Contentment with modest wealth

Chapter 28 Playing with Dragon and Phoenix
Lu Jia was overjoyed.

She hadn't misjudged him; he really had arrived.

To avoid the Zhang family seeing him, Lu Jia led him into the house through the back door.

To express her heartfelt welcome, she and Qiu Niang cooked together, slicing a plate of egg rolls made in Xiangxiang, adding wood ear mushrooms, stewed pork belly strips, liver and lungs, and steaming them all in a large bowl.

I steamed another bowl of braised pork belly and fried some meatballs.

Aside from the lack of spicy dishes, this is the typical way Shawan people entertain guests.

"Does Young Master Qin like to drink? There's a distillery next door where you can get their homemade rice wine."

Because Shen Qingzhou had saved Lu Jia, Qiu Niang and Xie Yi already regarded him as an honored guest and were just afraid that they would not be able to entertain him properly.

Shen Qingzhou said, "I have been weak since childhood and dare not touch alcohol."

"Then drink more soup." Lu Jia placed a bowl of rock sugar lotus seed soup in front of him. "The lotus seeds from Huashi County were selected for the palace."

Shen Qingzhou looked at her hands, which were busy serving tea and meals, and saw that her fingers were covered in calluses.

He thought of the young ladies in the capital, even those raised by officials of the fourth or fifth rank, all of whom had delicate skin and tender flesh.

Ordinary people have large bowls of rice, and he ate two bowls, finishing more than half of the vegetables. Finally, holding the bowl of rock sugar lotus seed soup that only emperors could drink, he asked Lu Jia, "What idea have you come up with?"

Lu Jia went through so much trouble just to get to this point.

She tossed the rag she was using to wipe the table to Xie Yi, who was passing by outside the door, then sat down at one side of the square table and solemnly asked him:

How good are you at gambling?

A lotus seed got stuck in Shen Qingzhou's throat. He turned his head and asked, "What do you want to do?"

Lu Jia crossed her arms, gave a thumbs-up, pointed in the direction of the Zhang family, and then leaned back in her chair: "The family next door has three brothers, who are theoretically all my uncles, but they have been bullying us to death all these years. The bastards who intercepted me on the road last time were hired by my aunt."

Shen Qingzhou already knew that the Zhang family was scoundrels, but seeing her say it so casually, she still remained silent for a moment.

He said, "What does this have to do with gambling?"

"Although the Zhang family has split up, the estates and shops left by my maternal grandfather have not been separated and are still managed and operated by the eldest son, Zhang Qi."

"It was precisely because he managed such a large business that he was able to thrive in Shawan County, colluding with officials above and bullying us below."

"Through our efforts over the past two days, they have already turned against each other in their fight over the inheritance."

"The second and third wives are all living off the profits of the public funds. In particular, the third son, because he does not engage in production, associates with idle people and is a regular at gambling dens."

"All you have to do is run into him at the casino..."

Since he was a man of the martial arts world, he was naturally well-versed in wine, women, wealth, and power, which was why Lu Jia was so eager to wait for him to arrive.

Zhang Qi wouldn't let the second and third brothers gain any advantage, but if they were pushed to the brink, he would definitely find a way to win them over.

It was difficult to approach Zhang Qi directly, so Lu Jia changed her strategy.

Looking at her confident expression, Shen Qingzhou felt that this meal was definitely worthwhile.

He leaned back in his chair.

"Isn't this too complicated? Why don't you just give me some money? I'll take less since you treated me to dinner. Give me a tael of silver and I'll make him bankrupt."

Of course he knows how to gamble.

After all, having done so much work in secret in my past life, I needed to employ appropriate maneuvering techniques.

Conversely, the fact that he beheaded people without the slightest hesitation shows that he was not a kind person.

But if he simply wanted to shut down the Zhang family's shop, or directly bring Zhang Qi down, he had plenty of ways to do so without going through this roundabout way. Lu Jia sneered, "They've gone bankrupt, but they're not dead. They're still alive!"

"If we become penniless, they will definitely hold us hostage and never let us go, considering that we still own houses and shops. When people are desperate, they will do anything."

"In the end, you can only help me temporarily, not forever. What will we do then? If I don't take a roundabout approach, how can I conceal myself?"

Didn't she also want to crush the Zhang family in one fell swoop?
But she was short of money.

If she had money, she would hire ten or eight strong men to fight with the Zhang family every day.

If she had money, she could make even the devil do the work!
If you have no money or power, you must find every possible way to hide yourself.

Shen Qingzhou was persuaded by her.

His time in Shawan will indeed be short, at most a few months. After today's ordeal, they will have to walk their own path from now on.

He could have Guo Yi put some pressure on the government, but unfortunately, that would make it impossible to explain the cause and effect to her.

It's kind of her to think so thoroughly, so let's just go along with her and give it a try.

He asked, "Where is the gambling den?"

Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Lu Jia assumed that he had heard her asking him to find some accomplices so that she could get more money.

Upon hearing his straightforwardness, she immediately turned her elbow towards the door: "It's Fuxingfang, north of Tangxing Bridge!"

“I’ve already inquired. He’s been there every day lately. I noticed you have a northern accent, so you should pretend to be a rich guy from the north. Find a couple of your accomplices and make it look convincing…”

……

Shen Qingzhou was completely arranged by Lu Jia.

Since they needed accomplices to back them up, there wasn't enough time that night. So the two of them secretly planned to act the following night.

After Shen Qingzhou returned, he had He Qu summon Tang Yu: "You two, pretend to be my henchmen tomorrow night and come with me to the casino."

He Qu was puzzled: "Aren't we just the young master's henchmen? Why do we still need to pretend?"

Shen Qingzhou glanced at them: "Because I'm pretending too."

……

It took He Qu and Tang Yu half an hour to finally figure out that their young master had given himself the identity of a wandering swordsman these past two days.

Thus, it was discovered that the reason he adopted this identity was to get closer to "Miss Lu," who came from an ordinary family.

The game between a wealthy young master and a village girl at the docks is truly amusing!
Even their transformation from dignified guards of the Grand Commandant's mansion to street thugs was part of their game.

The following night, they set off with sticks slung across their waists, followed by Shen Qingzhou, who was dressed in a silk shirt and holding two walnuts in his hand.

Lu Jia was already waiting in the tea stall outside the gambling den.

Upon seeing the three of them, she couldn't help but praise them: "You're really reliable. These two thugs are as fierce as butchers; they look very imposing!"

For some reason, Butcher He and Butcher Tang suddenly felt a slight itch in their back molars...

"The person is inside; they've been there for a while now. Hurry up and go!"

As Lu Jia urged him on, she pulled out a few loose silver coins from her sleeve. "That's all I have. You'd better lose slowly!"

He Qu and the other man stared wide-eyed as Shen Qingzhou accepted the silver with a clear conscience and smoothly stepped into the gambling den, both inwardly exclaiming "Oh!"

It turns out that the entire gambling den was part of their elaborate scheme.

(End of this chapter)