Handicraft Street, Fireworks Shop.
Xiao Zhong, who was working, suddenly sneezed.
"What's wrong? Are you getting cold?"
Old Zhong put down the pile of saltpeter in his hand and looked at Xiao Zhong with concern.
"It's okay, Master. Maybe it's because I haven't had a good rest recently."
Xiao Zhong rubbed his nose, looked at the small round ball he had just made in his hand, and then looked at the brush covered with black powder and other materials in his other hand. He thought to himself, this black igniter is really pungent. .
Without thinking, he filled the small ball with black igniting materials, and after a while, a small fireworks ball took shape.
He carefully placed it on a metal plate aside. At this moment, the plate was filled with hundreds of the same small black balls.
"Master, tell me why these small black balls release such beautiful fireworks after being ignited."
The master and apprentice repeated monotonous tasks day after day, which was always boring, so they would always relieve the boredom through small talk.
"Haha, don't underestimate this little black ball. The ancient alchemists also spent a lot of effort and finally developed black powder by chance."
"But what we make are fireworks, which are different from black powder."
"There was black gunpowder first, and then there were fireworks. My ancestor, your master, was once an alchemist. According to the genealogy, that ancestor and several other alchemists worked together to refine the elixir, and something happened on the way. There was a violent explosion, but by chance, instead of making elixir, I made black gunpowder. Later, our ancestors felt that black gunpowder was harmful to people, so they improved it and made it into the current fireworks for people to enjoy."
Xiao Zhong was listening with great interest, but was interrupted by a shout outside the door.
"Is Lao Zhong here?"
As soon as Lao Zhong heard the sound, he stood up
"Geng'er is here."
Xiao Zhong also stood up and followed Old Zhong out.
Outside the door, a middle-aged man who looked like a farmer was pushing a wooden cart. He was sweating profusely and showed a simple smile when he saw Lao Zhong.
Lao Zhong looked at the farmer's wooden cart, which contained two linen bags and half a cart of firewood, and frowned.
"Geng'er, I haven't been here for several days, why are there so few this time?"
The middle-aged farmer named Geng'er had a bitter look on his face and said
"Hey, you think I don't want to come. I don't know what happened in your city in the past few days. I'm not allowed in."
Xiao Zhong thought for a while. People in the city were panicked a few days ago, and it looked like a big chaos was about to break out. But today, it was calm again, and the officers and soldiers disappeared completely, as if nothing had happened. It was really weird. .
Geng'er said again
"Uncle Zhong, don't be too little. Recently, our village has been attacked by thieves. I don't know who killed a thousand swordsmen. All these things were stolen. This was already put together by the big guys in our village."
After saying that, he patted the linen bag angrily.
Old Zhong waved his hand helplessly, signaling Xiao Zhong to throw him a bunch of money.
"That's all, carry it in for me, as much as you have."
Geng'er borrowed the money, nodded happily, and then said bitterly
"Uncle, you don't know, this city is in chaos, and life in our village is not easy. There were thieves a few days ago..."
Lao Zhong was too lazy to listen to his complaints, so he walked into the shop by himself.
Xiao Zhong suddenly looked aside, only to find that the sisters who used to like standing in front of the shop and chatting were not seen today.
He scratched the back of his head and didn't think too much. He thought they were all busy with their own things, so he also walked into the shop.
But then he paused again, and somehow he thought of Chang Sheng
"I don't know if Uncle Lu and the others have opened the door today."
Chang Sheng was not able to buy Lu's Xiao Long Bao the day before yesterday. This incident made him very upset.
"Yes, I'll check it out later. If the door opens, I'll ask Aunt Lu to leave a drawer of steamed dumplings for me tomorrow. I'm afraid Chang Sheng will be overthinking it."
After helping Geng Er unload the goods, Xiao Zhong told Lao Zhong that he was sorry and ran out of the shop.
"come back earlier!"
"Know it!"
Xiao Zhong thought that he would see Chang Sheng again tomorrow, so his pace quickened a little.
"oops!"
Suddenly, he seemed to be tripped by something, staggered and fell.
He shouted in pain and turned around, only to see a small gap appeared on the usually smooth road. The gap was not big. Maybe Xiao Zhong accidentally stepped in with his toes and tripped.
Xiao Zhong looked at the gap carefully and said strangely
"I don't see a gap here on weekdays."
But he didn't care much, got up and continued running forward.
However, not long after, he almost tripped again.
"what happened?"
He was a little annoyed and found that there was another small gap in the ground not far away. Then he walked forward again, only to find that every once in a while, there seemed to be a gap in the ground that did not exist before.
Finally, he became angry and stamped the ground with his foot, only to find that the stone slabs near the gap on the ground were somewhat loose. He became even more angry and cursed in a low voice.
"What kind of unscrupulous person is digging a road here?"
After that, he simply bypassed the middle road and walked along the side shops.
After burning a stick of incense, Xiao Zhong came to the refreshment street.
Just as he was about to move on, he was suddenly pulled into the alley next to him.
"Well!"
He was caught off guard and wanted to shout, but someone covered his mouth.
"Shh!"
In front of him, a man dressed as a government official made a silent gesture to him. Xiao Zhong frowned. At first, he thought it was the officers and soldiers who had closed the street a few days ago, but when he looked carefully, he found that it was the soldiers from the Taiyang Mansion. .
Xiao Zhong nodded, and then the soldier slowly let go of his hand and said to him
"Boy, I recognize you."
Xiao Zhong was full of doubts and bowed.
"Sir, is there anything I can do for you?"
The soldier patted him on the shoulder and said
"My surname is Wang, just call me Brother Wang."
Brother Wang pointed to the opposite side, and Xiao Zhong looked in the direction that Brother Wang pointed at. There happened to be Lu's Steamed Bun Shop.
"Brother Wang, what's wrong?"
Brother Wang said
"I have been watching this street for several days and know that you are familiar with that couple."
Xiao Zhong nodded blankly
"Yes what's the matter?"
At the same time, he also discovered that the door of Lu's bun shop was still closed today.
"Do you know where this old couple went?"
Brother Wang asked.
Xiao Zhong shook his head
"I haven't seen them for several days."
Brother Wang thought for a moment and then slapped Xiao Zhong hard on the shoulder.
"Snapped!"
"Well, Taiyang Mansion now has a task to teach you."
He looked at Xiao Zhong with a smile on his face, but in Xiao Zhong's opinion, the smile was a little penetrating.
"The Taiyang Mansion suspects that a murder was committed in that shop, but no one reported the crime. The Taiyang Mansion cannot break into people's homes at will. Now we need your help."
Xiao Zhong exclaimed
"Murder case! Then Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu..."
Brother Wang lowered his head and sighed
"Well, that old couple is probably in trouble."
When Xiao Zhong heard the news, his whole mind was buzzing. After a long time, he came back to his senses and nodded firmly.
"Okay, I'll go!"
Brother Wang patted his shoulder again
"Okay, only if the government and the people cooperate can we solve every case. Let's go."
Xiao Zhong walked cautiously towards Lu's Steamed Bun Shop with a feeling of apprehension.
In the alley, another soldier walked up to Brother Wang and looked at Xiao Zhong's back, his eyes full of teasing.
"Brother Wang is so vicious. He tricked this kid into dying with just a few words."
Brother Wang sneered
"The government and the people cooperate, hahahaha."
Most of the people on Tea Street are from outside, and delicacies from all over the world are gathered here. Outsiders who come to the capital always like to come here to find some taste of their hometown.
Of course, the most popular ones are the local delicacies in the capital, and Lu's Steamed Bun Shop is the most famous and best-selling steamed stuffed bun shop on this tea street.
The old couple at Baozi Pu are true Beijingers. They have closed their shop only a handful of times in the past few decades, and it has never been closed like this for several days in a row.
Xiao Zhong stood in front of the bun shop and looked around for a long time. He didn't know how to get in. He didn't dare to go to the door and peek through the crack of the door, for fear that passers-by would regard him as a thief.
Suddenly, his head seemed to be hit by something. When he turned around, he saw a ball of paper. He looked around and opened the ball of paper, only to see that it read: Go around to the back door.
When he thought about it, it should be the tip given to him by Brother Wang.
After walking a few steps forward and passing the tofu stall next to the bun shop, there was a narrow alley. Xiao Zhong walked along the narrow alley to the back door of the bun shop.
Just as he was about to knock on the door, he remembered what Brother Wang said.
If there is a murder, what if the murderer is alerted?
Xiao Zhong thought this and took back his hand again.
He took two steps back and looked carefully. The back door should be a backyard. The fence in the backyard was not very high, so he simply climbed over the wall and entered.
Not long after, he climbed over the wall and entered the yard. The backyard was not big, but he found that the ground was covered with dust. It seemed that no one had cleaned it for a while.
Even the bamboo steamer hanging in the corner of the yard was covered with a thin layer of ash.
You can enter the bun shop through the yard. The door is only ajar at the moment, and you can go in with just a slight push from Xiao Zhong.
Xiao Zhong took off his shoes and tiptoed close to the door, not wanting to make any noise.
He had just walked to the door when he felt a burst of warm air rushing toward him. He suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, there was someone!
Even though Xiao Zhong couldn't make any sense, when the warmth came from the crack in the door, he felt a completely different atmosphere from the depressed courtyard outside. The occupied houses and the unoccupied houses gave people a different atmosphere. It always feels different.
Xiao Zhong slowly put his ear to the wall, wanting to hear if there was any sound inside.
But after a pause, he couldn't hear anything, so he had to be brave enough to get close to the crack in the door and cautiously look in.
It was pitch dark inside, and the range of sight could only be a few feet. Just as Xiao Zhong left the crack in the door in disappointment, he suddenly heard a breathing sound!
Suddenly, Xiao Zhong broke into a cold sweat!
He unconsciously held his breath and did not dare to move.
"call!"
Another sound made Xiao Zhong's hair stand on end, and his whole body was trembling uncontrollably.
There is actually someone!
Xiao Zhong thought to himself: Could it be that the murderer hasn't left yet?
