tallest building

Chapter 107: There is a clue

Ma Ping'an learned that Shao Si usually gambled at two places: when he had money, he went to the Baoyuanfang gambling den, and when he didn't have money, he went to a clandestine gambling den run by a family surnamed An.

He first went to Baoyuanfang. In order to find out the news as soon as possible, Ma Ping'an went directly to an older employee of the gambling den.

"Sir, what can I do for you?" the waiter asked, bowing.

“Do you know someone named Shao Si?” Ma Ping’an asked.

“I recognize him. He used to come here often,” the clerk said, “but he hasn’t come in the last few months.”

"Is there anyone here who is particularly familiar with him?" Ma Ping'an asked.

“There used to be a guy with a big beard named Liu, and they used to hang out together, but lately we haven’t seen him anywhere,” the waiter said.

Ma Ping'an called over one of his men and said, "You go find Liu the Bearded Man and see where he is now. If you find him, bring him to me. I'm going to another place now."

Then he rushed to the gambling den without stopping.

In a winding alley, a skinny boy of about twelve or thirteen years old was guarding the door, furtively clinging to the door panel to prevent anyone from entering.

Ma Ping'an knew that the gambling dens didn't let just anyone in; you had to be led in by someone you knew.

He took out a few copper coins and gave them to the little monkey, saying, "Is Shao Si inside? I need to talk to him."

“Master Shao hasn’t come for a few days,” the little monkey said, his eyes lighting up as he received the copper coin. “I heard he’s made his fortune.”

Just then, an old man who looked like an old monkey came out from inside and scolded, "You indestructible beast! What are you doing, trying to strike up a conversation?"

But seeing that Ma Ping'an was well-dressed and of high status, he immediately put on a smiling face: "Sir, what brings you here, so noble as to travel to our humble abode?"

“Brother, I just want the truth,” Ma Ping’an said, not bothering with pleasantries, and went straight to the money. “Do you know where Shao Si is? If you can tell me something useful, this money is yours.”

The old man was Anxi, who ran an illegal gambling den. He was naturally happy to see the money and hurriedly said, "Shao Si only came here in the last two months. He didn't like this place at first, but later he ran out of money and had to find a place to make do..."

He rambled on for a while, but seeing Ma Ping'an's cold face, he finally got to the point: "His previous situation was really bad; he lost so much that he almost lost his pants."

But suddenly one day he became rich, buying wine and meat, and stayed at my place for a whole day and night.

He was winning at first, then he lost. But he didn't even blink, and said it was all small change.

"Of course, my wins and losses here aren't much, but he lost a full twenty taels that time!"

"When did this happen?" Ma Ping'an interrupted him and asked.

“I remember it very clearly, it was the second day of this month,” Anxi said. “After that, he stopped coming here to play.”

"He didn't say why he became rich?"

“Sigh, of course we had to ask. But he wouldn’t tell us the details, only that he met a benefactor.” Anxi sniffed. “I really don’t know how he got so lucky.”

Do you know where he went?

"Who knows? He can spend his money anywhere, but he certainly won't stay in my area." Anxi's words carried a hint of regret. "Do you know that guy with the big beard, Qi?"

“I know, I know, now that you mention it, I really do remember. That Qi the Bearded hasn’t been here lately. He used to spend all his time here,” Anxi said. “The two of them are like brothers. I guess Shao Si made his fortune and took Qi the Bearded with him to have some fun.”

"I want to know where those two people are now. What you've said isn't very useful," Ma Ping'an said, trying to put the silver back in his pocket.

"Sir, if I say something useful, could you give me the silver?" the little monkey said timidly. He was afraid Anxi would beat him, but he couldn't resist the temptation of the silver.

"Tell me about it." Ma Ping'an stopped putting the silver in his pocket.

“Shao Si has a lover,” the little monkey said with a wicked grin, “who is Widow Ma from Zao’er Lane. Even if others don’t know where Shao Si is, she certainly does.”

“Yes, yes, I’m getting old and my brain isn’t working as well anymore,” Anxi said with some annoyance. “I’ll take you to Widow Ma’s place right now.”

Ma Ping'an tossed a small piece of silver to the little monkey, then said to Anxi, "Don't let this get out of the way. If I find Shao Si, it'll be more than just this little bit of silver."

An Xixing led Ma Ping'an and the others to Zao'er Lane.

Ma Ping'an instructed him: "You know him, so scout out the way for us first."

Ma Ping'an knew that Shao Si would definitely find a place to hide after doing something wrong. If he was really hiding at his lover's place, seeing a stranger knocking on the door would alert him.

Anxi knocked on the door for a long time, and then heard a woman cursing inside.

"Is this a death announcement? Knocking on and on! I wonder which starving ghost has wandered into my doorstep to deliver a death message!"

“Sister-in-law Ma, it’s me,” Anxi said with a sly grin, peeking through the crack in the door. “I need to talk to you.”

With a clatter, the door latch was pulled open from the inside, and a woman around forty years old, wearing brightly colored clothes and rouge, stood inside.

No matter how thick the makeup, it couldn't cover the wrinkles on her face, and although her clothes were brightly colored, the fabrics were all of inferior quality.

"It's Brother An!" The rich man's anger vanished instantly, replaced by a sweet, cloying smile. "What brings you here?"

"Is Brother Shao Si here? I have something important to discuss with him." Anxi added, "It really is something important."

"Damn it, it's better not to mention him at all. Why bring up that short-lived, heartless bastard?" Widow Ma spat on the spot. "Don't let me see him again in this lifetime, or I'll rip his guts out!"

"He's really not here with you?" Anxi was greatly disappointed.

Ma Ping'an just gave the little monkey more than two taels of silver. If he brings them here and they really find Shao Si, then he'll have to pay back at least five taels!

To be honest, Anxi has saved up several hundred taels of silver for her coffin by now.

But he was born greedy. Let alone a few taels of silver, even a copper coin or two would be something he would eagerly fish out of the oil and put into his own purse.

"He's doing just fine here with me, why do I need debt collectors coming to me three or four times to collect debts?" Widow Ma complained bitterly. "When he was down on his luck, I helped him out so much, but now that he's suddenly rich, he's just dumped me. That heartless bastard!"

Ma Ping'an, along with a few others, hid around a corner. Still somewhat uneasy after listening to the conversation between the two, he gestured to his men, "Go in and search thoroughly to see if Shao Si is hiding here."