Chapter 17

When Zhang Ke mentioned this, Qiao Fu was also frightened out of his wits. The horses, the stove, and the furs—if they were all lost, the trip to Guangning would be a total loss. Not to mention making a fortune, they wouldn't even be able to pay off the twenty taels of silver debt.

He didn't even care about his bleeding legs, and ran forward with all his might. Zhang Ke and Qiao Gui followed, running through two streets. Ahead appeared a grand gateway with vermilion pine pillars, stone lions with bared fangs and open mouths, and green brick walls over ten feet high. The scene clearly indicated a wealthy household.

"Ke Ge, this is the place!" Qiao Fu panted heavily and pounded on the gate.

"Open the door quickly, open the door!"

After a few knocks, there was no sound from inside, and Qiao Fu became even more anxious.

"Open the door for me, or I'll burn your place down!"

A cough came from inside.

The side door opened, and an old man dressed as a servant poked his head out. He had a bright red nose and held a broom. He looked at the people outside and immediately frowned.

"What are you brats shouting about?"

Qiao Fu looked at him and frowned. "Isn't the gatekeeper Wang? I need to see Master Zhou, take me to him quickly."

As Qiao Fu tried to rush in, the old man blocked him with the broom, not at all politely.

"Boy, there's no Wang here, and no Master Zhou. You've come to the wrong place!"

"How could I be wrong? Just an hour ago, your Master Zhou invited me in for tea and conversation. He even said he would help us find a place to stay and sell our furs. Where is he now?"

The old man sneered. "Such a good thing, and he didn't tell me? If you want to extort money, at least come up with a better excuse. Our family is big and prosperous; every day, a few beggars come to claim kinship."

"Rubbish! I want my things, my horse, and my furs. They're all inside, give them back to me quickly!"

"Hey, hey, hey, you're really getting bold. If you dare to cause trouble, I'll beat you!"

Qiao Fu was furious and grabbed the old man's clothes, raising his fist.

"Old man, if you don't return my things, I'll beat you to death!"

"Stop!" Zhang Ke finally spoke.

The worst had happened; Qiao Fu had been cheated!

Zhang Ke wanted to blame him, but could he really blame Qiao Fu? It was his first time in Guangning, and he didn't know how treacherous people could be. The most pressing issue was to try to recover the losses. The longer they waited, the lower the chances of finding the things.

Zhang Ke suppressed his anger, pushed Qiao Fu's hand away, and bowed to the old man.

"Old sir, my brother is ignorant, please forgive him. We three are from the countryside, and we risked our lives to get a few wolf skins. Our families are waiting for us to bring them home for the New Year. If we have offended you, please bear with us."

The old man straightened his clothes and sneered. "That's more like it. I hate people who cheat others. You should go to the authorities quickly, don't waste your time here."

"Hold on, old sir. My brother said he met someone here and left his things. The house changed hands in the blink of an eye. You should explain this, or we'll have to take you to the authorities."

As Zhang Ke spoke, he placed his right hand on the hilt of his knife. Perhaps from fighting wolves, he still had a killing aura. The old man couldn't help but take a few steps back.

"Young man, let me tell you the truth. Our master's surname is Jin, and this is just a secondary residence. He only stays here a few days a year. According to his instructions, we usually rent it out. Three days ago, two people came, one of whom was surnamed Zhou. He rented the house. He rushed to me just now, saying he had an emergency and wanted to cancel the lease. I came out to check the furniture and clean up, and then you arrived!"

A rented house!

Qiao Fu suddenly slapped himself, left and right.

"Stupid, you're so stupid, why can't you see things clearly!"

After a few slaps, Qiao Fu's face swelled, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

"Hold him back!"

Zhang Ke signaled to Qiao Gui and took a deep breath.

"Old sir, no matter what, the scammer rented your house to cheat us. You are at fault for not noticing. I don't blame you, but please help us. Tell us what you know and let us look around the house."

"Right, I will catch that scammer and tear him to pieces!" Qiao Fu's eyes were red.

The old man looked at them and said helplessly, "Consider me unlucky. Come in, then."

Zhang Ke and the others followed the old man into the courtyard. Once inside, Zhang Ke observed the surroundings. The quadrangle was indeed spacious and bright, with exquisite architecture. No wonder Qiao Fu was deceived. They walked on a path of pebbles and entered the main hall.

"Ke Ge, we had tea here. That Zhou told me this house was all his, and every piece of furniture was worth hundreds of taels of silver. I thought he was so rich, he couldn't possibly cheat me. I was so foolish!"

The old man looked around and smiled smugly. "Young man, he wasn't lying. The things in this house are indeed priceless. See that painting in the middle? It's a Tang Yin's work, depicting the two famous courtesans of Jiangnan. Whenever our master comes, he always looks at it."

Qiao Fu glared and gritted his teeth. "I don't care whose things they are. I lost my things here, and I'll use these things to compensate!"

Saying this, Qiao Fu rushed forward to take down the painting.

"Brat, do you want to get into trouble?"

Zhang Ke quickly pulled Qiao Fu back, but he was still不服 (unwilling to comply).

"Ke Ge, don't stop me. This is a den of thieves, I'll smash it up!"

"Gui Ge, help me hold him back!"

The two of them held Qiao Fu tightly, and Zhang Ke smiled at the old man. "Thank you, old sir. Once we find our things, we will repay you well!"

"Go!"

The three brothers turned and left the house, walking two hundred meters to a large willow tree.

Qiao Fu suddenly broke free and ran toward the tree.

"Qiao Fu, you coward, stop!"

Qiao Fu's face was covered in tears. He looked at Zhang Ke and cried, "Ke Ge, I'm useless. I lost everything. Just let me die!"

"Qiao Fu, if everyone who made a mistake wanted to die, there would be few people left in this world!"

"Ke Ge, don't comfort me. The stove and the wolf skins were our hope to pay off our debts. I've ruined your family!"

At this moment, Qiao Gui walked behind Qiao Fu and slapped him four times.

"At least you know the things are important. Even a three-year-old knows to be wary of bad people. How can you be so heartless?"

"Brother, just beat me to death. I have no face to show anyone!"

Zhang Ke looked at the sobbing Qiao Fu and suddenly laughed. "A fall teaches a lesson. This is nothing, and I have an idea to get our things back!"

"Really?"

Qiao Gui and Qiao Fu stared at him, eyes wide with shock.

Zhang Ke smiled. "I can't guarantee it, but let's find a place to talk."

Qiao Fu stopped crying and followed Zhang Ke to an old land temple. The three of them sat on the ground.

Zhang Ke organized his thoughts and said, "Did you notice anything strange about the gatekeeper?"

"Strange? I don't know."

Zhang Ke continued, "According to him, he helps the master watch the house and occasionally rents it out. Imagine if you were the gatekeeper and heard that a scammer had stayed here and cheated someone. What would you do?"

Qiao Fu frowned. "I would check the house to see if anything was missing!"

"Smart. The house is indeed luxurious, and the furniture is valuable. The scammer didn't even spare our things, so why would he spare the house's contents?"

"There's only one explanation: the scammer and the gatekeeper are familiar, or even in cahoots!"

Zhang Ke made his judgment, and Qiao Fu slapped his thigh, suddenly enlightened.

"I knew that old man wasn't good. A monk may run away, but the temple can't. Ke Ge, let's go back and force the old man to return our things, or I won't let him off!"

"Wait." Zhang Ke smiled. "I think the scammer is a habitual criminal. He must have planned this with the gatekeeper. Rushing in would be unwise."

Qiao Gui said, "Let's go to the authorities."

"Ha ha ha, the authorities are only interested in those with money. They won't care about us poor boys from out of town. Besides, the process could take a long time, and we can't afford to wait."

"Then, what should we do?"

Zhang Ke thought for a moment and smiled. "Don't worry, let's gather more information first, and then act."

...

"Old sir, your fried dough sticks are really good, crispy and delicious."

"Hehe, I've been doing this for almost thirty years. If they weren't good, my regular customers would have driven me away long ago."

"Old sir, good wine needs no bush. Why don't you set up your stall in a busy place? That big house up ahead looks great. It's so grand, there must be many people coming and going."

The old man laughed. "Young man, you don't know. Master Jin is not at home, and only a few servants are watching the house. What a waste of such a fine house!"

"Old sir, how is the house being wasted?"

The old man frowned, looked at the curious Zhang Ke, and shook his head. "I'm just an old man. I only know how much a fried dough stick costs, nothing else!"

Zhang Ke reached into his pocket, took out a small piece of silver, and placed it in the old man's hand.

"Old sir, I'll buy all your fried dough sticks!"

The old man's eyes lit up at the sight of the silver, and he quickly put it in his pocket. He grabbed a piece of oil paper and helped Zhang Ke wrap the fried dough sticks.

"Ah, people are fickle. Manager Niu was once a decent man, but he gradually befriended some unsavory characters and got into several lawsuits. But with Master Jin's influence, the authorities couldn't do anything, and they became even more brazen!"

Zhang Ke listened and felt more confident. He returned to the land temple with a pile of fried dough sticks.

"I found out the gatekeeper is surnamed Niu, and he's not a good person."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find him and settle the score!" Qiao Fu was almost furious.

"Wait!" Zhang Ke held him back. "If Manager Niu denies it, what can we do? We need to find the scammer. He must sell the furs and the stove eventually. We'll catch him red-handed."

Qiao Gui shook his head. "Zhang Ke, that sounds good, but we don't know the area. How can we find him?"

"Ha ha ha, I have a plan!"

...