"Are you the owner of the Sihai Gambling House?" Zu An glanced discreetly at the rooms in the distance. It seemed that Zheng Dan and Sang Qian didn't intend to come out. But that was understandable. Given their status, they couldn't possibly show their faces and get involved in the gambling house's affairs. They definitely needed some kind of agent.
"Yes, yes, it is I." Zheng Guanxi smiled broadly, his attitude extremely amiable.
"Your surname is Zheng. Are you from the Zheng family in the city?" Zu An said with a half-smile.
"No, no, no, I have no relation to the Zheng family. How could someone like me possibly be worthy of their name?" Zheng Guanxi immediately denied it, while secretly regretting that he should have changed his name, otherwise it would be easy for people to guess his identity. However, he still had to rely on the Zheng family's influence, which put him in a dilemma.
Zu An said, "I don't care if you're from the Zheng family or the Jia family, there has to be an explanation for how this matter is resolved."
"Yes, yes, yes," Zheng Guanxi took out a handkerchief and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. "All of that was Du Laosan's personal behavior. Our gambling house's higher-ups had no idea. It seems that he has been lining his own pockets for years and wanted to keep this huge sum of money for himself."
Teacher Du, standing to the side: "???"
Zheng Guanxi didn't give him a chance to explain: "Guards, drag him away and send him to the authorities."
Teacher Du immediately became anxious: "You can't just abandon me like this! It's all because of Miss..."
Click~
The thugs beside him were prepared. With one punch, his jaw was dislocated, and he could only whimper and groan, unable to speak clearly.
Zuan snorted: "You don't need to play the temporary worker game in front of me. Just tell me, are you going to pay me or not?"
"Yes, yes, of course I'll give it to you," Zheng Guanxi said with a smile, but his heart was trembling. One million taels of silver! Had the Zheng family gambling den ever earned that much money since it was established? "However, this amount is really huge. I wonder if it can be repaid in the form of an IOU?"
Zuan nodded: "Okay, but it has to be 4% interest."
Zheng Guanxi was immediately shocked: "But last time you only asked for 1 cent in interest at the Silver Hook Casino!"
"How can they be the same? That's a debt of 7.5 million taels, which is obviously something you can't pay back anytime soon. But yours is only 1 million taels. Don't tell me you gambling den owners can't pay it back." Zu An snorted. Luckily, he only bet 10,000 taels, otherwise it would have been another messy debt that was destined to be unrecoverable.
"Exactly, if you can't even afford to lose the money you've already spent on running a gambling den, what's the point of running it?"
"I think Du Laosan's behavior just now was an attempt by Sihai Gambling House to renege on its debt."
"I think this son-in-law of the Chu family is a real nemesis of casinos."
"From now on, we'll all buy from him; he's definitely a guiding light!"
...
Hearing the whispers and pointing fingers of the crowd around him, Zheng Guanxi was also covered in sweat. Suddenly, he paused, as if he had heard something, and then said to Zu An, "How about this, we'll pay half, 500,000 taels of silver, first, and the rest will be settled with an IOU, with a 2% interest rate later. What do you think?"
Zuan laughed: "Wouldn't it have been better if we had done this earlier? Here's the money." He hadn't expected to get it all back this time. Getting 500,000 taels of silver was already beyond his expectations. You know, he only got 150,000 taels at the Silver Hook Gambling House last time.
Inside the secret room, Sang Qian's face was grim: "This guy is so annoying, I just want to punch him."
Zheng Dan smiled slightly: "With Miss Chu protecting him, you can't beat him up."
Sang Qian stared at her suspiciously: "Why do you seem so unangry?"
“Why be angry? Our original plan was to get close to him and get the money back anyway,” Zheng Dan said, looking at Zu An in the distance through the gap. “This money is just temporarily with him. In the future, I will not only get our own money back, but also more.”
Sang Qian nodded and said, "From now on, it's all up to you. You need to protect yourself and not let him take advantage of you."
Zheng Dan hummed in agreement: "I know."
"We also need to change some of the gambling den's rules. The odds can't be so high, and for high odds, we must limit the betting amount. Otherwise, if this happens a few more times, we won't be able to afford it," Sang Qian said sullenly. He couldn't let his wife handle it every time; he felt like he was being cuckolded lately.
The Chu family returned home. Zu An counted the silver notes in his hand and casually tossed one to Cheng Shouping, who was so happy he almost burst out laughing.
Zu An then distributed some silver notes to the guards. The guards hesitated for a moment, but seeing that Chu Chuyan did not object, they happily handed them over. Everyone had a family to support, and who wouldn't want more money?
"My son-in-law looks really handsome today."
"I didn't realize it before, but now I see that he and the young lady are becoming more and more of a perfect match."
"Alright, for the sake of the silver notes, I'll reluctantly agree to your request this once."
...
Zu An then stuffed a stack of silver notes into Chu Chuyan's arms: "These are yours."
Chu Chuyan did not accept it: "No."
“Don’t mention it. You deserve some credit for getting the money back today,” Zuan laughed. “My husband is getting richer and richer. From now on, I’ll take care of you.”
Chu Chuyan: "..."
Seeing this guy's smug look makes my hands itch.
Back at the Chu residence, Zu An was so happy he could barely sleep that night. When he woke up the next day, he felt refreshed and invigorated, as if the sky was bluer, the clouds were whiter, and the air was sweeter.
Just as he was happily heading out to the academy, a group of yamen runners suddenly appeared at the gate: "Zu An, you've gotten yourself into trouble. Come with us!"
---
Thank you to readers Sancai Milin, I can't swim, and others for their support.
My update schedule might be less consistent these next couple of days, I apologize for that. I'll try my best to build up some drafts and get back to my usual 9-to-5 update schedule as soon as possible.
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