Chapter 52: A distinguished guest may not necessarily be expensive

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yongyan quickly looked towards the place where the rice mill was placed during the day. Now it was empty, with nothing there. The rice mill was missing.

He walked forward, looked around, pointed at the footprints on the ground and said to Lin Xi, "It was probably stolen."

"Who would come to steal it?" Lin Xi couldn't figure out this problem. The villagers probably didn't know that she had this thing.

"Don't worry, I'll go and ask about the situation."

After saying that, Xiao Yongyan turned and walked out. Lin Xi didn't know where this man went to ask about the situation, so he had to wait at home.

About an hour later, Xiao Yongyan came back from outside.

"How is it? Is there any result?" Lin Xi asked hurriedly.

"In the afternoon, many people saw Ge Xuecai driving a ox cart. On the cart was nothing but a pile of straw. Although the people who saw it found it strange, they were too lazy to ask about Ge Xuecai, so they didn't know why he was pulling a cart of straw out." Xiao Yongyan said.

"He must have hidden the things in the haystack to get them out!" Lin Xi's keen sixth sense told her that Ge Xuecai was the culprit. "I'm going to the town to ask for information now."

As soon as the emotions rushed to his head, Lin Xi wanted to pull Ge Xuecai out immediately, but fortunately he was stopped by Xiao Yongyan, "Even if you go to the town now, the door is closed. How can you get anything out of them? It's better to wait until tomorrow morning and ask immediately when the gambling house opens."

Xiao Yongyan's tone was gentle and calm, and Lin Xi's agitated emotions gradually calmed down.

What Xiao Yongyan said made sense. It would be futile even if we went there now.

The next morning, Lin Xi and Xiao Yongyan drove their donkey cart to the town early, but the people in the gambling house insisted that they had not seen Ge Xuecai at all yesterday.

This time, the clue was interrupted.

Lin Xi immediately thought that since Dai Lan'er said she and Ge Xuecai were once husband and wife, she might know where he might be.

As expected, after hearing Lin Xi's question, Dai Lan'er thought for a while and said, "I remember he seemed to have said that there was a big gambling house in the county town, and there was a very powerful person there, who seemed to be called Er Ye. He always liked to say that Er Ye would help him get rich."

As for more, Dai Laner couldn't think of it.

Lin Xi and Xiao Yongyan made some general arrangements for the academy and the shop, and then set off for the county town.

The donkey cart was not moving very fast, and the couple finally arrived at the county town near dusk.

After finding an inn to stay in, Xiao Yongyan began to inquire whether there was a man named "Er Ye" in the gambling houses in the county.

When the innkeeper heard them asking about the Second Master, he remained expressionless, but Lin Xi could see that he was clearly on guard.

Lin Xi chuckled, took out some loose change from his pocket and quietly stuffed it into the shopkeeper's pocket, saying, "We are doing business in Fenghe Town. We heard that the second master's place is very interesting, so we want to ask around. We are new here, and if there are any rules that we don't understand, it would be bad if we offend them."

At first glance, Lin Xi's reason made sense, but the gambling industry was somewhat special after all, so the innkeeper still had some concerns, but his attitude softened a lot. "As far as I know, there are also gambling houses in Fenghe Town. Why did you come here illegally? The things played in this gambling house are not the same."

Lin Xi chuckled and started talking nonsense. She glanced at Xiao Yongyan with a hint of resentment, "My husband wanted to play, but he was afraid that the old man would find out, so he had no choice but to come to town under the pretext of purchasing goods."

With these words, coupled with Lin Xi's accurate performance, the two of them seemed to be two ignorant rich second-generations. The innkeeper's vigilance disappeared a lot at once, and replaced with a relaxed smile, "You two have asked the right person. I am a regular customer of Erye's place..."

Then, the innkeeper began to introduce Erye's gambling house in a long and eloquent manner.

This gambling house is located at the end of West Street. It has a very low-key storefront and mainly serves regular customers, but its reputation has always been very good.

Lin Xi and Xiao Yongyan followed the innkeeper's instructions and quickly found the gambling house where Erye was.

As soon as the two strangers stood at the door, the waiter came to greet them. Seeing that they were dressed elegantly, he did not dare to neglect them. "This is your first time to visit our Jixiang Casino. We have everything here. We even have private rooms upstairs. We guarantee that you will not be disturbed from downstairs."

Lin Xi half covered her face and said to Xiao Yongyan reluctantly, "My husband, this place is full of smoke and dirt. Why did you listen to that Ge Xuecai and come here?"

When the waiter heard Ge Xuecai's name, he thought it was the customer he introduced, and immediately said, "So it was Brother Ge who introduced you. He happens to be in the store. How about I ask him to show you around?"

"That's troublesome." Xiao Yongyan said.

Upon hearing this, the guy hurried in, calling out Ge Xuecai's name as he walked.

At this time, Ge Xuecai was gambling with rage. Ever since he presented his treasure to Hei Er yesterday, Hei Er let him live here and play whenever he wanted. The winning or losing was his.

The waiter shouted several times, and Ge Xuecai replied impatiently, "Why are you shouting? Can't you see your grandfather is busy?"

"Brother Ge, stop busying yourself. Your distinguished guest is outside," said the waiter.

Ge Xuecai just felt it was extremely strange. How could there be any distinguished guest among the people he knew? He must be kidding.

But since the guy said so, he had to go and take a look.

When he was almost at the door, he looked up and saw Xiao Yongyan and his wife standing at the door. He was immediately frightened and hurried into the gambling house.

However, Xiao Yongyan, who was skilled in riding and shooting, also had extraordinary eyesight. He spotted Ge Xuecai who was constantly getting into the crowd and immediately chased after him.

The first floor of the gambling house was crowded with people, and it was difficult for Ge Xuecai and Xiao Yongyan to move forward.

The guests nearby were disturbed by the two people and started shouting in unhappiness. The waiter was busy trying to calm the guests down and the scene was in chaos.

Seeing that Ge Xuecai was about to slip away, Lin Xi, who was having trouble squeezing in, thought quickly and threw a handful of loose silver into the house, exclaiming loudly, "Oh my! How did so much of my silver fall to the ground?"

All of a sudden, everyone's attention was attracted by Lin Xi's words. Even Ge Xuecai who was running away could not help but lower his head. Only Xiao Yongyan, who was determined to achieve his goal, did not stop.

Just when Ge Xuecai was looking for the silver, Xiao Yongyan grabbed him.

"Hey, what are you two doing? Are you trying to destroy Hei Er's place?"

Lin Xi looked in the direction of the voice and saw a burly man in shorts with a ferocious look standing on the stairs. His voice was like a loud bell, and everyone stood still and dared not move.

The guests on the first floor are all small players. They are extremely afraid of Hei Er, fearing that they might offend this gentleman accidentally.

"What is this hero talking about? I'm only here to catch a thief. I have absolutely no intention of causing trouble." Lin Xi walked to Ge Xuecai and stood beside him in a calm and composed manner, meeting Hei Er's gaze.