Aoyama

Chapter 268 The gangster eats the gangster

In the backyard of Yuancaotang, the shopkeeper asked four waiters to carry the box of ginseng on their backs, and asked more than ten waiters to take out machetes from the warehouse and hang them at their waists.

He whispered, "Make sure to take good care of this batch of ginseng, and bring me both the food and the ginseng. When you get there, find out the details of that guy and see if he is a skilled fighter or a rookie. If he is just a rookie, just do it."

The waiter asked, "What if it's Guojianglong? Will this batch of ginseng be lost in his hands?"

The shopkeeper sneered, "Even a dragon crossing the river has to see if he is tough enough, go ahead!"

Chen Ji stood in the main hall, looking at the knives-carrying waiters, and said jokingly, "Boss, you guys at Yuan Cao Tang are really considerate. We have already settled the payment, but you are still taking care of these ginsengs as if they were your own property, as if you were afraid that they would be robbed. How righteous."

The shopkeeper quickly tried to make amends, "You are a big customer of Yuancaotang. We are helping you transport the ginseng, which is a good thing for you to avoid being robbed on the way."

Chen Ji pretended to be surprised and doubtful: "Who is robbing? How does he know there is ginseng in this box? Could it be someone he knows?"

The shopkeeper was shocked: "What do you mean? Are you doubting me, sir?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Shopkeeper, you are overthinking. I was referring to Mr. Hu Sanye just now."

The shopkeeper continued, "You don't know, that Hu Laosan is one of the biggest local tyrants in Guyuan. He is cunning and ruthless, and many people have fallen into his trap."

"Oh?" Chen Ji asked curiously, "What did he do?"

The shopkeeper recalled: "A big event happened when I first came to Guyuan. The Dragon Gate Inn was not originally called the Dragon Gate Inn, but the Fortune Inn. The owner somehow offended this Hu Lao San, and was wiped out overnight. The owner and twelve waiters of the inn were all hung on the twelve imperial memorial archways on Zhongyi Street."

Chen Ji was puzzled: "A memorial archway? I have never seen one before."

The shopkeeper explained, "That was the memorial archway that His Majesty bestowed on General Wentao to honor his loyalty. Not long after General Wentao was imprisoned, the court demolished the memorial archway, so you have never seen it, sir."

Chen Ji became even more confused. This matter did not seem to be a fight of bravery or violence, but was related to the old case of General Wen Tao.

He asked calmly, "How did the Fortune Inn offend Hu Laosan?"

The shopkeeper didn't know the details, he just said, "It should be that Hu Laosan wanted to send people to Jing Dynasty from Fuyun Inn. Later, I heard that the inn was taken away by General Wentao's sworn sister and renamed Weiyuan Inn. A year later, I don't know why it was renamed Longmen Inn. Maybe the owner changed again."

Chen Ji's heart moved.

General Wentao’s adopted sister?
He asked softly, "Where is General Wen Tao's sister?"

The shopkeeper shook his head: "I don't know about that... Sir, please get on your way."

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Okay."

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes and asked tentatively, "Where is your food stored? I'll tell the guys where to send the ginseng."

Chen Ji said casually, "Duokufang, Li's Grain and Oil Shop."

The shopkeeper immediately winked at the waiter and said, "Let's go!"

"Wait a minute," Chen Ji said with a smile, "It's just a ginseng delivery. There's no need to bring so many people. Four guys can carry the ginseng. Otherwise, if the neighbors see it, they will know that I have a treasure in my house."

The shopkeeper advised: "It's not safe with fewer people."

Chen Ji said meaningfully: "It will be even more unsafe if there are too many people."

The shopkeeper saw that Chen Ji was alert and immediately waved to the employees, leaving only four employees carrying boxes.

He smiled and bowed to Chen Ji, "Sir, is this okay?"

Chen Ji bowed and said, "Thank you, boss. We will meet again later."

The shopkeeper bowed in return: "See you later."

Chen Ji lifted his coat and walked out of Yuancaotang. The shopkeeper slowly put away his smile behind him and said, "Everyone, come out. Two of you should follow them quietly, and the rest of you should take a detour and rush to Duokufang to find Li's Grain and Oil Shop before him!"

"Yes!" More than a dozen waiters came out with knives hanging from their waists.

……

……

Chen Ji walked slowly, and just after turning four streets to go north, he was stopped by a waiter.

The waiter asked curiously, "Sir, this is not the way to Duokufang."

Chen Ji explained: "I need to go somewhere else. Don't worry, it won't take too long."

The waiter said in a deep voice: "Sir, this batch of ginseng is very valuable. Let's go to the grain and oil shop quickly to avoid any trouble."

Chen Ji looked them up and down and then said with a smile: "Actually, my grain and oil shop is not in Duokufang, but in Taohuaifang."

The guy's face changed and he turned around to walk back.

Chen Ji held his shoulder and asked lightly, "Where are you going?"

The waiter felt a huge force pressing down on his shoulders, and his legs almost gave way and he fell to the ground. His face changed several times, and he hurriedly explained, "Sir, I remembered that I left something at Yuan Cottage."

Chen Ji smiled and released his hand: "Why are you in such a hurry? Can the things be lost in Yuancaotang? Send the ginseng to the place first."

The guy endured it and said, "Okay, I'll do as you say."

Along the way, the clerk was restless, looking around. When he arrived at the grain and oil shop, Chen Ji pushed open the door, and the clerk saw the grain piled up like a small mountain in the yard, and his eyes suddenly widened.

Chen Ji pointed to the courtyard and said, "Just put the ginseng on the ground."

The guys came in, unloaded the boxes on their backs, and looked at the food greedily.

Chen Ji closed the door behind them. Hearing the door closing, the guys subconsciously looked to the left and right wing rooms, alert for someone trying to break out.

After a while, the guys felt relieved to see that Chen Ji was still alone.

One of them tried to smooth things over and asked with a smile, "Why did you close the door, sir? Are you going to keep us here for lunch before leaving?"

Chen Ji shook his head: "You don't have to eat lunch anymore."

The guys' faces changed, and one of them shouted, "Hold him!"

After saying that, the three guys drew their machetes and rushed towards Chen Ji. The guy who spoke jumped with all his strength, grabbed the eaves and tried to escape to report the news.

But just as he was about to climb onto the roof, he saw a black cat squatting on the gray tiles in front of him, staring at him quietly.

The guy ignored the dark cloud, thinking it was just a wild cat that came from nowhere.

The next moment, Wuyun raised his claws and waved gently in the air.

The guy's pupils suddenly contracted. The claw was clearly still half a step away from him, but a white knife light burst out and lightly scratched his neck.

Blood spurted from the guy's neck, his hands lost strength, and he fell backwards to the ground.

Plop, blood was seeping onto the ground beneath the guy's body, his eyes were fixed on the ceiling, he had stopped breathing but still refused to close his eyes.

Wuyun turned to look at Chenji, who was just breaking the neck of the last waiter. He waved to him, "Come and eat. Eat your fill this time."

After saying that, he opened the box, revealing a bunch of thin and dry old ginseng inside.

Under normal circumstances, 1,300 old mountain ginsengs would cost 40,000 taels of silver, but now he only spent 7,000 taels of silver and didn't even give 80 kilograms of food.

Sure enough, one can’t get rich without unexpected wealth!
Chen Ji casually stroked them, and the old ginseng absorbed the ice flow and turned into crystal clear beads that fell to the bottom of the box, colliding with each other and making a pleasant tinkling sound.

Wuyun's eyes lit up: "Very fierce!"

……

……

Outside the grain and oil shop, two Yuan Caotang waiters who had followed the shop realized something was wrong when they saw the door closed.

Just as the two were about to climb into the yard to find out what was going on, they heard a thud and the sound of broken bones.

They looked at each other, turned around and ran at the same time: "You go to Duokufang to look for him, and I will go back to Caotang to report to the shopkeeper!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the two of them disappeared at the fork in the road, one on the left and one on the right.

The guy ran all the way, as fast as he could, and it was two incense sticks later when he got back to Yuancaotang.

When the shopkeeper saw him coming back breathlessly, his face changed immediately: "What happened? Where is my ginseng?"

The waiter said anxiously, "That guy is a traitor. He hid the food not in Duokufang, but in Taohuaifang! I came back to tell you that Zhao Zhong went to Duokufang to call for help... The four waiters who followed him may have been killed!"

The shopkeeper cursed angrily: "Damn it, you think I am a soft persimmon. Go to the backyard and call someone to bring that kid back to me. I want to peel his skin with my own hands!"

The waiters rushed into the backyard, gathered more than ten waiters, holding machetes, and rushed out the door without saying a word.

The shopkeeper stood at the door and watched the waiter walk away. He was about to turn around and go back to the house with a gloomy face, but he saw a man wearing a bamboo hat walking towards him.

He said in a deep voice: "It's closed, please go back."

But the man looked up, revealing a gray and turbid eye under his hat.

The shopkeeper was horrified: "Hu Laosan!"

The shopkeeper wanted to call his waiter to save him, but suddenly he remembered that he had already sent the waiter out.

Mr. Hu San said nothing and chopped the shopkeeper's neck with his knife.

Two peddlers were passing by on the street pulling a manure cart. They lowered the cart head, stuffed the shopkeeper into the cart and left.

A few more passers-by approached silently and closed the door of Yuancaotang, isolating everything.

After a while, the passers-by removed the door panels again, carried away boxes of wild ginseng, and left, leaving only Mr. Hu Sanye standing in Yuancaotang.

Mr. Hu Sanye stuffed the nine strings of Buddhist coins that Chen Ji had just handed to the shopkeeper into his arms, and then left as if nothing had happened.

From beginning to end, there was no need for eye contact or verbal communication. Everyone performed their duties and cooperated extremely skillfully.

At this moment, a long bell rang again in Guyuan City. Uncle Hu San turned around suddenly and saw the flag of the Guyuan border army slowly falling down on the battlement on the city wall in the distance.

Hu Junxian is about to open the gates and surrender the city!

(End of this chapter)