Seeing that he refused to pay while spouting such high-sounding excuses, the shopkeeper was so angry that his beard stood on end.
It's all his fault for being blinded by greed and wanting to make a fortune off Chen Zhancai.
But they forgot the principle that "wealth doesn't come through hasty doors, and fortune doesn't come through crooked doors."
Now, not only have we not seen a single penny, but we've also lost tens of taels of silver.
He was furious. This guy was so desperate to get rich, he'd been fooled by a poor, pedantic scholar for over a month...
The shopkeeper grew angrier and angrier. With a cold face, he stepped forward and grabbed Chen Zhancai by the collar. "Don't give me that crap. Pay me back right now, or don't blame me for being impolite."
Chen Zhancai turned pale with fright, his legs trembling uncontrollably, but he still stubbornly insisted, "What are you going to do? I'm warning you, don't mess around. If you dare to touch me, I'll make you regret it."
"Stop your damn nonsense, are you going to pay me or not?"
"Yes, yes, I'll definitely pay. Don't worry, I won't shortchange you a penny on the shop fees. Please bear with me for a few more days."
"Tolerate my ass!" The shopkeeper slammed his fist against the doorframe and shoved him hard. "You worthless liar, you dare to impersonate a rich young master and deceive me. If I don't teach you a lesson today, you'll really think I'm a fool."
He then instructed the waiter, "Hurry up and take him to see the magistrate. I want to know if this freeloader will still dare to spout nonsense when he gets to the county government."
"Yes, it's the shopkeeper." The waiter replied and walked directly towards Chen Zhancai, mocking him with a sarcastic smile. "Young Master Chen, I now seriously suspect that you're just a big swindler who freeloads. A wealthy young master like you, going out without a single penny on you? You're trying to fool a fool!"
Chen Zhancai was pushed so hard he almost fell. He was both angry and scared, but to avoid legal trouble, he gritted his teeth and said...
"You are all so boring, daring to doubt my identity. I'm not exaggerating, but if you dare to send me to the authorities today, my father will definitely not let you off easily. You can forget about running your inn then."
The shopkeeper was more responsive to gentle persuasion than force. If Chen Zhancai had spoken politely, he might have considered extending the deadline, but after being threatened, his stubbornness immediately flared up.
"Good lad, you don't pay for your stay and you still dare to talk big. I really don't know where you get the nerve."
"That's right, he's not paying the shop fee and he's still trying to scare people. Come on, let's go see the officials." The waiter grabbed Chen Zhancai by the collar and pulled him out.
"No, no, no, waiter, let go! Let's talk this out. Please don't send me to the authorities!" Chen Zhancai was the kind of person who would bully the weak and fear the strong. Seeing that the shopkeeper was getting angry, his tone immediately softened. "Shopkeeper, I was just saying that casually. Don't take it seriously. Let's talk this out and not hurt our relationship."
The shopkeeper gritted his teeth and glared, "Who the hell has any feelings for you? I hate spineless cowards like you the most. If you had continued to be tough, I might have believed you. Now that you're playing the coward, it's too late. You big swindler, you'd better go tell the county magistrate what you have to say!"
"Brother, I'm not a coward. Please calm down and don't send me to the authorities, okay?" Chen Zhancai was so anxious that tears were almost streaming down his face.
Seeing his cowardly appearance, the shopkeeper became even more certain of his guess.
He really wanted to slap himself twice.
These days, he listens to Chen Zhancai's every word, treats him with utmost courtesy, and provides him with the best food and drink, caring for him even more than his own father, fearing that he might not be treated well in the slightest.
But in the end, he turned out to be a freeloader and a scoundrel...
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He felt like a complete idiot, being played like a fool.
His suppressed anger suddenly erupted, and he raised his leg and kicked Chen Zhancai.
"Stop your damn nonsense. If you don't want to see the officials, just pay me the bill right now."
Chen Zhancai was suddenly kicked to the ground, looking at the shopkeeper in disbelief, "You, you dare to hit me!"
"What can you do about it if I hit him?" The shopkeeper glanced at the waiter beside him. "Go get him and beat him up!"
Upon hearing this, the waiter rushed forward and began punching and kicking Chen Zhancai...
Chen Zhancai screamed and begged for mercy as he was being beaten, pleading, "Brothers, please stop hitting me! Let's talk this out, please don't hit me!"
After this barrage of punches and kicks, the shopkeeper felt much more refreshed. He gestured for the waiter to stop and sternly questioned Chen Zhancai.
"I'll ask you one last time, are you going to pay or not?"
"Yes, yes, absolutely! Not a penny less!" Chen Zhancai panicked and pleaded repeatedly to avoid further physical pain. "Brother shopkeeper, please give me another chance and let me go home. I will definitely send someone to bring you the money."
"You brat, you think you can fool me? Looks like you really think I'm stupid."
"No, no, no, I swear to God, I'm not lying to you, my family is really rich."
"The poor can't afford clothes that fit the season. Even a tiger only has one skin when it comes down from the mountain. You haven't changed your clothes since you arrived here. How dare you say you're rich?" The innkeeper directly exposed Chen Zhancai's true situation. Not wanting to waste any more words with him, he signaled the waiter to drag him out of the inn.
Chen Zhancai was terrified. He didn't want to be embroiled in a lawsuit, nor did he want to die far from home. He was so anxious he was jumping up and down, and started making up stories again.
"Shopkeeper, you can't do anything reckless. I'm the only son in my family. If I die unjustly, you can't bear the responsibility."
"Shut your stinking mouth! Go talk to the official if you have something to say!" The shopkeeper wasn't buying it and was determined to drag him forward.
With things having come to this point, Chen Zhancai was completely at a loss. Terrified, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground like a rag doll.
Upon seeing this, the shopkeeper kicked him, yelling, "Get up right now!"
No matter how he called out, Chen Zhancai remained motionless like a fool.
They remained unmoved no matter how the waiter dragged and pulled them.
This action quickly attracted a large crowd of onlookers, who grew to block the road completely and began to discuss the matter.
"Hey, what's going on? Why is that person sitting on the ground?"
"Yeah, judging from the looks of it, they probably didn't do anything good and got caught."
"That's about right, that should be it. That fat innkeeper runs an inn, and he must have run into some freeloaders again. He's probably planning to take them to the authorities."
“There are plenty of scoundrels like this in the world. They should be caught and beheaded one by one, so that no one will dare to swindle and cheat again.”
"Yes, you're right. To deal with this kind of person, you have to behead them and show them to others as an example, otherwise you'll never be able to get rid of them completely."
......
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