Chapter Five: Whoever is bigger gets to decide

  Do you believe that pies will fall from the sky? Do you believe that five hundred taels of silver can appear in a plain pocket? All these are possible, Wang, an official from Huizhou, has encountered such good fortune. This man is also known as the God of Wealth in his hometown and came to Shazhou purely to accompany his wife on a visit home. Originally, he was asked to leave behind his many family businesses at home and take a few days off in Shazhou, but he was extremely unwilling. Under duress, he began wandering around the city, and unexpectedly picked up "silver" on the ground - although before it became silver, it was just an IOU, a five-hundred-tael note from Guangyuan Pawnshop. According to the pawnshop's rules, if you cash it in at half value, wouldn't that be equivalent to redeeming a pearl worth one thousand taels?

  The weather was nice, with a gentle breeze and sunshine. Qi Xian walked into the Guangyuan pawnshop with a big smile on his face. Most of the employees thought that this new shopkeeper was very gentle and always smiling, so he should be easy to get along with. However, a small number of people from the Gui Shu faction thought that this shopkeeper looked like a smiling tiger, and Qi Xian's friendly smile seemed like a sly and sinister grin in their eyes.

  Before Qi Xie had even entered the shop, Zhang Xiaohua came out with a smile on his face. Although people like him usually don't look very reliable, he was always saying good things about Gu Shu in front of himself. For example, yesterday's deal, where Gu Shu exchanged for an extraordinary pearl at a low price, Zhang Xiaohua almost made Gu Shu sound like a god. But people like this are actually not to be feared. At the same time, Qi Xie also heard some news from Zhang Xiaohua, perhaps this was originally what Gu Shu hoped he would convey to himself. The 500 taels deal is neither too much nor too little, but this deal made by Gu Shu is recorded on Qi Xie's performance record. On this point, Qi Xie is quite admiring of Gan Jing, who actually had the idea of performance appraisal in this feudal society.

  It's just that Master Gui doesn't seem to be the kind of person who likes to help his juniors. Although he always looks benevolent, she can't think of a single pearl that could harm her, or maybe others just want to use this to repay the favor from last time. Zhang Xiaohua was like a little sparrow, and it wasn't easy for her to hear Master Gui stop saying those two words "Master Gui". He started talking endlessly about that pearl that seemed to exist only in heaven. Qiuxu also became curious.

  The small house next to the pawnshop had a sign outside its door that read "Warehouse, no entry for idle people". This must be where the treasure is hidden. After Zhang Xiaohua opened the wooden box containing the bright pearl, Qiuxu couldn't help but feel a flash of excitement in front of her eyes. She remembered from her past life reading books that to identify whether a pearl was of high quality or not, one only needed to place it in a dark place and see if its luster remained unchanged.

  However, Qi Xi only touched the pearl and her fingertips felt a strange sensation. She picked it up and took a closer look, and found that her fingertips were stained with silver powder. Many things suddenly became clear, and when she looked at Zhang Xiaohua again, her eyes turned cold. "You're good, Zhang Xiaohua, you're good, dead Ah Gui! You think women are easy to fool?" Qi Xi found Uncle Gui looking at the account book. When he saw it was Qi Xi visiting, he immediately put on a humble attitude, asking her to sit down and personally pouring tea: "Qi Xi's face doesn't look very good, is the shop's business too tiring?"

  "Uncle Gui, you're the oldest person in the shop. I'd like to hear your opinion on this matter. I won't beat around the bush with you. Just now, I followed Zhang Xiaohua to the warehouse to see that pearl, and surprisingly, I found out that the world's most unique pearl had turned into a dead fish eye coated with lead powder! This deal was made by you personally... Your discerning eye is naturally trustworthy. What I want to ask is whether you think it's possible that one of our shop assistants switched the pearls?"

  This matter is clear in my mind, but I couldn't say it out loud. If it were indeed one of our shop assistants who did it, they would have probably run away with the pearl long ago. Why would they still be here, worrying and fearing? Today, all of our shop assistants are present, not a single one is missing. Moreover, the warehouse has a dedicated guard, and except for the shop owner, no one else can sneak in. Although I don't know who's guarding the warehouse, the fact that Guangyuan Pawnshop has never had a theft incident before speaks to their abilities.

  He's indeed an old fox. Uncle Gui calmly put down his teacup: "Most of the apprentices in the shop have been with me since the beginning, and I'm familiar with their character. It's unlikely they'd deceive customers by switching pearls, if what Seventh Master said is true and the Western Region Pearl has become a dead fish eye, it must be my oversight for not seeing clearly. Since it's my mistake, I'll make sure to compensate for the loss in the pawnshop today." This old man didn't even argue, he just admitted it, and he was getting more and more unclear about Uncle Gui's thoughts. Or maybe what Father and Gan Jing said is true, that when facing those old foxes, he still appears too naive, and this Uncle Gui, who is supposed to be a family member, has already made him feel uneasy.

  "Uncle Gui, that person has come again." Just as Uncle Gui sat in his office for a while, Zhang Xiaohua rushed in. From the beginning, it was a premeditated plan. Who is that person? But seeing Uncle Gui lightly laugh and say: "Seventh boss, what I said can be done." Then he took out another counterfeit pawn ticket and threw it on the street after discovering the fake pearl. Unexpectedly, someone really came to redeem it. In fact, the loss of 500 taels in the pawnshop had been recovered long ago.

  "This is clearly our own negligence, why should we shift the blame to others? The injustice has a head and the debt has an owner. If that person finds out it's a fake pearl, where will the reputation of Guangyuan Pawnshop be?" Qi Xi strongly protested against Uncle Gui's approach.

  "Qi Zhanggui is probably doing business for the first time. There's a saying that goes 'no business can be done without cheating', and another one says 'a kind heart cannot make big deals'. I've fulfilled my promise to Qi Zhanggui, and now it's all settled."

  "If the loss is not recovered, who should be responsible will bear it." Gu Shu's face also sank after hearing Qi Xie's words, perhaps not expecting the other party to be so unyielding. They continued arguing all the way to the front hall. The man had been cheated and had a belly full of fire, and now he was being delayed by the pawnshop for so long. When he saw the two of them, he finally exploded: "Isn't this pawnshop cheating people? Is this really my pearl worth a thousand taels? It's clearly just a dead fish eye! Refund me!"

  When subjected to external pressure, Uncle Gui showed a rare sense of overall situation and stopped arguing with Qi Xi. He pushed the receipt in front of the person who came: "Is this IOU yours?" The person replied straightforwardly: Of course.

  "What's wrong with the ticket number being consistent? If you say this isn't your pearl, then tell me what your pearl looks like." The man was taken aback by Uncle Gui's scolding, and his face turned red with embarrassment. It was Wang Yuanwai, who had picked up the pawn ticket on the street earlier and thought he had made a small fortune, but ended up losing 500 taels of silver instead. Now, he couldn't explain himself, and his fat face was beet red.

  "Xiao Hua, return the money!" Although this was a lesson for the other party's petty gain, as a modern person, Qi Xi understood the importance of integrity even more.

  "Wait, did Qi Zhanggui ever think about the business of the Gan family? How could he so easily hand over 500 taels of silver to someone else?" Gu Shu pulled Qi Zhanggui aside again.

  Qī xiāo had long been tired of the endless disputes with him, from a young age she had this temperament, as long as she was determined about something, no matter what others said, she would not change her mind. This time was no exception. Obviously it was her own mistake, why should someone else bear the consequences? "Who's in charge here, doesn't Uncle Gui know? Xiao Hua, return the money! Whoever cheated me will have to spit out the silver."