While Xu Shichu was busy with her stepson's marriage, shopkeeper Li from Zuixiang Pavilion suddenly came to tell her that someone had quietly come to investigate her Zhuangzi, which she used as a spice shop near the outskirts of Beijing.
Xu Shichu immediately pretended to be unwell and left all matters related to his stepson's marriage to Luo Changqing's people, while he dealt with the investigation of the spice shop.
In fact, this is not the first time that Xu Shichu's Zuixiang Pavilion has been noticed, but it is the first time that he has found out about the spice shop. Because Xu Shichu pays more attention to confidentiality, she has avoided the eyes and ears of many people as the owner of the spice shop. Moreover, the location of this small Zhuangzi is relatively remote, and the people in the Zhuangzi are all her servants who have obtained the contract of prostitution. On the one hand, they can be bribed easily.
But now someone has come to this secretive spice shop. This is a relatively big hidden danger. Xu Shichu can't pretend that he doesn't know, otherwise her money bag in Zuixiang Pavilion will be robbed.
She couldn't go out during the day, so Xu Shichu had to ask shopkeeper Li to find out about the situation in the spice shop, and learned that he found out that outsiders came to investigate because the various fragrance raw materials stored in the warehouse of the spice shop were all missing.
The portion that is missing is very, very small. If shopkeeper Li is not particularly sensitive to weight, he may not even feel it. However, if the portion of an ingredient is a little less, it may be that the worker was careless and did not adjust the portion properly. But if every ingredient is What about a little less? Then there is no way that workers can be excused for being careless, unless it is the workers who are committing theft.
Is it possible that the craftsmen were unjust and wanted to commit theft? The incense-making raw materials in the warehouse are the most important things. When Xu Shichu first built this workshop, he stipulated that craftsmen could not enter the warehouse alone. There must be two or more people before entering, in order to avoid theft. .
So, is it possible that the two of them colluded? This possibility is also unlikely. Xu Shichu is not stingy with the craftsmen. The wages of these craftsmen are two or three times that of their counterparts, and sometimes there are bonuses. They are unlikely to take risks for money. After all, their contract of sale is still in Xu Shichu's hands. In the first hand.
Coercion and inducement from outsiders? This small village is in a remote location, with no human habitation within a ten-mile radius. If a stranger comes, it is impossible for the guards in the village not to notice it.
Therefore, this probably eliminates the suspicion that the craftsmen were committing theft.
In addition, shopkeeper Li also told Xu Shichu that the guard found a very simple footprint in the grass on the roadside outside Zhuangzi. The soil left by the footprint was not from around Zhuangzi. Therefore, he suspected that an outsider had come outside Zhuangzi. Check, these footprints were accidentally left by the spy.
After hearing Shopkeeper Li's reasoning, Xu Shichu became cautious and decided to give bonuses to Shopkeeper Li and the guard who found the footprints. These two people were really dedicated to their duties and deserved a reward!
After understanding the general situation and asking shopkeeper Li to keep it secret, Xu Shichu returned to the Prime Minister's Mansion. She planned to wait until night to go to her spice shop to find out who had extended their claws to her territory.
In the dead of night, Xu Shichu, who was lying on the bed, opened her eyes. She quietly put on her night clothes, disguised herself, put on her tools, and left the Prime Minister's Mansion. Like a paper kite, she flew quickly through the night. Leave.
She has practiced internal strength very well now, and can continue to move forward for a long time even in the darkness. That's why she went to the small village on the outskirts of Beijing to investigate at this late night, and before dawn return.
She arrived at Xiaozhuangzi half an hour later. It was midnight, and the craftsmen had naturally rested. The guards did their duty, and Xu Shichu entered the warehouse without disturbing them.
The warehouse was full of raw materials for making incense, but the bags were all neatly placed. Xu Shichu checked according to what Shopkeeper Li had discovered and found that the portions had not decreased.
These fragrance-making raw materials must be added to a fixed amount every day before the warehouse is closed to make up for what is consumed every day, so that the amount of fragrance-making raw materials will be sufficient after the warehouse is closed.
From this point of view, only yesterday's portion was less, and it happened to be discovered by the very competent shopkeeper Li.
Xu Shichu didn't find any clues about the spy without any surprise, but she didn't lose heart. She took out a finger-long incense stick from the package she brought and lit it. Then she took out a small jar from the package. A pink moth the size of a bee came out. The pink moth flew around the incense stick for a while, and then flew away in one direction.
Xu Shichu stubbed out the incense stick, put it back into the package, and quietly followed the direction of the pink moth.
The pink moth was not conspicuous in the night, but Xu Shichu chased it not by looking at it with his eyes, but by smelling it.
People who can become masters of spices have an extremely developed sense of smell and can identify thousands of smells. Xu Shichu is no exception. She has a sensitive sense of smell, and she has practiced martial arts, which makes her five senses sharper and her lightness kung fu is high, so she can easily catch up. Get this pink moth.
After flying in the darkness for a long time, Xu Shichu followed Fen Moth back to the city. This was expected. After all, the only people in the capital who could have an idea of Zuixiang Pavilion were those who could pay attention to Zuixiang Pavilion's business at any time.
Fen Mo took Xu Shichu to Xicheng. Xicheng is a slum in the capital. People living in it are either poor families or people from all walks of life.
While twisting and turning, the pink moth flew into a dilapidated and crude mud house and stopped on a person on the bed inside.
Xu Shichu carefully checked the surroundings and the house, and found that there was indeed only one person, so she jumped in through the window.
And the person sleeping in the house was indeed worthy of being a spy in the spice shop. He felt very alarmed. As soon as Xu Shichu came in, he woke up, jumped up from the bed, shouted "Who" in a low voice, and rushed towards Xu Shichu quickly. Come.
Xu Shichu nimbly avoided his grasp, kicked him instead, and started fighting with him. Maybe he had something secret in his heart and didn't want to make it public, so he didn't even dare to make a loud noise during the fight, for fear of waking up the neighbors.
Xu Shichu didn't want to alarm the others, so both of them were a little in the way for a while, but after all, Xu Shichu was the better one, and she quickly beat him to the ground.
Before he could scream, Xu Shichu removed his jaw so that he could no longer scream.
Xu Shichu tore off the thin quilt from the bed, tied up the man, and ensured that he had no strength to resist. Then he found an oil lamp and lit it.
The kidnapped man had a mediocre face, in his thirties, thin and strong, and was glaring at Xu Shichu fiercely, very fiercely.
Xu Shichu ignored him and searched the house. This man was just a spy. He was not a man behind the scenes, but asking for correct information from him required skills. Xu Shichu did not in a hurry.
