[un: sprite bulb] text;

[bearshermark]

How does a farmer become rich suddenly? I don't think I've ever heard a story like that before. At least not without marriage. All I can think is either I have a noblewoman as a wife or I got real lucky playing slots when I left for the city. I'm not sure what's more believable.

I was also mistaken for a ferryman when I was steering a gondola the other day while wearing a different mask. It's kind of nice, so I think I'll keep at it for an hour or two a night. I thought it might be helpful if two people from opposite sides need to meet in person for a little while.

-Eleven

Comments

un: absterge

[downswing]

Perhaps through honest trade.



( ...right. )

[bearshermark]

We don't make that much through trade. Enough to maintain our way of life but it isn't ever going to make anyone rich.

[downswing]

Mistress Wen and Wei Ying bore harvest, once. Seek counsel.

[bearshermark]

[Once.]

I appreciate the guidance.

un: moonage daydream (text)

[lancifolium]

Back home now and again a farmer would find something extraordinary buried in their field, it always made the newspaper. Perhaps you discovered a cache of valuables?

[bearshermark]

That kind of story might work. They'd have to be really valuable but that sounds a lot easier than pretending to be married.

[lancifolium]

Oh without a doubt, it would be fair easier to invent a chest a gold than an entire imaginary person.

[bearshermark]

Yes. Goddess, I was worried about that, but it's the only story I've heard about that before. A buried chest of gold or gems sounds extraordinary but believable, I think. It's rare farmers become nobles after all. Thank you.

un: chengmei | voice

[thesuspense]

There's some rich ladies who offer me money all the time, doesn't seem that unlikely to get rich here.

They appear to be feeling... neglected.

voice

[bearshermark]

Oh.

[That's all he can think to say for a solid minute. Then]

..You must be very attractive.

voice

[thesuspense]

Must I?

[He sounds amused, not that he has many doubts about his own attractiveness.]

Around here, with the mask, I guess the right body would do. Maybe that's why they dress like that.

[bearshermark]

Could be. It all seems superficial, though I guess the opposite could be true.

But ah, in any case, you sound very fortunate.

@taken for granite

[rumorate]

Supply and demand. Maybe you grow something that is in high demand and you can sell it for a good price?

[bearshermark]

Maybe, if it was rare enough. I'm not sure what that would be though. Maybe I should look into what sort of plants would be valuable.

[rumorate]

Probably a good idea. It'll help build your backstory.

[bearshermark]

Yes. I've never tried to do this sort of thing before. It's fairly tiring just to think about sometimes.

[darth imperius] posted:

[darkeststars]

A wealthy farmer... Back home I'd assume you were the idle rich son of the owners who simply paid the people who actually ran the farm, hah.

If that doesn't suffice, though -- perhaps something quite valuable was discovered under your farm? Energy-producing gas or crystals or some kolto-like substance, or something of the sort. Perhaps wealthy investors were lining up to buy the entire property from you even. Geographically I know nothing of where such an event might take place, but we could always research for the verisimilitude.

[bearshermark]

A valuable resource. That could work pretty well.

I want to avoid a lot of questions I can't answer, so maybe something simple like a vein of gold or precious minerals?

[darkeststars]

Something along those lines seems simple enough. As I now accidentally have access to several entire institutions of learning [ there's a long enough pause that you can basically feel his put-upon sigh even through text ] I'm sure I can research an appropriate mineral if you would like.

un: qishan

[silverneedles]

Prudent trade at the markets. Growing rare plants, often medicinal in nature. Many would pay dearly for such items.

[bearshermark]

Rare medicinal plants. I'm not sure what those would be, in this place. But the healers would probably know.

But then they might ask me where to find them. This is more difficult than I thought.

[silverneedles]

Many of the plants here are unfamiliar to me, so I can offer little guidance, but I have access to the healers. If needed, I can ask and pass along word to you.

Do you need coin?

un: wei laozu

[weifinder]

Ferrying everyone around! Lan Zhan's already said keep an ear open, so keep your eyes open too, for anything that starts to look strange even to foreign eyes.

As for riches, riches, inheritance, the missing wife. Or the wife who plays and has sent you off to do the same, settled in funds to not ask questions? Terrible story, but no less contrived than myself, your local reincarnation of a fertility goddess.

[bearshermark]

Are people even going to believe that sort of thing??

[It'd be one thing if Wei Wuxian were female but. ..Well, he supposes reincarnation may not be so choosey but it just doesn't add up easily as a believable story. Who had decided that was a good cover?]

I can't make any promises on what I might see or hear. It's hard to know what might mean something. I'll try, but I'm not well suited to that type of role.

[weifinder]

Never underestimate what people will decide to believe. The more potentially absurd, the more of a story, the more they're going to swallow it down, because real or not real, it's far more interesting that way. The truth is often enough less of a concern.

( a lesson long learned on his own. )

No worries, no worries, it's an ear to how the people feel that I'm curious about. Up here, we're too separate. Running the canals, that might not be where the poor are, but it's a broader section of people than what I'm presently seeing.