In ancient times, I just wanted to be a salted fish

As soon as Zhen Yu stepped into the threshold of Huicui Building, Zhou Qian came out to greet him with a smile: "Good morning, young master. Welcome. Please come in and take a look at the jewelry you need. Feel free to choose. The jewelry in our store has many styles and high quality, and we also have many new products..."

Zhou Qian's little mouth never stops. He is really a good material for business. Isn't it a pity to leave him next to his father? Chen Ruotong sighed in her heart.

Zhen Yu was touched by the enthusiasm of the young man. Following his introduction, he looked at the counter and really wanted to buy some jewelry for himself. So he decided to buy the beautiful white jade crown. Thus, Zhou Qian successfully sold a mutton-fat jade crown worth 200 taels.

Chen Ruotong admired him very much and looked at him with praise and encouragement. Zhou Qianmei was so happy that he forgot where he was and kept flipping through a book in his hand.

When Zhen Yu saw Chen Ruotong sitting at the cashier counter, he immediately guessed that this was Chen Guchuan, so he stepped forward and bowed, "Excuse me, is this Chen Guchuan, the fourth young master Chen?"

"Exactly. May I ask what do you want to see Chen about?"

"My name is Zhen Yu. I came here because I wanted to see the famous Zhenpin Pavilion and Huicui Building."

"Thank you for the compliment, sir. Please take a seat!" Chen Ruotong said politely.

Zhou Qian was very considerate and immediately brought a chair, but the book in his hand caught Zhen Yu's attention.

Zhen Yu asked, "Young man, what book are you holding?"

Zhou Qian smiled and replied, "This is the most popular storybook nowadays, The Legend of the Thieves written by Mr. Meng Xiaosheng. It is very interesting. This is a hardcover edition with color illustrations!"

"Oh? I have heard of this book. It is very popular in Beijing, but I have never read it. Can I borrow it to read?"

Zhou Qian happily presented the book.

Chen Ruotong looked at Zhou Qian in confusion: Isn't this guy here to look for a job? Why does he want to slack off and read idle books after work? It's just a book written by Xiao Haige, it's well written and worth everyone's attention. It seems that Zhou Qian is also a fan of the thief!

Zhen Yu flipped through a few pages of the book and commented: "The book is okay, but it's just made up by some literati. How could there be such a powerful person in the world?"

Zhou Qian was about to step forward to refute, but he held himself back. He couldn't tell anyone about his idol, no matter how excited he was, so he stepped aside and said nothing.

Chen Ruotong also smiled and agreed, "Yes, they are just idle books that people read to kill time. They are just stories. How can you take them seriously?"

At this time, the restaurant was already crowded with customers, so Chen Guchuan invited Zhen Yu to the reception room for tea.

Zhen Yu took a sip of tea and asked, "Mr. Chen Si's Zhenpin Pavilion has all the best items. I heard that these rare items are all imported from overseas?"

Chen Ruotong smiled and said, "Yes, I met a friend who does overseas business, and I bought the goods from him."

Zhen Yu said, "Our Daliang Dynasty has had a maritime ban for many years, and neither the government nor private groups are allowed to go out to sea. How did your friend bring things from overseas into Daliang Dynasty?"

Chen Ruotong panicked, but she remained calm: "My friend is not ordinary. He must have his own way. He gives me the goods and I pay. I don't ask any more questions. When doing business, you have to understand the rules!"

This is so boring, how can I chat anymore?

So, Zhen Yu said, "I really want to meet your friend, he's a very capable guy!"

Chen Ruotong said: "Yes, I can only see you once a year. Goodbye, we will have to wait until next year."

Zhen Yu did not gain nothing. At least he knew that Chen Guchuan was not telling the truth. The goods in his Zhenpin Pavilion were definitely not purchased from overseas. Where did they come from? It remains to be studied.

In the evening, Chen Ruotong brought Zhou Qian to the farm and asked him to follow Chen Jianshu to run farm affairs. Chen Sanhe's 200-acre farm was managed by Chen Dahai and several brothers of Wang Biaotou. Therefore, the affairs of the two piles should be left to professionals to manage. She was happy to be free.

Chen Ruotong walked into Qiao Zien's room holding the hardcover copy of "The Legend of Thieves" given to her by Zhou Qian.

"Brother Zien, have you changed your pen name? Meng Xiaosheng, it's a pretty nice name."

"Yes, I changed my name. I think Meng Xiaosheng is more suitable for me."

Chen Ruotong looked at his desk again: "What are you writing?"

"I opened another book called Journey to the West," Qiao Zien said, staring into Chen Ruotong's eyes.

Chen Ruotong's hair stood on end when she heard this. What? Journey to the West by Wu Chengen of the Ming Dynasty. Wu Chengen was a figure in the middle Ming Dynasty, which means Qiao Zien was a figure in the late Ming Dynasty. There's nothing surprising about this, she's just an ancient person.

"Oh, it must be very nice, right? Brother Zien, please let me see it after you finish writing it!" Chen Ruotong pretended to be surprised.

"That's right, you are my first reader!"

"Come to think of it, your grades have been pretty good in the past few months. Are you going to take the college entrance examination next year?"

"Yes, I will take the imperial examination in the spring of next year. After passing the imperial examination, I will have to wait three years before I can take the provincial examination. The road to the imperial examination is long and arduous!"

"With your intelligence and hard work, you will definitely pass the exam"

"I'll lend you some good words!"

At midnight, a black shadow climbed over the wall of Zhenpin Pavilion, floated down, and came to the warehouse of Zhenpin Pavilion. The bodyguards in the courtyard had recently become less vigilant and fell asleep on the side. The black shadow quickly unlocked the warehouse, slipped into the warehouse, closed the door, took out a tinderbox, opened all the boxes, and found them empty. He also opened the gift boxes, and found them empty. There was nothing in the warehouse except empty boxes. Where did the goods go?

The shadow returned the same way.

The next morning, Chen Ruotong went to Zhenpin Pavilion to get the goods from the warehouse. There was no goods. It was just a cover-up to enter the space. She put the glass bowls, porcelain and other things into the prepared large wooden box, and then took them out. The man in black saw the whole process and was shocked. There was nothing in the warehouse last night, so how come Chen Guchuan went in empty-handed and took out a wooden box that seemed very heavy? Could it be that he made this item out of thin air?

Chen Ruotong entered the first floor of Zhenpin Pavilion holding a wooden box, took out a set of glass tableware from the box, and placed it on the antique shelf. At this time, Zhen Yu came in from outside with a smile: "Mr. Chen Si is so busy so early in the morning, must he have received new goods? I came at the right time, I really want to buy a set!"

"Oh, Master Zhen, that's right, you came at the right time, if you want it, I'll sell it to you!"

"Forget it. The things in your Zhenpin Pavilion are too expensive for me. I can't afford them. I can only look at them." Zhen Yu shook his head helplessly and regretfully.

"Mr. Zhen, why are you here so early? Do you have something to ask me?"

"Nothing much, just looking around, we won't buy anything, but it's ok to appreciate it!"

"Sure, Master Zhen, please do as you please!"

As Chen Ruotong said this, she left Zhenpin Pavilion and went to Huicui Building.

Zhen Yu held the jade flute and squinted at Chen Ruotong's back: This young boy has an extraordinary bearing, but he has no kung fu. The warehouse is obviously empty, where did his goods come from?

When Zhen Yu returned to the inn, Wei Bufan reported to him, "Boss, I asked the old man who used to be the gatekeeper at Wang Jinduo's house. After his description, I drew this portrait. The old man said that on the night Wang Jinduo was injured, this young boy sneaked into the house at some point, and later left the house alone, saying that he was going back to Renjitang to get medicine. However, after investigation, it was found that this boy was not the medicine boy at Renjitang at all."

Zhen Yu took the portrait and looked at it carefully. He was shocked. Why did the person in the painting look so much like Chen Guchuan?