Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 9
Mr. Wei turned to his old servant A Liang and asked, "Your village is not small. There should be a tavern, right?"

A Liang nodded and said: "Of course there is. Sir, walk south from the archway at the entrance of the village for three to five hundred steps to the end of the Rihu Lake. You can see the wine flags. I'm afraid that the outdoor shop in the mountain village will not be to the taste of our guests. "

Mr. Wei said: "Everything is difficult when going out. All I need is a bowl of rice."

After bidding farewell to their old servant A Liang, the group led the green donkey and slowly walked east toward the archway.

Wang Heng spoke first and asked in confusion: Sir, "Is the Qiu Mountain scroll we just saw really the authentic work of Huang Da Chi?"

Mr. Wei smiled and said: "A few years ago, I heard that your family in Suzhou got a painting of Huang Gongwang's Autumn Mountains. I invited famous painters from Jiangzuo to look at it. It is undoubtedly a masterpiece. The source is said to be the Ye family of Lanxi, Ye Shijiu." Where is another picture of Autumn Mountain?”

Wang Cai just realized it and said: "It seems that this painting was sold by Ye Jiu's father. Ye Jiu either didn't know about it or wanted to blackmail shopkeeper Xiaojin."

"It's strange that when I looked at that painting, there were problems with the ink, lines, and paper. It turned out to be just a not very good copy a few years ago." When he said this, Wang Heng suddenly remembered something, raised his eyebrows, and said: " Shopkeeper Xiaojin has taken over the calligraphy and painting shop from his father for many years and has run it very well. He is also a good expert in calligraphy and painting appreciation in Lanxi County. Why didn't he realize that this was a not very good copy? Besides, He Xiucai, the family treasures He is very rich and has very high vision, why didn’t he see it?”

Mr. Wei clapped his hands and said, "That's a good question. We are about to find the key to this case. Why can we, a few unknown people, see that the painting is fake, but shopkeeper Xiao Jin and He Xiucai cannot? Let me first Forget it, let’s go to the tavern in Qiantou and have a meal first.”

When talking about eating, all three of them felt thunder in their stomachs.Wang Cai's expression became vivid, revealing a sense of excitement.

Although there was still dry food in Wang Cai's package, who would miss dry food when there were hot meals and hot dishes? Besides, there was still a long way to go back, so the dry food had to be put to use.

To the south of the archway, there are smooth avenues with people coming and going in an endless stream.Along the revetment of Moon Lake, it took less than a tea time to reach the end of Sun Lake.

There are dozens of old willow trees in that area. In spring and summer, it must be a beautiful scene with willows caressing the water. It is late autumn and it is just bleak.

A small wine flag was hung on a pole. When I looked in, I saw that it was a two-story building with two bases. The name on the plaque was "Zuixiang Pavilion". I didn't expect that there would be a restaurant like this in the village at the foot of the mountain.

At this time, it was a little while after dinner, but the restaurant was still bustling with people. The waiter from the restaurant sang a promise: "Guests, the elegant pavilion upstairs is quieter."

Mr. Wei took a seat by the window and sat down, smiling: "We just like to have a good time. Let us choose from your store's specialty dishes."

Wang Heng sat at the opposite table, and Xiaocai sat at the bottom.

Although the dishes in the country store are not extraordinary, they are extremely rich.The three of them chose a few items, including bamboo-leaf smoked legs, braised pork meatballs, mushrooms and magnolia tofu, fairy stewed chicken, and shredded xuanlian. They also ordered a few plates of fruits and a small jar of fine Jinhua wine.

Wang Heng advised: "Drinking will make things worse. We have to hurry after dinner."

Mr. Wei smiled and said nothing, but Wang Cai said: "Young master is always so picky and picky. It's rare that he takes us out to have a good time. It's such a good weather, so we have to have fun."

Since Wang Heng's family had a large population and he could not make ends meet, he was determined to be frugal and self-disciplined. He was not bothered by this row of greetings once or twice, and served everyone happily.

Mr. Wei slowly took a sip of Jinhua wine. The wine was soft in the mouth and surprisingly mellow. He couldn't help but praise: "Good wine, good wine, Lanling fine wine with tulips, and a jade bowl filled with amber light."

At the next table were several men who looked like businessmen. The man in the silk shirt at the main seat looked at Wang Heng and the others after hearing this, and said: "You foreigners know the goods well. This wine is the famous Shousheng wine from all over the country. You can only eat it here, and all the vats of good wine have been bought by people from Jiande and Longyou."

Mr. Wei and the man in the silk shirt cupped their hands, as if they were in a lively conversation, and said: "Brothers, Xiao Ke, master and apprentice, are teachers and students of the county academy. We came here for an autumn outing. Changle Village is so prosperous. We are in the county." The restaurants in our country are nothing more than this." The man in the silk shirt saw that it was a scholar who was praising him, and he felt quite impressed. He said, "If you take a look around, you will know that banks, pawnshops, ironware shops, restaurants, and teahouses are all inferior to those in the county. .”

Mr. Wei puzzled and said: "Xiaosheng respects the knowledge of practical application of the world the most. He has also visited many villages and towns. The ones that are relatively close to the county seat are generally passable. The ones that are dozens of miles away from the county seat are many dilapidated ones. Changle The village is so lively and prosperous, why is this?"

Sitting under the man in the silk shirt was a guest official with a full beard. He smiled and said: "Our Changle Village is located in the three important towns of Lanxi, Shouchang and Longyou. Since ancient times, post roads have been connected in all directions. It is convenient for doing business." That's great, if we just trade medicinal materials, half of the medicinal materials in central Zhejiang will be delivered in our Changle Village."

Mr. Wei praised: "Several elder brothers are in the medicinal herb business. They have immeasurable merit and courage. As the sages say, if you are not a good person, you are a good doctor."

Then he called the waiter to bring a large jar of good wine to the next table.

The men accepted his affection and talked more and more into Hong Kong.

The man in the silk shirt sitting in the first place said: "Speaking of which, our village is prosperous, and the sincerity of this dynasty in founding the country is the most important. This old man dug seven wells in the village according to the Big Dipper."

The bearded man answered, "No, with the help of Qixing, the sun and moon will rise."

The man in the silk shirt said proudly: "Uncle Cheng's Feng Shui is very good. Otherwise, those proprietors in Gaolong Village have the supply of herbal medicines and have a lot of capital, so they would be willing to lend some capital to us in Changle Village." The merchants went to sell it and gave us several percent of the profit."

The bearded man said: "This is also the time for our Changle Village to gather wealth."

All the business men at the table laughed and looked extremely happy.

Mr. Wei said: "Gaolong Village? Where is it? It sounds like it's not far away."

Seeing that Mr. Wei and his party were just young scholars, the man in silk shirt did not take precautions and said: "In our area, there are only two villages within a radius of dozens of miles. This Gaolong Village is strange, it is very close to our Changle Village. Yes, it is said that it is about four or five miles to the west, but their village has strict rules and no outsiders are allowed to enter the village without invitation. The shopkeepers and clerks are sent to our Changle Village to handle the business accounts. But it is located in the mountains surrounded by mountains. , there are no villagers to guide me, and I have never heard of anyone breaking into the village."

Another man at the table interjected: "It's not like no one has been there. I heard that Uncle Jin and Mr. Zhao, the head of the medicinal herb business, were invited to Gaolong Village."

The bearded man smiled and said, "That was already 30 years ago."

The man in the silk shirt hummed and said thoughtfully: "After that, our Changle Village received the capital from the owners of Gaolong Village Tianyi Hall, Wubentang, and Dagongtang, and the delivery and delivery, the accounting, and the bank account were all taken care of. With the clerks from Gaolong Village in charge, our village's business has become a leader, and in recent years we have stopped promoting the leader."

The bearded man smiled and said: "It's okay if you don't have a leader. Wouldn't it be better if we just wait to get rich?"

Everyone in the banquet echoed.

Mr. Wei quietly glanced at the men at the next table and thought to himself: "These businessmen from Changle Village may not be able to see the key, but this Gaolong Village is really strange. They actually control the medicinal materials industry in central Zhejiang, but they refuse to do so." He doesn't treat other merchants poorly, and would rather share more profits with the Changle Village merchants, and live in seclusion in the mountains so that no one knows where he is, and I don't know why."

Mr. Wei joked with the men again. After dinner, he exchanged money and whispered a few words to the shopkeeper of Zuixiangting Restaurant, who then called a waiter over.

(End of this chapter)