Blue Water
After a brief moment of silence within the stone wall, the people surrounding Shopkeeper Xu dispersed, revealing the empty ground and Shopkeeper Xu who was still kneeling devoutly.
The fat shopkeeper seemed to be afraid that his sincere heart could not be conveyed to the gods in heaven, so he stood there for a long time before standing up.
Seeing the villagers still standing under a tree not far away, he hurried over, bowed and clasped his hands to thank the villagers one by one, muttering something, mostly hoping that the ghosts would stop haunting him and not come to his house.
After thanking everyone and making arrangements for everything, Manager Xu walked out of the abode, looking back every few steps.
Jiang Nian's gaze followed Shopkeeper Xu as he walked back the way they had come. He turned and asked Xiao Yingzhu, who was standing beside him, "Where else is he going?"
"Burning incense."
No surprise.
Jiang Nian was silent for a moment: "Is there any need for us to follow the past?"
Xiao Yingzhu pondered for a moment: "After he finished burning incense, he went to find some people to seek an auspicious time. I wonder if you want to know."
He doesn't care.
Before any disturbance becomes a big deal, even if Jiang Nian does not stop it, he will order the secret guards to prevent the spread of negative news.
When Jiang Nian learned of Manager Xu's whereabouts, he hesitated to move forward, but eventually followed him.
The shopkeeper Xu in front seemed to know everything about the place and disappeared from their sight not long after.
The deeper you go into the residential area, the more winding the road becomes.
Jiang Nian looked back at Xiao Yingzhu, who slowly stopped moving. Not long after, the secret guard who had been following behind Shopkeeper Xu seemed to have received an order and appeared in front of them in a short while.
After learning the location of Manager Xu, Xiao Yingzhu continued to wait for Jiang Nian to move forward.
...as if he was intentionally minding her pace.
So she was the one holding things back?
Jiang Nian originally wanted to ask Xiao Yingzhu whether Manager Xu had discovered their whereabouts, but when he saw Xiao Yingzhu's relaxed look back to normal, he finally suppressed the doubts in his heart.
—
It is clearly a place to pray to gods and Buddhas, but it is built so low, in such a dark place.
The scent of sandalwood wafted up from the stairs below. Jiang Nian followed Xiao Yingzhu until they stopped under a patio.
The voice of Shopkeeper Xu asking for divination and talking to others came through the dark room to where Jiang Nian was.
"Let me see... so it's the day after tomorrow...?"
"God bless you, will that vengeful ghost reappear after today's cleansing? Will it block my future path to wealth?"
Shopkeeper Xu didn't know what he heard, but he got so excited that he even spoke a little louder.
"What time? No... this won't work. Is there any way to stop it?"
"Yes, yes, you are right. These yellow talismans..."
Their voices were getting farther away, and Jiang Nian couldn't hear clearly. She vaguely felt someone walking towards the road behind her. Xiao Yingzhu held her wrist and led her a little away from the bright light of the patio.
The sudden pull away her thoughts from Manager Xu's place diverted Jiang Nian's attention. She looked behind her and saw a figure appear where they had just been standing.
The two people walking side by side were unaware that there were other people visiting here, and they just stood in the fluorescent area of the patio and started talking.
"Recently, the number of refugees from the border to Pingzhou has increased again. I heard that a high-ranking official is visiting that area. Will anyone come to our side?"
"Are you afraid of making too much money? It's just selling a few bags of Fu Lu to buy people peace of mind. Who cares?"
"Really? The village chief said a spirit appeared here earlier... I'm really worried that if word gets out, it'll attract the wrong people."
"It's just a trick to fool children. Anyone who comes here because of this is a fool. However, there are many outsiders visiting the village today. You'd better keep an eye on them and don't let anyone in who shouldn't be."
Jiang Nian hid behind a wet stone pillar. The moss on the pillar was mixed with water droplets that came from nowhere, sticking together and forming a furry shadow.
"I know, I'll go check outside."
The people in the courtyard stopped talking at this point, and the two of them walked in different directions.
The person walking towards the door hurried past the stone pillar. Jiang Nian watched the figure disappear into the dark stairwell, then turned to look at Xiao Yingzhu: "Should we go back?"
“…”
Xiao Yingzhu was about to say something when Shopkeeper Xu on the other side thanked the person who gave him the yellow talisman repeatedly and turned to walk towards the patio.
I don’t know what information he got from that person, but his expression was a little solemn. He hurried out and put the yellow talisman in his hand into his lapel.
Not long after, the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs gradually died down, and the underground passage became quiet again.
Jiang Nianben thought that there was something as strange as the Wu Mi people here, so the place for worshiping gods and Buddhas was hidden so secretly.
It turned out to be some scams.
This village must be a concentration camp for fraud. Taking into account the number of people, if we find out how much money they have defrauded over the years, it would be a considerable amount.
Jiang Nian turned his head and signaled to Xiao Yingzhu with his eyes: Let’s talk outside first.
The other person had the same idea as her. Not long after, they came out of the underground passage silently and returned to the road they had just taken from the back mountain.
It was getting dark outside, and the sky was covered with clouds.
Jiang Nian walked back along the mountain road and accidentally glanced at the dark green valley below. It was so narrow and deep that it was frightening.
The next moment, her sight was blocked by the figure next to her. Xiao Yingzhu turned around and looked at her: "What did you think of?"
"Will you send someone to investigate the matter concerning that village?" Jiang Nian's gaze was impartial.
If a thorough investigation is conducted, perhaps the rest of the people buried deep in the fertile soil can be uprooted.
Xiao Yingzhu shook her head slightly: "Until Meng Jian leaves, I will not interfere in other matters."
That will have to be handed over to the local authorities.
But in such a remote place, who is responsible? If you look closely, both sides will probably pass the buck to the other side, and then the higher authorities will need to assign someone to solve the problem.
Xiao Yingzhu had no time to take care of these things, and these were not his responsibilities.
Jiang Nian responded knowingly and brought the conversation back to the original topic: "Manager Xu going there to pray for blessings shouldn't just mean using a yellow talisman to exorcise ghosts. What does he want to do? He'll only do it with peace of mind after receiving guidance from an 'expert'."
The most important thing at hand now is the competition which is still three days away.
Is Manager Xu trying to win the public opinion war during this period?
But the audience has sharp eyes. Even if they don’t notice it now, they will remember it later when the truth is revealed.
In this era of information blockade, these people will not forget so quickly.
Unless Manager Xu uses crisp copper strings to bribe some people with connections.
Jiang Nian thought for a moment, but he didn't think of the reason why Manager Xu was so panicked.
Is it because you expected to lose this competition?
"effect."
"?"
An unexpected voice came from his ear, breaking Jiang Nian's thoughts.
effect?
Jiang Nian blinked and looked at Xiao Yingzhu's gaze: "What's the purpose?"
Are insect repellents effective? What happens if you use insect repellents?
Xiao Yingzhu glanced at Jiang Nian's dazed eyes and reminded him lightly, "The difference between the insect repellent from Liangdu Pharmacy and the insect repellent powder from Xu's Pharmacy."
…
Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment.
Is Shopkeeper Xu worried that something might go wrong with the arsenic mixed in their seeds?
Although the accident rate of mixing seeds with arsenic would be higher than the one she developed, why is she worried about it this year?
Xiao Yingzhu said calmly, "Zhu Wang and Xu had an appointment to talk in the past, but because Zhu Wang broke the contract due to other matters, Zhu brought in some customers to compensate Xu."
So that's how it is. Jiang Nian's thoughts turned around for a while, and suddenly he realized something was wrong.
"Did Zhu Wang and Manager Xu have a written agreement? If not, how could he..." introduce customers to Manager Xu?
Xiao Yingzhu nodded slightly: "This is also the reason why Xu came to the village."
"Xu was worried about the decline in his pharmacy's financial resources, and in his eyes, Zhu Wang was a piece of fat meat."
"So Manager Xu gave Zhu Wang some..." Thinking of the ghost stories vaguely related to the village, Jiang Nian did not say it clearly, but Xiao Yingzhu had already understood the meaning of her words.
Since he touched something that he shouldn't have touched, it's hard to believe that Shopkeeper Xu would be so frightened when he saw the head of Sun Dun, who was related to him or even died because of him, appear on the counter.
When Manager Xu saw the head on the counter, he probably thought of the unknown source of his wealth.
"So, was his arsenic seed dressing something he came up with himself, or did he get it from somewhere else?"
Jiang Nian was about to ask further questions, but then he remembered that Xiao Yingzhu had only arrived in Pingzhou in April or May this year, and what he knew was limited. Even if he could search further, it would be impossible for him to find the origin of something that appeared several years ago.
The person walking beside him fell silent and only answered half a sentence.
"Out of nothing."
Jiang Nian's gaze was fixed on a point on the road ahead, and suddenly he turned his head and looked at Xiao Yingzhu's profile.
"Did that recipe come out of thin air?"
Can't trace the source?
Xiao Yingzhu nodded, his expression light, not wanting to delve into the matter further: "Well, but there's no need to delve into it."
“…”
Jiang Nian looked at Xiao Yingzhu's profile for a while, vaguely realizing something, and nodded: "I understand. Let the person who is responsible for the rest of the matter judge."
Things of unknown origin will eventually be held accountable by the cause and effect.
Sighing at the twists and turns here, if Xiao Yingzhu hadn't been paying attention to Zhu Wang's movements, Jiang Nian really wouldn't have pursued this matter further.
Since Manager Xu has a valuable customer base, he doesn't care how many customers this competition will attract.
He has his own "own way" to develop his wealth.
However, relying solely on the customers provided by Zhu Wang could only satisfy his ambitions for a short period of time.
Jiang Nian lowered her eyelashes, and the dusk was blurred on her cheeks, which looked a little red, like a girl who had never known the suffering of the world.
There were wrens singing in the green ravine at the foot of the mountain. She subconsciously turned her head and looked at the birds that were startled and flew away behind Xiao Yingzhu.
As for what tricks Manager Xu wants to use next, we can only cut his thoughts off before he can carry out his plan.
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