stipends for various Madams: 999 * 1 gold

Seeing that number, Qiu Qi’s hands immediately trembled like a Parkinson’s patient’s, the kind that couldn’t be saved even with a ventilator.

One gold was five thousand silver coins. And she was giving one to 999 people every month. While she couldn’t spread her favors physically, she was certainly doing a good job with the finances 🙂

And this was just the basic salary for 999 concubines. For those who had served and “left,” Yan Wan also had to pay their families a severance fee of 10 gold. And for those like Zu Mianmian and Xiao Chu’er, who had received the “clear special token” from the original owner, there was an additional 5 gold stipend each month. When all was calculated, it was already a considerable sum.

Then, Qiu Qi’s eyes fell upon a particularly astonishing line of numbers below.

Cobalt-Rhodium Holy Water: 500 gold, Soft Thorn Armor: 100 gold, Class A Storage Orb: 70 gold.

These three expenses combined were a perfect negative example, telling her that impulsive shopping would lead to no good end!

Next time she encountered that “live-stream seller” surnamed Lu, she definitely had to stay far away!

Qiu Qi took a breath and continued to flip through. But even with the previous entry about the bookstore, when she saw Butler Yan’s salary, she couldn’t help but let out a hearty “Holy sh*t” from the depths of her throat.

Yan Wan’s Stipend: 500 gold

“Butler Yan.” Qiu Qi’s eyes, unfocused, were tilted tragically at a 45-degree angle towards Yan Wan. “How are you… so expensive?”

Yan Wan offered a smile. “It is My Lord’s appreciation. I was once just an obscure employee in the Green Isle Guild. It was My Lord’s generosity that hired me for a hefty sum, and that’s how I came to follow My Lord and live a life where I can eat my fill.”

Qiu Qi gave two emotionless dry laughs, thinking, 500 gold is only enough for you to eat your fill? Then you can eat more than me.

No, you must be strong, she told herself.

Qiu Qi wiped away non-existent tears and, with a hopeful mindset, flipped back to previous months. Maybe if she saved more in the future, she could still manage. But reality soon delivered a brutal blow.

She discovered that even without the holy water and Yan Wan’s salary, the average monthly expenditure for this estate was at least two or three thousand gold. It wasn’t just her recent splurges that had depleted the funds.

Closing the ledger, Qiu Qi felt half her soul depart. She finally understood why the original owner committed so many misdeeds; even stealing money had to be done diligently, otherwise, she really couldn’t support such a large household.

Greed for beauty comes at a price.

But why did these 999 prices have to fall on her?!

“Butler Yan, can you help me gather everyone?” Qiu Qi put down the ledger, sighed, and rubbed her throbbing temples.

Butler Yan acknowledged and went out to call for them.

“Ah… why am I so poor…? I want money, I want money, I want to get rich overnight!” Qiu Qi spread her hands, sprawling on the table and mumbling softly, “I finally became a Beast God, I can’t possibly have to earn money by drawing forbidden comics, can I?”

Pei Yuqing stood behind Qiu Qi and to her side. With a glance, she could see Qiu Qi’s two drooping beast ears, her small figure exuding an aura of utter destitution. Yet, Pei Yuqing increasingly wanted to laugh, even wanting to reach out and pull that lifeless, fluffy tail.

“Hey… that’s right!” Qiu Qi bounced up, her tail wagging in the air, looking like she was hatching a mischievous plan. “Why can’t I earn money this way? What a great way to make money!”

She might not have eaten pork, but she’d seen pigs run. In those transmigration novels, didn’t the protagonists thrive in other worlds by relying on their unique skills? Why couldn’t she do the same?

Thinking this, Qiu Qi eagerly looked up at Pei Yuqing and asked, “Madam, where is the place here that sells… erotic art?”