The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1057 - 136: Gaining Fame Part One

Chapter 1057: Chapter 136: Gaining Fame Part One

Manbao thought carefully and reluctantly took out a silver ingot to give him.

Bai Shan took the money and generously told her, "Don’t worry, leave the rest to me."

The next day was the 18th, their last day of vacation. Bai Shan did not go to the Su Family with Manbao. Instead, he took two silver ingots, pulled Bai Erlang out, and exchanged the silver for copper coins at a money changer.

He directly exchanged for half a basket of copper coins, then had Daji carry the bamboo basket and find the young man who had recited poetry through the streets and alleys for him on Mid-Autumn Day.

When the three young men met, Bai Shan asked him to find a secluded place, then took out a string of copper coins from the bamboo basket and crouched down, beckoning to him.

The young man crouched opposite him, stared at the copper coins in his hand for a while, then turned his head to look at the copper coins in the bamboo basket.

Bai Shan asked with a smile, "Do you want them?"

The young man swallowed his saliva and nodded.

Bai Shan said, "There are twenty-one strings of copper coins here in total. The silver in your capital is a bit more expensive than I expected."

The young man said, "It’s not that the silver is expensive, but that the copper coins are cheap."

Bai Shan nodded, tapped his hand on the bamboo basket, and said, "I want you to do something for me."

The young man said, "I know, help you become famous. We all memorized your poem by heart. You don’t need this much money, just five strings will do. Not only in this neighborhood, but I can also have my people sing it outside the city, even at the city gates, so that everyone who comes and goes can hear it. By then, who in the capital won’t recognize Young Master?"

Bai Erlang was utterly dumbfounded, not to mention Bai Shan, who was also taken aback. He asked, "Is fame achieved this way?"

"There are two kinds, you see. One like the Young Master who has money can do it this way, and others who are truly talented, their poetry is like that crafted by celestial beings. Even we who are illiterate find it extraordinarily good. Thus, we don’t need money for those. We sing everywhere, and whenever we meet interested gentlemen, singing it once can also earn us some rewards."

Bai Shan: ...So am I that sort who wins with wealth?

He was slightly displeased.

The young man seemed to notice something and immediately added, "But Young Master Bai is not only wealthy but also talented. You being able to compose such fine poetry at such a young age, you are bound to have a boundless future."

With that, he chuckled at Bai Shan.

Bai Shan watched him for a while and said, "I’m not asking you to spread my poetry."

The young man immediately looked towards Bai Erlang, who was squatting aside, and asked, "Is it for this gentleman?"

"Not that either," Bai Shan got up and massaged his legs, asking, "Isn’t there somewhere to sit here? Squatting is so tiring."

"Yes, yes, Young Master, just wait." Saying so, the young man shouted outward, "Xiao Wu, bring some stones over."

Several older children immediately brought over four stones. They weren’t big but were enough for them to sit on.

Bai Shan, not minding, chose a stone to sit on.

The young man sat opposite him, while Bai Erlang sat next to Bai Shan.

Daji looked around and carried a stone to sit far away, not joining the conversation of the three young men.

Bai Shan asked, "I still don’t know your name."

"The humble one is called Dashan."

"Dashan? Nice name!"

Bai Erlang looked at Bai Shan, not understanding what was good about the name.

Dashan, however, was very pleased and laughed, "My grandfather named me. He said with this name I could become as robust as a mountain."

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang looked skeptically at Daji, who was so thin that even his head and neck appeared gaunt.

However, Bai Shan did not show it clearly. He coughed lightly and said, "Let me tell you a story. Do you know about the State Duke Pi in the capital?"

Daji nodded blankly, then hesitated for a moment and said, "Young Master, if this is about spreading rumors, we should not do it."

"It’s not a rumor."

Daji struggled for a while, then whispered, "Even if it’s true, we dare not spread it. If the officials start investigating, none of us will survive."

Bai Shan said, "...I’m not asking you to spread gossip about their family, but about my senior sister."

He vividly described the event in which the State Duke’s son fell from a horse, was severely injured, and Manbao performed an open abdomen blood transfusion to save him. Not only Daji, but even Bai Erlang, who had heard it twice already, was stunned.

After all, the last time Bai Shan had spoken, he hadn’t gone into such detail but had just briefly described the process and mainly focused on the outcome.

Now, listening again, they realized there was so much more to the story.

Bai Shan talked a lot and fetched a bamboo tube for water from Daji before continuing, "The story I want you to spread is this one."

The youth finally responded, "This story is way too long, it’s enough to be a full performance by a storyteller."

Bai Shan thought for a moment and then said, "You don’t have to literally retell it. For instance, you could tell one person that Young Master Bai had his internal organs ruptured and bleeding, and Doctor Zhou Junior performed surgery to stitch his abdomen back together; then you might tell another person that Young Master Bai was losing too much blood and couldn’t be saved, so Doctor Zhou Junior transfused blood and saved him..."

Bai Shan continued, "Only when someone asks in detail should you divulge all these intricacies of the story."

He added, "Didn’t you say you get rewarded for singing well? Then you should presumably get something for telling a good story too, right?"

Daji’s eyes lit up and his gaze drifted toward a nearby bamboo basket.

Bai Shan generously said, "Just as you said, not only this district, but the inner city, the outer city, and even the city gate, you need people to spread it there, and all the copper coins in this basket will be yours."

Daji thought for a moment, then nodded, "Okay."

Then he reached for the bamboo basket, but Bai Shan quickly held him back and thrust a handful of copper coins into his hand, saying, "This is a deposit. The rest will be paid once I see the results."

Daji was taken aback, "Young Master, don’t you trust me?"

Bai Shan smiled and shook his head, "It’s not that I don’t trust you. You said yourself that previously you only spread a poem, but now you have such a long story to share; you all need some time to adjust. This bunch of coins is for your trial."

Daji paused for a moment, then clenched the money in his embrace and bowed to Bai Shan, "Young Master Bai, rest assured, we will not disappoint you."

Bai Shan nodded in satisfaction, stood up, and said, "We are staying in Changqing Alley. You can easily find us by asking around there. That shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?"

"Not difficult."

Bai Shan asked again, "Did you remember all the story I just told?"

"Remembered it all."

Although the story was long, Daji felt that it was easier to memorize than a poem. A poem faded from his memory after a day or two, but he felt that he would never forget this story in his lifetime.

He was quite curious, "Young Master Bai, is this story really true?"

"Of course." Bai Shan coughed lightly, raised his neck, and said, "If you don’t believe it, you can go ask around in Jishi Hall. She is the attending doctor there, named Zhou Man."

Daji swallowed hard, "Can someone who had their abdomen opened survive?"

Bai Shan glanced at him and did not answer, but Daji understood and felt that spreading this story would be much more interesting than spreading poetry.

He patted his chest and said, "Young Master Bai, rest assured, I understand now. Just watch."