EBE Chapter 269: The tangled roots
Chapter 269: The tangled roots
Even if Su Chen is not here, there is still Manager Dong. Being able to be the manager of a place like Linhai Town, he must know a lot of things.
He doesn't say anything, just use mind reading.
"Could Su Chen have done what happened on the island? Xiangxiang really wants to find out, she can't wait!"
"Don't be impatient, don't be impatient. You can't eat stinky tofu in a hurry."
Song Anning smiled and replied to Xiangxiang, then walked a few hundred meters along the street. Standing at the entrance of Zuixianju, he looked at the open door and whispered, "As expected."
When we entered Zuixianju, there were not many people dining in the lobby, which was very quiet compared to usual. Shopkeeper Dong was fiddling with an abacus seriously at the counter.
Song An Ning had planned to wait until he finished settling the bill before speaking, but the waiter at Zuixianju already recognized her and called her "Miss Song" in a crisp voice.
When Manager Dong heard the voice, he raised his head in surprise. Thinking about what had happened in the town recently, he also guessed the purpose of Song Anning's visit.
"Is the girl here? Have you had dinner? I'll make arrangements right away."
"Uncle Dong, you're welcome. I had some seafood pancakes on the street. Bring me some tea. I was eating in a hurry and I choked."
"Hahaha... why are you eating so fast? No one's competing with you for it, so drink some water quickly."
Shopkeeper Dong asked the waiter to prepare some tea and snacks, and made a gesture to invite Song An Ning.
"The girl is here at this hour, she must have heard about what happened in the town. Let's go upstairs and talk."
Song An Ning exchanged a few polite words and asked Xiangxiang to turn on the mind-reading function when going upstairs.
After taking a seat, Shopkeeper Dong spoke first:
"The second master of the Chen family is fine. The city lord arrested him because the Chen family did not abide by the rules in their business. Recently, the Chen family has been selling shops and land to raise money.
Once the taxes are paid, Master Chen will be released."
After using mind reading, Song Anning found that what Manager Dong said was true. She lowered her head and took a sip of tea. Things were indeed as she expected.
"How much tax does the Chen family have to pay to satisfy the city lord?"
"I'm not sure about the exact amount, but the bank next to Zuixianju needs to pay 200,000 taels. The Chen family's wealth is much larger than that, so I estimate it will be at least 500,000 taels.
Their families would only have 20% to 30% of their wealth left after using up this money, and they could still live comfortably, but I'm afraid it would be impossible to return to their former glory."
"..."
It must be said that the mayor of Linhai Town was quite capable. He knew exactly how much money each family had. He didn't take all the money, nor did he force these families to death. He even made them express gratitude when they gave him money.
"No one dares to mention the matter of the First-Class Chamber of Commerce?"
“Girl is always smart, you will understand after I just say one sentence.
When the First-Class Chamber of Commerce changed its owner, the City Lord also played a role."
Song Anning smiled softly and replied to Shopkeeper Dong:
"What a preemptive move! It seems his son's death has brought him a lot of convenience.
Now, everyone in Linhai Town is in danger. He performed with great emotion, counting banknotes while crying."
“The girl’s description is very appropriate.
Besides, he's just an only son, and that old man has so many illegitimate children that he can't even count them all. He won't be really sad."
"Tsk tsk, it's strange that the lord of a city doesn't take concubines but instead raises an illegitimate child."
Shopkeeper Dong shook his head and first asked Song An Ning, "My master's background, young lady, do you know?"
"Know something."
"The current wife of Prince Ling and the City Lord's wife are sisters. With a sister and brother-in-law like that, our City Lord's wife is extremely arrogant."
"So there's this connection between Linhai Town and the three provincial capitals...
Aren't the higher-ups afraid that Prince Ling will rebel?"
When Shopkeeper Dong heard Song An Ning ask this, he suddenly burst into laughter with a look of admiration on his face. He never expected that a girl from the village was not only good at business, but also knew a lot about the power struggles in the upper class.
"My master has had a bad relationship with Prince Ling since he was young, and that princess has repeatedly tried to kill him.
But the master is very much loved by the superior, and that superior has also helped a lot in building such a big family business.
so……"
"So Young Master Su isn't just a restaurant owner. Prince Ling didn't want to be given the jade token for the head of the Ling Palace.
Add in the guy on the island, and the triangle relationship is the most stable."
Song Anning's words impressed Shopkeeper Dong immensely. How old was she? And she knew all this?
He was about to praise her when he heard Song An Ning continue, "But I heard from the fishermen on the coast that the mine was bombed, and I don't know how my father is doing."
She lowered her head in disappointment, saying this more as a test, but Shopkeeper Dong did not hide anything and told her more news.
“Before the mine was bombed, something happened on the island. According to our information, there are no survivors on the island.
But your father's case is rather strange. Our master had someone investigate a month ago, and he was indeed in the mine."
Shopkeeper Dong told everything he knew, but Song An Ning couldn't handle it. She had been using mind reading to see his true thoughts, but they were almost the same as what he said.
Not only that, while he was talking to Song An Ning about this, he was thinking in his heart: Master, please come back soon, if this goes on, it will be a mess.
"That person also knows what Ali did?"
"Hey……"
The only response to Song An Ning was a sigh from Shopkeeper Dong, which contained too many emotions.
The room fell into a brief silence. The two talked about business for a few more words, and then Song An Ning got up and left.
"Zuixianju has guest rooms. Miss, please stay here tonight. It's safer here than outside."
"A Ning thanks Uncle Dong in advance. I'm going out to meet two friends. I'm afraid we'll talk all night, so I won't bother you anymore."
"Then please go ahead, girl."
Shopkeeper Dong understood the rejection in Song An Ning's words and did not keep her any longer. He just said that if Song Feng had any news, he would definitely tell her.
After going out, Song Anning looked back at Zuixianju with its big red lanterns hanging on it, which formed a sharp contrast with the dark shops around it. Her eyes were a little difficult to read.
"Master, do you think there's something wrong? But I just used my mind reading skills and didn't find anything wrong."
Song Anning quickened her pace, unwilling to linger on the street for too long. She replied to Xiangxiang consciously, "When water is too clear, there are no fish. Su Chen's caution is beyond my imagination."
"Ah? What did Su Chen do? Xiangxiang doesn't quite understand."
"Linhai Town is a troubled place with complicated relationships. If you want to avoid suspicion, the person who is exposed must be flawless.
Instead of pretending, it’s better to put up a blank sheet of paper.
Uncle Dong is the blank slate, and other things are done by others."
The lights were just coming on and it was clearly early summer, but Song Anning felt a chill. An undercurrent was surging in the small town of Linhai.
Ah Li, Su Chen, Prince Ling...
Each of these three individuals, taken individually, would dominate their respective regions. However, under the rule of the king, they had spent years building their own power, only to become mere pawns used to counterbalance the other side.
"Master, Xiangxiang doesn't understand."
"What don't you understand?"
"Shouldn't the emperor love his people like his own children? Why didn't he do anything when his people were being murdered by Ali?"
Song An Ning was silent for a moment, kicking the pebbles under his feet as he walked. He looked up at the street vendor who was pushing a cart and was in a hurry to go home, and smiled bitterly.
"Xiang, humans are not as kind as you think."