Chapter 247: Easy Target for Running an Inn

After fiddling with the abacus for a while, Jiang Dafu looked up at Lin Dong with a beaming smile.
“Young Master Lin, for thirteen types of silk, one piece of each, the total is sixty-five taels. Since you’re buying so much at once, I’ll give it to you for sixty taels. That means you can get four pieces of each of the thirteen types of silk. Besides, since this is your first time at our silk shop, I’ll go ahead and give you half an extra piece of each type. What do you think?”
“Not bad,” Lin Dong nodded slowly.
Jiang Dafu breathed a sigh of relief, while Liu An was secretly astonished. He knew all the silks in the shop well; although he didn’t know the cost, he remembered exactly how much they were usually sold for. Thirteen pieces of silk usually only fetched around twenty taels at most.
Sixty taels? He really dared to ask for that.
At the counter, Jiang Dafu finished recording the transaction with a wide grin, then eagerly opened a drawer. After glancing inside, he froze. His face turned pale.
Swallowing hard, he carefully felt around the already cramped drawer before looking up at Lin Dong and asking cautiously, “Young Master Lin, should we settle the bill now or after the goods are delivered to your residence?”
“Settle now or after delivery?” Lin Dong asked in confusion. “I already gave you the silver. I even checked when I left the jewelry shop—there were still twenty-four taels of gold left.”
Jiang Dafu was shocked. He had given the silver? So, it wasn’t a hallucination?
It indeed couldn’t be a hallucination; otherwise, how would he have known how to calculate the cost? But then, where did the gold go? Where was the money bag?
After searching under the counter for a while, Jiang Dafu’s cheerful expression turned grim. After much hesitation, he couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master Lin, are you joking? I don’t think I took your silver…”
“You didn’t take my silver. I gave you a small bag of gold,” Lin Dong said nonchalantly.
“But I didn’t receive any gold from you either,” Jiang Dafu replied, watching Lin Dong’s expression carefully.
Lin Dong frowned and then glared at Jiang Dafu coldly. “Are you trying to joke with me?”
“Never, never…” Jiang Dafu waved his hands frantically, hesitating to speak.
“Never?” Lin Dong snorted coldly and slammed the table, shouting, “You clearly received my gold, yet you claim you didn’t. If it’s not a joke, then you’re trying to swindle me!”
“This… this…”

Jiang Dafu was drenched in sweat and so anxious that he could hardly speak. The gold had indeed been given. But now it suddenly disappeared—he couldn’t just give away so much silk for free at a loss. Yet if he denied it, the other party seemed noble and clearly not from an ordinary family. All that silk was only worth seventy or eighty taels of silver. Though that was a lot, offending someone he couldn’t afford to anger would have even worse consequences.

Seeing that something seemed off, the shop assistants gathered around, amused by Jiang Dafu’s embarrassed state.

“Good job, Baili Silk Shop—trying to swindle me out of gold just by outnumbering me.” But Lin Dong clearly saw these onlookers as helpers. Winking at Liu Hua behind him, he shouted, “Go to the inn and call all the assistants over. Tear this silk shop apart today!”

“Misunderstanding, it’s a misunderstanding, Young Master Lin. Wait, I…” Jiang Dafu hurriedly tried to reach out from behind the counter to grab Lin Dong but still fell short. He quickly ran to a side counter leading to the back door.

Before he could open it, Jiang Dafu’s hurried steps suddenly stopped.

An inn?

Jiang Dafu glanced at Liu Hua, who was striding out the door, then at Lin Dong, and asked softly, “Young Master Lin, does your family run an inn?”

“And what if it does?” Lin Dong replied coldly.

So they really run an inn?

Jiang Dafu felt relieved. These days, what business was the most profitable? For shops of the same size, gambling houses, money shops, and pawnshops were definitely at the top, followed by antique shops, rice shops, and restaurants. In the third tier were tea shops, jewelry shops, silk shops, and the like. Though the shops looked similar in size, the demands they faced differed greatly, resulting in profits that varied by dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of times.

An inn did take up a lot of space, but in terms of profit, it was only slightly higher than some smaller shops.

“Brat, that’s why I thought you were so generous—refusing to pay back the money yet asking for so much silk at once.” Jiang Dafu sneered. “So you’re a swindler. Business has been bad at your inn lately, so you pretended to be a rich young master to steal silver? Too bad, you’ve been exposed.”

The assistants were disappointed—things had turned around so quickly.

Lin Dong was speechless. He had deliberately asked Liu Hua to go to the inn to bring in the assistants, hoping that Boss Jiang would try to contact them. Unexpectedly, not only did Boss Jiang not think of that, but hearing the word “inn” actually made him bolder.

Could someone who runs an inn really be so easy to fool?

Seeing Lin Dong speechless, Jiang Dafu’s cold expression grew even darker. “Brat, whether you’re a swindler or really lost the gold, how dare a inn owner threaten to destroy a silk shop after losing silver there? Isn’t that asking for trouble?”
He suddenly flung open the small door in the counter and waved his hand. “Arrest this swindler! Do you really think my Bai Li Silk Shop is a place where anyone can act recklessly? If I don’t teach him a lesson today, I’m not Jiang Dafu at all!”
Inside the counter, the workers remained indifferent. More than a dozen against two—seemingly an easy win, but one of them was a bodyguard. Everyone saw the silver being given and put into the drawer; he couldn’t possibly be a swindler.
If he wasn’t a swindler, then the bodyguard was real. If he charged in alone, he might end up with broken arms or legs if faced with a tough opponent.
Even if he was a swindler, they had two people. If he fought bravely but was in desperate straits, he might still take a punch or two. With Jiang Dafu’s temper, not only would he likely refuse to pay for medical treatment, but he might even deduct a day or two’s wages.
It wasn’t worth it no matter how you looked at it!
He strode angrily toward Lin Dong, afraid he might run away. Jiang Dafu grabbed his clothes and snarled, “Brat, when coming to swindle, don’t even bring a few people to back you up. With just the two of you, my workers can knock you down with one punch each.”
Looking at the workers who had stood motionless by the counter, Liu An wanted to warn Jiang Dafu, but at his fierce expression and ridiculous behavior, he felt disgust without reason.
“It seems you often deduct your workers’ wages,” Lin Dong said calmly.
Jiang Dafu was stunned for a moment before sticking his left index finger into Lin Dong’s chest several times. “Brat, don’t talk nonsense. Tell me! Do you want to settle this privately or officially?”
“Privately!” Lin Dong replied calmly.
“Alright. Daring to come to my Bai Li Silk Shop to swindle.” Jiang Dafu felt pleased. After thinking for a while, he sneered, “By my standards, you should pay me double whatever you planned to swindle from me. But out of pity, I won’t take double. Two hundred and forty taels will do.”
“I don’t have any. The gold I had left from this trip is all in my money bag, which I’m giving to you,” Lin Dong said slowly.
Jiang Dafu looked hesitant, unsure whether to believe him. After thinking for a while, he resolved himself. True or not, today was his bad day.
“Don’t think hiding the gold will fool me. If not, use the inn as collateral.”
“Use the inn as collateral?” Lin Dong laughed.

“Right!” Jiang Dafu waved his hand again, speaking with domineering authority, “Bring pen and ink so he can sign and seal it. Otherwise, take him to the yamen. With my relationship with Head Wang, aside from everything else, don’t even think about getting 200 or 300 taels in compensation. He’ll also have to spend ten or eight years in prison. And there’s a good chance he’ll suffer physical abuse too.”
The shouting and threats gradually faded away, leaving a terrifying silence in the silk shop.
Jiang Dafu tightened his right hand, which was firmly gripping Lin Dong’s clothes, and turned back suspiciously, instantly filling with rage.
These bastards—none of them stepped forward.
“Are you deaf or mute? I told you to bring pen and ink! Did you hear me?”
The workers exchanged glances. Bringing pen and ink shouldn’t be dangerous, right?
“Damn it! Do you want me to deduct two days’ worth of your wages?” Jiang Dafu almost let go of Lin Dong and rushed over to slap one of them. His right hand tightened and loosened again. In the end, he still considered Lin Dong more important. He turned to the others and snapped, “Zhang Tai, go get pen and ink. Everyone else, get out and surround those two. If you’re a minute late, I’ll deduct a month’s worth of your wages.”
Zhang Tai, the worker named that, was overjoyed. Without hesitation, he turned and headed straight for the back door. The other workers carefully observed Lin Dong and Liu An behind him, confirming there seemed to be no danger. Before Jiang Dafu could get angry again, they quickly stepped out from behind the counter and surrounded the three from three sides. No one dared to risk blocking the side leading to the main door.
If things got desperate, they would surely run through the main door. Standing there to block them would undoubtedly be the most dangerous.
Jiang Dafu gritted his teeth in anger. Fortunately, having been in business for decades—though it was a family business—he still had some sense. He secretly resolved that he would try to deduct all of these workers’ monthly wages someday. For now, he had to hold back and not let anyone notice. Otherwise, if they really ran away, he would be alone and unable to stop them.
Before long, Zhang Tai returned, running, with pen, ink, paper, and inkstone all ready.
Jiang Dafu pulled Lin Dong to the counter, slapped the blank paper, and ordered, “Write that you came to Baili Silk Shop today to swindle, were caught by me, and are willing to pay 240 taels of silver to settle it out of court. Since you can’t pay right away, you’re willing to use the inn as collateral.”
“If I write it, will you really take it?” Lin Dong asked meaningfully.
“Won’t I?” Jiang Dafu laughed loudly. “Kid, do you think you can sue me for extortion later?”
Lin Dong remained silent.

Jiang Dafu tapped the counter and said bluntly, “Write down exactly what I say, then have the clerk bring over the inn’s deed so we can complete the transfer documents. When you come to exchange it for money later, it doesn’t matter if the amount is a bit less. That way, we’ll be even. If you want to sue me at the government office and aren’t afraid of suffering physical pain, go ahead. Let me tell you—given my relationship with Head Wang, we’re already as close as brothers.”

Lin Dong couldn’t help but look at Liu An behind him, who was standing there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do, and asked, “Is this kind of boss worth unwavering loyalty?”

Seeing Lin Dong look at him, Liu An’s face instantly turned red as he felt utterly ashamed.

Lin Dong patted his shoulder, raised his eyebrows slightly, and said with a smile, “Comparing the two, my boss is still better, right? These days, it’s rare to find a boss who’s willing to let his employees threaten him by grabbing his clothes and poking his chest.”

Liu An was stunned for a moment before nodding firmly.

Lin Dong smiled leisurely, picked up a writing brush, and started writing boldly on the blank paper. In no time, an IOU was written—slightly crooked but grand in scale, using Lin’s Inn as collateral.