Qingyu Case: Female Minister of Dali Temple

Ever since Wang Yuquan and Liu Renda confessed to the murder of Huang Zhiyi and were thrown into the prefectural prison, Shopkeeper Shen has been feeling uneasy.

Although he had privately consulted Zhang Boshan, Ding Lisheng and others and knew that Chen Shao liked silver like other officials, he thought that since she was from the capital, her vision must be higher than Zhang Boshan and others. So how much silver to give her was a very challenging thing.

Shopkeeper Shen knew that with his knowledge, he would definitely not be able to figure it out, so he wrote a letter to the shopkeepers of several shops in Beijing that had business dealings with Fenglong Commercial Bank, but Beijing was far away from Hongyuan County, and it would take at least half a month to go back and forth. It would be bad to not express your opinion in this half month, and with the mentality of "no venture, no gain", Shopkeeper Shen thought again and again and decided to use 1,000 taels of silver to stabilize Chen Shao, and wait for the reply from Beijing before making a long-term plan.

The silver was not ready yet, but Chen Shao arrived first.

Seeing Chen Shao coming down from the carriage, Manager Shen's legs softened and he knelt on the ground. On the one hand, he secretly regretted not taking action earlier, and on the other hand, he complained that Zhang Boshan, Ding Lisheng and others took so much money from him, but when something happened, they were unwilling to send someone to inform him in advance. On the other hand, he kowtowed and said, "I didn't know you were coming, and I didn't come to greet you. Please forgive me!"

"Manager Shen, please get up," Chen Shao said as he looked at Feng Long's storefront, "I was just in a hurry, so please excuse me for disturbing you."

"I dare not. Please come in, sir." Shopkeeper Shen looked at her carefully, then looked at Chan Yi, Fu Jiu and the others. Seeing that they all had cold expressions, he couldn't help but feel a little colder in his heart.

The shop of Hong Leong Commercial Bank is bigger than that of Rongfa.

Chen Shao walked into the shop, stopped him from asking someone to come over and bow, then walked around in front of each counter and asked, "Is there a backyard?"

Shopkeeper Shen quickly said, "Yes, sir, please come this way."

Chen Shao followed him to the backyard.

The layout of the backyard is similar to that of Rongfa Commercial Bank.

Looking at the herbs piled on the straw mats, Chen Shao walked over and grabbed a handful. They were all common herbs, and their appearance was also ordinary. He put the herbs down and looked at the other herbs piles. After not finding any top-quality herbs, he asked, "Where are these herbs sent to?"

Shopkeeper Shen said carefully: "These herbs are not good in terms of appearance or quality. Generally speaking, they are kept for personal use or sold to some pharmacies."

Chen Shao looked at him.

Shopkeeper Shen explained: "Medicinal materials with high appearance and quality are also expensive. It is difficult to sell such medicinal materials at a good price in Hongyuan County, so they are all sent to the capital or Jiangnan. These medicinal materials with poor appearance and quality are kept in my own medicine shop or sold to pharmacies. The selling price is relatively cheap, and the people don't feel bad about buying them if they have any illnesses or pains."

The problem of being difficult to buy medicine and even more difficult to buy good medicine is not something that only exists in ancient times. Chen Shao did not say anything else.

The layout of the back courtyard is still similar to that of Rongfa Commercial Bank.

Chen Shao walked towards the warehouse with the plaque "Chang'an" inscribed on it, and Shopkeeper Shen followed her nervously.

In the warehouse, there were rows of wooden shelves, on which were neatly placed boxes of various materials, with the names of the herbs labeled on the boxes. In the yard outside the warehouse, there were two horse-drawn carriages parked. The carriages were large wooden frames covered with thick straw, and several workers were moving boxes into the wooden frames.

Chen Shao noticed that these boxes were all wrapped in cotton cloth, which was then tied tightly with hemp rope. He walked around the warehouse carelessly before going outside. He quickly scanned the boxes that had not yet been put into the carriage twice: he did not find any 8-shaped knots.

After coming out of the Chang'an warehouse, Chen Shao went to several other warehouses, but still did not find any 8-like knots.

"Sir," Chen Shao also rejected his lunch arrangement. When he was about to leave, Shopkeeper Shen followed him out with two stewards carrying a wooden box. He mustered up the courage to say, "This is a little bit of filial piety from me. I hope you will accept it."

Fu Jiu walked forward and opened the wooden box. She looked at the rows of silver ingots inside. She glanced at Shopkeeper Shen in surprise, then looked at Chen Shao.

Shopkeeper Shen's heartbeat was as fast as a drum.

The two stewards also held their breath.

Chen Shao stepped forward and took a silver ingot. After weighing it gently, he looked at Shopkeeper Shen.

When Shopkeeper Shen was sweating profusely, Chen Shao suddenly smiled and said, "So much silver...how much is it?"

Shopkeeper Shen lowered his head and answered in panic, "Not much, not much, only one thousand five hundred taels."

Only 1,500 taels... Three years as a prefect, 100,000 silver coins. Chen Shao has been here for 17 years, and he has never felt the concreteness of the contents of the history book as deeply as he does now. Putting the silver ingot back into the wooden box, Chen Shao curled his lips playfully and told Fu Jiu, "Since it is Manager Shen's filial piety, then keep it."

Fu Jiu took the wooden box and put it on the carriage.

Chen Shao also turned around and got on the carriage. When the carriage was about to start moving, she lifted the curtain and said, "Manager Shen's business is still not big enough. Work hard and strive to reach a higher level next year."

After she finished speaking, she lowered the curtain and left without waiting for his reply.

Shopkeeper Shen listened to the wheels of the car going away, then he raised his head, wiped the cold sweat off his forehead with his sleeves, and asked the two managers uncertainly, "What did Mr. Chen Liu mean by that?"

The two managers also said uncertainly: "Maybe he thinks the money the shopkeeper gave is too little?"

One thousand five hundred taels is all the cash the company can take out. This is still not enough. Then... Shopkeeper Shen said with a bitter face: "You guys go back. I'll go ask Mr. Zhang and the others."

the other side.

Li Tianliu sneered, "Is this what Master Chen Liu meant by fighting side by side and protecting the people?"

Chen Shao played with the silver ingot and asked, "Any questions?"

Li Tianliu mocked: "As long as Mr. Chen Liu is not afraid of ruining the reputation of the Chen Guogong Mansion that has been built up for generations, there will be no problem."

Chen Shao said: "I'm not afraid."

Li Tianliu snorted and rode his horse forward.

Chen Shao put the silver ingot back into the wooden box and said to Chan Yi, "Money is really a good thing."

Chan Yi looked at the box full of silver ingots and said with emotion: "No wonder there are so many corrupt officials. If I were to put this box of silver in front of me, it would be hard for me not to be tempted. If it were a box of gold, I'm afraid there would be very few people who could resist the temptation."

Chen Shao said: "If you're not moved, it's just that you haven't given enough."

Chan Yi covered the silver and said with a smile, "No wonder the master didn't allow us to bring silver when we left the capital. It's only been a few days, and we already have 2,500 taels of silver."

He glanced outside and said in a low voice, "This is the first time I've seen so much silver in my life."

Chen Shao smiled and said, "It's just a few silver coins. Wait, there will be more in the future."

Chan Yi held the box and said, "Then I'll put these away?"

Chen Shao nodded.

It's already noon.

Chen Shao raised his hand and knocked on the car wall, then said to Fu Jiu who was driving, "Let's not go to Fu Lai Commercial Bank yet, let's go to Ju Xian Building first."