My wife has a secret

Chapter 28 West Street Gambling House
"Something strange?"

Chief Jiao lowered his voice and said, "These gambling houses strictly guard their cellars and don't let the officials from our government office get close. I suspect they have hidden people there."

Xu Qing looked him up and down and asked, "Do you have any other evidence?"

"Of course there are. The shopkeeper said that those cellars are used to store wine. But there is a famous Mingyuxuan in the West Market. The wine jars sold in the shop are all marked with the name of the xuan. What kind of wine do you think they can store?"

Xu Qing suddenly realized something.

If alcohol was available for sale in the nearby streets, these gambling houses would not have to clear out their cellars to store the alcohol.

However, there is another possibility, that is, the wine and beverages in Mingyuxuan are at a very high premium and are often in short supply.

In order to save costs, merchants will purchase and store in large quantities when prices are low so as to earn a higher profit margin.

But if it was the latter, the gambling house should not have stopped the officers.

"I came to visit Master Xu recently because I wanted to borrow your help..."

Jiao Tingzhang looked a little embarrassed, because he was a little embarrassed to say the next words.

Xu Qing smiled and patted the seven-foot-tall man on the shoulder.

"I understand. You just want to take advantage of the power of my Xu Qing family and do things unreasonably so that you can create opportunities to disrupt the situation... Don't worry, these are just minor issues."

"Then I'll have to trouble Master Xu."

"But we have to settle this account clearly."

Jiao Tingzhang was shocked all of a sudden, his expression was frozen, "What...what account?"

"Even brothers have to settle accounts clearly, not to mention that you and I are not related at all, why should I help you?"

Xu Qing naturally hooked his arm around Jiao Tingzhang's shoulder, rubbed his fingers towards him, and made a gesture to ask for money.

"This is your first time helping me, so I'll give you 20% off. Just this amount."

Jiao Tingzhang's face turned dark and he turned around and was about to leave.

How could he, a clerk without any rank, get the money to hire someone to do something for him? Since the eldest son of the Xu family asked for such a high price, he would just think of a way out.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't be so impatient... I know you don't have money, and I've thought of another way out for you."

Xu Qing couldn't let the cooked duck run away, so he immediately pulled the other party back and said with a chuckle: "Our government office is still in charge of various matters. If anything happens to me in the future, please ask Chief Jiao and the brothers to take care of me."

"That's it?"

Chief Jiao looked at Xu Qing with some confusion, unable to figure out what the other party was thinking.

The Xu family is now at its peak, and there are countless people who want to get to know Mr. Xu. Even his immediate superior, Prefect Xu, has to coax the other party with a smile.

How can a small pavilion chief like him help?

But what Chief Jiao didn't know was that Xu Qing had a more shrewd plan in mind.

No matter how high-ranking the prefect is, he is still a great official who has been sitting in the government office for a long time. If something really happens, how can he be faster than these minions to show up?

Moreover, after the incident at the refugee street, Xu Qing knew that this big and strong man was very good at fighting, so he would have the confidence to recruit people to fight in the future.

Xu Qing patted his chest and assured Jiao Tingzhang: "I will never do anything like murder or arson. I am a kind-hearted person and I abide by the law."

Jiao Tingzhang curled his lips and uttered the word "OK".

As the leader of the Four Pests of Suzhou, Xu Qing had just caused hundreds of people in the Lu Mansion to become homeless and displaced two days ago.

It is better to believe that you are the First Emperor of Qi than to believe him.

Captain Jiao took Xu Qingchao to the alley he had walked to the day before. The place was crowded with people, and the noisy sound almost deafened Xu Qing's ears.

When they reached a corner, Jiao Tingzhang stopped.

"These gambling houses have special spies at the entrance of the alley, responsible for soliciting customers and gathering information. I just checked this place the day before yesterday, and they were impressed by me... You go in alone later, and I will climb over the wall at the back."

"Then how do I know whether you went in or not?"

"I will imitate the sound of birds to remind you that I have arrived in the courtyard. You just need to make some noise, and I will naturally go down to the bottom of the cellar and find out the tricks of these gambling houses."

"Row."

After the division of labor was clear, Xu Qing walked out with a swagger.

He walked past two cloth-clothed servants and went into the alley.

The alley is paved with blue stone slabs, with green tiles and red walls on both sides. It is much quieter than expected.

It is not until the end of the yard that you can hear shouts of all sizes.

"you are?"

"You are so blind that you can't even recognize me?"

Xu Qing always thought that he was a relatively reserved person, but when he played the role of a dandy boy, he found that he could get into the role quickly.

The two guards at the gate looked at each other, not understanding what Xu Qing was talking about.

Because of the special nature of this place, they only recognize familiar faces and have never met someone as ostentatious as Xu Qing.

"Stop going crazy there. We don't welcome strangers here. Go back."

There was a loud bang and the two guards were completely stunned.

Because Xu Qing actually kicked the gate open in front of the two of them, it was obvious that he came to cause trouble!

Just as they rolled up their sleeves and prepared to teach this ignorant fellow a lesson, a plump middle-aged man pushed the door open and said with a smile, "Oh, what kind of wind is blowing today to blow the eldest son of the Xu family to my little temple?"

When the two guards saw the shopkeeper come out in person, they immediately realized that this man had a special status and hurriedly lowered their heads and stepped aside.

The shopkeeper was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. If his people dared to touch Xu Qing, the Xu family would definitely smash his gambling house.

"you know me?"

"Of course. Young Master Xu spent a lot of money in Zuiyuan Pavilion a few years ago. I saw it clearly from downstairs at that time. Today I have the opportunity to see Young Master Xu's face. He is really handsome and looks like Pan An."

"Well, it's over."

Xu Qing coughed twice, a slight smile on his face.

I have to say that these people know how to do business. With just two sentences, they can flatter people so much that they feel too embarrassed to cause trouble.

The shopkeeper bowed slightly and asked, "I wonder what Mr. Xu wants to play today?"

"I'm just curious and want to come and see."

"If that's the case, why don't you and I move to another courtyard? There is the Red Willow Hall, which is specially designed for distinguished people. There are expensive wines and delicacies, as well as dancers from the Western Regions."

Hearing these gimmicks, Xu Qing was really tempted.

"So what is this place for?"

"Oh, Mr. Xu, this is your first time here, so you are not very familiar with this place. Let me introduce it to you... The gambling houses on our West Street run through the West Market. On the surface, there are three of them, but in fact, they are all run by the same boss. My shop is called Tongfu, which is open to ordinary people, and the stakes are the smallest."

"What about the two seats at the back?"

"The second one is behind the Chinese toon tree in front. It's called Tiandi, and it's used for big bets. Generally, no one is allowed to enter unless they have 1,800 taels."

Xu Qing raised his eyebrows and was moved when he heard this.

I've heard that gambling is a highly profitable business, but I never expected the transaction amounts here to be so exaggerated.

Ordinary people's income is generally calculated in copper coins. After saving for ten years, ordinary people may only have thirty or forty taels.

Even though Xu Qing had previously obtained the private properties of hundreds of people in the Lu family, the amount on the books was far from ten thousand taels, which was far from the scenes of squandering money like water in novels and TV dramas.

So, even with a hundred taels of silver in his pocket, he still couldn't enter the second door? The shopkeeper coughed lightly, as if to cover up Xu Qing's embarrassment.

"Mr. Xu, so I recommend you to go to our signature place, the Red Willow Hall at the innermost part. You don't need any money there. We will give you chips, and all the services inside can be settled with chips. As long as you lose and spend all the chips, you can leave."

"Is there such a good thing?"

"If I lied in any way, I'll be struck by lightning... What do you think? Mr. Xu, do you want to go over and take a look?"

Xu Qing seemed surprised on the surface, but he had already realized in his heart that the owner of this gambling house was definitely not an easy person to deal with.

This guy not only makes money from gamblers, but also sets up a high-end entertainment venue to get to know various powerful families.

These connections are sometimes more valuable than money on paper. No wonder Chief Jiao was unable to do anything about the gambling house when he came to West Street two days ago.

The oil seller was poor, so it was impossible for him to go to the two gambling houses at the back. He had to find a way to go to the first one.

"Interesting, but I'm not interested in playing house games, so I'll try my luck here today."

Xu Qing rejected the shopkeeper's suggestion and walked into the room without saying anything.

The room was dimly lit and crowded with people. Each gambling table was surrounded by excited gamblers.

But as the cold wind blew in, everyone put aside what they were doing and turned around to look at the stranger.

These gamblers are addicted to gambling and have been hanging out in major casinos for years. It can be seen that Xu Qing's dress is very unusual.

Moreover, he is followed by the shopkeeper, so he must be a big shot with an extraordinary background.

"Mr. Xu, you can see that this place is not suitable for your status and position. Why don't we go to another place?"

Xu Qing heard a faint bird song, waved his hand, and walked towards the table in the center.

Everyone was stunned after hearing the shopkeeper's address just now.

"Mr. Xu? Could it be that you are from the Xu family of Suzhou? Your aunt is from the palace..."

"Shut up, you're dying!"

It was not surprising that Xu Qing appeared in the gambling house, but this kind of young man from aristocratic family usually went to more upscale places, so it was rare to see him here.

This made the gamblers curious and they wanted to see what Xu Qing was going to do.

"Place your bet."

Xu Qing walked to the table, threw his robe outward, and sat directly opposite the banker.

There are a lot of money and props for shaking dice on the table, and it seems that the game being played is the most classic one of comparing dice.

Xu Qing took out a hundred taels of silver from his sleeve and placed it on top of the big words.

"I'm going to have a great time today."

The dice shaker wearing a square hat glanced at the shopkeeper, and after the other party nodded slightly, he raised the dice cup to the sky, and then slammed it on the table and shook it hard.

Xu Qing glanced at the back of his hand with bulging veins, and said with a smile: "I guess I'm lucky this time, what do you think?"

The shopkeeper who was waiting behind him hurriedly smiled and flattered, "Yes, yes, Mr. Xu, how can your luck be bad?"

The gamblers' attention was not on Xu Qing, but they were concentrating on the dice.

In their opinion, no matter how noble Xu Qing's status is, it is not as important as winning or losing at the gambling table. Because of this, many of them are counting on the gambling house to become rich overnight and become the upper class from then on.

"big."

As the shooter moved the dice cup away, the high scores made the surrounding gamblers excited.

"Mr. Xu is having a good time. Do you want to place a couple of bets with him?"

"Let's take another look. It's normal for a novice to have red dots of luck."

Xu Qing ignored the discussions of the people around him, pushed all the money he had just won onto the big characters, and continued to smile: "I'm going to bet big."

The shooter shook the dice, uncovered it and shouted, "Big."

"Hit again?"

"real or fake?"

Although the odds at this first gambling house are small, if you place the right bet, your winnings will be doubled.

In just two rounds, Xu Qing collected the money of other small households at the table and got more than five hundred taels of silver.

This made the surrounding gamblers want to join Xu Qingbo in the gamble and get rich.

Sure enough, after the third game, Xu Qing's big bet won the money on the table again.

"I'll bet big, all in."

Following closely, a group of gamblers followed suit and all placed bets behind him.

"I will follow Master Xu's lead!"

"Yes, let's bet on the big one! Whatever Master Xu bets, we'll bet on!"

"..."

In just a short moment, a mountain of money was piled up on the gambling table.

The shopkeeper stood behind Xu Qing and touched his chin, which was seen by the dice thrower opposite him.

He immediately changed his technique and gently shook the Gu tube onto the table.

As soon as the dice roll fell to the ground, Xu Qing suddenly reached out and grabbed the wrist of the person who threw the dice, shocking the other person so much that he trembled all over.

"This time it's not big, it's small."

"what?"

The gamblers were all panicked after hearing this.

This is the family wealth of many of them, and they are just waiting to make some money from Master Xu and turn their fortunes around.

"Mr. Xu, you can't talk nonsense."

"Yes, Master Xu, a crow's mouth is a taboo in casinos."

Xu Qing continued to smile as he grabbed the other person's arm and moved it upwards.

When everyone saw the number in the tube, they were stunned and dumbfounded.

The whole house was filled with screams of ghosts and wolves howling.

"Really small!"

"It's over! We lost everything!"

Someone in the crowd noticed something strange and asked, "Wait, don't you find it strange? Why does Mr. Xu know the size of this point?"

"Really? He was right all four times. Could there be something else going on at the gambling table?"

These two sentences made all the gamblers sober up instantly. The possibility of guessing the answer correctly several times in a row was too low. Moreover, Mr. Xu's self-confidence made it hard to believe that he determined the result based on luck alone.

"Don't worry! My family has been operating in this alley on West Street for a year. When have we ever cheated you? Please don't slander me!"

The shopkeeper saw that the situation in the shop was not right and hurriedly stood up to defend himself.

"Young Master Xu was just lucky enough to guess the winner... Besides, didn't he lose too?

(End of this chapter)