Chapter 90

Lord He, Censor He, was one of the officials sent from the capital to thoroughly investigate the heinous case eight years ago.

The other lord has already led his men straight to Quangang. Lord He is mainly responsible for investigating the Zhou family's massacre and tracking down the whereabouts of General Qiao - if General Qiao is still alive.

Considering that the assassin who killed the entire Zhou family finally showed up in Yongchang County, and it was the Yongchang County Magistrate who noticed the clues and solved this major case, after arriving in Jianzhou, Lord He first went to the Changlai Inn in Yongchang County, hoping to start from the murder of the assassin who was the real murderer, to see if he could figure out something.

Soon, news of Mr. He's identity and his motive for appearing in the county town spread.

Ever since Censor He showed up, the uneasy Master Liu fell into panic.

The imperial court had come to investigate the Zhou family's massacre. Wouldn't that mean they, the number one thief, would be the target? Why hadn't the Beijing headquarters passed on any relevant intelligence to them yet?

It’s no wonder that Mr. Liu didn’t know about it.

This was because after Du Jiang's heinous crimes were exposed, the lair of the number one thief in the imperial capital had been wiped out. Before they even had time to pass on the news to their branches in various places, their entire army was almost wiped out. The rest who were not dead were also exhausted from fleeing. It would take some time for the inside information about this matter to spread from the north to the south, so Master Liu's intelligence was lagging behind.

Since the new Censor He is here to target the number one thief, should he retreat?

Young Master Liu gradually calmed down, and after weighing the pros and cons, he made up his mind not to move.

The most dangerous place is the safest place.

Now that their people have died in the Changlai Inn, and under the nose of the Censor who is investigating the case, no one would have expected that the number one thief would dare to stay in this inn, right?

He has been staying in the inn for some time now, and no one regards him as a suspicious person. This is the best disguise.

If you want to leave, you have to wait for Jialiu to come back.

So, Master Liu continued to live in the Changlai Inn calmly.

On the other hand, Pei Liu, who had gathered information in the county town, had already linked the three assassins he had killed to the Zhou family massacre in Geyan County.

I even heard that the merchants coming and going from the dock were discussing Lord Du.

He quickly figured out: So, was the letter he found on the assassin so powerful? He was thankful that he had carefully stuffed the letter back on the assassin, otherwise, this huge uproar would have never happened.

Pei Liu felt quite proud when he thought that the wronged General Qiao was vindicated because of his unintentional act. But he felt uncomfortable when he thought that Censor He would be in the county government office to thoroughly investigate the killer's death.

This is naturally because he is the real murderer, and he is also an imposter who is using the identity of Pei Jia Liuniang.

Therefore, the first reaction was to leave immediately, but I was worried about the fellow who was staying in the inn.

Then he realized, wait, that Master Liu, knowing that Censor He was the number one thief from Chongtian, why didn't he do anything?

When Pei Liu was sure that Mr. Liu was not humble at all and was staying at the Changlai Inn and enjoying good food and drink, he sneered.

He wanted to kill these assassins, so isn't there a good knife ready for him?

That Lord Censor He is a top-notch official sword.

It just so happened that they were also investigating the number one thief in the world. He only needed to act as a matchmaker. It was that simple. Then, Mr. Liu, perhaps Mr. Jia, or even the number one thief who had angered the public, would not have to worry about it, as someone would come to deal with it.

Having made up his mind, Pei Liu left the county town and took a boat to the next county town. He searched for a long time in a forest outside the city before he found a place. He dug and dug out a bag of things.

This was the place where the body of the chess man was buried after he was killed. He brought here the silver, purses, jade pendants, swords, and other things that might prove his identity that he had looted from him and buried them.

I never thought that there would be a day when I would find it back.

He did not touch any of the personal belongings inside except for the silver, including a token of the number one thief in the world.

This is the token he is looking for.

Pei Liu looked at the token, weighed it, put it away, gathered up the rest of the things, and buried it again.

Killer organizations like Tianzi Diyi Thief have existed for hundreds of years.

The previous dynasties have collapsed, but the organization has survived to this day in the new Kaiyuan Dynasty.

Where there are people, there are grudges. Hiring killers to kill people has always been a good business. This is the main reason why a mere killer organization can be like a centipede, dying but still alive.

It is said that initially, the number one thief in the world did not use a token to prove his identity, but a symbol engraved on his body. However, later on, in order to intimidate the royal dragon, he changed the symbol into a token.

Pei Liu's token was lost long ago in Zhengzhou.

Under such circumstances, he naturally did not dare to carry the token with him, but now, if he wanted to borrow Censor He's knife, the token would naturally come in handy.

When Pei Liu returned to Yongchang County, he had changed his hairstyle.

When an assassin is out in public, disguise is essential. Pei Liu was originally a man, but after pretending to be Pei Liuniang, he never wore men's clothes again.

Now, he was wearing a turquoise round-necked robe, a black belt with white stripes around his waist, and his black hair was casually tied up with a white belt. He walked slowly, with the demeanor of a noble and elegant young man.

After he got off the boat at the pier, he pretended to be a foreigner passing by the pier and happened to come into the city for a stroll. He asked people about some interesting things in the county town, and after asking where the best wine shop was, he went to the street where Zuiyue Tower was.

But he did not go to Zuiyue Tower, but slowly walked to the end of the street and stood opposite Changlai Inn.

He was only away for one day, but he hoped that Young Master Liu was still there.

Pei Liu didn't have to wait long. Soon, he saw Mr. Liu talking to the shopkeeper with a smile and then walking out the door.

Opportunity cannot be missed.

Pei Liu immediately walked quickly into the Changlai Inn and said, "Boss, what delicious food do you have here... Hey?" Then he pretended to be surprised and called out, bending down.

The innkeeper was about to look up to see the distinguished guest when he saw that he had disappeared. He stood up and stretched his neck to look, and saw that the young man who had just entered his inn picked up something from the ground and stood up again.

"Sir, what are you doing?"

As the shopkeeper was saying this, Xiao Guan came over to join in the fun, "Sir, are you staying at the hotel or..."

"Hey, just now, that young man who just left dropped this thing here."

Pei Liu said this and showed the token in his hand to the shopkeeper and Xiao Guan.

The shopkeeper and Xiao Guan didn't have time to look at Pei Liu, their attention was focused on the token handed to them.

When the assassin got into trouble, Xiao Guan went to the scene in person, and the shopkeeper also handled the matter personally. Both of them had seen the assassin's token and were deeply impressed. When they saw someone picked up the same token again, they were both shocked. Xiao Guan staggered back two steps and fell to the ground, and the shopkeeper fell on the chair behind the counter.

"Wait a minute, I'll go give it back to him." Pei Liu said, flicking his wide sleeves, grabbing the token and turning away.

"Wait, wait!" the shopkeeper shouted in panic from the back, "Sir, please wait a minute..."

Pei Liu naturally wouldn't wait, but walked faster and faster.

By the time the shopkeeper and Xiao Guan reacted and chased to the door, the young man who had been planning to stay at the inn was nowhere to be seen.

"I, am I seeing things? Shopkeeper?" Xiao Guan was still in disbelief after recovering from the shock.

So, who picked up that thing, is it the token of the number one thief?

"Yes, I didn't see it wrong, it's that thing." The shopkeeper wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and kept saying that it was not good.

People have died in his inn, why do they still dare to come?

Well, if what the young man just said is correct, then the assassin who lost the token walked out of the store?

You mean, a guest staying at the hotel?

Doesn't that mean there is an assassin living right under the nose of the shopkeeper?

This is really incredible!

"Boss, what should we do?"

"What can I do?"

The young man who picked up the token didn't know what was going on, right? If he went after them like this, he'd probably lose his life.

I don’t know if the assassin will come back?

What if the assassin knew that he and Xiaoguan had seen this token, how would they survive?

"Go, tell Captain Lin about this quietly." With lives at stake, the shopkeeper immediately pulled Xiao Guan aside and whispered, "Go now before they come back, or we'll all be dead."

"Okay, okay, I'll go right away."

Xiaoguan also knew that this matter was of great importance, so he immediately ran out of the inn and rushed all the way to the county government office.

Pei Liu, who was hiding not far from the inn, saw the innkeeper leaving in a panic and smiled slightly.

OK, I borrowed the knife.

Young Master Liu had no idea that the place he claimed to be the safest had now become the most dangerous place. He still walked around outside, asking about the movements of the county government office, and collecting information at the dock according to the names of the inn's guests he remembered. When he returned to the inn, he saw a few more constables inside, but he didn't care.

Recently, Censor He has been investigating cases and often sends constables to question the inn's servants. Even Censor He himself has come a few times. People have gotten used to it and are not afraid of it at all.

Thinking that he could get some information from the waiter later and ask Censor He how far along the investigation was, Master Liu couldn't help but think that his choice was wise.

Not only can he protect himself, but he can also get information at any time. Even if Jialiu comes, he will still praise him for being smart.

As he greeted the innkeeper as usual, ignoring his unpleasant expression, and headed for the second floor of the inn, the scattered constables suddenly blocked his way and asked, "Who is this?"

"My surname is Liu."

"This is Mr. Liu, he has been staying in our inn for some time." Xiao Guan introduced.

Young Master Liu smiled, then realized something was wrong: "Gentlemen, what can I do for you?"

"We are investigating the guests staying at the inn during this period as usual. We need to investigate each one thoroughly." Captain Lin came down from the stairs and saw Mr. Liu. He explained, "Mr. Liu, please take out all the belongings on you so that we can examine them."

"Oh, since Captain Lin knows that I'm just a regular guest, why is he still trying to make things difficult for me?"

"This isn't targeting Master Liu. Something just happened today. To be cautious, everyone who comes to the store must be checked. We're also following official orders. Please cooperate, Master Liu," Captain Lin explained. "Please don't make things difficult for us."

At this time, Master Liu realized that what happened today had caused the government to suspect the people staying in the hotel?

Why?

"What happened today? Why didn't I know about it?"

"After we have checked you, Master Liu, and confirmed everything is correct, we will tell you the truth."

"Okay, okay." Young Master Liu forced a smile, but his expression suddenly became quite ugly, and he felt extremely regretful.

Body searches and checking of personal belongings are clearly targeted.

It's over. I thought the most dangerous place was the safest place, but now I'm afraid I've gotten myself into trouble.

Young Master Liu was unwilling to sit and wait for death. When he took off the long sword from his waist with a smile, his hand tightened and he started to attack.

"not good!"

“That’s him!”

Outside the inn, Pei Liu, who was paying attention to the movements inside, heard the commotion inside. Imagining the flashing of swords and sabers inside, the corners of his mouth curled up high.

Well, this Mr. Liu is finished.

You don't have to do it yourself at all.

Soon, Captain Lin was helped to sit aside, holding his bleeding arm.

Young Master Liu, who was restrained by the two martial artists brought by Censor He, knelt on the ground with his hair disheveled, and was obviously not doing well.

A police officer was searching Mr. Liu's body, searching for his purse, dagger, and sachet, and finally, he took out a token.

"Boss?"

Captain Lin caught it and took a closer look, then handed it to the shopkeeper and Xiaoguan to look at.

The shopkeeper and Xiaoguan looked at the token and nodded repeatedly.

"Captain Lin, this, this person did not come to our inn alone." Xiao Guan, who was responsible for leading Mr. Jia and the Sixth Young Master and even visiting the murder scene that day, immediately provided further information.

"Yes, they have another one." The shopkeeper remembered it clearly, "Maybe he is also the killer of the number one thief."

The news that the number one thief was caught in the Changlai Inn spread like wildfire. Even if the county magistrate and Censor He wanted to conceal it so that they could follow the clues and catch another thief, it was impossible.

Because on this day, before arresting Young Master Liu, many guests who frequently came and went from the inn had been searched by the police.

There were many people who witnessed Master Liu being subdued. Even the shop assistant guessed something when he saw the token that was found.

"This is terrible! It turns out that the assassin is hiding in the inn in our city!"

"That assassin is stupid. He knew the officials from the capital were coming to arrest him, but he still didn't leave?"

"This is called being too clever."

"Speaking of which, why do these assassins love staying at the Changlai Inn?"

"What's the matter with coming to the inn so often?"

The shopkeeper also wants to know what is going on?

Two assassins have already died, why are you still coming?

Aren’t you afraid of death?

Well, I’ve been caught by the official this time!

Of course, the assassin was caught, and people also asked how they found out that there was an assassin living in the Changlai Inn.

The shopkeeper and Xiao Guan were so frightened that they had completely forgotten who the person who picked up the token was.

Now that the token has returned to that Young Master Liu... Bah, bah, bah, it's on the assassin. I'm sure the young master who returned the token is in great danger. Let's leave it to Censor He to question!

Pei Liu, who had cleverly plotted to kill someone with someone else's knife and then concealed his merit and fame, hid the token, changed back into a woman's dress, and leisurely returned to Xiaxi Village.

"Sixth Lady, you're back so soon this time?"

"Um."

"Your sister?"

"The clue was wrong and fell through."

Gu Ran was stunned. Seeing that Pei Liu was not in a low mood, but rather had a look of joy between his brows, he muttered something strange in his heart.

How come he seems so happy even though he didn’t find the person?

"Tell me how you found your sister, and I can help you find her later!"

Pei Liu held Xiaohua in his arms and stroked her little head. After hearing what Gu Ran said, he was also stunned. He pursed his lips and said, "My sister works for a family that grows oranges."

"Growing oranges?" Gu Ran was surprised. "Is it here in Minzhou, working for someone whose family grows oranges?"

Pei Liu nodded.

At this time, Gu Ran understood why he was able to meet Pei Jia Liuniang again in the orange orchard in Donglin Township after coming to Jianzhou.

So at that time, Pei Liu went to work in Liu's orange orchard in order to find his elder sister!

She knows every orange-growing family in the county so well. Is it because she visited every family herself in order to find her elder sister?

Also, she followed me to a banquet at the Xu family in Jianzhou, and then left in a hurry. Perhaps it was because she met people from other counties who grew oranges at the banquet!

I think Pei Liuniang must have spent a lot of effort to find her elder sister after arriving in Jianzhou.

"In a few days, it will be the time for the orange harvest, and I may have to go out again."

"You don't need to go to the Liu family orange orchard." Gu Ran reminded, "Maybe the top few families in the county won't hire anyone."

"Why?"

So Gu Ran explained to Pei Liu how the Liu and Zhu family’s orange orchards had been burned down to control pests a while ago.

"Yellow tip disease?"

Pei Liu blinked hard, unable to believe it: "Is this true?"

"Really!" Gu Ran explained to him the dangers of yellow tip disease.

"Although the Liu and Zhu family's orange orchards were burned, the Liu family sold quite a few oranges locally last year. We're worried about psyllids clinging to fresh orange leaves during transportation. These psyllids specifically target citrus fruits and could infect them if they passed through orange, pomelo, or tangerine groves."

So in order to prepare for a rainy day, after the incidents with the Liu and Zhu families, some orange growers who had heard about the severity of the yellow tip disease also went to carefully examine their own fruits. However, Gu Ran did not inquire about the situation in other places, so he did not know whether similar pests had appeared in other places.

Seeing Pei Liu's dazed expression, Gu Ran couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic.

Since we know that Sister Pei lives in a family that grows oranges, if something happens to the oranges, Sister Pei will probably lose her job. No matter how we look for her, this clue will be useless. It will be even more difficult for Pei Liu to find her.

"Since Xu San didn't get the Liu family's oranges, he probably went to another county to buy oranges from an orchard. When I meet him, I'll ask him for you if there are any other families growing oranges in Jianzhou, saving you the trouble of asking around."

Pei Liu slowly came back to his senses and glanced at Gu Ran. He didn't know if it was because she mentioned Xu San, but his eyes became a little weird.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, then, please."

"No trouble."

Gu Ran also wanted to deliver the oranges that he had promised to Xu Sanlang to him.

Of course, this matter had to be kept secret from Pei Liuniang, otherwise there would be no explanation for how she got so many oranges.

Seeing Pei Liuniang's mood suddenly change from cheerful to gloomy because of his words, Gu Ran couldn't help but feel a little guilty, "Have you eaten yet? If not, I'll make something delicious for you, okay, Liuniang?"

Pei Liu's mood had originally become a little gloomy, but when he heard that Gu Ran was going to make him something delicious, it finally brightened up a little. He patted Xiaohua's head and said, "Okay."

"So what do you want to eat?"

"Whatever you do, it's fine."

Gu Ran thought about it and decided to make Eight Treasure Red Sturgeon Rice!

The red sturgeon may sound like a red-scaled sturgeon at first glance, but the red sturgeon used to steam rice in Fujian is actually a kind of crab.

It is late autumn now, the time when crab roe is yellow and crab meat is fat, so it is just right to use red sturgeon to steam rice.

The red sturgeon and rice are the protagonists, so naturally there are other supporting roles.

The main ingredients include scallops, shrimps, oysters, clams, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, red beans or green beans, etc. You can also add other ingredients according to your taste.

In addition to sauces, other condiments include onions, ginger, etc.

Because Gu Ran’s dish is seafood-flavored, he focused on the word “fresh” when adjusting the taste. The ingredients he used tend to be sweet and light, and he used less sauce.

First, wash the glutinous rice and steam it. Then, sauté the seasonings until fragrant. Add all the auxiliary ingredients and stir-fry until fragrant. Pour in the glutinous rice, stir evenly and stir-fry. After adjusting the flavor appropriately, put it in the steamer - to prevent it from sticking to the bottom, put a layer of lotus leaves at the bottom of the steamer first.

Then take the cleaned red sturgeon crab, smash the shell and cut it into four, scoop out the crab roe, place it on the rice, pour some prepared soup on the side, and then you can steam it.

When the glutinous rice is cooked until the liquid evaporates, in less than a quarter of an hour, you can pour the prepared sauce of green sauce, salt, rice wine, etc. on it, then add chopped green onions, and the eight-treasure rice is ready.

If you feel that the red sturgeon crabs are not enough, you can steam a few more when cooking, smash them, and put them aside. When the eight-treasure rice is ready, you can add a few more pieces of red sturgeon crabs when you pour it from the jar into the bowl.

Because the glutinous rice is stained with the flavor and color of all the ingredients and sauces, including the crab meat and crab paste, it is shiny and oily, and paired with the steamed red crab pieces, it complements each other and looks particularly tempting.

Take a bite, the glutinous rice is salty and refreshing, and the crab meat is delicate and sweet, which makes you want to eat it with relish.

Seeing Pei Liuniang's expression become natural, Gu Ran asked her to clean up the dishes and go to the kitchen to wash them after he had eaten and drunk his fill - it was fair, she cooked, she washed the dishes, and they shared the food equally.

Pei Liu had no doubts and did as he was told.

While Pei Liu was cleaning the table and washing the dishes, Gu Ran picked up Daju and took a walk in the courtyard to help digest his food.

Counting the days, it’s almost the first day of the new year, and it’s time to give tangerines to Xu San.

Passing by the kitchen, Gu Ran glanced at Pei Liuniang who was washing dishes diligently under the light.

She must be driving the donkey cart to the county town, but should she call Pei Liuniang?

"Sixth Lady, the roasted grass jelly is ready. I have to deliver it to the He family in the city in a couple of days. I might also have to meet Manager Xu while I'm there. Do you want to come with me, or come back and rest for a while?"

Pei Liu glanced back at Gu Ran, remembering that the government in the county had arrested the number one thief and might be under martial law. With his identity and the things he had just done, it was not convenient for him to show up in public.

"I won't go, you..." He was not at ease if he let Gu Er Niang go to the county town alone.

"If you don't go, then I'll ask the Shen family to hire two guards, or ask who in the village is going to the city and take them along." Gu Ran also said.

"That's good."

So, on the first day of October, Gu Ran found several villagers who were going to the market, took them to the county town in a donkey cart.

It was not until he arrived in the city that Gu Ran realized that what Xu San had told him before was true.

The current emperor really did send people to Minzhou to thoroughly investigate the defeat of General Qiao against the Japanese pirates, and Lord Censor He, who came to the county to investigate, arrested another evil thief who was lurking in the Changlai Inn within a few days of his arrival.

"The officials from the capital are really capable!"

"That's right. If you don't make a move, it's fine. But if you do, it's amazing."

"Our county magistrate investigated the case for such a long time after it happened, but he couldn't find any evidence. As soon as he arrived, he arrested the person."

"This number one thief is hiding very well."

"But why would this greatest thief in the world go anywhere else but to our county?"

"It's said, it's said, I heard it too, that there might be a lair of these killers in our county."

"Our county town is a killer's lair?"

"Otherwise, it's hard to explain why the number one thief keeps showing up one after another." Someone snorted coldly, "Who knows, maybe the one who often comes to the inn is the killer's usual contact point."

"Hey, that's the one who often comes to the inn? It's a little darker?"

"You don't understand. This is called hiding in plain sight. Hiding well and deeply. Don't you see that for all these years, no one knew that there was a killer who was the number one thief in the city? If it weren't for this incident..."

Well, it seems that I can’t stay at the Changlai Inn anymore.

Gu Ran understood, said goodbye to the villagers who came in the donkey cart, turned around and went to the He family to buy some roasted grass jelly, and then found another Yunlai Inn to book a room. While resting in the room, he moved all the baskets of oranges he had stockpiled to the front in space grid No. 8, and picked out the orange jam that he planned to give to Xu San in the jam area, and moved the canned oranges that were packed and sealed in custom-made white porcelain jars to the front so that he could take them out later.

After selecting the goods, she went to the donkey cart storage point at Yunlai Inn to pick up the cart.

Before driving, she got into the back of the car, took out the oranges, orange marmalade, canned oranges, etc., and after putting them in order, she jumped out of the car, clapped her hands, and drove to the dock.

Today is the first day of the new year and the pier is also very busy.

In addition to those who set up stalls on ordinary days, there are also many people who choose this big market specifically to rush to buy their own items to make money.

"Please make way, please make way."

Gu Ran had already seen the Xu family's merchant ship docked at the dock, and he rushed towards the dock while shouting to the people setting up stalls and going to the market.

"What are you squeezing?"

"Donkey carts can't go in here, find another way."

"No, I just need to go to the pier. I can only go this way. Please make way."

Gu Ran was unable to move, and in frustration, he even got into an argument with someone. When the stalemate was about to break out into a quarrel, the official in charge of maintaining public order at the fair saw the chaos and came over, shouting, "What are you doing? What are you doing here?"

"Sir, she and her donkey cart are forcing their way to our side!"

"That's right, there are people everywhere here, how can we get through?"

Gu Ran looked up and saw the clerk approaching. He forced a smile and said, "What a coincidence, Master Wu?"

"It's you, Gu Erniang. Why are you driving a donkey cart at the dock at this time?"

Little Master Wu is nagging.

"Hey, I promised to bring oranges to the Xu family at the dock, but I can only use a donkey cart to carry them there."

"The Xu family?" Little Master Wu was startled and looked back at the shopping mall at the dock. "Are you bringing goods for Fusheng Trading Company?"

"Yes, Master Wu, could you please make a way for me? I'll go over there to unload the goods and leave soon." Gu Ran said, and winked at Master Wu: I'll honor you later, Master Wu?

Young Master Wu coughed dryly and winked at his colleague. Then, he stood in front of the donkey cart, shouting and waving to Gu Ran to hurry over: "Make way, make way, give us some face and make way. We'll be through soon!"

Sure enough, it works when officials shout.

A space was soon created in the market that was barely enough for a donkey cart to pass through. When the front was empty, the back was immediately filled up again.

The donkey cart moved very slowly, almost moving step by step to the dock.

By the time he reached the other side of the merchant ship, Gu Ran was already sweating profusely.

"Mrs. Gu, are you here?"

Manager Xu, who was on the side of the merchant ship, had already seen Gu Ran and immediately went on board to call out Xu San.

When the master and servant saw Gu Ran coming, they cleared out the goods in front of the dock in advance to make room for Gu Ran.

"Here I am. The goods are in the back. Would you like to take a look?"

Xu Sanyi waved his fan and went to the back of the donkey cart with Manager Xu and several servants.

Sure enough, I saw several baskets of oranges in the donkey cart. They were all fresh and tender-skinned. They were obviously just picked. I couldn't help laughing out loud.

"I was not disappointed!"

"My dear, this Gu Erniang is really capable!"

"Quick, load all the oranges onto the boat and weigh them to see if there are 500 kilograms."

"Yes, my dear!"

When Xu San ordered his men to move the oranges, Gu Ran jumped off the donkey cart and thanked Xiao Wuye and another clerk, secretly slipping half an ounce of silver to each of them.

"Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen!"

Little Master Wu and his colleagues returned to the market with a smile to maintain law and order.

Turning back, he saw Xu San also walking towards him with a smile, saying, "By the way, Master Xu San, did I mention to you that I should give you a few jars of homemade jam?"

"The ones in the white jars?"

"That's right. Two of them are orange jams I made myself. I'm giving them to you as a bonus." Gu Ran said with a smile, "There are also ten bottles of canned oranges. These cans are sealed and can be stored longer than oranges. When you bring them back to the North, please help me see if there is a market for them. If there is, I'll sell them to you next time."

"Of course there is a market for it." Xu San immediately asked Manager Xu to bring over a jar, while he and Gu Ran boarded the merchant ship first.

After Manager Xu brought over a jar of jam, he opened the wooden lid and looked at the candied oranges inside. They were as bright as if they had just been picked, and each slice was soaked in clear sugar liquid.

"Okay, let's eat it like this?"

"Yes, you can try it." Gu Ran nodded.

Xu San immediately asked Manager Xu to bring chopsticks or soup, scooped up a clove, put it in his mouth and tasted it. "Not bad, unique flavor. Was it made by you, Gu Erniang?"

"certainly."

"I think, this..." Xu San forgot what it was called.

"Canned oranges."

"This can of oranges has great potential. You can make more next year and I will buy from you." Xu Sandao.

"Then I'll remember what you said. I'll make it next year and sell it to you." Gu Ran smiled.

"My dear, the oranges that Gu Erniang brought have been weighed. They are five hundred and twenty taels."

“How’s the quality?”

"Every basket has been checked, the skin is intact, it's fresh, and the taste is great. It's top quality."

"Very good." Xu San nodded with satisfaction. "Give the remaining money to Gu Erniang."

When Gu Ran took over the box of silver ingots from Manager Xu, just as Xu San had expected last time, he couldn't stop smiling again.

"Mrs. Gu, these oranges are all early-ripening varieties. Which orange orchard did you buy them from?"

"Commercial confidential, no comment."

Xu San smiled helplessly.

"It's getting cold, isn't it? Many ports in the north have to stop operating. Your Xu family's ship is rushing back for the New Year, right?" Gu Ran asked, "We have to make some money by shipping things back before the New Year."

"That's right. It's a pity..."

Gu Ran understood what Xu San meant: Maybe he didn’t buy enough oranges!

But she had no choice. After what happened to the Liu family, she didn't grow oranges, so she could only sell so many oranges to Xu San.

After a few more pleasantries, Xu San personally escorted Gu Ran off the boat.

At this time, the market was no longer as crowded as before. Gu Ran drove his donkey cart past Uncle He's stall, said a greeting, and went into the city.

Xu San narrowed his eyes and watched Gu Ran walk further and further away.

Manager Xu on the side sighed: "My dear, this lady from the Gu family knows so much, and everything can be sold."

"Yeah!" Xu San nodded lightly.

"If we can hire Madam Gu to work for Fu Sheng, that would be great. Her skills can be put to use by my husband."

"You've been dealing with her for quite some time. Do you think she'd agree?"

"That's a shame!" Steward Xu looked at Xu San and saw that his expression softened. He boldly said, "Mrs. Gu and my dear, you get along quite well. My dear, since you are returning to the capital for the New Year, the master and mistress will definitely ask about your marriage. What do you think?"

"Me and her?" Xu San glanced at Manager Xu and burst out laughing.

"I have overstepped my bounds."

"No." Xu San shook his head. "Actually, I've had this thought before..."

"Then why is that, sir?" Manager Xu was puzzled.

"Although our Xu family is a royal merchant, we are actually just ordinary people. If we want Fusheng Commercial Bank to continue to grow and if we want our Xu family members to no longer be bullied, I, Xu San, must climb up the social ladder." Xu Sanlang closed his fan and said, "And my wife, Xu San, must be the daughter of an official in the capital. For this reason, Gu Erniang is not suitable."

"It would be great if Second Lady Gu was still the daughter of the Marquis!" Manager Xu lamented.

"If Gu Erniang is still the daughter of that marquis, then I am just a young man from the Xu family. There is no way she would be interested in me, and there is no way I could ever marry her." Xu San turned around and said, "Okay, stop dreaming about these unrealistic things. Hurry and pack up the goods so we can leave for Beijing as soon as possible."

"Oh, yes, my dear!"

On the other side, after leaving the pier, Gu Ran started shopping on the street where there were fewer and fewer restaurants.

It's rare that I'm not going into the city with Pei Liu. While she's away, of course I have to replenish the space slots that have become quite empty.

After a crazy shopping spree, Gu Ran drove the donkey cart back to the Yunlai Inn. After driving the donkey cart to the storage area of ​​the inn, he got into the carriage and put all the things he had just bought into the space grid. Then he went back to his room to rest with satisfaction.

The next morning, I drove the donkey cart to other hotels and pastry shops in the county town to do some shopping. After transferring the items by donkey cart, I put most of them into the space grid. Then I went to the south gate of the county town to see if there were any travelers heading back to Xiaxi Village, and picked up one or two to avoid traveling empty-handed.

After she kept shouting, she actually found a few fellow travelers. After taking two cents from them, they went straight to Xiaxi Village.

Seeing her return safely, Pei Liu was waiting behind the cottage. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Is everything okay in the county town?"

"Not bad..." Gu Ran recalled the incident where Imperial Censor He from the capital apprehended the number one thief. He coughed and watched Pei Liu unload the rations from the donkey cart, unload the cart frame, and lead the donkey to the bamboo shed. Then he asked cautiously, "Sixth Lady, I heard in the county that a high-ranking official from the capital came to our city and apprehended the number one thief as soon as he arrived."

Pei Liu was about to drive the donkey into the bamboo shed when he heard Gu Ran say this. He turned around and glanced at her: "The number one thief in the world, I just paid money to hire him once, and now he has been exiled here for my sins. It has nothing to do with me!"

"That's good." Gu Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

That’s right, the person that Censor He wanted to arrest was the number one thief in the world, and he had nothing to do with Pei Liuniang.

After he felt relieved, Gu Ran went to see how many cats there were in the cat yard in the patio that he could pet today.

While the turmoil caused by the adults who came from the capital to overturn the verdict and clear the name of the injustice slowly spread to the relevant personnel in Minzhou, Xiaxi Village was busy preparing to harvest the late rice for the winter harvest as usual. At the same time, it was also the time when various citrus oranges and grapefruits came on the market one after another.

When Gu Ran was picking and choosing oranges as usual, he found that due to the lack of the good harvest from the two major orange orchards of the Liu family and the Zhu family, the fruit shops selling oranges in the county town this year were visibly out of stock, and there were only a few farmers selling oranges individually.

If you still want to buy oranges in large quantities, you have to go to other counties or Jianzhou Prefecture to buy them.

It can be seen that the lack of production from the Liu and Zhu families' orange orchards had a great impact on the output of Jianzhou oranges.

As a last resort, while passing by Jianzhou on his way back from checking on the konjac planted by Maixiang, Gu Ran spent twice the usual price to buy some tangerines and stockpiled them.

When he returned to the cottage, Gu Ran couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the tree full of red tangerines that had turned from green to orange.

Perhaps the growing environment restricted the red oranges from continuing to grow taller and stronger. After they sprouted a while last year, they stopped growing, so naturally there were not many oranges produced.

If only this red tangerine tree could grow taller and more luxuriant, then one tree would be able to produce a hundred kilograms of tangerines... But a hundred kilograms is still too little!

How could a year's supply of oranges be enough?

Or, why not just grow your own oranges?