The six people carefully came to the outside of Gan's courtyard. When Jin Shaoyang was about to turn over and go in, Zhang Rushan stopped him and said, "Manager Gan should not be at home, we don't need to go in."
"Why?"
Zhang Rushan raised his chin towards the gate and said, "It's locked from the outside."
"It was a wasted trip. This guy also ran away." Ji Ming kicked the wall angrily.
Zhang Rushan walked to the gate and looked for a while before saying, "The person hasn't left. He should be hiding somewhere in the county. Look at the marks on the gate. It has been repaired and the lock has been changed. Who do you think did it?"
Gou Wazi raised his hand and said, "Gan family."
"That's right."
Song Yuehua took a closer look and found that it was indeed the case.
"Manager Gan only has that tavern left besides this yard. Could he be hiding inside the tavern?" Song Yuehua asked.
Ji Ming said, "Whether he's here or not, let's go look for him."
When they arrived at the alley of East Street, they found the tavern owned by Manager Gan. The door was open, the tables, chairs and benches inside were tilted all over the place, and the backyard was also a mess. Gouwazi found the entrance to the cellar, and after they went in, they saw only a pile of leftover wine and broken jars.
"There's nothing here either." Jin Shaoyang said.
Everyone in this small wine cellar looked at each other in bewilderment for a moment.
Suddenly, Zhang Rushan said excitedly, "I know, Manager Gan is still at home now."
"Didn't you just say that it was locked and there must be no one there?" Erguotou asked.
Zhang Rushan laughed, "It's locked, so everyone will think that no one is home. If the bad guys broke into the house, why would Shopkeeper Gan change the locks again and again? Isn't it a waste of time? Can't we just leave it alone like the shops here?"
"Actually, that's not the case. The noise made during the lock-breaking process gave the people in the yard time to hide. Most people would leave after entering the yard if they didn't find anything valuable. They would never think that there might be someone hiding somewhere here!"
Now that they had made their guess, the three of them returned to the Gan family's yard.
Jin Shaoyang and Ji Ming brought Zhang Rushan and Song Yuehua into the yard, while Gouwazi and Erguotou kept watch outside.
After the four people came in, they didn't notice anyone else. Zhang Rushan walked into the room, walked around, and then nodded to them.
Jin Shaoyang and Ji Ming ran to the backyard and started searching.
Song Yuehua thought, Ji Ming said that Manager Gan was an extremely cautious person, and he must have made more than one preparation. According to Zhang Rushan's speculation, the Gan family was most likely still here.
So, where is the best hiding place?
Song Yuehua searched the entire yard three times, and suddenly, a strange place appeared in her mind.
“Got it!”
When Song Yuehua came over, Zhang Rushan was already here.
The two men smiled at each other, and began to grope along the wall bit by bit. Finally, they found a loose brick. After pressing it, the entire wall turned inward, just enough for two people to enter.
The depth of the alley is slightly different from the overall depth of the yard and house, which is this subtle feeling.
Song Yuehua was just guessing, but she didn't expect that she had the same idea as Zhang Rushan.
There was no time to ask him how he found it. After the two of them entered through the wall, there was just a small space covered with tiles. A ray of light shone through the gaps between the tiles, and they could see a staircase leading down on the left.
Just as Song Yuehua was about to walk downstairs, Zhang Rushan stopped her.
"Don't move."
Zhang Rushan turned around and fumbled around on the wall again, finally finding a mechanism. The wall opposite the fence was also pushed open, revealing a small courtyard. A skinny man with a long beard was protecting a woman and a child, and the bearded man was looking at the two in amazement.
“You…you guys…”
Jin Shaoyang and Ji Ming heard the noise and followed in.
Ji Ming exclaimed in amazement, "Old Gan, you are really amazing. You can even think of this kind of mechanical wall!"
Gan Changming fell to his knees with a thud and said, "My fellow warriors, you can take all the food and belongings in my house. I only ask that you spare the lives of my wife and children."
"Manager Gan, we are here to do business with you, not to rob you." Song Yuehua said in a gentle tone.
Gan Changming was so frightened that he trembled all over. He bowed down and kowtowed, "Lady, spare my life."
The few of them had no choice but to close the mechanism wall first before they seriously discussed the transaction with Gan Changming.
After hearing these words, Gan Changming believed that they were not here to rob, and he spoke more boldly, "I was fine here and no one had discovered me. Wouldn't it be more dangerous if I went to your village?"
"Haven't we discovered you now?" Song Yuehua said.
Gan Changming, "..."
After Song Yuehua and Ji Ming persuaded him in turn, Gan Changming reluctantly agreed to go with them to the village.
The three of them needed a total of 3,000 kilograms of rice. Before Song Yuehua had time to tell him about this, Gan Changming quickly stated that he could only transport 5,000 kilograms of grain back to the village.
Song Yuehua: "..." Then let's not talk about it.
The remaining three people remained silent tacitly.
The next thing to consider is to transport the food safely out of the city and back to the village.
Song Yuehua felt a little regretful that she had not asked the bandit Lao Liu if there was any secret channel to transport grain.
Several people thought about it for a long time but couldn't come up with an idea.
Now the city gate allows people to exit but not enter, and one has to pay ten taels of silver every time to enter the city. This method is really not advisable.
Song Yuehua thought of the servant that Yan Fengjian had sent to deliver a letter to her, so she asked Jin Shaoyang and the others to wait here, and she and Ji Ming went to find that person. Maybe he could find some way to transport the grain.
The two carefully avoided people and came to a dark alley. They knocked on the door and the person inside asked, "Who is it?"
"Taoyuan Village, Song Yuehua."
The wooden door opened and a burly man with a beard appeared. Another person came over from behind. He was the man dressed as the servant from last time, but this person was wearing a white gown and looked like a scholar.
"Miss Song, do you want to buy rice?" asked the scholar in a long gown.
Song Yuehua didn't know the other person's name. The man smiled and said, "My name is Gu Qinglang."
"Mr. Gu, I don't want to buy rice, but to transport grain. Do you have any good ideas?" Song Yuehua asked.
Gu Qinglang didn't expect this request. He paused for a moment before saying, "Transporting grain also has a price."
He is a businessman. Song Yuehua nodded and said, "You might as well tell me about it."
Gu Qinglang meant that to transport a load of rice, it would cost 5 taels of silver for 1,000 jin. They had 5,000 jin, so the total was 25 taels of silver.
"I wonder when we can leave the city?" Song Yuehua asked.
"Early tomorrow morning," Gu Qinglang said, and then asked where to get the food.
Song Yuehua looked at Ji Ming and blinked. Ji Ming understood and told the address of Li Laizi's home.
After the deal was made and the money was paid, Song Yuehua and Ji Ming left together.
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