Chapter Thirty-One: Gratitude to the Top Supporter

“Damn it, even little girls aren’t off limits for you! That’s going too far, don’t you know…”

Feng Jingzhe’s temper flared up instantly. He let go of little Dou’er in his arms and, without hesitation, kicked the man who’d just swung the shovel, sending him flying several meters away. Without a second thought, he charged forward, grabbed the man by the collar, and started slapping him hard across the face.

He didn’t use his full strength, but in a matter of moments, the man’s face was bloodied from the blows.

The other men, seeing the silver notes on the ground, immediately lunged to snatch them up. But Wu Dayong was no pushover either—he swung his fists left and right, knocking down several of them in a few blows.

Little Dou’er had never witnessed such chaos before. She turned pale with fear and burst into loud sobs. But the money being fought over on the ground was what Miss had entrusted her to deliver. Seeing several of the notes torn to shreds in the scuffle, the little girl was so anxious she spun in circles.

“Stop fighting… I beg you, please stop… This money is from Miss for Young Master Feng… Please, don’t take it…”

Hearing her cries, Feng Jingzhe glanced back, and the anger he’d barely suppressed roared back to life.

“All of you, damn it, get your hands off right now!”

His furious shout finally startled the men still scrambling for the money into freezing in place.

“Isn’t it just about paying you back? Fine! You brought this on yourselves! Since you broke the agreement ahead of time, don’t even think about getting any interest!”

Feng Jingzhe grabbed the bloodied man off the ground by the collar.

“Go outside and tell the others: if you want your money, hand over your promissory notes to the Chief Magistrate of Chang’an. I won’t take your word for it without proof…”

He glanced up at the sky. Judging by the time, Sun Fugui should be arriving soon. The only reason he’d been stalling with these people was to buy time to have the silver exchanged.

Who would have thought Zheng Yongxiang would stir up so much trouble, nearly ending in bloodshed?

His gaze now shot daggers at the two men hiding behind the rockery. Just wait, he thought coldly; your turn to cry will come soon enough.

The dozen or so so-called representatives were quickly escorted out by the Golden Guard who had just arrived, and the snatched silver was retrieved.

Little Dou’er, still sobbing, carried the half-broken money box to Feng Jingzhe.

“Wuwu… Young Master… Miss… Miss sent me with the money…”

She was no more than twelve or thirteen—a child in Feng Jingzhe’s eyes.

“Thank your Miss Xiaodie for me. Tell her I, Feng Jingzhe, have received her goodwill!”

With that, he strode toward the main gates.

Out on the street, the crowd saw their chosen dozen representatives being marched out, some of them visibly bloodied, and immediately began to stir.

Several troublemakers were already glancing around, scheming to take advantage of the commotion.

But as soon as they were about to act, Feng Jingzhe stepped outside.

“There he is! Feng’s come out—give us our money… Pay us back now…”

“Swindler! Give us back our hard-earned money!”

“Is there no law left? Not only won’t you pay, now you beat people bloody…”

“Pay us! If you don’t, we’ll set this mansion on fire…”

Feng Jingzhe’s expression was grim as he stood on the steps, his eyes scanning the sides for any movement.

In the distance, just at the corner of the street, he finally spotted a round, waddling figure—Sun Fugui had arrived, right on time.

“My fellow townsfolk, please quiet down and hear me out…”

But his efforts to make his voice heard were futile. The uproar was so loud that anyone further away couldn’t make out a word.

At this point, Wu Dayong lined up more than thirty soldiers. With their help, his message was relayed across the street, and a hush fell over the crowd.

Feng Jingzhe nodded his thanks to Wu Dayong, then called out loudly again:

“Fellow villagers, I don’t know what rumors you’ve been listening to! But since you now doubt me, Feng Jingzhe, let’s end our dealings with honor. The Chief Magistrate Dou of Chang’an is right here. You can hand all your promissory notes to him. I promise, your principal—the amount you loaned—will be returned in full. However, since you broke the agreement first, don’t expect any interest!”

As soon as he finished, the crowd began to boil again. Quite a few people were already eager to try their luck. At this point, getting their principal back was the best they could hope for; only a greedy few still clung to hopes for interest.

Feng Jingzhe raised his hand for silence and continued:

“Of course, as a token of gratitude for your trust, anyone who waits until the one-month period is over will receive double the promised interest…”

“Don’t listen to him! He’s tricking you again! There are only a few days left until settlement—how could he double the interest now? It’s just a stalling tactic. Don’t be greedy and fall for it again!”

“That’s right! Does he think money grows on trees? Doubling interest so casually—only a fool would believe that!”

“Don’t let him fool you! Once you disperse, he’ll vanish without a trace…”

Right on cue, Zheng Yongxiang and his servant Wang Song started shouting at the front of the crowd, revealing what they thought was Feng Jingzhe’s ploy. Little did they know, this was exactly the outcome he wanted.

Sure enough, the troublemakers hiding among the crowd joined in the outcry.

With that, any remaining hopefuls who’d wanted to wait for interest gave up their illusions. Soon, as the first person handed their promissory note to Dou Wen’an, more and more followed, and within half an hour, a large basketful had been collected.

Feng Jingzhe watched this scene, and inwardly he was grinning from ear to ear.

Ha! Come, all of you, come! This way I get to use your money interest-free for twenty-one days… ha ha ha…

Meanwhile, Sun Fugui, hidden in an alley, was so delighted his eyes nearly disappeared into his cheeks. Seeing that the notes had been almost all collected, he signaled his men to beat the big brass gong and clear the way.

Bang, bang, bang… bang, bang, bang…

Three large carts rolled up, each loaded with massive wooden chests filled with the silver that had been exchanged in advance.

This commotion immediately caught the attention of Zheng Yongxiang and Wang Song, who were baffled as to why Sun Fugui dared show his face at such a time, not to mention the mysterious large chests behind him.

“Young master… young master, it’s all fake… it’s all fake…”

From the pharmacy, the head shopkeeper Liu Da came stumbling forward, disheveled and with one shoe missing, panic written all over his face.

“Old Liu, what’s going on? Weren’t you supposed to close the final deal with Sun Fugui?”

Seeing his trusted manager in such a sorry state, Zheng Yongxiang was seized by a sense of impending doom.

“It’s all fake… all of it is fake, young master… we’ve been duped…”

“What do you mean fake, Old Liu? Explain it clearly—how have we been cheated? And by whom?”

“Hahaha… idiot! Of course the acquisition of coptis was fake… On behalf of the entire Feng family, I must thank Young Master Zheng for his generous contribution… Thank you, Brother Zheng, for your little tokens of appreciation… You’re the top supporter, no one comes close… mwah mwah…”

At some point, Feng Jingzhe had appeared at the door, arm slung over Sun Fugui’s shoulder, grinning at Zheng Yongxiang. He even formed a heart with his fingers as he spoke.