Now, Ao Tu set about building an inn beside the main road.
The bandits were all delighted.
Ao Tu held out his hand.
The bandits asked, "Great King, what for?"
Ao Tu said, "What nonsense! Money, of course! How are we supposed to build an inn without money?"
The bandits said, "Great King, didn't you already take all the money we'd saved up?"
Ao Tu slapped the table. "That's my money! I'm the Great King. Have you ever heard of a Great King paying out of his own pocket? Hand over the money, quick, and don't try fooling me by saying you haven't got any. You lick blood off knife points for a living-how could you not keep some silver in your pockets?"
The bandits looked at one another. One said, "Great King, the previous Great King was stingy. We really don't have much money on us. How about we provide the labor instead?"
Ao Tu said, "What's that supposed to mean? You make it sound as if you weren't going to have to work anyway. Do you expect your Great King to do the work himself?"
The bandit hastily said, "No, no."
Ao Tu said, "Listen up. You have to put in both money and labor. Once the inn's built and earning silver, everyone gets a share. Anyone who doesn't want to contribute can get lost right now."
At this, the bandits did not know which choice to make, so they began whispering among themselves in twos and threes.
Someone said, "Wh-what do we do? Really hand over our silver?"
Someone said, "We might as well. At least once we've put up the silver, there'll be an inn standing here, something we can see and touch. Running a cutthroat inn is a business with roots, after all. Better than