Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

After Li Kui was imprisoned, Wang Zhiqiang was extremely smug. He shook his head and said to Gao Ke, "Go and call Lü Wencai here. I want to have a good celebration."

Gao Ke ran off to find Lü Wencai, and soon brought him to a luxurious restaurant.

Wang Zhiqiang had been waiting in the private room for a long time. When he saw them arrive, he quickly got up to greet them, his smile as bright as a blooming chrysanthemum.

"Come, come, Lord Lü, please have a seat," Wang Zhiqiang greeted him solicitously.

Lu Wencai sat down with a puzzled look on his face and asked, "Brother Wang, why are you so happy today?"

Wang Zhiqiang laughed heartily and said, "Lord Lü, that Li Kui was ignorant and arrogant. Now that he's been imprisoned, how can we not be happy?"

Lu Wencai suddenly realized, but still pretended to be reserved and said, "Brother Wang, this is not a good idea. After all, it is a human life."

Wang Zhiqiang waved his hand dismissively and said, "Lord Lü, you're just too kind-hearted. That Li Kui is so clueless; he actually tried to steal the agreement and even attempted to report you. He's courting death!"

At this moment, the dishes and wine were served one after another. Wang Zhiqiang picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of braised pork and put it in his mouth. While chewing, he said, "Lord Lü, you should try this dish. The taste is absolutely amazing."

Lu Wencai gently picked up a little bit, put it in his mouth and chewed slowly, then nodded and said, "Hmm, it's really good."

Wang Zhiqiang raised his glass again and said, "Lord Lü, I'd like to toast you to thank you for your continued care."

Lu Wencai also raised his glass, and the two drank it all in one gulp.

Wang Zhiqiang was a little tipsy and started gesturing wildly: "Lord Lü, you don't know, when Li Kui was arrested, his expression was like a wilted eggplant, he looked so pathetic."

Lü Wencai said with a smile, "Brother Wang, don't be too flamboyant, or the walls will hear you."

Wang Zhiqiang patted his chest and said, "Lord Lü, rest assured, in this small area, who dares to speak recklessly?"

As they were talking, Wang Zhiqiang suddenly let out a loud fart, so loud that the whole room could hear it clearly.

Lu Wencai couldn't help but frown, and Wang Zhiqiang smiled awkwardly: "Sorry, sorry, my belly is letting me down."

Then, Wang Zhiqiang started spouting nonsense again: "Lord Lü, wait until Li Kui has suffered enough in prison, then let's see if he still dares to be arrogant."

Lu Wencai shook his head helplessly: "Brother Wang, we should be lenient with others when we can."

Wang Zhiqiang, however, persisted: "Lord Lü, you are too lenient. This kind of person needs to be taught a lesson so he knows how powerful we are."

At this moment, Wang Zhiqiang accidentally dropped his chopsticks on the ground while picking up food. He bent down to pick them up, but his head hit the table with a "bang".

Lu Wencai couldn't help but laugh: "Brother Wang, you're getting a little too excited."

Wang Zhiqiang covered his head, sat up straight, and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing, this little injury is nothing."

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Wang Zhiqiang was so drunk he was staggering, muttering incessantly, "Li Kui, you damned fool..."

Seeing his appearance, Lü Wencai sighed helplessly, got up and took his leave.

Wang Zhiqiang was still shouting, "Lord Lü, don't go! Have a couple more drinks..."

Lu Wencai left without looking back, leaving Wang Zhiqiang fast asleep in the private room, occasionally muttering in his sleep.

After returning home, Lü Wencai sat in his study with a solemn expression. After a moment of thought, he summoned his subordinate and instructed him, "Go and inform Lord Chen of the Ministry of Justice to take good care of Li Kui. Also, no one is allowed to visit him."

The subordinate respectfully replied, "Yes, sir."

Lu Wencai picked up the letter he had already written from the table, handed it to his subordinate, and solemnly said, "This letter must be delivered to Lord Chen personally, without the slightest mistake."

The subordinate carefully took the letter, tucked it into his pocket, and said, "Don't worry, sir, I understand."

After saying this, his subordinate turned and left. Watching his departing figure, Lü Wencai sighed softly and muttered to himself, "This matter needs to be handled carefully; lest any further trouble arise."

The subordinate, carrying the letter, rode at top speed to the Ministry of Justice. Upon arriving, he requested an audience with Lord Chen. Lord Chen was handling official business, but upon hearing that he was one of Lü Wencai's men, he ordered someone to bring him in.

Upon seeing Lord Chen, his subordinate quickly bowed and said, "Lord Chen, my master has asked me to bring you a letter."

Lord Chen took the letter, unfolded it, and read it, his expression changing slightly. After reading it, he looked up at his subordinate and said, "Go back and tell your master that I know what to do."

The subordinate bowed again and said, "Thank you, Lord Chen. I'll take my leave now."

After leaving the Ministry of Justice, the subordinate immediately returned to report to Lü Wencai. Lü Wencai listened to the report and nodded slightly.

After receiving the five hundred taels of silver, Lord Chen grinned from ear to ear, his smile as wide as a ripe pomegranate. He was overjoyed; he had already overspent half a year's salary and was now penniless. The five hundred taels of silver were like a godsend to him.

"Hehe, Lü Wencai is quite sensible." Lord Chen happily tucked the silver notes into his pocket.

He then turned around and followed Lü Wencai's instructions to "take care" of Li Kui.

Li Kui was locked in his cell, eagerly anticipating a normal meal. Then, at Lord Chen's command, a jailer brought in a tray of food.

When Li Kui saw it, he almost vomited up his leftovers. The plate was filled with stinky tofu, and the smell was so strong it could make anyone faint.

"What the hell is this thing?!" Li Kui roared.

Lord Chen strolled leisurely to the front of the cell and said with a grin, "Sir Li, this is a special meal prepared for you. Enjoy it."

Li Kui was so angry he jumped up and down: "You corrupt official, you're deliberately messing with me!"

Lord Chen snorted: "You don't know what's good for you. This is special treatment for you."

After speaking, he walked away.

The stinky tofu had attracted a swarm of flies to the cell, buzzing around Li Kui. Li Kui waved his hand to swat them away, cursing, "Damn flies, get the hell out of here!"

But the flies wouldn't listen to him; more and more flies were buzzing around him, and Li Kui was about to go crazy.

He shouted at the jailer, "Give me some food! I want meat!"

The jailer rolled his eyes at him: "You should be grateful for this stinky tofu."

Li Kui had no choice but to pinch his nose and force himself to eat a few bites of stinky tofu. As soon as he swallowed it, he felt his stomach churning and almost vomited.

"I can't live like this anymore!" Li Kui shouted in grief and indignation.

Meanwhile, Lord Chen was hiding to the side, secretly laughing, extremely proud of his "masterpiece".

Li Kui couldn't stand the smell of the stinky tofu any longer. He kicked it all into a corner, ran to the prison gate, and shouted at the jailers, "You bunch of bastards, when your Grandpa Li gets out, I'll chop you all in half with two axes!"

The jailer scoffed, "You? You think you can get out? You'd better stay in this cell!"

Li Kui's eyes widened in fury, veins bulging on his forehead: "You bastard, how dare you look down on me! I was a big shot in the martial arts world back in the day!"

The jailer crossed his arms and said with a disdainful look, "Hmph, no matter how famous you are, you're just sitting here in this cell eating stinky tofu now."

Li Kui stomped his feet in anger: "If I hadn't been tricked by that treacherous villain, would I have ended up in this state? When I get out of here, I will tear them to pieces!"

At this moment, the prisoners in the other cells were also attracted by Li Kui's noise and began to peek out.

"Hey, this kid's got some nerve!"

"What's the use of being stubborn? You're still suffering in this prison."

Hearing these sarcastic remarks, Li Kui became even more enraged: "You cowards, say it again if you dare!"

For a moment, the cell was noisy and chaotic.

Seeing this, the jailer picked up his baton and banged hard on the cell door: "Quiet down, all of you! Anyone who makes a sound will not get any food!"

The banging and shouting temporarily quieted the cell. But Li Kui couldn't calm down; he paced back and forth in the cell, cursing incessantly.

After a while, Li Kui shouted at the jailer again, "Give me some water, I'm dying of thirst!"

The jailer glared at him: "Just you wait!"

After a long while, the jailer slowly brought in a bowl of water and slipped it through the crack in the cell door. Li Kui took the water, drank it all in one gulp, and then slammed the bowl heavily on the ground: "This water even tastes rancid!"

The jailer sneered, "You should be grateful to have anything to drink; why are you being so picky?"

Li Kui gritted his teeth: "You just wait, Grandpa will deal with you properly when I leave here."

Zhao Tianming had Wu Yong buy some good wine and food, intending to visit Li Kui in prison. Wu Yong, carrying large and small bags, arrived excitedly in front of the prison cell.

"Sir, please make an exception and let me in to see Li Kui." Wu Yong said with a smile, trying to get on the good side of the jailer.

However, the jailer put on a stern face and stretched out his hand: "Don't say anything, just give me the money first."

Wu Yong hurriedly took out a silver ingot from his pocket and stuffed it into the jailer's hand. He thought he could finally get in smoothly, but the jailer weighed the silver in his hand and then threw it back to him.

"Is that all? You think you can fob off a beggar?" The jailer said with a look of disdain.

Wu Yong hurriedly took out several more silver ingots, but the jailer remained unmoved.

Just as Wu Yong and the jailer were at an impasse, Lü Wencai's wife suddenly appeared out of nowhere. This woman was burly and had a fierce face; she was carrying a basin of water for washing feet.

"What's all the noise about! Don't you know I'm sleeping?" the woman yelled.

Wu Yong quickly explained, "Sister-in-law, we just want to go in and see who it is."

Without saying a word, the woman picked up the foot-washing water and splashed it at Wu Yong.

"Ouch!" Wu Yong couldn't dodge in time and was splashed with foot bath water. The smell was so strong that it was impossible to open one's eyes.

"Get out! All of you, get out!" The woman waved the basin in her hand, like a she-devil.

Wu Yong was in a sorry state, his clothes were soaking wet and he smelled bad.

"What, what should we do?" Wu Yong looked helpless and aggrieved.

The jailer chuckled to himself, not forgetting to make a few sarcastic remarks: "Hmph, you think you can get in with just this little bit of skill?"

Having no other choice, Wu Yong had to pick up his things and slink back to report to Zhao Tianming.