Chapter 68: Mr. Hua Qi, the Case of Fake Banknotes

Bai Zhantang was a little confused for a moment.

Considering the strength of Shopkeeper Qian, the guests he entertained must be of high status. Isn't it a bit...

Just as Bai Zhantang was about to ask, Tong Xiangyu had already walked down from upstairs, fanning herself with a silk fan and twisting her waist.

"Hey, isn't this Lao Qian? Come in quickly, you are a rare guest."

Tong Xiangyu quickened her pace and pulled Shopkeeper Qian inside.

Bai Zhantang was standing nearby, and his face instantly fell, as if he couldn't bear to see Tong Xiangyu being so enthusiastic towards Manager Qian.

Besides, Manager Qian had always been interested in Tong Xiangyu, but he didn't dare to show it too obviously because he had his wife at home to take care of him.

Tong Xiangyu took Manager Qian's arm and pulled him to the elm table in the middle of the inn's lobby.

Seeing them being in such close contact, Bai Zhantang became even more nervous. He wanted to rush over and push Tong Xiangyu away and do it himself.

If this had happened in the past, Shopkeeper Qian would have been like Old Xing and would have been unable to resist and started to act clumsily.

But this time, Shopkeeper Qian didn't pay any attention to Tong Xiangyu at all. Instead, he sat down and sighed continuously.

This surprised both Tong Xiangyu and Bai Zhantang.

It seems that something really happened.

After understanding the purpose of the visit, Tong Xiangyu agreed immediately.

"Don't worry, Lao Qian. I'll prepare them for you right away. I guarantee they are all the specialties of our inn."

As she said that, Tong Xiangyu asked Bai Zhantang to urge Li Dazui to cook.

Bai Zhantang walked towards the kitchen reluctantly, looking back every few steps at Tong Xiangyu and Manager Qian out of concern.

"Old Qian, have you encountered any difficulties recently? Aren't the bank and pawnshop business quite good? It's rare to see you like this."

"Hey, Shopkeeper Tong..."

Shopkeeper Qian hesitated to speak, and finally looked around.

It was a little early now and not yet time for dinner, so although there were people in the inn, it was not too crowded.

And they are all unfamiliar faces.

Shopkeeper Qian thought for a moment before whispering to Tong Xiangyu.

"Manager Tong, to be honest, I have indeed encountered a problem. This matter cannot be known to my wife, otherwise... I will die without a burial place!"

When talking about Madam Qian, the fat on Manager Qian's face twitched.

"Is it that scary?" Tong Xiangyu was a little nervous.

Although Shopkeeper Qian has always been henpecked, he has rarely been afraid to this extent.

Could it be that Shopkeeper Qian had a mistress outside and was discovered by Madam Qian?

Tong Xiangyu's face was full of inquiry.

Shopkeeper Qian sighed and then told the story again.

It turned out that Wanli Money House's business had been good recently, and Mrs. Qian was quite busy, so she relaxed her supervision over Manager Qian.

It just so happened that recently, through someone's introduction, Manager Qian found a business that wanted to borrow some cash from him and return it in a few days, and also offered a considerable interest.

During this period, the other party will also have valuables as collateral, so there is no need to worry about them running away.

After hearing the conditions, Shopkeeper Qian was immediately tempted.

Although he has a wealthy family, his pocket money is strictly controlled by Mrs. Qian, and he is not even rich enough to buy snacks secretly.

If you seize this opportunity, you can save a lot of pocket money.

So Manager Qian agreed.

It just so happened that the shopkeeper wanted to deposit a large sum of money into Wanli Money House.

Normally, it should have been a matter of following the procedures, but Shopkeeper Qian secretly withheld the money and loaned it out.

It's just a few days' time difference. As long as things are done secretly and without anyone noticing, Manager Qian doesn't think there is any problem.

Sure enough, a few days later, Manager Qian received the payment as promised.

After the inventory, the other party released the pledge, and the cooperation between the two parties was successfully completed.

Originally, it was not a big deal, and this matter did not alarm Mrs. Qian from beginning to end.

However, when Manager Qian went to deposit the money into the warehouse, he discovered the problem.

The banknote is fake!
This banknote was from Datong Money House, which was spread all over the Ming Dynasty. Its business was much bigger than that of Wanli Money House, and the two parties had a cooperative relationship for many years.

It is said that there are two major shareholders behind Datong Money House, one is the imperial court, and the other is the Jiangnan Hua family, one of the richest families in the world.

The master silver bill of Datong Bank was made by Zhu Ting, the leader of Luban Divine Axe Sect. It is said that no one in the world can imitate it.

Shopkeeper Qian never dreamed that there was a problem in this link.

Don’t say that I didn’t notice it. Even the old masters who have worked at Wanli Money House for many years noticed it during the acceptance.

Some of the fake silver bills were mixed in with a pile of real silver bills, and they were basically identical, with no visible problems to the naked eye.

It was not until the silver note was exchanged at the Chase Bank that it was discovered.

As a result, Shopkeeper Qian suffered a huge loss.

The owner of this money originally wanted to deposit it into Wanli Money House, but he inexplicably lost a large sum of money and had no way to explain it.

The people who set up the scheme before have long since disappeared.

In addition, this matter must not be known to my wife, Madam Qian, otherwise, what awaits Manager Qian will be a storm.

During this period of time, Manager Qian was so worried that he couldn't sleep all night.

He had to make up for the deficit without alerting Mrs. Qian, and he could not think of any solution.

It has been delayed until now.

The customers who had deposited money before had not received any news from the shopkeeper Qian for a long time, and they sent people to inquire but received repeated delays. They had lost their patience and agreed to come to the shopkeeper's house today to ask for an explanation.

After telling the story, Shopkeeper Qian had a bitter face.

When a creditor comes to visit, Shopkeeper Qian naturally has to entertain him, but if he stays somewhere else, it's easy for Madam Qian to hear the news.

After much deliberation, he chose Tongfu Inn, because only Tong Xiangyu could help him keep the news secret.

No matter what, find a way to stabilize the other party first. It would be best if you can negotiate and delay the situation for a while, so that you can think of a way to make up for the loss.

After listening to Manager Qian's narration, Tong Xiangyu was filled with surprise.

There is such a scam.

It’s not Manager Qian’s fault for not being alert. After all, who could have thought that the banknotes of Datong Bank could be counterfeited?
Seeing Manager Qian in such a dilemma, Tong Xiangyu couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic.

Although she is usually stingy, she is always loyal at critical moments. Although she is a woman, she has quite a bit of chivalrous spirit.

Otherwise, the inn would not be run so prosperously and have a good reputation in the outside world.

Tong Xiangyu comforted Manager Qian.

"Old Qian, don't be anxious. There is nothing in this world that cannot be overcome. Just look at how much money you need from them. I can help you with some of it first."

Upon hearing Tong Xiangyu's words, Shopkeeper Qian seemed to see hope.

He grabbed Tong Xiangyu's hand.

"Manager Tong, if you are willing to help me, you will save my life! To be honest, the total amount of money is 50,000 taels, and there are 18,000 taels of fake silver notes..."

Before Manager Qian finished his words, Tong Xiangyu had already tactfully withdrawn her hand.

"Well, why did Lao Bai take so long? I'm going to help rush the food. Shopkeeper Qian, please wait a moment!"

After saying that, Tong Xiangyu got up and left.

"Shopkeeper Tong, Tong..."

Shopkeeper Qian wanted to continue begging, but Tong Xiangyu ran faster than a rabbit.

He could only knock on the table helplessly.

Tong Xiangyu ran to the kitchen door and couldn't help but let out a breath.

Oh my god, it’s a good thing I ran fast, otherwise I would have scared myself to death.

If it's just a matter of a few hundred taels, I can still help if I grit my teeth.

He just opened his mouth and asked for tens of thousands of dollars, and Tong Xiangyu was helpless to help.

Her inn only made a few dozen taels of silver a month. Recently, business was good, and there were more generous martial artists, so the profit could exceed one hundred taels.

But he can't afford to play a high-end game like Qian Zhanggui's.

"It's not that I don't want to help, it's just that my ability is limited. Old Qian, you should work hard on your own!"

Tong Xiangyu muttered to herself.

In a short while, the table full of food was ready.

Hearing that it was Shopkeeper Qian who hired someone, Li Dazui also showed off his special skills.

However, faced with a table full of dishes, Shopkeeper Qian had no appetite at all.

Soon, a figure flashed at the door of the inn again, and a group of people walked in.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a dignified demeanor, and the rest were all wearing the same disciple uniform.

"Is it someone from Penglai Sect?"

Someone in the inn recognized him and discussed it quietly.

Shopkeeper Qian hurriedly stood up to greet him, but the other party still had a gloomy face and walked into the inn.

They sat down at the table and talked for a while before the middle-aged man slammed the table and stood up.

"You delayed yesterday, and you're delaying today! This is our Penglai sect's savings over the years. We are willing to deposit it in Wanli Bank because we trust you."

"Now a large sum of money has been lost for no apparent reason. Shopkeeper Qian, if you don't give me a reply, I, Du Lingzi, will not be able to go back and explain to my disciples!"

This person's name was revealed, and immediately people started whispering.

"Du Lingzi, is he the leader of Penglai Sect?"

Tong Xiangyu, who had been observing from the side, saw that the talks were about to break down, and quickly winked at Bai Zhantang.

Seeing this, Bai Zhantang stepped forward to smooth things over and spoke some nice words.

"Hey, gentlemen, if you have anything to say, please talk nicely. Harmony brings wealth, while anger hurts the body..."

Before Bai Zhantang could say a few words of advice, Du Lingzi, who was angry, suddenly pushed him.

"Who are you to meddle in our affairs?"

However, Bai Zhantang dodged this push.

Du Lingzi was already angry, and when he saw that he failed to deal with a waiter, he became even more angry and embarrassed.

He grabbed it with one hand, but it still didn't work. "Well, no wonder Manager Qian chose this place, it turns out that he had already found someone to prepare it."

When he saw a waiter with martial arts skills, he thought it was deliberately arranged by Manager Qian and was ready to fight with them if the negotiation failed.

In a rage, Du Lingzi was about to overturn the table, and the Penglai disciples next to him also drew their weapons.

"Manager Qian, let me ask you, are you going to pay us back or not?"

Du Lingzi believed that someone like Manager Qian must not be short of money.

Even if something unexpected happened and caused a deficit, he could make up for it with a little bit of money.

Now he's making all kinds of excuses, just to swallow up his money!

Since this matter concerns the wealth of Penglai sect, Du Lingzi also lost his mind.

"Sir, calm down, we can't take action here..."

Bai Zhantang wanted to dissuade him, but Du Lingzi had already revealed his weapon, an iron spike with a peculiar shape.

Swish!
Du Lingzi forced Bai Zhantang away and grabbed the fat shopkeeper Qian by the collar.

"Manager Qian, if a tiger doesn't show its might, do you really think that our Penglai sect is easy to bully?"

"You need to pay us back the money today, right now, without losing a single cent. Otherwise..."

Du Lingzi wanted to continue his threats, but he found that the people around him in the inn looked at him strangely.

"We really can't do anything here..."

Someone was still carefully reminding him.

"Ok?"

Before Du Lingzi could react, a voice came to his ears.

"Who dares to cause trouble around here?"

When Du Lingzi looked up, he saw Li Ming standing at the door of the inn.

He had just finished his work and was thinking of coming to the inn to have some tea, but then he saw this scene.

The new rule he had just announced was that people were not allowed to lurk around or cause trouble near the martial arts gym. The environment in the town had become better recently.

I didn't expect to meet such a blind person today.

"Who are you? Mind your own business!"

Du Lingzi raised his hand and a cold light flashed.

It turned out that the iron spike in his hand emitted a sharp energy and came towards Li Ming.

Good guy!
Everyone in the inn shook their heads.

It's really hard to persuade this damned guy with good words. He dared to attack Master Li. Now he is no longer reasonable.

Everyone was still immersed in Li Ming's record of killing Shangguan Yundun yesterday. If they really angered Master Li, they were worried that Dulingzi would not be enough to defeat him.

The cold energy arrived in front of Li Ming in the blink of an eye, and was heading towards his heart.

If this attack were to hit any other warrior, it would not be fatal, but it would cause the person to fall to the ground, suffer severe chest pain for a short period of time, and lose the ability to move.

Seeing this, Li Ming waved his hand, and the fast and sharp energy was directly blown away by him.

Then Li Ming used his fingers as a weapon and raised his hand to point out.

laugh--

An even more fierce energy force came back along the original path and headed straight for Du Lingzi.

It was exactly the same as the previous attack, in terms of momentum, technique and approach.

The only thing that has changed is that it has become more powerful.

When Du Lingzi saw this scene, he was stunned and obviously quite surprised.

But he didn't have time to react, as the energy suddenly hit him in the heart.

"what!"

Du Lingzi screamed, loosened his grip on Manager Qian's hand, and fell directly onto the ground on his back.

"Master, are you okay?"

"Head!"

The disciples nearby were startled and rushed over to help.

But Du Lingzi's face was distorted due to the severe pain. He covered his chest, and his body was stiff for a long time before he recovered.

"Heavenly King, Heavenly King Heart-Replenishing Needle! How come you know our Penglai Sect's unique skill!"

When Du Lingzi recovered his breath, his first words were a question in disbelief.

Li Ming just attacked casually just now. If he intended to take someone's life, he would have been dead by now.

Only the sect leader and core disciples of all generations are qualified to learn our sect’s unique skills, so there is no reason for them to be leaked!

But how...

The warriors in the inn exchanged glances when they heard this.

To everyone, it seemed that Li Ming had used the same unique skill to injure Du Lingzi just now.

It is rumored in the martial arts world that Qianming Martial Arts School has all the martial arts in the world, and the disciples learn a wide variety of martial arts, covering all kinds of schools and factions. It seems to be true...

At the same time, in the corner of the inn, there were two martial artists sitting, observing everything in a low-key manner from beginning to end.

But when they saw that Li Ming used the Heavenly King Heart-Replenishing Needle, they became completely uneasy.

Conversation in secret.

"How is our young master doing with the Penglai sect's unique skill, the Heavenly King Heart-Reinforcing Needle?"

"Slightly inferior."

"No, no, I am far inferior to him!"

"Except for our Gusu Murong clan, how could anyone be proficient in all the martial arts in the world?"

"No, no, he knows a lot of martial arts, but they may not be worthy of the words 'World Martial Arts'."

The other man stared at his companion who loved to argue, and resisted the urge to smash the bottle at his head.

"Forget it, I still have to report this matter to the young master..."

As he was speaking, Li Ming had already walked into the inn and sat down.

He had just said this a few days ago, but now that someone dared to take action in Qixia Town, he didn't mind setting some rules.

However, Shopkeeper Qian, seeing the fight starting, hurriedly begged Li Ming for help.

"Master Li, please show some mercy. He was just impulsive, but I was wrong in the end."

As he said that, Shopkeeper Qian hurried over to support Du Lingzi, making him a little confused.

Shopkeeper Qian was also afraid that if this matter became a serious matter, he would not be able to suppress it. Once his wife got to know about it, it would be the end of him.

"I didn't mean to delay. It was just an accident that I received this batch of fake banknotes. I beg Master Dulingzi to give me a few more days."

Du Lingzi's temper after being beaten had mostly dissipated, and when he heard Li Ming's name, his legs went weak.

I was so angry just now that I forgot about this.

I heard that Master Li has been rumored to be extremely evil recently, and even the grandmaster has been defeated by him.

"Can you please take out the fake banknotes so we can have a look?"

Without waiting for his answer, Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou walked in from the door.

Show interest.

"Master Hua Qi!"

Shopkeeper Qian also had business dealings with the Jiangnan Hua family, and he recognized Hua Manlou, the seventh son of the Hua family, at a glance.

"Are you Master Hua Qi?"

Du Lingzi had also heard of his name.

Shopkeeper Qian hurriedly took out a few silver bills and slapped them on the table.

Lu Xiaofeng walked forward, took it and looked at it carefully, then put it under his nose and sniffed it.

Then nodded.

"Yes, it is this kind of fake banknotes, which are made very finely and can be mistaken for the real ones. They have suddenly appeared on the market recently."

Hua Manlou nodded, then asked Manager Qian about the situation.

Shopkeeper Qian did not dare to hide anything and immediately told the story again.

"I see!"

Hua Manlou nodded.

"The bottom line is that there is something wrong with the banknotes of our Datong Bank. This is really a difficult situation for Manager Qian."

Hua Manlou turned his head and spoke in the direction of Du Lingzi in a negotiating tone.

"Please be patient, Master Dulingzi, and give Shopkeeper Qian a few more days of grace. If anything goes wrong, I, the Hua family, will be responsible for giving you the money."

Hearing this, Du Lingzi suddenly calmed down a lot.

The name of Mr. Hua Qi is worth more than tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Now that he has said this, there is no need to worry anymore.

"Row!"

Du Lingzi nodded and agreed.

Manager Qian finally relaxed.

Lu Xiaofeng put the banknote away, intending to take it back and study it carefully.

Then he turned around and saw Li Ming.

"You are Master Li, right?"

Lu Xiaofeng came over on his own initiative and asked with curiosity on his face.

"In the next few days, the two of us may have to investigate a case near Qixia Town. If you need any help, please lend a hand, Master Li."

"Investigating the case?"

As soon as he saw the other person's familiar appearance, especially the two iconic mustaches, Li Ming guessed who he was.

"Yes, we have traced it all the way here. The source of these fake banknotes may be nearby." Lu Xiaofeng said confidently.

(End of this chapter)