Danwu Refining Spirit

Chapter Thirty-Four: Everyone Wants to Make a Fortune

"What a generous spender! What a big spender!" the waiter exclaimed inwardly, feeling deeply ashamed of his earlier condescending attitude.

Feeling ashamed, he realized he should treat the wealthy guest before him better.

After shakily writing out the betting slip, the waiter carefully handed it to the customer, fawningly saying, "Sir, please don't take offense. I was just half asleep and didn't realize you were someone special. Here, I'll give you a VIP card, and you'll receive the most distinguished treatment here from now on. Also..."

Just as he was speaking eloquently, a gust of wind suddenly blew in from outside, knocking the guest's hat off.

"Master Qiu... Master Qiu, how could it be... it's you?" the waiter stammered, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

He recognized the guest; it was Xiao Banqiu, the martial arts instructor at the Xiao family's academy. He'd heard that Xiao Banqiu had taken the daughter of the Huang family, who owned a money exchange, as a concubine.

"Why can't it be me?" Xiao Banqiu felt that he had no way to express his bitterness.

Three months have passed. Seeing Xiao Chong thriving in the clan while he himself has accomplished nothing, the Huang family has given him an ultimatum, saying that they will no longer provide any assistance. Even Huang's daughter has moved back to her parents' home.

Adding to his woes was the penalty of a year's salary, making his life even more difficult. So when he heard that Silver Hook Casino had opened a gambling den, he immediately got the idea.

Xiao Banqiu was well aware of the vast difference in martial arts skill between Xiao Chong and Tie Changqing. He felt this was a golden opportunity to reclaim everything he had lost because of Xiao Chong.

To this end, he took out all his savings, sold all his belongings, and even took off his wife's jewelry and sent it to the pawnshop.

If it weren't for his wife's absolute refusal, he even thought that pawning her underwear wouldn't be such a bad idea.

How much would the underwear belonging to the Xiao family's martial arts instructor's wife fetch? Just thinking about it is exciting! However, his wife is too proud and even threatened to kill herself, so he had to abandon the idea and look for another way.

Having finally scraped together ten thousand taels of gold, he felt much less pressure, so he rushed to the Silver Hook Gambling House early in the morning. Of course, he kept a low profile to avoid being recognized by his clansmen; after all, as a member of the Xiao family, it wouldn't be good for people to know that he had bet his own disciple would die.

Everything was perfect, so why did a gust of wind have to come? It affects my mood.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed that his identity had been exposed, Xiao Banqiu held up the gambling ticket worth only one tael of silver and said, "Disciples trained by the Xiao family are not so easily defeated."

"No wonder you came so early, and you were acting so suspiciously. You only supported your disciple with one or two taels of silver, but secretly took out ten thousand taels of gold to gamble that your disciple would die. That's not a very ethical thing to do."

The man felt utter contempt for this shameful act of trying to cheat on his wife while simultaneously trying to absolve himself of responsibility.

But guests are always welcome, and since they've brought real money, we have to treat them well.

"Understood, completely understood." The waiter nodded knowingly and said, "Why don't you come inside with me for a while, Mr. Qiu?"

Should I sit a little longer? What if someone bumps into me? What if the news that Xiao Chong is doomed reaches the clan leader's ears? What will he think? No, this is a dangerous place. I shouldn't stay any longer. It's best to make my escape as soon as possible.

Thinking of this, Xiao Banqiu picked up his hat and covered his old face completely again, saying repeatedly, "No need, you go ahead with your work, I have other things to do."

"Despicable, shameless, treacherous..." The waiter spat angrily as he watched Xiao Banqiu walk away hastily, feeling incredibly awful. Indeed, encountering such a scoundrel first thing in the morning was bound to bring bad luck all day.

While the righteous and indignant gambling den worker was seething inside, Xiao Chong was also busy in a small courtyard in the north of the city.

"Qingmeng, the silver I brought back last time was a full thousand taels, how come there's less than a hundred taels now? Where did the rest go?"

Xiao Chong tried his best to communicate with the little girl.

"Where did you get so much? It's clearly a hundred taels." Qingmeng's eyes flickered and wavered. After a while, he suddenly shouted, "Young Master, did someone hit your head and you're still not fully recovered? Oh no, this is terrible."

"Qingmeng, please take it out. I really need it." Xiao Chong continued to persuade him earnestly.

"Young Master, you really must be mistaken. Why don't you go see a doctor first?" Qing Meng changed the subject, his attitude very firm.

"Qingmeng, do you want to get more silver? I've found a great way to make a fortune." Seeing that the little girl was unmoved, Xiao Chong changed his approach.

There's nothing we can do about it. The little girl loves money too much. If you want to get money out of her, you have to give her a bigger reason to be hopeful. Otherwise, it's harder than climbing to heaven.

Sure enough, upon hearing that there was something to be gained, Qingmeng's eyes immediately lit up with a dazzling light, and he excitedly said, "Young Master, wait here, I'll go look again, maybe there really are some left."

After saying that, she turned and ran out, bumping right into the fat man who was coming in from outside. However, she was currently preoccupied with money and chose to completely ignore the fat young master.

The fat man naturally wouldn't stoop to her level. He sat down, took a couple of deep breaths, then pulled out a few silver notes and handed them to Xiao Chong, saying with a puzzled look, "Young Master Chong, I brought it all. That's all. But what do you need so much money for?"

"You have two thousand taels of private savings? I didn't realize." Xiao Chong took the silver notes and counted them, saying, "But it's still a bit little; it won't hurt the other side at their core."

"Where would I get so much money? I had to sell one of the pills I got last time to scrape together this. You still think it's not enough?" the fat man muttered.

"You sold pills? How much did you make?"

The fat man held up one finger and said, "One thousand taels."

"Such good pills, and you're only selling them for a thousand taels? You're losing money! They should be sold for at least five thousand taels, no, ten thousand taels." Xiao Chong slapped his thigh hard, lamenting.

"Why don't you just rob it! And what do you need all this money for?" The fat man, clearly unaware of the pill's true value, jumped up in fright.

Xiao Chong didn't intend to dwell on the fat man's wasteful behavior any longer, but simply smiled mysteriously and said, "Have you heard of Silver Hook Gambling House?"

"I've heard of it. It's said that the Tie family is behind it." The fat man nodded, then suddenly realized something and asked uncertainly, "You're betting your life on this?"

"That's right, this is a rare opportunity. How could I not take advantage of it to make a quick buck and justify all my hard work?"

"Which one to bet on?" the fat man asked instinctively.

"Of course, it's the one with the highest odds! What a pity, there aren't any betting odds for me to kill Tie Changqing. That's so unprofessional." Xiao Chong looked unwilling.

After he finished speaking, he suddenly felt that the fat man's question was a bit off, and he glared at the other man and said unfriendly, "What did you mean just now? Did you think I couldn't handle that Tie Changqing guy?"