Seeing that Cheng Qingyan and Wang Tiezhu were still at the entrance of the gambling den, they did not leave.
The men at the gambling den asked with grins, "Oh, you haven't left yet? What a coincidence, we were just about to look for you."
Wang Tiezhu grinned and greeted them, "What are you all doing here? My repayment date isn't until tomorrow."
The man tapped the stick in his hand: "Well, we brothers all had to go through the trouble of protecting you today. Do you feel like your status has suddenly increased? Hahahaha~"
Wang Tiezhu cursed under his breath. "Those bastards at the gambling den, I knew they wouldn't follow the rules!"
But he still had to put on a smiling face; he had no way to resist now.
We still need to find a chance to get some money from the Ye family, otherwise he and Hongyu will both be beaten to death!
These people didn't stop Cheng Qingyan, they only stopped him!
He's so angry! He's absolutely furious!
"Why doesn't he want to protect him? What if he runs away?"
Cheng Qingyan smiled when he heard the question, without turning his head.
The people at the gambling den ignored Wang Tiezhu and dragged him into the alley.
Luo Ji's carriage was already waiting not far ahead. When he saw Cheng Qingyan coming over, he took her away.
"Thank you both for your hard work. I've taken care of everything here."
Liu Baisheng handed a stack of silver notes to Cheng Qingyan: "This is the remaining money. The jade pendant sold for six thousand taels. The government office used five hundred taels of it, so the remaining amount is five thousand five hundred taels."
Cheng Qingyan accepted the money: "Thank you both."
Luo Ji sold the jade pendant to his family head, who was pleased, and naturally, Luo Ji would also receive some benefits.
"Where are we going now? Wang Tiezhu has already been taken away by the gambling den's people."
Luo Ji said with a smile, "Let's go eat now. After we finish eating, Brother Cheng can just wait to receive the contract."
It saves so much trouble by spending a little money, and she doesn't even have to show up to handle it herself. That's really great.
Thinking that Wang Tiezhu might go to the Ye family, Cheng Qingyan and Luo Ji had a simple matter of having Wang Tiezhu's leg crippled before they had dinner.
Instead of guarding against him and worrying that he might run away and report to us, it's better to just break his legs and save ourselves the trouble.
That evening, Wang Tiezhu brought the people from the gambling den to Pujitang.
Although it was all an act, the people in the gambling den, seeing Hongyu "unconscious," still mercilessly beat Wang Tiezhu again.
He beat her while cursing, "You filthy wretch! You're like a dead woman, and you still managed to borrow a hundred taels of silver from us without our knowledge?"
"If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have lent you ten taels of silver!"
"Now look what's happened! We're going to get yelled at when we get back!"
Wang Tiezhu's legs were already crippled, and he was being punched and kicked. At this moment, he wished he could fight them to the death, but he was powerless to do anything about it.
The gambling den staff stood a stick in front of Wang Tiezhu and asked, "Have you thought it through? Will you trade your half-dead wife for your life?"
Wang Tiezhu had several teeth knocked out; if the beating continued, he would surely be beaten to death.
Since Hongyu is already half-dead, using her to save him can be considered as Hongyu doing a good deed for him.
After thinking it through, Wang Tiezhu hurriedly said, "I'll change it, I'll change it."
Rather than letting Hongyu be beaten to death, it's better to let her bear all of this, since she might not wake up anyway.
The people at the gambling den placed two pieces of paper in front of Wang Tiezhu: "Here, put your fingerprints on these two places and give us your wife's indenture, and this matter will be over."
Wang Tiezhu couldn't read many words, and after being beaten for so long, he wanted to ask what it was, but he was afraid of being beaten again, so he could only lower his head and press his handprint.
"If you had listened to me earlier, you wouldn't have suffered so much." The people at the gambling den put away the documents that Wang Tiezhu had signed.
Yan Nanxing shouted, "Oh no! Lady Hongyu is not breathing!"
Wang Tiezhu lay on the ground, laughing gleefully. Well done! He had traded a dead man for his own life. What a bargain!
The men from the gambling den kicked Wang Tiezhu out: "Did you set us up? How are my brothers supposed to explain this when we get back?"
"Exactly! She died right after signing the contract. We didn't even get her body, and now we have to hold a funeral for her! What bad luck!"
Wang Tiezhu was beaten to the point of near death, but he forced his eyes open to look at Hongyu, who was being carried out.
Hongyu was covered with a white cloth, so her face could not be seen.
The people from the gambling den cursed and carried the person away, saying they were taking him to a mass grave.
Looking in the direction they left, Wang Tiezhu couldn't help but wonder, how did things turn out like this?
After Hongyu was carried away, she got into a horse-drawn carriage, ready to leave the county town early the next morning.
With the contract and her new identity in hand, she can now be considered a free person.
Ye Lingyu and Jiang Jiang took the person to the inn closest to the city gate. The two of them would also leave the city with Hongyu tomorrow.
Cheng Qingyan didn't go with them; she had things to discuss with Luo Ji and Liu Baisheng.
The restaurant was noisy with people and the clinking of glasses. Cheng Qingyan and Luo Ji had already had several rounds of drinks in their private room.
"I'm so sorry to have troubled you two with Hongyu's matter. This little bit of money is just a token of my appreciation." Cheng Qingyan pushed the money, one thousand taels to each of them.
It was no small sum, and Luo Ji and Liu Baisheng declined to accept it.
Liu Baisheng and Luo Ji have known each other for half their lives, and their friendship is naturally much deeper than that of Cheng Qingyan.
Before making this happen, Cheng Qingyan had given them other options.
They could have chosen to inform the Ye family, and the Ye family would naturally have given Luo Ji and Liu Baisheng a reward.
In the end, they chose to help Cheng Qingyan, not because they blindly believed in Cheng Qingyan's abilities, but partly because of what Ye Lingyu had said to Li Shouheng at Liu Baisheng's shop.
Cheng Qingyan has powerful backers, even more powerful than the county magistrate.
This is the real reason why the two of them decided to help Cheng Qingyan.
The key is that immediate interests and long-term interests do not conflict with each other.
Liu Baisheng had naturally already told Luo Ji about this matter; otherwise, it would have been difficult for them to give Cheng Qingyan, a young man who had just arrived, his full support.
Making money is one thing. But even if you're alive to make it, you also need to be alive to spend it.
No matter how big a merchant is, he is not as useful as a minor official.
Luo Ji and Liu Baisheng wanted to continue doing business with Cheng Qingyan, so they refused to accept the money.
Cheng Qingyan took out the money she had on her and put it on the table.
"Since you two won't accept it, then I can't very well take the money back. How about this, I'll add some more. Let's find some people and open two shops in the county town."
"Brother Liu will take care of the manpower issue. As for the site selection, Brother Luo will take care of that."
"The profits will still go to each of you, my two older brothers, 10% each. What do you two think?"
Luo Ji and Liu Baisheng had no objections; Cheng Qingyan's suggestion was practically equivalent to them getting money for nothing.
They were only tasked with finding people and getting things done, not with doing the work themselves.
In the end, they even take a 10% cut of the profit. This is a sure win, right?
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