Looking north towards the rivers and mountains

Chapter 233 Situation

At noon, the boatmen and porters received their money and dispersed.

Kong Tie called out a few times, and seeing that the ship's managers were not there, he took Liu Huipeng and the newly arrived accountant Wang Xing to the kitchen.

Several hooligans had been waiting for a long time.

"Master Kong".

"Master Kong".

"Master Kong".

The messy way of addressing them made Kong Tie frown, but he patiently invited them inside to eat.

Today there's fish, mutton, and steamed rice. Time to eat! The rascals unconsciously swallowed their saliva.

"One at a time," Kong Tie said, waving his hand.

The rogue Liu Da spoke first: "Sir, I've been wandering around the alley all day and haven't seen anyone suspicious."

Kong Tie nodded.

Liu Da hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'll quit in a few days. If you want to find someone to replace me, you can let Niu Meng from Green Willow Lane give him a try."

"Found a job?" Kong Tie glanced at him and asked.

Liu shook his head and said, "I've gone to do miscellaneous official duties and won't be back until the end of the year. After that, I'll have to continue working for a few more months."

"Where should I go to take the job?"

"To be the gardener of the government-owned farmland."

"Not bad." Kong Tie thought for a moment, then had Liu Huipeng fetch five strings of cash and handed it over, saying, "Take it."

"Thank you, sir." Liu happily accepted the money and stepped aside.

Being a thug is actually a miserable job. The income is low and the status is also low. No decent person would want to do this. But there are always some lazy people or people who hope to rise to the top and rush in to become cannon fodder for various gangsters.

Liu Da didn't have a proper job. He helped Shengye Trading Company wander around the alleys in the west, looking for anyone who might be spying on him. He could earn a dozen or so strings of cash a month and also get three meals a day for free.

After Liu Da left, the rogue Li Ergou stepped forward and reported, "I checked several inns in the east today, but didn't see anyone suspicious."

"Did you look at it carefully?" Kong Tie asked.

"I looked at it carefully." Li Ergou nodded repeatedly.

Kong Tie hummed in agreement.

He had a reason for asking the extra question: this Li Ergou had once entered a restaurant during his patrol and stayed there for an entire afternoon until the owner could no longer tolerate him and kicked him out.

"Sir, I've moved to the south side today," the rogue Zhang San reported. "There seems to be someone spying on us on the second floor facing the street; they've been sitting there for quite a while."

"Go on," Kong Tie nodded.

There are plenty of people spying on them. They have more than a dozen tables on the second and third floors facing the street, and they are always full. Can you expect them to stop doing business?

Among those spying were fellow travelers, those who transported goods on the Loujiang River and competed with the Shengye Trading Company's transport warehouse for business.

Some were simply bored and looking around aimlessly.

Some people are waiting for others, and it's not uncommon for them to sit for half a day.

Others were simply government officials, tasked with routine inspections assigned by their superiors. If anyone overstepped their bounds, they would issue a warning.

As for those from other places who come to Taicang for sightseeing or with other intentions, there are countless people who inquire about this trading company from the staff. They may not have bad intentions, or they may have malicious intent, making it difficult to tell.

Zhang San continued, "I wanted to go inside the Wanghailou restaurant, but the manager wouldn't let me in, so I had to give up."

Upon hearing this, Kong Tie pondered for a moment and then asked, "And then?"

"Later I had Zhao Yu follow them," Zhang San said, pointing to a person not far away.

Kong Tie looked over.

Xiao Yu quickly stepped forward and said, "Sir, this person went to a theater in Duanzi City. No, it's a teahouse."

"Is it a theater or a teahouse?" Kong Tie frowned, his gaze piercing straight ahead.

Xiao Yu's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "The place where you can drink tea and watch opera is called—the Flower Appreciation Pavilion."

"Really? You're not lying to me?" Kong Tie frowned even more deeply.

"Really?" Little Fish asked eagerly.

Kong Tie was silent for a moment, then asked Liu Huipeng to bring him five strings of cash, saying, "This is a reward for you; it's very thoughtful of me."

After saying that, he pointed at Zhang San and said, "You also have five strings of cash."

Liu Huipeng quickly counted the banknotes and handed them to the two men.

Zhang San and Xiao Yu happily put away the precious money and stepped aside.

Others may not know, but Kong Tie knows very well that the Shanghualou has a complicated background. It belongs to the Zhu Chen family's property, just like the Zhehualou in Zhanggong Lane, Liujiagang. It has always produced famous actors, who were then used to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy for their enjoyment.

They had sent people to follow her before, but in the end, they found that the people were either fellow cargo carriers, merchants, or even, on one occasion, directly pointing to Madam Shen's husband, Lu Zhonghe.

Of course, there are also cases where there are no results, or even cases where the trail is lost, which is all normal.

Kong Tie thought for a moment, but couldn't be sure what that person was doing at the flower-viewing pavilion. Was it to watch a play? To meet guests? Or even to spend the night there?

After thinking it over, he looked at Zhang San and said, "Go to Xiyidu this afternoon and hurry up and call Wu Heizi over."

Zhang San nodded, then hesitated.

"He's home today," Kong Tie said.

Without further hesitation, Zhang San agreed.

At this moment, the food was served.

"Let's eat first." Kong Tie didn't invite anyone else, and went straight to a table to eat and drink.

Everyone took their seats.

Wang Xing read it from beginning to end, and for some reason, he suddenly felt a little regretful. He shouldn't have accepted someone's request, quit his job as a clerk at a pharmacy in Suzhou, and rushed to Taicang.

Why does this Sheng Ye Trading Company seem a bit unorthodox?

******

Zhang Sanniu did indeed spend the night at the Flower Appreciation Pavilion, using it as a base to gather information.

On the 15th, he met with Xue Qian, the judge of Kunshan Prefecture, in a private room on the second floor.

The two didn't talk about serious matters at first, only about romance and nature. Lin Long, the pillar of the flower-viewing pavilion, joined in, enlivening the atmosphere, which made Xue Qian very happy. Unconsciously, he shed his usual serious, tough, and upright persona and became unrestrained.

In the end, after drinking quite a bit, they became more talkative.

"Shao Shuyi, though young, is incredibly ruthless," Xue Qian said, recalling the events involving Zhou Ziliang and Sun Chuan. "He was the one who committed the crimes. He killed and stole ships without batting an eye; he's a born villain, a wicked seed. If it weren't for the Zheng family's protection, the authorities would have arrested him long ago. Under Sanmu's protection, what confession couldn't be obtained?"

Zhang Sanniu was taken aback and said, "How did such a scoundrel get involved with the Zheng family? Is he the Zheng family, the Deputy Commander of the Grain Transport Commission?"

"Besides the Zheng family, which other family in Taicang is somewhat famous?" Xue Qian glanced at him sideways and said, "Shao Shuyi is only able to enjoy the favor of the Zheng family and live a carefree life until now because of this."

77

Zhang Sanniu nodded, but inwardly he disagreed.

In the various prefectures and counties of Jiangnan, which place doesn't have powerful local magistrates? And which of these magistrates is completely clean? Why doesn't the government rid the people of this scourge? It's not that they don't want to, but that they can't, because it would gamble with the future of key officials like county magistrates and prefects, and no one dares to take the risk. Of course, if someone rebels, it's like openly breaking ties, and that's a different story altogether.

Could Xue Qian harm Shao Shuyi? Perhaps, but it's really unnecessary. Getting himself involved would be a huge loss. It's better to fatten him up first, like raising pigs, waiting patiently for the right opportunity before swarming in to devour him.

However, he didn't point it out, but pretended to be very surprised and asked, "It seems that Shao Shuyi has a close relationship with the Zheng family."

"That's exactly what I'm wondering about." Xue Qian shook his head to clear his head, and then continued, "If you're saying they value him, they only gave him the position of cloth shop manager; if you're saying they don't value him, they openly include him in their protection, making him practically a vassal."

"May I ask what kind of protection method is used?" Zhang Sanniu asked.

"Shao Shuyi is a seafarer with many ships under his name, yet he never needs to sail out to transport grain. The Zheng family has crossed out his name," Xue Qian said. "Secondly, the Prefectural Assistant Magistrate Ni Guangye is the Prefectural Governor's deputy, and he has repeatedly spoken on Shao Shuyi's behalf. Others are unwilling to offend Magistrate Ni, so they let Shao Shuyi run wild. Magistrate Ni served as an official in Yingde in his early years and was on very good terms with Zheng Yonghe, the then-General Manager of Shaozhou Road. With these two connections, no one dared to touch him."

"I see." Zhang Sanniu poured half a cup of wine for Xue Qian and said with feigned emotion, "I didn't expect Shao Shuyi to have this kind of connection. No wonder he's doing so well in Jiangyin."

"Jiangyin?" Xue Qian had just picked up his wine glass when he heard this, but put it down again, surprised. "What's he doing in Jiangyin?"

Zhang Sanniu then focused on the key points, attributing all of Cao Luo's affairs to Shao Shuyi, recounting the whole story, and then carefully observed Xue Qian's expression.

Xue Qian was stunned for a moment, then said, "Are you sure there's no mistake?"

"It shouldn't be wrong," Zhang Sanniu said. "Have any of Lord Xue's men seen Shao Shuyi?"

"Of course there are." Xue Qian nodded.

"Could you lend me one or two people? I'll take them to Jiangyin and find a chance to see Cao Luo. Then the truth will come out," Zhang Sanniu said.

Xue Qian nodded slowly and said, "This is not difficult. I will find a reliable person to accompany you on this trip."

"Thank you very much," Zhang Sanniu said with a deep bow.

Xue Qian waved his hand and said, "It's nothing. From what you've said, this guy is quite a figure now, and he must have a lot of money. It's a pity that most of it is in Jiangyin. What a waste, it's benefited the likes of Zhang Yang and Ma Yuanchong."

Zhang Sanniu shook his head and said, "Master Xue, that's not necessarily true. Shao Shuyi has considerable influence in Jiangyin and isn't so easy to deal with. Zhang Yang and Ma Yuanchong might not dare to make a move. What if something goes wrong? The higher-ups don't care about your reasons; they only know that you've thrown Jiangyin into chaos. In the end, what if they manage to appease Shao Shuyi but imprison and punish Zhang Yang and Ma Yuanchong? Wouldn't that be ridiculous?"

Xue Qian was stunned for a moment; this was highly likely.

The imperial court now readily offers amnesty and leniency to these troublemakers. Sometimes, in an effort to quell their anger, it even grants unreasonable demands, leaving these local officials somewhat bewildered.

Thinking about this, he became somewhat pessimistic about the prospects of the Southern Censor's investigation into Shao Shuyi.

Zhang Sanniu, observing the situation, quickly changed the subject, talking about which female opera singer in Taicang was the most beautiful and had the best singing voice.

Lin Long entered at the right time and sat next to Xue Qian, almost pressing half of her body against him.

After drinking a few cups of wine, Xue Qian felt hot all over. Soon, under Zhang Sanniu's knowing glances, he took Lin Long to rest.

Zhang Sanniu sat there quietly drinking his wine.

A moment later, he got up and went to a quiet study, spread out paper, ground ink and wrote a letter, sending the latest information he had gathered to Jiangning.