Xu Ping stood by the counter and casually talked with Lu Pan about the latest business. Lu Pan is new, and his relationship with the Xu family is not as close as Tan Bennian in the restaurant, and he is much more restrained when he speaks.

After saying a few words, Lu Pan sighed: "The master's shop is too aggrieved in Baisha Town, if it is opened in Tokyo City, it will be much better." I've heard from the boatmen that these days in Tokyo on the banks of the Bianhe River, there are also people who follow the example of our liquor shops and use cauldrons to sell some marinated goods. When they sell it one day, they get enough money to feed their families, which is even better than ours. ”

Xu Ping was stunned: "There are also people in the capital who have learned from us to do business?" ”

Lu Pan nodded and sighed.

This kind of cauldron business is best done in the place of the dock market, and if it is accompanied by a pot of mutton soup, it is cheap to eat and drink, and it can satisfy your hunger.

Xu Ping was still thinking about when he would return to the capital and open a chain store specializing in selling this, and set up a signboard in the Kaifeng food industry together with liquor, but he didn't expect to be learned by someone not long after.

But there is no way, not to mention that there is no intellectual property protection in this era, even in Xu Ping's previous life, a family of yellow braised chicken and rice came out, and it couldn't stop the same from opening all over the street.

At the edge of the shed, a thin middle-aged man leaned on a small briquette stove and ate the tofu skin and tripe in it with a bowl of white wine.

Xu Ping pointed there and asked Lu Pan: "The kind that Qin Er eats, it hasn't been sold in the capital, right?" ”

Lu Pan said: "They can't make a stove like ours, I haven't heard of it yet." ”

Xu Ping nodded, just staring at Qin Er, who was concentrating on eating and drinking, and stopped talking.

Qin Er's name is Qin Huailiang, who was originally a farmer not far from here, and his own family had no land, so he planted twenty or thirty acres of other people's houses. In this place where there is no shortage of land, this kind of is extremely poor, and the family property only has two thatched houses, which is regarded as a fixed asset, not a customer.

His wife has died a long time ago, and he has only one daughter, Qin Yuniang, who depends on him. Yu Niang looks a little good, last year she was taken by Zhou Jian Town here, and she bought her as a concubine, and Qin Er's life was a little better.

Just last month, this Qin Er didn't know what luck he had handed over, got a sum of money, opened a small inn in the town, and turned into a figure with a head and a face, and everyone was called Qin Erguanren.

You must know that Jian Zhen is a petty official who is not in the stream, and his salary is pitiful, so it is impossible to have spare money to support Qin Er. Everyone said that Qin Er was lucky and picked up a silver ingot somewhere, and went to the gold and silver shop in Zhongmu County to exchange it for copper coins, and then opened this inn.

There was a silver appearance, and this incident attracted the attention of Xu Ping and Sang Yi, and the two took turns to change shifts and went to the town to stare at Qin Huailiang, hoping to find any clues.

Sang Yi, the gold and silver shop in Zhongmu County, went to check, and used some means to find out that Qin Huailiang had indeed exchanged silver, and the silver was real full-patterned silver, and there was no problem. The gold and silver shops are specialized in this business, and they have no problem with their vision, and it is impossible to deceive them with medicine.

However, Qin Huailiang was the only clue Xu Ping got, and he still didn't give up.

Seeing Xu Ping staring at Qin Huailiang, Lu Pan whispered: "This Qin Er, this year is good luck, not only got money to open a small shop, but also said to have recently taken a female companion to relieve his **." ”

Xu Ping was not very interested in this kind of peachy news, and asked casually: "Which woman is so blind, looking at a guy who falls down as soon as the wind blows?" ”

Lu Pan's voice was even quieter, almost attached to Xu Ping's ear and said, "It's Granny Hong in your family." ”

"What?!"

Xu Ping turned around and glared at Lu Pan as if he had been pricked by a needle.

Lu Pan made a silent gesture and whispered, "I just heard about it, but I haven't seen it with my own eyes." ”

Xu Ping nodded: "It's groundless, they must have something in the eyes of others, otherwise no one will spread it like this." ”

Since the last time she played Xiuxiu, Granny Hong has lost Zhang Sanniang's trust, although she is still employed at home, she only deals with some chores and no longer takes care of things. However, Granny Hong's employment money is a lot, and her family has no money to use recently, so she is not nervous at hand, how can she catch Qin Er's goods?

The things between men and women are not clear, and anything can happen when they look at the right eye, although Xu Ping has this doubt in his heart, he just presses it in his heart and no longer investigates it.

Qin Huailiang drank a small bowl of wine, his dry thin face was also rosy, walked to the counter, and said to Lu Pan: "Director, this meal is also owed, and I will pay it back together when I sell the wine." Also, the 'drunkard' with great strength will give me another twenty liters. ”

Qin Huailiang's small inn also sells wine, all of which are from the Xu family, and he will pay back the money after selling the wine. This is the most common business model of small shops in the countryside, and it is also the guarantee of the Xu family's monopoly right to sell alcohol in this area. Not long after Qin Huailiang's shop opened, it was occupied by poor people who were greedy for cheapness, and only sold the cheapest wine.

Lu Pan called a small servant, gave Qin Huailiang a drink, put it in two wooden barrels, and asked him to pick it back to the store. The flat pole and the barrel also belong to the Xu family, and they will be returned together when they come to repay the money.

After the wine was loaded, Qin Huailiang burped, turned around and saw Xu Ping standing aside, and hurriedly bent down to salute: "It turns out that the little master is also in the store, forgive the little blind and didn't see it!" ”

Lu Ping noticed a trace of panic in his eyes and quickly covered it up.

smiled at him: "Second official Qin, business is okay?" ”

Qin Huailiang sneered: "The little master makes fun of the little one, where do I dare to call an official?" It's just to open a small shop, and it's all up to the owner to take care of it in the store, and enjoy food. ”

Seeing that Xu Ping didn't want to talk more, he bent down to carry the wine barrel and said goodbye to Xu Ping and Lu Pan.

Xu Ping sat by a briquette stove and roasted the fire, watching Qin Huailiang carry the wine barrel and walk towards his small shop.

The cold wind blew the corners of his clothes, and the dead leaves blew past his ears. In this steep world, this figure is lonely and thin, and it looks a little desolate.

Does it really have anything to do with this person?

Xu Ping had an indescribable feeling in his heart. The education received in the previous life has been telling a truth for decades, the poor should be taken care of, and they have too many impatience. Although there are too few things that meet this principle after the actual work, young people always have an ideal, and if I sit in a position, there will be no more loneliness in the world.

It is the ideal of thousands of down-and-out literati, and it is always forgotten by the literati who sit in high positions. Xu Ping was a down-and-out little person in his previous life, but he still preserved this ideal in the depths of his heart, although the peasant brothers at work also gave him countless unpleasantness, this simple feeling has not been erased. Even in this world, he naturally has a sense of closeness to the poor, and he does not want to stand on the opposite side of the poor one day.

However, ideals are illusions after all, and feelings are momentary touches after all, if Qin Huailiang is really involved in the gang of smelting silver, Xu Ping can't think of any reason to forgive.

Just when Xu Ping was sitting there thinking blindly, and he couldn't sort out his thoughts, Sang Yi rode a donkey to the outside of the wine shed.

got off the donkey and asked the little maid to tie it up, Sang Yi came to Xu Ping's side and asked him: "Little farmer, is there any news today?" ”

Xu Ping shook his head and nodded again: "The Qin Er who opened the hotel is really a little suspicious. ”

Sang Yi sighed: "Then let's pay more attention to him, there is no news from other places." ”

Sang Yi has been going to the nearby gold and silver shop these days to inquire about which one has received the medicine and silver, and to follow up the clues.

At this time, silver was not a common currency, and generally speaking, it was to be exchanged for copper coins at gold and silver shops, and it was not directly taken out to buy things. When the gang refines the medicine silver, they should have to deal with the gold and silver shops, unless they have a large transaction channel to sell the stolen goods.

The currency of the Song Dynasty was very chaotic, and there was often a ban on money in various places, not to mention that it was inconvenient to carry a large number of copper coins on the road, and the government generally did not allow it, so as not to cause uneven circulation of copper coins in the local area, not to mention that some places used iron money. The bulk transactions of merchants are to go to the unraveling shop under the three divisions to exchange cash for bills, and then exchange them for common coins in the locality, because there is a decree that all localities must exchange on the same day, which is also convenient. But for people with other identities who want to travel far with a lot of wealth, they have to rely on gold and silver.

If Xu Ping was asked to choose the most suitable method of selling stolen goods, it would be to partner with merchants who did border trade and secretly sell the medicine and silver abroad, which was the safest.

But Xu Ping and Sang Yi have been investigating for so many days, but there is no sign of this.

After roasting the fire by the stove for a while, the two exchanged some views, and Sang Yi said: "It's not early, the little farmer should go back to Zhuangzi, and I'll guard it here tomorrow." ”

Xu Ping always felt that something was going to happen and he shouldn't go, so he said to Sang Yi: "If I don't go back today, I'll stay at my father's and mother's place and stay here with you all night." ”

Looking at the sky outside, the rain still hasn't fallen, but the wind is getting stronger and stronger, blowing dead branches and leaves everywhere.

Sang Yi didn't persuade Xu Ping again, it was not easy to walk on the road in this kind of weather.