In fact, for the current Northern Yan Dynasty, it is really difficult to say who has more power between the four princes and the military department Shangshu; But what kind of person is Jiang Yuan? Don't look at him being in charge of Lord Chen's property, but as far as this little 'Ren and Dang' is concerned, Lord Chen may have forgotten that there is such a thing, and although he is nominally a steward, he is actually just handing over the silver to the Shangshu Mansion once a quarter, and it is good luck to be able to meet the face of the chief butler. To this day, he hadn't seen Master Chen in person for two years. It seems that he is the east of Shangshu Mansion, and he is also rampant on the street; But what kind of status he has in Shangshu Mansion, he knows it very well in his heart.

And this 'Qi Hui' is completely different from his own situation! Not only does he claim to be a guest of the Four Princes' Mansion, but he can also report the names of Ge Sanshui and Ma Ziliu, which is obviously not a swaggering ruffian; In addition, he dared to let himself go to Anping Wangfu to confront him, and he must be the confidant of the fourth prince......

And according to rumors, the fourth prince, Zhou Chang'an, is also in charge of a royal spy organization called 'Chiwu' by holy decree. Although his friend who planted flowers for the Anping Palace, he did not mention that there was a nobleman surnamed Qi in the mansion; But if this Qi Hui is a member of the Red Crow...... Then all of this today can make sense!

The two sat down in the back hall, Shen Gui picked up the warm tea cup on the table, pecked it lightly, and gently put it back on the table:

"Brother Jiang, since you and I are both serving the same way of rice, then Qi will not go around in circles. I came here today to ask you about the murder of Wang Yutian, the treasurer of the Guibao. What I want to ask you is, why is Wang Da Cabinet still stuck in the shop after the pawnshop is closed? ”

After hearing the other party's intentions, Jiang Yuan became even more convinced of the identity of the other party's 'Red Black Secret Agent' in his heart. He paused for a moment, and then looked fixedly at the south room outside the window:

"Brother Qi, you see, that south room was originally intended to be used as a storeroom; But since Wang Dajiao's daughter-in-law added a little grandson to him, he moved into the south house. Of course, the shopkeeper Wang is old, and it is not easy to fall asleep; In addition, what he does on weekdays is 'fine work', so if he can live quietly, isn't it also good for the trumpet's business! ”

Shen Gui nodded and continued to ask:

"So in addition to the king's cabinet, are there any other shopkeepers or guys on the number who also live in this back hall?"

"Absolutely! Before my name, there were three shopkeepers and three apprentices. The shopkeeper of the third cabinet is a local, and there is an ancestral delivery room in the south of the city, so he naturally goes home to live after work; And the second cabinet Lao Feng is a person from Yanzhou, so he naturally has to live in the back hall with three apprentices and a big cabinet......"

After finishing speaking, this Jiang Yuan didn't wait for Shen Gui to speak, and immediately shouted out the door:

"Shopkeeper Feng!"

It didn't take long for a middle-aged man with a thin body and rolling eyes to enter the inner hall. After he had just crossed the threshold, he bowed to the two people in the hall without saying a word:

"What do you command?"

"It's Qi Ye who has something to ask you, you can say whatever you have! If you dare to say half a nonsense, you will ...... tomorrow"

"Don't talk about it, boss, can you still know about this little thing! Although Qi Ye opened his mouth to ask, the little one would never dare to say half a lie! It must be that everything is known and everything is true......"

Shen Gui looked at his flattering and contemptuous appearance, and he was already secretly disgusted: Although this pawnshop is the property of Master Chen, the secretary of the Ministry of War, but you Feng Shopkeeper is also a literate and hyphenated station cabinet gentleman! also relies on his own means and eyesight to make money, no matter how bad it is, he has to be a craftsman, as for a doorman like Jiang Yuan, are they so low?

Since there is already disgust in my heart, I naturally have no anger when I ask questions:

"Shopkeeper Feng, you are the second cabinet of Renhedang, right? Gui Geng this year? Where are the apprentices? How many years have you been standing in this pawnshop? ”

"Back to Qi Ye's words, the little God blesses the four-year-old person, and he has spent eight out of forty years so far, and his hometown is in Shimen on Yanzhou Road. The villain began to apprentice in Shimen at the age of eight, and began to work in Beijing at the age of 24, and has been working in this Renhe pawnshop for more than 24 years. ”

When Shen Gui heard this, he was quite surprised!

Xiang He, a villain who is exquisite, has no principles and bottom lines, can survive twenty-four springs and autumns in such an extremely ordinary pawnshop? And the strangest thing is that he has always been willing to stand in the position of the second cabinet? Of course, if there is a big share of him in this pawnshop, it may be reasonable......

"Brother Jiang, my next question may be a little taboo...... I would like to ask how Guibao's profits and labor services are distributed. ”

"Hey! What's wrong with this, this business is going to be closed, what are you afraid of when you ask the accounts? Brother Qi is treating his brother as an outsider! ”

After saying these words arrogantly, Jiang Yuan casually pushed a blue-covered account book on the table in front of Shen Gui. Based on this calculation, it seems that before Shen Gui entered the house, everyone should be taking accounts in the inner hall......

"Since Brother Qi is an understanding person, I won't show you those imaginary things. To put it simply, this shop was originally Mrs. Chen's dowry, so there was no rent expense. And our annual net income is about 8,000 to 20,000 taels of silver; If there is a disaster year, there may be a few more heels. As for the expenditure of salary: the first three years of an apprenticeship are only food and shelter; After three years, if you do a good job and stay in the shop, the first five years are two taels of silver per year, plus a year-end dividend; As for the three shopkeepers, the big cabinet is fixed with a base of 100 taels of silver every year, and then dividends are distributed according to the amount of 10% of the net profit every year; The second cabinet is eighty taels of silver, and half of it is a dividend at the end of the year; There are fifty taels in three cabinets, and there is no dividend; But if he does well, he will have about 300 taels of joy bags all year round. ”

Frankly speaking, this kind of salary level, if you look at the scale of Renhedang's shop alone, although it is not a first-class treatment, but it is no problem to mix it with the upper middle. However, it is obvious that the shopkeeper Feng, who is standing in the second cabinet, has been working for twenty-four years, and his annual salary is only 80 taels of low silver, plus an average year-end dividend of about 700 taels.

A salary like his, if placed on Youbei Third Road, is of course a 'good job' that will wake up with a smile in a dream, but in the Northern Yan Dynasty, where every inch of land is expensive and the consumption level is extremely expensive, it is obviously not worth the more than 20 years of youth paid by a palm-eyed gentleman who is literate and hyphenated.

"Hmm...... That's a good price. Then Qi has another question next, and he wants to ask Shopkeeper Feng for advice. Since you also live in the back hall, you also saw the situation on the night of the murder of the shopkeeper Wang? ”

After Shen Gui asked this question, Shopkeeper Feng immediately changed his complexion several times. But soon, he returned to his previous appearance, and when he answered Shen Gui, he was still a little confident:

"Nope! And it wasn't just me who wasn't there, but the other three elementary school students weren't there either. Because it's payday! I remember that day, after the plank was laid, the villain took the three apprentices out to eat and drink...... Oh yes, that restaurant is Taihe Building near Xuanwu Gate in the south of the city! ”

"And did you drink until late at night?"

"How can that? …… Taihe Louhai closed at the very beginning......"

"And where did you go after that?"

"This ...... This...... Qi Ye! What do you mean by that? Do you think that the death of the shopkeeper Wang has anything to do with Feng? If I really coveted his status as a big cabinet, I wouldn't have spent twenty-four years in such a small pawnshop! Wouldn't it be too early to start? And to put it mildly, just the body of the shopkeeper of the king, how many years can it last at most? I still need to ...... at this point."

Looking at the shopkeeper Feng who was red-faced and argued loudly, Jiang Yuan also unceremoniously splashed the bowl of tea on the other party's face:

"Hear me clearly! Whatever Qi Ye asks, you answer! Again, I don't want to say it a third time! ”

“…… Be...... It's ......"

The excited shopkeeper Feng was woken up by a bowl of tea on his head, and his expression became very depressed:

"From ...... After Taihe Lou came out...... I took the three of them and went to ...... I went to ......."

When Jiang Yuan saw his spitting appearance, he was even more angry! This Qi Hui, although he looks like a weak scholar and a good temper, he is the disciple of the fourth prince after all! And it is very likely that he is a member of the Red Crow organization, that is, the protégé of the Son of Heaven! If such a 'living Hades' came to ask about the case, it would definitely not be his own meaning! No matter who cares about this case, it is his master, the fourth prince Zhou Chang'an; is still Chiwu's 'mastermind behind the scenes' - Emperor Zhou Yuanqing, and it is definitely not a major matter that can be solved by relying on the name of his master!

"Hey... That's it... After the four of us had finished drinking, we went to ...... Taiping Street! ”

The so-called Taiping Street is the most prosperous commercial street in Yanjing City, which is very similar to Hezhong Street in Fengjing City. However, the backstreet of Hezhong Street is a quiet and elegant courtyard of houses; And the backstreet of Taiping Avenue is a land of fireworks and willow alleys!

Moreover, the backstreet of Taiping Avenue is also a 'demonstration unit' of the fireworks venues of the entire Huayu Continent; it can even be said that there is no flower street and alley that can be compared with Taiping Street except for the Huaihe Painting Boat in Nankang Capital City!

And unlike the Huaihe Painting Boat, this Taiping Street is like the north and south markets in Fengjing; From the lowest-grade 'earthen kiln' to the most high-class Qingyin small class, there is everything, and even those 'rabbit nests' and 'phase guilds' have their place on this street.

It turned out that this Feng Er shopkeeper, with three primary school apprentices who hadn't grown a beard, went to Taiping Street to visit the kiln after eating and drinking! No wonder he slurps when he speaks!