Lin Sui'an patted Shopkeeper Li's face. Shopkeeper Li's eyes were closed tightly and there was no movement. He couldn't help but sigh.
She tried all kinds of tricks, including pinching people, spraying cold water on them, and making fun of others, but in addition to breathing normally, shopkeeper Li didn't even move his eyelids. It looked like he was really furious and fainted from fright.
"Would you like to hire a doctor?" Lin Sui'an asked.
Hua Yitang glanced at Mu Xia. Mu Xia understood. He snatched a bowl of tea from Eta, pinched shopkeeper Li's cheeks and drank it. Shopkeeper Li sat up with a cry.
Hua Yitang gave a thumbs up: "Ita, good tea."
Ita's eyes lit up.
Jin Ruo: "Is this okay?!"
Lin Sui'an: "..."
Please forgive her ignorance, but this is how Eta's tea is used.
Shopkeeper Li woke up in a daze, his eyes fell on Hua Yitang's face for a long time, then he came back to his senses and shouted, "Silang is wronged, I personally selected all the goods in the treasure store, there is no way there is any." Counterfeit for sale!”
"I trust Shopkeeper Li, there must be something fishy about this matter." Hua Yitang nodded, "Why don't we go inspect the goods together."
"Yes, yes, I will send people to prepare the car immediately!"
Lin Sui'an had some impressions of the treasure shop on Siliu Street of Sanhefang. The store sold all exotic treasures and ornaments with novel styles and exquisite designs. In her world, any one of them would be a national treasure. Treasure. When shopping yesterday, Hua Yitang lingered in this store for a long time, especially paying attention to the hangings in the store. Lin Sui'an thought it was his habit of loving smug beauty again, but he didn't expect to find a fake.
"Why didn't you tell me yesterday?" Jin Ruo asked while eating snacks on the carriage. Lin Sui'an looked at his bulging cheeks and was a little worried. He had only been on the road for a few days, and his face was round. When he arrived, Dongdu, you won’t become a big fat man.
Hua Yitang: "I thought it was the treasure shop owner who deceived the Hua family into selling counterfeit goods, so as not to alert the snake. This morning I asked Mu Xia to check the other 23 treasure shops under the Hua family in Heyue City, and found that only this one had fake goods. , and this is the only fake."
Lin Sui'an: "This is strange. If the shopkeeper operates it, there must be more than one, and there shouldn't be only one fake."
Hua Yitang: "Of course, it's also possible that shopkeeper Li knew I was coming and removed the other fakes first, but accidentally forgot this one."
"That's too stupid - cough cough cough -" Jin Ruo choked on the snack and rolled his eyes. Ita handed over a bowl of tea. Jin Ruo took a sip and turned green.
Lin Sui'an and Hua Yitang suppressed their laughter.
Sanhefang Siliu Street Treasure Shop is Hua's main store in Heyue City. It is large in area and luxuriously decorated. The general manager is shopkeeper Li. The second shopkeeper who is usually in charge is named Zhang. There are five clerks in the shop, two men and three women. They were already waiting outside the door. They must have received the news, and their expressions were extremely nervous.
The counter where the sachets are placed has been sealed. Most of the items displayed on it are embroidered sachets, jade pendants, lantern pendants and other items. The agate grape-wrapped gold sachet ball that Hua Yitang mentioned is placed in position C. This is the only one. , golden grape leaf pattern, snow-white ears, and grape grains are all inlaid with purple agate, very unique and exquisite, priced at 20 qian.
Lin Sui'an was speechless: Good guy, the price of this sachet ball is enough for her two years of rent in Yangdu.
Hua Yitang signaled Shopkeeper Li to take out the sachet ball, looked at it in his hand, nodded and said, "It is indeed a fake."
The two shopkeepers looked pale, holding the sachet balls head to head and studying them for a long time. "Sorry for my small eyesight, but the carvings and agate on it are not suspicious. How did Shiro know that it was a fake?"
Hua Yitang: "Put some spices in and try it."
The sachet ball is divided into two hemispheres, the upper and lower hemispheres. The spheres are connected by hinges. Open the snap buckle and there are concentric rings and the incense bowl. Muxia puts the spices into the incense bowl, closes the snap buckle, and carries the incense bowl. With a flick of the bag, the spices spread all over the floor from the hollow lines in the building.
The faces of the two shopkeepers turned pale, "How, how could this happen?!"
"If it is genuine, no matter how the outer wall of the sachet ball shakes, the incense bowl will always remain balanced and the spices inside will not spill," Hua Yitang said. "This ingenious design is based on the principle of Hua's overseas caravan navigation gyroscope. This is the real selling point of the sachet balls. At present, only Hua's craftsmen can make them. Most of them are imperial offerings and have not yet been popularized among the people. The people who made the fakes only learned the superficial appearance and did not understand the core. However, the appearance of this fake is really fine. If you don’t put in the spices and test them, it’s really hard to find.”
Lin Sui'an was stunned when she heard this: She is familiar with this technique, and it is indeed a national treasure-level work.
The two shopkeepers and five waiters fell to their knees, "Shiro Mingjian, we really didn't know this was a fake! When the sachet balls were delivered, they were indeed genuine, but somehow they became fakes. We were wronged!"
Hua Yitang sat down while waving his fan, "I would like to ask the two shopkeepers to bring you the running accounts, ledgers, and accounts. A few of the clerks will stay behind. I want to question them alone."
The two shopkeepers hurriedly went out, and the five waiters were so frightened that they were shaking like chaff.
Hua Yitang: "How is the daily flow of people in Treasure Shop?"
Several guys looked at each other and didn't dare to answer.
Mu Xia: "Silang believes that the counterfeiting issue has nothing to do with you. You just answer Shiro's questions. If you answer well, you will be rewarded."
Only then did a few guys speak.
"Back to Shiro, the treasure shop here sells all high-end goods with expensive prices. All the people here are rich and noble people. In addition to regular customers, there are mostly overseas businessmen in the past. When the flow of people is large, there are more than fifty people a day."
Hua Yitang: "Do you have records of regular customers?"
"There are some. Where familiar Hakkas live and what their preferences are, they are all recorded."
"Show it to me."
"Yes, yes, Shiro, later."
Hua Yitang got the register of regular customers and asked questions while looking at them. Jin Ruo yawned repeatedly and Lin Sui'an couldn't sit still anymore. It made her nervous.
Lin Sui'an: "Why don't you go and have a rest?"
Etta: "Pig, would you like some tea?"
"No need."
The products in the treasure shop are so dazzling that one can see them. Rhino horns, ivory carvings, sea shells, tortoise shells, glass handicrafts, and sets of pearl jewelry are all expensive. The more Lin Sui'an looks at them, the more she feels that poverty has limited her ability. imagination.
Suddenly, Eta reached out and grabbed a pearl hairpin and looked directly at Lin Sui'an, "Pigman, this one."
Lin Sui'an waved his hands repeatedly: "I can't afford it."
Ita shook his head: "Pigman, the color is dark."
"Have I tanned recently?"
"Pig man, black."
Lin Sui'an: "..."
Brother, I beg you, hurry up and take the Mandarin proficiency test!
Ita seemed anxious and went to Mu Xia with the hairpin in hand. The two chatted for a long time. Mu Xia actually understood and handed the pearl hairpin to Hua Yitang. Hua Yitang was asking questions and felt a headache. He glanced casually. He glanced at it and stood up, "Where did you find it?"
Ita led the two of them to Lin Sui'an and pointed to the counter in front, "Here."
Hua Yitang took the pearl hairpin and compared it with the complete set of pearl necklaces and beads on the counter. His face turned dark, "When I came here yesterday, these were all genuine, but now they are all fakes."
Lin Sui'an: "..."
She touches everything with her conscience, heaven and earth.
"Who did this? This is to force us to die. Shiro, you have to make the decision for us. Someone must be harming us! Even if we eat the courage of ambitious leopards, we don't dare to sell it. It’s a fake!”
Shopkeepers Li and Zhang sat on the ground and cried loudly, and the five waiters cried like dead mothers. Hua Yitang flipped through the regular customer record book and tapped the corner of the table with a fan.
The shopkeeper and the waiter suddenly stopped crying and looked at him eagerly.
Hua Yitang: "When we opened the store today, was there anything unusual in the store?"
Shopkeeper Zhang: "No, the doors and windows are all locked and they were in good condition when we arrived."
"Who has the key?"
Shopkeeper Zhang: "Only Shopkeeper Li and I have it. We carry it with us every day and never take it off when sleeping."
Hua Yitang glanced at Jin Ruo. Jin Ruo rolled his eyes, stepped on the counter and jumped onto the beam. He circled quickly, flew down, clapped his hands and said, "It's time to sweep the beam. There's too much dust. The tiles are intact." , no problem.”
The shopkeeper stared at Jin Ruo dumbfounded, Jin Ruo looked very proud.
This rules out the possibility of a thief sneaking into the store in the middle of the night to exchange for fakes, Lin Sui'an thought, but that's right. If she were a thief, she would have robbed everything after trying to get in. How could she only exchange one set of fakes? The efficiency is too low. .
Hua Yitang: "Yesterday Shenchu arrived at the store to close. Are there any abnormalities among the customers who came to the store?"
Yesterday, Shenchu was leaving the store at the same time as Hua Yitang. It seemed that he suspected that someone pretended to be a customer and exchanged the goods during the period. This was indeed a direction for investigation, but how could he be sure that it was not someone in the store who was committing theft? Lin Sui'an thought that if it were her, she would definitely start the investigation from within.
Everyone shook their heads: "We are all regular customers, nothing unusual."
"Where are the angry guests?"
Shopkeeper Zhang: "Back to Silang, there were no angry customers yesterday."
"Who's in charge of the southeast corner counter?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes suddenly turned to one of the waiters. She was a girl, about fifteen or sixteen years old, with a face like a melon, her eyes were wide open, and her eyelids were swollen from crying, "Hui, Hui Shiro, it's ,it's me."
"Reporting to Shiro, although Xiaoyan is young, she has been working in the store for two years. She is very smart and has nimble hands and feet. She has never made any mistakes in her business!" Shopkeeper Zhang explained hurriedly, and all the clerks also agreed. .
They all agreed, and Lin Sui'an became even more suspicious: Could it be that the shopkeepers and waiters in the entire store had colluded long ago and committed the crime in a gang.
"Your name is Xiaoyan, right? Don't panic, I'll ask a question and you answer." Hua Yitang said with a harmless smile on his face, "I believe you."
Xiaoyan was dumbfounded and nodded, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Sui'an suddenly realized that Hua Yitang was using a strategy of making false accusations in the east and attacking in the west. He first identified the suspects as outsiders, and then waited for them to relax their vigilance and then talk to them, so that they could find flaws and clues.
It's really insidious.
Hua Yitang: "Did any guests look at that set of jewelry yesterday?"
Xiaoyan: "Yes."
"How many people are there in total?"
"Four people."
"But who do you remember?"
"The eldest lady of the Chen family, the old lady of the Xu family, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang family, and the fifth wife of the Yuan family. They are all regular customers."
"Have they ever tried on jewelry?"
Xiaoyan thought for a while, "The old lady of the Xu family said she wanted to choose a dowry for her daughter, but she just took a look. The eldest lady of the Chen family only asked about the price. The eldest daughter-in-law of the Wang family only tried on the necklace, and only the fifth lady of the Yuan family tried on the full set. "
"Did you check after she took off the jewelry?"
"After checking, there is nothing wrong with the jewelry."
"Is the fifth lady of the Yuan family any different from usual?"
"It's no different - no," Xiaoyan thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "On weekdays, the fifth wife of the Yuan family comes alone, but yesterday there was an old woman with me," she said, slowly frowning, "I remembered. I put the jewelry back behind the counter. The old woman seemed to like jewelry quite a lot and lingered at the counter for a long time. At that time, the fifth lady of the Yuan family wanted to try on other jewelry. I was busy greeting her when I saw that woman again. The old woman didn't touch it and didn't notice it."
Hua Yitang: "Have you ever seen that old woman before?"
Xiaoyan: "No. But her facial features are 50% similar to Wu Niang's, and she is dressed luxuriously and speaks politely. She talks happily with Wu Niang and looks friendly. She should be an elder of the Yuan family."
"Shopkeeper Li, please prepare gifts and come with me to visit the Yuan family." Hua Yitang said, "Shopkeeper Zhang will prepare the same gifts and send them to the Chen family, Xu family, and Wang family, and say that I, Silang of the Hua family, want to thank you." They have taken care of me for many years, and this is a special gift. Pay more attention to the expressions and behavior of these ladies when greeting me."
The two shopkeepers agreed wholeheartedly, and under the leadership of Mu Xia, they called on all the waiters to start preparations.
Hua Yitang slowly shook his fan and scooped a bowl of tea for Lin Sui'an.
Lin Sui'an: "Are you sure Shopkeeper Li and the others are fine?"
"Huh, those two are old fritters, and they won't be able to reveal any flaws for a while. The other four guys are all old people more than five years old. It's not easy for them to break through because of the two of them. I'll take them out for a while and explore again. Hua Yitang said, "Xiaoyan has been in this store for the shortest time, so she should be the fastest breakthrough. Unfortunately, I have a special status and she is too wary of me. It is useless to ask again. You have a nice face and you are a woman." , if you ask Xiaoyan, you will definitely gain something."
Lin Sui'an: "..."
Hua Yitang blinked: "What's wrong?"
Jin Ruo raised his head and said, "Hua Yitang, you don't have a problem with your eyes. Why does Lin Sui'an have such a good face?"
Hua Yitang: "Eh?"
Ita sighed heavily.
"Eh??"
Lin Sui'an felt that Hua Yitang's proposal was pure nonsense.
Regardless of whether her appearance is really "kind", just because she is Hua Yitang's bodyguard, Xiaoyan will never be wary of her, so Lin Sui'an directly abandoned Hua Yitang's method, I chose the simpler and more direct solution - tracking.
Since it was tracking, the more inconspicuous the better, Yita was severely disliked and left to Hua Yitang. Jin Ruo bore the brunt and became the technical director, accompanying Lin Sui'an.
"It's best for you and me to split into two groups and follow each other alternately. When there are many people, shorten the distance. When there are few people, extend the distance. We must always ensure that we can clearly see Xiaoyan's position. If there is an accident, respond flexibly." Jin Ruodao said. Hua Yitang bought the felt hat yesterday, "It's best to have some disguise."
Lin Sui'an smeared some dust on the wall and smeared it on his face, "Let's go."
Jin Ruo was miserable: "It's too hasty."
In fact, tracking Xiaoyan requires no skills at all. After Hua Yitang took the two shopkeepers out, he let Xiaoyan go home. Xiaoyan was very happy and walked very fast without paying attention to whether there was anyone following her.
There is a Qingyue River in the city, which runs diagonally from the northeast corner and flows out from the southwest corner. It divides the thirteen squares in the city into two triangles, the north and the south. The seven squares in the northwest half of the city are named after "river" and are called the river half city. The seven squares in the southeast half of the city are named after "Yue" and are commonly known as Yue Bancheng. This must be the origin of the name "Heyue City". There are three stone arch bridges on the Qingyue River. They are all old and covered with moss and ivy. Under the bridge, apart from a few small food stalls, there are small craftsmen, including mirror grinders, porcelain makers, knife washers, and many waiting workers. Xiaoyan seemed to be familiar with these masons and carpenters. She greeted them warmly and walked across the bridge to Yuebancheng.
The scene here is obviously much different in Heban City. Most of the people in Heban City are aristocratic businessmen, and their clothes are bright and colorful. In Yueban City, most of them are local people, not rich, their clothes are simple, and the architectural style is more elegant. It seems like there is an extra layer of gray filter. Fortunately, neither Lin Sui'an nor Jin Ruo were particular about their clothes, and they were not conspicuous when walking on the street. If Hua Yitang and Yita came, they would definitely turn into lice on a bald man's head - attracting all the attention.
When Xiaoyan came here, her expression became more relaxed and her pace became more brisk, like a dexterous swallow flying in the streets and alleys. She passed through Xiyuefang, Zhongyuefang and arrived at Beiyuefang. This square is the northernmost square of Heyue City, and the buildings are the lowest and shabby. Lin Sui'an noticed that people walking on the road were either gray-haired old people or patients with sallow complexions. Obviously, this square is the entire Heyue City. city slums.
Lin Sui'an and Jin Ruo began to follow each other alternately. This workshop is a typical community of acquaintances. Their two raw faces were so eye-catching that they received a lot of suspicious looks as soon as they entered the workshop. Lin Sui'an felt that he was indeed a little hasty and should wrap up two torn sacks before taking action.
Fortunately, Xiaoyan didn't realize it. She turned around and turned to a street called "Beiba Alley". She knocked on the door in front of a small courtyard and said, "Grandpa Shi, I'm here." Then she took it out of her arms. An oil paper bag, smelled it, and showed a smile.
She bought the oil-paper lihu biscuits at a food stall under the bridge. She smelled them several times on the way but was reluctant to eat them. It turned out they were given as gifts.
For a long time, there was no response from the small courtyard. Xiaoyan knocked on the door twice more. She got a little anxious and lay down in the crack of the door to look in. Suddenly she screamed and sat down on the ground, her face like gold paper.
Lin Sui'an and Jin Ruo looked at each other, decisively gave up tracking, and ducked behind Xiaoyan. Jin Ruo went to the door to check, and Lin Sui'an helped Xiaoyan up.
"What happened?" Lin Sui'an asked.
Xiaoyan seemed to be frightened. She didn't recognize Lin Sui'an when she saw him. She just opened her mouth and screamed in her throat, and her tears rolled down uncontrollably.
"What bad luck!" Jin Ruo turned around and shouted, "Lin Sui'an, there seems to be a dead person inside!"
Lin Sui'an: "...":,,
