Ink Burns

Chapter 56 The Gambler's Bet

When it comes to making counterfeit drugs, Cheng Xinghe is an expert at it and he suddenly feels more confident.

Now that he had learned the method of achieving the best of both worlds, he was confident and his mind became brighter: "Yes! Yes! If an epidemic comes, our Cheng family will open a charity and only charge a small consultation fee. We will not prescribe any medicine, but only boil the medicine soup. Even if they use inferior or fake medicine, we will have no way to sue them!"

Lord Liu raised his teacup and toasted from a distance, congratulating before the event was even completed: "This young man is teachable."

Perhaps the atmosphere was good enough, Cheng Xinghe dared to ask this question in front of the father he just met: "I know what it means to send medicine to the capital. But I am too stupid to understand the true meaning of your father opening the city gates and letting the disease in."

Lord Liu was brief and to the point, and said with a smile, "This year, our diligent Lord Bai should be evaluated."

Ministers of provincial governments are evaluated every two years. If they get two excellent grades for four consecutive years, they can be promoted half a rank. If they are evaluated poorly in the first year, they will be demoted half a rank and transferred away from their original place, mostly to provincial capitals in the southeast and southwest. Their official career will be hasty and their half-life will be short.

“If the state under his jurisdiction has thousands of casualties due to the epidemic, can he still get a “good”?”

Lord Liu smiled calmly: "Pack your things as soon as possible and get out of Jiangnan!"

Cheng Xinghe was a little scared: thousands of people were injured and sick, just to get the new prefect out of Songjiang Prefecture
Lord Liu is over sixty years old, his hair and beard are white, and his temples are silver. He rests one hand on the back of the armchair and looks at Cheng Xinghe with a look of indifference.

For example, look at the son born to the housekeeper.

Although it is humble, it still represents some kind of affection.

Then he said a few more words: "When the officialdom is overthrown, what does human life mean? You fight me, I fight you, is it just a war of words?"

"When civil officials quarrel, this is already a big deal. When military generals fight, it's even more brutal, with corpses floating thousands of miles away and entire counties and villages slaughtered. Military households fight in hand-to-hand combat, with their flesh and blood shattered and their lives in danger. The generals who caused the dispute send envoys to each other and shake hands to make peace. Those military households who died on the battlefield are simply buried on the spot, and even a tombstone is out of reach. Such tragic events are everywhere - in the face of power struggles, the flesh and blood of civilians is the best tonic."

Lord Liu casually stepped back and said, "If you want to climb up, greed alone is not enough. You also need a ruthless heart, ruthless hands, sharp eyes, and a tight mouth. All of these are indispensable."

Cheng Xinghe's blood rushed to his head and he felt his whole body boiling, as if he was in a situation where he could make clouds and rain with just a flip of his hand.

Lord Liu crossed his hands cheerfully and asked casually, "Eight years ago, it was you who followed Lady Suiyuan to Mount Fushou?"

Cheng Xinghe hurriedly nodded his head and said yes.

Lord Liu smiled and said, "I want to ask you, after the 34 piglets died, did you send people to kill all the people in their families and wipe out the roots?"

Cheng Xinghe was shocked: "No, never."

Master Liu tapped the back of his hand with his index finger and said, "You see, you are really not ruthless enough. I have already taken care of these matters for you. I have also cancelled the piglet's household registration and name card. Even the most prominent and interested person will not be able to find out where he came from. This is the mindset of someone who can accomplish great things."

Cheng Xinghe blinked in horror.

Lord Liu's smile faded, and he got back to the point, emphasizing: "Within ten days, the good medicine will be shipped, the fake medicine will be put into the warehouse, and the warehouse will be opened for disaster relief. Can you do it?"

Cheng Xinghe nodded immediately and said, "I already have two carriages at home. If they are not enough, we can go find a horse shop that we are familiar with and rent five or six more."

Lord Liu waved his hand and said, "When the carriage arrives in Beijing, I will arrange for someone to contact you. The carriage pass will also be stamped with the official seal for you to ensure that you have a smooth journey - go now."

Cheng Xinghe put the prescription into his collar and immediately walked out hunched over.

Cheng Xinghe was in extreme excitement and had no idea that Lord Liu only paid a cup of pre-rain Longjing tea, but in return he received seven or eight planes of good medicine shipped to Beijing, the Cheng family's desperate loyalty, and the reckless attack on political enemies.

Lord Liu didn't promise anything, didn't agree to anything, but a cup of tea and a word "my son" deceived Cheng Xingyu into feeling elated.

The son and the father, who uses whom, and who is used by whom, has been an unsolved mystery since ancient times. ******
When Cheng Xinghe got on the carriage, Shanyue was already waiting there. Cheng Xinghe stepped onto the horse with excitement in his eyes and ordered the coachman to go to the warehouse in Dongchizi on the outskirts of the city first. The warehouse covered an area of about half an acre and had more than ten small houses built in it. The roofs were covered with oil paper and moss to block out the light.

Shan Yuejing followed Cheng Xingyu and watched him jump three feet high like a grasshopper in autumn. He patrolled everywhere and ordered: "Hurry up these few days. Wrap the Xanthium sibiricum, Sanhuang, Pulsatilla striata, and Rehmannia glutinosa in oil paper and load them onto the truck at night. Send them to the capital in five days!"

The carriage then arrived at the West Pond on the outskirts of the city, which was much more hidden than the East Pond warehouse. After turning more than a dozen corners, it arrived at a huge cave.

Here, Cheng Xinghe did not allow Shanyue to accompany him.

Shanyue stood beside the carriage with his hands hanging down, standing with the coachman.

A few old men from the village not far away were guarding the cave entrance out of boredom. When they saw their boss had gone into the cave and couldn't come out for a while, they were setting up the wooden boards again and playing dice against the clock.

The groom's eyes unconsciously drifted towards the cave entrance, and a clear female voice came to his ear: "I guess it's big."

The groom immediately retorted: "Three consecutive bets were big, how can that be so weird, I bet on small!"

After he finished speaking, he realized what was happening, turned his head and looked at Shan Yue, and immediately muffled his voice: The kitchen was just punished by the eldest young master for gambling with wine, and he repeatedly ordered that the servants in the house were not allowed to gamble - this woman is the eldest young master's favorite, and if he gambles big or small in front of this woman, he will definitely get into trouble.
Shan Yue said with a smile: "It is so strange. I bet this is not only a big one, but even a big leopard."

Big leopard means all six.

The groom sneered, "Is it so easy to defeat a big leopard?"

Shanyue raised his chin slowly, and saw the old woman sitting in the bank loosen her hand and open the lid, revealing six sixes!

The groom turned and looked at Shanyue with shock and admiration.

Shan Yue smiled and said, "The dealer lost in the previous few rounds. According to the odds and the amount of money he invested in this round, he must shake out a full circle of big leopards to recover the money he lost in the previous few rounds and barely make back his investment."

"He's cheating!" the groom shouted.

Shan Yue smiled and said, "It's rare that there is a Qian family with such good skills in this village..." Then he changed the subject and lowered his voice, with a bit of temptation: "Uncle Jiang, do you want to gamble with them?"

The groom's surname is also Jiang.

The three brothers of the Jiang family were all born in Shewei Village. The eldest was the gatekeeper, the second was a groom, and the third was guarding the warehouse in Dongchi.

Jiang Er shook his head like a rattle: "That's not a terrible loss!"

Shan Yue smiled and said, "I'll help you."

Then he said, "I have a little girl in my room who is also very good at martial arts. I will take her with me. You can call Uncle Jiang and Uncle Jiang, and we will get five people together. They also have five people. Ten people will bet fifty copper coins as the capital, and the odds are one to three. We will take turns to be the banker. I will help you get enough pocket money for going to the capital."

Jiang Er's eyes brightened: "When do you think it would be a good time to meet?"

Shan Yue smiled and said, "At nightfall in five days, right? On that day, they should also escort the carriage to the Dongchizi warehouse. Gambling overnight is just something they do along the way."

As soon as Shan Yue finished speaking, Cheng Xinghe came out of the cave while giving instructions: "Five days later, call the people in the village to send all the things I just mentioned to the Dongchizi warehouse. Do it secretly. If someone catches you, I will dig up your ancestors' graves!"

Jiang Er looked at Shan Yue with a gleaming gaze, as if he was watching the God of Gamblers descend to the world. He hid his hand in his sleeve and gave a thumbs up, praising in a low voice: "Amazing, absolutely, a true God!"

(End of this chapter)