Chapter 117: Waiting Quietly for the Fish to Take the Bait

"Sure! It's perfect—I haven't had my fill yet!" Those words struck Jiang Jinshi right in the gut.

"Come on, come on! I know a quiet little tea house; let's go gamble there!"

Wang Liu's face lit up with excitement, completely forgetting that he had no money at all, and what could he gamble with Jiang Jinshi?

Since Jiang Jinshi already knew Wang Liu was penniless, the events that followed should go even smoother than he imagined.

They arrived at a secluded tea house, practically on the city wall—a the worst spot in Jiangcheng; the foul smell drifting from the alley confirmed everything: this was Jiangcheng's slum.

"Don't be fooled by how it looks; there's a hidden wonder inside!" Wang Liu said, winking at Jiang Jinshi, leaving Jiang Jinshi momentarily puzzled by his meaning.

The "little tea house" Wang Liu mentioned was just two tables set up in the alley—no signboard, not even a banner bearing the character "tea."

"This is a tea house?" Jiang Jinshi glanced left and right, asking with a hint of helplessness.

Wang Liu chuckled, "You're being shallow, aren't you? I already told you there's a hidden wonder!"

As his words faded, Wang Liu shouted toward the closed door, "Owner! Come out and take customers!"

A faint footstep sounded from inside, and a petite, graceful young lady opened the door, appearing before everyone.

The young woman subconsciously frowned at Wang Liu, but upon seeing others nearby, she instantly broke into a bright smile and greeted them.

"Please have a seat, what would you like to drink?"

"Anything's fine!" Jiang Jinshi waved indifferently; after all, he wasn't there to drink tea, and the tea here was certainly not as good as the one from his own hideout.

Xiao Hu and Wang Hou also sat beside Jiang Jinshi, showing no sign of disdain for the place; after all, they had once endured hard times, and back then they might not have had money to spend here.

Yan Wu stood behind Jiang Jinshi, on guard, just as he had been when following the Crown Prince His Highness; everything required careful vigilance.

Though the person he protects changed, the habit is hard to break.

Wang Liu haphazardly grabbed a stool and sat, but his gaze remained fixed on the owner.

Only after he could no longer see her back did Wang Liu, still unsatisfied, turn back and say to Jiang Jinshi.

"How about it? I wasn't wrong, right?"

"Huh? Not bad, not bad!" Jiang Jinshi thought the comment referred to the surroundings, and being too lazy to argue, he simply gave a casual assent.

"Come on, let's each play two rounds first." Wang Liu didn't forget his business; he pulled dice from his waist and prepared to gamble.

"Alright! Let's verify the stake first." Jiang Jinshi produced five taels of silver, placing them on the table, indicating Wang Liu should also put up money.

Wang Liu froze on the spot—he had no money on him!

Seeing the silver on the table, Wang Liu swallowed reflexively, ready to pull a fast one on Jiang Jinshi, and sneered, "There's no such thing as verifying the stake! Let's just play a couple of rounds first!"

Wang Liu had expected Jiang Jinshi to give him some face, but to his surprise, Jiang Jinshi immediately reclaimed the silver and stood up to leave.

"That won't do. I've gambled outside many times, and they always require a stake. If you don't put silver on the line, will the gambling house just pay you?"

"Hey! Don't go!" Wang Liu also thought Jiang Jinshi made sense, but the problem was he couldn't produce any silver; not to mention the stake—if Jiang Jinshi left, he wouldn't even be able to settle the tea house's bill.

Jiang Jinshi pretended to ponder, sat down again, and casually said, "Since we're here, even if we don't gamble, we can just sit and chat."

"Sure, sure, Jiang brother—where's the fortune now? You're so generous." Wang Liu twirled the dice in his hand, his eyes scanning the people beside Jiang Jinshi.

"Lucky me, I did some business with a big wealthy family—have you heard of the Tang family outside the city?"

At this moment, Jiang Jinshi acted like a newly 'relocated' nouveau riche, completely unaware of modesty, his words tinged with bragging.

Wang Liu first nodded, then shook his head, mainly because he wasn't sure if this Tang family was the one he knew.

"Working for the Tang family earns me ten taels of silver per trip!" Jiang Jinshi spread his arms exaggeratedly, gesturing at Wang Liu.

Hearing about ten taels, Wang Liu couldn't stay seated; in an instant, his eyes flashed red, and he grabbed Jiang Jinshi's hand, "Brother Jiang, take me with you!"

In a short span, Wang Liu's address for Jiang Jinshi shifted from Jiang Daizi to Jiang brother and now to Brother Jiang, causing Yan Wu's eye corner to twitch involuntarily.

"Brother Wang, it's not that I won't take you, it's just..."

Jiang Jinshi showed an embarrassed expression, like a worker bragging about a high salary, but if you ask him to work together in this place, how could he make that decision?

Wang Liu naturally knew Jiang Jinshi couldn't decide, yet he couldn't let the chance slip; he would cling to it even if it meant pestering.

"Brother Jiang, you're like a brother to me, I beg you! I still have a wife and children to support, and my mother is already seventy." Wang Liu tried to play the tragic card, attempting to squeeze out a couple of tears, only to find his eyes bone‑dry, so he scrunched his face instead.

Jiang Jinshi pretended to wrestle with his thoughts, then reluctantly said, "Fine. I'll first assign you a task; if you do well, the Tang family will naturally consider it."

"Alright! What should I do?" Wang Liu agreed without hesitation.

Jiang Jinshi first scanned the surroundings, then lowered his voice: "Tomorrow night, quietly open the city gates and let the Tang family in."

Beside him, Wang Hou's heart raced; he hadn't expected the boss to speak so casually. Under the unseen table, Wang Hou slipped out a dagger, ready to kill Wang Liu without hesitation if anything seemed off.

Hearing this, Wang Liu's sense of caution rang loudly, and his eyes cleared considerably in an instant.

"Brother Jiang, why are they entering the city at night instead of daylight...?" Wang Liu didn't dare open the gates, yet he didn't want to miss the money‑making chance, so he thought to ask for clarification.

Jiang Jinshi thought for a while before saying, "I'll be honest: do you know what business the Tang family is currently doing?"

"What?" Wang Liu grew more curious—what could they be doing that requires entering the city at night and spending so lavishly?

"Salt!" Jiang Jinshi stared at him, a single word popping out from between his teeth.

Wang Liu inhaled deeply; everything clicked—no wonder they needed to enter at night; they were smuggling illicit salt!

Only illicit salt yields such high profit, yet it must stay hidden.

This made Wang Liu think even more: opening the gates for the Tang family meant they intended to sell illicit salt in Jiangcheng, and although smuggling salt is a capital crime, what does that have to do with him?