Jiang Yuwei stared intently at Steward Zhang and said:
"If you say this gold-flecked paper belongs to your Ge family, then do you dare to confront me? Let's make paper on the spot and let the government judge who is right and who is wrong?"
Upon hearing this, Manager Zhang immediately became stammering:
"Are you crazy, Jiang Yuwei? How can you demonstrate the papermaking formula on the spot? Wouldn't that just let others learn it all?"
Jiang Yuwei smiled disdainfully.
“I’m not like your Ge family, who can’t tolerate outsiders. Anyone can make paper, but whoever has the ability will naturally sell well. The most important thing in business is to have a bottom line, so there’s no need to always resort to underhanded tricks! Besides, I’m the one who developed the gold powder paper, so I’m not afraid of my secrets being leaked. What are you, the imposter, afraid of?”
Upon hearing Jiang Yuwei's words, Manager Zhang hurriedly and excitedly retorted:
"You, you're the imposter! Your entire Moxiangzhai is a fake!"
Jiang Yuwei stepped forward and glared fiercely at Steward Zhang, angrily saying:
"You're talking nonsense! Stop trying to confuse me! Tell me! Where did you get this gold-flecked paper? Were you the thief who stole from my shop last night?!"
Just as Steward Zhang was about to speak, Head Constable Huang impatiently shouted:
"Manager Zhang, please cooperate with the investigation! Otherwise, come with me to the yamen!"
Upon hearing that he was to be taken to the yamen (government office), Steward Zhang was immediately traumatized. The last time he was summoned to the yamen for a trial, the mere thought of it made his calves tremble. So he quickly changed his words:
"Officer Huang, please don't be impatient. I'll talk, I'll talk, okay?"
After saying this, Steward Zhang noticed that Constable Huang's expression had softened slightly, so he continued:
"Actually, a man came to our Ge family early this morning to sell me these papers. He said he had bought too much of this gold-flecked paper and couldn't use it all, so he wanted to sell it at a low price. At the time, I just thought I was getting a good deal, so I bought them all without thinking much about it. I never expected it to cause such a mess!"
Upon hearing this, Officer Huang anxiously pressed for an answer:
"What did that man look like? Do you remember?"
Manager Zhang pondered for a moment before speaking:
"He wasn't very tall, about my height, and quite thin. Oh, and he had a long face and eyes with the whites of his eyes showing in all the way down. He was wearing a coarse gray cotton jacket!"
Jiang Yuwei was shocked when she heard this. Wasn't this the man who stood behind Manager Zhang this morning?
Jiang Yuwei quickly looked at Steward Zhang and said:
"Just now, when Officer Huang and the others arrived, I saw an unfamiliar man standing behind you. Was that the man?"
After a moment's thought, Steward Zhang nodded repeatedly. Seeing this, Chief Constable Huang grabbed Steward Zhang's hand and pressed him for an answer:
"Where did he go after leaving the shop?"
Manager Zhang pointed in the direction of Huichun Hall and said:
"I saw him walk that way, but I don't know exactly where he went. This matter involving Officer Huang really has nothing to do with me!"
Seeing this, Constable Huang didn't care about Manager Zhang anymore. He rushed into the backyard of Moxianzhai and took several men to chase after the thieves in the direction they had left. He left two constables behind to continue collecting evidence in the backyard of Moxianzhai.
Seeing that Constable Huang had left, Jiang Yuwei quickly gathered up all the gold-flecked paper that had been laid out in front of Steward Zhang and held it in her arms.
"I'll take this gold-flecked paper back with me. It's crucial evidence for catching the thieves. Thank you so much, Steward Zhang, for today's help!"
After saying that, Jiang Yuwei hugged the gold-flecked paper and went into the Ink Fragrance Studio without looking back.
Seeing this, Manager Zhang, who was still standing there in a daze, quickly reached out and shouted:
"Hey, but I paid for it! Don't go! Give me my money back! Ugh, what a mess! What did I do to deserve this? Ugh, what bad luck to come here so early in the morning!"
Seeing the seriousness of the situation, and hearing from Jiang Yuwei that the gold-flecked paper was crucial evidence, Manager Zhang dared not pursue them any further and could only mutter curses as he entered his shop.
As soon as Jiang Yuwei returned to Moxiangzhai, she took out paper and pen and drew a portrait of the man in her memory. Although the drawing was not very good, the man's obvious features could still be seen.
As Jiang Yuwei was examining the portrait in the sunlight, Ning Huaizhi frowned, looked at the portrait, and said:
"Yuwei, who did you draw? They look familiar."
Jiang Yuwei turned around and placed the portrait in Ning Huaizhi's hand, saying:
"It must be the person who stole from our shop last night. This morning he was still at Ge's Paper Shop watching our movements until the government officials arrived before he left."
Upon hearing this, Ning Qiu quickly came over to check as well.
"This person does look somewhat familiar, but I can't quite place who it is."
Seeing that Ning Huaizhi and Ning Qiu both looked familiar, Jiang Yuwei said:
"Did you see him at the Ge family's gate this morning? That's why he looked familiar?"
Ning Qiu shook her head and said:
"Impossible. I was busy tidying up the shop early this morning. How could I have had time to care who was standing at the Ge family's door?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei suddenly realized something and hurriedly took the portrait to show Uncle Ning and Ning Daya. After looking at it for a while, Uncle Ning suddenly seemed to have thought of something and said:
"Yuwei, isn't the person you drew rather short and thin?"
Jiang Yuwei exclaimed in surprise:
"Yes, yes, Uncle Ning, how did you know? Do you know him?"
Uncle Ning hesitated before speaking:
"I'm not sure if it's him, but the eyebrows and eyes do look about 80% similar. This person is Ning Qi, the son of Aunt Ning from our Ningjia Village. Before my son joined the army, the two of them got along well. This kid often came to my house to visit my son."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuwei immediately understood. She had just fallen out with Aunt Ning, and her son Ning Qi had stolen from her shop. Sure enough, she had made money, and there were still many envious people in the village. Although she had been very discreet, she couldn't resist the help of Chen Guixiang, that old woman, to spread the word.
Jiang Yuwei guessed that Aunt Ning must have listened to Chen Guixiang's words and therefore set her sights on her family. That's why she and her son were plotting to buy land from her. But when she didn't fall for it and didn't give Aunt Ning a friendly look, they resorted to this desperate measure of stealing things from her shop.
Jiang Yuwei remembered that Aunt Ning had said she was going to move away from Ningjia Village, so she hurriedly went to the backyard to find the constables, gave them the portrait, and explained her reasoning to the head constable. If she didn't hurry to Ningjia Village to control Aunt Ning now, they would probably be long gone by the time she found them!
After discussing the matter, the two constables realized that Constable Huang had not yet returned and that the matter could not be delayed. So they took the portrait, got on the oxcart, and went to Ningjia Village to arrest Ning Sangu.
Jiang Yuwei thought that Zhang's words alone were not enough to be considered evidence, so she drew another portrait. She planned to take the portrait and ask around in the shops on North Street. Perhaps someone would happen to have seen Ning Qi commit the crime, and then the evidence would be very clear.
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