He obtained the God of All Laws from human skin.

Chapter 25 The Gambling House Inquiry

I ran errands at the casino today.

Qin Chuan and his group earned a total of over 160 coins, several dozen more than yesterday.

However, if you divide it among all the people, the amount is less.

Qin Chuan distributed thirty coins to each person, then glanced at Wang the Cripple and Xiao Wu.

The two of them didn't show any signs of dissatisfaction.

Needless to say, Gouwa and Tiedan were so happy that they never stopped baring their teeth.

Qin Chuan said, "Today is the first day that all five of us are working together, so it's a bit chaotic and slow. Once we figure things out and get the hang of it, and take on more orders, each of us will naturally get more."

He glanced at the group and continued, "This errand-running business isn't just about using your legs; you guys need to use your brains too. We know we're buying things for gamblers, but the shopkeepers don't. They think we're buying things for ourselves. Think about it, is it cheaper for one person to buy or for a group to buy?"

The group paused for a moment, then Wang the Cripple was the first to react: "Brother Qin means, should we ask the shopkeeper for a discount?"

"Yes." Qin Chuan nodded. "How many times a day do we go to those shops? At least five or six times, sometimes more than ten. Plum wine, braised beef, sesame cakes, peanuts—the orders add up to far more than what ordinary customers buy. Why should they pay the same price to others as they pay to us?"

He paused for a moment: "Starting tomorrow, each of you will go to the shops you are familiar with and talk to the shopkeepers. If you buy a lot, you can get a discount. It doesn't have to be much, just one or two coins off each item. If you get a discount of one coin from each shop, that's ten coins from ten shops. The savings are all ours."

Wang the Cripple frowned and said hesitantly, "Will those shop owners agree? We're not exactly big customers."

"Not now, but soon it will." Qin Chuan glanced at him. "Talk to him. If once doesn't work, try twice. If twice doesn't work, try three times. Go every day, go back and forth, buy so much each time. He's a businessman; he can do the math. Besides, how do you know it won't work if you don't try?"

Gouwa muttered quietly to himself, "What if the shopkeeper refuses?"

"If they won't, let's go to another one." Qin Chuan said decisively. "There's more than one place selling sesame cakes on this street, and more than one place selling braised beef. If he won't, let's go to the one that will. Compare prices at three different places, even for delivery drivers."

The others listened in silence. Xiao Wu pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "Brother Qin is right. We buy so much every day, why shouldn't we get a discount?"

Qin Chuan smiled, clapped his hands, and stood up: "Alright, that's enough for today. Be on time tomorrow, same time as always."

......

The next day,

After helping Aunt Liu tidy up,

Qin Chuan went to the school again and studied for more than an hour.

On the way back,

He glanced at the corner of the clutter pile, then said, "Come out, don't hide, the kitchen was specially reserved for you."

Upon hearing this,

Liu Ding, no longer hiding in the pile of junk, stepped out and asked, "My letter?"

"It was sent over yesterday," Qin Chuan replied. "Urgent!"

Hearing this, Liu Ding felt much relieved, then went to the kitchen, picked up his rice bowl, and began to eat heartily.

While he was eating, he suddenly remembered something and said, "Young man, I didn't have a chance to ask your name yesterday. My name is Liu Ding, and I'm from Huizhou."

"Qin Chuan." Qin Chuan leaned against the stove, arms crossed, his voice soft.

Liu Ding swallowed the food in his mouth and wiped his mouth.

He looked up at Qin Chuan, his gaze carrying a mixture of scrutiny and seriousness.

The boy in front of me was wearing a slightly worn blue cloth shirt, and his hair was tied back with a cloth strip. He looked to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, but his eyes were calm and composed, which was not what one would expect at his age.

"Qin Chuan," Liu Ding repeated the name, as if to memorize it, "I've remembered it. I won't thank you enough for now, but I will repay you if I have the chance in the future."

Qin Chuan waved his hand, ignoring the conversation, and turned to leave.

......

The sun sets in the west.

Inside the Ever-Victorious Casino,

Qin Chuan and the others finally finished their work and were preparing to leave.

But someone nearby called out to them.

"Wait a minute, come with me."

Qin Chuan looked in the direction of the voice and found that it came from the gambling den's accountant.

The man was in his fifties, with a thin, long face and two tufts of goatee.

Qin Chuan knew that although the errand business he had been running these past few days was not large, it was still quite conspicuous in the gambling den, and sooner or later he would be targeted.

Qin Chuan considered several ideas, then gave a wink to the people beside him, signaling them not to panic. He then took the lead and followed the steward into the backyard.

The accountant led the group through the main hall, turned into a narrow passage, pushed open a door, and entered a small hut.

Two burly men stood inside the room.

Upon seeing this scene, Xiao Wu and the others' legs began to tremble involuntarily; they were terrified.

The accounting manager squinted at the group: "Speak, you lot, what's your background?"

Gouwa immediately replied in a trembling voice, "I...we are beggars from Powa Lane in the west of the city."

The accounting manager's brow twitched slightly. His gaze swept over the group, but his face showed no surprise. He simply nodded and asked, "Whose idea was this?"

Wang the Cripple and Xiao Wu glanced at Qin Chuan almost simultaneously, their eyes meeting briefly before quickly looking away, as if they had been burned.

The two bit their lips, neither of them speaking.

Gouwa kept his mouth shut and didn't say a word, wishing he could bury his head in his chest.

No one said a word.

The manager's voice turned stern, tinged with impatience, "Answer my questions directly. Don't make me bother."

The two burly men behind him also let out an angry snort.

Tie Dan stood there, trembling like a leaf, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Faced with the manager's questioning, he couldn't withstand the pressure and blurted out, "It was...it was Brother Qin's idea! He brought us here! He's the one who made us run errands! I didn't want to come; he said it would make money, so I came..."

Wang the Cripple suddenly turned his head and glared at Tie Dan. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed it back.

The accountant didn't look at Tie Dan; his gaze fell on Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan met the manager's gaze, his voice not loud, but steady and clear: "I brought them here."

The room fell silent for a moment.

The accounting manager stared at him for a few moments, his lips twitching slightly—it was unclear whether it was a smile or something else.

"A mere beggar dares to run a business in a gambling den. Does he even know who owns this gambling den?"

"It's Master Qian's." Qin Chuan answered quickly, his face showing just the right amount of respect. "Who in Qinghe County doesn't know that the Changsheng Gambling House in the west of the city is Master Qian's property? It makes a fortune every day and is famous far and wide. I'm only able to make a living in the gambling house thanks to Master Qian's good fortune. If it weren't for Master Qian running this gambling house so successfully and attracting so many distinguished customers, I wouldn't even have anywhere to run errands."

Hearing this, the manager looked at Qin Chuan in surprise, clearly not expecting that the little beggar in front of him could give such an answer.

After a pause, he continued, "What if you run errands, going in and out of the gambling den, serving drinks and meat, handing over items, collecting coins—all of this disrupts my gambling den's business? What are you going to do about it?"

Qin Chuan met the manager's gaze without flinching: "Sir, if I may be so bold as to say this, running errands doesn't interfere with business; on the contrary, it can bring more business to the gambling den."

The manager's eyebrows twitched slightly, but he didn't speak; however, his eyes clearly signaled for Qin Chuan to continue.

Qin Chuan continued calmly, "When gamblers win money, they're in a good mood and want a drink or a bite to eat, but they don't want to leave the gambling table for fear of losing their winning streak. We run errands for them to buy these things, so they're comfortable eating and drinking, stay at the gambling table longer, and bet more. The longer the gamblers stay, the higher the gambling den's turnover naturally goes..."

Seeing the manager lift his eyelids slightly, he knew he had taken his words to heart, so he continued, "More importantly, this errand-running service is only offered by Changsheng Gambling House in Qinghe County. At other gambling houses, if a gambler wins money and wants a drink, he has to get up and buy it himself, and if his luck turns bad, he'll be frustrated for a long time. But at Changsheng Gambling House, he doesn't have to get up; the food and drink are delivered to his door. Tell me, which place will those gamblers choose next time they want to have a good time?"