As soon as the fat man in green robe left, the white-spotted man immediately returned to the table and started drinking tea again like no one else.
Zhang Yangquan and Qin Lingjun walked over and said hello to him.
"Brother, can you make a friend?"
The man with white spots said coldly: "No."
Zhang Yangquan smiled slightly, walked to a nearby table with Qin Lingjun, sat down, and whispered to Qin Lingjun: "Madam, is this person really a member of the military?"
Qin Lingjun said "Hmm" and said, "I must have seen him in the military camp."
Zhang Yangquan thought for a moment and said, "Look at how sneaky he is and how he's afraid of others reporting him to the government. Could he be a spy who sneaked into the camp?"
Qin Lingjun didn't answer, he frowned and thought hard.
Zhang Yangquan did not bother her, patted her shoulder and said, "I'll go down for a while." He went down to the first floor alone and asked the store clerk about the origin of the man with white spots.
The waiter was uncooperative at first, but Zhang Yangquan gave him a couple of dollars before he finally spoke.
"Are you asking about Mr. Kang?"
Zhang Yangquan said: "Yes, do you know his name?"
The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "I don't know. But I think I heard someone say that he was working as an errand in the military camp and was a general. Recently, some people also said that he was kicked out of the military camp."
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said, "Then who was the member named Tao just now?"
The waiter raised his chin and said, "I'm sorry. Even though I'm just a waiter, I know how to repay kindness. Mr. Tao gave me some money, so I can't say anything about him!"
Zhang Yangquan smiled, turned around and went upstairs.
The store clerk chased after him and glared: "Hey, don't you want to know what happened outside Mr. Tao?"
Zhang Yangquan said: "Aren't you unwilling to say it?"
The waiter snorted and said, "I haven't finished speaking yet. Why are you so anxious? You can do it if you want, but you have to pay more!"
Zhang Yangquan had no expression on his face and took out another one tael of silver and handed it over.
The shopkeeper laughed and said: "Tao Yuanwai is a tea merchant, and his business is very big. He has several shops on Zhenwu Street!"
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said, "That's all?"
The shopkeeper raised his head and said: "It's not easy to know about such a big shot! Of course, there are some extremely confidential information. Even if I know it, I can't tell it easily, right? Otherwise, what will happen if Mr. Tao comes to settle accounts with me?"
”
Zhang Yangquan said lightly: "Secret?"
The shopkeeper glanced around mysteriously, put his hand to his mouth and said: "It's extremely secret, no one knows about it except me!"
Having said this, he refused to say any more, picked up the ingot of silver and wiped it carefully.
Zhang Yangquan had no choice but to take out another one tael of silver and said, "Say it!"
The shopkeeper glanced at the money in Zhang Yangquan's hand, shook his head, and said: "If they find out that I leaked the secret, they will definitely not spare me. This little money is not even enough for medical expenses!"
Zhang Yangquan didn't talk nonsense and took out another five taels of silver.
The waiter smiled brightly and pulled Zhang Yangquan to a corner.
"You don't know something, but that Tao Yuanwai often secretly bribes General Kang in our store!"
Zhang Yangquan frowned and said: "Bribery?"
"Yes, I bribed three times this month, each time in a private room, and each time it cost a hundred taels of gold!"
"How do you know?"
The clerk laughed and said, "You think I can't lie? The upper floor of the private room is a warehouse, and there is a hole in the door. I saw them paying bribes once when I was cleaning. After that, every time they met in the private room, I would take a look. So much gold, look.
It’s good to see!”
"Do you know what they said?"
The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "They spoke in a very low voice, so I didn't hear them clearly."
Zhang Yangquan nodded, said no more, went up to the second floor, and told Qin Lingjun what he had just learned.
Qin Lingjun said: "He was driven out by the military camp?"
Zhang Yangquan nodded: "That's what the store clerk said. Do you have any impression? Do you know what he committed?"
Qin Lingjun shook his head and said: "There are often people in the military camp who violate military regulations and are kicked out. Just based on this, I can't remember it."
Zhang Yangquan pondered for a while and said: "Since you don't know him, this person's position in the military is not very high, but it is strange that the Tao officer bribed him with so much money."
"Who is that potter?"
"It seems to be a tea merchant."
Qin Lingjun said: "Since he is a tea merchant, why did he mention a boss when he spoke just now?"
Zhang Yangquan's eyes suddenly flashed and he said: "Yes, as far as I know, some spies like to use the word 'boss' to cover up. Geng Si's subordinates usually call him the big shopkeeper!"
Qin Lingjun glanced at the man surnamed Kang and said, "This man must be a meticulous worker. Do you want to arrest him?"
Zhang Yangquan thought for a while, frowned and said: "If he is a meticulous workman, Tao Yuanwai should be his superior. Why do you look so angry at him? Do you think the boss knows about it?"
Qin Lingjun asked: "Could it be that he hid the fact that he was kicked out of the military camp?"
Zhang Yangquan said: "If you are really careful, you will report it to your superiors immediately after being kicked out. How dare you conceal it without authorization?"
Qin Lingjun said: "Then he is not a spy, but an informant! He knows that if he is kicked out of the military camp, he will lose his value as an informant, so he pretends to hide it and continues to cheat money!"
Zhang Yangquan smiled and said: "That makes sense, and this person must be an important informant!"
Qin Lingjun was stunned: "How do you know he is important?"
Zhang Yangquan said: "The 'owner' mentioned by Tao Yuanwai is probably the leader of the intelligence organization. Such a person generally will not know about ordinary low-level informants!"
Qin Lingjun said: "Guess he is from Chen Youliang or from the Tatars?"
Zhang Yangquan was about to answer when he suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the stairs.
"Oh my god, why are there so many people down there? I'm afraid I can't see it today."
Zhang Yangquan turned his head and looked towards the stairs, and saw a lean man walking up. He was clearly a monkey.
He quickly winked at Qin Lingjun, and they both changed positions, sitting with their backs to the stairs.
"Most of them are probably just here to watch the fun!" Yang Ying also followed the monkey up.
The two of them did not notice Zhang Yangquan and his wife. They walked to the table below the man named Kang and ordered some tea.
Yang Ying suddenly looked down at the teahouse and said, "Official, look quickly, isn't that General Li's family?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
The monkey turned his head and looked down, and sure enough he saw Li Er's family next to a carriage, and immediately shouted hello to them.
Li Er below heard the noise and took his family to the second floor of the teahouse.
"Brother Li, sister-in-law, do you also come to see the strange beasts?" Monkey greeted him.
Li Er touched Xiao Qi's head and said, "This child must come to see you."
Yang Ying glanced at Xiao Qi and smiled: "Xiao Qi has grown into a big girl and is getting more and more beautiful!"
Xiao Qi blushed and whispered: "Aunt Yang, where is Brother Lin? Why didn't he come?"
Yang Ying snorted and said: "Don't worry about him, let's play with ourselves."
At this time, another young man suddenly ran up to the stairs and shouted: "I know where Brother Lin has gone!"
That young man was Hu Xiaobao, and behind him was an old man, Hu Guangcao.
It turns out that when the monkey greeted Li Er just now, Hu Guangcao and Hu Xiaobao's grandson heard it, so the two of them followed.
Everyone greeted each other and sat around the table. Monkey, Li Er and Hu Guangcao were talking about the major events of next year's Western Expedition, while Yang Ying was chatting with Xu about daily life.
Xiaoqi pulled Hu Xiaobao and said, "Brother Xiaobao, where did Brother Lin go?"
Hu Xiaobao laughed and said: "Brother Lin said that the beasts in cages are nothing to look at. He wants to go to the nearby mountains to see real beasts!"
Although Yang Ying was talking to Mrs. Xu, she also heard Hu Xiaobao's words. Her face sank and she said, "Xiaobao, where did you just say Han Lin'er went?"
Hu Xiaobao changed his color and said, "Brother Lin didn't tell you?"
Yang Ying said with a dark face: "He told me to go hunting."
Hu Xiaobao secretly cried out, it would be okay if Han Lin'er knew that he sold him!
"Don't worry, Aunt Yang, Brother Lin is going with Boss Lan!"
Yang Ying's face was expressionless: "Boss Lan?"
Hu Xiaobao said: "It's Boss Lan Yu. As long as he is here, Brother Lin will be fine!"
Yang Ying snorted and said: "Lanyu is only a sixteen-year-old child. If he really encounters a beast, what role can he play?"
Hu Xiaobao looked serious and corrected: "Aunt Yang, although Boss Lan is not a few years older than us, he can fight better than adults. You can't be biased just because he is young!"
Seeing that he looked like a young adult, Yang Ying couldn't help but smile and said, "Xiaobao, how is your studies going lately?"
Hu Xiaobao puffed up his chest and said: "I always come first in math."
Yang Ying touched his head and praised him twice.
At this moment, the man named Kang suddenly stood up and walked towards the stairs, with his head lowered.
He was sitting still, but he suddenly stood up from his seat and looked sneaky, which immediately attracted the attention of Li Er and Monkey.
Li Er actually recognized him and shouted: "General Kang?"
The man named Kang pretended not to hear, walked faster, and disappeared at the top of the stairs in the blink of an eye.
The monkey wondered: "Brother Li, who was that person just now? Do you know him?"
Li Er took a sip of tea and said: "That man's name is Kang Maocai. He was originally the marshal of the navy in Jiqing. Later, Jiqing was captured by our army and he surrendered to our army."