Suddenly someone knocked on the door and came in: "Big shopkeeper, something is not right. The man who bets on jade lost the first bet of eighty taels, but we lost a full four hundred taels. The guy bet big again on the second bet, but...
I made a small bet of nine hundred taels, and there are now forty people around me. It would be too conspicuous to open the 'Leopard' again. Besides, there are still thirty taels on the 'Leopard', so I will lose a lot of money if I open the 'Leopard'. What do you think I should do?
"
The old man didn't move, he just said one word from his teeth: "Little!"
Outside the pawn shop, next to the gambling table, He Qizhou lost all his money again and stood a little sluggishly. Lin Chuan walked up with more than three hundred taels of chips in his hand and said: "Master, stop gambling, I have the chips in my hand."
It's enough for you to redeem the jade pendant." He Qizhou's eyes suddenly lit up and he said, "Why didn't you tell me earlier, you bastard? Bring it!" After saying that, he went to grab the chips from Lin Chuan's hand. Lin Chuan still wanted to bet when he saw He Qizhou.
He seemed to be refusing to let go. He was just muttering about what the teacher had ordered and hadn't done it yet. He Qizhou didn't care anymore, grabbed the chips, kicked Lin Chuan down, and said: "I want you to take care of my business, I will do it myself."
If you are wise, just give it the last one, no matter whether you win or lose, leave!" After saying that, he slammed a handful of chips onto the gaming table and said fiercely: "Bet big again!"
In the inner room, sweat was dripping from the face of the waiter, who had just reported the latest situation of this bet: "The small bet has reached 1,800 taels. Several hidden stakes are still stalling for time, but many people have already called
The bets were opened. During the 1,800 taels, there were three or four people who bet more than 200 taels each. The person with the most bets was 600 taels, and another 50 taels bet on 'Leopard'. The man was in his forties.
, like a businessman, he gambles very well and has won more than a thousand taels." The old man finally raised his head and asked: "Did that guy really say that this was his last bet?"
"yes!"
"It's better to keep it small!"
There were deafening cheers around the gambling table. All the small bets won, but few of the big bets were made. He Qizhou fell to the ground in despair. No one came forward to comfort him. Only Lin Chuanbu got kicked.
Standing at a distance, Xu Mu put almost two thousand taels of chips into the bag prepared for gamblers in the gambling house, walked to He Qizhou coldly, and said: "Stand up!"
He Qizhou looked up and ignored him. Xu Mu raised his voice and said, "Stand up! Idiot named Cheng, have you forgotten what I told you? Do you really think Madam will intercede for you this time?"
The sudden shouting and cursing focused the attention of many gamblers. He Qizhou seemed to be startled and stood up. However, Xu Mu slapped him hard in the face, and five deep fingers suddenly appeared on He Qizhou's face.
After the beating, Xu Mu casually threw the bag of chips to He Qizhou, turned around and walked away, adding another sentence as he left: "Go and do your business quickly, otherwise the adults will not need to take action. You should know the consequences yourself.
"
He Qizhou seemed to have woken up. He stumbled and pulled Lin Chuan up and ran to the counter to exchange chips. He exchanged a bag of chips for a total of two thousand and thirty taels. He Qizhou didn't want any banknotes. He put four big bags of silver in them, and then He Qizhou walked away again.
The counter next door was shouting about redeeming the jade pendant.
The guy from the gambling house came over to apologize and said that Mr. Chao Feng had a stomachache and had gone to the hut. He asked He Qizhou to wait for a while. After waiting for about two sticks of incense, He Qizhou couldn't wait any longer and shouted: "What's wrong with you? You want to swallow me."
Is it a pledge?" Then he pointed at Lin Chuan and said: "Afu, go to the latrine and have a look!"
Seeing something happened again, many gamblers looked here one after another. As He Qizhou was shouting, Chaofeng finally appeared behind the counter and apologized repeatedly: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, maybe I had a bad stomach earlier.
Sir, please give me the pawn ticket first."
He Qizhou raised the pawn ticket and two hundred taels of silver in his hand, and said: "You hand over the jade with one hand and the ticket with the other. You will never forget what you just pawned, right?"
Chaofeng wiped the sweat from his forehead and said: "Sir, your jade pendant is of high value. I have transferred it to the inner treasury according to the rules of the pawn shop. I will arrange for someone to transfer it back. Please wait a moment."
Wait a moment."
He Qizhou patted the pawn shop counter hard and said: "Are you kidding? You, the leading gambling house in Jiangling City, don't even dare to let go of this thing for only two hundred taels for a quarter of an hour? I'm really in a hurry. I must have that jade pendant."
Redeem, if I can’t get out another stick of incense, I will report it to the official!”
Chao Feng's face turned red, he wiped his sweat again and said, "I'll go make some adjustments right now."
In the back room of the pawn shop, the old man was holding a jade pendant with dull eyes. Chao Feng asked again: "Big shopkeeper, what should I do now? It seems that that person has a good background. Are they here to defraud the gambling house?"
The old man came back to his senses a little, shook his head and said: "The middle-aged man who won the money is not simple. He seems to have seen through it very clearly, and he is obviously very skilled. But when it comes to cheating, it is not like that. There is such a person who is worth thousands of dollars."
People who wear gold jade pendants won’t care about a thousand taels of silver. If they lose the jade pendant, wouldn’t it be worth the loss? I’m just worried that that person is related to the royal family. If it is really a royal thing, it will be really hot.”
Chao Feng looked at the always decisive old man and asked anxiously: "What should we do?"
The old man's fierce eyes flashed and he said: "Tell him that the person in charge of the key has gone back and will come back tomorrow. You ask him to come back tomorrow to redeem it. If there is trouble, he will be kicked out and reported to the official. Hum, I'm really not afraid!"
After the man left, he sent someone to follow him to find out the details before making a decision."
Chao Feng approached the small window of the counter and told He Qizhou what the old man meant. Three or four casino thugs gradually came closer. He Qizhou was not timid and threw a wooden sign to the counter and said loudly: "If you have the ability, take this piece."
I also swallowed the sign, so I don’t believe that there are still people in Jiangling City who dare to take advantage of our family!"
That sign was the sandalwood sign given by the old lady of the Liu family. The court did not dare to be careless, so he immediately went into the inner room and handed the wooden sign to the old man to see. The old man was shocked when he saw the wooden sign, thinking that it was lucky that it was not too serious.
Although he didn't know the authenticity of the wooden sign, he knew that the Liu family had a family emblem, and the Chen family also had a similar sign. The texture was similar to the one on his hand. To be able to carry such a precious jade pendant and family emblem, it must be the Liu family.
Nowadays, no one in the Chen family is afraid of important members of the Chen family, but the few cronies in the hands of the old emperor are something that none of the three families dare to offend. If this continues, it will really ruin the old man’s important affairs. After thinking for a moment, he can only bear the pain.
The jade pendant was returned to the court.
He Qizhou redeemed the jade pendant, put away the wooden sign, snorted, and walked away. Watching the angry He Qizhou and Lin Chuan go away from the crack in the door, the old man immediately called the head of the casino's bodyguards, who turned out to be Chen Zhifeng's senior brother. The old man said
: "Follow them from a distance. Remember not to take action. Just listen to their whereabouts. There are experts secretly protecting them. Follow them yourself. Don't send those useless trash."
Halfway through the hour, He Qizhou and Lin Chuan walked out of the gambling house, each carrying a heavy pile of silver. They divided the money into four bags in the gambling house, tied one bag around their waists, and stuffed another bag into their chests. Lin Chuan never returned.
Unable to suppress his joy, he pulled He Qizhou's sleeves and cheered: "Young master, I really have you. I still don't know how I won. Please tell me quickly. Also, they refused just now."
When I took out the jade pendant, I was almost dying of anxiety. Is that wooden sign so useful?"
He Qizhou glanced back, winked at Lin Chuan, and said calmly: "Afu, I'm hungry. Go to the Jianghu Tower in front and ask for a private room."
"Well, Mr. Cheng." Lin Chuan immediately ran towards the Jianghu Tower in front of him.
Today is the day when the passenger ship docks, and the business of Jianghu Tower is even more prosperous. Fortunately, except for one of the private rooms on the third floor that has been booked by the prefect, there are still two empty private rooms. However, there are already seven or eight guests on the three floors.
8. Lin Chuan had a lot of money in his arms, and his confidence was not the same as yesterday. No one else would recognize him anyway, so he shouted to the waiter and asked for a private room on the third floor.
He Qizhou followed the waiter and Lin Chuan to the third floor again, entered the box, opened the window and looked at Yangzhou Lake. He saw the reflection of the waning moon on the lake mixed with the lights on the shore, drifting with the waves, and a breeze blowing from the lake.
There was nothing but comfort on his face in the cool breeze of early autumn. Lin Chuan pushed He Qizhou, who was leaning on the railing in a daze, and asked: "Mr. Cheng, what are you ordering? How many guests are coming? Is the waiter asking?"
He Qizhou quickly came to his senses, called the waiter, stuffed a piece of broken silver with less than one tael, and said: "First serve two kilograms of the best osmanthus wine, and then serve five or six of your store's special dishes.
Okay, well, I don’t want the eel paste or anything like that, let’s go.”
The waiter took the money and went downstairs happily. After a while, five-year-old osmanthus wine was served, as well as several plates of various cold dishes. Lin Chuan said a little worriedly: "Master, there is too much wine. Is it okay?"
Will you get drunk?"
He Qizhou said: "Why are you drunk without drinking? Didn't you agree that you can only call Mr. Cheng with this dignified appearance? I don't know how much you drink, and it's not for you. The main reason is that the young master is rarely in a good mood and drinks too much.
Have some, and when the skinny monkey spirit comes over later, reward him with some as well."
With a "squeak" sound, the door of the box was suddenly pushed open, and He Qizhou said angrily: "Who is it? I don't know how to knock on the door!"
"I am the thin monkey spirit!" The person who came was none other than Xu Mu, and he continued: "Cheng, you are so courageous. Do you want to slap you again?"
He Qizhou immediately laughed and said, "I don't know if sir will come. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Ah Fu, let the waiter go get some more bowls and chopsticks, and close the door by the way."
After Lin Chuan ordered the waiter at the door and closed the door, He Qizhou's smiling face immediately turned into an angry one, and he whispered: "Xu, look, the slap marks on my face haven't gone away yet.
Are you as indifferent as you?"
Xu Mu covered his mouth and smiled and said: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, isn't this just to make the trick more realistic? I will rely on your identity to raise food later, look at Lin Chuan being kicked hard by you
One kick, did you say a word?"
He Qizhou asked anxiously: "Is this the same? With a kick like that, how could he not give me a few kicks in the past? Forget it, for the sake of your Slender Monkey Spirit winning the bet, I won't argue with you anymore and ask
How are you doing?"
Xu Mu lowered his voice again and said: "I just came back from the magistrate's office. Magistrate Zhang has already come back from outside the city. Three thousand shi of food has been distributed. I told him our plan and he changed it.
I think there are a few places that are very reasonable. I will talk to you in detail later. Also, Zhang Luyao and Huo Yan have made an appointment in less than half an hour. Let’s consider the details again; you are following a nail.
, is the Chi Yuan disciple who is guarding the courtyard in the casino. The Luo family master was tricked by that guy. Now he is sitting in the corner of the second floor. I deliberately let him see him coming up."
He Qizhou patted his waist and chest and said, "I knew it earlier. Do you know how much we won in the end? One thousand eight hundred and thirty taels! To celebrate exceeding expectations, I'll treat you to a nice meal! Oh, by the way.
, let’s divide the money first, I decided, each person will take one hundred taels, and the rest should be more than enough to cover the expenses of going to the brothel! You keep these one hundred taels first!”
Xu Mu said with a look of disdain: "I still have eighteen taels with me. The cost of going back is enough, so there is no need to give it to me. It seems that you really know the market of brothels, but do you know about Luoyang Baihualoutoupai?"
How much is the fee for leaving the cabinet? Three thousand taels, and she has to choose the person."
He Qizhou looked unhappy, grabbed Xu Mu's hand, put two ingots of gold into his hand, and said: "Take it, in case you need it on the way, don't let a penny choke you to death. Besides, you are so righteous, money
Too much to help others? We know you definitely don’t want too little. To be honest, the two of us brought more than three hundred taels when we came out, but we couldn’t hold it back along the way and gave most of them to the victims. It’s better now, don’t mention it.
We are almost running out of money to travel to Jinling in the capital, now we can save more, and we won’t have to rely on deception to make a living in the future, don’t you think so?”
Lin Chuan also said: "Yes, Mr. Xu, please accept it."
Xu Mu looked at the money in his hand and said: "I just want you to keep some more money from gambling houses, let alone He Qizhou's ability, but since you have this heart, I will accept it now."