Although Hong Xiaoduo learned about Duobaoge through Quan Jinghuai, he had also visited Duobaoge a few years ago with a friend from the martial arts world, but it was a branch in another location, so he had never met Lan Zechen.
Therefore, even without sensing any conspiracy, he was curious at this moment.
“Yes, what a coincidence,” Hong Xiaoduo casually agreed.
I didn't ask where the other person was going, since we weren't familiar with each other.
"Jiaozhou, my old man wants to open a branch there and insisted that I go and take a look. The Lantern Festival is over, so I went out. I didn't expect that you young lady are also heading in this direction," Lan Zechen said with a smile.
Hong Xiaoduo couldn't help but feel that the other party's familiar attitude was a blatant attempt to cover something up.
Is it really such a coincidence? He's going to Jiaozhou, and so is she?
Thinking back to the transaction the previous afternoon, Brother Quan mentioned the rules of Duobao Pavilion regarding selling information, and that even though he was a woman, this person made an exception and gave him the information.
That means that the two items I took out were of value to this person, and that they were worth making an exception for.
If he were curious about his own identity, he could have simply sent his men to investigate secretly, instead of personally taking action.
If I'm really overthinking things, then the person who's traveling with me is probably after something rare and precious to him.
If that's the case, that would be even better. After all, once the characters on those bamboo slips are confirmed, I'll still need to look for information.
With him, the owner of Duobaoge, following along, wouldn't things be even easier?
Given his identity and the business he runs, traveling together wouldn't cause him any trouble, whether in terms of expenses or safety!
"Oh my, what a coincidence." Hong Xiaoduo didn't say anything more.
"Then let's set up our tents together so we can look out for each other. You don't mind, do you?" Lan Zechen asked, pointing to the tents that Tian Shu and the others had almost finished setting up.
Hong Xiaoduo glanced in the direction he was pointing and said, "We have a lot of kids in our family. If you don't mind the noise, Master, we don't care."
Seeing that she had agreed, Lan Zechen immediately returned to his carriage to give instructions. In fact, he could have simply called the coachman and the guard over to say it, but he was worried and had to tell them some things in private.
As Quan Jinghuai watched the other person walk away, he immediately walked to Hong Xiaoduo's side and whispered, "Is he the head of the Duobao Pavilion?"
Hong Xiaoduo turned to look at him: "I only know that he is the Pavilion Master, but didn't you say that Duobao Pavilion has several branches? Does that mean that each branch has a Pavilion Master?"
"No, they only have one leader. The old leader retires, and the new leader takes over. As for the branch offices in other locations, they are all considered head managers," Quan Jinghuai told him, sharing the information he knew.
Hearing Quan Jinghuai say this, Hong Xiaoduo raised an eyebrow. In other words, this Lord Lan is the biggest boss of Duobao Pavilion?
"Xiao Duo, I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I feel like this Pavilion Master Lan is trying to curry favor with you. Also, we're going to Jiaozhou, and he's going to Jiaozhou too. Is it really that much of a coincidence? I wonder what that old fox is up to." Quan Jinghuai looked at the three of them, master and servant, not far away and whispered again.
Hong Xiaoduo also looked at the guards over there, nodding repeatedly as the Pavilion Master Lan spoke.
"Who cares if he has ulterior motives? Even if he's a cunning old fox, so what? We've traveled all over the country and encountered all sorts of monsters and demons. Are we afraid of him?" Hong Xiaoduo didn't care at all.
Hearing her tone, Quan Jinghuai tilted his head and looked at her, only to see that she had an expression on her face that suited him perfectly. Well, how could he have forgotten that this person was no pushover either.
Although Lan Zechen only brought a coachman and a guard with him on this trip, he, as the master, didn't have to lift a finger to set up the tent.
He was a wealthy merchant, and he tried to keep a low profile during this trip, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a good person.
Before setting off, he specifically reminded me to bring this tent, which he had commissioned a craftsman to make. It was coated with tung oil three times using a special process, making it windproof and rainproof. It has a door and windows, and once set up, it looks sturdy, high-quality, and classy.
He dares to guarantee that there is no other like him in the entire country.
He hadn't brought it with him when he went on a long trip before.
This time, it was because this young lady could casually produce two rare and wonderful items. Was it out of a competitive spirit? Vanity? Or a desire to prove to her that the owner of his Treasure Pavilion had plenty of good things?
However, after witnessing how quickly and easily the children set up the two tents, he looked at his own expensive, custom-made tent, which he considered unique, and thought it looked so tacky, so ugly, and so unpleasant to look at!
"Where did you get this tent?" Lan Zechen walked up, asking as he touched the material and thickness, then lifted the tent flap to peek inside.
He was already paying attention to his expression and tone, trying not to sound like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.
"I can't remember," Tianji, who was closest, replied.
In the past two years, I've changed tents several times. I started with the simplest and cheapest ones, and then upgraded to bigger and easier-to-set-up ones. The tents I'm using now were brought back by Hong Xiaoduo when she took Kaiyang to the capital. She said she met some caravan on the way and bought them because they looked nice.
However, their eldest brother, Tian Shu, instructed them that if anyone inquired about anything or where it was bought, they should all say they didn't know or were unclear about it.
Lan Zechen walked into the tent and saw that the tent also had windows. Not only did it have windows, but it also had two layers. The outer layer extended outwards, and the inner layer was mesh. He knew that it could keep out mosquitoes.
"Excuse me, could you please move aside?" Tianquan said softly, carrying several rolls of tar paper.
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