Chapter 20: Making Money

“I know you’re troubled, but this matter still falls to you.”

Liu Guanshi spoke to Chen Guanlou with solemn weight, clapping his shoulder to reinforce his words, leaving Chen Guanlou no room to refuse.

Chen Guanlou picked up a chopstick of food, “To look after a few people, as long as there’s silver, the matter is easy. But…” he hesitated slightly, “if the Da Xing men meet with trouble in Tianlao, won’t they suspect Hou Fu?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll follow Liu Guanshi’s orders entirely. I just want to know Hou Fu’s stance, so I can judge the proper limits.”

“It’s good you think this way. The Da Xing men really shouldn’t meet with trouble in Tianlao. Though Hou Fu isn’t afraid of false accusations, actually bearing the stain of wantonly taking lives isn’t a good thing.”

Chen Guanlou added, “I’m not afraid of anything else, only that the palace might overthink it and suspect Hou Fu’s reach is too long. If Jiang Tu then whispers poison in their ear, the impact will be severe.”

“Hmm, you’re right. Xiao Lou, I underestimated you before. Though young, you’re very cautious. Alright—look after the Da Xing men a bit too, just make sure they don’t die.”

The implication: they must be tormented, but not allowed to have an easy time.

Chen Guanlou drank his wine, thinking: the task of extracting silver didn’t fall under his responsibility. Besides, this case had grown too big—both sides had powerful patrons. The Tianlao guards had no other skills worth mentioning, but their sense of discretion was sharp. Who could be tormented, who couldn’t—everyone knew the score. Everyone knew the Da Xing men’s patron was Jiang Tu; no one would be foolish enough to deliberately torment them.

After all, the prisoners were locked in Tianlao, and everything followed Tianlao’s rules. Liu Guanshi couldn’t interfere.

He nodded verbally, but inwardly thought: as long as neither side died in Tianlao, this assignment was complete. As for post-case benefits—if nothing went wrong and it didn’t come back to him—he didn’t care whether there were any or not.

After drinking, the night wind blew over him, sending a chill through his body.

Thinking he had to report for duty before dawn, he hurried home to sleep.

Inside Tianlao, chaos reigned; Lu Datou complained all morning.

“These two groups—what are the higher-ups up to? Deliberately locking them in Tianlao to give us trouble. They strut in like lords. Back in the day, we’d starve them for days, then drag them to the punishment chamber, and within days they’d be broken and obedient. Now? We can’t beat them, can’t starve them, can’t even scold them. When did Tianlao sink so low, becoming a den of dog-sons?”

Chen Guanlou chuckled bitterly, “To others, we jailers have always been dog-sons—dirty and lowly.”

“Damn it, money isn’t dirty. Who isn’t here for two taels of silver? Everyone says if you didn’t cultivate virtue in your past life, you’re stuck as a jailer. Guess what I was in my past life—maybe a notorious bandit?”

“Possible.”

Worried about accidents, Xu Fugui personally descended into the cells to supervise the guards’ patrols.

He repeatedly reminded everyone, “One is Judge Jiang, the other is Pingjiang Hou Fu—we can’t offend either. Stay alert, work harder. When this case is settled, I’ll treat everyone to wine.”

“Xu Laoda, tell the higher-ups—don’t lock everyone in Bingzi-sized cells. Our Bingzi-sized cells aren’t servants’ quarters. Why do we never get the good jobs, only the dirty, exhausting ones?”

“Exactly!”

“With our half-baked skills, they dump this huge burden on us. The officials above really don’t care if something goes wrong?”

“Maybe the officials are hoping something goes wrong.”

“Don’t speak nonsense. Don’t question your superiors’ decisions. Do your duty properly, stay alert—when the case ends, you’ll all get your rewards.” Xu Fugui scolded sternly, forcing them to straighten their attitudes.

The jailers grumbled endlessly.

“We don’t expect rewards—just don’t make us take the blame.”

“Our lives as jailers mean nothing. This isn’t the first time.”

“When will the higher-ups finally decide this case? Keeping a bunch of ancestors here—I can’t take it. When did our Bingzi-sized cells ever suffer such humiliation?”

The Bingzi-sized cells had always held notorious bandits and Jianghu scoundrels. The silver wasn’t the highest, but the jailers there had always lived the most comfortably—this was universally accepted in Tianlao.

Now, a group who should have been locked in Yizi-sized cells had been shoved into Bingzi-sized cells. Behind closed doors, everyone complained that Xu Fugui was incompetent, unable to outmaneuver the jailer next door, Zhang Yuli. Otherwise, this hot potato would’ve landed on Zhang Yuli’s lap.

Xu Fugui knew everyone resented him. He himself was full of resentment. But he hadn’t expected them to show him so little face—not even pretending to be polite, only endlessly complaining. If they had guts, complain to Fan Yucheng!

He Landefeihua , called Chen Guanlou to the corner to speak.

Unconsciously, the new recruit Chen Guanlou had become the one person he could confide in and consult. After thinking it over, perhaps it was because Chen Guanlou hadn’t joined the corruption, and only helped prisoners for their martial arts manuals. He conducted himself decently—not like the old hands, who only cared about money, relied on seniority, and refused to give him face.

“Do you think Fan Yucheng is using me as an example to scare others?”

“Why would Xu Shu think that? Fan Yucheng has no reason to do this.”

“Then why are they locked in Bingzi-sized cells? If nothing happens, fine. But if something does, he can use it to punish me.”

“Xu Shu, have you been sleeping poorly? Are you under too much pressure?” Chen Guanlou asked carefully.

Xu Fugui was deeply irritated, his expression grim. “He picks the softest targets. Jiazi-sized cells are for imprisoned officials. Logically, these people should be in Yizi-sized cells—and I know Yizi-sized cells still have many empty cells. The more I think about it, the stranger it feels.”

Chen Guanlou followed his line of thought: “Perhaps Zhang Yuli got there first, ingratiated himself with Fan Yucheng, and showed his stance.”

Xu Fugui nodded vigorously. “That makes sense. Should I also try to get close to Fan Yucheng?”

“When it’s time to show your stance, don’t hesitate.” Chen Guanlou said. In workplace survival, be someone who understands the rules—not an eager activist, but not someone eccentric enough to draw hatred. Going with the flow requires timing and method.

Xu Fugui clearly took it to heart and immediately decided to find an opportunity to get close to Fan Yucheng.

Getting close to a superior always required silver to pave the way.

Xu Fugui was stingy and unwilling to spend his own silver, so he turned his attention to the prisoners.

He couldn’t touch Jiang Tu or Pingjiang Hou Fu. But those Jianghu scoundrels, those active social elements—he had no fear of them.

Now the prisoners were in trouble.

Pay up!

Pay up quickly!

Or face the punishment chamber!

Considering the secret manual Master Kongkong had taught him, Chen Guanlou warned him ahead of time: “If you have silver, pay it. Don’t be stingy—watch out for physical pain.”

Master Kongkong cursed the jailers inwardly for their greed, groaning, “But I have no silver left.”

“Even if you borrow it, raise some silver and pay up. I’m not joking—Xu Yuli is trying to curry favor. If you don’t pay, you’re making him miserable. When he’s miserable, all of you will end up in the punishment chamber. I heard several of the old guys who pay up—even those on leave—have been called back.”