Lu Ming

Chapter 656 Rescue the thief ([-])
early morning.

At the entrance of Huashi Street, Juxian Tea House, on the second floor.

Bao Shinan sat in the private seat separated by a screen, drinking the tea he was familiar with.

As the head of the prison in the Hanyang government office, Bao Shinan appears at a fixed place at a fixed time every day, not only because of his habit, but also because of his work.

In the Ming Dynasty, due to the wonderful salary quotas for civil servants set by Zhu Baba when he founded the country, officials from high to low had to use their power to find gray income.

Otherwise, relying on that little salary alone, he would not even be able to support the daily expenses of the family.

The same is true for Bao Shinan and Bao Laotou.

He comes to the teahouse every day just to meet people from all walks of life and talk about various "businesses".So as to find a way for himself and his subordinates in the prison.

In terms of basic functions, the ancient prison system was not much different from that of later generations: custody, interrogation of prisoners, regular releases, and opening of family visits on time, etc.

However, due to the limitations of the times, the humanized management of the ancient prison system basically did not exist.Prisoners live there, not only in poor living conditions, but also in the absence of supplementary management measures such as labor education and study.

Unlike the prison life of the later generations who disinfected the whole body and took a bath regularly, the ancient prisons did not have the hygienic conditions.Coupled with the intentional or unintentional lack of management of the prisoners, the living conditions of the prisoners are usually very bad.

In addition, due to poor food, it is also easy to cause malnutrition.Therefore, when prisoners live in prison for a long time, they often die due to various complications. However, in ancient times, there were no hot searches and human rights were not very respected. When a prisoner died in prison, his family members were notified to collect it, and the prisoners had no responsibility at all.

In the above links, there are many places for manipulation.Among them, improving the daily life environment of prisoners is the main source of gray income for prisoners.

Bao Shinan sits in the teahouse every day. In fact, most of the "businesses" he receives are of this kind: the prisoner's family members come to ask for help, the two sides negotiate a good deal, and then the prisoner will receive a corresponding level of treatment in prison.

Among all kinds of trustees he meets every day, Bao Laotou's favorite is naturally the butler of a rich family.

This mentality is the same in ancient and modern times.

It's different from those poor ghosts who pick and search.The second young master, the third young master and the fourth young master from the rich family committed crimes, but most of them would spend a lot of money to buy "top match" when they found the housekeeper here.

After that, the young masters will have clean single rooms and mattresses in the prison, as well as food and drinks from the restaurant. Baotou has also done the job of picking up girls disguised as men to serve the young master for one night.However, this kind of work is a big job, not to mention the high price, but you have to look at the right time, so you can't do it often.

However, Bao Baotou was disappointed today.From sitting in the teahouse at Chenshi to now, I poured down a whole pot of Lu'an Guapian, but no one came to ask for it.

It seems that today's pot of good tea is a loss. "Didn't they just accept two merchants the day before yesterday, why is there no one?"

Seeing that it was getting late, Bao Shinan was puzzled, but at this point, he could only mutter a few times and prepare to leave: "Dude, pack two sesame seed cakes and pay the bill."

The man who was about to go down the stairs with a plate in his hand, heard the sound and yelled downstairs as usual: "Two sesame seed cakes. A pot of melon slices. It's the account of Master Bao."

Just when the buddy finished shouting, Bao Baotou got up and was about to leave, but there was a voice: "Wait a minute."

The next moment, a big white head popped out of the stairs.

A person with a big head, white and fat, five short stature, and his facial features are all crowded together.This man is wearing a khaki satin soft robe, and he can breathe heavily after just a short flight of stairs, but he always has a smile on his face: "One more pot of melon slices, and we will tie it together! My old Zheng is here, where can I come again?" Let Master Bao pay the bill?"

The man seemed to know the fat man, so he laughed and went downstairs.

Bao Laotou, who had already got up, also showed a smile at this time: "Old Zheng, I haven't seen you for a while!"

"Haha. I only see you once a month, you prison boss. I can't take it anymore!"

Bao Laotou didn't care about such blatantly mocking his bad luck. Unlike the police forensic doctors who are tall and tall and are filmed every day as the protagonists of film and television dramas in later generations, in the traditional society of the Middle Ages, yamen servants and office workers are cheap jobs and low-grade .Even if they have gray income and money to buy a house, they are still at the bottom of society.

Since it has been belittled at the overall level for thousands of years, it is usually difficult for low-level people to be true in the face of ridicule from other industries.So Bao Laotou listened to the fat man's jokes, just laughed, and pulled out the chair to greet people to come and watch.

In fact, it was two people who went up the stairs.The chunky Fatty Zheng was one, and behind him was a 25-year-old young man with a round face and bushy eyebrows.

The dumpy Old Zheng was an old acquaintance of Bao Baotou.This person is a businessman, the kind of genuine dentist with an official license, who has been working as a matchmaker at the pier outside the city all year round, and is familiar with all kinds of teachings and nine streams.

Due to the wide range of contacts, Lao Zheng would introduce "clients" to Bao Laotou from time to time.Gein's inmates who entered the government prison are not all locals, and there are also many criminals who came from other places.Fatty Zheng hangs around the docks all year round, and he can meet the family members of the prisoners who come to unblock the joints first-hand.

After Fatty Zheng took his seat, Bao Shinan also politely asked the young man to sit down.

It is inconvenient for old Jianghu Bao Shinan to be negligent if he can invite someone with moving teeth to accompany him, and he also wears a Songjiang cotton robe that is also not cheap.

After the guests were seated, the dexterous staff brought new tea in time.

The next moment, Fatty Zheng picked up the Shaoxing red clay teapot familiarly, and filled the celadon cups in front of the three of them with green tea.

At the same time, Fatty Zheng introduced the guests with a smile.

According to what Old Zheng said, this young man with a round face is a "little manager" in the mules and horses market.

Xiaoguan is also an idiot, and his main business is mule and horse trading.However, he is a younger brother in this line of work, with a small business volume, and he is a private tooth without an official license.

This time, Xiao Guan found Lao Zheng, a big boss in the industry, because he wanted to invite Lao Zheng to come forward, introduce Bao Baotou, and talk about the treatment of his distant relatives in the government prison.

What Lao Zheng said was not at all what Bao Shinan expected.He encountered this kind of routine almost every day, and it was an all-too-familiar template.

After introducing the origin of the small tube in a few sentences, Lao Zheng toasted his cup of tea, got up, said business was busy, and said goodbye.

This is also a normal routine.For an idiot like Lao Zheng, once he introduces someone, he has completed his task.Here at Bao Laotou, he will naturally remember his favor, and he will make up for Lao Zheng during the holidays.

Bao Shinan stood up and cupped his hands away.

Next, it's time to get down to business.

After Bao Shinan sat down again, he first looked at Xiao Guan seriously with his old eyes, and then he opened his mouth and asked with a smile: "I don't know, brother Xiao Guan, who is in prison?"

The family members of habitual prisoners are mostly civilians and small households.On such occasions, when they saw Yamen in official uniforms, many of them were trembling and couldn't speak well.

But today, this little manager is actually in the dental business.Hearing the question, Xiao Guan's yellowish round face didn't feel nervous at all, instead he squinted his eyes and cupped his hands with a smile, and said in very authentic Hanyang dialect: "Don't hide it from me, brother, I'm here today because I've been accepted by others." So entrusted, my little brother has a distant relative in Luoyang, and I received a letter a few days ago, saying that two townships have been imprisoned in the government office, so I am entrusted to take care of one or two."

"Should, should."

Bao Shinan nodded repeatedly when he heard this, and looked like a caring and generous uncle: "If someone from the village is imprisoned, it is also a friendship to entrust local relatives and friends to take care of him."

"Yes, yes, it's all about friendship."

At this moment, Xiao Guan held up his sleeves, reached out to pick up the teapot and poured tea for Bao Laotou, and said at the same time: "Isn't this going to trouble Bao Laotou? I hope Bao Laotou can help me!"

Speaking of this, Xiao Guan gently put down the teapot, with a confident smile on his face, and at the same time said the words that someone was most looking forward to: "As long as Bao Baotou is willing to help, we can talk about the money."

"Haha."

Speaking of this, Bao Shinan was already extremely satisfied. Dealing with Yaren is refreshing, and he can speak neatly in a few words.

Now that you are satisfied, it's time to move on to the next step.What Bao Shinan had to do was first of all to know the name of the prisoner that Xiao Guan said, and then he could make a price based on the prisoner's sentence and other conditions.

So Bao Laotou picked up the teacup, and while blowing on the tea leaves, he asked casually: "After talking for a long time, I still don't know which two brothers in the prison are the distant relatives of Brother Xiao Guan?"

Hearing this, Xiao Guan nodded slightly, opened his mouth, and whispered two words from his mouth: "Tian Da, Tian San."

The moment he heard the name of the prisoner, he put the sweet tea in his mouth, and Bao Shinan instantly went through all the detainees in the government prison. As the head of the prison, he was familiar with the information of each prisoner, This is a basic skill that is necessary when negotiating prices.

In an instant, after retrieving the backgrounds of the two prisoners, with a "poof", Bao Shinan squirted out the tea and slammed the tea bowl on the table.

Looking at the hooded head bent over and coughing, Xiao Guan seemed to be completely unaware of what was going on, so he picked up the white belly towel from the tea tray and handed it over with concern.Then he asked softly: "But the tea choked your throat? Wrap your head tightly, are you okay?"

"It's okay, it's okay. Yes. I'm coughing and choking."

After coughing a few times, Bao Shinan probably recovered in his mind.After taking the towel and wiping his mouth, he gasped and suppressed his cough, then picked up the tea bowl again, lowered his head and sipped the tea
After half a cup of tea in this way, maybe the tea is full?Bao Shinan suddenly raised his head.This time, not only did his face return to normal, but he also had a more inquiring expression.

Leaning forward slightly, Bao Baotou stared into Xiao Guan's eyes and asked: "Brother Xiao Guan, do you know that there are three or two people in Tian Datian, who are guilty of rebellion and treason, and are currently locked up in death row."

"I know about this matter."

The relaxed Xiaoguan seemed to have known about this question a long time ago.After nodding in agreement, he also picked up the tea bowl, took a sip unhurriedly, and then asked back with a flat face: "Bao Baotou, there is no one in the Great Ming Law, so that relatives and friends of rebels are not allowed to visit the prison, right? "

"Ha ha."

Bao Shinan laughed heartily: "Three or two rebels from Tian Datian, who had eaten the heart of a leopard, dared to come to Huguang from Luoyang to buy food haha, haha. The law of the Ming Dynasty allowed family members to visit the prison, but There are also rebellious punishments in the law of the Ming Dynasty."

But today was really weird.

At this point in a passage, Bao Shinan, who is usually eloquent and eloquent, suddenly got stuck again.

His expression was dull, his eyes were looking at the sky, his mouth was open, and he couldn't help murmuring "buying grain", as if he was desperately trying to remember something.

After another half a cup of tea, Bao Laotou finally came back to life again.

This time, the movement of his resurrection was relatively big, his face changed frequently, his eyes rolled around, his mouth opened and closed, and he hesitated to speak.

During the whole process, Xiao Guan, whose expression had already become dull, just watched Bao Laotou acting calmly, without saying a word.

"Hahaha."

After a long time, the jailer brother who finally finished the emoji spree, first raised his head and laughed three times, and then he said with a smile on his face: "Brother, it was just that I was worrying too much. To be honest, we are prison , as long as you spend enough money, you are a traitor, and you should serve your employer! Do you think this is the case!"

"Ah!" Xiao Guan's expression became lively at this moment.I saw him slapping his own thigh hard: "The sky is big and the earth is big, and money is the biggest. There are rules in the industry, and you must be worthy of customers in everything. You can't break the rules, can you?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Bao Shinan patted himself on the head vigorously at this time, half self-deprecating and half saying: "Look at me, I'm so lazy, I don't have to break the rules, my brother made my brothers laugh today."

"It's okay, it's okay. Let's talk, everyone is always a good brother!"

"Um"

After rounding the scene up to this point, Bao Shinan probably felt that it was almost the same, so his expression became sincere, and he started to talk about business: "Speaking of which, brother Guan, the price of taking care of Tian and Da is very precious!"

"It's easy to say, easy to say. As long as my brother is willing to help, I won't worry about money."

Xiao Guan stretched out his hand while talking, and patted the back of Bao Shinan's hand on the table lightly.

Then, as the sleeves of Xiao Guan's robe slowly faded away, two large silver ingots of white snowflakes were left on the table: "I will go to prison from tomorrow. These are only the monthly fee, and there will be more for next month. "

The next moment, Bao Shinan's robe sleeves slowly covered the silver ingot. The two tacit faces reached a deal across the table: "Deal! Brothers just come tomorrow."

--------------------------

When Bao Laotou came to work in the Yamen, it was already five poles in the sun.

Fortunately, today is not the grand master's opening day, so Bao Baotou strolled all the way and entered the gate of the prison.

Walking through the narrow and gloomy alley all the way, checked the cells on both sides, and greeted the guards on duty, Bao Shinan went to the death cell again, and then he ordered his most clever apprentice Gu Three, the two of them went to the official office dedicated to the cell boss.

After entering the room, Bao Shinan closed the door, pulled Gu San over, with a serious expression on his face, and whispered to his apprentice: "I need you for an urgent matter."

"Master, follow orders!"

"Listen to me, change your clothes now, and then go to Luomashi to inquire about a man named Xiao Guan. I want to know everything about this man. I can inquire as much as I can. The house is old, but if there is anything wrong with it , ask me all."

"It's a small matter, master, please look at it."

"Bastard!"

Seeing Gu San eager to give it a try, Bao Shinan had a ferocious expression on his face, and slapped his disciple hard to "wash his hair". Go to the river and feed the fish!"

Gu San's face turned pale at this moment. He understood the importance of this matter. He also understood the meaning of the master: if there is a leak, the gangsters will not kill him, but the master will send him to feed the fish.

At the moment when Bao Shinan watched his apprentice go out of the yamen, Xiao Guan, who looked a bit cautious, also reported the situation in a room: ".So that's it. I'm afraid that the jailer has a thought. First squeeze the money, and then report me. Invite credit."

"Very good, very good! Little Guan, what you really want is that he squeeze the money first! This is the time we are fighting for now!"

(End of this chapter)