CHAPTER 86: 86: COPPER BEANS (2)_1

Haoming worked efficiently, and it wasn’t long before he brought in a simple stretcher. Unexpectedly, his carpentry skills were commendable; the wooden poles were so well-polished that they didn’t give splinters at all.

After that, Haoming and Yixuan got busy, one cradling the head, and the other the feet, and they moved Shujun onto the stretcher. As for Dong Huiying, she raised her eyebrows at Hong Xiangjun, her meaning couldn’t have been clearer — it was time to pay up!

A muscle in Hong Xiangjun’s forehead twitched.

"Miss Dong, you see, your husbands haven’t gone without food or clothing in my establishment. On the contrary, they’ve been well provided for. The fruits on an Eight Immortals Table outside cost several tens of coins per catty, and I haven’t been stingy at all. I’ve treated them well, no?"

Dong Huiying responded coolly with two words, "The money."

"Heh, Dachun doesn’t have the best temper. Last time your ladyship had a debt of two taels of silver here, and she smashed quite a few things in your house. Let’s consider it even, shall we?"

"My money."

"Right, when Dachun brought people back last time, I saw that Sanlang from your family was injured and immediately took out my treasured golden sore medicine. That’s something valuable; a small bottle costs more than ten taels of silver."

Dong Huiying’s eyebrows shot up, and then she smiled a smile that wasn’t really a smile.

"Master Hong, when you’re in business, you can’t be dishonest, right? I just won some money at your gambling house, and there were plenty of witnesses, weren’t there? Besides, I only gambled twice. The first round, I won one hundred and four taels of silver. I let go of the change, so you just need to pay me one hundred taels. The second round, my Small Ginseng worth eight taels of silver hit twenty times the odds, which makes it one hundred and sixty taels. In total, that comes to two hundred and sixty taels!"

With the clatter of an abacus, she had calculated her dues shrewdly. Thereafter, Dong Huiying begin to frown and feign misery, "Master Hong, life is not easy for our whole family, from the eldest to the youngest. We’re barely able to make ends meet at home and are counting on this money to buy food!"

"Ahem," Hong Xiangjun felt a bit embarrassed. She had spent quite a bit of silver on her recent trip down the mountain, and her purse strings were tight, especially now with this situation concerning Dong Huiying.

As for the money, giving it up would leave her in a difficult position, but not giving it would harm the reputation of her gambling house. Moreover, there were quite a few people outside waiting to see the outcome.

She thought it over and knew that the money had to be paid, but how and in what manner required further thought.

Hong Xiangjun made some mental calculations. Judging from Dong Huiying’s earlier demeanor, she could tell.

This Miss Xiao Dong truly seemed to be someone who wasn’t scared of being scalded by boiling water, cool and calculating, and of the sort that couldn’t be cajoled or coerced with soft or hard tactics, as impenetrable as a bronze bean... unyielding to oil and salt.

"Little Sister Xiao Dong, to be frank, even I cannot produce over two hundred taels of silver at a moment’s notice. And let me remind you. When Little Sister Xiao Dong gambled the first time, you indeed won one hundred and four taels, quite true. But as we agreed beforehand, whether you won or lost the second gamble, all our previous debts would be written off, right?"

Oh?

Dong Huiying was taken aback.

Hong Xiangjun smiled slyly, "After all, Little Sister Xiao Dong agreed to gamble the second time on those terms. For the second gamble, a Small Ginseng valued at eight taels of silver hit a twentyfold payout, and Little Sister Xiao Dong won one hundred and sixty taels. However, I recently encountered some difficulties and truly cannot afford to pay out this silver. Would it be possible for you to give me a few months’ extension?"