si-mexico Chapter 196 Shop
Chapter 196 Shop
Shang Wan: "Who is the other one? Be more specific, I don't have much patience."
Yu Da hurriedly said, "She is the madam of Baihua Tower in Zhending Prefecture. Everyone in the tower calls her Mother Qin. From what Zhong Chenghong said, he doesn't seem to know the madam."
Killing a stranger, a brothel madam, Zhong Chenghong must have had nothing better to do or was working for someone.
Could it be Wu Anbo?
But why would Wu'anbo, a noble lord, be so picky about a brothel owner?
Shang Wan couldn’t figure it out for the moment, so he took note of it secretly and waited for Yu Da to continue.
Yu Da racked his brains and told Shang Wan everything he knew, but it was all news Shang Wan had heard from Zhong Chenghong, and there was no other useful information.
Yu Da: "I have told you everything I know. Madam, please spare Yu Er."
"Okay, I'll spare him." A cold light flashed across Shang Wan's eyes, "I'll leave you... an intact body."
Thin clouds blocked the moon, the moonlight gradually faded, and darkness prevailed.
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"You're back?" Lu Chengjing put down his rolled-up sleeves and walked over. "How's it going?"
"Ask something." Shang Wan handed the sleeping baby in his arms to him, "Is everything alright at home?"
"It's okay, there are only a few bundles of firewood burning in the woodshed." Lu Chengjing glanced at his snoring daughter and reached out to pinch her chubby little face.
"Where's Anian?"
"Still asleep." Lu Chengjing said, "Wait until he asks tomorrow morning and then tell him."
Shang Wan nodded, and Xiao Huan poked her head out of the kitchen, "Brother-in-law, the hot water is ready."
Lu Chengjing walked over and handed Yuanyuan to her, asking her to take Yuanyuan to take a bath, while he and Shang Wan went to the study together.
The study was pitch black. Lu Chengjing took out a tinder, blew it, and lit the oil lamp.
The two of them sat down on the couch by the window, and Lu Chengjing picked up the small teapot on the table and poured a glass of water for Shang Wan.
Drinking tea at night makes it difficult to fall asleep, so Lu Chengjing prefers to drink plain water unless necessary.
Shang Wan held the small teacup and drank it all, then picked up the small teapot and refilled it.
She said, "Besides me, Zhong Chenghong also had Yu Da and the others kill someone else, the madam of Baihua Tower in Zhending Prefecture, Madam Qin."
"Madam?" Lu Chengjing was slightly surprised. "Does he have a grudge against this madam?"
Shang Wan shook his head, "Yu Da said Zhong Chenghong didn't know this madam."
Lu Chengjing frowned. There was usually only one possibility for someone to hire someone to kill someone without knowing him.
He pondered and said, "With Zhong Chenghong's family background, it is impossible for him to take out 1,000 taels of silver to hire a killer. There must be someone behind this."
The two of them thought of the same thing, and Shang Wan asked, "What do you think is the possibility that this person is Wu Anbo?"
Lu Chengjing shook his head. He knew too little information and could not make any guess for the time being.
The two of them failed to reach a conclusion, so they could only put the matter behind them for the time being, as it had nothing to do with them anyway.
The next day, Shang Wan and Xiao Huan drove a ox cart into the city and accidentally heard a rumor in the village that wild wolves were eating people.
"The wolf howled so loudly last night that I was so scared that I couldn't sleep."
"What are you afraid of? If you dare to rush into the house, I will chop you to death with a hatchet. Wolf meat is a great tonic."
"Not only were there wolves howling, I also heard people screaming."
"I heard it too. It was screaming like a ghost. Could it be some mountain spirit or ghost?"
"Stop talking nonsense. How could a ghost come out of nowhere? I think someone might have been bitten by a wolf."
"Impossible. I didn't hear anyone get bitten by a wolf this morning."
Everyone was talking excitedly. When they saw Shang Wan driving by, they hurriedly asked, "Mrs. Xiucai, did you hear the wolf howling last night? It was so scary."
An auntie waved her hand and said, "You are asking this question. A scholar's family has a wolf. How can he be afraid of the wolf's howling?"
"That's right," the man said with a wry smile, "Fortunately the wolf raised by the scholar doesn't bite people randomly."
"I slept very soundly last night and didn't hear it." Shang Wan smiled, chatted with everyone and then drove away in the ox cart.
A young man looked at the oxcart and sighed, "Oh, if I knew how to identify those herbs, I would also go up the mountain to collect them and sell them. Look at them, they have big houses, they don't have to worry about food and drink, and they go to the city every day. I really envy them."
People echoed in twos and threes, chatted a few more words and then dispersed.
While it's still early, hurry up and finish the work in the fields.
After entering the city, Shang Wan first went to Gu'antang to sell the medicinal materials, and then went to the pharmacy to sell those of lower quality.
Xiaohuan looked around and said, "Sister, there are several pharmacies on this street. Should we open a shop here as well?"
"Let's see if there are any vacant shops first."
Shang Wan couldn't help but thank the Yu brothers again for their friendly sponsorship of 1,200 taels of silver. With this money, they could skip the stage of saving money and go directly to looking for a suitable shop.
The two men sat on the ox cart and looked at each shop one by one, but they didn't see a single vacant shop.
"Let's go check out the next street." Shang Wan pulled the reins, and the ox cart turned right and slowly walked into the next street.
There are also two pharmacies on this street. They don't look very big, but unfortunately there are no vacancies in either shop.
Shang Wan thought about it and simply went to the street next to Gu'an Hall.
She remembered there was a vacant store here when she was strolling around the city some time ago.
If there is still nothing, then we have no choice but to find a middleman.
I don’t know if it’s bad luck, but the shop is already owned by someone who sells rouge and powder.
Since they were already there, Shang Wan simply took Xiao Huan in for a walk.
The store did not hire any waiters, so the owner personally entertained the two of them.
While looking around and chatting, Shang Wan learned from the shopkeeper that the annual rent of this shop was two hundred and sixty taels.
She asked, "Are all the shops in the city priced this high?"
"How can that be possible?" The shopkeeper tried the lip balm on Xiao Huan and said with a smile, "Although my shop is not big, it has two floors. The second floor can be used for living. The annual rent is not more than 300 taels. For a bigger shop, the annual rent is 400 taels or more."
It’s still more fun to collect rent and make money without doing anything.
Shang Wan asked: "Have you found someone to introduce us?"
The shopkeeper nodded and looked at Shang Wan, "Are you planning to open a shop and do business?"
"It's just a small business." Shang Wan smiled. "My sister and I have gone to many places but haven't seen any vacant shops. We are thinking of finding someone to introduce us to. Does the shopkeeper have any recommendations?"
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Chen is a good man, he has a good reputation in the city, and his prices are reasonable."
Shang Wan: "Where does this Mr. Chen live?"
The shopkeeper said, "He lives in the west of the city, in Wu Tiao Lane. You can find out when you go there and ask."
Shang Wan took note of it and thanked the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper smiled, put down the lip balm box, and held up the mirror for Xiaohuan to look at herself.
The color of the lip balm matches the skin very well and makes people look a lot more energetic. Xiaohuan likes it very much.
"If you like it, take two boxes." Shang Wan was a generous sister. She asked the shopkeeper to take one of each of the flower dew, perfume, and perfume powder that Xiaohuan had just tried.
No woman can resist the temptation of cosmetics. Xiao Huan smiled with her eyebrows curved. Seeing that Shang Wan didn't choose any, she asked in confusion: "Sister, don't you want to choose some?"
Shang Wan doesn't really like to put anything on her face, especially since it's summer now and she'll feel stuffy.
But Xiaohuan insisted that she choose, and kept nagging if she didn't. She felt her head buzzing, so she randomly picked two bottles of nice-smelling floral dew.