Records of the Lost Cases of Helaitang in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 25 Zhang’s Old Store
There were gains but no clues, and the feeling of powerlessness surrounded the three masters and apprentices until Wang Cai's stomach growled a few times at the right time.

"Large mutton noodles, big mutton noodles." Mr. Wei took the lead and walked into the Zhang family's old store.

The boiled dried silk noodles in the teahouse couldn't stand hunger at all. They had traveled ten miles and were already so hungry that their chests were touching their backs.

It was just after dinner, and there weren't many diners in the store. They were scattered around the store in twos and threes.

Mr. Wei took out thirty pennies from his pocket, went to the counter and exchanged three wooden signs for mutton noodles, then chose a seat along the street, with his back against the Begonia red lacquered wooden window.

As soon as he sat down, the waiter came to wait on him and gave him the wooden sign. Wang Heng said: "Free green." Wang Cai said, "Heavy oil." Mr. Wei said: "Less oil."

Chef Chao Nei, who ran the hall, sang: "Here are three bowls of mutton noodles, one bowl without green noodles, one bowl with heavy oil, and one bowl with less oil."

The process of waiting for noodles was quite long, and I was so bored that I started to observe the diners on the ground floor.

It is an unwritten rule to eat noodles on the ground floor of Zhangjia's old store and stir-fry in the elegant seats on the second floor. It only depends on demand and there is no difference. The customers eating noodles on the ground floor are also more decently dressed.

The most eye-catching among the customers on the ground floor were the two young men in flashy clothes who entered the store after them. They looked very similar, and were almost the same height, height, fat and thin.

It seemed that the waiter should know them, so he said with a smile: "Xiaoquan Xiaohai, if you are not going to do life at this time, you will eat and drink."

One of the young men said proudly: "Stop talking nonsense, do you think our brothers can't afford it?"

Another young man glanced at the waiter and said lazily: "Now that I'm rich, what else do I do for a living? From now on, we won't do anything for a living."

The waiter teased: "Your master is upstairs talking to the shopkeeper about monthly subscription. I'll call him right away."

The two young men were startled. They grabbed the waiter's sleeves and said, "Brother A Lin, come on, why are you calling the master?"

The waiter didn't say much, took the noodle sign and went to the kitchen to pass the noodles.

The mutton noodles hadn't arrived yet, but a middle-aged man came down from upstairs.

This middle-aged man has a handsome face and is obviously not young, but his figure is well maintained. He is wearing a green forged silk cotton robe and is neatly dressed.He looked around the store and walked to the table where the two young men were sitting.

The two young men had no choice but to stand up and salute: "Master."

The middle-aged man said: "You two said you had important things to do in the countryside. Where were you fooling around?"

A young man said: "Master, there is nothing wrong with it. It's really impossible to leave the house in the countryside."

The middle-aged man stared at the young man with lightning eyes: "I haven't seen anyone since the first day of September. It's been more than two months now. Did you burn bricks to build a house by yourself? Xiaoquan, tell me, I don't ask about Xiaohai, a cunning guy. he."

Another young man, Koizumi, said sarcastically: "Master, we are about to go back to the group to practice after eating."

The middle-aged man pulled them out and said, "Why are you still thinking about the team? I just made an agreement with the shopkeeper. In three days, I will come here to Zhangjia's old shop to speak newly made Pinghua. You guys come back with me to rehearse." Rehearsal, others have been practicing for two months. I think you have become somewhat famous recently, and it’s not good for you to not be on stage often, so it would be better to let your brothers talk about the new book."

Xiao Hai hurriedly said: "Master, let us eat some noodles before going back. We have already paid the [-] cents. It would be a waste to leave." The middle-aged man glanced at the two apprentices and said in a tone of hatred that iron cannot become steel. I'll trust you again. When you're full, come back to the team as soon as possible. I have some important things to attend to first, so I don't have time to wait for you." After saying that, he hurried away with a puff of sleeves.

The two young men, Xiao Quan and Xiao Hai, sighed as they ate the mutton noodles, walked out of Zhang's old shop dejectedly, crossed the Sandong Bridge and headed east towards the west gate of the county.

Mr. Wei has been paying attention to these two young people, looking thoughtful.

He called the waiter over: "Who are these two young men and their master?
The waiter said: "Their master's stage name is Lu Quanhai. He is a famous local Pinghua speaker. He has been speaking Pinghua in taverns and teahouses all over the county. Because he writes his own Pinghua in his own book, which is quite innovative. Our shopkeeper I plan to give their team a month's training. The two apprentices are twin brothers, one is named Lu Xiaohai and the other is named Lu Xiaoquan, both of whom are stage names."

Wang Heng looked at their backs and muttered: "Why do these two people look the same as they have seen them before?

Wang Cai slapped the table and said in surprise: "Well, he looks a bit like He Xiucai."

Mr. Wei's thoughts suddenly changed, and he stood up and ran out. Wang Heng and Wang Cai didn't know what was going on, so they paused and had no choice but to run after him.

Two young men, Xiaohai and Xiaoquan, were caught up by Mr. Wei on the east side of Sandong Bridge.

"Two young gentlemen, please take a step to speak." Mr. Wei saw a horse-resting pavilion for passers-by to rest on the edge of the bridge, and waved to Xiaohai Xiaoquan.

The two young men were a little confused, but they were people who walked to the pier to eat, so they were not afraid of socializing with others. Seeing that Mr. Wei was dressed as a scholar with a good reputation, they walked into the pavilion as he said.

"The two young gentlemen went out on the first day of September to handle a big event. After the event was completed, they received a large reward, but?" Mr. Wei's face darkened.

The two young men's eyes were evasive. Xiao Hai was the bolder and said, "Our affairs have nothing to do with you."

"You are involved in a case that is being handled by the county government. Either tell me in detail, or ask the official from the government office to question you." Mr. Wei's tone was cold.

"This," the two young people obviously did not expect this, and could not help but hesitate.

Xiaoquan was silent for a moment, bit his lip and said, "Promise that we don't have to go to the county government office, and I can tell you."

Mr. Wei nodded and said, "Of course."

"That day, we were talking about "The Legacy of Xuanhe" in Chunlai Teahouse. After the show, a member of staff rewarded us for having dinner at Ronghua Building. This was the first time someone invited us brothers alone. The master said that this was a compliment from the guests, and we were about to leave."

"The guest poured us several cups of rice wine before telling us what he wanted to say. There was a rich man in Longyou County, who was the guest's cousin. The rich man and his concubine encountered a flash flood while traveling in the mountains. The rich man ran quickly and saved a life. , the concubine was washed away without a trace by the flood. From then on, the rich man Longyou had nightmares every night. He couldn't afford to fall ill. Seeing that the medicine was ineffective, a witch doctor said he could cure it. Let the rich man find his concubine in the mountains where he was born, and the witch doctor will hypnotize the rich man, and he will be cured naturally."

Wang Cai and Wang Heng had followed Xiaoquan a long time ago. Wang Cai listened to Xiaoquan's words and said: "The rich man's concubine was probably pushed into the water and murdered by him, so he had nightmares every day, dreaming that his concubine was asking for his life. "

Although everyone didn't answer, they probably thought so.

Xiaoquan said: "The witch doctor performed a magic test in front of the rich man to determine that the younger brother is still alive. By chance, a guest saw us two brothers at the Chunlai Tea House and thought that we were somewhat similar to the rich man's younger brother, so he asked us to put on makeup and wear clothes. The concubine's old clothes were waiting for the rich man to search for them in the forest. The witch doctor said that the rich man must search and find them by himself, so that his heart disease could be cured. However, the rich man's health was very poor and he could not walk several miles a day, so He paid us 20 taels of silver per person a month and allowed us to hide in that mountain forest, waiting to be found by the rich man."

Wang Cai's mouth opened wide: "Do you believe such ridiculous words?"

(End of this chapter)