Is the shopkeeper there?
Tang Nian arrived at the door and knocked gently.
"The door's open, come in!"
A middle-aged man's voice came from inside the house.
"Remember to close the door, this awful weather."
Then came the creaking sound of shoes on the wooden stairs as the shop owner came downstairs.
This is a rice shop, and it seems to do good business on weekdays; it's quite large.
In addition, this place is near Pork Li's shop, so it would be reasonable for Pork Li to come here to buy rice on his way after finishing his business.
After looking around, Tang Nian finally turned her attention to the shopkeeper.
"Want to buy rice? With this weather, grain prices have gone up by 50%, so let's make it clear first!"
The shopkeeper came downstairs, wearing a long gown and holding an abacus; he looked very shrewd.
"I'm not buying rice. I was just wondering if it's convenient for you to ask you something."
Upon hearing Tang Nian's words, the shop owner's face immediately fell.
Not doing business? That won't be a pleasant experience.
Thinking of this, the shop owner was about to speak to Tang Nian and drive her away without any politeness.
"Our shop has low profit margins and is very busy. If you don't buy rice, please forgive me... Oh, sir, I have connections everywhere and know a little bit about all sorts of gossip. Please feel free to ask me anything!"
The shop owner didn't suddenly change his personality; rather, Tang Nian suddenly had more money in her hands.
All crows are black; this shop owner is no different from the vegetable vendor who bought vegetables yesterday.
That's true, who would turn down money?
"Let me ask you, do you know who sells pork, Li, on this street?"
"Of course I know!"
The shop owner patted his chest, his eyes fixed on the silver ingot in Tang Nian's palm. If you asked Pork Li, he was determined to get the silver today.
Do you know where he lives?
The shop owner sized up Tang Nian, wondering why she was asking about someone else's address.
But seeing Tang Nian's harmless appearance, even if you tell Pork Li where he lives and let Tang Nian go to his door, what can she do to Pork Li?
What's more, Tang Nian's silver is really white!
Oh no, Tang Nian's hands are really white.
Based on this alone, an honest businessman should stick to his original aspirations!
"Back in the day, when Pork Li got married, he even bought passion rice from me! Of course I know that his family lives in that village eight miles west of the city!"
"then!"
Tang Nian tossed the silver ingot in her hand, and the shop owner rushed over to catch it, afraid that the silver would get dusty on the ground.
When he looked up again, only the shop door was still swaying slightly, and Tang Nian had already disappeared.
He scratched his head, lowered his head to wipe the silver in his hand, grinned, and slowly went upstairs.
...
"Can this even be considered a village?"
Braving the heavy snow, Tang Nian searched everywhere and finally arrived at the village in the western suburbs that the rice shop owner had mentioned.
To be honest, the rice shop owner was talking nonsense. This was far from eight miles outside the city. Tang Nian said that, including the winding mountain roads, she had walked at least ten miles.
How can Pork Li still set up a stall in the city every day?
There are no villages in sight, no post stations in sight; it is a remote and desolate place with few people.
I really can't imagine what kind of people have settled here.
Perhaps "a group of people" is not appropriate; "two or three households" would be a more fitting description.
Because at this moment, all that could be seen in front of Tang Nian were a few houses, scattered about, and far away from the other households in the village.
Pork Li's house was easy to identify because one of his courtyards appeared more grand than the surrounding houses, and there was a sign with the character "meat" hanging at the entrance.
This must be Pork Li's home.
However, the door was tightly closed.
Tang Nian knocked on the door, but there was no response for a long time.
That's true; the pork Li is still sealed inside that snowman.
Enough. Tang Nian focused her energy in her dantian, bent her legs, and then exerted her strength.
Her light body immediately took off, then she grabbed the wall rafter with one hand, flipped over, and landed in the courtyard.
Before Tang Nian could even get up, a strong smell of blood rushed into her nostrils, carrying a foul odor that made her want to vomit.
Suppressing the churning in her stomach, Tang Nian began to examine Pork Li's house.
First, the ground of the courtyard was covered with a mixture of dark brown and yellowish-brown grease and mud, and the bluestone floor used for walking was also stained red from the pig's blood.
In the center of the courtyard, several racks were set up, on which several large, thick hides were hung to dry.
Tang Nian looked at the bloodstains on the ground; they had already dried, so they were probably not from the last few days.
It's likely that the pig wasn't cleaned after slaughtering.
"So, during the days that Pork Li disappeared, was the house unoccupied? Where is his wife, Jiang?"
Tang Nian kept muttering to herself, her husband had been missing for so many days, and this wife was completely indifferent, not even at home?
Or is that corpse really Chiang Kai-shek's?
Let's ask the local residents.
Once outside, Tang Nian knocked on the door of the house next door.
Is anyone there?
There was no movement inside the room, but you could still sense human presence.
Tang Nian knocked on the door twice more.
Who is it?
An old farmer opened the door and poked his head out to stare at Tang Nian outside.
“I am a distant relative of Pork Li, but he is not home today. I would like to ask where your sister-in-law, Jiang, is so I can go and find her.”
The old farmer looked at Tang Nian with some suspicion, then closed the door after saying "I don't know."
Tang Nian was turned away, which made her even more curious about the couple. Just as she was about to knock on the next door, she heard two unsteady footsteps.
"girl!"
Following the sound, they saw an elderly couple standing at the entrance of the courtyard on the other side of Pork Li's house, supporting each other and waving to Tang Nian.
"Is the old man calling for me?"
The two nodded, gesturing for Tang Nian to come with them.
"Who are you to Pork Li?"
The old woman was being supported by the old man, and with her other hand she reached out to hold Tang Nian's hand.
"Li the Porkman's mother is my aunt's cousin."
Tang Nian's ramblings were so nonsensical that even she herself couldn't make sense of them, let alone the two elderly people.
"That... is indeed quite far."
The old man shook his head, deciding not to think about it anymore, and led Tang Nian toward Pork Li's house.
"Old man, I knocked on the door just now, but no one seemed to be home. I wonder where his wife, Jiang, went?"
"It's alright. He's usually very busy with business, and everyone in the village knows each other, so his house isn't locked. I'll take you inside to sit and rest. As for Mrs. Jiang..."
The old man's voice trailed off, which piqued Tang Nian's curiosity.
"She's a shrew!"
I really don't know what Chiang Kai-shek is like on a normal day. Even such a kind old man is cursing like this.
“That shrew often lets her chickens and ducks roam in front of my house. If my chickens and ducks run into her yard, she beats them and even kills them, then she gets to keep them…”
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