20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 752 The Caged Bird
Guangyuan Bank, a branch in the north of the city.

It was almost dusk and the money shops had closed early. Although the shop doors were still open, there were no customers coming in or out.

There was a circle of painted iron bars around the counter, and the sound of abacus clacking could be heard. Qian Boshun, wearing reading glasses, was settling today's accounts. There were two other apprentices beside him, also busy with their own work.

At this moment, the light in front of the hall suddenly dimmed.

The apprentice stood up and looked around, then said with a slightly apologetic smile, "Sir, I'm sorry, we are closed."

The figure outside the door rushed in without saying a word, with some thrashing and fighting going on behind him, and he was followed by brothers number six or seven.

The apprentice had a bad feeling, so he leaned over and patted Qian Boshun, whispering, "Master, it seems like he's here to cause trouble, can you take a look?"

Qian Boshun frowned, took off his reading glasses, stood up and looked towards the door, thought for a moment, then calmly clasped his hands and asked with a smile, "I don't know you, gentlemen. May I ask what you can do for me?"

Laizi still didn't say anything. He led his brothers into the store and just looked around. He looked at the tea next to the customer seat, and then at today's exchange rate posted on the wall - it was useless to look at it because he couldn't read.

There are various exchange rates on the wall, including silver dollars, foreign currencies, Fengpiao, Ha Dayang notes and banknotes issued by the Communications Official Bank.

There is another slightly smaller table next to it, which lists the interest rates for deposits and loans.

Our brothers' work today was not in vain. We wandered around the riverside for a while and got about a hundred or eighty yuan in cash. We felt a little elated and even forgot our own weight.

Normally, this amount of money should be enough to pay for Xifeng's birthday party, but people are greedy and since the money came too easily, they all wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make more money.

Of course, it was not just for the sake of making money. Just showing off one's power was actually quite addictive. In the end, the brothers simply took turns blackmailing people. After satisfying their addiction to taking advantage of others, they really thought of themselves as omnipotent people.

When they arrived at Guangyuan Money House, it happened to be the beggar's turn to be in charge. He was so arrogant that his nose was almost turned upside down.

He stood in the store and stared at the exchange rate for a long time, then walked to the counter in a pretentious manner, pouted, and said, "I want to exchange it for dollars!"

Qian Boshun smiled and said, "Gentlemen, our shop will soon be closed. I am just settling accounts here. How about you go somewhere else first?"

"Stop talking nonsense, I want to exchange it for cash!"

"Hehe, sir, please don't embarrass me. We don't have much money in our store, so we give priority to our customers. We will not exchange it for anyone else."

"fart!"

The beggar raised his fist and slammed the table, glaring and cursing: "Fengpiao is the legal tender used in the whole province. It is clearly written on it that you can exchange it for foreign currency with the ticket. You, Guangyuan Bank, are really powerful. You even dare to disobey the decree of the provincial government. Do you still want to run your bank?"

Lai Zi and others followed suit: "Why waste time talking to him? Tell him to call out the shopkeeper!"

"Yes, I have no business to argue with you. Go call your shopkeeper out and I'll have a good chat with him!"

The kidnapper rolled up his sleeves as he spoke, and the others closed the shop door in an attempt to intimidate him.

Upon seeing this, the apprentice subconsciously turned around and shouted towards the back hall, but the master raised his hand to stop him.

"Gentlemen, now even the official silver bank no longer exchanges cash, why are you making things difficult for me? Besides, our store does not refuse to accept Fengpiao. If you want to deposit money, repay loans, exchange foreign currency, these types of business, our store will handle it without any hindrance. It's just that the cash is tight and we really can't exchange it."

Qian Boshun remained calm and composed, and even found it a little funny.

The kidnapper said, "Don't play tricks on me. You stopped accepting tickets last month and just changed back recently. Do you really think I don't know?"

"You may have remembered it wrongly."

"You are so stubborn. Do you believe that I will report you to the police station right now?"

"Okay, go ahead and sue me. I still have some accounts to settle, so I won't keep you here in vain."

"oops?"

The kidnapper thought to himself, how come this guy is even more pretentious than me? Is he really like a dead pig that is not afraid of boiling water?
The more he thought about it, the more unhappy he became. He immediately grabbed the iron bars on the counter and shook them vigorously, cursing, "Do you think I'm kidding you? Hurry up and call your shopkeeper out, or I'll tear down your shabby shop, believe it or not?"

"Our boss is not here, I am the shopkeeper here, just say whatever you want to say!"

Finally getting to the point, the kidnapper followed suit and couldn't wait to blurt out his blackmail rhetoric.

Qian Boshun smiled knowingly, nodded and said, "Oh, I see, you gentlemen are here to blackmail us."

"Hey, don't say such harsh words!" The kidnapper also narrowed his eyes, "Since we are in the underworld, we are all unlucky people. How about this, you give me fifty dollars, and you can save me trouble in the future. Let's make friends and make things convenient for each other, isn't it great!"

After these words were spoken, even the two apprentices at the counter couldn't help laughing out loud.

Lai Zi and the others saw this and immediately pulled sticks out of their sleeves and smashed them against the iron fence, shouting, "Are you laughing at your mother, you little slave? Get out of here!"

"Gentlemen, please stop smashing it. It's all newly painted. I'll pay for it. Isn't it okay to pay for it?"

Qian Boshun hurriedly stopped them, but he didn't look flustered. He just asked, "I don't know where you gentlemen are from. Could you please tell me the outline so that I can spend my money wisely?"

The beggar was very proud, patting his chest and saying, "Okay, brother, I'll help you open your eyes today. When you have time, go to the riverside of South City and listen carefully. I'm Lao Guai, this is Lai Ye, and this is Shitou. I won't explain the rest to you. Just listen carefully and know what's going on."

"Hiss, the small riverside in the south city, if I remember correctly, should be the territory of the Third Master of the Jiang Family, right?"

"Hey, this old guy is really good, he is not a 'loophole'. Since you have heard of the Third Master of the Jiang Family, don't hesitate, just pay the money!"

"That's right, if Third Master has any difficulties, let alone fifty dollars in cash, even if it's five hundred dollars, I can't refuse..."

Qian Boshun said this but locked the drawer containing the money. When he looked up again, there was no smile on his face.

He had already figured out the details of the person who came, so he stopped pretending and said coldly, "However, I do have a question for you. I will give you the money now. When it comes tonight, will you come to pay it back, or will Mr. Li San come to pay it back in person?"

Everyone was stunned.

Laizi and Shitou looked at each other and immediately felt something strange. On the contrary, the blind cripple was still behaving like an arrogant gangster. He seemed to feel that his dignity was challenged and became even more shouting.

"Fuck you, you're still pretending to be so high and mighty. What's your money? No one can take back what's in my hands. I'm telling you, we brothers have a life-long friendship with the Third Master. Who the hell do you think you are..."

Before he could finish his words, Lai Zi and Shi Tou pulled him from behind and said anxiously in a low voice: "Kuaizhe, let's go out and discuss it first. I feel something is wrong."

However, the kidnapper had already lifted himself up, and he was just running away in such a confused manner. He felt a little embarrassed, so he immediately broke free from his arms and said nonchalantly: "What's wrong? Listen to him bragging, let's see what he can do to me, old man, get out here!"

This is unusual and indeed a little strange.

Lai Zi and others were in the lower class of society, and they often saw those boastful and threatening people, but there was one thing they had never seen: anyone dared to make fun of the Jiang family in public, or even dared to say something about Master Li San.

At present, it is necessary to reconsider.

However, Qian Boshun did not give them a chance and immediately shouted to the apprentice beside him: "Call someone!"

The thugs in the back of the store had been waiting for a long time. Before the apprentice could say anything, the door curtain was lifted and five or six strong men in shorts rushed out and rushed towards Laizi and others.

This time I really ran into a tough guy.

Lai Zi and others did not dare to delay and hurriedly picked up their sticks to sweep left and right.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to break the deal? We are not here to eat and do nothing. If you offend the Third Master... and the Jiang family, you will forget about staying in Fengtian!" The kidnapper became even more arrogant. He made up his mind and said, "Brothers, let's fight them. Fifty dollars is too little. If we want to fight, let's do something big. Let's just rob this bank--"

Before he could finish his words, he suddenly turned around and ran towards the store door.

Before everyone could come to their senses and look again, they saw the five or six sturdy men lower their right hands and take out Condor brand rifles at the same time.

How can a stick be better than a bullet?

Now was not the time to be brave, and everyone rushed to the store entrance.

Unexpectedly, after running a few steps, he saw the shop door burst open. The bodyguards of Guangyuan Money House had already circled back from the backyard to the front door, waiting for this group of little hooligans!
The beggar was rushing in the fastest, and he didn't stop in time when he reached the door. He was kicked hard in the chest and fell backwards on the spot. He struggled to get up in a hurry, but before he could stand firmly, the other party put a gun to his forehead.

"Uncle, don't shoot!"

The speed at which he gave in was beyond imagination, and even the other brothers were shocked.

At the same time, Lai Zi and others were all subdued by the Su family's bodyguards at gunpoint.

The movements are crisp and neat, never sloppy.

When a ruffian meets a legitimate gang, the gap between them is too huge. In the blink of an eye, he half-knelt down. It was so embarrassing.

However, Laizi and Shitou still have some backbone.

Although he was unable to resist due to the gun, he was not as determined as the kidnapper. He knelt down when he was told to, without making things difficult for himself.

"Master, I was wrong. I won't do it again. Please forgive me!"

The beggar put his legs together and sat on his heels. His body twisted for a moment, and the color of his trouser legs gradually became darker.

When Laizi and Shitou saw this, they turned their heads away, feeling embarrassed.

The kidnapper ignored all that and just kowtowed desperately, hesitatingly explaining, "Sir, this wasn't my idea. It really wasn't my idea. I'm just a hanger-on. This has nothing to do with me!"

"You son of a bitch, didn't you just say you wanted to rob our bank?"

The Su family bodyguard raised his arm and was about to hit him on the head, but suddenly a voice came from the counter to stop him: "Wait!"

Turning around, looking through the painted iron fence, I saw Qian Boshun raising his hand to stop the bodyguard.

No one dared to act rashly and they stopped talking.

Qian Boshun walked out from behind the counter, walked forward slowly, looked at Laizi carefully, and said, "Don't be depressed. I have long seen that you are the backbone."

The leper said nothing, but he also did not deny it.

"How old are you this year?" Qian Boshun suddenly asked.

"Twenty-eight."

"Weren't you from Fengtian before?"

"I came here a few years ago. What's wrong?"

Qian Boshun nodded, glanced at the others, and saw that they all looked to be in their twenties, then sighed.

"Our boss always keeps a low profile and doesn't like to get involved in these things in the underworld. We just want to be honest businessmen. Ignorance is not a crime. I won't pursue today's matter. Brothers, please don't cause trouble in the future and save Boss Jiang and Xiao Xifeng the worry!"

"Do you know Boss Jiang?" Laizi asked.

"Yes, I know him. We were quite familiar with each other in the past!" Qian Boshun explained, "Our boss and Boss Jiang were good friends. Although we have lost contact in recent years, we don't have any hatred against each other. Boss Jiang once saved the Su family. If you are really in trouble, I can help you, but if you want to blackmail the Su family, you still lack some skills!"

"Su family?"

"You don't need to go back and listen. I'll just tell you one thing: the Su family just retreated, not destroyed. Stay away from us!"

As he said this, Qian Boshun turned around, glanced at the beggar with contempt, and then walked towards the counter with his hands behind his back, saying as he walked: "Don't be so friendly with everyone. Some people are not worth it. Be careful not to lose face for Boss Jiang."

The beggar knelt on the ground, feeling uneasy after hearing these words. He felt himself shrinking smaller and smaller. He thought that kowtowing and begging for mercy could buy him a chance of survival, but in the end he ended up being neither a human nor a human.

Qian Boshun waved his hand and said without turning his head: "Let's forget about this matter today. Let's go. We are closing now."

Laizi and the others looked at each other, and only walked out of the bank in a daze until the Su family's bodyguard pushed them from behind.

"You get out too!" the bodyguard shouted at the beggar.

The beggar hurriedly got up and rushed out of the shop, only to find that the beggar and the others had already left.

He felt a little embarrassed but had nowhere else to go, so he had to save face and run back to the riverside.

Before leaving, he turned around to look at the shop behind him. There were four big words written on the plaque: Guangyuan Money House.

In the year of Xinhai, the Su family spent a lot of money to avoid disaster, which seriously damaged their vitality.

Although this is true, it depends on who you are comparing with. Of course, you can't compare with the Jiang family, but compared with ordinary wealthy people, the Su family is still wealthy.

Now, more than ten years have passed. Old man Su Yuansheng has long passed away. Under Su Wenqi's diligent management, the business of Guangyuan Money House has been getting better and better.

After all, the Su family was well-educated and understood modern finance. As a result, they had anticipated the inevitable result of the devaluation of Fengpiao long before this shock, so they took precautions in advance and borrowed foreign currency to avoid a substantial shrinkage of their assets.

Moreover, the Su family's official connections have never been severed, otherwise they would have been innocently arrested and used as a scapegoat for Lao Zhang.

Money houses often need to collect debts. When ordinary banknote houses encounter scoundrels, they can only ask underworld gangs to step in to resolve the issue. However, the Su family has always retained their own debt collectors and bodyguards, but they are only used for business purposes and are not abused.

If you ask who in Fengtian is most likely to replace Jiang Lianheng's position, it must be Su Wenqi without a doubt, but he just doesn't like fighting in the underworld.

Qian Boshun walked slowly to the counter and carefully looked at the damage to the iron fence.

The bodyguard came over and asked, "Master Qian, are you letting them go now?"

"What else can we do if we don't let them go?" Qian Boshun touched the paint that had been knocked off the iron railing. "The boss finally got out. If you beat them up, they will definitely hold a grudge against you, and that will create a grudge. If you stab them, with Mr. Li's temper... forget it!"

"Then... don't you need to tell the boss about this?"

"Prepare the car for me. I'll go to the old house and explain the situation."

The bodyguards took orders and left. Qian Boshun still seemed to be feeling a little emotional. He carefully groped for the iron fence and muttered to himself:

“The sea is wide enough for fish to leap, and the sky is high enough for birds to fly.

“Even if we don’t want to fight with the Jiang family, why do we have to lock ourselves in this cage?

"It's only been a dozen years, and even this bunch of low-class hooligans dare to run wild in front of the Su family. If the old man were still here..."

(End of this chapter)