Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 148 You're trying to play mind games with me, huh?

"Money is a bastard, if we lose it, we can just earn it back."

Master Fan muttered something, but the image of his previous impoverished state when he had no money flashed through his mind.

Thinking about it again, he realized he wasn't really good at keeping money, so he didn't say anything more and happily stuffed the five dollars into his pocket.

Well, five silver dollars isn't a small amount. It's equivalent to a month's salary for many people, enough for my expenses for a few days.

“Hey girl, let me tell you, you’re not allowed to sell cigarettes on the street anymore. You’re going to be Cao’s concubine soon, so you can’t embarrass Cao Weida.”

Mo He blushed again. "Who's his concubine? I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to cook."

"No, you haven't agreed to my request yet!"

"Oh, if you don't want to sell, then don't sell. It's not like anyone wants to sell." Mo He feigned anger. "Anyway, I don't work, so I can only eat and drink your food. I'm not in a hurry."

"Eat, drink, eat and drink as much as you want! The money's all with you anyway, so spend it freely!" Master Fan was incredibly generous.
"Besides, most of that money was given to you by that kid Cao Weida. Isn't it perfectly reasonable and justifiable for you to take it with your own money? Don't be polite with your brother."

Mo He blushed again, but felt a warm glow inside: "I...I don't know what you're talking about. Okay, brother, I really need to cook. I'm starving."

Speaking of food, Master Fan remembered something and added:

"By the way, that kid Cao Weida said we can't skimp on food and drink. Forget about cornmeal and multigrain pancakes, just give them to the people around us. We'll eat and drink well!"

"Come on, your brother has money now, I'll take you to a restaurant."

"Hey bro, why are you going to a restaurant? It's such a waste."

"What waste? We're rich now, can't we eat well?" Master Fan said firmly. "That kid gave you so much extra money because he was worried you wouldn't eat or dress well. If he found out you were still eating coarse food, he'd give me a hard time! I can't afford to lose face like that!"

"Come on, let's go eat something good. From now on, let's forget about cornmeal and multigrain pancakes!"

"Oh, brother, brother! I won't eat those, okay? We still have flour at home, I can make noodles, that's fine, it's not like I'm depriving myself." Mo He could only say this helplessly. Her brother was like a child, once he got angry, no one could persuade him, you could only stroke his temper.

"White flour, that's fine." Upon hearing that it was noodles, Master Fan didn't insist anymore. In these days, being able to eat white flour was already considered very rare.

Mo He opened the cabinet and took out a grain bag from the very back. The grain bag was only two finger joints thick and thin. By modern standards, this amount of flour would only be enough for one meal.

Master Fan followed behind, "Mo He, what do you think of what I told you a few days ago?"

"What's wrong?" Mo He asked, turning her head in confusion as she scooped out noodles from her bowl.

She couldn't bear to finish it all at once, so she left half of it, tied it up again, and put it back.

She bought this noodle two days ago, gritting her teeth, intending to make dumplings for her brother. He had mentioned it several times, and she remembered it.

"Hey, how could you forget? I told you a few nights ago that I'd rent the west wing for you." He glanced at the noodles in her bowl and exclaimed, "You silly girl, who's going to eat this little bit of noodles? I've already made it all, if it's all gone, your brother will go buy some more!"

"That's enough. I don't eat much." Mo He was a little reluctant. These days, it's not that you can't buy high-quality grains, it's just that they're so expensive and hard to find.

If she had enough filling, she was planning to make dumplings, which would have saved her a lot of flour.

"Listen to your brother, let's do it all. Let's splurge for once." Master Fan waved his hand and made the decision. He reopened the grain sack he was about to put back in the cupboard, took a worn-out wooden basin, and poured all the flour into it.

"After we eat, I'll go and rent a house for you."

Master Fan's house only had one inner room, so Mo He was not suitable to share a room with his brother and could only live in the living room outside.

The living room is quite large, but there's no kang (heated brick bed) yet. It's better now, but it was really tough when it was cold before.

It's especially inconvenient when you want to clean it.

A few days ago, she was cleaning her lower body when her brother had an upset stomach and needed to go to the toilet. She was so scared that she scrambled into the covers and hid there, tears welling up in her eyes.

When Master Fan returned and saw that his sister had been wronged, he thought about what had just happened and guessed what had happened. So he thought about renting a house for Mo He so that she could get a good night's sleep.

At the time, the two were short of money and couldn't even afford to eat. Mo He couldn't bear to spend money to rent a house, so he refused.

His younger sister was so sensible; how could he, as her older brother, not feel heartache? But he was just a penniless man; what could he do?

He truly understood the adage "a penny can stump a hero."

Things are different now; Master Fan is rich!

But he didn't get carried away and forget about his sister. His first thought was to get the house sorted out for her.

Mo He was naturally tempted. As a girl, living in a busy living room made many things inconvenient, so she naturally wanted her own private room.

But after thinking about it, she refused again, saying, "Let's forget it, brother. Renting a place is too expensive." She thought to herself that she probably wouldn't be able to stay for more than a few days before she had to go with Cao Weida, so she might as well save some money.

But she was too embarrassed to say it aloud, and she was also thinking about how the second daughter-in-law of the Rui Prince's mansion was going to become Cao Weida's concubine. The third son was already heartbreaking enough, let alone pushing another one to become the fourth son.
Since she had already agreed, she figured the sooner the better, as she didn't want to give herself another older sister.

He stammered for a while, head down and eyes darting away, before finally saying, "Brother, you need to be careful about that matter."

"What is it?" Master Fan didn't react at first, but after seeing the girl's face flushed with embarrassment and her feet stamping shyly, he immediately understood what she meant and chuckled:
“I’ll go talk to that kid after I finish eating. I guarantee he’ll be so happy he’ll lose his back teeth.”

"That guy got off easy. He's so lucky to have such a well-behaved, sensible, and pretty girl like me with him. He must have accumulated a lot of good fortune over several lifetimes."

Mo He chuckled upon hearing this, and the two times Cao Weida saved her couldn't help but come to mind. Thinking that she was about to become his woman, and without the aversion to being a concubine, a sweet feeling welled up in her heart.

On the other hand, after transporting the antiques to a mansion, he dismissed the driver, put all the antiques into his spatial storage, locked the door, and prepared to go home.

But before he could even sit down, he was told that Little Ears needed to see him and that he needed to go back to the police station.

"???"

Cao Weida was speechless. How could this never end? "Xiangzi, take me to the police station."

Having nothing to do and afraid of slacking off from his exercise in the yard, Xiangzi immediately replied, "Coming."

After getting off the bus, Cao Weida told Xiangzi to go back first. As soon as they entered the police station, Xiao Erduo rushed over.

"What's the matter that you're in such a hurry?" Cao Weida asked as he walked inside.

“Brother Cao, those ‘suspicious individuals’ we’ve arrested want to speak with you personally.”

Want to talk in person?

Cao Wei Da raised an eyebrow. "So, they've given in?"

"Didn't they admit defeat?" Little Ears said gloatingly. "Those bastards, who used to act like they were the boss of the world, are now trembling with fear and crying out for you after hearing about what happened to those two scoundrels, Ma Daxiang."

Cao Weida sneered inwardly. These people were truly shameless. If he didn't teach them a lesson, they wouldn't know what fear was!
He was quite disappointed; this was nothing, why had he compromised so quickly?

He also planned to talk to the two "bosses" in one day and take the opportunity to meet the day's KPI targets.

Who would have thought they'd back down so quickly?
Don't you know how tiring it is for me to go out every night?

Do you still want to meet and talk to me?
Do you even have that level of sophistication?!

No way, the KPIs have to be on their shoulders. I need to rest for a few days first!
"I won't handle this personally. You negotiate with them for me. Remember, it has to be 40% of the profits, not a penny less!"

"If anyone dares to complain even a little bit, don't waste your breath on them, just drag them out and give them a good beating first."

"Also, make a list of those heinous criminals under their command, and make each family hand over two people. If they can't, make them pay with their lives!"

"After you hand them over, lock them all up in secret. Don't let anyone else know."

He wants the money, and he also wants the KPIs!
At the same time, it can also sow discord among these bastards, causing them to become disloyal and alienated from each other!
He loved to kill someone by destroying their spirit.
"Okay, I understand." Little Ears agreed without asking any questions, then hesitated for a moment and added:

"Brother Cao, what if those merchants don't have such people under their command?"

"Nonsense, what else would you make him pay?" Cao Weida glared at him irritably. "For those who are doing legitimate business, as long as they don't go too far, make them pay a ransom, with the amount varying depending on the size of the shop."

"It can range from five hundred to five thousand silver dollars. You can decide the amount yourself. Just give me a list at the end."

"As for those truly conscientious merchants, a small token will suffice. Don't make things difficult for them; they are all our compatriots, why be so hostile towards each other?"

At this point, he suddenly stopped, slapped Little Ears on the forehead, and laughed and scolded:

"Damn it, trying to play mind games with me?! Do I look like such a heartless person?!"

Little Ears shrank his neck, chuckled, and showed no embarrassment at having his thoughts exposed.

Cao Wei rolled his eyes, but didn't seem upset about it.

"I'm your boss, can you stop asking me everything? It's not a big deal, can't you use your brain and handle things yourself?"

"You want me to personally handle everything? I'm not Nezha, I don't have three heads and six arms, are you trying to work me to death?!"

"From now on, handle these trivial matters according to your own conscience. Only come to me if you really can't make up your mind. Don't report everything to me."

(End of this chapter)