Jing Zhe didn't reply, but instead reached out and took the receipt.

Master Feng waited confidently for Jing Zhe to see the receipt, but to his surprise, Jing Zhe tore it up without even opening it.

Tear it up?

Master Feng felt the blood rushing to his head.

"President Jing... what's going on?"

"I don't need to see this receipt, because even if there is one, it's just a fake one. After all, the real receipt is with me."

As he spoke, Jing Zhe took out the receipt for 15,000 taels that Prefect Xu had written earlier: "Xu Wenchang signed this in front of me, and as I have told you, all kinds of evidence can prove that this receipt for 15,000 taels cannot be wrong, so you don't need to look at yours. If you are investigated, what if you are charged with forging a receipt?"

"..."

Master Feng and his wife exchanged a glance, looking at each other with a sense of foreboding.

At this moment, Jing Zhe handed the receipt to Master Feng, who took it somewhat numbly. A thought flashed through his mind for a moment: he would do what Jing Zhe did and tear up the receipt. However, he ultimately abandoned the idea—given Jing Zhe's violent temper, if he dared to tear it up, Jing Zhe would probably beat him to death…

I think I'll pass.

Then Jing Zhe took out the property deed: "Master Feng gave me 15,000 taels of silver, and I will return the property deed to Master Feng. As for buying Feng's restaurant in the future, we can discuss that later."

"..."

Master Feng gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, still deep in thought.

At this moment, Jing Zhe said again, "Master Feng, that 15,000 taels of silver is stolen money. If you insist on not giving it to me, I will send people to search it by force! At that time, I will not only take the stolen money, but I will also take the house deed. Who told you to break the rules?"

"..."

This time, Master Feng has finally figured it out.

As Jing Zhe said, if he resisted, in the end he would not only lose the 15,000 taels of silver, but also lose the house deed.

If he complied, he would give Jing Zhe 15,000 taels of silver—5,000 of which came from Prefect Xu. He took back the house deed, but in reality, he lost 10,000 taels.

After getting the land deed back, Jing Zhe will definitely have to buy it again later, and the price will naturally still be 15,000 taels. So after two transactions... it's still 5,000 taels!

However, he was very upset and could only offer condolences to Magistrate Xu's ancestors for eighteen generations. After all, he could have earned 15,000 taels, but he was cheated out of 10,000 taels!

"Alright, then I'll give President Jing 15,000 taels!"

Master Feng was listless and then asked his wife to go to the inner room to get the silver. During this time, Madam Feng asked with her eyes whether she really wanted to give it to him, but Master Feng glared at her fiercely.

In situations like this, what other options do they have?

"That's right! I told you long ago, Master Feng should just obediently hand over the stolen money. If you wait any longer, Master Feng will be thrown into jail, and you won't be able to get it out even if you want to!"

"..."

After listening to Jing Zhe's words, Master Feng just nodded blankly, not thinking much of it, only assuming that Jing Zhe was warning him that he would be arrested if he did not conduct honest transactions.

Not long after, Madam Feng returned with 15,000 taels of silver notes. Seeing that Jing Zhe had put the notes away, Master Feng reminded him, "President Jing, where is the property deed?"

"It's with me."

"..."

This scene seemed familiar to Mrs. Feng, and her heart sank. She felt that the house deed was likely to be in grave danger.

Still unwilling to give up, Master Feng asked again, "President Jing, didn't we agree that I would return the 15,000 taels of embezzled money to you and give me back the deed to the Feng Family Restaurant?"

Jing Zhe glanced at him and sneered, "Master Feng, you yourself said that this 15,000 taels of silver is stolen money, and stolen money should naturally be returned to the imperial court!"

"But the property deed is ours!"

Master Feng was extremely anxious. He was now particularly afraid that Jing Zhe would double-cross him—no, it should be considered that he was being double-crossed for free.

"Don't worry, since the 15,000 taels of silver is embezzled money, the transaction of buying and selling the restaurant cannot be established. Therefore, the property deed does not belong to me or the Da'an Newspaper."

Hearing Jing Zhe say this, Master Feng breathed a sigh of relief, but before he could relax for even a second, Jing Zhe's second sentence came.

"However, this property deed can no longer belong to the Feng family."

"Why?"

"What's the meaning?"

Master Feng and his wife shouted at the same time.

"Why? You should know very well in your hearts."

Jing Zhe sneered, then called out, "Brother Zhou, you may come in now!"

"..."

Both Master Feng and his wife were somewhat bewildered, and then they turned their heads with Jing Zhe, looking towards the doorway.

...

As Jing Zhe shouted, Zhou Hongtao slowly walked in from outside the door.

Upon seeing Zhou Hongtao, both Master Feng and his wife were slightly surprised, because apart from feeling that the man looked somewhat familiar, they were quite certain that they had never seen him before.

What surprised Master Feng was that strangers like this were not allowed to enter the Feng family on ordinary days. Jing Zhe had just shouted, but the gatekeeper certainly didn't know what he meant. Why did they let this person in?

As he was thinking this, Zhou Hongtao walked in, his eyes filled with hatred as he looked at Master Feng and his wife.

"Does Master Feng still recognize him?"

Jing Zhe asked.

Master Feng shook his head. "I don't know him."

To be honest, he didn't recognize the young man at all; he had never seen him before. But he felt very uncomfortable, especially with the young man's eyes, which seemed to want to tear them apart alive, making him feel even more uneasy.

Jing Zhe then looked at Madam Feng: "Where is Madam Feng?"

Madam Feng first shook her head, then said, "I don't recognize him, but he looks somewhat familiar... Oh, I remember now, I think I've seen him at the Lin family's house before. Master Lin introduced him, saying he was a distant relative of theirs from the countryside, his name was something like Lin..."

In fact, Lin Changjun had never told Madam Feng Zhou Hongtao's name. Madam Feng had just said it casually. In her opinion, a distant relative of the Lin family would naturally have the surname Lin.

That encounter was purely by chance. Madam Feng happened to be passing by the Lin family and saw him. Although it was only a brief meeting, Zhou Hongtao's eyes that day were filled with the same hatred as now, so when Madam Feng saw those eyes, she remembered him.

"It seems that Mrs. Feng has a good memory, but there is one thing you are wrong about. His surname is not Lin, but Zhou."

At this point, Jing Zhe stopped talking and looked at Zhou Hongtao with a smile. Zhou Hongtao understood, took a step forward, and then coldly glanced at Master Feng and Madam Feng, as if he wanted to kill them with his eyes, before uttering five words.

"I am Zhou Hongtao."

"..."

————