In order to find Shopkeeper Cao, Li Changan decided to visit Jishi again.

Visited various shopkeepers and clerks along the street.

This time, I changed my approach and brought up the matter of Shopkeeper Cao’s breach of contract. People always sympathize with the weak, and besides, they are all businessmen, and they don’t want to hide things from their accounts, so the answer was more cooperative than last time. Li Changan got

There are more messages and more details than last time.

Shopkeeper Cao is not a native of Qiantang. His parents and children stay in his hometown, and only his wife helps him run the business. Because he is in the funeral industry, it is easy to be considered unlucky, so most of the people he interacts with are colleagues, and most of them make a living on this street.

, but their whereabouts are unknown.

It was also heard that in the past half month, he had successively sold off all the coffins and artifacts in the store at low prices, and even sold off all the valuable items at home.

It won't work if we ask everyone to pay for it with things.

Fortunately, I learned that he also had a hard-working, fair-weather friend, a lawyer named Wen.

Litigation Master Wen lived in Zhongmiaofang, but when he found his house, the door was closed and no one answered the door for a long time.

After asking the neighbors, they said that a few days ago, Wen Liangshi's mother visited the neighbors one by one, talked about the feelings of the neighbors, and said that she was leaving Qiantang to return to her hometown. That day, the whole family packed up their belongings and left in gloom. It was just strange...

"What's weird?" Li Changan asked.

"The night his family left, there were dogs barking in the yard for a long time."

"What if a person leaves and leaves the dog behind?"

"What dog is left behind?" the neighbor said with a smile, "The lawyer was born with a strange disease. He would get rashes when he touched dog hair. His family never kept dogs."

Li Changan quietly climbed over the wall and entered Wen's house.

Saw the body of the litigator.

He was hanging alone under the beam, with an overturned pedal under his feet and several empty wine bottles scattered beside him.

The Taoist priest went up and took a closer look, and found that he had indeed been hanged to death, not frightened to death. However, his death lasted only a day or two, and his soul had disappeared.

"Taoist Master, look!"

Huang Wei found a suicide note.

The litigator was drunk before he hanged himself. His words were scattered and the paper smelled of alcohol. The beginning of the article was full of curses. He cursed the unfairness of the world, cursed God for being blind, cursed the lack of talent... It was Shopkeeper Cao who cursed the most.

A month ago, the two of them went out to have fun together at night. Unfortunately, they bumped into the Cave City messenger, and each of them got a "thousand gold sticker." He thought that the ghosts and gods were attracted by shopkeeper Cao's business with dead people, and he was implicated by him and suffered a lot.

disaster.

…

All the ghosts gather together at night.

"Will Shopkeeper Cao be like this litigator? If he can't get the money, he just wants to settle it all?"

Everyone is worried.

Shopkeeper Ruocao died quietly in a corner of Qiantang.

How can you pursue a dead person's debt? Even if you can pursue it, you don't know how much time it will take if you go back and forth.

The most lacking thing nowadays is time!

Everyone has been quietly thinking in their hearts about how to survive the bitter cold in the mountains.

"He definitely didn't kill himself!"

Huangwei insisted.

When he is not panicking, his mind is still very flexible.

"The person named Cao is not the person named Wen. He only lives by a pen. He has three shops in his hands. If he is determined to die, how can he only sell items and not shops?"

Li Changan nodded: "We will continue looking tomorrow."

…………

On August 2nd, there was one less day.

Today, everyone changed their target and investigated the entertainment venues where Shopkeeper Cao usually goes.

Huang Wei was very familiar with these tile hooks and felt like a fish in water. Without much effort, he learned that shopkeeper Cao often went to a place called Lianchi Xiaoxie by the Chunfang River recently.

The banks of Chunfang River are a special place in Qiantang.

There are no common densely populated small buildings, only exquisite courtyards connected by green bricks and green tiles. Willows are planted in front of the door, and flower vines are wrapped around the eaves. No matter in spring, summer, autumn or winter, there is always an intoxicating fragrance and the beauty of girls.

Bright eyes make people miss you.

Each of these courtyards is inhabited by young women, with several mothers-in-law and maidservants, all of whom claim to be young ladies from official families and live here alone. All of them have beautiful faces, and are all good at playing music, chess, calligraphy, painting, teapots, and wine.

Rich man.

What the identity is, it is naturally self-evident.

Lady Jade Lotus from Lotus Pond Xiaoxie is one of the best.

"Oh, what Huang Xulang said is really funny. The only people walking around in the courtyard of the Nu family are Mr. Cao and Mr. Liu Lang, but there is no shopkeeper Cao or Mr. Liu."

Lady Jade Lotus gently shook her fan and spoke with a smile.

Huangwei understood, and went up to him and begged: "You are so pitiful, girl. Our wealth and life are all in the hands of Cao. How can we have the money to be a good husband? If you can speak respectfully today, I will

I will remember it from the bottom of my heart, and I will thank you generously afterwards!"

"You men are used to talking sweet words and betraying your heart. No matter how nice you say it today, you won't admit it tomorrow." Madam Yulian's eyes suddenly fell on Li Changan, "That little brother, on the other hand, is tall and handsome.

Even if you are not your husband, my husband is also very panicked."

Huangwei and the other ghosts who followed him all turned around, with earnest eyes - Taoist Master, please just obey!

Li Changan: "..."

He had a wooden face.

"Girl, Pindao is a monk."

"What's wrong with the monks? Who's girl doesn't have a monk in her yard? I see that you are always in love with Sister He. Why do you talk about the rules and precepts when you get to the slave's house?"

The Taoist priest said sternly: "I am just staying at the Salesian Hospital. Girl, please be careful what you say, don't damage Dean He's innocence."

"How can women like us be innocent?"

"Dean He lives in poverty, abides by the law, and raises orphans. How can he not be innocent?!"

Lady Yulian covered half of her face with a round fan, her eyes fixed on Li Changan, and suddenly she smiled: "You are so boring. That's all, I won't tease you anymore, then Shopkeeper Cao..."

According to her, shopkeeper Cao did visit Lianchi Xiaoxie many times in July, but not for pleasure, but to entertain a trainer from Zengfu Temple.

The last time was four days ago. When shopkeeper Cao left, he spoke very proudly.

Li Chang'an only knew that Zengfu Temple was one of the thirteen temples and that it enshrined Zengfu Zhenjun, the so-called God of Wealth and Wealth. He didn't know anything else.

"I know! I know!" Dahan shouted quickly, "I heard people say that Zengfu Temple is Qian Tang's money bag and is engaged in loan sharking business."

Huang Wei was stunned: "Where did you hear that?"

"I heard what others said about working at the dock."

"Don't listen to the nonsense of those poor people." Huang Wei sneered, "Can the Thirteen Family like this little profit?"

"Sea trade is very profitable, but the storms are dangerous and people and ships are often wiped out, so Zengfu Temple comes out to collect money as guarantee. If there are businesses with promising prospects but lack of funds, Zengfu Temple will also provide money to support them, and in the future, they can rely on their shares

Dividends.”

Li Changan understood that it turned out to be a large consortium controlled by insurance and venture capital investors.

But dead people are not sold on the sea, and shopkeeper Cao has only three murder weapon shops, let alone a promising future. How can he attract the favor of Zengfu Temple?

"Taoist Master, have you forgotten?" Huang Wei said quietly, "There is still our business."

Li Changan suddenly realized that he was indeed in Lushan. Although he only made a hundred taels from "looking at the funeral", it had only been open for a month and had not yet gained a reputation. In Qiantang City, the bright silks and satins were on the outside.

There are quite a few people who eat bran-pharyngeal vegetables secretly!

In this way, Shopkeeper Cao had already planned this.

The ghosts became more and more angry, but still couldn't do anything.

"I have no choice but to try to find that guy again."

"The Taoist suspects that he lied."

"It's not necessarily a lie. The man named Cao is smart and will probably not reveal his whereabouts. But that guy is very cunning, so he may not really know anything about it."

"But we asked many times and he didn't have any clue."

"Then ask someone else."

…………

Qian Tang is never lonely at night.

There was endless singing and dancing on the painted boat, and the water was bright and clear.

It is even more common for people to die drunk in the river after returning home at night.
To be continued...