The next morning, Zhang Yanling and Chen Shiyi left the inn and began to wander around Guangzhou.
It was said that he was wandering around, but of course he was wandering with a purpose. In the shop at the main street, Zhang Yanling focused on the goods sold in the shop to see if, as he expected, smuggling of foreign goods was serious here.
You can see seafood from other countries.
However, what surprised Zhang Yanling was that he and Chen Shiyi visited all the big shops on the main streets, but found nothing special. Although some shops here sold foreign goods, they were different from those in the capital.
There was nothing different in the shop. It was just some ordinary foreign goods.
Zhang Yanling tentatively said that he wanted to purchase these foreign goods in large quantities, but it turned out that these shops couldn't carry them out at all. These goods are expensive. Generally speaking, if there are customers who purchase in large quantities, they should be able to carry them out.
.Zhang Yanling did not counter-offer and wanted to buy in large quantities. There was no reason not to sell them when they had the goods.
There may be only one explanation, they really don't have the goods.
This made Zhang Yanling puzzled. Is there no one along the coast of Guangzhou who is taking risks to smuggle? This is really strange. So where did the overseas goods from overseas that were widely available in various parts of the Ming Dynasty and at ridiculously high prices come from?
Shouldn’t the local shops in Guangzhou City be those closest to the water, first come first served?
But then I thought about it, this kind of smuggling must be done extremely secretly. These shops may not be the beneficiaries. The real smuggling and sales channels may not be found by oneself. The profits from smuggling sea goods in other countries are huge, so how could it be possible?
Let ordinary merchants get a share of the pie? Of course, there are special sales channels, how can it be shown openly?
There is a way to trace it, which is to trace the source of the seafood on the shelves of ordinary merchants. But this method is too stupid and will definitely not be fruitful. The source of the goods must have gone through many twists and turns.
Come here. Ordinary shops don't know the origin. Even if they know, they will definitely refuse to tell.
Besides, I came here to secretly investigate the situation. Do I want to cause uproar in the city? I am not here to investigate and deal with smuggled sea goods. I am not even here to find out whether the merchants from the Franji Kingdom are the source of the smuggled goods. What I want to find out is
How big is the profit and scale of smuggled goods? Will imposing a sea ban to open trade routes bring huge benefits? Is it worth doing? This will serve as evidence for subsequent decisions.
Of course, one thing needs to be made clear. Since it is smuggling of sea goods, there must be a complete set of organizations and confidential operations. Zhang Yanling believes that people from the Ming Dynasty must be involved in smuggling sea goods. Otherwise, how could merchants from the foreign countries smuggle these goods?
The goods were brought in smoothly and sold all over the Ming Dynasty. Under the policy of maritime ban, this was beyond the power of foreign merchants.
Where there are interests, there are people who dare to take risks. Maybe you can take a look at who is cooperating with these foreign businessmen.
At noon, the two found a private room in a small restaurant, ordered a table of dishes and talked while eating.
As they were talking, someone outside the box said with a smile: "Two guests, I am the shopkeeper of our shop, can you come in?"
Zhang Yanling said: "Just come in."
The curtain of the box was opened, and an old man walked in holding a bottle of wine. He put the wine on the table and saluted Zhang Yanling and Chen Shiyi with a smile.
"You two gentlemen are very polite."
Zhang Yanling and Chen Shiyi returned the gift, and Zhang Yanling asked, "Is there anything wrong with the shopkeeper?"
The old man smiled and said: "Sorry to bother you two, it's like this. According to our rules, anyone who orders more than one tael of silver will receive a bottle of our own brewed water for free. The little old man will bring it to you personally."
Zhang Yanling chuckled and said: "I see, that's quite polite. Thank you, thank you very much."
The old man smiled and said: "Two guests, this wine brewed by the shop is very good. It is only for gift and not for sale. Please use it with caution. The taste of this wine is similar to that of the wine in the north. It is suitable for you two. taste."
Chen Shi's expression changed and he shouted in a deep voice: "How did you know we are from the north? What do you do?"
The shopkeeper was startled and said hurriedly: "Two...two guests, you...the way you speak and the way you dress are not locals. In our Guangzhou mansion, all outsiders are from the north." The little old man means no harm."
Zhang Yanling laughed and said to Chen Shi: "Butler, what are you doing? You scared my father-in-law. Guangzhou is located on the South China Sea. People with local accents are not from the north, right? You are giving me wine with good intentions, but you are staring at me. What to do?"
Chen Shi smacked his lips and stopped talking.
Zhang Yanling smiled at the shopkeeper and said, "Don't worry about it, I'll tell you the truth. This housekeeper and I came to Guangzhou for the first time. Before we went out, our family specially told us that when we go to a foreign country, we must be careful at all times and be careful not to be stared at." Go up and take away the money. That’s why I, the butler, spoke like this. It was because I was too nervous when you told me."
The shopkeeper suddenly said: "I see. That's no wonder. You have to be careful when you go out. Guangzhou Prefecture is not peaceful. You two should be more careful."
Zhang Yanling listened obediently, and keenly caught the shopkeeper's words, and said with a smile: "Shopkeeper, this Guangzhou Mansion looks very prosperous, lively and peaceful, why is it not peaceful?"
The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment, waved his hand and said with a smile: "It's nothing, the little old man just said that. There will be no peace anywhere. The two guests are not locals, so it's better to be careful. There are also gangsters in Guangzhou. They are idle men who only pick on outsiders to bully."
Zhang Yanling said with a smile: "It's broad daylight and the world is bright. Guangzhou has a government office and guards are stationed in Nanhai. Are we still afraid of ruffians?"
The old shopkeeper hesitated to speak, nodded and said: "That's true, there's actually nothing to worry about. Please use it with ease, little old man, please leave. If you need anything, just ask."
Zhang Yanling was a little disappointed in her heart. The shopkeeper seemed unwilling to say anything more, but there was indeed something else in his words just now. Zhang Yanling did not want to let go of the opportunity to inquire.
"The shopkeeper is here to stay. This is our first time in Guangzhou. We are not familiar with the place. If we want to have some fun, there are places we can go. Can the shopkeeper introduce us to interesting places?" Zhang Yanling said.
The shopkeeper smiled and said: "If you two are here to visit, Guangzhou has many places of interest. There are many ancient temples and temples on Yuexiu Mountain and Baiyun Mountain in the northeast of the city. The scenery is also good. If you want to see the sea, you can go from Leave the city from the south gate and take a boat on the Pearl River. You can reach the seaport in an hour and see the sea."
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "Thank you very much for the shopkeeper's introduction. The housekeeper will give you some more money later as a token of appreciation for the shopkeeper's enthusiasm."
Chen Shi nodded and said, "That's for sure. I think this shopkeeper is a real person. Boss, let's eat at his house more often. The dishes are quite delicious."
Chen Shiyi also heard that Zhang Yanling was talking nonsense and actively cooperated.
The old shopkeeper quickly thanked him. These two out-of-town guests obviously came from a wealthy family. The two of them ordered a table of dishes, and one table ate as much as three or four guests. If they could come often, they would be able to make a small fortune. I felt confident in my heart.
Thank you very much.
Although he was grateful, the old shopkeeper also started to worry about their safety.
"Two guests, please take care of the business of the shop. I am very grateful to you. I would like to thank you in advance. You two guests, I would like to say a few words. If you want to go out for fun, it is best to go there during the day.
Play in crowded places and don't go out at night." The shopkeeper said with a hand.
Zhang Yanling said: "Then why?"
The shopkeeper said: "Don't ask too many questions. Anyway, I'm kind-hearted. I'm also afraid that something might happen to you. It's better to be careful when you go out. You two are just here for fun. Have fun for a few days.
Wouldn't it be better to leave?"
Chen Shi said: "Listening to what you said, it seems that there is really no peace in Guangzhou. Did something happen?"
The old shopkeeper smacked his lips and hesitated. Zhang Yanling cupped his hands and said, "Shopkeeper, do you have anything to hide? Why don't you tell us? We know better."
The old shopkeeper thought for a while, sighed and whispered: "Young man, I don't want to cause trouble, and we, as business people, shouldn't talk too much. I just want to say one thing to you two. Just listen to it and forget it.
I won’t recognize it if it gets spread.”
Zhang Yanling nodded and said: "That's natural."
The old shopkeeper said: "You two, many people have disappeared in our city of Guangzhou recently, disappearing for no reason. There are men and women, all young and strong men and women like you two. This is the case in the city, and there are also people in the villages outside the city.
Things like this happen. Therefore, I would like to remind you two that you should be careful when coming to Guangzhou if you are not familiar with the place."
Zhang Yanling frowned and said: "Is there such a thing? Disappearing for no reason?"
The old shopkeeper said: "Yes. No one was seen alive, no body was found dead. They just disappeared. Not just one or two, but several people disappeared every once in a while. It is really confusing. Someone has offended the Dragon Prince.
It is said that it offended Mazu
Damn it, there is talk of a sea dragon coming ashore to eat people. In short, the rumor has spread so much that even those who know the situation dare not go out at night. They also dare not go to secluded places during the day. Because accidents happen at night, but not during the day.
What happened?"
Zhang Yanling said in surprise: "Is there such a strange thing? Where is the government? Has it been investigated? Has the local sentencing department investigated it?"
The shopkeeper looked at Zhang Yanling with some surprise. The tone of this young man from out of town when he said this sounded like an official, quite dignified. He felt a little puzzled.
"I mean, why didn't the government investigate?" Zhang Yanling asked hurriedly.
"I don't know about this. Don't ask anything. I only know this much. I remind you of this out of good intentions. Don't ask random questions, just be careful." The shopkeeper said with his hands.
Zhang Yanling didn't ask any more questions, but he couldn't tell much. The shopkeeper obviously didn't know much.
"Okay, thank you for reminding me. I paid double the money for the food and wine on the table today. Thank you to the shopkeeper for telling us this. The shopkeeper should have made it clear before. How could we hide this kind of thing?" Zhang Yanling said with a smile.
The shopkeeper sighed: "Who dares to talk too much? The government has issued an order, and anyone who spreads rumors will be arrested and imprisoned. The yamen won't let you talk, how dare you disobey it."
Zhang Yanling became even more confused. This matter sounded very strange. The city of Guangzhou was so bustling and lively in the daytime, and there was nothing unusual about it. How could there be a series of missing people? The government actually refused to tell them? What kind of way was that?