About an incense stick later, the group finally arrived at the dock. The dock was bustling with activity, and countless boatmen were busy unloading and loading cargo.
"Stop all work immediately, or you will be treated as smugglers and executed without exception!"
Sang Qian was already furious, and now he finally found an outlet for his anger, so he stood up and shouted loudly.
His voice was extremely penetrating, and with the soldiers scattered around him, the noisy dock immediately fell silent.
Zu An was secretly alarmed; this guy's cultivation level was quite high.
"Zu'an, which company is being smuggled salt, according to your intelligence?" Sang Qian didn't bother with formalities and asked directly.
Zuan frowned slightly, not knowing which specific organization it was, as Qiu Honglei's intelligence was not that precise.
However, he reacted quickly and immediately came up with a solution: "Check the goods with the most cargo first!"
Smuggling salt is both highly profitable and dangerous. Smuggling small quantities each time doesn't earn much, while smuggling too many times carries too high a risk. So, basically, you have to find an opportunity to sell in large quantities.
Sang Qian nodded, and with a wave of his hand, his men immediately began to search around.
The result came quickly: a group of soldiers brought a middle-aged man to them and said, "Reporting to the commander, the company that shipped the most goods at the dock today is his."
Zuan sized up the middle-aged man. He had an ordinary appearance, the kind you could see anywhere on the street, and nothing particularly special about him.
The only thing worth noting is that he has fair skin and no calluses on his hands, which suggests that he lives a fairly comfortable life.
"Uncle Hou, it's you?"
Just then, Zheng Dan's exclamation came from beside her.
Zu An was taken aback and turned to look at her: "You know this person?"
Zheng Dan nodded: "He is Hou Yun, the steward of our Zheng family. Father entrusts him with many things."
"oh?"
Zuan's expression immediately became amused.
He suddenly realized that it was probably not a coincidence that Zheng Dan's sedan chair had suddenly appeared when the group of people were halfway through their march.
She delayed us for almost half an hour, presumably to buy time for the people here.
Did Sang Qian know about this?
At this moment, Sang Qian also spoke up: "Hou Yun, what are you doing here?"
"The Zheng family has a batch of goods to ship today, so I'm here to keep an eye on things," Hou Yun said with a forced smile.
“Since it’s from the Zheng family, then there shouldn’t be any problem. Check the others as well.” Sang Qian waved his hand, indicating that the items should be put in.
"Wait a minute!" Zu An was naturally not going to let this go so easily. He stared directly at Hou Yun and asked, "What kind of goods did you bring today?"
Hou Yun replied respectfully, "They are just some ordinary goods."
"Stop playing dumb, what is it?" Zu An shouted sternly.
Zheng Dan stepped forward and said, "Grandpa, do you suspect that our Zheng family is smuggling salt?"
Zu An thought to himself, "Is there any need to doubt it? It's obvious. I never expected that the Zheng family, as one of the four major salt merchants in Mingyue City, would also be involved in smuggling salt behind the scenes."
But thinking about it, it makes sense. The Chu family has taken up most of the share in Bright Moon City, leaving the other three families and some smaller clans with less than a third of the share. It is indeed difficult to satisfy their appetites.
Of course, he didn't say it out loud: "Of course not, but I'm worried that sometimes the people under me are too audacious and do some dirty things using the Zheng family's name. If it comes out in the future, it will ruin the Zheng family's reputation, so it's better to investigate now."
“Auntie is so thoughtful.” Zheng Dan smiled slightly, then turned to Hou Yun and said, “Uncle Hou, did you hear that? Just answer truthfully.”
Her tone revealed no emotional fluctuation.
Zuan secretly admired her. He wondered if this woman was truly innocent or just pretending. If she was pretending, then her acting skills were simply too good.
“It’s some cottonseed and stuff like that. A large part of the Zheng family’s business is in the cotton fabric industry, so transporting these shouldn’t be illegal, right?” Hou Yun was in a bad mood because he was being suspected, so he retorted directly.
"Where are your exit documents or permits? Let me see them." Zu An spread his hands.
Sang Qian, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but glance at him. Wasn't everyone saying that this guy used to be an uneducated hoodlum? How come he knows so much about these business details?
He didn't understand. The Yellow Class of Mingyue Academy did teach very little about cultivation, but they taught a lot about practical aspects of life.
Many students found it boring, but Zuan listened attentively to everything he could in order to understand all aspects of the world.
For such large quantities of goods to enter or leave the port, there must be relevant permits or licenses required for their release.
Hou Yun glanced at Sang Qian for his opinion, and Sang Qian snorted: "Why are you looking at me? Today, Zu An represents Lord Mingyue, so just do as he says."
"Yes, yes, yes~" Hou Yun hurriedly took out a warrant from his pocket and handed it over.
Zuan checked and confirmed that what was written on the ship was cottonseed or something similar.
However, he didn't completely believe it and walked straight towards their cargo ship: "Open the hatch, I want to inspect it."
Hou Yun's expression changed: "But the goods have already been loaded. If we open the hatch now and reload, it will delay the delivery by at least one day. If we can't deliver the goods on time, our Zheng family will have to pay compensation."
Zuan said coldly, "Open the hatch!"
With a wave of his hand, Chu's numerous guards had already secured all the key points in the cabin, ready to act immediately at a single command.
Hou Yun's expression changed at this moment, and he said sternly, "If nothing is found, will you be responsible for the Zheng family's losses?"
---
Today's extra, Hou Yun, was provided by reader Chen_Yu. However, he originally suggested the name Hou Yun, but I think there's probably no one with the surname Hou, so it was likely a typo. Therefore, I changed it to Hou.
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