Film & TV: Public Enemy of Justice

The shopkeeper patiently explained to him, "Although the workmanship of this piece of jade is very fine, its quality is not very good. You can see there are flaws here, so the price is a bit lower."

The scholar thought for a moment and said, "Then please tell me how much this is worth now. Give me a price, and I'll sell it to you if I'm willing."

The shopkeeper took it and examined it carefully again, then gave the scholar an estimated price.

After hearing this, the scholar said, "Could you please raise the price a bit more? I really need the money urgently. I have to go to take the imperial examination, and I came here because I have no money for the journey."

The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "Would you like it as a 'live' or 'dead' pawn? If it's a 'dead' pawn,' I might be able to raise the price a little. If it's a 'live' pawn,' then the price is as it is."

The scholar seemed to have made a great decision and said to the shopkeeper, "Since that's the case, you can stay with me. Since I've fallen on hard times, I won't keep you here."

So after the shopkeeper took the jade back, he added some silver to the money and gave him all the money.

The scholar was very sad and left the pawnshop. The shopkeeper looked at the scholar, sighed, and then turned back to the pawnshop.

After returning, Zhu Jian explained everything to Lin Yaoxie and the others.

The group sat in a teahouse across from the pawnshop, drinking tea and discussing the matter.

Lin Yaoxie said, "Since that's the case, let's stop speculating and go back to this pawnshop and restore everything to normal." "Let's go straight to his ledgers and make sure he doesn't have time to falsify accounts. That way, we can see his true nature most clearly."

So these four girls, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, naturally wouldn't object to their master's words.

620 then followed their master and restored all their clothes to their previous state, before swaggering into the pawnshop.

At this moment, the shopkeeper came out to greet them again and found that it was the same young master who had just come in.

Moreover, there were four girls following behind him. When he took a closer look, he was shocked and quickly walked over.

He said to the four girls, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, "So it's Elder Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju who have arrived. I am truly sorry for not welcoming you properly. Please forgive me, Elder."

Lin Yaoxie then swaggered and sat down on a chair inside the pawnshop.

At that moment, the shop owner felt that something seemed off.

Chapter 427 Testing the Shopkeeper

So he hurriedly asked the four elders, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, "Elders, may I ask who this young man is? He seems to have been to my shop before."

The four young ladies, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, didn't hide anything from him and said, "Shopkeeper, why don't you quickly greet the Palace Master of our Lingjiu Palace, the Great Hero Lin Yaoxie?"

Who is this shopkeeper? He sees all sorts of people every day.

He never imagined that the master of Lingjiu Palace would look like this, so handsome and dashing.

Because he had pawned things here before, the shopkeeper recognized him at a glance.

He understood everything now; it turned out that the palace master had come to test him.

So the shopkeeper hurriedly came to Lin Yaoxie, kowtowed and greeted him, and then said, "This subordinate pays respects to the Palace Master of Lingjiu Palace."

Lin Yaoxie said to the shopkeeper, "Please rise, shopkeeper. I, the Palace Master, am just passing through and have come to see how our Lingjiu Palace's own property is being managed."

"Is that alright?"

"Please bring out all your account books, sir. We need to take stock of this pawnshop."

The shopkeeper quickly stood up and said to Lin Yaoxie, "Since the Palace Master wants to take stock of the pawnshop, when should I hand over the account books?"

"Because our pawnshop has been open for more than ten years, we have a lot of account books."

Lin Yao said with a wicked smile, "I only look at today's accounts. Bring me today's ledger so I can take a look." The shopkeeper didn't dare to delay.

He quickly returned behind the counter and handed the newly recorded ledger to Lin Yaoxie.

"Lin Yaoxie took it and examined it carefully. The items he collected, as well as the prices he paid, were all exactly the same as the prices that Lin Yaoxie and his group had in their possession."

"This shows that the shopkeeper is honest and not greedy."

Lin Yaoxie looked at the shopkeeper and said, "In that case, how's business at our pawnshop? What valuable items have you acquired recently?"

The shopkeeper smiled and said to Lin Yaoxie, "Then please come with me to the back storeroom. We have all our things there, both the dead and the living."

So Lin Yaoxie, the shopkeeper, and the four girls, Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju, all followed him to the back storeroom.

The items inside the warehouse were arranged very neatly and in a very organized manner, making everything easy to see at a glance.

Everything was clearly labeled with the date it was received and what it was.

Lin Yaoxie noticed at a glance that the items they had brought today were all neatly arranged on a shelf.

It seems that this owner manages the pawnshop very well, with a very clear sense of order, making him a rare talent.

After looking at it, Lin Yaoxie said to the shopkeeper, "I'll take this jade pendant; it's something I really like."

"I am very satisfied with you as the manager. From now on, you should do your best for our Lingjiu Palace."

After hearing Lin Yaoxie's words, the shopkeeper understood everything.

Meanwhile, Mei Jian, Lan Jian, Zhu Jian, and the others went to retrieve the items they had just pawned.

Then they returned all the silver that the shopkeeper had given them, and the shopkeeper immediately understood.

Those customers from earlier were all elders in disguise; it seems they were there to test me.

Chapter 428 Don't let the news leak out

This means that he has been recognized by the Palace Master of Lingjiu Palace and these elders; otherwise, he would probably be beheaded by now.

After accepting the silver, the shopkeeper didn't beat around the bush and directly said to Lin Yaoxie, "Since I have passed the tests of the elders and the palace master..."

"I hope everyone trusts me, and I will serve Lingjiu Palace wholeheartedly."

Lin Yao smiled wickedly at the shopkeeper and said, "Since you're a smart man, I won't waste any more words with you."

620 "Since you are able to dedicate yourself wholeheartedly to our Lingjiu Palace, I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

"You know the consequences of betraying me. I, Lin Yaoxie, guarantee you'll pay the price, and I believe you absolutely don't want to bear that price."

After hearing this, the shopkeeper bowed to Lin Yaoxie and said, "Don't worry, Palace Master, I will do my best for Lingjiu Palace and will not let down the elders and Palace Master's trust in me."

Lin Yaoxie carefully inspected his storeroom again and said, "You manage this place very well. It's very organized and easy to understand. I'm very satisfied with you as the manager. Keep up the good work."

"Don't worry, as long as you do your job well for me, I will definitely not treat you unfairly. I will give you a big bonus at the end of the year."

After hearing this, the shopkeeper quickly thanked Lin Yaoxie: "Then thank you very much for your kindness, Palace Master. Don't worry, I will definitely not let you down."

"By the way, Palace Master and Elders, you haven't eaten yet, have you? Let me take you to the most famous restaurant in our area to have a meal, so I can show you some hospitality."

Indeed, Lin Yaoxie and his companions had been traveling at breakneck speed and hadn't had a proper meal yet. They had only sat in the teahouse and drunk a few sips of tea.

Since they couldn't refuse the shopkeeper's hospitality, they went along, and the shopkeeper then gave instructions to the shop's employees.

He told the shop assistants to keep a close eye on the shop, and then he and Lin Yaoxie went to a restaurant across the street.

The shopkeeper treated Lin Yaoxie and the four elders with exceptional hospitality.

During the meal, the shopkeeper specifically mentioned that he was puzzled as to why there were so many customers today, and why they were all unsold.

Unexpectedly, it was several elders and the palace master who came to test his loyalty.

Mei Jian said from the side, "Congratulations, shopkeeper, you have passed the test. If you hadn't passed today, our test would have been different."

"I believe you've already figured out that there's no chance of you sitting here with us. You've probably already been killed by our Palace Master."

"I hope you don't let this slip. Our master and I plan to investigate all of Lingjiu Palace's properties along the way."

"This is only our second stop, so we hope you cherish your happy life now."

The shopkeeper assured him that he would absolutely not let the news slip; how could he possibly have the guts?

He had heard of the legendary hero Lin Yaoxie before, and after seeing him today, he realized that Lin Yaoxie was not only famous in the martial arts world.

And unexpectedly, he turned out to be a business genius with a natural talent for doing business.

Chapter 429 A Warm Invitation

Moreover, he was resourceful and able to devise these methods to test whether others were loyal to him.

Just then, the food was served, and the innkeeper quickly called them over, urging them to eat.

After all, it was already this late, and no one had eaten, so Lin Yaoxie and the others didn't stand on ceremony.

They sat down and started eating. The food at this restaurant was really good, and Lin Yaoxie was very satisfied with his meal.

So Lin Yaoxie talked to the shopkeeper about their pawnshop business and some of their management practices.

After the shopkeeper finished talking about these things, Lin Yaoxie gave him a lot of advice, asking him to make the best of a good impression of the pawnshop.

After listening, the shopkeeper was particularly impressed by Lin Yaoxie's observational skills. He then walked around the shop.

He discovered so many problems, and he said he would humbly listen to Lin Yaoxie's words.

After returning home, he would correct all the shortcomings of the pawnshop.

After listening to their palace master, Lin Yaoxie, talk about his business acumen, the shopkeeper had a very good impression of Lin Yaoxie.

They agreed with his insights, and the group happily ate the meal before returning to their pawnshop.

At this moment, the shopkeeper asked them, "May I ask when you, Palace Master and the four elders, arrived?"

Lin Yao said with a wicked smile, "We arrived yesterday and stayed at the inn near you."

Only then did the shopkeeper realize that their palace master and the four elders had arrived so early, having been secretly observing him for a long time.

So the innkeeper smiled and said, "Since we're already back at our pawnshop, let's not stay at that inn anymore. I'll order someone to clean up the rooms in the back right away."

"You gentlemen can stay at our pawnshop. I'll stay in the house behind the pawnshop."

"My family and wife are there too. I'll let you try my wife's cooking then. She's an absolute culinary genius."

Upon hearing the innkeeper's warm invitation, Lin Yaoxie replied, "Alright, then I'll trouble you, innkeeper, to prepare a few rooms for us. We'll stay here for a few days and then leave."

0..oo Requesting flowers.

After hearing that Lin Yaoxie and the others had agreed to stay in the backyard of the pawnshop.

The shopkeeper immediately ordered his men to clean the backyard thoroughly.

When his wife heard that the master and elders of their Lingjiu Palace were coming and would be staying in the backyard, she was overjoyed and had the best rooms cleaned spotless.

He also prepared a table of special home-style dishes, waiting for his husband and these distinguished guests to arrive.

..0

Lin Yaoxie and his group spent the entire afternoon in the pawnshop, observing its daily operations and learning about its connections.

So Lin Yaoxie quickly learned about some of the unknown things involved.