There are tea shops in the north and south.
When the shop owner Hou Jiang heard that people from the Criminal Department came to review the kidnapping case again, he said with a sad face: "Two adults, why are you investigating this case again? But the young master of the Fan family has been found?"
Yun Pan said: "The Ministry of Punishment handles cases and answers whatever is asked of you."
Hou Jiang asked the waiter to bring two cups of soup, "Two adults, it's hot and it's hard to do errands. Let's talk while drinking."
"Hey, I don't know what happened to the eldest son of the Fan family?" Hou Jiang said: "When the crime was first committed, eldest son Fan offered a huge reward. As long as you provide clues, you can get half a copper coin."
Yun Pan and An Ying looked at each other, "But have you found a clue?"
Hou Jiang shook his head, "Probably not. I haven't heard anything. Hey, at that time, the Fan family released news that there were two other stores in our store. They were crowded with people, all coming to look for clues. That table in our store It has been turned over and over so many times to study it, and this is the table on which the note was posted.”
Only then did An Ying realize that he was sitting in the third seat by the window.
"Then do you have any clues? Are you asked to recall the person sitting at the table where the crime occurred? How much reward did you get?" Yun Pan said with a smile.
Hou Jiang shook his head gently, "To be honest with you two, I didn't get any reward. Hey, I asked several of our guys carefully, and the people from the government also asked. On the day of the crime, the people from the government Everyone was watching, but no one was sitting at that table. There were all kinds of people sitting at that table before the incident, men and women, fat and thin. They had no idea when the note was posted. Look. , you can stick it on as soon as you stretch out your hand, and the guy can’t find it.”
An Ying sat at the table and looked at the table carefully. It was indeed the case. He could reach out and touch it quietly. Yun Pan looked back at the window and said, "Shopkeeper Hou, your store is doing well. The restaurants along the Jinshui River are making a fortune every day."
Hou Jiang smiled with wrinkles on his face, "Where, where. The best place for business on the Jinshui River must be Chunfeng Pavilion." As he spoke, An Ying pursed his lips and looked in the direction he pointed. Sure enough, it was a five-story wooden building. Buildings, carved beams and painted buildings, the sound of pianos and frolics could be heard faintly.
Seeing that they could not find any more clues, Yun Pan and An Ying prepared to go to the second place. Hou Jiang said, "You two adults are going to Wang Po Jiao Shop? And then to Jiu Fu Ji?"
Yun Pan nodded and said, "Even if you don't have any clues, you still have to go through it all. I'm running an errand."
Hou Jiang nodded and bent down to say goodbye, "Thank you for your hard work, sir. I mean you have to go to Jiu Fu Ji first, and then to Wang Pojiao. This way you will have less walking. Jiu Fu Ji is right next to us, go ahead." You can see it as soon as you walk. To go to Wang Po Foot Shop, you have to cross the Hongqiao, behind the Chunfeng Pavilion you just saw. But she is not here now, it should be her nephew who is running it. "
The two of them walked forward and saw the Nine Fortunes as expected.
Ding Shouren, the boss of Jiufu Ji, heard that people from the Ministry of Punishment came to investigate the Fan family case again, and couldn't help but said: "You two adults, you have asked me this many times."
Yun Pan said: "There is no way, it's an order from above. Boss Ding, take us to see that place."
Ding Shouren led them upstairs and said, "Hey, I'm not telling you, this case has been going on for so long, what else can be found? The Fan family paid a lot of money, but they didn't get any information. I guess it's just revenge. Asking for ransom is just a cover."
An Ying raised an eyebrow, "How do you say this?"
Boss Ding lowered his voice and said: "Fan Xianlong is so rich, the kidnapper only asked for one hundred taels. I guess he is taking revenge after all this trouble. And I heard, just heard, that when Fan Xianlong became successful in his early years, he could Offended many people."
Yun Pan immediately answered: "I heard that Fan Xianlong was selling exotic spices in his early years?"
"It's absolutely true." Boss Ding said as he walked, "Everyone in your government must know that my mouth is very conspicuous." He also glanced at Yun Pan a few times.
"No, the news you have here is different from our news. We have to listen to it when we investigate the case. Come on, come on, boss, give us some food. I've been walking for a day and I'm tired. Right, An Si Zhi?"
An Ying understood, found the table by the window, and sat down. Boss Ding asked the waiter to serve some roasted meat and quail cooked in the store, as well as soup.
Yun Pan watched Boss Ding rubbing his hands, smiled, and said: "Boss Ding, sit down together. Anyway, we just have a casual chat and tell you everything you know. Are you pushing the case? You think the clues that are useless are the clues that solve the case. The key."
Boss Ding sat down with a smile. Before his butt could settle down, he said hurriedly: "Fan Xianlong was in the spice business when he first came here, and our shop also bought goods from him. The things are good, but they are expensive. It's just that. A small bottle of pepper costs one tael of silver."
"How much money did Fan Xianlong make just from this? He built hundreds of acres of good paddy fields outside the city. Later, for some unknown reason, he stopped doing the spice business and switched to a garment shop and a dye shop. But I said business Well, especially when outsiders do business, it’s impossible not to offend others.”
"But the local spice merchants are squeezing him out? Spices are hugely profitable and the competition must be huge." An Ying nodded and said.
"That's right, in the spice business, there is always a backer, and ordinary people can't do it." Boss Ding said with a flattering smile: "There is a relative in my family who committed something and is in the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. , If the two officials have connections, can they..." As he said this, he pushed a brocade bag.
An Ying had never met him before and looked at Yun Pan at a loss.
Obviously Yun Pan is an old Jianghu, he weighed it and said, "What's the matter?"
"It's not a serious matter. A few months ago, my brother-in-law drank too much and got into a fight."
"Gathering people to make trouble is not the job of the Military and Horse Department in the capital. Why is it in our Criminal Department? Don't be mistaken."
Boss Ding sighed, "Hey, that person is dead."
An Ying almost spit out the meat he had eaten. He was not old enough to die!
Yun Pan patted Boss Ding on the shoulder, "If a person dies, it's not a trivial matter. If you want to go in and explore, that's fine. If you want to clear up the signing, that won't work. No need for money, I'll give it to you You introduce a powerful lawyer."
Boss Ding held the tip bag and thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."
Yun Pan pointed at the table, "I still know something about Fan Xianlong. Tell me about it. Don't be afraid. You can catch people by looking for clues. Why don't we investigate? We can't investigate until we tell you something first."
Boss Ding leaned against the table and said softly: "As far as I know, the Fan family should be from the Fujian area. I suspect that his spices are all private goods from the sea."
An Ying and Yun Pan looked at each other, and An Ying asked, "Why do you say that?"
Boss Ding picked up a bunch of roasted meat and said, "You see, my family has been making roasted pork for more than ten years. I don't know how many spices are used. The spices are roughly divided into two batches, one comes from the north and the other comes from the sea. The color and luster , the taste is different. The batch sold by the Fan family is obviously from overseas."
"As for the private goods, this is my guess. The quality of the licensed official goods is relatively poor. As you know, as soon as the official goods are landed, they are first picked by the nobles. When they come to our store, the leftovers are picked by many people. The quality of the products sold by Fan Xianlong is surprisingly good. I think they are not official products."
