Su Ling got up early today. Under the sunshine for several days, the snow in Longtai City finally began to melt, and the sound of snow turning into water could be heard everywhere.
Su Ling was so disturbed that she couldn't sleep, so she simply got up, put on her clothes and walked out.
I looked up at the eaves, and there was water flowing down from the top. The snow water was clear.
Su Ling had an idea and shouted at the top of his voice: "Du Heng, Du Heng, don't sleep, get up quickly!"
Du Heng was still in his dream. He heard Su Ling yelling outside. He couldn't figure out the situation for a moment. He just got excited and ran out with bare feet.
It happened that snow had melted in a low-lying area in the courtyard. He stepped on it with one foot, causing dirty water to rise up and cover his head and body.
He didn't care much, ran to Su Ling and said: "Su Ling, what happened? Is there a fight..."
When Su Ling saw him coming out barefoot, he laughed loudly and said, "I'm just asking you to do me a favor. How can you imitate the Barefoot Immortal?"
As soon as he lifted his nose to smell it, he felt a smell jumping up from the ground.
"I haven't washed them in a few days. Why do my feet smell so bad? Go back and put on your shoes before you come out!" Su Ling covered her mouth and nose, looking like she wanted to vomit.
Du Heng scratched his head and said: "It's cold, so I'm too lazy to wash it. It's only been a few days. I brought last night with me, it's only five days in total..."
"Five days?! You sweaty feet, let alone five days, one day is enough, disappear quickly..."
Du Heng entered the room, found a foot wrap in the corner and wrapped it up. He put the hand holding the foot wrap in front of his nose and smelled it. He rolled his eyes and said to himself: "I really can't stand it... forget it.
Let’s wash it tonight!”
He then put on his shoes and ran out again.
I saw Su Ling holding a large wooden basin and placing it under the eaves where the water flowed, just in time to catch the falling snow water.
When Su Ling saw him coming out, she pointed to the corner and said, "There are a few more over there. Move over and find the eaves in the corner to catch the snow..."
Du Heng, a monk with two feet in height, shouted: "You don't let me sleep so early in the morning, so why don't you just drink this broken water? If you want to drink water, go to the well."
Su Ling rolled her eyes at him and said, "What do you know? It's everyone's responsibility to save water... Besides, soaking your hair in snow water will be so pleasant. Hurry up and don't waste time."
Su Ling thought to herself that during this period there was no car exhaust, no carbon dioxide and pollution emissions, and the snow was not much different from natural mineral water. After catching it, it was indeed a beautiful thing to make tea.
Du Heng muttered and reluctantly moved the wooden basins over.
The two of them stood side by side in the yard, looking up at the snow water flowing down. Du Heng's eyes were a little blurry when he saw it, and Fang said: "Just watch, I'm going to the mutton restaurant...
....”
Su Ling nodded and let him go.
The mutton restaurant's business is on track, so even if Su Ling doesn't go there much now, the manpower can still take care of it.
In the beginning, Xi Pai No. 1 restricted the number of customers, which was met with a lot of criticism. However, as time went by, those diners did enjoy more attentive service and a better dining environment, and gradually they started to consciously uphold these rules.
Su Ling and Du Heng have been discussing it frequently in the past few days and decided to open a semicolon.
Su Ling saw that the snow water in the first wooden bucket was getting full, so he brought a small pot over, scooped out more than half of the pot of snow water, and carried it into the back hall.
Putting the small pot filled with snow water on the stove to boil, he took out the hair tip, put it in the tea cup beforehand, closed his eyes and rested.
Not long after, the steam started steaming from the small pot. Su Lingfang opened her eyes, took the small pot off the stove, shook it a few times, and poured it into the tea.
Immediately the fragrance of the tea is clear and the mind is clear.
Su Ling took a sip, then shook his head and said: "Even better than a living god..."
While he was looking beautiful, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from the backyard, and someone even said with a smile: "You Su Ling, you have been hiding yourself for a while, and you let me worry about you running here and there these days, how can you bear it!"
"
Su Ling then chuckled, turned around and said, "Brother in white, come here, let's have a taste of the tip of this snow water..."
The person who came was none other than Guo Baiyi.
Guo Baiyi sat down, made himself a cup of tea, and took a sip. Sure enough, the aroma of the tea was more fragrant than that brewed from the well water. He couldn't help but shook his head and said: "Su Ling, you still know how to enjoy it! But I am a natural
A life of hard work.”
When Su Ling heard this, he was surprised and said, "What do you mean by this, big brother in white?"
Guo Baiyi then put the tea bag down and said, "Does Su Ling still remember the last time the tea cargo ship was robbed?"
Su Ling nodded and said, "Of course I remember, but what clues did you find out?"
Guo Baiyi snorted and said: "It would be better if we could find out some clues. Not only are there no clues, it would be even worse..."
"Ah? What's going on?" Su Ling asked with confusion.
Guo Baiyi sighed and then said seriously: "After the tea cargo ship was robbed, I thought that no more Xinyang tea cargo ships would come in the near future, so I didn't ask any more questions. Two days ago, Sikong asked me about the arrival of tea.
I just went to the water transport terminal again and checked it out. I really don’t know if I didn’t check it. I was shocked when I checked it!”
Su Ling looked suspicious and said: "How?"
Guo Baiyi said word by word: "After the first batch of robbed tea, the soldiers in charge of purchasing Maojian in Xinyang sent tea to be transported from the canal to Kyoto, and these days, only tea cargo ships have been registered at the canal terminal for unloading.
, as many as three times.”
"Mist grass! Three times? I've never seen it once..." Su Ling stood up and said.
"So it's very strange. There were obviously three shipments, and there were three tea cargo ship registrations at the water transport terminal. However, I have never seen these three batches of tea... These three batches of tea were silent like this.
Xi's missing..." Guo Baiyi also said in surprise.
Su Ling said nothing, thinking secretly in his heart, and frowned slightly.
He said after a while: "These tea leaves are not living things. They can't just disappear out of thin air. There is something fishy about this..."
Su Ling thought for a while and then suddenly asked: "Brother in white, are the officials who inspect the water transport registration and inspection careful?"
Hearing this, Guo Baiyi was a little confused and said: "The goods that can be transported by water have been registered in advance at the water transport yamen. After they are transported to Kyoto, these inspection officials will check one or two boxes as a matter of routine.
Then it was released. After all, there are too many goods at the water transport terminal. If you really open the boxes one by one and inspect the goods, then the goods at the water transport terminal will pile up like a mountain..."
When he said this, his eyes suddenly lit up. He was stunned for a while, and then he looked excited and said anxiously: "Only checking one or two boxes... wouldn't that be..."
Su Ling smiled faintly and looked at Guo Baiyi with deep meaning.
The two of them said almost at the same time: "The contract has been transferred!"
Seeing that Guo Baiyi also realized the key point, Su Ling looked at him with a smile.
Guo Baiyi thought while saying: "Based on this assumption, someone must have hijacked the cargo ship, killed the boatman, and then exchanged the tea in the tea container for what they wanted to transport, leaving only a few boxes of tea in the front row to cope with it.
During the water transport inspection, they disguised themselves as boatmen, swaggeringly pulled their goods, left the water transport terminal, and hid..."
Su Ling nodded and said: "Brother in white is right, but these are all speculations. Who hijacked the cargo ship, why did they switch the tea leaves, what goods did they replace them with, what was they used for, and where were they hidden? We
I have no way of knowing..."
Guo Baiyi nodded and said: "It is indeed as you said, we know nothing."
Su Ling was a little confused and said: "Where is the Shadow Division? I haven't found any clues about it?"
Guo Baiyi shook his head and said: "Since that time, the Shadow Division has been busy with matters in the north, so it has shelved the matter..."
Su Ling suddenly asked: "When will the next tea cargo ship arrive at the water transport terminal?"
Guo Baiyi hurriedly said: "Just today..."
Su Ling then stood up and asked Xiangsi: "Brother in white, instead of us making random guesses here, how about we go to the water transport terminal together and wait for the arrival of this batch of tea goods?"
Guo Baiyi nodded and said with a serious expression: "Okay, let's go together."
............
Water transport terminal.
Longtai Water Transport Terminal is the busiest place in Kyoto besides Suzaku Street.
On the Cao River, there are white sails and countless cargo ships docked on the shore.
Countless strong men and trackers were soaking their lower bodies in the river, as if the cold river water was not worth mentioning to them.
They held thick and strong ropes in their hands and watched the cargo ships coming and going on the river. Once a cargo ship approached, they would all rush forward, causing the river water to splash.
Then they all threw the fiber rope into the air. As soon as the fiber rope fell, the boatman waiting on the ship caught it and tied it to the ship's plank.
But a deafening cry of "Pull--" was heard.
In the sky above the Manchurian Water Transport Terminal, the shouts of trackers came and went, resounding through the sky.
Rather majestic and heroic.
Su Ling and Guo Baiyi came to the water transport terminal and first looked at the Cao River. Unfortunately, there were too many ships and they were not sure whether there were any tea cargo ships.
The two had no choice but to go to the registration department set up at the water transport terminal, where an official in charge of registration was sorting out and copying out the books.
He had a sharp eye and recognized Guo Baiyi at a glance. He was so panicked that he quickly stood up and wanted to salute.
Guo Baiyi hurriedly gave him a wink and said in a low voice: "No need... We are here on official business this time, so it's not easy to reveal our identity!"
The official was quite clever, so he nodded, but he looked a little embarrassed.
He felt even more uncomfortable and stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do next.
Guo Baiyi then pulled Su Ling and introduced him: "This is Su Caopu of Sikong Mansion. He has something to ask you..."
The official nodded hurriedly and stammered: "It turns out that the sacrificial wine and Cao Bu have arrived. If you have any orders, just tell them. I will tell you everything I know..."
Seeing that he was too nervous, Su Ling put on a harmless smile, walked over, put his arm around his shoulders, and said with a familiar smile: "What's your surname, this man... ..."
That official was just a low-ranking official. In his eyes, Cao Tong was already a great official, but now he was putting his arm around his shoulders and calling him brother, which was all right.
He was so frightened that his legs gave out and he fell to the ground.
Su Ling added hurriedly: "Don't be nervous, we are just taking a look and asking a few questions, what should you say."
The official then composed his mind and said: "Su Caopu... I will be exempted from the noble surname... my surname is Tan, and my name is Tan Jing."
Su Ling nodded and said, "So it's Brother Tan. How many years have you been working at this water transport terminal?"
Tan Jing looked at a loss. He didn't know why Su Ling asked him why he wanted to relieve him of this job. He hurriedly bowed and said: "Xiaguan... I have been working as a xiaguan for eleven years. But I can guarantee that I will always work conscientiously..."
Su Ling waved her hand and interrupted him: "I don't care about you, but I have something to ask. Are there any tea cargos docking today?"
Tan Jing thought for a while and said: "It has not happened today, but if I remember it well, it must have happened several times in the past ten months."
"Oh? Is there any registration?"
Then Tan Jing nodded hurriedly and said: "Yes, I will never be careless in this regard."
Su Ling then whispered: "Don't make any noise and go find it yourself. I want to take a look."
Tan Jing nodded, and then returned to his desk. He flipped through the pile of brochures for a while, then came over with a brochure in his hand and said, "Su Caopu, please take a look."
Su Ling nodded, took the booklet, and started reading.
After flipping through dozens of pages, I discovered that three batches of tea cargo ships had docked at the water transport terminal at different times. Due to the different times, they were not recorded on the same page.
However, at the end of this record, there is a line of small words marked to verify that it is correct.
Su Ling then handed the booklet to Guo Baiyi. Guo Baiyi confirmed it and then said: "Yes, I also see this. I assume it has not been touched, otherwise I would not put it here openly like this."
Su Lingchong nodded and said: "Okay, brother, just go and do your business. Guo Jijiu and I have nothing to do. Let's go to the nearby tea stall to have tea and rest. But if a tea cargo ship arrives, you will decide You have to tell us!"
As he spoke, Su Ling pointed to a white cloth-covered tea stall not far ahead.
Tan Jing nodded hurriedly and led them to the tea stall.
Su Ling hurriedly stopped and said: "No need, there are many people who know you here. It's very inconvenient for us because there are so many people here. You can just work here..."
Tan Jing then nodded and said: "I will send a stranger to pay for the tea for these two adults. You two just have tea!"
Su Ling then thanked him, waved to Guo Baiyi, and headed towards the tea stall.
There were not many customers in the tea stall. It turned out that at the tea stall in front of the pier, most of the merchants who were lurking or passing by came to buy a few bowls, drank while standing, and then left in a hurry. Therefore, although there were two small tables inside, But there was not a single customer at the table.
Su Ling and Guo Baiyi sat at a table that was slightly sheltered from the river wind. When they asked the tea doctor, they only had a big bowl of tea and some old chestnuts. They asked for a pot of tea, two big bowls, and another I had a cup of chestnuts and peeled them while I drank.
While they were eating, they suddenly saw from a distance that Tan Jing was looking back at them. Su Ling and Guo Baiyi both looked at each other, stood up, and walked calmly towards the dock registration office.
When Tan Jing saw the two people approaching, he went up to them and whispered: "A tea cargo ship is coming..."
Su Ling then said calmly: "Where did it come from?"
Tan Jing hurriedly said: "The officer's reply came from Xinyang..."
Su Ling and Guo Baiyi looked at each other.
Su Ling then put his hand on Tan Jing's shoulder and said, "How about we call a few of the police officers and let's go check it out together?"
Tan Jing nodded hurriedly and waved to the seven or eight officers from the Registration Department behind him. They stood up quickly, put on their weapons, and came over and said, "Boss, what do you want me to do?"
Tan Jing then cleared his throat and bravely said: "A tea cargo ship from Xinyang will be coming soon. You all stopped me and inspected their cargo ship carefully. Do you understand...
....”
The seven or eight officers hurriedly said: "I understand, boss! You can't be wrong. We are familiar with these things. Can you tell me how much money this time..."
Tan Jing's face was the color of pig liver, and he could only smile awkwardly at Su Ling and Guo Baiyi. That smile was uglier than crying.
Su Ling was not annoyed at all. He patted him on the shoulder and said: "Brother, you have a good way to make money. I understand and do my job well..."
Tan Jing then nodded and bowed in agreement.
Su Ling suddenly asked: "Does General Wu Guan Zhonglang come here often?"
Tan Jing hurriedly replied: "Master Cao Yu is joking. Although this place is under the jurisdiction of Master Jianshu, it is smoky and crowded. Master Jianshu always comes to the Caoyun Yamen. How can he come to the dock often?"
Well, Xiaguan has been here for more than ten years and has only seen Master Jianshu come here twice..."
Su Ling nodded thoughtfully.
After waiting for a while, I saw more than 20 or 30 big men dressed as boatmen, either moving by hand or pushing many boxes on carts towards the Registration Department.
The boxes seemed to be very heavy. It took two people to move them and two people to push the cart.
The wheel pressed against the rough wood of the water transport wharf, making a squeaking sound.
Su Ling's heart moved and her eyes narrowed slightly.
As soon as they arrived here, the seven or eight officers stopped the group of twenty or thirty men. Tan Jing cleared his throat and said loudly: "Stop, inspect the goods and make a record!"
The twenty or thirty big men also cooperated, bowed to them, and thanked the official for his hard work. Then they moved the boxes in front of Tan Jingjin and said: "My lord, please open the boxes and take a look!"
Su Ling frowned again and looked towards Guo Baiyi, only to see Guo Baiyi also staring at the several large boxes that had been brought in silently.
On the surface, these large boxes were no different from the boxes at the back, but Su Ling noticed carefully that these boxes seemed to be much lighter, and a big man could carry each one.
Su Ling watched calmly, but saw that Tan Jing asked the officers to open the boxes that had been brought in and inspected them. It turned out that they were indeed packed tea leaves, and the aroma of tea leaves was still coming to their nostrils.
After the seven or eight officers checked these boxes, they turned back to ask Tan Jing for instructions: "Boss, I checked, there is no problem, they are all tea goods!"
Tan Jing nodded and turned to look at Su Ling and Guo Baiyi, as if asking for their opinions.
But I saw that the two masters had expressionless faces and did not say a word.
He knew in his heart that the two superior officers were dissatisfied.
Then he cursed: "What's wrong with all of them? There are so many tea boxes, why are only these few boxes opened and inspected? I opened them all and checked them carefully!"
As soon as these words came out, the guards were confused at first, and a leader of the guards approached Tan Jing and said: "Boss, we have always checked like this. He opened so many goods and looked at them one by one.
Then we have to find out when to go... Besides, this is a cargo ship owned by Ding Kee Shipping Company, and they are in charge..."
Tan Jing raised his eyebrows, secretly cursed the idiot, pushed him away, and said angrily: "What nonsense are you talking about? Open them all and check them carefully! Get out of here after you grab a box!"
The guards grinned at each other, and then lazily walked up to the twenty or thirty big men. The leader of the guards lazily said: "They are all opened, we want to take a look..."
Among these twenty or thirty men, a middle-aged man emerged. There was a deep scar on his left cheek and his body was full of flesh. He looked a bit scary. He actually said with a smile on his face: "My lord, my lord, look.
We have so much goods, we have opened them one by one. Not to mention the trouble for us to seal the boxes, it is also troublesome for you to check. We are from a time-honored Ting Kee Shipping Company and we have always abided by the rules. Do you think we can be accommodating?
"
The head guard looked back at Tan Jing, but saw that he had a non-negotiable expression on his face. He secretly thought that something was wrong with him today, but he had become more selfless.
He had no choice but to snort and say: "Stop talking nonsense, any shipyard will check the unloaded goods! Hurry up and unpack!"
The big man with the scarred face was startled at first, with a slightly displeased look on his face. He turned his head and looked at the man in his twenties or thirties. They also looked at the scarred face with cold expressions.
The scar-faced man gritted his teeth and said: "Brothers, move down two boxes first, and wait carefully for the officials to inspect them later!"
He said vertically and took two steps back.
But when they saw four big men moving two cargo boxes and placing them with a clang in front of the officer, they said angrily: "Check, check!"
Su Ling observed the twenty or thirty big men calmly, and saw that they were all staring at the moved cargo box with good eyes, and some of them had their hands on their waists.
Su Ling's heart moved, and she walked forward quickly and suddenly laughed loudly: "Everyone has worked hard, how about I come and check the two boxes that have been brought here?"