"Are you... Yun Niang?"
Wu Mengde was surprised when he recognized it.
"It's me, cousin!" Yun Niang wiped away her tears, "After more than five years of separation, I finally see you again. You have indeed lived up to expectations and become the big boss of the curtain shop!"
Several of the waiters at the counter stuck their heads out to see what was fresh.
"Cousin, this is not a place to reminisce about old times. Follow me into the back hall -"
"Shopkeeper Wu."
Song Che shook the two bundles of tiger skins in his hand and asked, "Since you have a cousin, you won't do business anymore?"
Yun Niang came to introduce: "Cousin, this is Mr. Chen. I came to Yangzhou from Nanjing and received a lot of care from him along the way."
Wu Mengde slapped his forehead and said with a smile: "Look at me, I was so happy about the reunion that I almost forgot that I still have a big customer."
He came forward, inspected the tiger skin in Song Che's hand, and praised: "This tiger skin is a fine product. I wonder how much Boss Chen can give it for?"
Your guy is the best, but here he is the best. The price of high-quality products is naturally not as good as that of top-quality products.
Song Che pointed out two fingers and whispered: "One price, two thousand taels."
Wu Mengde's smile stopped abruptly.
If it were in an auction house, it might be worth two thousand taels, but in a pawn shop, it would at least be cut in half.
"Boss Chen, five hundred taels of tiger skin on the market is very high. You can double it. Our store is very profitable, but we really can't afford it." Wu Mengde didn't even think about rejecting it out loud.
"You really can't afford it?"
"I really can't bear it."
"well!"
Song Che sighed: "Shopkeeper Wu, you don't know something. If I hadn't taken care of you all the way from Nanjing, your fiancé—"
The word "wife" was not spoken. Wu Mengde shouted first:
"Deal! Two thousand taels is two thousand taels!"
"Shopkeeper Wu is such a cheerful person."
Song Che smiled and threw the tiger skin on the counter, indicating to the waiter to change the money.
Wu Mengde gritted his teeth and pulled Yun Niang towards the back hall.
The shop assistants behind the counter were talking a lot:
"Hey, what's going on with you shopkeeper today? No matter how good the tiger skin is, you wouldn't dare to accept it like this."
"I probably forgot about it because I reunited with my cousin."
"I see that their relationship is not like that of ordinary siblings."
"Hey, don't dare to spread this matter. If the boss lady knows about it, the tiger skin will not be sold, but our shopkeeper's skin will be peeled off first!"
After Song Che heard the general idea, he guessed very well.
This pawnshop is owned by the Liu family. Wu Mengde is a foreigner. How can He De be the shopkeeper?
"Hey, your shopkeeper Wu is so afraid of his wife?" Song Che interjected casually.
One of the waiters lowered his voice and said, "Shopkeeper Wu is the son-in-law recruited by the big boss. He is an intruder. He can't even put food on the table and is beaten and scolded at will. He is worse than many servants!"
"Our shopkeeper just doesn't want to give up fame and fortune, otherwise why would he be the son-in-law of the Liu family? If it were me, I wouldn't do it even to death, and the children I have will have to bear my daughter's surname. Wouldn't this cut off my family's relationship? A man who becomes a son-in-law , they’re all soft bones!”
"Hey, please speak louder, don't let the shopkeeper hear you..."
Damn...Song Che suddenly felt a burning pain on his face.
During the chat, the waiter cashed in ten ingots of gold and came out. Just as Song Che took them away, he saw Yun Niang slamming the door and leaving with tears in her eyes that never flowed out.
"Yun Niang, please listen to my explanation..."
Wu Mengde chased Yun Niang out of the house, holding Yun Niang's hand. They were childhood sweethearts after all, and they had some feelings for each other.
Yun Niang pushed Wu Mengde away and said bitterly: "I'll be your shopkeeper! I won't bother you anymore. From now on, you and I will have nothing to do with each other!" Then she covered her mouth and ran out of the pawn shop.
Wu Mengde wanted to pursue him again, but Song Che stretched out his hand to stop him, "Shopkeeper Wu, if you don't stop, you will be disturbed by it. Since the fate is over, why bother to force it?"
Wu Mengde stopped in the hall, looking at Yun Niang's leaving figure, feeling helpless and even more relieved.
On the way back to the inn, the carriage was silent. Song Che thought of something to comfort her, but he was afraid of breaking her tears.
After returning to the inn, Yun Niang got off the carriage as if nothing had happened and ran all the way to the guest room. It was not until she closed the door that she heard the wailing coming from inside.
"Brother-in-law, what's wrong with her?" Shen Fang asked curiously.
Song Che said: "Her cousin is dead."
Shen Fang's eyes lit up: "Eh? Is she so helpless?"
Song Che shook his head and sighed: "Remember to pay me a higher salary."
Shen Fang patted his chest and assured: "That's necessary!"
afternoon.
Song Che came to Baihua Street in Dongcheng.
Jiang Yun pretended to be a streetwalker, wearing a bamboo hat and holding a dogtail grass in his mouth, sitting leisurely at the entrance of the alley.
Song Che got into the alley, unbuttoned his belt, still in tactical disguise, and casually asked: "Did you observe anything?"
Jiang Yun lowered his hat and said softly: "The breasts of women from the south of the Yangtze River are not as big as those from the north."
"Well……"
It's the truth!
That means there is no news.
Song Che shook his head, put on his pants, and said, "Keep it up." He left the alley as if nothing had happened.
It can be seen from this that this group of Japanese pirates is extremely disciplined, and they are afraid that the rats will not come out of their holes until they are performing their tasks.
Song Che inquired around Baihua Street again and found the landlord of the courtyard where the Japanese pirates were hiding. His surname was Huang, and he was the owner of a grain shop on Baihua Street.
Song Che, on the pretext of renting a house on Baihua Street, found Boss Huang and took the opportunity to find out.
"Boss Huang, I saw that the courtyard is in a moderate location and has a square layout. I wonder if someone can rent it?" Song Che asked, pointing to the courtyard not far across the street.
Boss Huang answered truthfully: "Oh, what a coincidence, this yard was rented out a month ago."
Song Che pretended to be confused: "Can't you? I saw the door was closed yesterday, and it's the same today. There must be no talent. Don't be stingy, boss, I'm not short of money."
"Damn it, look at you, can I still lie to you about this?" Boss Huang said with certainty: "The yard has indeed been rented, and there are people in the yard, but they don't come out often. Yesterday, there was one This caravan seems to be engaged in seafood trading. If you get closer, you can smell the fishy smell of the sea, which is so stinky that it kills you."
"I'll pay double the price. How about you drive them away and rent the yard to me?" Song Che asked again.
Boss Huang waved his hands repeatedly, "That can't be done, that can't be done. Integrity is what matters in business, and the tenant who rented the house specifically told him not to check out before the lease expires."
Song Che thought to himself, and after some conversations, he could confirm that Boss Huang was a serious businessman, and the tenants who rented his yard were the ones colluding with the Japanese pirates.
"Hey, I'm really happy about this courtyard," Song Che said very eagerly, "Does the boss know who the tenant is who rents this courtyard? I'll go to him to discuss and let him sublet it to me."
Boss Huang shook his head and said, "I can't remember this clearly. He rented it in a hurry at that time and didn't even sign the deed, so he gave the money, took the keys and left."
"Are you so arrogant? Are you from outside?"
"Judging from the accent, he should be a local from Yangzhou."
"Sigh... Okay then, I can only come back when their lease expires."
Song Che said goodbye to the grain shop owner.
This conversation contained a lot of information:
The Japanese pirates had planned their attack in Yangzhou City a month ago.
Before the Chuzhou caravan arrived yesterday, Japanese pirates were already entrenched in the courtyard.
The Japanese pirates who came early must have no weapons, so they asked the traitors to disguise themselves as caravans and escort the weapons into the city.
Equipping weapons is the last step before taking action. There should be no more Japanese pirates entering the city after the caravan has passed. Thirty Japanese swords and more than thirty Japanese pirates must have all gathered, arrows on the strings, ready to go.
But why is it here?
