Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 411, 410: Word Games
Feng Xiuhu urged Shunzi to leave because he also needed to go out.

So, no sooner had Shunzi left than he followed suit and slipped away.

After discussing with Fang Youliu last night, Feng Xiuhu decided to clarify a doubt today.

There is no doubt that Shiwuyu does sell fish.

However, to enjoy fresh fish, it must be killed and prepared on the spot, which means that all the fish at Shiwuyu are live fish that arrive on the same day.

This means that the "supplier" of the fish-free food has to come every day.

But there are no waterways around Shi Wuyu, so how did Shi Dajiao transport the fish to Shi Wuyu?

Moreover, Shi Dajiao mentioned that they were river bandits, registered with the police, so it was inconvenient for them to enter the city.

There must be something fishy here.

Therefore, Feng Xiuhu had a clear purpose. After leaving home, he went straight out of the city and came to that stone bridge—the same long stone bridge with many arches that he had passed on his way into the city that day, which spanned both banks.

Early in the morning, Feng Xiuhu stood in the middle of the bridge, leaning against the stone railing, looking downstream.

The bandits of Jinlou Village wanted to send fish in, and this was the only way through.

He wanted to see what tricks were hidden here.

I never expected that I would have to wait for a whole day.

……

The sun is about to set.

Feng Xiuhu had lost count of how many times he had regretted not bringing the pastries that Shunzi had packed with him—he had endured hunger all day so as not to miss the fish-delivering bandits.

Perhaps Jinlouzhai doesn't deliver fish every day?
Feng Xiuhu was starting to have doubts about life.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when, with the last rays of the setting sun, Feng Xiuhu clearly saw a bamboo-awning boat sailing downstream!

He immediately perked up, quickly squatted down, used the railing to conceal his figure, and then peered through the gaps in the stone railing to observe.

On the bamboo-canopied boat, there were only two figures, one in front and one behind, while the middle space was occupied by a round wooden barrel.

The bamboo boat was about to reach the water slope—the place where Shi Dajiao had said the riverbed would become lower and it would be inconvenient to go upstream.

At this moment, Feng Xiuhu finally saw clearly that the wooden barrel on the boat was sealed tightly, and it was impossible to see what was inside. However, there were large characters written in red paint on the barrel: "Lamp oil is flammable. Keep out of reach of unauthorized persons."

Feng Xiuhu sneered, thinking to himself that these river bandits were quite good at finding frightening excuses.

Just as he was wondering how the bamboo boat could go upstream with only two people, he suddenly saw an iron hook fly out from the bridge arch under his feet and land at the bow of the bamboo boat.

The bandits at the bow were quick-witted and agile, grabbing the hooks and attaching themselves to the boat. Then, pulled by the ropes, the bamboo-canopied boat was quickly pulled up and then disappeared into the bridge arch.

Are there backup?

Feng Xiuhu felt a chill, but because he was standing on the bridge, he couldn't see what was happening inside the archway.

Feng Xiuhu was considering whether to climb over the bridge to peek, but he was afraid of being discovered by the bandits below.

Before they could come to a conclusion, they saw bamboo boats rowing out from under the bridge, this time heading straight downstream.

Feng Xiuhu was taken aback—why did they leave again? And how did they manage to turn the boat around so quickly?

Upon closer inspection, Feng Xiuhu suddenly noticed something amiss—the wooden barrels on the boat were gone!

wrong!

Feng Xiuhu suddenly realized what was happening and turned to run towards the railing on the other side behind him.

He moved very quickly, and as soon as he reached the railing, he bent down to search.

Sure enough, the bamboo-awning boat carrying wooden barrels was slowly rowing towards the city!
It turns out there was no turning the boat around at all; the pirates and the people in the city who were there to meet them simply switched boats under the bridge.

There were still two people on the bamboo boat, but they were no longer the two bandits from before. Feng Xiuhu stood on the bridge. He had no boat available, and he couldn't very well jump into the water to follow them, so he could only watch helplessly as the bamboo boat sailed away. The only thing he could do was try his best to memorize the characteristics of the two men.

Just when Feng Xiuhu thought that his harvest for the day had come to an end, he was surprised to find that the bamboo boat was preparing to dock.

It's the Fish King Wharf, the closest to the water inlet!

Two men from the boat carried a wooden bucket ashore, and in just a few steps, they entered the doorway of a building.

Coincidentally, Feng Xiuhu had also been inside that building—it was the back entrance of the Wuchang Auction House.

The sun had completely set, and nightfall shrouded Feng Xiuhu's figure in shadow.

He stood still for a moment, vaguely feeling that he had grasped a clue, but he didn't have time to think about it further and ran into the city.

……

Half an hour later, a horse-drawn carriage carrying goods came out of the back door of the Wuchang Auction House and slowly drove onto the street.

In the alley across the street, Feng Xiuhu lowered the brim of his hat and followed.

He had observed that the trailer was covered with cloth, and judging from its sharp outline, it should contain square crates. Although he couldn't see whether the wooden barrels were inside, Feng Xiuhu was pretty sure that the barrels were there.

The reason was simple: Feng Xiuhu smelled a strong, pungent aroma of spices.

It makes perfect sense that a restaurant needs to purchase large quantities of spices, so this vehicle must be heading to a restaurant called "Fish Without Food".

And more importantly—the spices can perfectly mask the fishy smell.

As Feng Xiuhu had predicted, the carriage swaggered down the street, slowly making its way to the island in the middle of the river, attracting no attention along the way.

When they crossed the bridge over the island in the river, two police officers came up to question them. Feng Xiuhu saw from afar that the driver took out a receipt and showed it to the police officers, who then released him directly—as long as the excuse of "no fish to eat" was raised, the police officers were naturally rendered useless.

Feng Xiuhu didn't continue following, as there was no point in doing so. Apart from the fact that the fish were being fed without any fish, he had already gained more tonight.

When I got home, Fang Youliu had just arrived.

They exchanged a glance and said almost in unison, "I've found something."

Fang Youliu gestured for Feng Xiuhu to speak first.

Feng Xiuhu threw his coat onto the sofa: "The Intestineless Auction House is secretly helping Shi Wuyu transport fresh fish. I guess Xu Liansheng must have a relationship with the owner of the Intestineless Auction House—perhaps their relationship is even deeper than hers with Ye Liushuang."

Fang Youliu laughed and said, "What a coincidence, what I found is also related to the Intestineless Auction House."

Fang Youliu leaned closer and said mysteriously, "The Intestineless Auction House has a rule: in the VIP boxes on the second floor, Box No. 1 is reserved for the temple, and Box No. 2 is reserved for the church..."

Feng Xiuhu was immediately disappointed: "I knew it all along. Room number three was reserved for the government office, and rooms number four and onwards were reserved for big bosses and dignitaries."

Fang Youliu said sullenly, "I thought you didn't know. All that time I spent asking around was for nothing... You're right, so you don't need to worry about the rest. If you want to continue investigating the owner of the Wuchang Auction House, just pay attention to the first four private rooms."

Feng Xiuhu was about to nod when he suddenly realized something and looked up sharply at Fang Youliu: "Why the first four?"

Fang Youliu didn't understand: "Didn't you also say that numbers four and above are..."

Feng Xiuhu interrupted directly: "When you say 'after number four,' does that not include the fourth compartment?"

Fang Youliu nodded blankly: "Otherwise what?"

Feng Xiuhu stared intently at him: "Who was that number four box reserved for?"

Fang Youliu replied, "Those three are in the front because we have to give face to the temple, church and government. So who do you think is in the back?"

"Of course, it's a private room exclusively for the owner of the Intestineless Auction House."

Snapped!
Feng Xiuhu slapped himself.

been played!

(End of this chapter)