Yang Ming had never expected that Wang Kui was actually from the Escort Agency.
Changjiu Escort Agency was so famous, and so were the people inside. However, Yang Ming was the kind of person who kept himself out of worldly affairs; therefore, he had no idea who Wang Kui was.
Previously, when Wang Kui mentioned his name might have some pull in the county, Yang Ming didn’t take it seriously. It only came up once when he was being robbed, but it hadn’t worked. After that, Yang Ming never gave further thought to this man, only to unexpectedly run into him today.
Wang Kui also noticed Yang Ming’s gaze. Surprised to meet here, he stepped forward, "Brother Yang, I hope all has been well with you."
Yang Ming bowed in greeting, "Brother Wang."
"Brother Wang, what are you all up to here..."
Wang Kui laughed heartily, "Hahaha, it’s nothing. This isn’t a good place to talk. Come on, I’ll take you to our new place."
Hearing Wang Kui say so, Yang Ming had no choice but to follow. They arrived at a dilapidated mansion that was located in a secluded spot, down a deep alley, but the house itself was rather large and could accommodate many people.
"We just got it and haven’t tidied up yet, feel free to sit wherever you like."
Yang Ming found a place to sit down and saw Wang Kui sorting out his band of brothers, which confirmed that Wang Kui was their leader.
Perhaps, a month ago, his deception of Yang Wei was due to compelling circumstances, for the sake of his people. However, whatever the reason, it was always wrong to harm others.
After settling his brothers, Wang Kui immediately returned to Yang Ming’s side. Since his actual situation had already been seen by Yang Ming, he had nothing to hide.
So he frankly said, "I’m really sorry about what happened last time. It was really just to maintain the Escort Agency and the people there that I took on that private job."
Then he chuckled, "My first time trying something bad, and lucky for me it was your wife who showed up, and I didn’t succeed."
"..." Was it really that he didn’t succeed? Wang Kui was a well-known figure in the Escort Agency; he must have known the little tricks played by his wife. It seemed he must have thrown the game on purpose, but since he had decided to do it, why did he let up afterwards?
Unable to solve this puzzle, Yang Ming asked, "Brother Wang, what are your plans for the future?"
Wang Kui glanced in the direction of his brothers, "What else can I plan? Just to stick with these brothers and continue with the Escort Agency."
Yang Ming took in the surroundings and the few remaining people. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe Wang Kui, but such conditions seemed hardly conducive to resuming their former business.
Wang Kui read the meaning in Yang Ming’s eyes, then added, "Don’t be fooled by our current state; we can start with small escorts and eventually, I will bring all my brothers back."
"Without the agency’s owner, can you manage an Escort Agency by yourselves?"
Yang Ming voiced his concern, as after all, running an Escort Agency was all about connections, and it didn’t seem like just anyone could do it.
"There’s no need to worry about that; we have our connections in the business."
If that was the case, then the brothers who had left were probably due to their current conditions. "Are you lacking silver now?"
Wang Kui’s expression tightened unexpectedly upon hearing Yang Ming’s accurate assessment, "To tell you the truth, indeed we are. If we had silver, my brothers wouldn’t have left."
"One hundred taels, could that help you?"
Yang Ming thought it over. He had one hundred and twenty taels on hand, and parting with one hundred taels was still manageable, while the remaining twenty taels had other uses.
To take more, he’d have to ask his wife, and he preferred not to mention such an unsettled matter to her and spare her the worry.
Wang Kui was pleasantly surprised to hear this. They were indeed in desperate need of silver, but he questioned, "Why would you want to help me?"