Free Web NovelChapter 456: Chapter 392: Running Wild
"You were waiting for us?" Mi Shu was greatly surprised.
"Indeed."
"How did you know we were coming?" Yang Xiao sized up Fat Steward, trying to control his microexpressions, "Do you recognize us?"
Fat Steward cracked a slight smile, revealing a mouthful of rotten teeth, "Not to hide anything from you, gentlemen, not only does our shop recognize you, but many businesses in this town know you as well. Just now, Abbot Sun from the gambling house sent someone over to report that you gentlemen have had good fortune, and have obtained a promissory note. We have already exchanged it for silver coins in advance for you gentlemen."
As he spoke, Fat Steward clapped twice, stepped aside, and then a young servant ran out from the back hall, holding a wooden box in his hands.
The surface of the box was mottled, obviously having been used for a long time. When opened, it was filled with copper coins.
"500 copper coins have already been prepared in advance for you gentlemen. Please check them; our shop operates honestly, treating both the young and old fairly, and guarantees not a penny less," said Fat Steward, squinting and handing the box of copper coins to Yang Xiao, who was leading the group.
This set of rehearsed lines sounded pleasing, and compared to the last time, Fat Steward had made great improvements, becoming more and more like a living person. However, no matter how the young servant gestured, Yang Xiao did not move and had no intention of taking the box of copper coins.
"How so, sir?" Fat Steward frowned, a trace of dissatisfaction hidden in his narrowed eyes.
"We do not want copper coins, we want gold," Yang Xiao demanded.
Upon hearing this, Fat Steward laughed heartily and quickly waved his hand, "It seems you gentlemen are new here and are not yet aware of the town’s rules. The cloth store does not accept copper coins, only copper coins. If you do not believe me, I can send someone to fetch the lady owner of the cloth store right now, and you can ask her yourself."
Having said this, Fat Steward waved his hand to call for a stupefied servant, but Yang Xiao stopped him, "No need, I know the town’s rules, but today I do not wish to buy clothes or go to the cloth store; I only want gold."
"Get me gold, immediately!" Yang Xiao’s face changed instantly, his expression turning ice cold, showing no sign of backing down. The moment had come to its final point, and he could not let Fat Steward muddle through and deceive them.
"This... it’s not that our shop won’t exchange it for you, but gold is really useless," paused Fat Steward, then tried to persuade him with a negotiating tone, "How about this, we give you less gold and make up the rest with copper coins, after all, copper coins are the real hard currency."
To make his words more convincing, Fat Steward even called a few more servants to take turns trying to brainwash Yang Xiao, but Yang Xiao was not falling for it. He decided to take a tough stance and sneered after a moment, "Don’t try those empty tricks on me. Are you telling me you don’t have enough gold in your warehouse? Impossible, impossible, such a large money house and you can’t even muster 50,000 gold ingots?"
Provoked by these sharp words, Fat Steward indeed showed cracks in his facade. Sweat streamed down his face as he might have been guessed correctly by Yang Xiao, yet he still stiffened his face and said stubbornly, "Nonsense! How could such a big money house not have this small amount of money? I’m only looking out for your best interests but if you refuse to appreciate it, then so be it."
"Go, bring out the gold ingots from our warehouse, all of them," Fat Steward complained to his subordinates while not forgetting to take the promissory note from Yang Xiao to examine it up close, his face almost touching the note, yet he could not find any fault with it until the end.
Yang Xiao was not flustered; from Fat Steward’s behavior prior, it was clear the warehouse did not have enough gold; otherwise, there was no reason for him to make so many excuses. Yang Xiao did not understand what Fat Steward was dragging his feet for—the man was clearly just stalling for time, but surely no amount of stalling would produce tens of thousands of taels of gold?
The moment Yang Xiao was puzzled, Cheng Cha and Sui Chengguo patted him on the shoulder, spoke in a hushed voice, "Be wary of trickery. Sui and I will stay here; you take Tong Han Mishu outside to check things out. Whatever happens, do not come back unless I call for you."
Yang Xiao’s expression turned odd, not entirely because of what Cheng Cha said. The other party had pinched him slightly while patting his shoulder, clearly implying a deeper message that he could not openly share.
Long ago, Yang Xiao had sensed that this young man was hiding something from him. Now it seemed to be true, but he did not sense any malicious intent from this person. To uncover the truth of the matter, Yang Xiao sent Tong Han Mishu to check the situation, explicitly instructing them not to go too far, while he chose to stay and see what Cheng Cha was really up to.
Seeing Yang Xiao unwilling to leave, Cheng Cha did not press further. At that moment, servants began emerging from the back hall one by one, each pair carrying a large wooden box that had lost its paint. The first pair of people came to Yang Xiao and with a "bang", placed the wooden box on the ground.
This scene truly stunned Yang Xiao, as the number of these wooden boxes far exceeded his expectations; there were at least a dozen, and more were continually being brought over.
Fat Steward walked over leisurely and flipped open the first box. Inside, haphazardly piled up, were yellow, glittering gold ingots, a full box so dazzling to the eyes.
Then came the second box, the third box, each one stuffed full, the gold ingots almost spilling out.
The subsequent boxes brought up were neatly arranged in the back, each box opened to reveal uniform gold ingots. This sight made the spines of the three observers chill, as they had not expected the town’s money house to be so wealthy.
"Thud."
"Thud."
"Thud."
The last three chests were also brought up and successively dropped on the floor. At this time, the hall of the money house was nearly half occupied by the chests, each filled with gold—a scene undeniably awe-inspiring.
Cheng Cha’s heart sank halfway; he hadn’t expected the plan to be so meticulous and still end in defeat. However, he refused to give up his last chance. Just as the Fat Steward was about to put away the bill and the transaction was about to be concluded, he immediately stopped the Fat Steward, "We no longer want gold, sorry, please help us exchange it for copper coins instead; copper coins are easier to carry."
Upon hearing this, the Fat Steward frowned, his voice pinched, mocking in a eunuch-like sharp tone, "Hey, why didn’t you listen when I tried to persuade you before? Now you realize you want to exchange it for copper coins?"
"Sorry, we were confused before; please don’t hold that against us, the younger generation." Under someone else’s roof, one must bow their head, and Cheng Cha was well aware of that.
"Enough, I see you know how to talk, young man. I’ll do as you wish. Someone, carry these chests of gold ingots back to the storage room and bring them 500 copper coins," the Fat Steward waved his hands, ready to tuck the bill into his sleeve, but the next second, a figure rushed up, snatching the bill from the Fat Steward’s hand—it was Yang Xiao who made his move.
The bill was snatched, and the money house steward immediately became enraged, "You... what are you doing? Open your eyes and look around, where do you think this is, you dare to go wild here?"
The next second, a dozen workers dashed forward, surrounded Yang Xiao and his company, both sides bristling with tension, and hostilities were about to erupt.
"What are you trying to do?" Cheng Cha fell back to Yang Xiao’s side and asked urgently.
Holding the bill high in his hands, Yang Xiao sneered coldly, "The previous rule stands; I want the gold."
"But your friend said he wanted to exchange for copper coins; who decides now among you two?" the Fat Steward sneered, his eyes roving between the two, finally settling on Cheng Cha, "Young man, I like you better. You give me the bill, and I’ll exchange it for copper coins for you. Whatever happened before, I’ll let it go; otherwise, you shall not get even a single copper coin!"
"I’m calling the shots here! All gold, and I’ll inspect it myself!" Yang Xiao bellowed, giving Cheng Cha not even a glance.
Yang Xiao quickly pocketed the bill close to his body and walked to the first chest, attempting to forcefully knock it over. However, the chest proved much heavier than he anticipated, and his current physical weakness meant he could not manage on his own.
Soon, Cheng Cha and Sui Chengguo ran over to help, and together they toppled the chest, spilling gold ingots all over the floor, indeed all of them were gold.
After knocking over three chests, the three men were breathless, and seeing this, the Fat Steward couldn’t resist taunting, "If you want to check, you better hurry up. I don’t have the time to stand around and chat. See that incense there? The one you burned when you entered. Before the incense burns out, you must leave; otherwise, you’ll see!"
"Yes, you’ll see!" The workers glared furiously, almost in unison exclaiming, "Coming in here and causing a scene, you really have no respect!"
With 30 or so chests containing gold and only less than one third of the incense stick remaining, there was definitely no time to check each one. Yang Xiao crafted a plan, deliberately acting weak, gestured for the workers to carry the gold chests back to the storage room. The workers happily picked out a few chests and were about to lift them when Yang Xiao suddenly shouted, "Wait, set them down!"
"Bang."
"Thud."
"Thud."
At this moment, Cheng Cha and Sui Chengguo frowned, sensing something amiss. The chests were the same size and seemingly filled with gold, hence the weight should be similar, but the sounds of the chests hitting the ground were starkly different, the first much heavier while the latter two were significantly lighter.
"Check these two, quickly!" Yang Xiao was the first to dash forward, shoving the workers aside. Together with Cheng Cha and Sui Chengguo, they overturned a chest, but alas, it spilled out shining gold ingots, a full chest of them.
"Are you trying to ruin my business?" the money house Fat Steward’s face twisted in anger, rolling up his sleeves, looking ready to teach Yang Xiao and his companions a lesson.
But Yang Xiao crouched down, picking up a gold ingot from the chest, weighed it in his hand and suddenly laughed. The next second, he violently slammed the gold ingot on the ground, scraping off the gold layer to reveal a hint of silvery white beneath. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Seeing this, the Fat Steward’s face turned green, his previously arrogant demeanor halved instantly, and Yang Xiao picked up the gold ingot from the floor, smiling as he held it in his palm to show, "Ha, a silver ingot painted with a layer of gold—well played, Steward, well played indeed."
