Chapter 93 Enhancing the Petty Cash, Expanding Influence
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Manor Front Yard.
Shen Qing gazed silently at the row of trembling women and young men before him.
This manor wasn't very large, but it was well-equipped despite its size.
Besides the gambling hall, there were plenty of food and entertainment facilities, and even many dedicated prostitutes to serve the gamblers and provide them with leisure.
Both men and women were available.
The women and youths before him were all young ladies from the city, from ordinary families, with respectable reputations. They had been forced into captivity and sold here by the city's gangs for various reasons, gradually becoming mere tools for others' amusement.
"Master, what should be done with these people?" Sun Ding stepped forward, drawing his hand across his neck to suggest murder and silence, "Or perhaps..."
Shen Qing lifted his chin to signal, "Have them register their information and arrange for our brothers to escort them back home."
Sun Ding was momentarily stunned, thinking he had misheard.
To him, Shen Qing was known as a decisive and ruthless figure, so why the sudden change of heart?
"Are all the things found inside here?" Shen Qing glanced at several large chests behind the prostitutes, changing the subject.
Sun Ding came to his senses, saying, "Yes, everything found is here."
Shen Qing stepped forward to open one half-human-height wooden chest, discovering neat rows of silver ingots inside.
This large wooden chest was half-human-height, one meter in length and width.
He roughly estimated that it would take nearly two thousand taels of silver to fill it, and there were five such chests in total.
In other words, there were at least ten thousand taels of cash silver just here.
It would take Shen's Restaurant three to five years to earn such an amount.
It could indeed be considered a huge sum. Find exclusive stories on empire
Besides these five chests filled with cash silver, there were also two slightly smaller wooden chests found at the same time.
Shen Qing opened them one by one, finding one filled with various pearls and gemstones, and the other with a variety of gold ingots, worth no less than seven or eight thousand taels.
In this little casino, there were twenty thousand taels of large silver.
Even Shen Qing, accustomed to witnessing grand scenes, showed a hint of surprise on his face.
No wonder many gangs were keen to open casinos.
Such a place of indulgence, guarded by force, truly amassed gold daily, ensuring prosperity.
Alas, these people lacked finesse and couldn't safeguard their wealth.
Now it all belonged to Shen Qing.
Shen Qing bent down, searching through the gold chest, and soon retrieved the three "Little Yellow Fish" the traitor had spoken of.
He scrutinized them, noticing indeed as the traitor had said, the inscription of the Dong family's mark—evidence of their "collusion" with Huang Tian Sect.
Shen Qing weighed the three gold ingots in his hand and then tossed them to Sun Ding, "These are evidence. Here, catch."
Sun Ding hurriedly reached out to catch them, examined them briefly, and then securely stowed them away.
Shen Qing glanced down at the corpses strewn about the ground and suddenly asked his subordinates, "Have you searched all the bodies, leaving nothing behind?"
"No...nothing." The subordinates, a bit nervous, thought Shen Qing might be like Zheng Yuanqiu, extracting some from them.
Unexpectedly, Shen Qing had no interest in such petty gains. Instead, he selected some silver from the chest, distributed twenty taels of cash silver to each person under his watchful eyes, and then nonchalantly ordered, "Send these chests to my house."
Everyone's faces showed a glimmer of delight.
Comparisons are odious among goods, but comparisons among people are worse.
Compared to Zheng Yuanqiu's stinginess, they suddenly felt that Shen Qing was exceptionally generous, unanimously accepting Shen Qing's embezzlement, replying in unison, "Yes, Master."
Seeing that everything here was settled, Shen Qing had no intention to linger and instructed, "Now that the matter here is concluded, everyone, return with me to report."
"Master, what about this place? Are we just leaving it as is?"
"Burn it to the ground!" Shen Qing replied without hesitation.
Supporting the sword at his waist with one hand, he was the first to walk out of the courtyard.
Ji Youwu and the officers hurriedly moved into action, fetching a large amount of firewood from the kitchen, throwing the corpses into the hall, and setting them ablaze.
In the roaring flames, the officers guided the bewildered prostitutes back towards Yongzhou City.
There were no burdens on the way here, so they traveled quickly, but with silver and prostitutes on the return journey, they couldn't possibly move fast.
It took them over an hour to walk to the city gate.
Shen Qing divided his men into two groups, one carrying silver and valuables back to his house, the other escorting the lost prostitutes back home.
"Xiao Hu, you take these women home," Shen Qing said, taking out a package and casually tossing it to Tian Xiaohu.
"These people have suffered humiliation, and they might not be welcomed back. There's tens of taels of silver here, give each three taels when you send them home, better than nothing."
Tian Xiaohu was evidently surprised by Shen Qing's actions, quickly praising, "Master, you are righteous!"
Shen Qing waved dismissively, not caring much.
"Remember, don't give too much, or else it's like a child flaunting gold in the market, everyone becomes a demon."
Tens of taels, compared to what Shen Qing gained this time, were but one-thousandth, insignificant, but for these ordinary folks, it might be a life-saver.
Shen Qing didn't see himself as an overly kind person, but neither was he an inhumane villain.
He simply felt that this world shouldn't be this way and acted according to his nature.
Tian Xiaohu didn't fully understand but still diligently noted it down.
After dealing with the matter of the prostitutes, Shen Qing watched as his subordinates moved the chests back home.
After giving a few more instructions to Sun Ding, he dismissed his subordinates.
Gazing at the treasure chests filled with gold and silver, he unexpectedly felt a sense of stability in his heart.
The day's work had yielded fruitful results, and his small treasury was enriched.
With these savings, in the foreseeable future, he could procure various cultivation resources from Wu Sheng, seeking to enhance his cultivation promptly and not worry about superficial gold and silver concerns.
That night, under Shen Qing's instructions, Sun Ding tortured the "traitor," using coercion and temptation to solidly confirm him as a Huang Tian Sect traitor.
At the same time, various pieces of evidence also proved the collusion between the Huang Tian Sect traitor and Dong Jing.
Coupled with Zheng Yuanqiu's previous example, the Yongzhou Government Office became extremely sensitive to the matter, paying it great attention.
Following the trail assiduously, continually pressuring the Dong Family.
Seizing this opportunity, the Sun Family took the initiative, and with Dong Jing's disappearance, the Dong Family became highly passive, retreating continuously.
Until, finally, forced to spit out some benefits, this turmoil gradually subsided.
The Sun Family and some other observing forces gained considerably.
Yet this had nothing to do with Shen Qing.
With abundant financial resources, Shen Qing acquired another restaurant in a flourishing area of Yongzhou City, becoming a legitimate boss.
Four months passed in the blink of an eye.
During these four months, Shen Qing recruited troops vigorously, gradually expanding the Guardian Martial Department's officials from sixty or seventy people to more than one hundred and fifty, becoming powerful and strong.
Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.
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