I am a temporary worker in Jinyiwei, how did I become a powerful official?

Chapter 11 Master Hong
The "Master Hong" that Lin Shisan called was in his fifties, fat and healthy. He was a secret detective sent by Shuntian Prefecture to Gaoli Street, that is, a plainclothes detective.

Mr. Hong had been a secret detective in Gaoli Street for more than 30 years and was a local boss. He even knew when the young widows in the street took baths and where they liked to rub their favorite parts when taking baths.

When Lin Shisan called him, he was enjoying a bowl of dog meat in casserole.

The red oil in the casserole was boiling, and the aroma was fragrant. Master Hong skillfully picked up a pair of long bamboo chopsticks and picked up a piece of tender dog meat with attractive color and crystal soup.

While it was still hot, Mr. Hong sucked the dog meat into his mouth with a "slurp" sound and chewed it carefully. Then he picked up a cup of sweet and mellow Huadiao wine and drank it all. A smile appeared on his face, a smile that only people would have when they eat delicious food.

After swallowing the dog meat, he slowly turned his head and looked at Lin Shisan: "Who was that? The Thirteenth Master of the Imperial Guard."

Lin Shisan said with a smile: "How dare I be called 'Master' in front of Master Hong? When you were working as an official and eating the emperor's food, I was still a puddle of water in my father's third leg."

Master Hong laughed and scolded, "Slippery little thing. Sit down."

Lin Shisan and Chen Ju sat opposite Mr. Hong.

Although Chen Ju was thin, he loved to eat. He couldn't help but pick up a pair of chopsticks from the bamboo tube and picked up a piece of dog meat to taste.

Lin Shisan didn't move his chopsticks. He said, "Master Hong, I have something to ask of you."

Mr. Hong didn't say a word, he just took out an empty bowl and placed it in front of Lin Shisan.

Lin Shisan had come to Mr. Hong for help more than once in the past two years, and he knew Mr. Hong's rules very well. He took out a two-liang silver ingot that smelled of pickles from his leather eggplant bag and put it into the empty bowl.

So what if he is a Jinyiwei? You have to pay Mr. Hong to do something for you.

Mr. Hong is over fifty years old. He has no chance of promotion in the Shuntianfu Police Station, nor does he want to be promoted. He only cares about money.

No money? I'm sorry, but I'm limited in my ability and can't help you.

Seeing that Lin Shisan still understood the rules, Master Hong smiled and said, "Tell me, whose pet dog was stolen and brought into Gaoli Street?"

Lin Shisan did not say that the lost dog belonged to the former Imperial Horse Supervisor, as he was afraid that Mr. Hong would ask for a higher price. He lied, "Ah, a local rich man from Wanping brought his dog into the city for a stroll. The dog was lost while he was having a meal."

Master Hong glanced at Chen Ju, who had a white face and no beard, and then looked at the orchid finger that Chen Ju raised high when he used chopsticks to pick up meat: "Who is this person?"

Lin Shisan replied: "He is the servant of the local rich man."

Master Hong showed displeasure: "Xiao Shisan, you should know that Master Hong and I have three rules for not helping people. I won't help if they don't have money, I won't help if they are against the law. The most important one is if they don't tell the truth."

Lin Shisan had been training at the elephant training school for three years. He not only learned the ways of the world, but also learned the unique skill of lying calmly: "I am telling the truth. If I tell even a single lie, I will swallow shit in front of you - dip it in green onions!"

Dipping green onions in feces is a form of private punishment used in the urban underworld of Beijing to punish swindlers.

Master Hong glared at Lin Shisan and pointed at Chen Ju: "He is a palace man. The appearance and manners of palace people cannot be concealed. I have been eating the emperor's food for nearly forty years, and I have seen all kinds of people. You said he is a servant of a local rich man?"

Chen Ju was indeed the confidant of the powerful eunuch Gao Zhong, and responded very quickly: "I castrated myself. I beg for a bowl of rice at the home of the rich man in our county."

Mr. Hong looked as if he had suddenly realized something: "Oh, so it was self-castration."

Castration can be divided into official castration and voluntary castration.

The eunuchs had to pay five taels of silver and be assisted by a senior eunuch in the palace. They had to first sign a "life and death document" with Xiaodao Liu, the eunuch master in Nancheng, before the operation could begin.

If she could survive within a month after the castration, she would spend another five taels of silver to ask an old eunuch to be the witness and sign a "marriage certificate", and she would be "married" to the palace as a woman.

Those who castrated themselves were young men from extremely poor families who were too poor to afford any money. They simply cut off their roots with sickles and waited for selection by the twenty-four government offices.

Among those who eunuch themselves, only five out of ten survived within a month. Of those who survived, only one out of five could be selected to enter the palace. This resulted in a large number of eunuchs being unable to enter the palace and falling into the streets. These people did not starve to death, and the rich and wealthy were happy to take a few eunuchs as servants and enjoy royal treatment.

Mr. Hong asked Lin Shisan: "When was the dog lost?"

Lin Shisan replied: "I lost it yesterday."

Mr. Hong asked again: "What kind of dog is it?"

Lin Shisan replied, "It's a Yewulong, a rare breed of dog. In the dog market on Castrated Donkey Street, a purebred Yewulong with good appearance can be sold for forty taels of silver."

"Pfft!" Mr. Hong laughed out loud: "No matter how precious the greyhound is, it will be nothing but a piece of dog meat once it enters Gaoli Street. And this greyhound will probably not be on the table for a while. Who would eat that stuff?"

Chen Ju was a little puzzled: "Shouldn't the more expensive the dog, the tastier it is and the more popular it is?"

Mr. Hong mocked, "No wonder you castrated yourself. You are so poor that you can't even afford to eat, let alone enjoy dog meat. How dare you say such a thing?"

Chen Ju said: "Please enlighten me, Master Hong."

Mr. Hong talked about it: "When eating dog meat, the key is to choose one black, two yellow, three spotted and four white. Black dogs taste the best. Greyhounds are hunting dogs, and their meat is all dry and not tasty. Dog thieves sell Greyhounds to dog meat restaurants, and dog meat restaurants will only kill Greyhounds to make up the number if their business is so good that they can't supply the meat."

Lin Shisan nodded: "Mr. Hong is right. A greyhound worth dozens of taels in the world is only worth a few dozen copper coins in the kitchen of a dog meat restaurant."

Chen Ju asked again: "Why didn't the thief sell the dog to someone who keeps it as a pet? Why did he sell it to a dog meat restaurant?"

Mr. Hong was too lazy to explain.

Lin Shisan said: "It is too conspicuous for dog thieves to sell dogs in dog markets. It is different if they sell them to dog meat restaurants. They chop them up and let the diners eat them. This is called destroying the body and covering up all traces."

Mr. Hong took the two taels of silver ingots in the bowl and weighed them in his hand: "Well, it's enough. I'll help you with this. But you have to wait until I finish my breakfast meat and drink my breakfast wine."

After saying that, Mr. Hong began to eat heartily. He put the juicy dog meat piece by piece into his mouth, and soon finished the half-pound of Huadiao wine.

Chen Ju didn't hesitate and ate seven or eight pieces of meat.

Lin Shisan didn't move his chopsticks.

Chen Ju asked: "Why don't you eat?"

Lin Shisan said, "I have a yellow dog at home. If my mouth smells like dog meat, I'm afraid it will scare the stupid dog at home."

Master Hong and Chen Ju devoured two kilograms of dog meat in a clay pot. Master Hong wiped his mouth and said, "Okay. I'll take you to find someone."

Lin Shisan knew who Mr. Hong was looking for: "Okay, let's go find Hu Dayan now."

The three of them left Qinfangzhai, with Master Hong walking in front and Lin Shisan and Chen Ju following from a distance behind.

Chen Ju lowered his voice and said, "Captain Lin, since you know who Master Hong is taking us to, why don't you just let Master Hong go and find him directly? You can save two taels of silver."

Lin Shisan sighed, "Alas. Some money cannot be saved. Hu Dayan is the biggest dog dealer in Gaoli Street. He will give face to Mr. Hong, but not to me."

Chen Ju was even more puzzled: "How dare a dog dealer not give you the respect of a Jinyiwei? Are you tired of living?"

Lin Shisan explained: "Hu Dayan is a veteran soldier who served in the Gengxu Rebellion. He retired from the army after his leg was crippled. Weili Commander Lu once personally guarded the city gate during the Gengxu Rebellion. He had issued a strict order that no one in the Jinyiwei should bully the veterans of the Gengxu Rebellion. Those who violated the order would be punished by family law."

(End of this chapter)