Chapter Thirty-Five: Appearance of Loyalty and Honesty

  Xiao Fan did not expect his father-in-law to be such a fragile man.

  So after Chen Si Liu fainted, Xiao Fan had to order the servants to hurry up and call a doctor to rescue him, then he touched his nose and walked away.

  He felt very unhappy, he had planned to ask his father-in-law for a reward next, after all, someone else smashed the Chen family's store, it was Xiao Fan who helped the Chen family take revenge, no credit can be said, at least there is some hard work?

  Chen Si Liu fainted very timely, Xiao Fan suspected that he might have guessed what he was going to say next, so he pretended to faint at the right time.

  It is once again proven that the richer one gets, the more stingy they become.

  In the following days, Jiangpu County seemed extremely calm, so calm that it was eerie, with a sense of oppressive feeling like before a storm.

  Magistrate Huang is still scolding Captain Liu in the yamen every day, saying that the murderer who killed his son has not been found yet. Magistrate Huang only has this one son, so he must use great effort to avenge his son's death. Therefore, in recent days, apart from this major case, Magistrate Huang hasn't had the heart to deal with other matters. Only Captain Liu of the yamen is suffering, being scolded by Magistrate Huang every day at dawn before leading the yamen runners and constables out to investigate, wandering around like a group of headless flies.

  The head was scolded, and the resentment in his belly had to be vented somewhere. As a result, the people below had a hard time, and under this cycle, Jiangpu County began to enter a period of severe crackdown. The idle rascals wandering on the streets were unlucky, and the catchers didn't care if they had committed crimes or not. Without asking whether they were guilty or not, they took them into custody. The public security in Jiangpu County was unprecedentedly good, and it could be described as "the road is not picked up, and the door is not closed at night."

  Xiao Fang didn't realize that he was the one who started all this, and his mind had already been fully focused on his career.

  They say that a serious man is the most handsome, and this statement really makes sense. Xiao Fan has been looking in the mirror more frequently lately, and if he continues to be handsome at this rate, why bother striving for a career? Just wait for rich women to fight over who gets to support him.

  Outside, the police were searching for the murderer with pale faces, while Xiao Fan was busy decorating the Drunken Immortal Building.

  The empty hall has been replaced with a new set of water willow wood tables and chairs, imitating the slightly disordered layout of the previous coffee shop. They are arranged in twos and threes, and on the east side against the wall, a two-meter square wooden stage has been built. The stage is covered with a red carpet, and the counter and wine rack have also been replaced with new ones. The entire hall looks luxurious and majestic, with a strong noble atmosphere.

  At the same time, Xiao Fan also newly hired nearly ten shop assistants with quick hands and feet, sharp eyesight, and three master chefs. Everything was ready, and they were about to reopen.

  During the renovation, Zhou Zhanggui from the Golden Jade Building across the street came over to take a look and exchanged a few pleasantries with Xiao Fanghan with a sarcastic smile. Although Zhou's tone was very polite, the meaning behind his words was not so polite. With a hint of disdain in his eyes, he implied that the Golden Jade Building had a deep background and even if the Drunken Immortal Pavilion was renovated into a paradise, no one in Jiangpu County would dare to come and dine here, so it's better not to waste their efforts.

  Zhou's words made Xiao Fan realize that if the Drunken Immortal Pavilion wanted to rise again, they had to take down their competitor, the Golden Jade Pavilion.

  Then, Zhou Zhanggui sneered and bid farewell, after which Xiao Fan fell into deep thought.

  At this time, a Taoist priest-like Taixu walked in with an otherworldly air about him.

  Lately, Tai Xu's days have not been going well. The whole city is filled with the sound of knocking on doors and the culprit is still at large. Tai Xu, the old Taoist, feels a lot of pressure. Having lived for over 130 years, he should have already experienced all the hardships and seen through the worldly affairs. However, it wasn't until he met Xiao Fan that he suddenly realized that his life had been wasted. A young man who is not even twenty years old has led him step by step down the path of crime, further and further away from redemption...

  A swindler who made a living by cheating people, changed his profession to hitting people with a mallet. Originally, he was not good at it, let alone the fact that the person he hit was the son of the county magistrate. Tai Yu had never done anything so impulsive in over a hundred years. He became more and more suspicious that Xiao Fan had intentionally made him take the fall that night. That young man looked refined, but Tai Yu deeply discovered that a person's appearance can be deceiving. The young man was full of evil intentions, always scheming and plotting, and could not be trusted.

  These past few days, I've been sleeping at the Drunken Immortal Building. Tai Xu has become familiar with everything from top to bottom. After entering, he saw Xiao Fan sitting by the table, deep in thought and dazed. Tai Xu didn't stand on ceremony, directly sitting down beside Xiao Fan, picking up the teapot to pour himself a cup of tea, drinking it all in one gulp, then carelessly wiping his mouth.

  "What's on your mind?"

  Xiao Fan came back to his senses and saw Tai Xu looking at him with a hint of concern in his eyes. Xiao Fan felt slightly moved, as this was the first friend he had made since arriving in the Ming Dynasty, and currently his only friend.

  "Oh, nothing much, closing up shop so early today? How's business? Scam anyone?"

  "Just forget it, business is good anyway. The pockmarked girl asks about marriage, the poor scholar asks about success, and the old man on his deathbed asks about longevity... all sorts of people come here, it's a chaotic world."

  Xiao Fan said with a hypocritical smile: "Congratulations to Daozhang, it's been less than two months since you arrived in Jiangpu, and you've already opened up the Jiangpu county's swindling market. It's really something to be congratulated..."

  Tai Xiao sighed and said, "Business is indeed good, but I don't have the heart to deceive people! Xiao Lao, recently the wind is very tight, I heard that Liu Captor has caught many street urchins in the past few days, all because of that night..."

  Xiao Fan coughed loudly, Tai Xu was startled and quickly glanced around before shutting his mouth.

  Xiao Fan changed the subject, and earnestly exhorted: "Such a good business, how can you not have the heart to do it? Dao Zhang, one must be diligent in life. In this world, making money is not easy. When someone sends it to your doorstep and lets you swindle them, then swindle them..."

  Tai Yu's face turned gloomy: "Perhaps I'm not in a good state today, so I casually made some remarks and ended up offending the customer. Thinking about it, I'd better pack up early and head back... if I continue to talk nonsense, who knows, they might smash my signboard..."

  Xiao Fan asked curiously: "How did you deceive him?"

  "The poor Taoist's mood was not good, so he said to the pockmarked girl, 'If you ask about marriage, first go find a whetstone to grind your face smooth,' and then said to the poor scholar, 'Next year's imperial examination will surely end in failure again, but afterwards you'll gradually get used to it...'"

  Xiao Fan's eyes widened: "Dao Zhang, your mouth is really... really straightforward!"

  Tai Xū patted his thigh and sighed, "With a heart full of worries and fears, how can I still care about others? However, for that old man who was on the verge of death, I did accumulate some virtue by not saying a word..."

  "The Taoist priest's house is kind and generous..."

  "Where is it? Although I didn't say a word, I pointed to the coffin shop across the street. The old man burst into tears on the spot and cried with great sorrow..."

  Xiao Fan: "………"

  "They buried you like that and didn't even beat you up?"

  Tai Xū said proudly: "I'm skilled in lightness kung fu, have you forgotten?"

  Xiao Fan couldn't help but praise, having martial arts skills is awesome, even if you offend someone, you're not afraid, just scatter and run, others can't catch up, it's really a good tool for evildoers to stir up trouble...

  Tai Yu let out a sigh, and then with a tense expression, he leaned in close to Xiao Fan's ear and said: "Xiao brother, you think... about the Huang Gongzi matter, the yamen runners shouldn't be able to catch us, right? I remember that night we used a sack to cover Huang Gongzi's head first, and then hit him with a blunt stick. Huang Gongzi shouldn't have seen our faces..."

  "Don't worry, Director Mao, this matter is done seamlessly, and the government won't be able to find any fault with us..."

  Xiao Fan casually comforted him a few words, looking at Tai Xu's tense old face, suddenly heh heh smiled, smiling very slyly.

  He suddenly had another not-so-benevolent idea...

  It's really strange, why every time I see Tai Yu, he always gets this unkind inspiration? Tai Yu should really reflect on his own appearance.

  "Are you hungry after walking for so long? Let me treat you to a meal." Xiao Fan was more sincere than the wolf's grandmother.

  Tai Xū sneered: "You're the boss of this wine shop, which meal isn't on your tab? Cut the nonsense, I'm having dog meat hot pot today, hurry up and get your chef to make it..."

  "Since we've been eating at Drunken Immortal Pavilion for a long time, it's about time to change our taste. If you don't mind, I'd like to invite you to dine elsewhere."

  "Where?"

  Xiao Fan smiled and pointed to the magnificent Golden Jade Building across from them, "Daozhang, I've heard that the braised pork belly in Golden Jade Building is one of the best in Jiangpu. Would you like to try some?"

  Tai Xu swallowed his saliva and was about to nod when he saw Xiao Fan's face full of treachery, Tai Xu suddenly became vigilant.

  "What's your intention?" The centenarian old man, after all, hadn't lived to be a hundred years old by being completely naive, and immediately sensed that there was something fishy going on.

  Xiao Fan said sincerely: "It's just a simple meal, Master Dao is overthinking it. I've read a few books of sages and have always acted with integrity, how could I do something so despicable? Master Dao, you should trust my character."

  Tai Xū snorted and said: "Jīn Yù Lóu is the arch-nemesis of your Drunken Immortal Pavilion, never to be reconciled in this life. You have no business running to Jīn Yù Lóu for a meal, I don't believe you're just being innocent, I've seen through you long ago. You're a treacherous person who appears loyal but is actually deceitful... now you must be thinking of how to scheme against Jīn Yù Lóu..."

  Xiao Fan coughed twice: "If Daozhang says so, it would be unjust to me. I am actually a bookworm, and all bookworms are educated by the teachings of saints... After saying so much, will Daozhang go or not? Jiangzi is waving at Daozhang..."

  "Go! Why not go! Not going is a turtle egg! ... How can you calculate that Jin Yulou doesn't care about the poor way, anyway, the poor way only takes care of eating and drinking, absolutely not getting involved in the gratitude and resentment, if things are found to be wrong, the poor way will use light work, spread legs and run, hehe..."

  "Dao Zhang is indeed as noble as the sky..."

  After a while, Xiao Fan and Tai Xu sat on the first floor of the Golden Jade Building, calmly ordering dishes and waiting for the waiter to serve them.