Fields of Gold

After receiving Long Tianba's permission, the manager began to read off of the items listed on the bill, "Six portions of cheese lobster, seven hundred and twenty taels. Two pots of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, four hundred and twenty taels. Six portions of top-notch abalone, nine hundred taels. Sea cuc.u.mber special rice...from the food and drink alone, you spent four thousand and five hundred taels. As for the baths, you chose the milk bath with added flower petals and special infused medicinal herbs as well as massages...in total that was a thousand and a hundred taels. Thus, in total, your bill comes out to five thousand and six hundred taels. The other customers can tell you whether we are cheating you out of your money or not."

All of the other guests suddenly realized that this fellow only ordered the most expensive items on the menu and ordered several of the same dish! Furthermore, for his baths, he had ordered a bunch of extra services added! No wonder his bill was so large! Immediately, a look of disdain appeared on their faces. The entertainment facility's prices were all posted clearly on their restaurant menus and at the bathhouses. If someone thought the prices were too high, then they didn't have to spend their money on the expensive foods and services! Instead, this fellow was trying to claim foul play and run off on the bill!

What had just happened? Long Tianba noticed that the looks that everyone had in their eyes had changed. After all, his family was one of the wealthiest in the Jiangnan region and he had experienced different scenarios before. He had also heard the manager of the facility narrate out the contents of his bill. Out of the food he ordered, just the lobster, abalone, sea cuc.u.mbers, and shark fins alone were very expensive ingredients. However, what the heck was the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall? Why was it even more expensive than all of the other delicacies?

Despite his confusion, he didn't ask the questions he had in his heart. From the looks of everyone else around him, he could tell that the bill for his expenditures was fair and without any tricks. When he had ordered these things, he didn't look closely at the prices because he was confident in the size of his purse. In order to show off to his friends in the capital, he made sure to order a portion of everything good they said for every person...

Eh? Where did his good friends go? It looked like they had disappeared while they were at the horse track. These people were really too much as they didn't even say a word of farewell when they left! Although Long Tianba was upset about this, he didn't think too much about it.

"Honored Guest, do you...have any other questions ah? If you don't, then please pay your bill right here." The manager of the entertainment facility was still as polite and courteous as ever.

"That uh...the prices here are truly quite expensive! However, my Long Family's fame as a wealthy family in Jiangnan isn't for nothing, so I'm more than able to afford it." An awkward expression appeared on Long Tianba's face as he continued to state confidently, "Earlier I was too excited when betting on horses and lost all of my money there. Can you be a bit flexible...I'll bring the money I owe here tomorrow!"

The look of disdain deepened on all of the guests around him. He had no money yet still boasted about his family's wealth? Wasn't he just claiming that the facility was blackmailing him? It looked more like he was trying to dine and dash!

The smile on the manager's face gradually disappeared. He snorted quietly, "Honored Guest, I must apologize, but this facility does not allow customers to stay on credit! If you don't have any money on you, you can have someone go and bring it back. Our facility is open all day and night and you don't need to worry about inconveniencing us."

The awkward expression on Long Tianba's face deepened, "I didn't bring my servant along when I left this morning. My friends who came with me had something come up and had to leave early…"

"If you have a member of our facility vouch for you, you can also delay paying your bill by a couple days." The look on the manager's face became more dignified.

Long Tianba looked at the crowd around him and didn't see a single familiar figure. He hadn't been in the capital for long. Other than that pack of hooligans he hung out with, he really didn't know anyone else with any status or power. He hesitated before he replied, "I haven't been in the capital for a long time and don't know anyone here…"

"Look here, you don't have anyone who can vouch for you nor do you have a method of getting in contact with your family. Earlier you also said that you had come from Jiangnan, if we just let you go, you might just flee to Jiangnan. Jiangnan is very large, so how are we supposed to find you?" The manager asked intently.

"I am the Fourth Young Master of Jiangnan's Long Family. My word is my guarantee. How could I possibly renege on my bill?" Long Tianba was starting to get impatient and shouted loudly.

The manager replied in a calm manner, "Who can say for sure? You claim you are the Fourth Young Master of the Long Family, but do you have anything that can back that up? If everyone all claimed to be some family's young master to delay paying their bill, can this entertainment facility still operate in the future?"

"I really am the Fourth Young Master of the Long Family...Uh, look at this jade pendant. it has the Long Family's crest on it. Only the direct blood descendents of the Long Family can have something like this. Also, look at the clothes on my body, it's made of the best sky silk there is to be had, and costs around a thousand taels for a bolt in the capital. I also have…" Long Tianba was anxious to prove his identity and revealed every thing of value that he had on his body.

The manager took the pendant over for a look and then casually handed it over to one of the workers next to him as he said, "Young Master Long is providing us an ordinary mutton-fat jade pendant as a security, looks like it's worth around two thousand and six hundred taels. Here's one jadeite ring worth around six hundred taels...a set of clothes made of sky silk is worth around eight hundred taels. All in all, this stuff is worth around five thousand and two hundred taels. Write out a receipt for him as well as an IOU for an additional four hundred taels."

Long Tianba watched as all of the items on his body had been taken away by the manager. Even the clothes from his body were not left out from this process. He opened his eyes wide as he exclaimed with a voice full of disbelief, "Just what are you guys doing here? Why are you taking away my jade pendant...you den of robbers, return my stuff back to me…"

The manager didn't pay attention to him. Once the entire receipt was written, he stuffed it in the youth's hands and said, "Paying up one's debts is the law of the universe. By taking away your items as a security deposit, we're already given you enough face. If you continue to cause a ruckus, then we will no longer be polite to you!"

As he spoke, a few large men with a murderous aura around them appeared around Long Tianba. Only now did this foolish fellow become terrified. He stuttered repeatedly, "A misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! Keep those things as a security deposit for now. I will definitely come back tomorrow to pay my debt and won't leave out a single copper coin!"

Finally, Long Tianba could only tremble as he left the entertainment facility's office, clothed only in his undergarments. It was late autumn now and the weather had turned chilly. He hugged himself as he left, wanting to cry.

"Second Older Brother, that fellow is so funny! He didn't have any money yet still strutted about like a c.o.c.ky young lord!" Zhu Yunxin laughed so hard after seeing this event that her belly was aching. Was this guy a clown that was sent over by his family of monkeys?

The gentle expression on Zhu Yunxiao's face hid exactly what he was thinking. A dangerous light flashed through his large round eyes, which resembled Xiaocao's, "I heard that this fellow had said many insulting things about the entertainment facility while he was at the racetrack and he even insulted the owner of this facility..."

"What??!!" Zhu Yunxin bit down hard on the lollipop in her mouth, breaking the candy in two, "Second Older Brother, why didn't you mention this earlier?! Insulting the facility is one thing but he also insulted our lady mother! How can I allow this to slide?"

"There's no need to endure something more than you can bear," Zhu Yunxiao snarled in an angry manner.

When Zhu Yunxin heard this, she knew that her second brother wouldn't try to stop her if she decided to teach that oaf a lesson. She waved her fists around excitedly, "Let's go! If I don't beat up that guy surnamed Long so hard that his own mother wouldn't recognize him, then I'm not surnamed Zhu!"

Zhu Yunxiao reached out a hand to stop her.

Zhu Yunxin became agitated, "Second Older Brother, are you starting to feel bad for that guy ah? He insulted our lady mother in such a manner, which is the same as slapping our estate in the face and hitting our faces. If we let him go so easily, how can we repay the love and affection that our mother gives us?"

Zhu Yunxiao grinned, "What are you in a hurry for? No wonder our lady mother wanted me to come along with you as I need to make sure that you start using that brain of yours more! Just wait a bit, I'm going to have the manager prepare a burlap sack for us…"

"Second Older Brother, are you telling me that we're going to toss a burlap sack over his face? That sounds so fun! I've never done this to anyone else!!" Zhu Yunxin became even more excited and almost was about to bounce up in glee, "Hurry up, we can't let this guy go too far!"

"No worries, his horse has also been confiscated by the facility as a security deposit. He'll be walking back and is not familiar with the roads. How far can he get?" Zhu Yunxiao narrowed his eyes and the corners of his lips curved up.

Long Tianba felt as if today was just a really bad day. When he was gambling, he had especially asked around about the horses' conditions and made sure to buy the ticket of the one that had won the most races previously. However, he didn't win a single bet. While betting at the race track, he had forgotten that he still needed to pay the bill from earlier. Thus, not only were all of the valuable items on his body taken away, but even his clothes and horse were also confiscated as well.

On the way back, he also didn't know just what bandit had come across him and decided to toss a bag over his head before beating him to a pulp. He had never been subjugated to such pains before in his life!

What had happened was this: Long Tianba was shivering as he pitifully walked back to where he and his father were lodging. From time to time, there would be people on horseback or in carriages passing by him on the road and all of them would look at him with flabbergasted gazes. He was feeling quite embarrassed and covered his head with his two hands as he tried to quickly walk on the side of the road.

He was passing by a small grove of trees when he suddenly felt his foot slip and he fell to the ground. He had thought he had accidentally stepped on a stone and sprained his ankle. Just as he was about to crawl up, his eyes turned dark. Before he could react, he had been pulled into the glade by some people.

Following that, fists and kicks rained upon him like a storm. Why did it feel like there were two people beating him up? One seemed to be focused on his head, raining punches and kicks in quick succession. The other villain was quite crafty and focused on his vulnerable spots. That person only hit the spots that hurt the most and it was so painful that he felt himself going faint.

Long Tianba howled and pleaded loudly, but there were fewer people in the suburbs. In addition, it was getting late, and not many people passed by this little grove of trees. Just as he was about to cry himself hoarse, he finally heard the sound of people approaching. The perpetrators had 'no choice' but to let him go.

After he managed to take off the burlap sack from his head, his head, face, and body hurt all over. His eyes were so swollen that they looked like a pair of slits and he couldn't see very well. Underneath his nostrils was a trail of blood and his inner white colored clothing was dirty from blood and mud. It was likely that if he stood in front of his father at this moment, he wouldn't be recognized.

Long Tianba didn't know how he managed to get back to the guest house. By the time he got back, the sky had turned completely dark. When he went to greet his father, Long Yikui saw that his face had swelled up like a pig's and was completely startled. Then he furiously said out of pity, "Just who did this to you?"