Transmigrating to the Song Dynasty: Water Margin Business Management

Wu Yong frantically searched the streets and alleys, inquiring about Lin Chong's whereabouts. He asked everyone he met, leaving no stone unturned. Sweat soaked his clothes, but he paid no heed, his mind preoccupied with only one thought: he must find out why Lin Chong had been arrested.

After much inquiry, Wu Yong finally obtained crucial information from an elderly man who knew the inside story. Wu Yong respectfully offered him a cup of water, earnestly requesting the old man to explain in detail. The old man took a sip of water and slowly recounted, "Lin Chong has truly suffered a terrible fate. After he was exiled, Lu Qian, his former friend, did something despicable. While Lin Chong was away, he secretly changed the name of Lin Chong's residence to someone else's. When Lin Chong returned, unaware of what had happened, he naturally moved in. Little did he know, he had fallen into Cai Jiu's trap."

Wu Yong frowned, his fists clenching involuntarily: "This Lu Qian is truly shameless to the extreme!"

The old man sighed and continued, "Indeed! Cai Jiu had long wanted to cause trouble for Lin Chong. Now, Lin Chong has moved back into his own house, and Cai Jiu has arrested him on charges of trespassing. Moreover, the conflict on the street was deliberately arranged by Cai Jiu. It was all to add another charge to Lin Chong's record so that he would never be able to recover."

Wu Yong's face was gloomy, and his eyes flashed with anger: "This Cai Jiu is so vicious, it's truly an outrage against heaven!"

The old man shook his head: "Cai Jiu is used to acting arrogantly and domineeringly, relying on his power. Lin Chong, this honest man, is no match for them."

Wu Yong thanked the old man and hurriedly left. As he walked, he pondered how to rescue Lin Chong. Upon returning to his lodgings, he immediately informed the other brothers of the information he had gathered.

"These Cai Jiu and Lu Qian are absolutely depraved!" Lu Zhishen was so angry that he kicked over a stool. "I'm going to smash up Cai Jiu's government office!"

Song Jiang quickly stopped him: "Commander Lu, don't be impulsive. We need to think this through carefully."

Wu Yong pondered for a moment and said, "We need to come up with a careful plan for this matter. Since Cai Jiu intends to frame Lin Chong, he must have taken precautions. We cannot act rashly, otherwise we will not only fail to save Brother Lin Chong, but may also make the situation worse."

Everyone nodded in agreement, the atmosphere heavy and tense. Wu Yong continued his analysis: "First, we'll send someone to secretly monitor Cai Jiu's movements, then find evidence to prove that Lin Chong's house originally belonged to him, and expose Lu Qian's evil deeds. At the same time, we must prepare a backup plan. If Cai Jiu insists on harming Lin Chong, we'll forcibly break him out of prison."

Everyone agreed with Wu Yong's plan. Although the road ahead was fraught with difficulties, they were determined to do everything in their power to save Lin Chong.

Cai Jiu sat in his study, his face grim. He summoned a trusted aide and whispered, "Go, send someone to tell Lu Qian that anyone who has come into contact with the altered documents must not be allowed to live. If anything goes wrong with this, you and I will both be in deep trouble."

After receiving the order, the confidant hurriedly left the Cai residence and went straight to Lu Qian's place.

Lu Qian was pacing anxiously at home when he heard Cai Jiu's message and was startled. He knew that if this matter were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"That old scoundrel Cai Jiu pushed all this troublesome matter onto me," Lu Qian cursed through gritted teeth, but dared not disobey Cai Jiu's orders.

He summoned several trusted subordinates and said nervously, "Cai Jiu has ordered that no one who has come into contact with the altered documents should be let off the hook. Go and do it immediately, but be clean and don't leave any evidence."

The men looked at each other, knowing the danger of the matter, but they had no choice but to agree.

Lu Qian paced back and forth in the room, his heart filled with unease. He thought about those who might have leaked the secret, plotting how to eliminate them one by one. Meanwhile, the people targeted by Cai Jiu and Lu Qian were completely unaware of the danger, oblivious to the conspiracy that was quietly approaching them.

Night fell over the town, and as usual, Old Man Jin, who ran the paper shop, prepared to close the shutters and end the day's business. He was hunched over, his movements slow and slightly weary.

The dim candlelight flickered in the wind, casting a long, thin shadow of Old Man Jin. Just as he was about to lower the last panel, suddenly, three dark figures rushed into the shop.

Old Man Jin was startled by the sudden intruders. Before he could react, he saw the gleaming steel knives in the hands of the three men by the candlelight. The blades flashed with a cold, icy light in the dim light, sending a chill down Old Man Jin's spine.

"What...what are you going to do?" Old Man Jin asked in a trembling voice, fear instantly filling his eyes.

However, the three thugs did not answer, but their eyes flashed with malice. One of them raised his steel knife and slashed at Old Man Jin without saying a word.

Old Man Jin's eyes widened in terror. His survival instinct kicked in, and he instinctively turned and ran. As he ran, he shouted, "Help! Murder!"

His voice sounded particularly shrill in the quiet night, shattering the tranquility of the town. In his panic, Old Man Jin knocked over the writing implements on the table, scattering them all over the floor with a clattering sound.

The three thugs gave chase, their steel knives flashing and whistling through the air. Old Jin's heart pounded wildly, as if it would leap out of his throat. His heavy breathing echoed in the quiet shop, each step filled with despair and fear.

"Don't run, old man!" one of the thugs shouted viciously.

Old Man Jin dared not stop; he ran desperately deeper into the shop, trying to find a place to hide. But the shop was only so big; where could he possibly hide?

In the chaos, Old Man Jin tripped over some debris on the ground and fell heavily to the ground. Ignoring the pain, he struggled to get up.

Just then, a thug caught up with him from behind, raised his steel knife high, and was about to strike...

Just then, Jin Dajian, the old man's son, arrived after hearing the news. He had been at home when he heard his father's shouts and immediately sensed something was wrong. He grabbed a wooden stick and ran over.

Jin Dajian rushed into the shop and saw his father collapsed on the ground, with three thugs brandishing steel knives and closing in. His eyes widened in anger, and he shouted, "You villains, stop hurting people!" With that, he grabbed a wooden stick and charged at the thugs.

Although Jin Dajian was courageous, he was no match for four men. He instantly engaged the three thugs in battle, their wooden sticks clashing against their steel knives with a clanging sound. Jin Dajian used all his strength, striking fiercely with his stick, and for a moment, the thugs dared not approach him easily.

However, he was ultimately outnumbered. One of the villains seized the opportunity, dodging Jin Dajian's attack and slashing at his arm with his knife. Jin Dajian couldn't dodge in time, and his arm was slashed open, blood instantly staining his sleeve.

The pain slowed Jin Dajian's movements slightly, and another thug took the opportunity to kick him in the abdomen. Jin Dajian cried out in pain, staggered back a few steps, and almost fell. But he endured the pain, raised the wooden stick again, and gritted his teeth to continue fighting the thug.

Just as Jin Dajian was gradually losing his strength and the situation was becoming increasingly critical, Zhao Tianming arrived in time with Wu Yong, Li Kui, Shi Qian and Lu Zhishen.

Zhao Tianming took the lead, rushed into the shop, and shouted: "How dare you commit violence in broad daylight!"

Li Kui, even more impatient, brandished his two battle axes and charged forward like a whirlwind, shouting, "I, Tie Niu, am here! Watch me chop down you bird thieves!"

Seeing so many people arrive, all looking menacing, the three thugs felt a pang of fear. But they were unwilling to give up so easily, so they exchanged glances and decided to fight to the death.

A villain swung his knife at Li Kui, who easily dodged it by sidestepping. At the same time, Li Kui swung his axe, striking the villain's shoulder. The villain screamed and fell to the ground.

Shi Qian moved with agility, weaving among the villains like a ghost. Taking advantage of a villain's momentary lapse in attention, he leaped forward and kicked the villain in the back, knocking him to the ground.

Lu Zhishen strode forward, stretched out his large, fan-like hand, grabbed a villain by the collar, lifted him up like a chick, and then threw him hard to the ground.

Wu Yong calmly observed the situation from the side, occasionally offering guidance to the others.

Surrounded by the crowd, the three thugs were quickly subdued. They were beaten black and blue, collapsed to the ground, and had long since dropped their steel knives.

Zhao Tianming walked up to Jin Dajian and his son and asked with concern, "Are you two alright?"

Jin Dajian clutched his injured arm, tears of gratitude streaming down his face: "Thank you all for saving us. If it weren't for you, my son and I would probably be dead today."

Old Man Jin repeatedly expressed his gratitude, saying, "We have no way to repay the great kindness and virtue of all our benefactors."

Zhao Tianming said, "When you see injustice on the road, you should help. These villains dared to commit crimes in broad daylight, so they must not be let off lightly."

Afterwards, the group tied up the three criminals and prepared to hand them over to the authorities so that they could receive the punishment they deserved.

In a dimly lit, secret room, Lu Qian paced anxiously back and forth. His forehead was covered in sweat, and his eyes revealed unease and fear.

Suddenly, a dark figure rushed in, panting heavily before even regaining his footing, and said, "Master Lu, something terrible has happened! The assassination attempt on Old Man Jin has failed!"

Upon hearing the news, Lu Qian felt as if struck by lightning. His body trembled violently, and his face instantly turned deathly pale. "What? How could we fail?" he roared in disbelief, his eyes wide.

Without a second thought, Lu Qian turned and rushed toward the door, his mind focused on one thing: escape as quickly as possible, as far away as possible.

However, he had only taken a few steps when Cai Jiu stopped him. Cai Jiu's face was gloomy, and his eyes flashed with anger and threat.

"You want to run? Hmph, do you think you can escape?" Cai Jiu said coldly.

Lu Qian stopped and turned around, looking at Cai Jiu in horror. He stammered, "Lord Cai... the assassination attempt failed. If we are found out, we're all doomed! I... I have to run for my life."

Cai Jiu stepped forward, grabbed Lu Qian's collar tightly, and said viciously, "You idiot! We're in this together now. If you run away, do you think I'll get away with it? Do you think you can escape my grasp?"

Lu Qian trembled with fear at Cai Jiu's imposing manner, his voice trembling with tears: "Lord Cai, then... then what should we do now?"

Cai Jiu released Lu Qian, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down. "What's the panic! Things aren't out of control yet. We must find a way to cover up the crime and destroy the evidence as soon as possible. As long as we do it cleanly, we might not be discovered."

Lu Qian nodded blankly, "It's all up to Lord Cai. I'll do whatever you say."

Cai Jiu glared at him: "From now on, you stay put and don't make any more moves. If you ruin my plans, I'll make you wish you were dead!"

Lu Qian replied meekly, "Yes, yes, I wouldn't dare."

Cai Jiu paced back and forth in the room, pondering a solution. Lu Qian stood to the side, barely daring to breathe, his heart filled with regret and fear. At this moment, he had completely lost his previous arrogance and only hoped to escape this calamity.