Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 146

That night, the Tong family, and even the entire Kuandian City, were in turmoil.

The government sent officials to cooperate with the Tong family to search the city for the whereabouts of the three children.

But until midnight, there was no sign of the child.

What is even more worrying is that after a night of treatment, although the old man of the Tong family woke up with his eyes open, his mouth was crooked and his eyes were slanted. Half of his body could not move, and he could not speak. When he opened his mouth, he could only make a hoarse sound.

The doctor said that it was a stroke and he couldn't guarantee whether it could be cured.

When the old ladies of the Tong family, the eldest grandmother and the second grandmother, learned that their child was missing, they cried their hearts out and fainted several times.

That night, no one in the Tong family closed their eyes, and they stayed up all night.

The next morning, when the doorman opened the door, a letter fell through the crack.

When the doorman saw it, he did not dare to delay and immediately delivered the letter to the master of the Tong family.

Boss Tong took the letter, opened it, and was so angry that he trembled all over.

It turned out that the letter said that the three children were in their hands, and if they wanted to keep them safe, they should prepare 50,000 pieces of silver.

If no money is paid to redeem the person or report to the authorities within three days, the person will be killed.

The letter also contained a jade pendant and an amulet.

When Boss Tong saw it, he realized that the jade pendant belonged to his fourth brother, and the amulet was exactly what his wife had asked for their son a while ago. It was definitely not fake.

"These conscienceless beasts, if I know who did this, I will bring people to defeat them."

Boss Tong held the letter in his hand, his hands shaking with anger.

"Brother, what's going on?"

When Tong Laoer saw that something was wrong, he immediately took the letter. But when he read it, he was so angry.

"Fuck his ancestors, who are these gangsters so blind that they kidnapped our family?"

Generally speaking, whether gangsters are destroying a kiln or kidnapping someone, they have to step on the plate and find out the details beforehand.

Family like the Tong family, which have relatives in the imperial court and strong foundation, are generally called "Dingqing Kiln".

The gangs dared not to provoke such a family easily. If they were not careful, they would mobilize the imperial army to suppress the bandits.

Not only will they not gain any benefits, but they may even be wiped out by others.

Over the years, no one has ever dared to target the Tong family. I didn't expect to encounter them today. No wonder the Tong brothers were so angry.

"Brother, what should we do now? Fifty thousand taels of silver is something our family can't come up with in a short time."

"We have to make do even if we can't get them all together. Three children are in their hands. They are our lifeblood."

Boss Tong’s eyes turned red with anxiety and he shouted angrily.

"Go, send people to various shops to raise money. Take out whatever you have at home. Hurry and make the most of the time."

Tong Lao Da is the eldest son. Now that his father has passed away, he has the final say in the family.

Who dared not to listen to him? So the brothers immediately took action and went everywhere to raise money.

It is true that the Tong family is a wealthy family, but most of their money is in shops and farms. How could they have so much cash?

After two days of hard work, he only managed to raise 20,000 taels of silver.

That evening, just after the Tong family had finished dinner, the doorman heard someone knocking on the door. When he went out to take a look, he saw a letter stuck on the door with a dart.

The doorman quickly delivered the letter and handed it to Boss Tong.

Boss Tong opened the letter and saw that it said, meet at the grove on the west outskirts of the city at the end of the evening at 11:00 p.m. Only come alone, no helpers, and no reporting to the authorities.

Needless to say, this must have been sent by the kidnappers.

The Tong family had not raised that much money and was already anxious and didn't know what to do. Since the other party had asked him out, he had to go.

So, Tong packed up and went directly to the agreed location without taking anyone else. At night, it was pitch black all around, and Tong walked into the woods alone, feeling uneasy.

"Is anyone here? I've been invited, please show yourself." Boss Tong plucked up his courage and spoke loudly to the people around him.

"Oh, Mr. Tong is so brave that he actually dares to come here alone." Someone in the forest chuckled.

"How is it? Is the silver ready? 50,000 taels, not a penny less."

The voice was vague, sometimes far away and sometimes near, making it impossible for Boss Tong to determine where the other person was.

"Sir, there are too many of them to prepare in such a short time.

Please show some mercy, brave man. Ten thousand taels, how about ten thousand?"

Boss Tong naturally didn't want to spend so much money, so he bargained with the other party.

"Haha, Uncle Tong, are you sending away a beggar? How can you be so embarrassed to say 10,000 taels?
In this case, you go back, and tomorrow you will receive the child’s finger, nose, or ear.”

The other person's voice was full of sarcasm.

"No, no, don't hurt the child."

Boss Tong had heard before that when gangs kidnapped people, in order to force the hostages to raise money to redeem them as soon as possible, they would sometimes chop off the hostages' fingers or ears as a threat.

He had only heard about it before, but now that it has happened to him, Boss Tong finally knows what it feels like.

"Let's discuss it again. Let's discuss it again."

Boss Tong was so frightened that cold sweats broke out. When the evening wind blew, he felt a chill on his back.

"Uncle Tong, aren't you very capable?
Just because your favorite concubine died, you arrested the doctor's entire family and threw them into jail.

"What? Are you scared now?" The other party snorted twice and said.

When Boss Tong heard this, his heart skipped a beat. "Are you a member of the Chen family?"

That's not right. I heard that the Chen family only has the eldest son and the youngest daughter left outside. His eldest son is a scholar, how could he be driven out to kidnap people and demand ransom?

"It's none of your business who I am. If the road is uneven, someone will step on it. If things are unfair, someone will take care of them. Uncle Tong is using his power to bully ordinary people. I just can't stand it.

If you don't show your sincerity this time, you won't be able to see your three children again."

There was a chill in the other person's voice, which made the listener feel creepy.

"Five thousand taels, I'll give you another five thousand taels, how about that?
Fifteen thousand taels, this is all the money I can afford, I can’t raise more.”

Boss Tong was now covered in sweat.

"Well, I won't make it difficult for you, fifteen thousand taels.

Besides, I want the three members of the Chen family, and I must make sure they are all safe.

If one hair is missing, the consequences for the three children will be known to you." The other party thought about it and finally proposed a condition.

When the other party mentioned the Chen family, Boss Tong had a premonition in his heart, so after hearing the other party's request, Boss Tong breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, I promise you, I will go to the prison tomorrow and take the three members of the Chen family out. When will the ticket be exchanged?"

Exchanging tickets means exchanging hostages.

"Go back and wait, I'll let you know when the time comes.

Remember, treat the three members of the Chen family well and don't let them get hurt.

Otherwise, I will double my money back from those three kids." After the other party finished speaking, there was no more movement.

Boss Tong knew that people were not going to pay attention to him anymore, so he turned around, walked out of the woods and returned to the Tong Mansion.

"Brother, how are you?" As soon as he entered the house, the second and third brothers came up to him and asked.

(End of this chapter)