Deadly Game: Almighty Boss’s Guide to Making Money

Chapter 1347. Yunjin Tailoring Workshop (4)

Outside the door came Ah Zhen's voice, choked with sobs: "I'm sorry, I can't let you take Yun Jin away. The boss said it's the money to save my brother's life!"

"Ah Zhen?" Lin Xi walked to the door. "What happened to your brother? What's the relationship between Yun Jin and your brother?"

"My younger brother has tuberculosis and needs a lot of money for treatment."

Ah Zhen's voice came through the door, choked with sobs.

"On the tenth day of the third month, the boss found the stolen Yunjin brocade, but he said he wanted to return it to the Shen family. However, my brother's illness could not wait any longer. I secretly hid the Yunjin brocade, intending to sell it to raise money for my brother's treatment. When the boss found out, he was going to report it to the authorities. In my panic, I locked him in the right wing room."

"You locked the boss up?" Old Qiu frowned. "The right-hand wing?"

"Yes, I know I was wrong, but I can't live without my brother." Ah Zhen's voice grew softer and softer. "The key to the right-hand room is hidden in the clasp of the number eight cheongsam. You can go and get it, but please don't hurt the boss or tell anyone about Yun Jin. I will raise the money as soon as possible and return it to the Shen family."

Footsteps could be heard outside; it seemed Ah Zhen had run away.

—I knew something was off about Ah Zhen.

—123 and Lao Qiu probably figured it out a long time ago, but they just didn't ask.

—I never expected her to say it herself.

—Yeah, shouldn't we let everyone find the clues themselves?

—Ah Zhen also provided the clues!
“This Ah Zhen looks quite pitiful, but we can’t illegally detain her!” Xu Youyou sighed. “Let’s go get the keys and rescue the boss.”

Everyone returned to the front hall and came to the number eight plain-colored cheongsam with a single button.

The single-button clasp is simple and elegant, without any unnecessary decorations. Lin Xi gently pinched one end of the clasp and, following the method of unbuttoning other Chinese knot buttons, gently pulled it open.

Sure enough, a small brass key was hidden inside the buttonhole, with the words "side room" engraved on it.

"Got the key!" Ye Hanzhou excitedly took the key. "Let's hurry and rescue the boss!"

The group returned to the backyard and walked to the door of the right-hand wing room.

Ye Hanzhou inserted the key into the lock and turned it gently; the door opened.

As soon as I opened the door, a musty smell hit me.

The room was dark, with only a small window letting in a faint light. Inside were a bed, a table, and a chair. A middle-aged man in a long robe sat in the chair, his hands bound behind his back and a gag in his mouth. Seeing them enter, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes, and he struggled slightly.

"boss?"

Lin Xi quickly stepped forward, untied the ropes binding the man, and removed the gag from his mouth.

"Thank you, thank you!" The man gasped for breath, his voice hoarse. "I've been locked up here by Ah Zhen for three days. She hid the Yun Jin brocade, saying she wanted to sell it to pay for her brother's medical treatment."

"Is Ah Zhen's brother suffering from tuberculosis?" Han Xinyi asked.

The man nodded.

"Yes, Ah Zhen's younger brother is seriously ill and needs imported Western medicine, which is very expensive."

On the seventh day of the third lunar month, the Shen family sent me brocade and asked me to make a wedding cheongsam for their young lady. They paid a deposit of fifty silver dollars.

I gave the deposit to Ah Zhen so she could use it to treat my brother's illness. Unexpectedly, on the ninth day of the third lunar month, the brocade was stolen.

I searched everywhere and finally found Yun Jin on the tenth day of the third month. It turned out that Ah Zhen had secretly hidden it, intending to sell it to get more money for her brother's medical treatment. When I tried to report her to the authorities, she locked me up.

“We’ve found the brocade; it’s in the warehouse,” Lin Bei said. “But we only found one bolt, and it seems a small piece was cut off.”

The boss sighed.

“That small piece was cut off by Ah Zhen. She wanted to sell it first to get some money for medicine.” He stood up and stretched his stiff hands and feet. “The young lady of the Shen family is getting married the day after tomorrow. The cheongsam must be finished by tomorrow, otherwise the Shen family will not let it go.”

"So what should we do now?" Zuo Ting looked at the shopkeeper. "Should I finish the cheongsam for you, or return the brocade to the Shen family?"

The boss shook his head.

“A piece of the brocade has already been cut, not enough to make a complete cheongsam. Moreover, Miss Shen from the Shen family specifically requested a pattern of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, and there is no time to make one now.”

He walked to the table in the room, picked up a piece of drawing paper with a design sketch of a cheongsam on it.

“I originally wanted to use other fabrics instead, but the Shen family wouldn’t allow it, saying that it had to be Yun brocade.”

Looking at the design drawings, Lin Xi noticed that the button design was exactly the same as the eight cheongsams on the wall, all featuring double rings, butterflies, and ruyi patterns.

“Since we don’t have enough Yun brocade, could we use other fabrics to piece it together?” Lin Bei said, remembering that there were many other fabrics in the warehouse. “For example, we could use other colors of Yun brocade or silk to piece together a pattern of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix?”

The boss's eyes lit up.

“That’s one way, but the splicing process is very complicated, and it requires fabrics that match in color and texture, otherwise it will affect the overall effect.”

He looked at Lin Bei.

"Could you help me find suitable fabric, and also that small piece of brocade that's missing?"

"Where is the missing piece of brocade?" Zuo Ting asked.

The boss shook his head.

“I don’t know, Ah Zhen hid it. She only said that she would return the rest of the brocade to me once she had raised enough money, but now she’s run away, and I don’t know where she went.” He looked out the window. “There are many shops on this street. Ah Zhen may have gone to a silk shop or a jewelry store to try and sell that small piece of brocade.”

“We can split up and search,” Lin Xi suggested. “There are nine of us in total. We’ll divide into three groups: one group will go to the silk shop, one group will go to the jewelry store, and one group will stay at the tailor shop to continue looking for clues.”

Old Qiu nodded.

“That’s a good idea. I’ll take Ye Hanzhou and Xu Youyou to the silk shop, Xiao Qin and Zuo Ting to the jewelry shop, and Xiao Mu, Shucai, and Han Xinyi to the tailor shop. We’ll all meet here later.”

Everyone agreed, packed their things, and set off.

Looking at the five remaining cheongsams on the wall, Lin Xi felt that there was still some clue she hadn't found.

She walked up to the number six grape-button cheongsam and examined the buttons closely. She discovered that each "grape" in the button was woven from silk threads of different colors, and one of them was even made from scraps of brocade.

"Look at this," Lin Xi said to Han Xinyi and Bai Yueming. "This grape is made of Yun brocade, just like the Yun brocade in the warehouse."

Han Xinyi picked up a magnifying glass and indeed saw that the material of the "grapes" was the same as that of Yun brocade, and there were also plum blossom marks on it.

"This should be made from the small piece of brocade that was lost!"

Bai Yueming leaned closer and gently picked the "grape," discovering a tiny piece of paper hidden inside with an address written on it: "No. 3, Chengxi Lane."