Guide To Lying Flat And Getting Rich As A Kept Alpha - Chapter 3

3

That night, she exercised before going to bed. She now felt that Xiao Luo’s body only appeared this healthy because she had taken it over. Otherwise, how could someone who could barely afford to eat have any muscle? She resolved to eat well and exercise properly from now on.

The next morning, she got up and made herself a fried rice dish with eggs and ham, sprinkled with chopped green onions, and ate a hearty bowl. After eating, she headed out to the street.

As soon as she reached the ground floor, she saw a tall, seemingly strong woman standing downstairs, waving at her.

“Xiao Luo, why are you so late today?”

Luo Hetu racked her brain for a while before mentally dragging out the system for a scolding.

[May I ask what the host needs?]

So, transmigrating into a book really only gives me the information written in the story? Xiao Luo is just a cannon-fodder female side character, with barely any mention in the book. Can’t you fill in the gaps for me? Like, who is this woman?

[Sorry, host. This system is only a marketplace system and doesn’t understand your requests.]

As expected, it’s just a little bucket, only good for handling its own tasks—a little rice bucket.

System: >_<

The woman asked curiously, “What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

Luo Hetu shook her head, suppressing her internal complaints. She looked at the woman and thought, since Xiao Luo has no friends or family, this person is probably a coworker.

People here usually wore suppression patches, which mostly blocked the strange pheromones everyone carried. Because of this, Luo Hetu couldn’t smell the woman’s scent, but since she was likely a coworker, she was probably an Alpha.

So she said, “I fell yesterday, and my head still hurts a bit. I can’t remember a lot of things clearly. Are you here to pick me up for work?”

“Yeah, you took a sudden leave yesterday, but you should be back to work today. After all, you’ve never taken more than a day off—no, you basically never take days off.” The woman looked concerned. “Why don’t you go to the hospital? Head injuries aren’t a small matter.”

Luo Hetu shook her head. “Let’s go. I need to talk to the foreman anyway. I don’t want to do this job anymore.”

The woman was shocked.

When they got to the foreman, he was equally shocked and tried to persuade her. “You’re already a senior worker. We’ve known each other for a long time, and I’ve never delayed your pay. I just raised your wage to 40 yuan a day. With your education, you won’t find a job with this kind of income elsewhere.”

Luo Hetu was resolute, saying her body was too worn out and she needed to take care of herself. The foreman had no choice and waved his hand. “Fine, go then. Come back if you ever want to work again.”

Luo Hetu’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the foreman, who gave her a strange look. “What’s up?”

Luo Hetu, a bit embarrassed but with an innocent expression, asked, “Aren’t you going to settle my wages?”

The foreman was silent for a moment before realizing. “Chen Fang said you hit your head. It’s like this: our wages are paid daily. Whatever you earned before was already paid to you on that day.”

Perhaps worried she wouldn’t believe him, he made a call. “Get Chen Fang over here.”

The woman who had waited for her at the door that morning showed up. So her name was Chen Fang.

After understanding Luo Hetu’s confusion, Chen Fang said with concern, “It really is daily pay. You took leave yesterday, so you didn’t get paid for it. You should really get your head checked.”

Luo Hetu thanked Chen Fang and the foreman before leaving the construction site.

Before leaving, she asked for Chen Fang’s phone number, thinking Chen Fang seemed nice and that having more friends could open more doors.

Chen Fang didn’t have a phone at home, so she gave Luo Hetu the number for the small shop downstairs from her place.

Luo Hetu tucked the piece of paper with the number into her pocket, grabbed the only nylon bag she had at home, stuffed it with a stack of papers, and after asking for directions, took a bus and walked a long way to reach Southern Publishing House.

Southern Publishing House was located in Jiang City and was one of the top publishers in the country. The day before, she had visited a bookstore and noticed many elegantly bound new books from this publisher. According to the bookstore staff, Southern Publishing House had recently published a lot of new novels by new authors, which were very popular with readers.

She was lazy, but her sweet talk and diligence quickly led her to learn that submissions needed to be dropped off at the editorial department on the second floor.

It was indeed the golden age of print media. The editorial department was bustling, with every staff member swamped with work, stacks of manuscripts and sample books piled up behind them—a thriving scene.

“Excuse me, which sister do I submit my manuscript to?” she asked brightly and sweetly from outside the counter.

A sister who had been buried in her work looked up, saw Luo Hetu standing there with an innocent, harmless appearance, and softened her tone. “Give it to me. Make sure to include your contact address and phone number clearly. If you don’t hear back in three months, you can submit elsewhere.”

“Three months?” Luo Hetu had never submitted a manuscript before and didn’t know it took this long to review in this era.

The sister pointed her chin toward a pile. “Those are all manuscripts waiting for review.”

A mountain of manuscript papers.

This era was truly one of universal reading and writing—she couldn’t compete with that.

Luo Hetu let out an “oh” and left Southern Publishing House.

Submitting to other publishers would probably be similar, with long wait times.

Touching her chin, Luo Hetu passed by the bustling open-air market again on her way home. At the edge of the market, there were many street stalls selling all sorts of things, including books and magazines, mostly secondhand or comic strips. Even so, plenty of people were browsing and picking through the stalls.

Luo Hetu went back to the shop where she’d bought beer the day before and asked for two more bottles.

“You didn’t return the bottles from yesterday,” the shopkeeper said.

“I forgot to bring them. I’ll return them next time.” Luo Hetu replied breezily, handing over three yuan. Then she asked, “Do you have to pay to set up a stall here?”

“Not for these informal street stalls, but if the market manager comes, you might need to talk your way out of trouble. If you want to do business long-term, you can rent a stall.”

“Not long-term, just want to sell some stuff,” Luo Hetu said, thinking that talking her way out of trouble was easy enough—she could just offer a pack of cigarettes or something.

As they chatted, a group of people swaggered out of a nearby dance hall. They were tall, burly, and looked like troublemakers from head to toe. The last two dragged a man out and threw him to the ground, kicking him a couple of times.

Luo Hetu immediately recognized the man being kicked as Zhang Sheng.

A sudden pang of guilt as a cannon-fodder side character hit her. She worried that Chun Yuyan might be nearby, ready to drag her into some mess again, since Xiao Luo’s storyline always seemed tangled up with the main couple. So she hid behind the shopkeeper, peeking out to watch the drama unfold.

“Hey, hey, don’t stand so close to me! I’m an Omega, but I’m old enough to have a husband,” the shopkeeper protested.

Luo Hetu: …

The group of thugs sauntered off, leaving Zhang Sheng sitting on the ground for a long while. He spat out a mouthful of bl00d-tinged saliva, cursed under his breath for a bit, and then limped away as passersby stared.

Luo Hetu didn’t care where Zhang Sheng went. Instead, her attention was on the group of thugs.

They soon reached the stalls, casually flipping through items and taking whatever they liked. Every stall owner smiled and offered them cigarettes.

If Luo Hetu wanted to set up a stall here, she’d definitely have to deal with these people.

In the book, the issue Chun Yuyan asked Xiao Luo to resolve was related to this group. Zhang Sheng was currently working for a big boss but had offended these local thugs over some trivial matter. These thugs, born and raised on this street, were uneducated but fierce and skilled fighters. In the story, after Xiao Luo helped Zhang Sheng deal with them, the thugs wanted to follow her, but she refused and instead led them to join Zhang Sheng, becoming a major asset in his rise to power. The big boss didn’t intervene in the conflict, using it as a test for Zhang Sheng, and was very pleased with the outcome, later promoting him to a key position. This paved the way for Zhang Sheng to eventually take over.

Xiao Luo was truly a living saint in the story.

Luo Hetu bought some vegetables, went home, cooked herself two dishes and a soup, steamed a big bowl of rice, ate it all, and washed the dishes. Then she went to the system marketplace to do tasks, visited the information marketplace, downloaded a copy of The Poisonous Concubine’s Daughter, printed ten copies, and still had 50 gold coins left.

The next day, she borrowed a woven bag from a neighbor, grabbed a small stool from home, and went to the edge of the market. She set up a cardboard sign:

“I am the concubine’s daughter of a noble family. In my past life, I was deceived by my legitimate sister, gave up a marriage with the second son of a military family, and insisted on marrying a poor scholar. Who would’ve thought the scholar would climb the ranks by stepping on me, teaming up with his concubine to kill me and my newborn child? Reborn in this life, I swear to make everyone who harmed me pay the price! Rebirth novel The Poisonous Concubine’s Daughter, 15 yuan per copy! Only 10 copies available—once they’re gone, they’re gone. Buy early!”

Then she sat on her stool, fanning herself, dozing off, and daydreaming. These days, all she did was eat and feel sleepy.

Her sign’s bold words were shocking for the era. People had never seen a novel like this. Rebirth? What was that? Coming back after death?

She’d only been sitting for a short while when someone came over. “Let me see it.”

Luo Hetu said, “Take it yourself, look all you want, just be gentle.”

The person saw this likely-Alpha girl, pretty and approachable, and bent down to pick up a copy to read.

He stood there reading for ten minutes without changing his posture.

The Omega shopkeeper from the nearby store watched curiously as more and more people gathered around Luo Hetu’s stall. Soon, ten people were standing there, reading.

Her stall had only the cardboard sign and Luo Hetu, bored and resting her chin in her hand, watching the readers. Nothing else was on the ground.

Passersby: …

What’s she selling?

Luo Hetu was also helpless. What was wrong with these people? They’d rather stand and read for free than spend a single cent. So stingy.

Yawning, she kindly asked, “Do you want me to ask the shopkeeper next door for some stools so you can sit?”

The shopkeeper, ever the opportunist, came over with a crate of soda. “Come, come, if you’re thirsty, we’ve got soda here. Drink while standing, no charge for the bottle!”

Finally, one person, tired of standing, pulled out 15 yuan. “I’ll take it.”

Luo Hetu agreed, fanning the money toward herself.

Before she could finish, a flurry of bills came her way. “I’ll take one.” “Me too.” “Boss, how about 25 for two?”

Luo Hetu: “No way, I only printed 10 copies. They’re rare.”

Soon, only two people were left, reading for free. But more kept coming, drawn by the sign, only to find Luo Hetu counting money while two freeloaders read.

“Hey, if you’re not buying, let us see. We want to buy!” someone complained.

“The boss said we could look. She didn’t say how long,” a tall, likely Alpha man retorted.

The complainer, a female Alpha, seemed ready to argue—Alphas did have short tempers. As a crowd gathered, Luo Hetu, ready to watch the drama, heard a familiar voice.

“What’s all this? Don’t cause trouble while I’m not around!”

A tall, striking woman with delicate features pushed through the crowd. It was the leader of the thugs who had beaten Zhang Sheng the day before.

Wearing a tank top, one arm covered in a large tattoo, she crouched down to Luo Hetu. “New face. Paid the protection fee yet?”

Luo Hetu, with an innocent, clueless expression, said, “No, I was about to leave after selling, but they started arguing. How much is the protection fee?”

She looked easily fooled.

The woman clicked her tongue, snatching the book from the man’s hands. The other freeloader, sensing trouble, had already dropped his book and run.

The woman deliberately took the book the man was holding tightly, not the one left on the woven bag that no one dared touch.

The male Alpha coughed lightly and left without a word.

In just a few moves, the woman’s status in the market was clear.

The person who wanted to buy the book muttered, picked up the dropped copy, flipped through it, and eagerly pulled out money. “I’ll take it! Little miss, got any other books?”

The crowd chimed in. “Yeah, anything else?” “Don’t need others, this one’s fine.” “I bought this one—got more?”

Luo Hetu: “I’ll have ten or so more tomorrow, but I’m just reselling. Might not be this one, might be another. Come back tomorrow at this time, I’ll be here.”

The woman collecting the protection fee smirked. “Promising things already? Did I say you could set up a stall here?”

Luo Hetu, unfazed but still innocent, asked, “Do you charge a fee? How much? I’m not earning much after covering my costs.”

The woman patted her shoulder with the book. “This book’s your protection fee.”

Luo Hetu flashed a big smile. “So you like reading too? That’s easy. I’ll save you a copy tomorrow.”

Pretty sharp.

The woman stood up. “I’m Ye Qingzhu, Alpha.”

In the book, Ye Qingzhu was tamed by Xiao Luo and became Zhang Sheng’s most capable subordinate, doing more dirty work for him than Xiao Luo did. She died even earlier than Xiao Luo.

Luo Hetu looked up at her. In the sunlight, Ye Qingzhu was young, brimming with vitality. She had a roguish charm, but a small dimple on her cheek betrayed a hint of childishness, which she quickly hid by straightening her face, perhaps feeling it didn’t match her tough persona.

A mix of swagger and youth.

Luo Hetu thought, if she could save one person, she would. She couldn’t let Ye Qingzhu fall into the main characters’ trap again.