A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Zhang Youfu's eyes twitched uncontrollably as he watched Zhao Daxuan slowly walk towards him. He couldn't help but swallow hard, his throat bobbing up and down.

After approaching Zhang Youfu, Zhao Daxuan reached out and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up with a little force.

Zhang Youfu, who was fair-skinned and chubby and weighed nearly 200 pounds, was easily lifted into the air.

His face flushed red, his pupils contracted violently and uncontrollably, his feet kicked wildly off the ground, and his hands instinctively tried to pry Zhao Daxuan's hands off his collar.

Seeing Zhang Youfu, who had just been arrogant and domineering, now like a lamb to the slaughter, Zhao Daxuan suddenly lost interest. He let go of Zhang Youfu's hand, and Zhang Youfu fell to the ground with a thud, panting heavily, looking at the man in front of him in terror.

Zhao Daxuan bent down and picked up a long knife from the ground. He patted the blade against Zhang Youfu's fair face, and the cold touch made Zhang Youfu shiver.

"Zhang Youfu, can you return my silver now?"

Zhao Daxuan's voice wasn't loud, but every word reached Zhang Youfu's ears clearly.

Zhang Youfu's lips trembled, but he nodded without thinking.

"Yes...yes, I'll have someone go and get it right away."

After saying this, Zhang Youfu stood up, pointed at the servant outside the door, and angrily said, "Hurry up and fetch Master Zhao's silver, and tell the accountant that I said so!"

Upon hearing this, the servant who had been watching from outside the door turned around and ran towards the accounting room.

Soon, a middle-aged scholar-looking man arrived hurriedly with several servants carrying a box.

Upon entering the room, he saw thugs groaning all over the floor and Zhao Daxuan with his clothes torn. He was startled, but still braced himself and stepped forward, taking out a stack of silver notes and handing them to Zhang Youfu.

"Manager Zhang, as you instructed, we have brought over all the cash from the treasury, totaling one thousand taels of silver, plus these two thousand taels of silver notes."

Zhang Youfu took the silver note, glanced at it, and then handed it to Zhao Daxuan with both hands, saying with a bitter face, "Lord Zhao, this is all the cash our Jubaofang has. Please take a look."

Zhao Daxuan took them and looked at them. There were four silver notes from Sihai Bank, each with a face value of five hundred taels. Sihai Bank was located all over the Great Xia Kingdom, and its silver notes were the most reliable paper money in the country.

He casually stuffed the two thousand taels of silver notes into his pocket, walked over to the wooden box carried by two servants, opened it, and found a box full of gleaming silver ingots.

After closing the box, Zhao Daxuan looked at Zhang Youfu again and said in a deep voice, "No problem, I'll accept these, but your Jubaofang still owes me 1,080 taels!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Youfu's face stiffened, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Lord Zhao, this is indeed all the cash we have."

Zhao Daxuan stared intently into Zhang Youfu's eyes for a long while before changing the subject: "No cash? That's fine, just offer goods as payment!"

Hearing Zhao Daxuan's relentless insistence, Zhang Youfu's face grew even uglier: "Lord Zhao, do you know that one of the owners behind my Jubao Fang is a prominent figure in the city guard? Aren't you afraid of offending him?"

Zhao Daxuan shrugged, looking indifferent.

"I, Zhao, didn't steal or rob; I just took back my own silver. What's wrong with that? You, on the other hand, owe me this 1080 taels. If you don't pay it back today, I'll smash up your shop!"

Seeing that Zhao Daxuan was so unyielding, Zhang Youfu was quite exasperated. After a moment of silence, he said, "How about this, Lord Zhao? We'll use a house and two shops to settle the debt with the rest of your money, how about that?"

Zhao Daxuan showed an interested expression.

Tell me in detail about your house and shop.

Zhang Youfu recalled for a moment before introducing the house to Zhao Daxuan: "This house is located in a prime area in the east of the city. Not only is the environment safe and quiet, but it's also a two-story courtyard house with a side yard. It's quite valuable and definitely befits your status!"

He paused, then added, "As for the shop, it's also located in the east of the city. Although it's not in a prime location, the two shops are right next to each other, and can be combined for sharing if needed. It's truly a rare find. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Daxuan pondered for a moment, then nodded with an expression that suggested he would suffer a small loss, saying, "I won't make things difficult for you. I'll accept the small loss and do as you arrange. Bring me the land deed."

Zhang Youfu was powerless to refute at this point, and waved his hand to tell the middle-aged accountant to bring the land deed.

Just as the accountant turned around, Zhao Daxuan suddenly called out again, "Wait a minute!"

Zhang Youfu's face fell as he looked at Zhao Daxuan and asked, "Lord Zhao, what is it now?"

Zhao Daxuan pointed to Li Tiezhu behind him, who was still quite frightened by the fight, and said, "And my brother, he also pawned two taels of silver. You gave him 102 taels in change, and don't tell me you don't even have that much silver now!"

Zhang Youfu gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, we'll arrange it all at once!"

Soon, the accountant brought over several land deeds and a silver bag. After Zhao Daxuan took it, he first weighed the bag in his hand, and it seemed that nothing was missing. He then casually tossed it to Li Tiezhu, who was standing next to him.

"Tiezhu, check it yourself, make sure nothing is missing."

Li Tiezhu caught the money bag that Zhao Daxuan threw to him with both hands. Feeling its weight, the hesitation and tension in his heart just now had long since vanished.

He carefully opened the bag and counted the money one by one. There were ten ten-tael silver ingots and two one-tael pieces of broken silver. He couldn't help but grin. He had never seen so much money in his life.

Zhao Daxuan glanced at the land deed in his hand, and after confirming that it was correct, he casually stuffed it into his pocket, looked at Zhang Youfu, and grinned.

"I thank Manager Zhang in advance, and I'll take my leave now!"

Zhang Youfu looked at Zhao Daxuan with a complicated expression. "It was Manager Zhang who got the money, but it was Zhang Youfu who was beating people earlier."

"I hope Lord Zhao won't regret his decision today!"

Zhao Daxuan smiled slightly. If he was afraid of this and that, he might as well go home and farm!

Zhao Daxuan gripped the handle of the wooden box containing the silver with one hand, and with a gentle lift, he effortlessly lifted the box, which weighed a full hundred pounds.

He waved to Li Tiezhu, turned and left. As soon as he left the room, the servants and gamblers who had been watching the commotion outside automatically made way for him.

Zhao Daxuan and Li Tiezhu went straight out of Jubao Fang. It was already late, so Zhao Daxuan didn't say anything more to Li Tiezhu. He just gave him a few simple instructions and then prepared to leave.

"Tiezhu, keep the silver safe, don't be stingy with it. Come find me in a few days, I need your help. It's getting late, I'll head back now."

Upon hearing this, Li Tiezhu nodded vigorously and said firmly, "Brother Xuan, don't worry, I'll definitely come to find you in a few days. You should go back now and not keep your wife waiting!"

When Zhao Daxuan rushed back to the Zhao family residence, Li Shishi and her sister had already prepared a meal and were waiting for him to return.

Zhao Daxuan put the box on the ground with a "bang!" which kicked up a cloud of dust.

Seeing this, the two sisters gathered around, looking at the box with curiosity. When Zhao Daxuan saw the two women approaching, he lifted the lid of the box, revealing the gleaming silver inside.

Li Shishi exclaimed in surprise, quickly covered her mouth, and hurriedly stepped forward to put the lid back on. She looked around to make sure no one else had seen before letting out a sigh of relief.

"My lord, don't you know that wealth shouldn't be flaunted?"

Zhao Daxuan smiled slightly and said, "How much silver is this? Look at this!"

As he spoke, he took out two thousand taels of silver notes from his pocket and handed them over.

Li Shishi took it and stared wide-eyed. Li Weiwei leaned over and was stunned when she saw what it was.

Two thousand taels of silver notes from Sihai Money Shop, plus this box on the ground containing about a thousand taels, that's a total of three thousand taels of silver.

Li Shishi and her sister felt dizzy. When had they ever seen so much silver?

Although we were well-off at home before, we relied on a steady stream of income and had high expenses, so we never had this much cash in savings.

"Husband, what is this money for?"

Zhao Daxuan had not told the two women how much he had bet at Jubao Fang, so the amount of money he received was far beyond their expectations.

Zhao Daxuan then told the two women about his previous bet, which cleared up their doubts.

Li Shishi repeatedly told Zhao Daxuan to hide the silver well and not let outsiders know about it.

Zhao Daxuan readily agreed, and as he tucked the silver notes into his pocket, he instantly stored them in his storage space.

Afterwards, the group had dinner, and Zhao Daxuan pulled the two sisters into his room for more intimate interactions.

[Ding! Activated...]

Strength +1, Spirit +1.