Chapter 9: One cannot become wealthy without unexpected fortune

However, just as Guan Zhuofan let out a great sigh of relief and prepared to close the door, the officer suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around to walk back.

Hmm?

We are merely searching for a soldier who has deserted. The officer waved his hand backward, and those soldiers who had also made the sign of the cross under the crucifix exited the courtyard. I apologize for disturbing your rest

Guan Zhuofan could not allow such a thing to happen. He put on a small hat, walked out the door, and called to Tuber to follow him with a lantern to the outer courtyard. He looked down at his attire, which indeed resembled that of a young master. Taking a deep breath to calm himself as much as possible, he signaled for Tuber to open the courtyard gate

Guan Zhuofan knew that with his departure, the entire alley would inevitably be searched house by house. Not only would it cause chaos, but if he were to encounter any attractive women, a tragedy could also ensue. With an idea forming in his mind, he walked to the door and boldly called out to the officer: "Captain!"

Gold pound! Guan Zhuofan picked up a coin and, under the light of the oil lamp, indeed saw the image of Queen Victoria embossed on the back of the gold coin. He calculated that these more than ten gold pounds would be enough for a middle-class family to live for a year in 19th century Britain. It seems this Indian fellow has indeed amassed a small fortune, but unfortunately, it has come at no cost to me; I don't even need to say thank you.

The truth and falsehood arise solely from excessive speech https://www.hetushu.com Guan Zhuofan did not know what flaw the officer had discovered, and he was inwardly lamenting. However, with matters having reached this point, he could only brace himself and wait for the officer to take action.

The soldier you mentioned, does he have a lot of facial hair?" Guan Zhuofan gestured on his face with his hand, "And is he wrapped his head in a white cloth?

Of course. Guan Zhuofan drew a cross, "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen"

Serves him right! He thought. The Indians' own country is occupied by the British, yet they still help their masters bully the Celestial Empire; it is evident that they deserve their fate. As for the items in the package, he naturally accepted them without any reservations.

The house of the Bai family, the bloodstains have not yet been cleaned, the pit for Tubo has not been dug properly, and the corpse of the Indian has been left under the wall in the inner courtyard. As long as the British come in and take a glance, there will be no need for further words; his journey through time and his life will come to an end here.

The officer's face showed a look of surprise as he put down his hand and said, "You can speak English; is your family part of the clergy?"

The officer nodded and turned to walk outside

He was very surprised to see his old butler, Tubber, trembling beside him, also repeating the gesture of making the sign of the cross. Forehead, chest, left shoulder, right shoulder, it was simply perfect; one could imagine how many times the old man had secretly practiced this "and the book spell".

As a seventh-rank military officer, today marked his first experience of killing. The Battle of Baliqiao had indeed brought about significant changes in him. When he faced that Indian soldier, he felt no fear or hesitation, and eliminating this Indian was not accompanied by any sense of guilt or unease.

The house next door that was robbed was the very one he mistakenly knocked on the first day he arrived at Shoubi Hutong. He had heard from Tubo that the owner next door was surnamed Zhou, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, who came from a wealthy family and had quite a bit of money.

He spoke in English, which he had practiced diligently and believed to be a very standard London accent. The skill that was once used to deceive foreign tourists in that small shop within the museum was now to be employed to deceive foreign soldiers from over a hundred years ago

"Your English is very good, although your manner of speaking is a bit strange." He stared intently at Guan Zhuofan, "You say you are a believer?"

However, wealth is wealth; one would not expect it to reach such an extent. Guan Zhuofan thought to himself, excluding real estate and land, and disregarding any treasures buried deep underground, just the amount of cash plundered by the Indian soldiers that ended up in this dead ghost's hands is quite alarming. As a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Revenue, where could he possibly acquire so much money without resorting to bribery? The corruption of Qing Dynasty officials was something he had only read about in books, but now he was witnessing a living example.

... ...

Oh, may he receive the Lord's blessing. Zhuo Fan humbly bowed and thought to himself: Of course he has received the Lord's blessing; is he not enjoying happiness in heaven at this very moment

The British officer walked up to him, expressionless, and scrutinized him once more, a sly smile appearing at the corner of his mouth

"Damn foreign devils!" came a muffled curse from next door, followed by the sound of the courtyard gate slamming shut. Guan Zhuofan remained silent, thinking to himself, who told you to have the most ostentatious front door? One wonders how many things were taken this time.

The British officer returned, "Have you ever seen him?"

He first opened a small package, and inside he found two rough tea bricks, a box of snuff, several pieces of jerky made from either beef or horse meat, a small knife, some loose silver coins, and the most eye-catching of all, a dozen bright yellow gold coins

At such times, the only ones daring to rampage through the city are the foreign soldiers. The southern part of the city is under the control of the British forces, and as they go from door to door, it is evident that they are searching for the missing Indian soldier

After a moment of reflection, he decided to repack the parcel, tying it up securely, and prepared to return it to the Zhou family at dawn the next day. He felt justified in keeping the money from the Indian soldiers, but this parcel, after all, belonged to his neighbor. If he were to conceal this "ill-gotten wealth" and rely on it to support his family, he would not be able to reconcile that with his own conscience.

As soon as the door opened, four armed British soldiers and a *Tush* soldier rushed in, followed by an officer and another four soldiers, while outside, soldiers holding torches were peering in. Upon entering, the officer did not even glance at Guan Zhuofan and Tubo; without a word, he raised his hand to issue an order. Suddenly, he paused slightly, his gaze falling on the white cross on the wall. He turned his eyes and suspiciously scrutinized Guan Zhuofan, who stood in the middle.

"Captain, it is a pleasure to have your presence here," he said respectfully and warmly

Having made the necessary arrangements, he began to hastily put everything from the kang into the cabinet. Just as he closed the cabinet door, he heard a commotion outside. This time, it was different from before; the alley was filled with a cacophony of voices, and the sound of knocking on doors was incessant. After a while, the noise gradually moved in the direction of his home, and the outer courtyard door was violently slammed.

However, where did this Indian fellow get so much wealth? He was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized that this was just stolen from next door.

... ...

Turning around, he saw the Bai family cleaning the bloodstains in the room with water, while Tu Bo had already dragged the corpse of the Indian soldier to the side and started digging a pit by the courtyard wall. Nearby, there was a chaotic pile of Indian soldiers' rifles, ammunition bags, powder bags, and two bundles. Guan Zhuofan's research focus before his time travel was world history, and he was well aware that such muzzle-loading guns were on the verge of being obsolete in Europe, offering no assistance for his future. Therefore, he simply picked up the two bundles and returned to the west wing, meticulously cleaning the blood off the knife from https://mhetushucom.com, changed into a clean robe, and sat by the kang in contemplation.

"Damn it!" the officer cursed vehemently

Guan Zhuofan still wore a humble expression, but inwardly he said: Yes, yes, screw him, screw him

Amen The British officer also made the sign of the cross, and a smile finally appeared on his face Do you have any questions When he saw the wrinkled old man beside him also devoutly making the sign of the cross, he was convinced that the light of God had already shone into this Chinese family

Thank you, it has saved us a lot of trouble. The officer waved his hand, "Form up! We are leaving." He led his soldiers towards the alley entrance

"Yes, I saw him come out of my neighbor's house, hurriedly running out of the alley," Guan Zhuofan pointed to the entrance of the alley.

He pushed the gold coins aside and first swept the pile of scattered silver into the pouch at his waist, which probably contained about seven or eight taels. Then he took the larger package; as soon as he opened it, he was dazzled by a flash of silver light. Upon closer inspection, he was momentarily stunned. At the bottom of the package were more than twenty snow-white silver ingots, on top of which lay two ingots of gold, along with some delicate jewelry. Just looking at the emerald ring, one could tell it was of considerable value. This entire collection, when calculated, was likely worth two to three thousand silver taels.

Guan Zhuofan knew that as soon as the officer waved his hand, the soldiers would immediately rush into the inner courtyard. Now, he could only place his last hope on the words he had spoken.