novelA Black Inn
| ← Ch.620 | Ch.622 → |
It only took a short while for the inn to empty out. Most of the doors inside were left open, so two people sneakily went inside the room that Tang Doudou had been staying in and started rummaging through the room. Finally, they found a bit of shredded skin on the ground at a very inconspicuous corner of the room.
"Boss, it seems that the woman earlier was wearing a human skin mask.
"I heard from the waiter that she was traveling with a man."
"Let's go, we must inform Yun gongzi!"
Tang Doudou hadn't even managed to get off the flooded road before enormous splashing sounds started coming from behind her. Fearful that it was some sort of water monster, she hastily looked back, only to find that it was a large crowd of people carrying things on wooden boards that were making their way through the water.
She smiled slightly. It seemed that these people weren't stupid. At the very least, they knew how to handle things in bad situations.
Tang Doudou felt relieved to see that there were people that heeded her advice and were escaping, thus her steps also felt lighter. She soon walked out from the flooded street and stopped below a slightly protruding eave to wring some of the water out of her clothes. The rain was still going strong, it seemed that she had to find a new inn.
"Didn't that guard at the Green Maple City branch say that there was an inn opposite the branch?" Tang Doudou rubbed her chin. That location had higher elevation, so it should be safe.
She had better hurry over. Since so many people had to escape from this side, the inns over there would definitely become very crowded.
As she was thinking this, she had already started rushing over.
She went first to the branch, then turned towards the opposite street to look for the inn.
However, despite her quick thinking, the inn doors were already completely crowded.
She couldn't help but sigh. From the looks of it, it was full.
She was about to turn and leave when she noticed that there was actually not a single person inside the inn.
Everyone was being kept outside as they clamored for the innkeeper to hurry and let them in.
They were carrying large amounts of luggage and drenched from the rain, so it would seriously be troublesome if they couldn't find a place to stay.
It was also strange that no one from Green Maple City's government had shown up although it was flooding so much.
Green Maple City was the Steadfast Prince's territory, so logically, he should've already sent people to deal with the turmoil in the city.
Forget it, there was no point in her worrying about these things. What she had to do was hurry and find a place to change out of these clothes before she caught a chill.
She was just about to go find another inn when she discovered that her umbrella had broken.
Although it was raining so hard that having an umbrella pretty much did nothing, it at least kept her line of vision somewhat clear. It seemed that she couldn't continue travelling.
However, even if she did, the other inns were probably already full.
Tang Doudou turned back and clapped a person on his shoulder to ask, "What's with this inn? Why aren't they allowing us in?"
"That conscience-less jerk, obviously it's because he wants money! He's saying that there are too many people and that there aren't enough rooms for him to let everyone in, so he's saying that he can only let the people who bid the highest in first. He says that if there's seriously no other choice later, then he'll let the poor wait in the hall! Aiy! It's enough that the Heavens are being a bully to people, but now people are bullying people too!"
Tang Doudou immediately understood after hearing that. Since ancient times, there have been people who took advantage of calamities to make a fortune.
She squeezed her way through the crowd to the front, then asked the shopkeeper."How much for a room?"
The innkeeper was a short, fact, and bad man. He looked around forty years old and the beady eyes on his fat face were filled with craftiness. He looked Tang Doudou up and down, then touched his abacus for a moment before saying with a disdain-filled expression, "Fifty taels for a day."
Tang Doudou furrowed her brows. A tael a day already counted as expensive in normal inns. He was demanding fifty taels a day? He might as well steal it!
When the innkeeper saw her expression, he immediately started shooing her off."If you can't afford it, then scram! Don't get in the way of this master making a fortune!"
This person was seriously!
Tang Doudou was speechless. Even if he wanted to take advantage of this calamity to make money, shouldn't he still tone it down a little?
Even if there was a flood, it wouldn't last forever. Once the water receded and the imperial court send down disaster relief funds to rebuild those old houses, these people would move back into their own houses. At that time, would this inn still be able to stay in business after this?
"Innkeeper, you're being too unreasonable!"
"That's right! Fifty taels for a day!? It doesn't even cost that much to stay in a house made of gold!"
"Forget it. Guys, let's not stay at his inn. We can't let him steal the money we earned through sweat and tears! Let's find a new place!""That's right, that's right! There's an old temple over there! Although it's a little broken down, it can still keep out the wind and rain without problem!"
"Let's go! Let's go! Let's never come back to this black shop again!"
That price of fifty taels a day instantly caused everyone to explode. For some families, it was impossible for them to gather up fifty taels even if they saved up for a lifetime. To state this price was clearly humiliating them!
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira
[Chiyomira's Corner]
Enjoy~
| ← Ch. 620 | Ch. 622 → |