Remoteness basically means poverty, yet it's quite strange that such a poor little village would have a repair and tire-patching shop right at the entrance.

Combining their current predicament with this situation, Qin Fang began to speculate about what might be going on, although he didn't have anything solid to say—a thief must be caught red-handed, after all, and he couldn't just make baseless accusations.

"There seems to be a repair shop up ahead. Let's go there and ask..."

The spare tire had also burst, and Wen Yan's car didn't have a spare. At this point, they had no choice but to get out of the car and walk toward the small village ahead.

Although Wen Yan and the others still had a car to drive, Qin Fang used his Scouting Skill to survey the road, and goodness, there were at least a hundred of these long nails set up on the road from their car to the repair shop ahead—even if they had plenty of spare tires, that wouldn't be enough to cope with these nails...

There's no doubt about what purpose these nails served—it was clear to anyone with eyes...

But with the road now closed off by heavy snow, the nails were covered by the white snow, and it would be very difficult to spot them if one weren't paying close attention.

Qin Fang stopped Wen Yan and the others from driving any further, asking them to park the car on the side of the road, and they all walked together toward the small village ahead.

Given the current situation, there was no hope of reaching the city before it got completely dark. They might as well temporarily abandon this idea.

The group of seven walked about two to three hundred meters in the snowy field and arrived at the repair shop, where they could vaguely see the bright lights inside and quite a few people gathered, playing cards and betting money...

As if noticing Qin Fang and his group, a middle-aged, boss-like Fatty immediately came out from inside...

"Boss, our tires need changing. How much do you charge for patching up a tire here?"

Master Wang immediately went up to talk to the boss, while Qin Fang and the others waited on the road a few meters away, faintly overhearing their conversation.

"Two thousand..."

The shop owner glanced at Qin Fang's car in the distance, not even lifting his eyelids, and said indifferently.

"What? Are you robbing us..."

Master Wang immediately yelled in shock. Just patching a tire and he's asking for two thousand—that's no different from robbery. It was just too ruthless.

"Take it or leave it..."

The Fatty boss turned his head away, seemingly indifferent, even ready to turn back and continue gambling, as if he didn't care about the business deal at all.

"We'll fix it..."

Master Wang was embarrassed by the Fatty boss, and before he could consult with Qin Fang, he saw Qin Fang directly pull out a stack of money.

"Here's ten thousand, patch up the two burst tires for us... and give the other parts of the car a check as well. We'll settle the exact amount after that—refunding any excess or making up any shortfall..."

Qin Fang weighed the stack of money in his hand with a few slaps and then pointed towards the car in the distance.

"Done! What a straightforward man... Guys, we've got work to do!"

The Fatty boss quickly took the money, simply played with it a bit, apparently too lazy to count it carefully, and stuffed it into his pocket.

For a person like him, once the money was in his hands, the amount was already clear with just a light weigh and a flick of his fingers.

"Are you in a hurry to get to the city? Patching the tire might take some time, and it's getting dark. I'm afraid you won't be able to leave tonight. Do you need me to find a place for you to stay?"

This Fatty boss seemed to have a good business sense, especially seeing Qin Fang spending generously, and considering that those accompanying him were young and pretty women, there was a flicker of an odd light in his eyes as he spoke very warmly.

"I was just about to ask about that. Do you have any good recommendations?"

Qin Fang seemed not to notice such gazes, as if it played right into his hands, he immediately inquired.

Indeed, they could no longer make it into the city before nightfall, so spending the night here was a must. Rather than going from house to house asking, it was better to have Fatty make the arrangements.

"Just stay at my place, my house is big, with plenty of rooms. Even if you each want a room, there are enough to accommodate..."

The Fatty boss immediately seized the opportunity to drum up business for himself, pointing to the large courtyard behind the repair shop, which was also brightly lit. It appeared that there were indeed quite a few rooms, one connected to another.

"That would be best... How much should we pay for the rooms? Name your price..."

Qin Fang nodded, seemingly unconcerned as he spoke, acting every bit the profligate son who didn't care about money.

"Well... The room facilities are top-notch, so the price is a bit high, One Thousand Yuan per room. Mr. Boss, how many do you want?"

The smile on Fatty boss's face almost bloomed into a flower as his small eyes rotated shrewdly, his gaze occasionally moving across Qin Fang and his companions before he carefully stated his offer.

It has to be said, the Fatty boss was truly ruthless in overcharging; Qin Fang and his companions hadn't even seen the rooms yet, and the price was already set at One Thousand Yuan per room, an amount comparable to a suite in a fancy hotel in the big city, while this was just a small house built in the countryside.

"We have seven people here, so let's get one room per person then..."

Upon hearing this, Qin Fang frowned, seemingly a bit displeased, but still, he took out a stack of money and threw it over, "The extra money consider it as meal costs, hurry up and prepare us something to eat..."

"Right away... I'll have it prepared immediately!"

The Fatty boss happily accepted the money, promptly leading Qin Fang and his group to check the rooms, and then arranged for someone to cook for them.

The rooms were a bit small, but what Fatty said was true - the facilities were quite nice; at least the rooms had air conditioning and hot water available, making it almost comparable to a hotel.

"Mr. Qin, about that boss..."

Master Wang had been wanting to say something, but Qin Fang had not given him the opportunity until the Fatty boss left, and then Master Wang couldn't wait to speak up.

There was clearly something suspicious about this affair; he was hired by Qin, and it also concerned him. He didn't want Mr. Qin to be displeased with him after all, the pay for this job was quite high.

"It's alright, Master Wang. Let's just stay here tonight... We'll talk about the other stuff later!"

Qin Fang dismissed the concern nonchalantly, acting like the wasteful son who really didn't care about money, completely unperturbed by the twenty thousand Yuan he had just thrown away.

While Master Wang felt the pain of the expense, he knew it wasn't his place to interject. Moreover, complaining might displease Qin, potentially costing him this temporary high-paying job.

The seven of them, each with a room, settled down quickly. Meanwhile, the Fatty boss had promptly arranged for someone to repair their tires and check their vehicle.

Of course, the dinner for Qin Fang and his companions was quickly delivered; it consisted of simple home-style dishes, the kind that even if priced outrageously in a fancy hotel, wouldn't fetch more than a few hundred Yuan. The Fatty boss, however, had no intention of returning any part of the extra Three Thousand Yuan to Qin Fang...

However, Qin Fang didn't seem to care at all. The group was tired and hungry, and they immediately gathered together to eat.

"Qin Fang, what sort of shady plan are you hatching this time? Tell me secretly..."

During the meal, Wen Yan quietly asked Qin Fang about it.

Among those present, her relationship with Qin was the closest, and she understood him best. Just from the way Qin was acting, she knew he must be up to something shady.

Wen Yan didn't find it appropriate to ask earlier with Fatty around, but now that it was just their own group, she felt free to ask without such worries. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote and give monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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