Chen Xiaomu did some calculations in his mind. Based on the fact that a carriage can carry a maximum of 30,000 taels of silver, the money shipped out by the bank this time will not exceed 600,000 taels. Thinking of this, he breathed a sigh of relief. Six hundred thousand taels Although it is a lot of money, it does not hurt the vitality of the entire country of Zheng! What's more, I heard that what was taken away was only the revolving bank that was given to Zheng Guo from the Jin State headquarters, and it didn't belong here in the first place.
While they were talking, several people came to a high wall with watchtowers on two corners. At this time, someone from the watchtower on the left shouted down: "Hey, people below, listen, this is a forbidden area in the bank, get out of here quickly!" "
After hearing this, Zeng Guang raised his head and greeted the tower: "I am Mr. Zeng Guang, the third accountant of the bank. Who is on duty today?"
"Oh, it's Mr. Zeng! Please forgive my blindness!" The man on the watchtower replied: "Just wait, I will go inside and report to Master Tong!" As soon as he finished speaking, the figure on the watchtower disappeared.
But in the blink of an eye, this man appeared on the watchtower again. This time, there was another man with a black face and a beard behind him. He lay on the building stack and shouted to the people below: "Mr. Zeng, Master Tong asked me to ask You, are you the only one here from the bank? Where are Shopkeeper Chai and Mr. Hu?"
Zeng Guang immediately understood the meaning of his words, raised his face and replied: "Shopkeeper Chai and Mr. Hu are temporarily missing, but at this time, two naked and headless male corpses were suddenly found in the bank. Mr. Chen from the government came to investigate the case. He wants me to take him to the bank bank to have a look.
Zeng Guangwang attracted the attention of people in the bank and deliberately concealed the fact that Chen Xiaomu first went to the bank to check the accounts. Instead, he only talked about the discovery of two headless corpses just after he was in the bank. After all, human life is at stake at all times. ! Sure enough, before he finished speaking, the dark-faced and bearded man who was following behind the caller jumped in and asked, "Mr. Zeng, is there really a murder in the bank?"
Zeng Guang heard this and said angrily: "Martial Master Tong, what are you talking about? Do you still joke about murders?"
When Master Tong thought about it, he thought, "Who dares to joke about a murder case?" What's more, even the officials came to this case. It seemed that it was indeed true. He immediately said to the person who had just shouted: "Wang Quan, go down quickly and open the door to let them in.
Wang Quan agreed, turned around and disappeared from the watchtower. After a while, the heavy iron-clad door in front of Chen Xiaomu and others "squeaked" and was opened from the inside. A young man wearing a black shorts and looking like a servant appeared in the door, smiling. He stood by the door and bowed: "Mr. Zeng, ladies and gentlemen, please come in!"
"Master Chen, please go first." Zeng Guang was very good at doing things. He took the lead and stood in front of Chen Xiaomu. He bent down and made a gesture of invitation. Chen Xiaomu was not polite and gave him a fist, then stepped through the door. .
After entering the bank, Chen Xiaomu discovered that the so-called Qianzhuang bank was a courtyard about an acre square, surrounded by five or six-meter-high walls, with a watchtower about ten meters high at each corner of the wall. , on the roof of each watchtower, two guards were arranged to take turns to watch and guard up there day and night. As for how many guards were hidden in the watchtower, it was unknown.
There are five rows of very solid-looking blue brick houses in the courtyard. Each row of blue brick houses is about ten meters apart. They do not have any windows. Even the door is a small door that can only be used by one person. Chen Xiaomu He thought to himself that these blue brick buildings were probably where the bankers kept their money. But I didn't know what they looked like inside. I was a little curious and couldn't help but want to go in and take a look. Just as he was distracted by his thoughts, he was shouting on the watchtower just now. Martial Master Tong came over and hugged him and said, "Tong Dabiao, a common man, has seen Mr. Chen!"
When Chen Xiaomu heard this, he slightly cupped his hands as a return gift, and then asked, "How long has Master Tong been working at the bank?"
Tong Dabiao bowed and said: "To tell you what my lord, Cao Min was recommended by his master to the former shopkeeper Li of Risheng Qianzhuang from the day he started training, and then he was hired by him to become a martial artist at the Qianzhuang. More than three years!”
"Yes." Chen Xiaomu nodded slightly and said, "Master Tong, can you tell me about the money being transported out of the bank the night before yesterday?"
Tong Dabiao heard this and said, "Sir, the grassroots people are only responsible for guarding the bank's bank. Transporting silver from the bank to the outside is a matter for the bank's internal treasury. The grassroots committee really doesn't know the inside story!"
"Oh! Does your bank still have an internal treasury?" Chen Xiaomu said as he turned his attention to Zeng Guang, the third gentleman of the bank.
Zeng Guang nodded and said: "Yes, Master Tong and the others are only responsible for patrolling and guarding the outside of the bank. When the money leaves the bank, they check the exit certificate issued by Mr. Hu! As for the allocation of silver from the bank's internal treasury, it has always been done by the accountant. Mr. Fang Hu will do it part-time."
After hearing this, Chen Xiaomu was immediately disappointed, but he still asked reluctantly: "Has Mr. Hu been to the bank this morning?"
Tong Dabiao shook his head: "No, not only have I not been here this morning, but I have not been to the bank since I loaded the silver from the bank that night."
"The day before yesterday, the bank hired the bodyguard agency to protect the money. Do you know that?" Chen Xiaomu gave up hope of finding out the amount of money from the bank in a short time, so he thought of looking for it from the bodyguard agency. clue.
"This...!" Tong Dabiao hesitated for a moment, and suddenly said emotionally: "Mr. Chen, the common people can hide this matter, and the bank always requires that this matter be kept secret from everyone. Now it's you, Mr. Chen. You are asking, even if you are fired by the bank, you have to tell the adults!"
"Oh! Why is this?" He thought that he had been in Xinjingfu Yasheng for less than two days, and he had never even met Tong Dabiao before, let alone any friendship with him! Now that I saw him speaking so earnestly to me, I couldn't help but feel doubts in my heart.
Tong Dabiao seemed to see Chen Xiaomu's doubts, so he asked with a smile: "I wonder if Mr. Chen still remembers? The old men who were arrested by the Yamen from the Duck Flavor Restaurant yesterday!"
''Well, why don't you remember? I'm not the age where I forget things easily! Chen Xiaomu seemed to have realized something, and said with a smile: "If I remember correctly, the name of the old man in the lead seems to be Qingkui. He is an old escort who retired from the escort agency!" "
When Tong Dabiao heard this, he clasped his fists and bowed, gratefully saying: "Mr. Qing is the mentor of Cao Min. When Cao Min was only seven years old, both of his parents died in the war. He was really helpless and had to rely on begging to live. One time after another I didn't get a bite of food for several days, and I fainted from hunger on the side of the road. Fortunately, my master escort passed by and rescued Cao Min. After learning that Cao Min was an orphan, he decided to accept Cao Min as his disciple. Over the next ten years, Over the years, Master not only taught the common people how to read and write, but also taught him all the martial arts, just like the common people reborn as parents!"
Hearing this, Chen Xiaomu couldn't help laughing and said: "Then you have to respect your master well from now on."
"That's natural." Tong Dabiao said with a smile: "No, last night, the master suddenly sent someone to summon our brothers at home to have dinner. Mr. Chen, do you know what he said to us disciples at the dinner table? Words?"
Chen Xiaomu's eyes flashed and he asked tentatively: "Is your master praising me?"
Tong Dabiao nodded, gave a thumbs up, and praised: "Mr. Chen, you are absolutely right. My master said that today he said something disrespectful to the imperial court in the duck restaurant. By chance, he was overheard by an official and was arrested in court. , if he had not met a good official like Mr. Chen, Mingguan, I am afraid that even if he could save Xiang Shang's head, he would still be in jail for several years as an official! The master said to us disciples, if we can meet someone who can do it in the future, Master Chen's opportunity to serve must not be hidden, otherwise he will be expelled from the school if he knows about it!"
After hearing this, Chen Xiaomen couldn't help laughing and said: "Haha, so your master, Mr. Qing, has accepted many apprentices!"
"That's right!" Tong Dabiao said proudly: "There are seventeen of us, brothers, plus one senior sister and one junior sister. Last night, in addition to the senior brother who was the chief escort of the Zhenyuan Escort Bureau and a few of his escort masters, Senior brother, since I have gone out to protect my bodyguards, all the disciples at home have gone to Master’s house for dinner!”
When Chen Xiaomu heard this, his heart moved, and he asked: "Is your senior brother protecting the bank's bodyguard on this trip?"
"Exactly." Tong Dabiao did not hesitate at all this time and confirmed Chen Xiaomu's guess. Then he added: "However, because the amount of escort money that needs to be escorted this time is too large, the senior brother has found two escort agencies, Weiyuan and Wusheng, to jointly escort the escort. In doing so, although he has to give out part of the commission, he feels sad in his heart. It feels a lot more practical!”
Chen Xiaomu nodded and was about to ask again when the servant named Wang Quan hurried over from the door and said to Tong Dabiao: "Master Tong, Mr. Qing is here!"
Tong Dabiao was stunned when he heard that, and unconsciously turned his eyes to Chen Xiaomu. Chen Xiaomu smiled and teased: "If you don't hurry up to greet the master when he comes, aren't you afraid that Mr. Qing will expel you from the master?"
"Hey, hey!" Tong Dabiao seemed to have woken up from a very short dream. He responded repeatedly and ran towards the door of the bank.
As soon as he arrived at the door, Qing Kui had already walked in with his granddaughter Qing Wan'er. The two almost bumped into each other, but both of them were extremely agile. They immediately dodged to the left and right, and then narrowly avoided it. This collision made the master and apprentice look a little awkward!
Qingkui pulled his old face and was about to reprimand his apprentice when he looked up and saw Chen Xiaomu looking at him with a smile. He immediately left Tong Dabiao behind and hurried over to bow down to Chen Xiaomu.
Qingkui's move was so sudden that it startled Chen Xiaomu. He quickly stretched out his hands to try to help him up. However, the old man Qingkui was very stubborn and insisted on bowing. No matter how hard Chen Xiaomu tried, he couldn't help him up. Come.
He had no choice but to persuade with a wry smile: "Mr. Qing, why are you doing this? We are not in court now, and there are not many rules to follow.
Qingkui opened his eyes wide and said seriously: "Mr. Chen, you are my savior. How can I not worship you when I see you!"
Facing the stubborn old man in front of him, Chen Xiaomu really didn't give up. In addition, he didn't want to waste time on these trivial matters anymore, so he had to let go and prepare to let him kneel down and finish the matter. Unexpectedly, the old man Qingkui finished kneeling down and waved his hand again. The disciples Tong Dabiao and granddaughter Qing Wan'er came and asked them to kneel down and bow to Chen Xiaomu. This time, Chen Xiaomu was really annoyed. As a high-level civilized person who traveled through time in the information civilization era, he was not interested in this kind of lying on the ground in ancient times. I felt extremely disgusted with the etiquette of kneeling and worshiping, but I didn't know that this old man Qing actually started it and didn't finish it!
At this time, Chen Xiaomu suddenly lowered his face, looked at Qing Kui coldly, and reprimanded sternly: "Old Qing, you are not done yet, who is your savior? You just didn't break the law. If you really broke the law, I will arrest and convict you without mercy!"
It was like going from the warm spring breeze to the harsh cold of winter. Chen Xiaomu's sudden change of attitude stunned everyone present. Just a moment ago, Qingkui's heart was warm. A moment later, his mood was... It was like falling into an ice cave. He really didn't understand how he had offended the official in front of him who made him burst into tears of gratitude!
The air in the bank suddenly turned into ice. Qingkui's face turned pale and his eyes became panicked. He did not dare to look directly at Chen Xiaomu. Seeing that the atmosphere at the scene became awkward, Chen Xiaomu felt a little regretful. After all, Qingkui's age , enough to be my grandfather, so he softened his tone and said gently to Qingkui: "Mr. Qing, my tone just now was a bit harsh. Please forgive me for this, but I want you to be an old man old enough to be my grandfather. , I really can’t bear it when you kneel down and worship me, a junior, at every turn!”
