Chapter 14

Facing Li Qi's aggressive stance, Cai Laosan was truly in a difficult position, caught between a rock and a hard place! If he invited these two beggars in, he would be laughed to death. But if he didn't invite them, he would be cursed to death. Either way, it was a lose-lose situation.

If he could, he would have immediately ordered someone to beat Li Qi up and throw him into the Bian River to feed the fish, but he didn't dare to do so, nor could he, at least not now, with so many eyes watching him.

At this moment, a person suddenly ran out from inside the building and whispered a few words into Cai Laosan's ear. As he listened, Cai Laosan nodded vigorously, but his forehead was already drenched in cold sweat.

After speaking, the person didn't stay but ran back inside.

After the person left, Cai Laosan instructed the thug holding the silver, "Why don't you quickly take the reward silver to this young man?"

The thug was taken aback but immediately reacted, respectfully placing the silver in front of Chen Anan.

Chen Anan grunted, took the silver, and handed it to Li Qi, saying, "Brother, this silver is too heavy. Please help me keep it."

What a clever kid! Li Qi chuckled, rubbed his hands, took the silver, and patted his chest, promising, "Of course, you can rest assured. I will keep it safe for you."

Disgust!

Intense disgust!

The so-called scholars, upon hearing Li Qi and Chen Anan's exchange, felt their intelligence severely insulted and shot Li Qi disdainful looks.

In fact, Li Qi had already discussed with Chen Anan that he would eat the food and take the silver. He was short on capital, so he wouldn't be so kind as to give away the hard-earned silver. However, he had a good impression of Chen Anan and wanted to give him a small portion, but he was afraid that some bad people might harm them because of it. He whispered to Chen Anan, "Stay here for a few days. After you've enjoyed everything, come to the Drunken Immortal Inn across the street to find me. I'm Li Qi. Remember, don't tell anyone this."

Chen Anan, though he didn't understand why Li Qi said this, knew that Li Qi wouldn't harm him. He nodded and said, "Brother Li, I understand."

"Two esteemed guests, please come in," Cai Laosan said with a forced smile, gesturing to the door.

"Sir, thank you so much. I really don't know how to repay you," the old woman, who seemed to have gone from hell to heaven, looked at Li Qi with tears in her eyes, almost sobbing.

Li Qi smiled and said, "Madam, don't thank me. Thank Mr. Cai." He glanced at Cai Laosan.

Cai Laosan's face turned a deep red, but he couldn't say a word, feeling extremely frustrated.

Li Qi smiled slightly, ignored him, and handed the old woman to Chen Anan, patting his back and saying, "Go on, take good care of your mother."

"Okay! Brother Li, rest assured, I will take good care of my mother."

Chen Anan, with red eyes, looked at Li Qi one last time and then followed the two servants inside.

After they went in, Li Qi let out a sigh of relief. With so many people watching, Cai Laosan wouldn't dare to do anything inside. He looked at the white silver in his hand, smiled broadly, put it in his chest, and bowed to Cai Laosan, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Cai. I'll take my leave."

"Sir, please wait," Cai Laosan said, stopping Li Qi.

Li Qi frowned and asked, "What? Do you want to go back on your word?"

"No, no, it's just that my master wants to invite you upstairs for a chat," Cai Laosan explained hurriedly.

Li Qi's gaze suddenly shifted upstairs, and for a moment, he seemed to see a figure moving. A strange smile appeared on his lips as he bowed to Cai Laosan, "I appreciate Mr. Cai's kindness, but I have something important to do." As he said this, Li Qi suddenly pointed behind Cai Laosan and shouted, "Hey? Mr. Cai, why are you coming down?"

Everyone turned around, but there was no sign of Mr. Cai.

Damn, he fell for it! Cai Laosan was momentarily stunned, then quickly reacted. He turned around and saw Li Qi's figure disappear in the crowd.

Li Qi came and went as he pleased, earning a hundred taels of silver with a wave of his hand. This made everyone curious, and they started asking each other, but no one knew him.

Li Qi didn't go straight back to the Drunken Immortal Inn. Instead, he wandered around like a headless fly, only stopping to catch his breath when he was sure no one was following him. He leaned against a wall, took a deep breath, wiped his sweat, and said, "Damn! That was close!" He had fled not to act like a high-minded person but because he was genuinely afraid.

He had been in the Northern Song Dynasty for less than a month and didn't know the local customs. He had dared to confront Cai Laosan for Chen Anan and his mother not just out of righteousness but because he relied on the scholars and students watching. He knew that even if Cai Laosan was arrogant and powerful, he wouldn't dare to do anything to him in front of so many people, especially with Mr. Cai above.

Facing Cai Laosan, Li Qi could handle it, but facing Mr. Cai, he had no confidence. He hadn't met Mr. Cai, but he had heard from Wu Xiaoliu that Mr. Cai was notorious for his cruelty and evil deeds. He had already ruined Mr. Cai's plan, and if he said something wrong upstairs, who knew if Mr. Cai would order him to be killed.

After all, for wealthy and powerful people, the government, which claimed to serve the people, was like air, not worth considering. Killing someone was a common occurrence. Li Qi was very clear about this. He had no power or influence here and couldn't risk his life.

Wow! This silver is so heavy. If I could go back now, I would definitely make a necklace out of this silver for Qingting, so she wouldn't always say I only work and don't care about her. Now, I'll show her how much I "value" her!

Li Qi calmed down, glanced at the white silver in his chest, and said to himself, "I didn't expect to earn silver so easily. I was even prepared to set up a stall on the street. What a waste of time."

After a short rest, Li Qi walked toward the Drunken Immortal Inn, thinking about how to use the hundred taels. The money wasn't much, but it wasn't little either. He wasn't sure what to do with it, mainly because he wasn't familiar with the area.

Before he knew it, Li Qi was already at the Drunken Immortal Inn. He looked up at the closed door, feeling a shock in his heart, lost in thought with a complex look in his eyes.

After a long time, he shook his head, sighed, and thought, "If I had a large-scale restaurant like this, what would Cai Laosan do? With his skills, I would make his Jade Pavilion go bankrupt."

Thinking of this, Li Qi suddenly had an idea. Why hadn't he thought of this before? Since the Drunken Immortal Inn was for sale, why not try to buy it? It's just eight thousand guan. I—well, I don't have—sigh, I wonder how intelligent that lady is. If I can convince her to sell it to me for a hundred taels, then—haha, everyone would be happy.

Daydreaming aside, Li Qi was very clear that if he couldn't come up with four thousand guan, buying the Drunken Immortal Inn would be a pipe dream. I wonder if Mr. Cai will put up another couplet tomorrow. Well, I'll go check tomorrow.