Chapter 1412: Upper-Tier Characters in the Food Chain

Under violent suppression, the waiter brought out the fastest speed, best memory, and best social skills of his life.

If he couldn't remember, he asked the shopkeeper and his colleagues.

He even boldly asked for characters he didn't know how to write.

If he really couldn't express it clearly, he drew pictures.

He even thoughtfully drew a route map.

For an entire afternoon, locked in a private room, he wrote a full stack of paper.

Chen Guanlou looked at the chicken-scratch handwriting on the paper and was very disgusted. At least, he recognized them all.

"Five bandit groups, which one is the biggest, which one is the most well-informed, and which one is the most capable?"

"Naturally, the group of bandits on Niubei Peak. I heard people say that their leader used to be a subordinate of the Prince of Chu. When the Prince of Chu was defeated, he took a few brothers into the mountains to become bandits. He has wide connections, a broad hand, and is well-informed. The key is that unlike other bandit leaders, he doesn't just know how to rob money and play with women. I heard people say he took men into the mountains to reclaim wasteland and farm; he has great ability!"

"The government didn't suppress him? He was a subordinate of the Prince of Chu!"

"Not too sure. Perhaps he cleared his relationship with the government."

Chen Guanlou smiled, noncommittal.

The waiter's information channels were limited; being able to know that the bandit leader of Niubei Peak was a former subordinate of the Prince of Chu was already quite remarkable.

After the waiter finished writing all the information, Chen Guanlou kept his word and gave him two ingots of silver, totaling ten taels. And they were full weight, absolutely no cutting corners. Silver minted by the Lesser Palace didn't need to be questioned for quality! It was much better than the silver minted by the Ministry of Revenue and local governments.

That bunch of civil officials in the Ministry of Revenue didn't do human things; they had been playing tricks on coin minting for years, and it had become a standard practice!

Not to mention local governments; using excuses like limited technology, for five taels of silver, there had to be one and a half taels of impurities. They were making a fortune!

A bunch of trash!

Leaving the restaurant, Xiao Lu asked quietly, "Master Lou, what shall we do next? Should we go directly to find those bandits to inquire about information?"

Chen Guanlou smiled. "No, we're going to the gambling den to chat with a few peers. I believe they will all be very happy to share some local customs with me."

To inquire about information, of course, it was impossible to ask only the waiter.

Prison guards and yamen runners have plenty of common topics between them. Once they meet, they start chatting after three or two sentences. Chatting until midnight, after leaving the gambling den, he went directly to the local county yamen to chat with the private secretary.

High-end matters are only known to those at the top of the food chain.

Such a large batch of goods, wanting to transport it out, is not a simple matter.

Whether by water or land, it might not alarm the local county magistrate, but it would definitely alarm the private secretary beside the county magistrate, as well as the local wealthy families.

Chen Guanlou found the private secretary's residence, tied the man up, took him out of the city, threw him into a ruined temple, and intimidated him, and sure enough, he heard the information he wanted.

"More than twenty days ago, a batch of goods did pass through this county. They were very sensible and gave a considerable amount of silver, so I didn't make things difficult for them and let them go."

"Then do you know that a month ago, the Hou Fu merchant caravan passed through your county?"

The private secretary looked confused. "Never heard of it! If the Hou Fu merchant caravan passed through my county, why didn't they say hello and let us fulfill our duty as hosts?"

"You really don't know?"

"My life is in the hands of the warrior; how would I dare to lie. If the warrior doesn't believe me, you can go and ask the few wealthy families in this county. All the things in this county cannot escape their eyes."

"So, a month ago, people died on the official road; you don't know that either?"

The private secretary was even more confused.

"Did people die? Why didn't anyone come to report to the officials? Could it be that the Hou Fu merchant caravan was..."

"You are a private secretary; you should know very well what should be said and what should not." Chen Guanlou smiled ambiguously.

The private secretary nodded repeatedly. He understood! His lips were very tight! Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to eat this bowl of rice as a private secretary, and he had been eating it for decades.

Not everyone is like Mu Qingshan, who couldn't control his mouth.

"Do you know where that batch of goods went?"

"I really don't know. I only manage collecting silver and issuing permits! I don't ask about anything else; this is the rule!"

"Do you remember the person who contacted you initially? Draw his appearance."

The private secretary immediately showed a difficult expression. "It has been such a long time, I don't..."

"Stop talking nonsense!" Chen Guanlou interrupted the other party, then smiled unkindly. "I know the skills of a proper private secretary better than anyone. Don't tell me you don't remember. If you don't remember people, what kind of private secretary are you? How did you eat this bowl of rice?"

He sneered.

The basic quality of a private secretary, besides understanding officialdom rules and yamen operations, is to have a super memory. Especially the people they have met and the things they have experienced; these might be useful at any time.

The master is in trouble and needs full rescue. Who to find?

The private secretary must search his entire brain, go through everyone he has known and met, and find the right person. This is a competent and qualified private secretary.

If he can't even remember people, how can he be a private secretary!

The private secretary said with difficulty, "It's not that I intentionally refuse, but I am not good at painting. Even if I force myself to paint, it will be a mess."

Chen Guanlou frowned, forgetting this. He wasn't good at painting either. At this moment, how he wished his nephew-in-law Mu Wenxu was present; that kid's painting was realistic, worthy of a one-to-one reproduction!

"I, I can paint!"

Xiao Luzi raised his hand weakly and said.

Chen Guanlou stared at him. "You can?"

"I studied painting in the clan school; the teacher said I had great talent. It's a pity I couldn't take the imperial examination."

Xiao Luzi felt deeply regretful.

Chen Guanlou laughed; the problem was solved.

The private secretary described, and Xiao Luzi painted. They worked until dawn, and finally, they had a qualified portrait.

"That's exactly what he looked like!" The private secretary pointed at the portrait and said, his tone slightly excited. "Refined, like a scholar. When I saw him, I immediately felt three parts of goodwill. Hearing him say that he had setbacks in the imperial examination and had to do business, I felt the same, so I didn't make things difficult for him, nor did I ask for the cargo manifest; I collected the money and let him go."

Chen Guanlou stared at the portrait, his expression thoughtful.

Xiao Luzi asked quietly, "Does Master Lou find him familiar?"

"Have you seen him?" Chen Guanlou asked back.

Xiao Luzi scratched his head, looking slightly confused. "I can't say. It seems I've seen him, but I don't remember where I saw him."

"You must have seen him. I guess you bumped into them when they were scouting." Chen Guanlou boldly speculated.

Xiao Luzi said 'ah', is that so?

Blame his brain for not being very good; no matter how he tried, he couldn't remember. When he was studying, the teacher said his brain had water in it, and it hadn't been drained yet. He was only able to mix into the caravan to work because his surname was Chen. Like Chen Guanlou, he had long been out of the five degrees of kinship with the Hou Fu.

The difference was that Chen Guanlou was awesome and stood up. While Xiao Luzi's branch had been declining and declining, declining until the house was bare.

If it weren't for the clan school, he would have had no chance to read and write.

If it weren't for the clan's relief, his family would have starved to death long ago.

Now that he was working in the caravan to earn money, his family's situation had improved. ===== CHAPTER 1413 =====