The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 489 - 478: Encounter

Chapter 489: Chapter 478: Encounter

"You’re talking nonsense!" the person inside the counter both angry and fearful, shouted, "You don’t have the deeds to our family’s shop, so how can you just say it’s yours?"

The burly man then brandished the paper in his hand and said, "This is an IOU written by your young master himself. If he can’t repay the money, the shop will be used as collateral. Get out of here now; we’re taking over the shop."

Zhou SiLang, who was standing outside the shop, hung his head low and, with a tug on Manbao’s sleeve, was ready to leave. No wonder they looked familiar; it was them.

Manbao also found them familiar, but after all, several years had passed and she barely remembered what they looked like.

Yet, she might not remember their faces, but she knew the deeds they did all too well. She looked up at her Fourth Brother and sighed, "Fourth Uncle, you must not follow in the footsteps of their young master."

Zhou SiLang heavily nodded his head, filled with regret. If only he hadn’t gotten into trouble before, he wouldn’t have to endure the gamblers’ stares every time they crossed paths.

It was enough to make one despair.

Zhou SiLang called out to Zhou WuLang and the others, who were enjoying the spectacle, "Let’s go, we’ll head back to see Second Brother and then out for lunch. Fourth Brother will treat you to some steamed buns."

The onlookers immediately snapped back to reality and started to squeeze their way out.

"Fourth Uncle, are you really treating us to steamed buns?"

"Hmm," he replied. Now that grain prices had dropped, the price for buns had also decreased, so he could afford to treat them.

"Will it be vegetarian buns or meat buns?"

Zhou SiLang gritted his teeth and thought about the money in his pockets before saying, "Let’s go with half meat, half vegetarian."

The crowd cheered, and even Manbao was overjoyed, making a request, "Fourth Brother, I also want a bowl of hot soup."

"We have brought water."

"Water doesn’t taste as good as soup."

"You really are picky," Zhou SiLang said. "Alright, fine, you’ll have your soup."

Just as everyone was about to leave hand in hand, two people carrying a third one ran into them, scattering the group. One of them, not paying attention, collided right into Manbao.

Zhou SiLang immediately steadied Manbao, and seeing her in pain while rubbing her shoulder, he got quite angry. He turned around and kicked the person who bumped into her right on the buttocks, sending them sprawling forward...

The man fell to the ground, and the person helping him was also pulled down, tumbling to the floor. The dazed man then came to his senses, opened his eyes, and got up.

The helper was furious and turned around, ready to start a fight with Zhou SiLang.

But Zhou SiLang was even fiercer, glaring as he cursed, "What are you looking at? Are you blind? Do you need me to pluck out your eyes and wash them for you? Didn’t you see us standing right here?"

Zhou WuLang and Zhou LiuLang shoved their niece and nephew back, balling their fists and moving forward, asking, "Do you want to fight? Do you really want to fight?"

It was obvious they were quite experienced.

The man who had caused the collision turned pale and shrank back a bit. He withdrew his anger, not daring to make more trouble with the Zhou brothers, and turned to help the person struggling to get up next to him.

After getting the man back on his feet and pushing back the scattered hair, Zhou WuLang recognized the man’s face and exclaimed in surprise, "Isn’t that Brother Shi?"

Shi XiaoEn lifted his eyelids to glance at them and burped from the alcohol, saying, "Oh, it’s Zhou Wu, are you back in town to sell your roosters?"

Before Zhou WuLang could reply, people from inside the shop came rushing out en masse. The shopkeeper hurried to support Eldest Master Shi, tears and snot running down his face, "Young Master, they’re saying they’re taking the shop away..."

The debt collectors also came out with clubs in hand, unsympathetically saying, "Eldest Master Shi, you owe our gambling house money."

Shi XiaoEn nonchalantly waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, it’s just fifty taels of silver. If you take the shop, doesn’t it cover the debt?"

The shopkeeper almost fainted from anger, "Young Master, even if our shop isn’t worth two hundred taels, it’s at least worth one hundred and eighty taels. How could you just hand it over for fifty taels?"

Shi XiaoEn paused, then looked at the burly man, "Then will you pay me the difference?"

The burly man sneered, "Eldest Master Shi, our gambling house is here to collect debts, not to handle the buying and selling of your shop. To be honest, your place isn’t doing that well in business. Maybe it’s bad feng shui. Not to mention two hundred taels, if you put it on sale, would anyone buy it for one hundred taels?"

Shi XiaoEn was silent, then turned to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper was trembling with anger, "Young Master, please think of another way. We simply cannot let the shop be taken away like this. Otherwise, it’ll be a huge injustice!"

Shi XiaoEn then plopped down on the shop’s threshold, asking the crowd, "Does anyone want to buy a shop? It’s for sale at one hundred and eighty taels."

No one answered.

It took a while before someone replied, "Eldest Master Shi, if you were to sell your shop slowly, someone might buy it for one hundred and eighty taels. But with such urgency, even if someone wanted to buy it, they can’t afford such a high price right away."

"Fine, then one hundred and fifty taels," Shi XiaoEn generously shouted.

"Young Master!" The shopkeeper couldn’t believe his pricing strategy and couldn’t help but call out to him.

However, even when Shi XiaoEn dropped the price to one hundred and fifty taels, no one spoke up to buy.

The shopkeeper’s face showed a complex mix of emotions, unsure whether to feel relieved or angry.

Shi XiaoEn looked around the circle, then leisurely called out, "Then it’s one hundred and twenty taels."

The crowd began to stir, and even Zhou SiLang and the others, who were about to leave, couldn’t help but stop in their tracks and watch curiously.

After waiting for a long time and receiving no response, Shi XiaoEn said, "How about one hundred taels?"

"Young Master!" The shopkeeper immediately knelt down before Shi XiaoEn.

Now, the stir in the crowd was even more intense, and Zhou SiLang himself was tempted. But he was only momentarily moved; after patting his pocket and looking at Manbao’s cloth bag, he suppressed his impulse.

Seeing that there were still no takers, Shi XiaoEn sneered and said to the shopkeeper, "See, you said two hundred taels, but now, even at half that price, no one’s buying. What’s the difference between half price and half of that again? Anyway, it’s all half price. Just hurry up and pack stuff up..."

Seeing that Shi XiaoEn didn’t continue lowering the price, everyone was shocked. There was still a fifty-tael gap between one hundred and fifty taels — why wasn’t he calling out anymore?

Even if someone bid sixty taels, that would be ten more taels in his pocket, right?

Clearly, even in his debt-ridden state, Shi XiaoEn still held onto his pride and did not consider those fifty taels worth fussing over, let alone ten.

So, people in the crowd started getting restless and shouted, "I’ll pay one hundred taels and take it over."

"I’ll also offer one hundred taels!"

"I was the first to bid."

"Well, I’ll offer one hundred and five taels!"

"I bid one hundred and ten!"

The debt collector: ...

Zhou SiLang, who had once been tempted: ...

Manbao, sighing with pity and looking sympathetically at Eldest Master Shi: ...

Shaking her head like an adult, she said to her brothers, "Let’s go."

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