Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 12 Musket
Of course, there are definitely some benevolent and ambitious people in the White Lotus Sect, but generally speaking, the White Lotus Sect is just a group of ambitious people who are cloaked in faith.

They brainwashed the ignorant people in the name of faith, plundered their property and enslaved their bodies in the early stages, and later abandoned their lives to realize their own ambitions.

Although the White Lotus Sect's rebellion against the imperial court was also a way of standing up for the poor, Chen Gu really didn't like its methods and purposes.

Of course, at this time, Suan Xiucai only showed a certain inclination to study Buddhist scriptures, and this cannot be used to determine that the other party is a member of the White Lotus Sect.

On the first day, Suan Xiucai did not teach Chen Gu anything. After giving him a courtesy name, he chatted with Chen Gu for a while, mainly asking about Chen Gu's original family situation and educational level.

Chen Gu fabricated an identity for himself, saying that he came from a family of small landlords. He read some books when he was a child and could barely recognize some simple characters and knew a little addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, but he never went to formal school.

It gets dark early in early spring. After the two chatted for a while, the sour scholar let Chen the assassin go back.

In the following days, Chen the Assassin still spent most of his time practicing swordsmanship, and after lunch he went to Suan Xiucai's house to read and write, mainly practicing calligraphy.

In his previous life, Chen Gu couldn't even write well with a hard pen, but now he can calm down and practice calligraphy. Although his writing was not very good at the beginning, it was still quite acceptable. This made Chen Gu feel very novel.

Unlike the exhilarating feeling he felt when chopping wood, Chen Gu felt extremely peaceful when writing. He had a restrained feeling, as if strength was being drawn back into his body, making him stronger.

"What do you want to hear about?"

"Tell me everything you know. The Bai family's ancestors, their strength, their businesses, the powerful people in the family, etc. You can talk about it. Anyway, you have nothing to do, so just treat it as a small talk."

Chen Gu looked at the room where Liu Er was. Liu Er was taking a nap at this time. Liu Er had the habit of taking a half-hour nap every afternoon.

If we can figure out the formula, we won't have to think of other ideas. But whether we can figure it out or not, I'm afraid our situation will not be good in the future!"

"Can you tell me about the Bai family's situation?" Chen Gu asked with a frown.

Chen Gu didn't ask any more questions. After receiving the silver, he didn't even speak a word and continued to chop his wood.

There is absolutely no need to doubt the ruthless means that a big family can use for the sake of profit.

Water carriers are busier in the morning, as generally no one needs to carry water in the afternoon.

Zhang Haomin thought for a moment and said, "The Bai family has been in Sichuan for more than 20 generations. It is rumored that they came to Jiangjin County from Huguang in the late Yuan Dynasty and early Ming Dynasty. After more than ten generations of development, they were already one of the top ten families in Jiangjin County a hundred years ago.

Time passed like the flow of a river. Ten days passed before Zhang Haomin sent Chen Gu one or two taels of silver, saying it was the money from selling seasonings.

If they can't figure it out, they will naturally come to us to negotiate about buying the formula. Even if they do figure it out, they may kill people to silence them in order to have exclusive possession of the formula.

In this regard, Zhang Haomin sighed helplessly and said: "It was the Bai Family Restaurant that bought the seasoning, and they didn't ask about the recipe. It's very likely that they wanted to figure it out by themselves first to see if they could figure it out.

Most of the Bai family's land is in the Baisha direction. There are many shops in the county, but the main businesses are restaurants and tobacco shops."

"Opium den?" Chen Gu couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

Zhang Haomin nodded and said, "Opium. In the past, the Bai family had many opium dens. It was not until Emperor Yongzheng issued an order to ban opium that the Bai family's opium dens closed down one after another, but they are still operating in secret. The Bai family has seven scholars, two of whom are students on government stipends, and one is a juren serving as an official. The current head of the Bai family is named Bai Yunqing, who is 53 years old and has the reputation of a juren."

Heavy smoke!
For any ordinary person in later generations, opium is something that is deeply hated. After all, a century of shame was caused by this thing.

Chen the Assassin only knew that Lin Zexu destroyed opium in Humen, but he didn't know that smoking was banned during the Yongzheng period, and that opium dens had actually existed for a long time.

Chen Gu thought for a moment and asked, "Can you get me a musket?"

Zhang Haomin couldn't help but look at Chen Gu with a strange expression, "Not to mention that I don't have a way to get you a musket, even if I did, I can't afford it. I heard that the cheapest musket costs five taels of silver, and the better ones cost more than ten taels of silver.

I only earn ten cents at most for carrying a load of water, and only thirty or fifty cents a day. If I want to buy a musket, I have to save money for a year without eating or drinking. "

"Very good, since you know it so clearly, don't make excuses. Get me the best musket and lead bullets as soon as possible. As for gunpowder, don't buy ready-made ones. Buy sulfur and saltpeter and I will prepare it myself.

I will kill the people when the time comes. If necessary, I can kill Bai Yunqing. Then the Bai family will naturally have no time to trouble us!" Chen Gu said calmly while chopping wood viciously.

Zhang Haomin was speechless. He pondered for a moment and turned away.

Chen Gu smiled and did not try to persuade him to stay.

After a while, Zhang Haomin came back and asked, "What's the secret recipe of your seasoning?"

“Fry the mushrooms, dried shrimps and kelp until crispy and then grind them into powder. There is no specific recipe. I bought a pound anyway.” Chen Gu said nonchalantly.

Zhang Haomin suppressed the urge to curse, took a few deep breaths, and then left the yard.

After chopped the firewood, Chen Gu sent it to Cao's house. Then he pushed the wheelbarrow around the street for a while and came to the street where Bai's Restaurant was located.

Chen Gu did not stop, nor did he even look towards the Bai's Restaurant. Instead, he looked around with curiosity. When he passed by the Bai's Restaurant, he took a few deep breaths and then showed an intoxicated expression.

When pedestrians on the street saw Chen Kui's appearance, they couldn't help but show a look of contempt. However, some people followed Chen Kui's example and took a few breaths of the aroma of food wafting from the restaurant.

But Chen Gu was not actually smelling the aroma of the food, but another smell, a smell that was not only fragrant but also a little sweet.

"It's really opium. The Bai family deserves to die!" Chen Gu couldn't help but grin in his heart.

On his way back, Chen Gu visited Longjingshan Distillery and saw the same proprietress from last time.

"Boss, give me a 10-jin jar of liquor, the strongest kind!"

"Liu Er changed his taste?" the proprietress asked in surprise.

"It's not for my master to drink. I brought it for him!" Chen Gu took out one or two taels of silver from selling seasonings and placed them on the counter.

(End of this chapter)