Chapter 6: No Shore in Sight

  That Wang employee was indeed taken aback, and to be honest, he didn't have much hope of getting the money back even if he went back to the pawnshop. Moreover, since he had originally taken the money by mistake, he felt a bit guilty. But what he didn't expect was that the 500 taels of silver that had flown away would actually come back, and what's more, the owner of the Guangyuan Pawnshop turned out to be a woman. Although her words about integrity and wealth accumulation were novel, he still agreed with the old doorman's words: kindness is not enough to make big business deals. In any case, he was somewhat grateful to this female owner in his heart.

  After that foolish big head walked away with a smile, carrying his silver, Uncle Gui also calmed down. He didn't even understand how he had ended up arguing with this little girl. The Gan family's muddy waters - he had long since not wanted to get involved in it anyway. Hadn't the big boss found a new manager to take action? In fact, who doesn't want a good ending after working hard their whole life? His mood calmed down again, but that girl was as stubborn as an ox. "Honesty brings wealth"? That big boss wasn't some kind of philanthropist either - businesspeople only care about gains and losses when it comes to silver. Uncle Gui's face returned to its usual benevolent appearance.

  "Uncle Gui, Qī Xiǎo was just momentarily agitated and said some excessive words. This isn't the time to tear each other's faces apart. Qī Xiǎo personally poured a cup of tea for Uncle Gui as an apology. After all, he is an old minister here, and my previous actions were indeed too disrespectful. It's hard to guarantee that he won't secretly plot against me in the future. The two sat in the courtyard, each with their own thoughts, sipping their tea."

  "Actually, I'm getting old and won't be able to do this for much longer. Maybe in a few days, I'll go ask Young Master Jing to relieve me of my duties. After all, it's you young people's world now." Gu Shu's sudden words shocked Qi Xie: was he surrendering or just pretending to retreat? If the old man really thought that way, it wouldn't be a bad thing. "If you really think so, Uncle Gu, why are you getting involved in their affairs? You've been running this pawnshop for years, can't you tell which ones are good quality? That young master is always indulging in luxuries and his character isn't necessarily good either. By helping him, not only will he not appreciate your kindness in the future, but that other person might also hold a grudge against you."

  "In my entire life, I've only been deceived twice. Once was when I agreed to help him make money, and the other time is this pearl. Maybe it's true that people become useless as they age. Unfortunately, I've already walked too far down that road, and even if I turn back now, I won't be able to see the shore anymore. But I still have my wife and children at home, so I'm begging you, Seventh Master, if possible... "

  Qī xié interrupted Guì Shū's words at the right time, his tone seemed to be a final farewell, wasn't it just corruption? Not a heinous crime, people living in this world are never free, even if not for themselves, they can't help but live for others. Qī xié let out a long sigh: "Guì Shū, are you worried that I'll make you pay back the money? Don't joke, Guì Shū, can't you take out 500 taels? Moreover, who was it that embezzled Guǎng Yuán's silver? I will make that person come forward and return the silver with both hands. Guì Shū, put your mind at ease and stop thinking about those unnecessary things. As for Guì Bó, from now on, let Guì Shū continue to worry alone. My father taught me, people are not afraid of making mistakes, what's most important is having a heart to make amends."

  As people age, their thoughts also change. Looking at this thin and frail figure, Gu Shu's heart trembled. All the people who interacted with him could only give him cold hard cash, but this little girl in front of him made his heart warm up inexplicably. If everything could be redone, he would never agree to Young Master's request again. This was like a pit, the more you struggled, the deeper you sank. People aren't afraid of making mistakes, what's most important is having the heart to repent. But is there really still an opportunity?

  Apart from some unclear financial relationship between Ganda and Xiaoshao, Qixi was still very trusting of Gu Shu's management of the pawnshop. In fact, since she took over as the shopkeeper, she had rarely stayed in the shop, occasionally only listening to Gu Shu talk about the situation in the shop. As a leader, it wasn't necessary to personally handle everything, just grasping the main points and direction was enough. After chatting with Gu Shu for a while, she left work early with A Kuan. Now she had an important thing to do, which was to expose that swindler herself.

  The Tianfu Teahouse is located on the busiest Fenghuang West Street in Shazhou, where the literary style of the Eastern Jin Dynasty's Daxing Wenfeng prevails. This teahouse has become a gathering place for those who claim to be elegant and talented scholars. Here, you can often hear elegant words, but where there are people, there is also gossip. This is also the largest base for spreading rumors. Sometimes, the boss will even invite the best storyteller in the city to tell stories about interesting news from Kyoto, making Tianfu Teahouse the place that cannot hide secrets in Shazhou City.

  Qī xiè and ā guān chose the most eye-catching position in the tea house and sat down. In the afternoons, this place was always crowded with people having afternoon tea. Qī xiè couldn't help but chuckle every time she looked at ā guān, who had been dressed up. Although he wore fine clothes, ā guān still looked a bit awkward. Having been a servant all his life, it was only natural that he would feel out of place after suddenly becoming a master. But they were both young people, and after Qī xiè told him a few jokes, he relaxed. The show was about to begin!

  "Beauty, take a look and see if you like this thing?" Ah Guan raised his voice and shouted out this sentence, while a small face immediately turned bright red. Qiuxi took over the wooden box with an air of nonchalance, opened it, and hummed coldly: "Do you think you can win the beauty's heart with such poor quality goods?" Although everyone looked at the couple with disdain for being so shameless in broad daylight, they were even more curious about what was inside the wooden box. Everyone had a curious mind, and Qiuxi knew that there were many ears listening in around him.

  "Beauty, this is indeed the night pearl of Western Qin! Just looking at its shape and luster, it's worth thousands of taels. Although I bought it for 500 taels." Ah Guan's acting skills are quite good after he gets into character, even his tone changes are just right.

  "Hmph, how can a fish eye be mixed with pearls? Don't even mention the 500 taels. I think it's not even worth 50 taels. Are you doing this on purpose to mock me?" Qiuxi gently wiped off the lead powder from the surface of the pearl, and Ah Guan was also stunned. In a fit of rage, he picked up the pearl and rushed out of the teahouse: "I spent 500 taels to buy this dead fish eye! How can the seller be so black-hearted?" He cried and shouted as he smashed the pearl into pieces. The onlookers had mixed reactions, some sympathizing with him while others ridiculed him. Meanwhile, back in the teahouse, Qiuxi also heard the patrons starting to whisper among themselves. Lately, there hadn't been much news, so even a small commotion like this could spark discussion for so long. Some wanted to go ask Ah Guan where he bought it from so they wouldn't get cheated too. Others started discussing what kind of fish such a large "fish eye" could come from. And some were even asking about Qiuxi's family background and how much she was worth.

  It's a great stir, I've also inquired about it earlier. Beicheng is the most popular place for foreigners to stay, and usually, they like to live in the Phoenix West Street inn. Although there's no guarantee, but anyway, it's an uncollectible debt, so let's just make do with it. Originally, Qiuniu only thought that he couldn't shift the loss of the shop to other customers' heads. If he can't find the culprit, he plans to use his own private money to make up for the shortage. Everyone knows that the eyes of a shop assistant are the sharpest, and this cheat dares to deceive even Guangyuan. He must have had this greedy idea again when he saw this situation.