Chapter 198: Shop
Shang Wan: “Who is the other one? Be specific, I have no patience.”
Yu Da hurriedly said: “It’s the madam of the Hundred Flowers Brothel in Zhending Prefecture. Everyone in the brothel calls her Qin Mama. From Zhong Chenghong’s tone, he doesn’t seem to know that madam.”
Killing someone he doesn’t know, and a brothel madam at that—either Zhong Chenghong is full and has nothing better to do, or he’s handling affairs for someone.
Could it be Marquis Wu’an?
But Marquis Wu’an is a lord, why would he have a grudge against a madam?
Shang Wan couldn’t figure it out for now and secretly noted it down, waiting for Yu Da to continue.
Yu Da racked his brains and told everything he knew, but it was all information Shang Wan had heard from Zhong Chenghong’s mouth, with no other useful details.
Yu Da: “I’ve told everything I know, Madam, please spare Yu Er.”
“Fine, I’ll spare him.” A cold glint flashed in Shang Wan’s eyes. “I’ll leave you… a whole corpse.”
Thin clouds obscured the moon, the moonlight gradually faded, and darkness spread.
·
“Back?” Lu Chengjing lowered his rolled-up sleeves and walked over in a few steps. “How did it go?”
“Got some information.” Shang Wan handed him the child sleeping in her arms. “Everything fine at home?”
“All good, just a few bundles of firewood burned in the woodshed.” Lu Chengjing glanced at his daughter snoring loudly in her sleep and reached out to pinch her chubby little face.
“Where’s A Nian?”
“Still sleeping.” Lu Chengjing said, “Tell him when he asks in the morning.”
Shang Wan nodded. Xiao Huan poked her head out from the kitchen. “Brother-in-law, the hot water is ready.”
Lu Chengjing walked over and handed Yuan Yuan to her, letting her take Yuan Yuan to bathe. He went to the study with Shang Wan.
The study was pitch black. Lu Chengjing took out the fire starter, blew on it, and lit the oil lamp.
The two sat down on the couch by the window. Lu Chengjing picked up the small teapot on the table and poured Shang Wan a cup of plain water.
Drinking tea at night makes it hard to sleep, so unless necessary, Lu Chengjing always switched to plain water.
Shang Wan held the small tea cup and drank it down, then picked up the small teapot to refill it herself.
She said: “Besides me, Zhong Chenghong also had Yu Da and them kill one person—the madam of the Hundred Flowers Brothel in Zhending Prefecture, Qin Mama.”
“Madam?” Lu Chengjing was slightly surprised. “Does he have a grudge against her?”
Shang Wan shook her head. “Yu Da said Zhong Chenghong doesn’t know this madam.”
Lu Chengjing frowned. Not knowing her but hiring killers in advance—usually only one possibility.
He said thoughtfully: “With Zhong Chenghong’s family background, it’s impossible for him to come up with one thousand taels of silver to hire killers. There must be someone behind it instructing him.”
The two thought of the same thing. Shang Wan asked: “How likely do you think this person is Marquis Wu’an?”
Lu Chengjing shook his head. Too little information to speculate for now.
The two couldn’t discuss a conclusion, so they set the matter aside for now. After all, it had nothing to do with them.
The next day, Shang Wan and Xiao Huan drove the ox cart into the city and happened to hear rumors in the village of a wolf eating people.
“That wolf howled so much last night, it scared me so I didn’t dare sleep.”
“What are you afraid of? If it dares rush into the house, chop it dead with a chopping knife. Wolf meat is very nourishing.”
“Not just wolf howls, I also heard someone screaming miserably.”
“I heard it too, screaming like a ghost. Could it be some mountain spirit or demon?”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Under the clear sky and bright sun, where do ghosts come from? I think someone was probably bitten by a wolf.”
“Impossible. This morning no one mentioned being bitten by a wolf.”
Everyone chattered lively. Seeing Shang Wan driving by, they quickly asked: “Xiucai Scholar’s Wife, did you hear the wolf last night? Scared the life out of me.”
An aunt waved her hand. “What kind of question is that? The Xiucai Scholar’s family keeps a wolf, how could they be afraid of wolf howls?”
“True,” that person chuckled awkwardly. “Good thing the wolf kept by the Xiucai Scholar’s family doesn’t bite people randomly.”
“Slept deeply last night, didn’t hear it.” Shang Wan smiled and chatted a couple of sentences with them before driving the ox cart away.
A youth watched the ox cart and sighed. “Sigh, if I could recognize those herbs, I’d go up the mountain to gather herbs and sell them too. Look at them—built a big house, no worries about food or drink, and going to the city every day. Really enviable.”
People echoed in twos and threes, chatted idly a few more words, then dispersed.
Taking advantage of the early sun, hurry and finish the work in the field.
After entering the city, Shang Wan first went to Gu An Hall to sell the medicinal herbs, then to the apothecary to sell the lower quality ones.
Xiao Huan looked around. “Sis, there are several apothecaries on this street. Are we opening our shop here too?”
“Let’s see if there are any vacant shops first.”
Shang Wan couldn’t help thanking the Yu family brothers again for their friendly sponsorship of one thousand taels of silver. With this money, they could skip the stage of saving silver and directly look for a suitable shop.
The two sat on the ox cart looking at shop after shop, but didn’t see a single vacant shop.
“Go check the next street.” Shang Wan pulled the reins, and the ox cart turned right, slowly entering the adjacent street.
There were also two apothecaries on this street. The shopfronts didn’t look big, but unfortunately, still no vacant shops.
Shang Wan thought for a moment and simply went to the street next to Gu An Hall.
She remembered during her idle strolls in the city some time ago that there was a vacant shop here.
If still none, then they’d have to find a middleman.
Not sure if it was bad luck, but the shop had an owner now, specializing in rouge and powder.
Since they were here, Shang Wan simply took Xiao Huan inside to browse.
No shop assistant in the shop; the shopkeeper personally attended to the two.
Chatting idly while looking, Shang Wan learned from the shopkeeper that this shop’s annual rent was two hundred sixty taels.
She asked: “Are all shops in the city this price?”
“No way?” The shopkeeper tried lip rouge on Xiao Huan and smiled. “My shop’s shopfront isn’t big, but it has two floors, and the second floor can be lived in. Annual rent under three hundred taels is a bargain. Larger shops have annual rent four hundred taels and up.”
Collecting rent is still the best—pure profit without effort.
Shang Wan asked: “Has the shopkeeper found a middleman to introduce?”
The shopkeeper nodded and sized up Shang Wan. “You want to open a shop and do business too?”
“A little business.” Shang Wan smiled. “Us sisters have checked several places and haven’t seen any vacant shops. We’re thinking of finding a middleman to introduce some. Does the shopkeeper have any recommendations?”
The shopkeeper thought for a moment and said: “Chen Middleman is good, has a good reputation in the city, and reasonable fees.”
Shang Wan: “Where does this Chen Middleman live?”
The shopkeeper said: “In West City, Fifth Alley. Just ask there and you’ll know.”
Shang Wan noted it down and thanked the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper smiled, put down the lip rouge box, and held up the mirror for Xiao Huan to look.
The lip rouge color suited her skin very well, making her look much more spirited. Xiao Huan liked it a lot.
“If you like it, take two boxes.” Shang Wan was a generous older sister and had the shopkeeper take one each of what Xiao Huan had tried earlier—floral dew, perfume, scented powder, etc.
No woman can resist the temptation of cosmetics. Xiao Huan smiled with crinkled eyes and, seeing Shang Wan not picking any, asked puzzled: “Sis, aren’t you picking some?”
Shang Wan didn’t like putting stuff on her face much, especially now in summer—it felt stuffy.
But Xiao Huan insisted she pick some, nagging if she didn’t, making her head buzz. She casually picked two nice-smelling bottles of floral dew.
