Chapter 23 Walls have ears
Li Shishi suggested: "Brother Jiannan, let's go back and rest. You can go to my inn. The fees there are too expensive. The innkeeper knows that I always ask for leave before the horse race."
Shangguan Jiannan nodded in agreement: "Okay! Let's go! By the way, which inn are you staying in?"
Li Shishi smiled sweetly: "It's a Tianzi room in an inn. The facilities there are elegant and the service is friendly."
After they returned to the inn, they sat in a simple room with a bed, a table, two chairs, bright windows and clean desks. They chatted while eating melon seeds and drinking strong tea.
Shangguan Jiannan asked in a low voice: "Sister Shishi, are you nervous?"
Li Shishi replied coquettishly, "I'm more than nervous. I'm almost in shock. I've put all my belongings on the line. How can I not be nervous?"
Shangguan Jiannan smiled and said, "I won't be nervous. This is all a miracle and coincidence."
Li Shishi smiled and continued, "People who participate for the first time are full of confidence and think about how to claim the prize money. But the result is often nothing."
Shangguan Jiannan said in a low and firm voice: "Sister Shishi, we must win this time! Because there are too many signs pointing to this outcome."
Li Shishi smiled and comforted: "Haste makes waste, let's just let nature take its course."
Shangguan Jiannan nodded slightly and was about to speak when the door of the next room suddenly slammed loudly, followed by a burst of explosive shouting: "Damn it! I've waited for three nights and traveled hundreds of miles, but I got nothing!"
"Brother, don't be anxious! Isn't there a turtle on the flour plate?" someone whispered.
"Damn it! It's fine if you don't mention that turtle, but once you do, I get so angry! It's all your bad idea that made me sleep in a graveyard in the wilderness for three nights, and I was bitten by mosquitoes all over my body. Turtle, damn it, isn't it saying that we are stupid bastards?"
“Brother, that turtle…” Before he could finish his words, there was a “pop!” sound, followed by a scream: “Ouch!”
"Damn it! Don't mention that turtle to me! I get angry when you mention it! Isn't a turtle just a tortoise? Those blind creatures must have seen us camping in the wild and called us turtles! A pair of turtles!"
"Brother, do you think it could be number 18?" the other party cautiously probed.
Shangguan Jiannan sighed inwardly, "I never thought that this 'Du Lotto' would drive people this crazy! No wonder Shishi was so careful in separating the cards. We really can't let our guard down!"
The two were so excited about the conversation that they sat together with their arms around each other's shoulders without realizing it.
"Brother, how about we still follow the ratio of eight cards for number 11, four cards for number 5, two cards each for number 8 and number 9, and one card for number 18?" the other party suggested.
The eldest brother responded angrily: "Damn it! We have worked so hard for so many days, let's go all out this time! One thousand for number 11, three hundred each for number 5, 8, and 9, and one hundred for number 18!"
"Brother, I want to sign one hundred No. 18s alone." The other party hesitated and said, "I think the phrase 'Eighteen girls are as beautiful as a flower' is quite interesting."
The eldest brother waved his hand and said, "Okay! You can decide for yourself with your gold coins!"
"Brother, why don't we go to Lao Wang Tea House to sign?" the other party suggested.
"That's right! Our Nanguan family has been very kind to them, so I don't think they would dare to play any tricks on them!"
After the two left, Li Shishi whispered to herself: "I didn't expect that the number one family in the martial arts world, the Nangong family, would also participate in this kind of game. What kind of purpose is hidden behind this?" She frowned slightly, pondering in her heart.
Shangguan Jiannan said with a worried look on his face: "Sister Shishi, they are going to Lao Wang Tea House to sign the signboard. Will it have any impact on us?" His eyes were fixed on Li Shishi.
Li Shishi smiled and comforted him, "Brother Jiannan, don't worry. This gambling house has its own rules. The dealer only recognizes lottery tickets and not people.
Moreover, in order to avoid being banned by the City Lord's Mansion, some people choose to use pseudonyms to conduct transactions.
Therefore, even if they go to sign the card, it will not cause us too much trouble. " After saying that, she gently patted Shangguan Jiannan's shoulder, indicating that he could rest assured.
……
Outside Huyi City, there is a vast open space, which was originally the property of the landlord Gui Shibo.
Just last year on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when Gui Shibo and his family were admiring the moon, a strange phenomenon suddenly occurred.
An old man who looked to be in his fifties and had a kind face flew in from outside the high wall of the manor. The old man said his surname was Feng and he was from the imperial capital.
He expressed his intention to purchase or lease the vacant land in Guishibo and planned to build a horse farm there, with a lease term of five years.
While Gui Shibo was weighing the pros and cons, the old man suddenly waved his right hand, and a willow tree in the distance broke, but the old man was safe and sound, and stood there smiling.
This sudden miracle made Gui Shibo's family terrified. The old man then threw out two stacks of silver notes, one stack of 10,000 gold coins as a prepayment for five years' rent, and the other stack of 100,000 gold coins as the purchase price of the land.
Gui Shibo took the banknote with trepidation, and discussed with the old man in a low voice, and decided to lease the land to him.
The old man smiled generously and promised that he might return the land in less than five years.
Before dawn the next day, Gui Shibo discovered that more than a hundred strong men suddenly appeared. They began to drive stakes, dig the ground, saw wood, and build houses silently. In seven days, wooden houses rose from the ground and were newly decorated.
During this period, although these strong men did not say a word, their hands and feet were quick and nimble, and none of them were lazy.
On the morning of the eighth day, when Gui Shibo's family was still asleep, they were awakened by the neighing of horses.
Peeping out from the window, I could see dozens of fine horses, roughly estimated to be fifty or sixty. These horses were extraordinary and seemed to be the famous exotic horses that were rumored to be galloping outside the Great Wall.
What surprised Gui Shibo even more was that after three people jumped off each horse, the remaining one or two hundred people walked towards the hall in silence and in an orderly manner. The voice coming from the herd seemed to be directing the horses.
Sure enough, each horse entered the trough in an orderly manner and stood quietly. The last one to appear was a thin, pale boy.
Although he remained silent, his presence seemed to bring new vitality and vigor to this land. From then on, there was a horse farm on this land, and Gui Shibo often watched this busy and orderly scene from a distance.
In a dark corner of the warehouse, a thin boy was dragging heavy sacks with difficulty.
Gui Shibo stared at the scene, wondering: "What's in these sacks? How were they transported in? Ah, I see, it's soybeans. These horses are in for a treat."
He looked at the boy, and an inexplicable pity welled up in his heart: "This child is so thin, why don't those strong men lend a hand to help him?"
However, surprisingly, the horses did not fight for the food. Instead, they stood quietly by and gently licked the boy with their tongues.
This harmonious coexistence makes people guess that they have been together for a long time. Just as Gui Shibo was immersed in this tranquility, his eldest son, a young man selling breakfast in the city, called him softly: "Dad!"
"Xiang'er, what's wrong?" Gui Shibo came back to his senses and asked.
"Dad, the City Lord's Mansion has just posted a notice that starting today, the roads around Daming Lake will be widened, and pavilions and gazebos will be added on both sides. Volunteer workers are being recruited." The eldest son replied.
Gui Shibo was very surprised: "What's going on? Why do we need to build such a large project?"
"The notice says that this is to promote tourism," Xiang'er explained.
While Gui Shibo was talking in a low voice with Xiang'er, he kept glancing at the horse farm from time to time.
Suddenly, he saw more than 300 strong men divided into two lines, silently walking towards the door. Led by the two people in front, they were heading towards the Daming Lake.