Chapter 20: Shipyard

As if a word had awakened the dreamer, the eyes of both Lin Zuo and Tang Zheng lit up.

"Reporting sunken ships is to fake an accident and collect wealth; the grain on the ships naturally doesn't need to really sink into the canal," Lin Zuo said while thinking. "It's impossible to eat that much grain all at once; there must be a way to handle it."

"Needless to say?" Tang Zheng interjected from the side. "It must be to find a place to sell it."

Su Xiaoxi immediately retorted: "But you can't just openly sell so much suspicious grain. It would be very troublesome if the government found out. There must be a place to store it."

This sentence reminded Lin Zuo, who suddenly asked Su Xiaoxi: "Do you have a map of the waterways near Zhenjiang Prefecture?"

"Yes."

Su Xiaoxi searched around her home. Because her brother Su Shanhe was the Grain Transport Supervisor Commander, responsible for managing and coordinating all matters of water transport, the family really did have a map of the Zhenjiang Prefecture waterways.

Lin Zuo leaned over the map and looked at it for a long time, then pointed to a marked spot on the map and asked: "What is this place?"

"This is the River God Altar built last year. Now, a ceremony to worship the River God is held here every month." Su Xiaoxi glanced at the map and said, "The common people throw silver and money into the water to worship sincerely, and then they can receive grain and rice blessed by the River God at the altar. Those River God believers go around preaching that eating this blessed grain and rice can ensure the health and safety of the whole family."

Tang Zheng interjected: "Isn't that the same as spending money to buy grain?"

"How could it be the same?" Su Xiaoxi sneered. "The grain and rice blessed by the River God are not said to be for sale to the outside world, but are said to be gifted. But in fact, it is directly linked to the amount of silver and money thrown into the water. If you really calculate it, the price is ten times higher than ordinary grain and rice."

"And what is this place?" Lin Zuo pointed to another mark on the map and asked.

Su Xiaoxi looked at the map: "This is an abandoned shipyard. In the past, some damaged ships from the water transport would be towed here for repairs, but because it has been in disrepair for a long time, it hasn't been used much in recent years."

Lin Zuo: "Is this shipyard far from the River God Altar?"

Su Xiaoxi: "Very close, just on the other side of the river, the waterway distance is only two or three hundred meters."

Lin Zuo: "Who manages this shipyard?"

Su Xiaoxi: "I'm not sure, but Li Sheng is the Deputy Commander of the Grain Transport Supervisor; he should be responsible for arranging the management of the shipyard."

Tang Zheng listened curiously from the side and asked Lin Zuo: "Do you think Li Sheng hid the grain in this shipyard?"

"Hmm." Lin Zuo nodded and said, "First, the shipyard has enough space to stack grain, and because it is abandoned and guarded by Li Sheng's people, it is not easy to be exposed. When the sacrifice is held, it can be transported directly to the altar area to be sold to the common people."

"Second, the shipyard connects to the waterway. The grain on the transport ships can be easily transported to the shipyard, and then something else can be put on the ship. It is not easy to be discovered, and once the ship sinks, there is no evidence."

"Third, the location of this shipyard is adjacent to the mouth of the Grand Canal to the west and connects to the East China Sea to the east." Lin Zuo's finger traced across the map. "If there is any disturbance, Li Sheng can escape by water at the first opportunity."

"That makes sense!" Tang Zheng slapped his palm. "How did you think of that?"

Lin Zuo smiled and did not answer.

And Tang Zheng didn't continue to ask, just kept urging: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go! Let's go there and investigate now!"

However, this reckless person was stopped by Lin Zuo.

"Don't be anxious, wait until it's dark to go."

……

Night fell. Lin Zuo, Tang Zheng, and Su Xiaoxi came to the vicinity of the shipyard marked on the map and observed quietly.

Although this place was very close to the Xijin Ferry, because it had been abandoned for a long time and it was late, there were no people around.

Lin Zuo, Tang Zheng, and Su Xiaoxi hid behind a low wall dozens of meters away. They could see two torches lit at the gate of the shipyard, and two big men who looked like guards were sitting there drinking and chatting.

"In the middle of the night, an abandoned shipyard actually has two people guarding it. There must be a problem here." Tang Zheng lowered his voice and said.

After speaking, he couldn't help but want to sneak over, but was pulled back by Lin Zuo.

"Don't alert the enemy."

Tang Zheng: "Then what should we do?"

Lin Zuo: "I will go to lure the guards away, and you two find an opportunity to sneak in."

After speaking, he wanted to leave, but Tang Zheng suddenly pulled him: "Hey, wait a moment."

"What's wrong?"

"Give you something." As Tang Zheng spoke, he took a handful of small paper packets from his bosom and stuffed them into Lin Zuo's hand: "You are a scholar who can't even truss a chicken; take this for self-defense."

Lin Zuo: "What is this?"

Tang Zheng: "Lime powder. This stuff is very useful. Remember, if you can't beat them, throw it, then turn around and run."

Lin Zuo was stunned for a moment, feeling a bit amused.

He also knew about lime powder; street thugs often used it in fights. However, for a master like him, he didn't really look down on these low-class tricks.

With his skills, even without any weapons, a mere small shipyard couldn't keep him. However, when Tang Zheng stuffed these lime powder packets to him, Lin Zuo felt a slight stir in his heart for no reason, and couldn't help but think of his master.

When he was a teenager, every time he went out on a mission, his master would care for him just like this, giving him endless instructions, wishing he could bring all the self-defense items for him.

It's a pity...

I really want to hear Master's nagging one more time.

He took the lime powder, tucked it into his bosom, and asked again: "What about you?"

"Don't worry." Tang Zheng took another large handful of paper packets from his bosom and said cheekily: "I have plenty more."

"Good, then let's act according to the plan." Lin Zuo patted Tang Zheng on the shoulder: "Be careful."

"You too."

……

With the cover of night, Lin Zuo ran quickly, crouching, and approached the gate of the shipyard.

With his skills, a mere low wall naturally couldn't stop him. However, on one hand, he didn't want to expose his identity in front of Tang Zheng and Su Xiaoxi, and on the other hand, he also wanted to create some opportunities for Tang Zheng and Su Xiaoxi to go in and investigate.

So Lin Zuo didn't use the skills of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but first approached to observe for a while.

This shipyard looked quite large from the outside, and there were shadowy lights and faint human voices inside. This point first of all did not quite match the claim that it was an abandoned shipyard.

Secondly, the two people guarding the gate couldn't be seen clearly from a distance before, but now that he was close, he realized that they were exactly Heipi and Datou, two of the three people who had followed them before, and both of them had knives hanging from their waists.

There is no doubt that there must be something important in this shipyard, which is why it is necessary to send people to guard it so strictly.

A hard charge is definitely not okay. Heaven knows how many people are in the shipyard. It would be bad if the enemy were alerted.

It would be best to lure these two people out and solve them quietly. ===== CHAPTER 21 =====