Chapter 3165 Old People
With a few bangs, several corpses in night clothes were thrown outside the courtyard wall, and the guards of Yang Mansion went back to report without even looking back.
The next day, the news of several corpses appearing in the alleys of Yangzhou Prefecture spread throughout Yangzhou. Zhou Silang sat in a small restaurant, listening with great interest while waiting for his food to be served.
He turned around and said to Uncle Shi, "Yangzhou looks quite prosperous, but it's even more chaotic than our Luojiang County. Murdered bodies are even thrown on the streets. Tsk tsk tsk tsk."
Uncle Shi hesitated and said, "More people means more disputes, right?"
"That's not as crowded as in the capital," Zhou Silang poured himself a cup of tea and poured some for them as well. He shook his head and said, "I've been in the capital for so many years, and although I've heard of many deaths, I've never heard of a body being dumped on the street."
The person sitting at the next table was dissatisfied and turned around and said, "Brother, those who died were not ordinary people, but assassins. Our Yangzhou City is not usually so chaotic, and ordinary people are still very safe."
Zhou Silang instantly became interested. He picked up a plate of snacks on the table, picked up the teapot, and sat over. He asked curiously, "Brother, please tell me. I came from the capital and was just passing through. This is only my second time in Yangzhou, so I'm not familiar with Yangzhou. Who was the one who was assassinated?"
The man had already recognized Zhou Silang's accent, and when he heard he was from the capital, he sighed and said, "Who else could it be? The body was dumped in the alleys of Changle Street. It must have been thrown out by the Huainan Dao Supervisory Office."
Zhou Silang frowned. "Huainan Dao Supervisory Office? Why does it sound so familiar to me?"
Zhou Silang thought hard for a long time before he remembered. He widened his eyes slightly and asked in a low voice, "Is the Inspector's last name Yang?"
"Yes, it's Inspector Yang."
Zhou Silang sat closer and whispered even more quietly, "Isn't he particularly handsome?"
The other party looked at him in surprise and nodded, "Yes, in fact, there are many good-looking people in Jiangnan, but after Lord Yang came, he is indeed the most handsome one. Why, have you seen him?"
He didn't dare to say that he knew the two words. How could anyone who came to this small restaurant to eat know that fairy-like person?
Zhou Silang slapped his thigh and said, "I've seen him before. He's the most handsome man in the capital. He's very good-looking and very talented."
He frowned slightly, "No, why would the assassin want to kill Lord Yang? He's a good man."
How could Manbao’s good friend not be a good person?
The other party looked around, then came over, bumping heads with Zhou Silang and whispering, "Why else? Of course it's for the salt."
He lowered his voice and said, "At the beginning of this spring, many people came to Yangzhou to buy salt. Originally, salt from Chuzhou and Hangzhou would be sent to Yangzhou and sold together. But this year, for some reason, those people waited in Yangzhou for two months and still couldn't get any salt."
Zhou Silang, unaware that Bai Shan and Zhou Man had taken over someone else's business, lowered his voice and asked with equal interest, "And then? Isn't salt abundant in Jiangnan? How come there's no salt?"
"Yeah, we're wondering too. How could there be so many salt fields without even a grain of salt?" The other person whispered, "Most likely it was taken away by embezzlement. Lord Yang is the inspector, but he's the one who did it. Alas, I heard from a distant cousin of my brother-in-law's wife's family that Lord Yang had been running around trying to get the salt fields to produce salt, but in the end, they just wouldn't produce it. Now that all the buyers have left, the court wants to punish them, but they've pushed Lord Yang out instead."
He lowered his voice and said, "It is said that Lord Yang gave random orders, so the salt was cooked badly, and that is why there is no salt."
"Bullshit!" Zhou Silang said indignantly, "Master Yang is not that kind of person. He always listens to others' opinions. When he saw people working the land, even if they couldn't read a word, he would just listen to the old farmers and plant the seeds. How could he possibly give random orders about something as important as boiling salt?"
"That's right, eh, that's not right, how did you know?"
Zhou Silang said proudly, "Of course I know. Lord Yang used to be the magistrate of our county!"
Zhou Silang spent more than an hour sitting in the small restaurant. Not only did he settle the bill, he also ordered a new table of dishes and a pot of wine, and asked Uncle Shi to come and chat with them.
We had lunch until the evening and even had dinner together.
Finally, Zhou Silang left with a belly full of gossip that he couldn't digest. He pulled Uncle Shi aside and asked, "So, Lord Yang is in great danger in Yangzhou. Do you think we should go see Lord Yang?"
Although Uncle Shi was more knowledgeable, he was not familiar with Yang Heshu. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Did you plan to visit him?"
"I don't plan to," Zhou Silang said, "Manbao didn't ask me to deliver the things, so why should I go?"
"Then don't go. Going now will only cause trouble for others."
Zhou Silang frowned, then shook his head after a moment, "No, we're going back by boat in two days. It's better not to know, but now that we know, we have to go and see and ask. What if something happens to Lord Yang?"
Yang Heshu and Manbao Baishan had a very good relationship. Whenever there was something going on at home, Yang Heshu would come to visit, and every year during the Chinese New Year, he would give them New Year gifts...
Zhou Silang couldn't sleep anymore, so he immediately put on the shoes he had just taken off, turned around and went to rummage through the box. "Where is the box of pens we brought from Hangzhou? Take out two and I'll send them to Lord Yang tomorrow. By the way, ask him if there's anything we can help with..." Even if it's just sending a message to Manbao Baishan, it will be fine.
He remembered what Manbao said, that she and Lord Tang, Lord Yang and their group often helped each other in officialdom.
Uncle Shi: "...just two pens?"
"Oh, the gift may be small but the thought is great," Zhou Silang felt that there was no need to dwell too much on the matter of the gift. He just wanted to find an excuse to come over and ask if they needed any help. This gift was very expensive, okay? It was bought for Manbao and Baishan, and he felt bad about it for a long time.
"Do you want to go?" Zhou Silang saw that Mr. Shi was reluctant, so he urged him, "Go, go. We are acquaintances after all. It is a rare fate that we can meet in a foreign land."
Uncle Shi was silent for a while, then shook his head.
Zhou Silang urged him again, but seeing that he didn't respond, he didn't force him. He said, "Then you can order the goods again tomorrow and walk around Yangzhou City to see if there is anything else you need to buy. I'll take Sanzhu and the others with me."
Uncle Shi agreed, his mood fluctuating for a while.
When Yang Heshu was the county magistrate in Luojiang County, the Shi family was still one of the wealthy families in Luojiang County. Every year during the Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, Uncle Shi was Yang Heshu's guest of honor. Even when Yang Heshu left Luojiang County, although the Shi family had fallen on hard times, their ancestral property was still there.
But now seeing him again, he...
Meeting old friends when he was down and out was very stressful for him.
(End of this chapter)
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