80% mortgage, go all in

  Sitting on the third floor of the wine house by the window, a middle-aged man casually ordered over ten dishes, each costing more than five taels of silver. These dishes added up to almost a year's worth of food for an ordinary family of five. Song Lao's expression became increasingly respectful.

  The young servant presented a strong green tea, the middle-aged man used it to rinse his mouth, leaned back in his chair, and leisurely introduced the dishes of this restaurant to Old Man Song.

  Old Song had never been to such a high-end place, he could only nod repeatedly and say: "How can we eat so much, how can we afford it, how can we let Master Yan spend too much..."

  A middle-aged man laughed: "I didn't dare to come to such a place before, but now look at me, I'm used to eating here and can't stand anything else. Ah, people get used to being extravagant and don't want to go back to their poor days. Life is a big gamble, winners are respected and admired, losers can only blame themselves and be ridiculed. When I was down on my luck, even my own sister-in-law looked down on me and swept me out the door. After experiencing all kinds of hardships and seeing through the world's superficiality, I staked everything, including my life, and luckily, heaven blessed me, giving me today's achievements."

  Song said with flattery: "Master Yan is a bold and ambitious man, one look at him and you can tell he's a daredevil who dares to do great things. I wonder if Master Yan could also take me to experience the gambling den you mentioned?"

  A middle-aged man smiled slightly: "I'm very good at reading people, and I can see that you've been on a lucky streak lately. If you were a jinx, I wouldn't bother associating with you. If you can participate in this gamble, it's not impossible to multiply your stake several times overnight. That's how I made it back then. However, things are unpredictable, and there are many people who have lost everything after entering this gamble. You'd better think carefully."

  "I've thought it through, opportunities are fleeting, and it's rare to have a benefactor like you. At my age, if I miss this chance, I'm afraid I'll be taking regret to my grave."

  "Since you've already made up your mind, Brother Song, I'd recommend that you participate as well - it's just a matter of raising your hand. However, there are conditions for participating: the minimum bet for anyone entering is no less than 1,000 taels."

  Song Lao's face fell at these words: "This thousand or two taels of silver is really hard to scrape together."

  "In that case, there's no way around it, the minimum requirement for entry is one thousand two."

  Mr. Song carefully poured a cup of wine for the middle-aged man and said, "Master Yan is a reputable person, would you please help me think of a solution? Although I don't have 1,000 taels now, with the luck I've had in the past few days, it won't take long to gather that amount. If I win the silver, I will never forget Master Yan's kindness."

  A middle-aged man shook his head: "There's no way, the application for entering this gambling house will be closed tomorrow. Even if you bring 10,000 taels of silver, you won't be allowed in after that time. You've been lucky these past few days and have won some silver, barely making you a lucky star. But who knows how long your luck will last? If you lose, with your current situation, you'll really go bankrupt. At that time, you won't hate me to death."

  "I don't care about winning or losing, as long as Boss Yan can bring me into the game, I'll take full responsibility for the outcome. Even if we lose everything, I won't blame you one bit."

  The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment and said: "You're so confident, maybe you can really make a big kill. How much cash can you take out now?"

  Old Song bowed his head and calculated for a moment, then looked up and said: "About three hundred taels."

  "Only 300 taels, it's too little, I really can't help you."

  "Wait, wait, Master Yan, this is really all my property, even counting the coffin money buried in the yard, it's barely enough to make up this amount. If I could gather a thousand taels, I wouldn't ask you like this, would I? Please think of another way, please think of another way, I beg of you."

  A middle-aged man with a worried face bowed his head and thought for a moment before raising his head to say, "Alright, I'll see this good deed through. Is there anything valuable at your home that you can use as collateral? I'll act as the intermediary and pawn it off to the money shop to borrow 700 taels."

  Old Song fell silent, then gritted his teeth and said: "I have a tofu stall, I don't know how much silver it can be mortgaged for."

  "Tofu stall?" The middle-aged man burst out laughing. "Song, you must be joking! Ten tofu stalls wouldn't even be worth seven hundred taels!"

  "My tofu stall is no ordinary tofu stall, business is very good, one day can have three or four taels of silver income."

  "Who's fooling who? Selling tofu can't be this profitable?"

  Old Song laughed and said, "Yan Ge, you don't know this, but my tofu stall is different from others. The one grinding the soy milk is my daughter-in-law, a tofu master with skills passed down through generations, famous far and wide since she was young. Many people come to buy tofu just because of her. Others' tofu sells for one copper coin and it's considered expensive, but my daughter-in-law's tofu sells for five copper coins and people still have to queue up to buy it. You should visit my tofu stall sometime, it's always crowded with rich young masters."

  "Oh? Hearing you say that, your daughter-in-law is indeed a stunning beauty, one of the most beautiful women in the country."

  Old Song said with a pleased smile: "I'm not bragging, but even the flower fairy of the Hundred Flowers Building can't compare to my daughter-in-law's beauty. It's just a pity that her eight characters clash with mine, and she's destined to be childless. If it weren't for her being able to earn some extra money for me, I would have divorced her long ago for my short-lived unfilial son."

  A middle-aged man clapped his hands: "In that case, I do have an idea. It's up to you whether or not you're willing to part with it. If you are, it wouldn't be difficult to come up with 1,000 taels, even if it takes 2,000 taels."

  "Tell me about it."

  A middle-aged man leaned in close to Old Man Song's ear and whispered a few sentences.

  Old Song's face showed hesitation: "This..."

  "If you don't think you can win, I'd advise Brother Song to give up on this kind of thing. It's better to quit early and focus on your small business. After all, even with the best luck, there will be times when fortune turns against you. It's better to be honest and avoid losing everything."

  Song Lao said with a determined look: "This contract of sale will not be sold to someone else before it expires, right?"

  "Don't worry, as long as you redeem this mortgage on time and pay some interest, your daughter-in-law will still be your cash cow, it's just that her mortgage has gone through the money house."

  Mr. Song gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and slapped the table: "Alright! If we don't succeed, we'll die trying, I'm all in!"

  It's been ten days. The river wind was blowing gently, and a beggar-like man was walking leisurely on the river dike by the Luo River. It was exactly ten days since Zhen Mingsu left Luoyang with the ironworks' ore cart and had not been seen again.