Chapter 23: Whom Is the Pit Dug For?

Now everyone could see it clearly: the Qian brothers weren’t just setting a trap for Shen Shi, but planning one of unprecedented scale.

Those gamblers allowed on the second floor, even if they hadn’t personally participated in such schemes, had witnessed several tricks of the trade. Gongsun Ce signaled Shen Shi with his eyes, urging him not to agree to the Qian brothers’ terms.

Yet Shen Shi’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Very well! Let’s bet two hundred strings.” He made a show of waving the two hundred and fifty strings of paper currency in his hand.

Gambling was frowned upon, but if it could infuriate his opponents, it was worth it.

“I recall that the gambling house exchanges paper currency. I’ll stake two hundred strings and want fifty in change.”

Shen Shi’s demeanor was perfectly normal, but to the Qian brothers, it was infuriating.

“What’s two hundred strings? No! We want to bet two thousand!” Qian Shengwen revealed their true intention without provocation.

Shen Shi smiled inwardly: so that was their line in the sand—two thousand strings, their greatest limit.

His smile faded quickly, replaced by a helpless tone: “That’s unfortunate. I don’t have two thousand strings.”

Not only did Shen Shi refuse to match their wager, he shrank back.

Qian Shengwen glanced at his elder brother. “Brother, this isn’t how we scripted it!”

Qian Shengju frowned and said, “If our virtuous brother Shen lacks the funds, he can borrow from the gambling house.”

This was their true purpose. Having to say it outright meant the gloves were off; the blade was drawn. Not that there was much face left between them and Shen Shi.

“Brother Shen…” Gongsun Ce tried to advise him, for two thousand strings was an enormous sum.

In the Song Dynasty, two thousand strings were no trifling matter. If one string equaled a thousand copper coins, and rice cost fifty coins per bushel—one bushel in Song times equaled about sixty-five liters or roughly one hundred pounds—then fifty coins bought a hundred pounds of rice. That meant one coin bought two pounds, one string bought two thousand pounds. Two thousand pounds of ordinary rice today cost around four thousand yuan, so by purchasing power, one string was roughly four thousand yuan; two thousand strings equaled eight million yuan. Eight million! That’s a staggering amount!

And that’s only for ordinary rice. If it were eco-friendly, pure green food, the price would be even higher…

Were these brothers gambling, or seeking someone’s ruin?

Of course, someone might mention that in Water Margin, Yang Zhi priced his ancestral sword at three thousand strings.

But that was a family heirloom; in modern society, a single antique can be worth billions.

As for eight million, no modern casino would lend such a sum; even if they did, it could only spell disaster. The interest alone would be enough to destroy a person.

It was evident that Shen Shi’s dazzling performance yesterday had pushed the brothers to extreme measures.

Shen Shi smiled.

Those who knew him understood: when he smiled like this, he was ready to strike back mercilessly. But in this room, no one knew Shen Shi as he was now.

Qian Shengju, seeing Shen Shi silent, promptly called the gambling house manager.

The house made a business of lending money at interest, but when they heard the sum—two thousand strings—they refused outright.

“You really are something. He’s not borrowing from you for nothing; he’s offering his family mansion as collateral.”

The Qian brothers were truly ruthless, scheming to make Shen Shi wager his ancestral home. If he lost, he would be ruined.

In this era, such behavior among wastrels was a one-way road to destruction.

Yet Shen Shi kept his silence.

The manager asked, “Are you really staking your mansion?”

“Yes, yes.” Shen Shi said nothing, but the Qian brothers were already eager.

“Hmph! You two really want to play big?” A sharp gleam flashed in Shen Shi’s eyes.

“Big? It’s just sandalwood money. How is that big?” Qian Shengwen scoffed, affecting the manner of a man with money to spare.

“Oh? Two thousand strings is no small amount. You say you have it—show me. There’s no reason I should wager a mansion while you only stake your words.”

“Fine, fine. Brother, show him the currency.”

Under Shen Shi’s intense gaze, Qian Shengju felt a chill and hurriedly told his brother to produce the money.

But Qian Shengwen refused, glaring contemptuously. “You think we’d cheat you? Besides, your fighting dog won’t win anyway.”

Shen Shi sneered, “Qian Shengwen, save your pointless words. For a fair wager, the stakes must be displayed. If you can’t produce the money, why should I risk a mansion?”

“Shengwen, hand it over.” Qian Shengju couldn’t withstand Shen Shi’s presence and lost his temper with his brother.

“Brother, I lent eight hundred strings to a friend…” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to produce it, but that he didn’t have enough.

“Hah, so you’re broke! Then I’ll be on my way.” Shen Shi chuckled and moved to leave.

“Wait a moment.” Having finally lured him into their trap, Qian Shengju wouldn’t let him go.

“What’s this? No money and you won’t let a man leave?” Shen Shi mocked.

“Who says we have no money? Manager, we have twelve hundred strings and wish to borrow eight hundred more, payable in a day,” Qian Shengju turned to the house manager.

“That’s easily done. Young Master Qian knows our rules—nine out, thirteen returned.”

The Qian family truly had wealth. One could see it in the manager’s attitude toward them.

Toward Shen Shi, he was just a pauper, someone they had no desire to lend to.

Yes, they were a military family. Perhaps they had valuable possessions at home, but the Shen family never settled down, always seeking opportunities, giving gifts, aspiring to be scholars. No matter how deep their roots, they couldn’t survive such expenditures.

Moreover, this was the Great Song. Aside from the founding brothers…

No, to be precise, only Zhao the First. Zhao the Second was a wastrel who lost nine out of ten battles, squandering all the family’s wealth his brother left him.

Of course, compared to their descendants, they were still outstanding.

But at best, it was beggars and paupers competing in wealth. And with no wars to fight, or only lost battles, where would a military family’s income come from?

If not for this, the Shen family would never have turned to scholarship.

The Qian family was different. They were timber merchants.

Sea vessels used timber; golden sandalwood was worth its weight in gold. Just as Qian Shengwen said, two thousand strings were but a set of golden sandalwood furniture.

“No more nonsense! Bring the loan note. I’ll sign it.” Qian Shengju pressed the manager, unconcerned about the eight hundred strings.

His indifference only made the manager happier. Nine out, thirteen returned—for just one day, eight hundred strings would yield nearly half again in profit. The house could hardly refuse.

The manager quickly prepared the loan note; Qian Shengju and Qian Shengwen signed and stamped it.

“Your turn!” Having played the fool, Qian Shengwen still taunted Shen Shi with pride.

Clearly, they were impatient. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have agreed to nine out, thirteen returned. The rule meant that for a three-month pawn, the monthly interest was one unit: for a ten-unit item, one must pay one unit per month; but when pawning, the shop only pays nine units—“nine out”; when redeeming, the customer must pay three months’ interest, totaling thirteen units—“thirteen returned.” For just one day, such high interest was unnecessary.