Chapter 50: Who Else Would I Knock On (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)

  Pang Gang and the soldiers, who had eaten their fill, didn't linger over their cups. They soon called for the waiter to take them to their rooms. As the leader, Pang Gang naturally occupied the best single room. Before long, a diligent servant brought him hot water for washing up.

  Looking at the relatively tidy room and bed, Pang Gang nodded slightly in satisfaction, took off his shoes on the bed and was about to soak his feet when there was a sudden knock at the door.

  "Dong dong dong....."

  "Who's there?" Pang Gang stood up, out of vigilance, and at the same time grabbed the curved knife beside him.

  "Adults, I am but a humble merchant, with business to discuss with you." An aged voice came from the doorway.

  The old man's words were not yet finished, when a loud and dull noise came from the door, accompanied by several cries of surprise, as well as the sound of soldiers' greetings. It turned out that the soldiers in the adjacent room had heard the commotion outside and rushed out to see an old man and a young man standing at the door, thinking someone was going to harm their master. These brainless thugs didn't say a word and immediately started beating them up.

  When Pang Gang rushed out, the two of them had already taken a lot of old punches, and their faces were also bruised in several places. However, the thugs didn't lay a hand on the old man with white temples, most of the punches were aimed at the young man.

  "Stop!"

  This was what Pang Gang saw after he came out. He was shocked and quickly stopped the soldiers from being rough, and took the person into his own room.

  "Bastards, who allowed you to take action? If they wanted to harm me, would they send such a pair of incompetent people to assassinate me? What a bunch of idiots! Alright, stop lingering around and get lost!" With a mix of anger and amusement, Pang Gang scolded the group of overly responsible soldiers before chasing them away.

  After seeing several soldiers leave, Pang turned back to the two men and smiled: "Gentlemen, I'm afraid it's not convenient for you to come in. It's my fault for being too strict, and I've caused you some inconvenience. What brings you to see me today?"

  The old man, hearing Pang Gang's question, hastily made a bow and said in a low voice: "Sir, I am an administrator at Yangzhou's Ju Bao Pawnshop, my name is Kui Shu, and this is my young master Kong Lin. Just now, we saw you in the main hall punishing evil and promoting good deeds, and we are deeply impressed. Therefore, I and my young master would like to trouble you with a small matter...". At this point, Kui Shu's expression was somewhat awkward.

  Pang raised an eyebrow and said calmly, "Have you guys made a mistake? I'm an official from the Wei government, what can I do to help you? If you have any difficulties, you should seek help from the local authorities."

  Kong Lin, who was standing beside him, saw that Pang had a mind to refuse and couldn't help but become anxious: "Sir, please don't be in a hurry to decline, let me explain the whole situation."

  Kong Lin, in a state of anxiety, poured out the whole story like beans spilling out of a bamboo tube.

  It turned out that Kong Lin was the young master of a jewelry store called "Ju Bao Zhai" in Yangzhou. After several generations of operation by the Kong family, Ju Bao Zhai was still one of the top jewelry stores in Yangzhou. However, every industry has competition, and last year, a new jewelry store suddenly emerged in Yangzhou, called "Bao Da Xiang". The owner was a son of a former official from Beijing, named Sun Xi Yi. This man was ruthless and used malicious means and his official power to suppress Ju Bao Zhai.

  For example, they sent thugs to make trouble in the treasure hall, and when reported to the government, the government didn't care. They even offered high interest to lure people from the treasure hall, and finally, even the first-class master was pulled away by Bao Daxiang.

  Kong Lin's father fell ill and took to his bed, leaving the young Kong Lin to take on the heavy responsibility of reviving the family business. Some time ago, a customer had placed a large order for jewelry at the store, one that was big enough to guarantee the store's profits for the year. However, this customer had also made some very demanding requests: he required that the goods be delivered before November and the compensation he demanded if they were not was extremely high, even enough to put the store out of business.

  Kong Lin was also suspicious, but he decided to take a risk and brought several loyal partners and the old steward who had followed them for many years. They secretly rushed to Shandong with a large sum of money from the Jibaozhai, where they purchased a batch of goods from a wealthy merchant. Unexpectedly, as soon as they finished buying the goods, they discovered that they were being watched. In their haste, they quickly slipped into Qingzhou City, but the other side still pursued them relentlessly, waiting for them to leave the city before making their move.

  Kong Lin and his companions had no way out, hiding in the inn for three consecutive days. As the delivery date approached, Kong Lin became increasingly anxious. What made him angry and helpless was that as the delivery date approached, the villains who were staring at him became more and more rampant, developing from secretly following to openly monitoring. At this time, even if Kong Lin was stupid, he knew that there was a problem with this deal. However, they were outsiders in a strange land, and it was hard for them to find help. With only ten days left before the delivery date, if they couldn't deliver on time, their ancestors' legacy, the聚宝斋 (Jubaozhai), would be lost to others. Seeing that Pang Gang had taught those villains a lesson today, Kong Lin came to him with a mindset of seeking help in desperation.

  Pang Gang's face flushed with a strange color after hearing Kong Lin's words, and he asked: "Kong Shao Dongjia!"

  "I don't dare, sir! Please call out the humble commoner's name at once!" Kong Lin hastily waved his hands repeatedly.

  Pang Gang lost his smile and didn't bother with pleasantries. "Kong Lin, I have something I don't understand, please enlighten me."

  "Please speak, sir!" Kong Lin said repeatedly, "I will certainly tell you everything I know and hold nothing back."

  "How did you think of seeking help from me? Wouldn't it be better to seek help from the Qingzhou government office instead? Moreover, how dare you be certain that I won't be tempted by wealth and harbor evil intentions, resorting to underhanded means?"

  Kong Lin sighed, "I've also thought of seeking help from the Qingzhou officials, but we have no evidence, how can we tell them? Just because they came to Qingzhou with us, does that mean we should accuse them of murder and robbery?"

  Pang Gang couldn't help but be speechless. Yes, before things happened, how could you make others believe? It's inevitable that the government wouldn't accept it.

  "You want me to escort you to Yangzhou." Pang immediately understood what he meant.

  Kong Lin's face turned red, and he said hastily: "Although the humble subject also knows that this matter is abrupt, but please, sir, take into account the humble subject's family has been operating the Treasure Pavilion for over a hundred years, and save the humble subject!"

  After finishing speaking, Kong Lin knelt down and gave Pang Gang a loud kowtow on the spot, knocking his head against the wooden floor with a thud. In no time, several big bumps protruded from his head.

  Pang Gang sat on the bed board with his eyes closed, lost in thought, his left hand subconsciously tapping the bed board, while his right hand tightly gripped the curved knife.

  After a long while, Pang Gang suddenly spoke up, "Kong Shaodong's family, if this official helps you transport the goods back to Yangzhou, how much will you pay as compensation?"

  Kong Lin was overjoyed and kowtowed again, his voice trembling as he said: "If Master can help me deliver the goods back to Yangzhou, then Master is like a reborn father and mother to me. Whatever Master asks for, I, Ju Baozhu, will not refuse."

  Pang Gang impatiently interrupted him, "I don't want to be your foster father again either. I just want to ask how much reward you can give me if I can send you back to Yangzhou safely."

  Kong Lin gritted his teeth and said, "As long as the master safely escorts the goods back to Yangzhou, I am willing to give a reward of 10,000 taels of silver to the master!"

  "Ten thousand taels!" Pang Gang's heart couldn't help but feel a thrill, these rich guys from Yangzhou really have money to burn, one move and it's ten thousand taels. His buddy had been acting like a fool all day for two thousand taels of silver, and this kid could casually flick out ten thousand taels as protection money without even batting an eye. No wonder those thugs would risk their lives to take him down. Damn, with so much money, who else would you scam?!