Chen Tongpao quickly set off with Leng Ping. The Prime Minister of Mei County saw him off, then walked back to the lobby of the Yamen alone, took out the dagger from his waist, and watched it by himself. He took off the scabbard, his eyes glowing with gold, staring at the smooth surface of the knife, and an indescribable sense of pride surged in his heart.
"I can't fucking live today..." Mei Xian Cheng put away the dagger and laughed.
"Come here! Come to the court for me. If you want to submit a petition, just summon me!" He patted Xingmu and shouted loudly.
Chen Tongpao dismounted in Jiangdu, the capital of Yangzhou Prefecture. He ordered Leng Ping to hold the bridle, and they went into the city together.
Chen Zhixian first found an inn and paid the money, and then he was ready to ask where the gambling house was so that he could pay off the bill as soon as possible.
But Leng Ping advised him: "You don't have to worry, you should explore the details of this gambling house first. If it's not easy to deal with, you will be in trouble."
Tongpao Chen was convinced, so he settled down first and spent his free time visiting people everywhere in order to get some news about this gambling house.
However, he searched for this information quickly. After only a few days, he figured out the ins and outs of this gambling house: it turned out that the shopkeeper of this gambling house was named Wenzhong, and he was a well-known gangster in Yangzhou Prefecture. He relied on his own wealth. He attracted desperadoes and opened a gambling house and pawn shop. His power gradually grew, and the people were all afraid of him. In order to keep the business going for a long time, Wen Zhong also contacted the government and became brothers with the Yangzhou magistrate and others. He relied on this to act recklessly, and no one dared to complain.
But Wen Zhong is used to running gambling houses, and he hates the kind of stingy people who spend nothing. Even if it is just a few pennies, he never wants to have friendship with such people. In the end, most of them break off the friendship and ask for They drove their families out of the city and were not allowed to live in Jiangdu. This Wenzhong was so arrogant and rude in dealing with everything, so he didn't make many friends here. There was only one person, Guo Chuzi, who ran a dyeing workshop. I admired him for his straightforwardness, forthrightness and loyalty, and often interacted with him.
After finding this place, Chen Tongpao clicked through and said to Zhuo Lengping: "He has a close relationship with the government. Wouldn't it be great if I could use the name of repaying debts to curry favor with him?"
Leng Ping thought for a while and then offered his advice: "Since this shopkeeper hates being stingy, you should bring him more money to show your generosity."
But the colleague shook his head: "Otherwise. He has made a lot of money, and he will not pay attention to the dozens of taels of silver. How can he remember my favor? Why not buy something rare and send it as a gift to show my sincerity." "
Leng Ping listened and just nodded slightly.
Seeing that nothing happened, the colleague put on his robe and stood up to leave, but was suddenly gently grabbed by her.
"Mr. Chen, please wait a moment." Leng Ping's tone was very soft.
"What's the matter?" He turned around and asked.
"I haven't said a serious word since I came out with you..." Leng Ping looked at him lovingly.
"What serious talk?" Tongpao Chen's expression was still blank, "The serious talk was discussed just now."
"The civilian girl just wants to chat with the adults, have a few words...anything is fine." Leng Ping begged in a low voice.
He tugged on his collar and said, "I still have important things to do. Come back and we'll talk about it when I get back." After that, he pushed the door open without even looking at her.
He soon found a gambling house on the street. This gambling house is open and bright in the middle of the road. Pedestrians walking aside don't think it's strange. They can see the lobby of the government office wherever they look. Although there is an alley across the street, it is still too close to the government office, a clean and inviolable place that represents authority and justice.
He walked straight to the door of the gambling house, lifted the curtain, and lowered his head to enter. Before he could even raise his eyes to look around, bursts of noise gradually reached his ears: the roars of people mixed with the random sounds of dice, which almost shook his ears.
He raised his head and saw seven or eight large tables set up in the room. The tables were crowded with big, shirtless men, shouting and yelling. Some of them even got into fights because they were desperate for gambling.
"This guest! Here, here! You have to put your name in the book first!"
Tongpao Chen turned around and saw a waiter at the counter, waving to him amidst the crowds of people.
He didn't say anything, walked over, leaned against the counter, and said, "Where is your shopkeeper? Lead me over."
The waiter looked him up and down and sneered: "Who are you? Shopkeeper Wen can't you just say you see him?"
"Lv Zhengfu, do you know him? I am his friend, and I came here to pay off his debt."
"Then who..."
Without saying anything, Tongpao Chen took out an official certificate from his sleeve: "Is that enough?"
When the waiter saw it, he nodded and bowed: "That's enough! Please, my lord, please!"
After that, the waiter took him upstairs, walked to a room in the corner of the second floor, and knocked on the door: "Shopkeeper Wen, the Lu family is here to pay off the debt."
"Come in." The voice was deep and strong, not angry but powerful, making one's legs weak.
The waiter winked at Tongpao Chen, then opened the door lightly and led him in.
Wen Zhong was sitting behind a bright red jujube wood table. His skin was dark and his hair was lush and dirty, as if he hadn't been washed for months. His limbs were all made of strong sinews, and he looked powerful. He held a pen in his hand, and next to him stood two tall, round-waisted men, standing like stone statues with stern eyes.
"Come here." Wen Zhong ordered in a low voice.
After hearing this, the man walked over and whispered a few words in his ear.
"good."
Wen Zhong pushed him away, looked up at Chen Tongpao, smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you." Comrade Chen saluted.
"Sit down." He waved, and two men immediately pulled out a chair and placed it in front of Tongpao Chen.
Chen Zhixian did not hesitate and sat down calmly.
"I heard that you want to help the Lu family pay back the money?" Wen Zhong pointed to the guy, "Look in the drawer to see how much money Lu Jishou owes."
The clerk squatted down skillfully, opened the drawers of the cabinet, and flipped through the pages. Wen Zhong took advantage of this free time to quietly look at Chen Tongpao's face, but he couldn't see through his mind.
"I found it," the clerk took out a list, "The Lu family owes our gambling house...a hundred taels."
After Wen Zhong heard this, he squinted his eyes and asked Chen Tongpao, "Can you afford it?"
The colleague didn't answer, just threw the bag over: "There are banknotes in it, and there are also some broken silver. You can just take a hundred taels."
"Aren't you afraid that I'll take them all?" Wen Zhong opened his trousers and asked with a smile.
"You are not short of money in this business. Even if you lose a hundred taels, you will lose it...but you have to pay back the money. Shopkeeper Wen only pays attention to one thing."
This sentence pierced his heart. Wen Zhong was a happy person. He immediately slapped the table and laughed loudly: "You really understand what you said!"
After saying this, he took out a few banknotes, and then threw the robe back into Tongpao Chen's arms. Tongpao lowered his head and saw that he had taken out only one hundred taels, exactly the same.
