Chapter Twenty-Four: The Unscrupulous Shopkeeper

  It's only natural that businessmen make a living by seeking profits. Given Chen Si Liu's business acumen, would he hand over the management of a thriving wine shop to Xiao Fan without knowing his personal abilities?

  Looking at the empty and spacious wine house hall, Xiao Fan wanted to cry but had no tears.

  This business is utter rubbish!

  Chen Si Liu is really calculating! He tricked Xiao Fan into becoming the manager of this poorly managed restaurant, which serves multiple purposes: it shows his attitude to County Magistrate Cao, sets up a high and mighty image of "rewarding the good and punishing the bad" for himself, gives him an excuse to deal with Xiao Fan, and he's not even afraid that Xiao Fan will ruin the business - after all, things can't get any worse than they already are!

  This move can be described as killing three birds with one stone. It's really hard to imagine how that fat pig-like brain of his came up with it...

  Xiao Fan felt extremely indignant, a time-traveler being played by ancient people was truly a shameful thing for the time-traveling community. What's even more infuriating was that in less than a month of traveling through time, he had already been played twice by ancient people. The first time was when he was deceived by Tai Xu Lao Dao, and the second time was when he was deceived by Chen Si Liu... If there really was a Time-Space Management Bureau or some kind of law enforcement agency, they would probably suggest that Xiao Fan choose to be struck by lightning once or five times.

  Xiao Fan really wanted to go back and discuss with Chen Si Liu, to see if he could take back his life. In fact, thinking rationally, the title "Xiao Gu Ye" was still much better than "Xiao Zhang Gui". If one had to be a parasite, then being a parasitic young master was also a kind of "master" after all.

  Take a deep breath, Xiao Fan made an effort to gather his emotions and accept reality. Since I've come, I'll make the best of it. Chen Si Liu kicked me to this broken wine house to fool around with me, but I'm going to achieve something to show him! When the Drunken Immortal Pavilion is full of guests, let's see if Chen Si Liu will be ashamed or not!

  Xiao Fan stood in the main hall, pumping himself up for half a day, and only when he was sure that he had mustered enough courage did the depression in his heart slightly ease. By then, his attention had already been diverted.

  In the hall, two shop assistants were gambling with dice, and they were so engrossed that they were sweating profusely on a cold day. In front of them were scattered over ten copper coins, and they stared intently at the three dice in the porcelain bowl, their faces tense with concentration. It seemed to be a high-stakes gamble worth over ten copper coins.

  Xiao Fan was also drawn in by this high-stakes gamble.

  There are many ways to gamble in the world, but only with dice, which have remained unchanged for thousands of years. The outcome is always determined by the size of the dots on the dice. Xiao Fan understood it after just two glances.

  Xiao Fan was interested and watched for a while, soon being drawn in by the tense atmosphere, getting closer and closer to the gambling table, completely forgetting that he was the newly appointed manager of the wine tower, the direct superior of these two lavish gamblers.

  The air was filled with a faint smell of sweat, and the two shop assistants who were in the midst of an intense battle looked increasingly tense. One of them, about sixteen or seventeen years old, glanced at Xiao Fan with a completely unconscious gaze, his empty and numb eyes scanning Xiao Fan's face before quickly returning to the fervent gambling.

  Xiao Fan didn't think it was strange at all. If someone doesn't know any better, they can't be blamed, right? They don't recognize this new shopkeeper, so it's understandable.

  After a while, Xiao Fan couldn't help it anymore and pointed at one of the gamblers next to the table: "Hey, you, I'm talking about you. Don't bet so much. I calculated that you shook five times just now, and each time you lost. It's clear that your luck is declining. At this time, you should avoid its edge and betting only a small amount of money is enough..."

  The fellow nodded his head in agreement: "Right, this gentleman is very reasonable..."

  Another companion looked unhappy and glanced at Xiao Fan: "Who are you? You talk like a model, why don't you come and play two rounds yourself?"

  Xiao Fan also joined in with great enthusiasm.

  "What's the point of betting a few coins?! Let's play something with some blood in it!" Xiao Fan rolled up his sleeves, pulled out a small piece of silver from his pocket and slammed it heavily on the table, being reckless and extravagant.

  The two partners were taken aback for a moment, then became excited: "Wow, we've encountered a tough guy today! Come on, who's afraid of whom!"

  As they spoke, the two partners also pulled out a small piece of silver from their pockets. It seems that although the lives of the lowest-level laborers are difficult, they still have some capital to gamble with.

  Three people gathered together and started a high-stakes gamble.

  The time of incense sticks has passed.

  Xiao Fan's white and handsome face slowly turned purple, and the sweat on his forehead grew more and more.

  Theory and practice are two different things. In the short time of burning two incense sticks, Xiao Fan lost, not a lot, a total of ten taels of silver.

  Everyone knows that Xiao Fan only has ten taels of silver on him, and these ten taels of silver were accumulated by his predecessor over several years.

  Two shop assistants' smiles were brighter than chrysanthemums in autumn.

  He patted his wallet, which was cleaner than his face, and Xiao Fan sighed with a sad face.

  It doesn't matter anymore...

  The shopkeeper next to him sneered with a sarcastic smile: "Heroes, the more you lose, the more you laugh, turtle king eight, win and run away... Is there any silver to bet on? Hurry up and take it out, let's continue playing..."

  Xiao Fan was penniless, his body cleaner than a newly peeled egg. He wasn't a hero, having lost all his savings, and he couldn't even smile.

  After accumulating for several years, he lost everything in an instant, and Xiao Fang was very unwilling to accept it. So he decided to do something not so kind.

  He rolled his eyes, Xiao Fan coughed uncomfortably twice, then suddenly opened his eyes wide and pointed at the main hall entrance, shouting in surprise: "Ah! Old Master Chen has arrived!"

  Chen Lao Dong Jia is Chen Si Liu. In the Chen Corporation, Chen Si Liu is the chairman and CEO. His name has more deterrent power than nuclear weapons.

  The two shop assistants subconsciously stiffened, then hastily stood up, standing at attention in a standard military posture facing the door.

  The entrance was empty and there were no people. Immediately afterwards, a black figure swiftly darted out of the entrance with a whooshing sound.

  The two shop assistants hastily turned around, only to find that Xiao Fan, who was originally sitting at the table, had disappeared without a trace. Along with Xiao Fan's disappearance, all the silver fragments on the table were also gone, totaling over ten taels.

  To put it simply, Xiao Fan, this gambler without any integrity or moral character, ran away with the money.

  You can't expect a former thief to become a saint in this life, all the savings were lost, Xiao Fan was anxious, so he simply returned to his old profession.

  The two gamblers looked at each other in dismay, having spent half their lives in the gaming world, they had never seen such a shameless gambler before, so they seemed to be at a loss.

  "What shall we do?" A shop assistant looked helpless, they still didn't know that the thief who snatched the silver was their new boss.

  "Chase! He's also snatched our own few taels of silver...!" Another fellow, both shocked and enraged, showed a more resolute attitude.

  The two of them suddenly came to their senses and took off in a sprint, chasing after him.

  "Stop right there! You shameless scoundrel!"

  "You're shameless! You only get aggressive when you lose!"

  "Pickpocket! Catch him, is there a catcher? Someone's stealing money----"

  “…………”

  The buddy was chasing behind, Xiao Fan was running in front, he ran very happily.

  The lost silver was recovered, and even a few more were added. Xiao Fang's mood was overjoyed, this matter fully proved that robbery is actually more cost-effective than gambling, the profession chosen by himself in his previous life was correct.

  What did Sun Xiao Mei say in "The Legend of Zhen Huan"?

  "What's yours is mine, what's mine is still mine..."

  All he could hear was the whistling wind in his ears, Xiao Fan's legs were running faster than a leopard, at this moment he was filled with excitement, he thought he was Liu Xiang, Bolt, Lewis...

  The buddy was chasing closely behind, Xiao Fan's feet exerted force and accelerated his speed, darting left and right in the bustling street like a fish swimming in water, happily shuttling through the crowd.

  It is said that life is often disappointing, with eight or nine out of ten things not going as one wishes. People who are too shameless will be punished by heaven. Another saying goes: people have good and bad fortune in the morning and evening...

  The development of the robbery case can only be described as "a turn for the better".

  Suddenly, something unexpected happened.

  Xiao Fan, who was running, only felt a strong force suddenly holding him back. A pair of powerful black hands grasped his arms tightly. An old and steady voice whispered in his ear, "Young man, you have an ominous aura..."