Chapter 761: Knowing the roots and the bottom

"According to Li Shuan's confession, back then his father Li Dahong married Lady... Lady Liu, and father and son turned against each other. He ran out of the house in a fit of anger. At first, he worked at the pier, but he couldn't bear that hardship, so he followed a ship owner and begged for food on the boat. Later, he went to the south to make a living. He said he didn't know the news of his father Li Dahong's passing; if he had known, he would have rushed back at the first moment."

Chen Guanlou didn't believe it; Li Shuan had been outside for more than ten years, and his experience was so simple.

"Did he say why he came back?"

"Said there was a war in the south, life was getting harder and harder, so he simply returned to the capital to make a living."

"Why think of working in the Heavenly Prison."

"Said eating public food is guaranteed, and he won't be bullied."

Chen Guanlou snorted, "Do you believe what he said?"

Lu Datou touched his head, looking a bit embarrassed, "Brother, my brain is stupid, I can't distinguish whether what he said is true or false. Drinking with him, I felt that this kid was quite sincere sometimes, and sometimes revealed a bit of craftiness."

"Craftiness is right. Making a living outside alone, if you aren't crafty enough, you would have been sold by others and still counting money for them. Sincerity is also right; he wants to please you, so naturally, he has to show a bit of sincerity."

"Brother, do you mean he is real?" Lu Datou asked curiously.

"Real my ass!" Chen Guanlou kicked the stool at his feet, angry, "Not a single true word was dug out. Let me ask you, he said he begged for food following a ship owner; what work did he do on the boat, what is the background of the ship owner, is it a legal business or an illegal business?

He also said he made a living in the south; what profession did he engage in to make a living, was it doing business or helping others work? What business was it, and what work was it? Which state or prefecture in the south did he specifically make a living in, why would the war affect him?

Has he married and had children and established a career outside all these years, has he brought his family back to the capital? Has he made three or five good friends, did he return to the capital alone or with companions?

Why is he willing to settle for being a prison guard, which is called a lowly trade; does he really not care about the so-called status? Not a single key question was asked, and the other party didn't say a single one. You were just played around by him all night, waste!"

Lu Datou looked aggrieved, all questioned and stunned. He opened his mouth to speak, wanting to refute a few words for himself, but seeing Brother Chen's eyes, he immediately wilted. He admitted his bad luck.

He thought this errand was handled beautifully and could be praised, but he didn't expect that in Brother Chen's eyes, it was nothing.

Grievance!

Anger!

Hate Li Shuan for being too cunning, playing tricks with him all night and talking nonsense without getting to the root of the matter. Also blame himself for underestimating the other party, looking down on the other party, so he was played around.

Chen Guanlou looked at the other party's dejected appearance, very displeased, "You are a prison guard; haven't eaten pork, haven't you seen a pig run? When the Six Fan Gate interrogates prisoners, you have seen it three or five times, didn't you learn anything useful?"

"Brother, you know my brain is stupid, I learn things slowly. The Six Fan Gate is professional; I can't learn it after seeing it three or five times. Besides, that Li Shuan has read books; I am an illiterate person who doesn't know a single character, I definitely can't play tricks better than the other party."

"Incompetence is incompetence, don't find excuses. Where is the person now?"

"Still lying in the inn, drunk, hasn't woken up yet."

"Are you sure he is drunk and not pretending to be drunk."

"That can't be! Drunk or fake drunk, I can still distinguish. Moreover, I arranged for two people to watch him, absolutely not letting him run away."

Chen Guanlou curled his lips and smiled, "Rest assured, he won't run. Since he wants to work in the Heavenly Prison, he definitely won't run."

"Brother, do you really want to use him!" Lu Datou was quite dissatisfied with Li Shuan at this moment, thinking that he, an old oil stick, actually suffered a loss in the hands of a young junior, and a fire was burning in his heart.

"These are not for you to ask. Go find Qian Fugui to collect silver."

"Eh, good! Brother, next time there is an errand, remember to call me." Hearing about collecting money, Lu Datou was happy, and all the anger, grievance, and dissatisfaction were relieved. What can relieve worries, only real gold and silver!

Li Shuan came to the Heavenly Prison the next day.

A very spirited young man, his body is also very strong, it looks like he has indeed done hard labor.

"The small one pays respects to Jiang Jiang Yucheng Chen!" Li Shuan performed a salute.

Chen Guanlou's expression was faint, pointing to the stool on the lower right, lightly saying: "Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, Jiang Jiang Yucheng Lord!" Li Shuan sat down according to the rules; he looked like he had indeed read books.

"Read books?"

"Reporting to My Lord, the small one has read books for two years, knows characters, and can also write."

"Heard that you have been making a living in the south all these years. Can you tell me what you have been doing?" Chen Guanlou asked lightly, seemingly not caring much about the other party, but actually observing the other party's words and deeds.

Li Shuan showed an embarrassed look, a bit awkward, a bit shy, "Not hiding from My Lord, the small one has been messing around all these years, didn't make a name for himself, really ashamed to mention it."

"No matter! People here are messing around all day. No matter how you mess around, at least you supported yourself all these years. Say it, I just like to listen to these things."

"It's just whatever business makes money, I do it. For a while, raw silk made money, so I went to sell raw silk. Cloth made money, so I sold cloth. Also went to the countryside to be a peddler. For a period of time, I also mixed with a bunch of private salt sellers, almost caught by the government. Later, I worked as an accountant in a cargo shop for a period of time, because I offended the young proprietor, so I was fired."

After finishing, Li Shuan lowered his head a bit embarrassedly, looking very ashamed.

Chen Guanlou raised his eyebrows slightly, "Talk about the matter of making a living on the boat; can you swim?"

"Yes. When I was on the boat, at first I was just doing odd jobs. Later, the owner learned that I knew characters and could calculate, so he let me be an accountant."

"Doing well, why didn't you do it later?"

"Mainly because I couldn't adapt to life on the boat, having no fixed place to live, always feeling it wasn't a long-term plan. So I got off the boat and became a peddler."

"Where did the capital for being a peddler come from?"

"Part of it was saved from working. Part of it was the jade pendant my mother gave me when I left home; the jade pendant was pawned and exchanged for a sum of money."

One question and one answer.

Under Chen Guanlou's seemingly casual questioning, Li Shuan explained his past.

He nodded slightly, "Why do you want to be a prison guard? Being a prison guard is not a good job."

"But prison guards won't be bullied by yamen runners. They are all brother units, giving each other face. When the small one was a peddler, the thing I worried about most was meeting the yamen runners of the government; not only did I have to give money, but I was also humiliated, and sometimes if my words were inappropriate, I would be beaten." ===== CHAPTER 762 =====

One asked, one answered.

Under Chen Guanlou's seemingly casual questioning, Li Shuan confessed his entire past.

He nodded slightly, "Why did you want to become a prison guard? Being a prison guard is not a good job."

"But prison guards don't get bullied by yamen runners. We are all brother units, giving each other face. When I was a peddler, the thing I worried about most was running into yamen runners from the government. Not only did I have to pay them, but I would also be humiliated. Sometimes, if I said the wrong thing, I would even get a beating."