After Little Red Peach left, the two of them quickly started exploring the island.

Little Red Peach immediately returned to her mansion on the island. Lord Xin had gone out early to supervise the construction, leaving the mansion empty. Since it was a new residence, apart from a few close attendants, there were hardly any people at home.

There was a steward who was the old steward of this house. He arranged accommodations and meals for all the officials who came here.

After finishing her bowl of seafood porridge, Xiao Hongtao summoned the steward, "One maid isn't enough for me; I need another one. Is there anyone suitable?"

The butler was a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties with one eye, who appeared honest and unassuming. Aside from Lord Xin and his wife, he held the most power on the entire island and was familiar with the terrain. Therefore, if you were looking for someone, asking the butler first was definitely the right thing to do.

The butler has been on the island for seven or eight years and was among the first group of visitors to Huludao.

Upon hearing that the new mistress wanted a maid, he immediately said, "Madam, there are still more than twenty disobedient women in the warehouse. You can take a look and see if there is one that catches your eye. Choose one to use."

"Lead the way, I'll go take a look." Little Red Peach followed the steward's words. It seemed that this island was indeed a bit strange, locking women in the warehouse.

Having been on the island for three days, all I've done is eat seafood and soak in hot springs. I haven't seen anything else to do for leisure, so I asked the steward, "What does this island produce? Why do we need so many people to work? I see ships bringing people to the island every day, but I don't see any signs of prosperity."

"There aren't many local specialties, mostly fish and shrimp. The island has a small population and is still under development, so we need a lot of laborers. Some people came, tried for two days but couldn't handle the hardship, so we gave them travel expenses and sent them away. That's why the population isn't growing much. Don't worry, Madam, under Lord Xin's management, the island will definitely get better and better." The road was difficult to walk, so the steward led the way.

"Are there any fun places to go on weekdays? We've been on the island for several days now, and it's not fun at all. The food isn't to our liking either. If you happen to find something delicious, you can keep it at our residence. Please take care of it, Steward," Little Red Peach instructed.

"Yes, Madam. As long as there is a suitable person, I will let you choose. If you like someone, I will teach them the proper etiquette and send them to your residence." The steward readily agreed.

"Joy!" Little Red Peach was very satisfied and called out "Joy!" Huanxi immediately took out 5 taels of silver and gave it to the steward as a reward.

The butler smiled and declined, "Madam, it is my duty to serve you, and I cannot accept payment. Please just tell me what you need, and I will do my best."

The housekeeper refused to accept the money, and Huanxi stopped giving it to him, putting the money back in her bag.

There was no further communication along the way. We stopped in front of a simple house with stone walls and a roof made of tar paper, which must have been the warehouse.

Two soldiers with knives stood guard at the entrance, the sea breeze was howling, and the tarpaulin on the roof was held down by several large stones.

"Open the door!" the steward ordered the soldiers.

The soldier took out a large keychain from his waist, unlocked the iron chain on the door, and stepped aside.

"Madam, please come in and take a look." The butler opened the door and invited Xiao Hongtao in to make her selection.

As soon as Little Red Peach entered the warehouse, a stench hit her, indescribable. Perhaps because they ate, drank, relieved themselves, and slept inside, it was indeed unpleasant to smell. She quickly retreated, covering her nose with a handkerchief, and said, "It stinks! Make them all come out."

The butler, pinching his nose, called out, "Hey, all of you come out, quick!"

Two soldiers used their knives to drive the crowd out, shouting, "Behave yourselves! Anyone who dares to have any bad intentions, my knife doesn't have eyes!"

A group of twenty-odd girls and children, their hair disheveled and faces dirty, obediently came out and stood in a pile.

"Madam, take a look, is there anything you like?" the butler asked Xiao Hongtao to choose.

Following Qiu Zeyu's instructions, Xiao Hongtao glanced at each of them, but didn't find any particularly outstanding, and asked, "Who among you knows how to make barbecue?"

Everyone shook their heads; no one knew.

Little Red Peach then asked, "Are there any orphans?"

Everyone shook their heads; no one met the criteria.

Little Red Peach didn't dare to choose just anyone, so she said, "You all introduce yourselves one by one, starting with you." As she spoke, she pointed to the little girl standing at the very front.

…

After a whole morning of searching, without finding a single suspicious person, Xiao Hongtao had no choice but to make up an excuse, "Let them all go back. Sigh, they're all so boring, none of them are suitable."

"Is there anything left inside?" The butler could also tell that the lady was not satisfied with what she had chosen.

"There aren't any left inside, but one was taken away today and has already gone to work," the gatekeeper said obediently.

"Oh, never mind then." Little Red Peach said this, but she already knew in her heart that the person who was taken away must be the one she was looking for. She couldn't show that she was in a hurry, so she pretended to give up. "It's really not easy to find a suitable person. I'd better work hard and do more things for now."

The steward didn't understand why the lady didn't want the maid anymore, so he could only send her back to the warehouse, lock the door, and follow the lady back.

…

Qiu Zeyu and Murong Xingchen also found some clues on the island. They discovered that there was a huge cave in the canyon behind the hot spring, with soldiers guarding the entrance and people coming and going frequently.

Large boxes are carried in and out from time to time, and when there are enough boxes, they will be loaded onto a ship and transported out of Huludao.

Both of them came here to find someone, and this cave was the most crowded, so they had to sneak in first.

Just then, an old woman was heading towards the hot springs to wash her clothes, pushing a cart full of dirty, tattered garments. The two men distracted her with just a few pieces of silver and stole two pieces of clothing.

After changing their clothes and smearing their faces, the two mingled with the crowd of people carrying boxes and entered the cave.

The cave was quite large, and it was warm as soon as I entered. I didn't know what was going on inside, but there were quite a few people, all very quiet, and not a single person spoke.

The two exchanged a glance and began searching inside. Not daring to be too blatant, they could only pretend to work while glancing around.

A tunnel over thirty meters long was piled high with boxes, each sealed with tape. There were over thirty people moving things, both men and women. Patrolling soldiers, swords in hand, kept watch, and no one dared to slack off.

Seeing no sign of Lan Ya Mei ahead, the two ventured further in, only to find an even more spacious area. Two large cauldrons were glowing red-hot, and several experienced craftsmen, dressed in thick leather clothes and wearing masks, were busily forging something, wielding large iron tongs.

The two looked at everyone within their sight, but still couldn't find Lan Ya Mei.

It's impossible to go any further; we've reached the end.

Unable to find Lan Ya Mei, Qiu Zeyu could only pin his hopes on Xiao Hong Tao, hoping she had already been found. They were supposed to meet at the hot springs early the next morning, as agreed.

Murong Xingchen pointed to the pool over there and said, "Look!"

Following the direction of the finger, Qiu Zeyu discovered that the steaming pool was filled with silver ingots!

Just then, a soldier picked up a gong and banged it a few times, shouting, "Time to eat! Time to eat!"

Everyone put down their work, wiping their sweat as they gathered around the two food delivery carts. The two men took the opportunity to fish out a silver ingot from the pool and hide it in their pockets.