Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Upon hearing that his house had been burgled, Lu Qian was immediately alarmed. He sobered up halfway through his drunken stupor, hurriedly got up, and grabbed Dong Chao and Xue Ba, rushing home. Along the way, Lu Qian was a pathetic sight, his hat askew and his clothes torn and wrinkled.

As Dong Chao ran, he complained, "Lord Lu Qian, what's going on in your family? My legs are about to break from all this running."

Xue Ba, panting heavily, said, "Exactly, exactly! This thief really knows how to pick his timing."

Lu Qian paid no attention to their complaints, only thinking about getting home as soon as possible to see how much damage had been done.

Just as they were running, panting heavily, a figure suddenly appeared in front of them, holding a gun and blocking their path imposingly. Lu Qian was running too fast and almost couldn't stop in time, nearly running right into him.

When he looked closely, he was so frightened that his face turned pale, his legs went weak, and urine gushed out from his crotch, instantly wetting a large area.

Dong Chao and Xue Ba were taken aback at first, but when they saw who it was, they couldn't help but gasp. It turned out that this person was none other than Lin Chong, the martial arts instructor.

Lin Chong, his face contorted with rage and eyes wide open, roared, "Lu Qian, you despicable scoundrel, do you still remember me?!"

Lu Qian stammered, "Instructor Lin... what are you doing here?"

Lin Chong sneered, "Hmph, what am I doing here? You caused my family to be destroyed, and I'm here today to settle accounts with you!"

Lu Qian was so frightened that he backed away, almost stepping on Dong Chao's foot, and hurriedly said, "Instructor Lin, this...this is all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"

Seeing this, Dong Chao and Xue Ba tried to slip away, but Lin Chong shouted, "No one is allowed to leave!"

The two were so frightened that they froze on the spot, too scared to move.

Lin Chong pointed his gun at Lu Qian and said, "Lu Qian, you have committed many evil deeds, and today is your retribution!"

Lu Qian knelt on the ground with a thud, crying and begging for mercy: "Instructor Lin, spare my life! I will never dare to do it again. I will kowtow to you, please let me go!"

Looking at Lu Qian's disheveled appearance, Lin Chong was both angry and amused, and said, "You spineless bastard, even if you kowtow until your head is bleeding today, don't expect me to spare you!"

Lu Qian cried his eyes out, looking utterly ridiculous. Dong Chao and Xue Ba watched in stunned silence.

Lin Chong's eyes widened in fury as he pointed his spear at Lu Qian and cursed, "You bastard! You forged the land deed by fraudulent means and seized my Lin family's land. Now, if you know what's good for you, hand it over to me right now, and I might spare your life!" Lin Chong's roar was like a thunderclap, making the leaves around him tremble.

Lu Qian was terrified, his face turning deathly pale, and his whole body trembling uncontrollably. He stammered, "Instructor Lin,... let's talk this out, let's talk this out. I... I just wanted to give you the land deed, but... but you can't sign it, you don't have a seal, do you?" As he spoke, Lu Qian's eyes darted around, his mind racing, trying to figure out how to escape this predicament.

Upon hearing this, Lin Chong flew into a rage and shouted, "You treacherous villain, you dare to play tricks on me! This is easy!" With that, Lin Chong raised his knife and slashed Lu Qian's finger with a "whoosh."

Lu Qian let out a miserable howl, his voice as sharp and thin as a dog whose tail had been stepped on: "Ouch, it hurts so much! Instructor Lin, you're too cruel!"

Lin Chong snorted coldly: "Enough nonsense! Hurry up and write it down, then put your red seal on it."

Lu Qian covered his bleeding finger and said with a mournful face, "Instructor Lin, I... my hand is shaking so badly that I can't write."

Lin Chong glared at him: "You're not going to write it? Believe me or not, I'll give you a few more taps on the finger!"

Lu Qian shuddered in fright and quickly said, "Write, write, I'll write, okay?"

Lu Qian picked up the pen with trembling hands, his hand shaking as if he were having a seizure, and couldn't write a single word for a long time. Lin Chong, watching from the side, grew impatient and kicked Lu Qian in the backside: "Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?"

Lu Qian stumbled and almost fell to the ground. After finally regaining his balance, he muttered, "Instructor Lin, don't worry, don't worry, I'll write it right away."

With great difficulty, Lu Qian managed to write a few words in a crooked and messy hand, worse than a three-year-old's. Lin Chong glanced at them and, enraged, was about to grab his knife to strike him again: "What kind of rubbish is this? Rewrite it!"

Lu Qian said with a pained expression, "Instructor Lin, I'm really scared, I can't write it well. Could you give me another chance?"

Lin Chong gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, I'll give you one more chance. If you still can't write it well, I won't be so polite!"

Lu Qian nodded repeatedly and rewrote it. This time it was finally legible, but the characters looked like they were scratched by chicken claws.

Lin Chong said, "Hurry up and put your handprint on!"

Lu Qian shakily pressed his finger onto the paper, but because his hand was shaking so badly, he pressed it off-center. Lin Chong roared, "Did you do that on purpose?"

Lu Qian quickly said, "No, no, Instructor Lin, I'm just nervous."

Lin Chong held a knife to Lu Qian's neck: "This is your last chance. If you mess this up again, I'll cut off your head!"

Lu Qian was so scared he almost wet his pants, but this time he finally managed to press the red mark properly.

Lin Chong took the land deed, looked at it, and said, "You're smart to know what's good for you. But this isn't over yet. If you ever dare to do anything bad again, I'll beat you every time I see you!"

Lu Qian nodded vigorously: "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare, Instructor Lin, I would never dare again."

Lin Chong took the land deed and strode away, leaving Lu Qian standing there, collapsing to the ground, panting heavily, and secretly vowing never to provoke Lin Chong again.

After Lin Chong left, Dong Chao and Xue Ba exchanged glances. Dong Chao blinked his small eyes and said with a puzzled look, "When did this kid come back? It seems the court hasn't pardoned his crimes."

Xue Ba stroked his chin, completely baffled: "Yeah, this is strange."

Lu Qian was already furious, and hearing their nonsensical words only fueled his anger. He jumped up and slapped Dong Chao and Xue Ba across the face twice, the sounds crisp and loud.

"You two idiots!" Lu Qian shouted at the top of his lungs, "Still making sarcastic remarks! It's all because you two are cowards who are afraid of death. If you hadn't dealt with Lin Chong in Wild Boar Forest, none of this mess would have happened now?"

Dong Chao, dazed and confused from the beating, covered his face and said aggrievedly, "Lord Lu, you can't blame us entirely. Instructor Lin is highly skilled in martial arts; how could we be his match? Besides, his senior brother Lu Zhishen also came at that time. That big monk looked fierce and was holding a staff. He said he would give each of us three hundred lashes. He was sure he would flatten us!"

Xue Ba chimed in, "Yes, yes, Lu Qianhou. That Lu Zhishen is as tall as an iron tower. One glare from him can scare a person half to death. If we hadn't released Lin Chong, he probably would have beaten us so badly that even our own mothers wouldn't recognize us."

Lu Qian stomped his feet in anger: "You two cowards! You were scared out of your wits by that Lu Zhishen? I gave you so many benefits, and you can't even handle this little thing!"

Dong Chao muttered, "Lu Qianhou, it's easy for you to talk when you're not in my shoes. In that situation, who wouldn't be scared? Lu Zhishen was holding his staff, and it was so powerful that it felt like he could smash a hole in the mountain. If we had tried to fight him head-on, it would have been like lighting a lamp in a toilet—asking for trouble (dying).

Xue Ba chimed in, "That's right, that's right, Lord Lu. We didn't want things to turn out this way either, but we were no match for Instructor Lin and Lu Zhishen."

Lu Qian's eyes widened as he pointed at the two of them and yelled, "You two still think you're right? You've ruined everything I've meticulously planned! Now Lin Chong is back and wants the land deed back. How am I supposed to explain this to my superiors?"

Dong Chao and Xue Ba shrank back, not daring to utter a sound.

Lu Qian paced back and forth, muttering to himself, "What am I going to do? What am I going to do?"

Dong Chao said cautiously, "Lord Lu, why don't we hide for a while and come out again after things have calmed down?"

Lu Qian stopped and glared at him fiercely: "Hide? Where can we hide? Lin Chong will definitely not let this go, he's probably looking for us everywhere!"

Xue Ba suggested, "Why don't we go and ask Grand Commandant Gao for help, and see if he can think of a solution for us?"

Lu Qian snorted coldly: "Grand Commandant Gao? Who knows how he's blaming me now! It's all because of you two useless bastards who ruined my important plans!"

Dong Chao and Xue Ba looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

Just then, a crow flew over and cawed twice. Annoyed, Lu Qian picked up a stone and threw it at the crow: "Even you're causing trouble!"

Dong Chao and Xue Ba felt a chill run down their spines as they watched Lu Qian's frantic state.

Lu Qian suddenly turned around and said fiercely, "You two listen up! From now on, you'd better find out where Lin Chong is. If anything goes wrong again, I won't let you off the hook!"

Dong Chao and Xue Ba nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, Lord Lu, we will definitely do it well."

Lu Qian waved his hand: "Hurry up and go, don't get in the way!"

Dong Chao and Xue Ba were overjoyed and ran away as fast as they could, leaving Lu Qian alone, anxiously waiting.

After Lin Chong left, he took the land deed signed by Lu Qian and found Zhao Tianming. As soon as Zhao Tianming saw Lin Chong, he hurriedly and warmly invited Lin Chong to sit down, saying, "Instructor Lin, please sit down quickly." He then ordered someone to set out wine and dishes.

After Lin Chong sat down, Zhao Tianming said, "Instructor Lin, we were able to retrieve the land deed entirely thanks to your bravery." He then had the deed returned to Lin Chong. Not only that, Zhao Tianming also generously allocated some extra land to Lin Chong.

Lin Chong hurriedly said, "Brother Zhao, I only want what originally belonged to me. I cannot accept this extra land."

Zhao Tianming, however, refused to agree and insisted on giving it to him: "Instructor Lin, please don't refuse. Your integrity and bravery are admirable, and this land is my way of showing my respect for you."

Lin Chong insisted, "Brother Zhao, no. I, Lin Chong, only seek fairness in my actions, and I cannot accept even a penny more than what is due."

At this moment, Lin Chong raised his cup and said, "With Brother Zhao's loyalty and trust, what do I have to fear? If that scoundrel Lu Qian dares to cause you trouble again in the future, just let me know."

Zhao Tianming also raised his glass and replied, "Instructor Lin, rest assured, if needed, I will certainly ask you for help." The two smiled at each other and drank the wine in their glasses in one gulp.

After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Lin Chong got up to take his leave. Zhao Tianming personally saw him off at the door, and they clasped their hands in farewell.