Although shopkeeper Liu Da of Taibai Restaurant was invited to guard the house, Wang Hao did not embarrass him. He interrogated him for a few words and then left. For more than a month after that, shopkeeper Liu Da opened the door normally every day, went to work and went home. No one was there.
When they came to investigate him again, they even started to demolish Yi'an Teahouse and prepare to level the land and build a new restaurant.
At the first watch of the night, Taibai Restaurant was open for business as usual. Unless it was a holiday, almost all restaurants were open for business at the first watch. This was a government regulation. On holidays, there were no regulations. Restaurants were allowed to be open until
What time of night.
"Close the windows on the second floor!"
Shopkeeper Liu Da looked at the gloomy night and loudly told his waiter, "It may rain tonight, so check all the doors and windows."
The guys checked the doors and windows and then went home, leaving only two people sleeping in the restaurant on duty. The restaurant cannot be empty at night.
Shopkeeper Liu Da's residence is not far from the restaurant, in an alley behind it. It is a small courtyard covering an area of two cents. He lives alone, his wife and children are in his hometown in Pingjiang Mansion.
It was almost two o'clock in the morning when shopkeeper Liu Da returned to his small courtyard. He was so sleepy that he couldn't open his eyes. He walked into the bedroom and lit the oil lamp. He suddenly felt something. When he turned around, he was suddenly frightened.
Shivering, I saw several burly men standing in the room, and a tall and thin young man sitting on the chair in front of me.
"You...who are you?"
Shopkeeper Liu Da asked in horror: "What do you want to do?"
The person sitting on the chair was none other than Zhong Huan. He took out the silver medal and waved it in front of shopkeeper Liu Da, "The internal security department is in charge!"
"I haven't broken any laws, so what are you going to do when you come to my house?"
Zhong Huan sneered, "If you break the law, you won't have the chance to stand and talk to me. Please sit down! I'll ask you a few questions."
After saying that, Zhong Huan glanced at the chair and motioned for him to sit down.
Shopkeeper Liu Da sat down and said coldly: "Is it still about what happened last month? I have said everything that needs to be said."
"You'd better tell us everything you shouldn't say."
Zhong Huan pointed at Mei Wu beside him and said: "The subordinate next to me has a dagger. Not long ago, this dagger cut off the ear of Liu Lu of Shenjun Manor. You should know who Liu Lu is! It's the one next to his nose.
You have a big black tumor, do you want me to remind you again?"
Shopkeeper Liu Da's childish expression suddenly shrank into a thin line, and he said for a long time: "What did he say?"
"He told us that Liu Zhen is actually just like you, he is just a big steward in charge of grain trading. His master is called Liu Xianchen, and he is a descendant of his maternal relative Liu Mei. You should know this very well!"
Shopkeeper Liu Da swallowed dryly and said, "Now that you all know, what else are you looking for from me? I know as much as Liu Lu."
Zhong Huan smiled and said: "I reported to His Highness what I found during my trip to Pingjiang Mansion. Your Highness said that he didn't care about the Liu family's background. He even welcomed the Liu family to come to Jingzhao to buy land and open a store, but there are some things you have to make clear.
, we don’t want to mess around.”
Shopkeeper Liu Da secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as long as His Highness King Yong welcomes the Liu family, his expression obviously relaxed.
"what do you want me to say?"
"I want to know who tipped you off so that you ran to Xianyang and hid. You'd better tell the truth. We didn't mean any harm, so I advise you not to use lies to ruin the Liu family's business in Jingzhao."
Shopkeeper Liu Da straightened his back and said for a long time: "It's Baoji Cabinet Shop!"
"His Royal Highness King Yong also thinks it is Baoji Cabinet Shop. He also thinks that the Liu family has a role in Baoji Cabinet Shop, right?"
Shopkeeper Liu Da nodded, "That's right!"
Zhong Huan added: "We know that there are many proprietors of Baoji Cabinet Shop, the biggest being the Shi family and Shi Guangping. Now we also know that the Liu family is also one of the proprietors. Can you tell me who else is there?"
"I only know that there is Xiangjia, because it is in front of Liu's family, and Liu's family ranks third. I don't know about the others. I really don't know. If you are interested, you can ask the big shopkeeper of Baoji Cabinet Shop.
He definitely knows more than me."
"What about Taibai Restaurant?"
Zhong Huan asked again, "How many owners does it have?"
"The Taibai Restaurant is owned by the Liu family. Although the Liu family is not as rich as the rest of the country, it cannot afford to open a restaurant. Besides, when we bought the restaurant, the land price was very cheap. The price per mu was only 1,000 guan. Five acres of land
It’s only 5,000 guan, and the county government has retained it, so you should know.”
Zhong Huan did not agree and continued to ask: "Are you lying, or do you not know?"
Shopkeeper Liu Da shuddered and said with trembling lips: "As a servant of my family, I can only know so much!"
"I guess so!"
Zhong Huan smiled slightly and said: "Actually, His Highness King Yong just wants to know which relatives and dignitaries are interested in Jingzhao and secretly come to invest. This is a good thing. Your Highness has no ill intentions."
Shopkeeper Liu Da breathed a long sigh of relief, "If this is the case, it is indeed a good thing. The Liu family recognizes the development of Jingzhao and believes that it will keep pace with Lin'an, so we made additional investment and bought the Yi'an Teahouse."
Zhong Huan nodded, "That's all I'm asking. In addition, His Highness King Yong asked you to send a message for him, asking the Liu family to send important people to Jingzhao. He wants to talk to the Liu family to see if there is any other cooperation."
Opportunity?"
Shopkeeper Liu Da was silent for a moment and said, "Actually, someone from the Liu family has already arrived."
"When did you come?"
"This morning!"
Zhong Huan said with a surprised smile: "I came back at midnight last night, and they came so fast. Did they start as soon as I left?"
"That should be the case! Our head of the family also attaches great importance to Jingzhao. He sent his eldest son to Jingzhao and also wanted to talk to His Highness King Yong."
Zhong Huan asked with a smile: "What's the name of the eldest son? It can't be the Liu Xiang who competed with his nephew for the oiran of Baidie Tower!"
Shopkeeper Liu Da shook his head, "The eldest son is called Liu Wei, Wei from the Weihe River. The third son Liu Xiang is competing for the oiran of Baidie Tower. The eldest son is the heir of the Liu family and is currently the number two figure in the Liu family. He can represent the Liu family.
.”
"Okay! We will report to His Highness and then arrange a time. You are waiting for my news. No need to disturb me tonight."
Zhong Huan got up and left with his men.
After Zhonghuan had gone far, shopkeeper Liu Da stood up and pushed open the closet, revealing a door behind it. This was his hiding place in case of emergency. The other party obviously did not discover this secret room.
He asked cautiously: "Is the eldest master here?"
A tall and thin man walked out from inside. He was in his mid-thirties, Liu Wei, the eldest son of Liu Xianchen. He was very keen and hid in the secret room when he heard something moving in the yard.
Shopkeeper Liu Da breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm really worried. Fortunately they didn't search!"
"They have just arrived and are one step ahead of you. They should have been watching you in the restaurant."
"This group of internal guards is very powerful. They are famous for their ruthlessness. They searched for illegal salt on Sichuan Road and Jinghu South Road. They raided and executed every family, including their children. Young Master, they are targeting the Liu family. I
I’m really worried.”
Liu Wei nodded, "I heard everything you said, don't worry! My father sent me here just to have a good talk with His Highness King Yong to eliminate misunderstandings."
"If this is the case, our Highness will definitely welcome you!"
Zhong Huan walked in from the outside and said with a slight smile: "The eldest son sneezed in the inner room just now. Unfortunately, I heard him."
Liu Wei stared at Zhong Huan and asked, "Are you the leader of the internal guard who went to Pingjiang Mansion to investigate the Liu family and cut off half of Liu Lu's ear?"
Zhong Huan nodded, "Let me introduce you first! I'm Zhong Huan, the commander of the inner guard, ranking fifth among the generals of the inner guard, but the cruel things the big shopkeeper said were all done by me. I do have a bit of a problem.
He is cruel and ruthless, but please believe me, dealing with Liu Lu is the most merciful and merciless thing I have ever done in the internal defense. If I didn't want to fall out with the Liu family, Liu Lu should have been silenced by me, and he would not have survived under any circumstances."
Liu Wei said for a long time: "You are right. There are not only Liu family but eight owners of Taibai Restaurant. The Liu family is the leader. The Baoji Cabinet Shop you want to know has a total of fourteen investors. Liu
The family ranks third. In addition, I can also tell General Zhong that Taibai Restaurant and Baoji Cabinet Shop are just businesses and have no intelligence-gathering function. At least when these two shops appeared in Jingzhao, we were just pure businessmen."
"What the eldest son means is, isn't it pure now?"
The other party reacted so quickly, which really surprised Liu Wei. He pondered for a while and said: "General Zhong is very smart and has sharp reactions. That's why I came to Jingzhao. Except for His Highness King Yong, I can't say anything to anyone, even yours."
Even if the counselor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs comes to talk to me, I can’t say anything.”
Zhong Huan nodded, "Get ready! His Highness will receive you as soon as tomorrow morning."
Liu Wei whispered again: "I asked General Zhong to keep it a secret for me about my coming to Jingzhao. Only my father and I know about it in Pingjiang Mansion. Even my brothers, nephews and I thought I went to Guangzhou to inspect shops."
"Don't worry! Including your chief manager, there are only four people in Jingzhao who know about it."