Wen Qingsheng now runs a literary magazine and is very busy, doing everything by himself. After a simple welcome party for Xu Lixue, he asked his idle cousin to be Xu Lixue's guide.

"Brother Xu, where do you want to go for a tour tomorrow? I can make arrangements first."

On the way to send Xu Lixue back to the hotel, Zheng Hua enthusiastically asked for Xu Lixue's opinion.

Zheng Hua is Wen Qingsheng's cousin, and Wen Qingsheng is someone Yun Mo trusts. Xu Lixue did not hide the purpose of his visit to Beijing from him.

Upon learning that Xu Lixue was looking for someone, Zheng Hua immediately said, "Looking for someone is too easy. My brother-in-law works at the Public Security Bureau. Give me the name and I'll ask him to help you look it up."

It was like finding a pillow when you were sleepy. Xu Lixue gave his name to Zheng Hua with some joy.

"Shao?"

After hearing the name Xu Lixue said, Zheng Hua became cautious. "What is your relationship with him?"

"I run a detective agency. Someone paid me to come and find this person. By the way, his wife should be called Yuan Jia."

"Yuan Jia? I've never heard of this person."

It was not convenient to talk on the street, so Zheng Hua found a quiet teahouse, ordered two cups of gaiwan tea, and then took Xu Lixue to talk.

"Brother Xu, although I was not born here, I am also considered an old Beijinger. As far as I know, there is only one family with the surname Shao in Beijing."

As he spoke, he pointed his finger toward the sky, sounding very secretive.

"That's a big family that no one dares to offend. Although I don't know who your client is, it's fate that we met each other. I have to advise you, Brother Xu, that the water in this mansion is very deep. If you are not careful, you will be drowned."

Xu Lixue clasped his fists towards the other party in gratitude, "Thank you for the reminder, Brother Zheng, but I just came here to pass on the message, I shouldn't get into trouble."

Zheng Hua picked up the teacup and took a sip. "Okay, as long as you know the situation, I will try my best to find out the person for you, but I can't guarantee that there will be any result."

"Of course, Brother Zheng, please accept this small gift."

Seeing the envelope that Xu Lixue pushed over, Zheng Hua's eyes lit up, but he waved his hand to refuse, "No, no, you are my brother's friend, how can I accept your bribes?"

"Brother Zheng, this is my first time in Beijing. I am completely lost and can't even find my way. I will have to trouble you in the future. Besides, you need to help me find people and take care of everything. How can I let you pay for it out of your own pocket?"

Having said that, Zheng Hua stopped being polite and happily took the money.

"Brother Xu, don't worry, I will give you news as soon as possible."

"Thank you very much."

"Sure, sure."

Although Zheng Hua helped in the search, Xu Lixue also had his own things to do.

When you have nothing to do, you can go for a stroll in some busy places, appreciate the local customs and culture, taste street food, and do your work whenever you have time.

A week passed in a blink of an eye, and when Zheng Hua saw Xu Lixue again, he no longer had the confidence he had at the beginning.

"Brother Xu, I'm really sorry. I looked for everyone I could, but I couldn't find the two people you were looking for. I've used some of the money, and I'll give you the rest."

Zheng Hua handed the half-thin envelope to Xu Lixue.

After Xu Lixue took the envelope, he added two hundred yuan into it and then pushed the envelope back to Zheng Hua.

Zheng Hua looked at him in surprise, "Brother Xu, what are you doing..."

"Brother Zheng, I'm sorry for causing you trouble during this period. I won't do any empty formalities. The money is not much, I hope you don't think it's too little."

"How could it be!"

Zheng Hua looked at the envelope on the table, his expression changed several times, and finally he spoke with determination.

"Brother Xu, there is actually another way..."

"The Shao family is his family's top client. Every time the Shao family wants flowers and plants, his father personally delivers them to their door. Now his father is ready to hand over the business to him. Every time he goes to the Shao family, he will bring my friend with him, so that he can gain more experience and become familiar to the Shao family."

Zheng Hua meant to let Xu Lixue go to the Shao family compound himself to inquire about this "Shao Mingzhi".

So, under the leadership of Zheng Hua, Xu Lixue disguised himself as a flower and plant mover and successfully entered the Shao family compound under the pretext of delivering flowers and plants.

The reason why it is called a compound is not because the Shao family is a compound, but it is a general term for the Shao family by the outside world.

In fact, the Shao family’s house was a prince’s palace from the previous dynasty. It was located on East Street in the capital, where every inch of land is valuable, and was across the river from the Forbidden City.

Other royal palaces of the same size that have survived to this day have all become famous scenic spots and historical sites.

This shows the prestige and status of the Shao family.

The layout of the Shao Family Courtyard is divided into three roads: central, east and west. Each of the three roads has a central axis, forming a symmetrical pattern.

The main courtyard in the middle is the residence of Mrs. Shao and the current head of the Shao family. The east and west roads are the living areas of other branches of the Shao family.

Although they are all in the same compound and connected to each other, they are clearly separated and do not interfere with each other.

This time Xu Lixue came to deliver newly planted flowers and plants to the East Road Courtyard, and to move away the previous batch of withered flowers and plants.

Needless to say, the interior of the Shao family compound was grand and magnificent, but Xu Lixue had no time to appreciate it.

While following the instructions to move the old flowers and plants in the flower bed and replace them with new ones, he also tried his best to find an opportunity to get close to the nannies and servants in the Shao family compound and take the opportunity to gather information.

After moving flowers and plants for the whole morning, Xu Lixue became familiar with almost all the nannies, servants and gardeners in the entire East Courtyard. He even heard some gossip that several masters of the Xu family each kept several mistresses outside. However, he found nothing about "Shao Mingzhi".

Xu Lixue couldn't help but doubt that there was no such person in the world, or that this person was not a member of the Shao family.

Xu Lixue was absorbed in his thoughts for a moment and did not notice a pebble on the ground. The wheel of the cart was hit and the body of the cart shook violently. Several pots of flowers fell to the ground, and the ground was covered with tiles and soil.

Xu Lixue quickly stopped the cart and cleaned up.

"You can't clean it like this, you have to use a broom to sweep it. In order to prevent water from accumulating on the floor, the gaps between the bricks are made deep. Even if you dig your fingers and get them hurt, you may not be able to dig it out cleanly."

The ground was paved with blue bricks, with finger-thick gaps between the bricks. Xu Lixue was half-kneeling on the ground, using his fingers to laboriously pick out the flower soil embedded in the gaps bit by bit, when suddenly a low, deep voice came from above his head.

He looked up and found an old man with gray hair. Judging from his attire, he should be a manager or something like that.

Xu Lixue smiled gratefully at the other person and said, "Excuse me, could you lend me a broom and dustpan?"

The old man nodded and quickly brought him a broom and dustpan.

"Are you new here?"

The old man watched Xu Lixue sweeping the floor while chatting casually.

"Yes, I've only been here a few days. Fortunately, these flowers and plants are discarded, otherwise this month's work would have been in vain."

The old man smiled and nodded, "Yes, it's not easy to make some money when you are away from home. Where are you from?"

"I'm from H Province."

"That's quite far. Why did you think of coming to Beijing to work?"

"I heard from my fellow villagers that the wages here are high, so I wanted to give it a try."

"I see."

Xu Lixue, who was sweeping the floor with his head down, did not notice that the old man was looking at him with inquiring eyes.

Second update~ 　　 　 (End of this chapter)