What a lucky world!

Chapter 162 Who is eating meat in my bowl?
After entering the main room and being served tea, Li Quan sat down at the bottom of Zhang Mu's position.

Now that the master and the servant are clear, it's time to get to the point.

"My elder brother Han was attacked and killed. Manager Li, do you know who is behind this?" Zhang Mu asked.

Upon hearing this, Li Quan sighed softly and shook his head. "I'm not sure who it is, but if we look at it in conjunction with another incident related to Yongxiu Company, we might be able to shed some light."

Zhang Mu's eyes flickered slightly: "Another thing... Are you saying that Huang Tianlai was assassinated?"

Li Quan nodded.

Zhang Mu took a sip of the tea and asked, "Does Shopkeeper Li know any secrets?"

Li Quan gave a wry smile and said, "It's not really a secret, it's just speculation."

Zhang Mu put down his teacup and said, "I'm all ears."

Li Quan took a deep breath, pondered for a moment, and said, "I know that the real owner of Yongxiu Company was not Mr. Huang, but..."

Li Quan glanced at Zhang Mu, who nodded slightly, indicating that he could skip this part and continue.

Seeing this, Li Quan continued, "When Brother Han came, Master Huang also gave clear instructions: cooperate in everything and don't be suspicious."

"Mr. Huang really wants to hand over the business."

"But is there anyone who doesn't want to?" Zhang Mu said with a smile.

Li Quan nodded and said, "Mr. Huang has no children. After his wife passed away three years ago, although he took in several concubines, he never remarried."

"I only have one biological brother, Huang Tianhua."

After a pause, Li Quan continued, "This Mr. Huang is idle and not doing his job properly."

"Yesterday, I went to the Huang residence to pay my respects, and I could still smell the lingering smell of alcohol on him."

"My brother just passed away. This is really wrong."

Ye Hanzhou frowned slightly: "Manager Li, are you saying that Huang Tianhua is the mastermind behind this?"

"I'm not sure." Li Quan shook his head. "Brother Han and his group are all capable people. It won't be easy to attack and kill them. I haven't seen Huang Tianhua have such skills in normal times."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Ye Hanzhou, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke up, "What's he trying to do?"

"It's not like we drove away Brother Han and killed Huang Tianlai, so this business will be his!"

"We have the contract documents in our hands, and we'll come back. Didn't he end up with nothing in the end?"

“Maybe…” Zhang Mu was about to continue what Ye Hanzhou said when he suddenly froze, as if he had thought of something, and blurted out, “Not good!”

"Brother Mu, what's wrong?" Ye Hanzhou subconsciously grasped the hilt of the knife.

Zhang Mu stood up and said to Li Quan, "Manager Li, I'd like to go to the Huang Mansion. Please lead the way."

Although he didn't know why Zhang Mu suddenly said this, Li Quan nodded, stood up and walked out.

……

Huang Mansion.

White flags and white streamers flutter in the wind.

Yongxiu Company has been established in Suzhou for many years and has a wide circle of friends. There are still many people coming to pay their respects.

Li Quan took Zhang Mu and Ye Hanzhou straight to the mourning hall, but only saw Huang Tianlai's concubines kneeling in front of the coffin.

Zhang Mu frowned and whispered something to Li Quan, who immediately found the housekeeper and said, "A distinguished guest has come to pay his respects to Mr. Huang. Quickly call out Mr. Huang II..."

Unexpectedly, the housekeeper was also helpless when he heard this: "Manager Li, the second master is missing!"

"Gone? Master Huang hasn't even been buried yet, how could he be gone?"

"It's true!" the housekeeper said anxiously, "He disappeared early this morning."

"The ladies said to focus on the mourning hall first. The Second Master has already sent people out to look for her, but there's still no response!"

Li Quan came to Zhang Mu with an angry look on his face and explained the situation. Zhang Mu frowned immediately and turned around and left the Huang Mansion.

……

"Shopkeeper Li, I'm sorry to trouble you to run up to me for something." Zhang Mu said to Li Quan after leaving the Huang Mansion.

Li Quan nodded quickly: "Please give your instructions, Master."

"Go to the government office and check the Yongxiu Company's records to see if there are any problems."

Li Quan's expression changed when he heard this: "How can this be..."

"Go ahead and check it out first. We'll be waiting for you at the teahouse in front." Zhang Mu waved his hand and ordered.

...a private room in the teahouse.

A misty drizzle began to fall from the sky, and Zhang Mu looked out the window, somewhat lost in thought.

Ye Hanzhou picked up the teapot and brewed a cup of tea for Zhang Mu. He said, "Brother Mu, have you guessed something?"

Zhang Mu retracted his gaze, fiddled with the teacup, and said with a wry smile, "Just a guess, but I hope I'm wrong."

"Tell me about it?" Ye Hanzhou asked.

Zhang Mu nodded, stopped what he was doing, and said, "Old Ye, how can a young man who doesn't work properly get elite soldiers to kill Brother Han and his men?"

"Money makes the world go round. Maybe he's being hired with a large sum of money..." Ye Hanzhou said casually.

"It could also be a case of borrowing a knife to kill someone!" Zhang Mu said, "Huang Tianhua has joined forces with another force."

Upon hearing this, Ye Hanzhou hesitated and asked, "Are you saying that another force has also set its sights on Yongxiu Trading Company?"

Zhang Mu explained: "It's very likely."

"Now that Shuangyue Wuzhai has withdrawn and we haven't yet entered, this represents a period of power vacuum for Yongxiu Trading Company."

"Assaulting Brother Han can extend the blank period."

"I always thought they were trying to clear up some dark secret."

"But now I understand. They're trying to get in touch with the government and forge the contract documents!"

Ye Hanzhou opened his mouth and wanted to refute, but when he thought about the current situation of Dayun officialdom, he closed his mouth again.

Zhang Mu continued, "After all, Yongxiu Commercial House is a well-established brand, and it needs to be run for a long time, so its actions in public cannot leave any loopholes."

"From what I think, it should be that force that first attacked and killed Brother Han, and then found Huang Tianlai and asked him to transfer Yongxiu Company, but Huang Tianlai did not agree to their conditions."

"So, they killed Huang Tianlai."

"Huang Tianlai had no wife or children. After his death, the business officially fell into the hands of Huang Tianhua!"

"As long as we can deal with Huang Tianhua, get him to come forward, and then forge a contract document, with the help of the government, we can transfer Yongxiu Company into our own hands cleanly."

Ye Hanzhou frowned: "They are trying to seize our family property, aren't they afraid of our swords?"

Zhang Mu shook his head: "If they dare to do this, they are naturally not afraid."

"Su City is wealthy, and its defenses are strong. Otherwise, why don't the surrounding martial arts villages come and try to take advantage of such a big piece of cake?"

"After all, no matter how powerful the Wuzhai is, it is only a nourishing force."

"A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake!"

Ye Hanzhou gripped the hilt of the knife and said coldly, "I'm a little curious about which local tyrant is trying to steal our rice bowl..."

"No rush!" Zhang Mu took a sip of tea. "That was just my guess..."

"If my speculation is correct, Li Quan will give us the answer soon!"

"Drink tea first."

……

An hour later.

The rain outside the window gradually changed from a drizzle to a thick curtain of rain.

Li Quan knocked on the door of the private room, breathing heavily.

"Boss, check...found it!"

Zhang Mu looked at Li Quan and nodded: "Speak slowly and focus on the key points."

"Yes!"

"Boss, I have checked the official documents."

"Yongxiu Trading Company completed the transfer and filing last night."

"Huang Er...Huang Tianhua sold Yongxiu Trading Company for the incredibly low price of 150,000 silver!"

"Who is the buyer?" Zhang Mu's face showed no emotion, but his hand holding the teacup was clenched tightly.

Li Quan let out a long breath and said:

"One of the four largest cloth shops in Suzhou City - Jiang's Cloth Shop!"

"They are imperial merchants!"

(End of this chapter)