NCCnovel Chapter 311: Shopkeeper Dong’s Suspicion
Chapter 311: Shopkeeper Dong’s Suspicion
At this time, Wang Qiuyue entered the yard, knocked on the door twice, and brought in the brewed tea.
Their conversation was interrupted by her arrival. Shopkeeper Dong casually glanced at the person in front of him, and after Wang Qiuyue left, he asked in a low voice:
"Is this girl the granddaughter that the Chen family just found? She does look a bit like a member of the Chen family."
Song Anning smiled and nodded, pouring him a cup of tea.
"Uncle Dong is well-informed. Has the business of Zuixianju and the Chen family returned to normal?"
Hearing her ask this, Manager Dong smiled awkwardly, remembering what Song An Ning had said that day in Linhai Town.
"The girl is smart, I only said that one sentence and she thought of what happened next.
Speaking of this, I did use the girl's name last time, so I apologize to you here. The master is not at home, and I am really anxious about business, so..."
Although he said this on the surface, the voice in his heart was: Sorry, little girl, you are a foreigner to Liu Quan, he won't do anything to you.
Song An Ning didn't even raise her eyelids, drinking tea quietly. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became cold. Shopkeeper Dong felt bored and picked up the topic he had just talked about and said to himself:
"A month ago, my master said he was going to the south. During this time, I sent him letters many times, but I didn't receive a single reply.
That's fine. We guess that the master has encountered some problems, but there are many people following him, so we don't think it will be a big deal.
But just a few days ago, Lao Zhao received a letter from his master, asking him to take the proceeds from several nearby Zuixianju and send them to the provincial capital.
He also specifically said that he didn't want silver notes, only gold.
Several shopkeepers speculated that their master had encountered trouble and took all the profits from Zuixianju with him, but after Lao Zhao arrived in the capital, he disappeared.
Speaking of gold, Song Anning suddenly thought of the room full of gold in the dilapidated temple in Linhai Town.
She wondered if the incident at Zuixianju was related to Yanyu Pavilion, but then she thought, no matter how powerful it was, it was just a gang, and their hands would not reach the royal family.
After Manager Dong said so much in one breath, Song An Ning put down the teacup and turned to look at him with some worry on her face.
"Could it be that Master Su offended someone outside? That's impossible. With his status, ordinary people wouldn't dare to take action.
"Did Uncle Dong go to the city to look for him? If that doesn't work, then report it to the authorities. Even if they don't care about Master Su, the authorities will definitely take action if a living person disappears in the city."
After hearing this, Shopkeeper Dong said nothing more but just shook his head helplessly.
But in my heart I was saying, "She is really a little girl who has never seen the world. She talks so many great truths, but when she encounters problems, she only thinks of reporting to the police. Those police officers are not as capable as us."
The voice in his heart was filled with irritation and contempt, which was exactly what Song An Ning wanted.
It was just a polite inquiry, but Manager Dong took it seriously and even relied on her for advice.
Whether Su Chen or Zuixianju got into trouble, it didn't stop her from making money. Wasn't she exploited enough last time? Those who didn't know would think that without Zuixianju, they wouldn't be able to sell chili peppers and duck eggs.
The room fell silent again. Seeing that she was indifferent, Manager Dong stopped bothering her. After a few pleasantries, he led his men away on horseback.
Song An Ning stood at the entrance of the village, looking at the location of Manager Dong on the map getting farther and farther away, and snorted softly.
"Master, is there something wrong with this old man? Such a big thing happened in Zuixianju, but instead of rushing to solve it, he personally delivered the silver."
Xiangxiang was confused by the conversation between the two. She tried her best to find out what was in Shopkeeper Dong's mind, but still had no other information.
"Silly Xiangxiang, Shopkeeper Zhao came to Banyue Village eight or nine days ago to check on Su Chen's chili field, and disappeared a few days later.
He came here to test and investigate the situation, suspecting that I had led the villagers of Banyue Village to kidnap Shopkeeper Zhao and steal his money."
Although he didn't find out anything using mind reading, Song An Ning knew very well that just because he didn't think about this question when he was in the house, it didn't mean he had never thought about it.
In fact, when he got off his horse at the village entrance and saw Song An Ning chatting with the villagers under the banyan tree, and the villagers saw that he was not nervous at all, they knew that their suspicion was wrong, so they suppressed the idea in their hearts.
"Old fox, my master is very rich, why would he need those little gifts?
How does that saying go? "Judge a gentleman by your own standards!"
Song Anning heard Xiangxiang shouting angrily in her head, and she explained with a headache:
"They don't know that we are not short of money, and they think that I live on the money from selling peppers and duck eggs.
Although I have a cooperative relationship with Zuixianju, both Manager Dong and Manager Zhao still look down on the villagers in their hearts.
Luckily, I returned Su Chen's jade token in Linhai Town that day. It would be quite boring if I were blamed for anything that happened."
After Song An Ning said this, Xiangxiang wilted. She really didn't understand why humans had so many twists and turns. Even if she worked herself to death, she couldn't figure it out.
"Hey, Xiangxiang feels so wronged for her master. She didn't do anything wrong, but she was used as a pawn in Linhai Town.
Even when things got bad for Shopkeeper Zhao, they suspected the owner. With a dirty mind, everything they see is dirty."
Song Anning wasn't angry, and didn't even care. Those people could think whatever they wanted. The chili peppers grown in the village were all natural and pollution-free, and the system would buy them back at a high price, regardless of whether Zuixianju was available or not.
The only thing she wanted to do was to see Su Chen and ask him in person where he had taken her father.
"Xiang, don't be angry, don't be angry. There are many people in this world, and everyone has their own ideas.
Some people like you, and naturally some don't. Don't bother with insignificant people. As long as Zuixianju still accepts chili peppers for one day, business will continue. There is no need for other friendships.
Song Anning walked home while replying to Xiangxiang with her mind. When she got home, she saw Song Dashan, Song Erhe, and Song Nian all holding some silver in their hands, apparently waiting for her.
"Aning, is this someone from Zuixianju? Has the duck egg bill been settled?"
"It's cleared. A few days ago, something happened to Shopkeeper Zhao in the capital, so the shopkeeper from Linhai Town came to take over.
Zuixianju has a large family and wealth, so he won’t be short of money.”
After that, several people sat down at the stone table in the yard. Song An Ning took out the silver and distributed it to each family according to the number of duck eggs they had that day.
However, none of the three people present took it. Instead, they handed over the silver ingots in their hands. Song Nian was the first to say:
"This is your dividend for the past month. I wonder if Aning forgot?"
"I haven't forgotten, I haven't forgotten. I'm just afraid that my second uncle will feel bad about the money and won't be willing to give it to me."
"Hahaha, I can't bear to give it to you, so I won't give it to you..."
Although Song Nian said this, he still put the silver ingot in Song An Ning's hand and asked her to keep it well.
It was agreed that there would be a 20% dividend, and although it wasn't much money, Song An Ning still accepted it.
She held the silver in her hand and said as if presenting a treasure:
"Today is a good day! Money is coming in from all directions. I'm so happy..."
"Hahaha, this girl is so happy. There will be many more days like this in the future..."
As soon as Song Dashan finished speaking, he saw several villagers walk to the gate of the courtyard and shouted at Song Anning with full energy:
"Aning, we are here to give you some silver."
"???"