Daomu Biji Volume 8 Chapter 8

The previous tension suddenly turned into a kind of helplessness.

All of the accounts were written in code, similar to the “Huangsha Chicken-Eye” text message that got me involved in everything. Various code words emerged one after another, and if you didn't pay attention to them, you'd think it was a botched martial arts novel or a rare pedicure book.  I could understand the code words since I was also a small boss under Uncle Three and had already learned the whole system.

However, looking at the huge amounts of items processed on the ledger, I felt embarrassed and ashamed.  Based on my small shop's turnover, if it weren't for me being Uncle Three's nephew, I would have been kicked off the list.

I could fully understand the books, but I couldn't see the problems.  Since they dared to hand in the account book, it was obviously balanced, and Uncle Three would be able to see a problem from any number of small details. I obviously didn't have this ability, and could only speculate from some small things.  For example, the ink on the entire ledger was very new, which shows it must have been rushed last night.  And, the paper inside was very old, but the cover was very new, so it must have been changed from the old book to the new one.

In fact, I had done all these things before, but I was a small boss and Uncle Three's clerk dared not do anything to me.  Today, the problems I could pinpoint were the temporary false accounts made by these players after they heard the news of Uncle Three's accident.

Yesterday must have been a sleepless night, hehe.  I don't know why, but I keep feeling a thrill in my heart.

While looking through the books, I also found something strange.

There was a telephone book at the bottom of all the accounts, and it was the book handed in by the fishmonger (or snatched by Pan Zi).

I began to think that this was an account in the form of a phone book, but when I opened it, I found that it was really a phone book with all kinds of numbers and no accounts at all.

I quickly recovered and realized that what I had just thought was wrong.

Pan Zi didn't know that the fishmonger wasn't carrying an account at all. This was a game created by Xiao Hua.

That is to say, Pan Zi just saw that he had a book in his pocket and snatched it for Xiao Hua as quickly as possible. Xiao Hua immediately lied that this was the book.  Other people saw that the fishmonger still brought the account book even though his mouth was so hard, which showed that he was also afraid of Uncle Three.  Shit, it's not what he said before.  Others immediately felt that rebellion was unreliable, so they turned to us and waited for the fishmonger to react. All the books had been handed in and the fishmonger's plan had failed.

Before, although I took the lead with Chen Pi Ah Si, the real skill depended on how to deal with these books and collect the money, which was the most practical.  Letting bygones be bygones is not in Uncle Three's character, and to do so would make others doubt.

I didn't know if I was right, but it didn't matter now.  I picked out a few books that must have problems, and I was ready to start the performance.  But the first step wasn't to throw the books, but to express strong dissatisfaction.

In Director Pan Zi's original script, I was to hit him with an ashtray to express my reproach at his inability to preside over the work while Uncle Three wasn't here.  So I glanced at it and suddenly closed the ledger and slammed it on the table.

The room was already very quiet and everyone's eyes looked at me. I picked up the ashtray on the table and threw it at Pan Zi.

According to the script, Pan Zi would immediately catch it, I would get up, slap the ledgers in the faces of the people who had problems one by one with the quickest speed, and then Xiuxiu would take me away.  After that, Xiao Hua and Pan Zi would take care of it.

Pan Zi had calculated that if the plan went well, the disproportionate money collected during Uncle Three's absence would basically be returned by half, which was a large sum.

After this step was completed, as long as I wasn't discovered during the whole process, the concept of “Master Three has come back” will become a reality. I need not appear frequently in the future, but only go back to Hangzhou, and Pan Zi could slowly stabilize the situation.

Judging from the current situation, the two most important points are to not reveal myself and to complete these steps quickly and reasonably so that the others would feel satisfied and wouldn't think something was wrong with Master Three.  These people had followed Master Three for decades and were accustomed to fearing him.

But now was the time for the big show, and our success or failure depended on it.

I practiced many times last night, and I was on time.  I looked at Pan Zi, and all my anger lifted as I waited for him to catch the ashtray.

However, something unexpected happened: the ashtray hit Pan Zi on the head.  He didn't even reach for it.

The ashtray fell to the ground and smashed to pieces.  My mind froze, and my heart said, Pan Zi you actually deserted me.  At this moment, Pan Zi went slack and fell to the ground from his chair, and the smell of blood reached my nose. The whole chair was covered in blood.

The crowd immediately fell into chaos.  I heard a buzzing in my ears and immediately stood up, but Xiao Hua walked past me and gave me a look.

I understood what he meant: don't make a mess. I had to hold back.  Xiao Hua took the lead and rushed over. At the same time, the people below exploded and all rushed over.

His wound must have re-opened when twisting the fishmonger's arm just now, and he came back to smoke to hide the scent of blood. He knew that he wouldn't be able to bear it.

You really don't want to fucking die, I thought. I squeezed my fist secretly, and suddenly felt very regretful. Maybe I shouldn't go to him again.  He managed to walk out of here with difficulty, and now he was back again desperately working hard. I'm too selfish.

Xiao Hua found Pan Zi's pulse, immediately lifted him up, and shouted outside the door.  Several of his men immediately rushed over and carried Pan Zi out.  Xiao Hua came back in after giving them a few instructions, his suit covered in blood.

Everyone else was scared off by the scene and no one stopped them.  I thought the fishmonger would attack at this time, but he didn't respond.  I had been looking at his eyes glancing at the middle-aged woman, and she was also looking at him. The two people kept exchanging glances as if they were holding a conversation.

I asked Xiao Hua with my eyes: how is it?  He came behind me, bowed his head and said in my ear: “The wound reopened but don't worry, my people have taken him to the hospital. You hurry up and finish, then go see him.”  While speaking, he patted me at the same time, which meant: continue!

When things go wrong, people often have three choices: continue, leave immediately, or remain motionless.  Xiao Hua and I had already agreed that he would use several gestures to determine which of the three situations applied.

I was thinking about my previous plan and cursed in my heart. It seemed that in the past, Uncle Three himself ignored Pan Zi under such circumstances and would continue to deal with the books.  If I left suddenly, it wouldn't be keeping in line with Uncle Three's character, and would make people feel that he was weak.

Thinking about this, I decided to start throwing down the books immediately and then leave quickly, so I tapped on the table with my finger.

All of a sudden, all the rioters turned their eyes to me.  I got up and smiled and took out the first book. I was about to throw it in the man's face when suddenly a cold sweat came down.

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Chapter end