When Xu Shichu was busy with her stepson's marriage, Manager Li from Zui Xiang Ge suddenly came to tell her that someone had secretly come to investigate her farm, which was used as a spice shop near the outskirts of Beijing.
Xu Shichu immediately pretended to be unwell and handed over the matter of his stepson's marriage to Luo Changqing's people, while he himself dealt with the investigation of the spice shop.
In fact, it was not the first time that Xu Shichu's Zuixiang Pavilion was targeted by someone, but it was the first time that it was targeted at the spice shop. Because Xu Shichu attached great importance to confidentiality, she bought the small farm that was used as the spice shop away from the eyes and ears of many people. Moreover, the location of this small farm was relatively remote, and all the people in the farm were her servants who had indentures in place, so they could not be easily bribed by others.
But now this secret spice shop has been visited by someone, which is a relatively big hidden danger. Xu Shichu can't pretend not to know, otherwise her Zui Xiang Pavilion's purse will be snatched away.
She couldn't go out during the day without being noticed, so Xu Shichu had to find Manager Li to learn about the situation in the spice shop. He learned that he discovered that outsiders had come to investigate because the various incense-making raw materials stored in the warehouse of the spice shop were all missing in quantity.
The amount that was missing was very, very small. If Shopkeeper Li was not extremely sensitive to weight, he might not have felt it. But if one ingredient was missing a little, it might be that the worker was careless and did not adjust the amount properly. But what if every ingredient was missing a little? Then it could not be the worker's carelessness, unless the worker was stealing.
Could it be that the craftsmen wanted to steal from the warehouse because they saw the profit? The incense-making raw materials in the warehouse are the most important things. When Xu Shichu first built this workshop, he stipulated that craftsmen could not enter the warehouse alone. There must be two or more people to enter, just to avoid the situation of stealing from the warehouse.
So, is it possible that the two of them were in collusion? This possibility is not very high. Xu Shichu was not stingy with the craftsmen. The wages of these craftsmen were two or three times that of their peers, and sometimes they also received bonuses. It was unlikely that they would take risks for money. After all, their indentures were still in Xu Shichu's hands.
Coercion and inducement from outsiders? This small manor is located in a remote area, with few people within a radius of ten miles. If a stranger came, the guards in the manor would not have failed to notice it.
Therefore, this probably rules out the suspicion that the craftsmen embezzled the goods.
In addition, Shopkeeper Li also told Xu Shichu that the guards found a very shallow footprint in the grass on the roadside outside the manor. The soil left by the footprint was not from the area around the manor. Therefore, he suspected that an outsider had come to investigate outside the manor, and the footprint was left accidentally by the spy.
After listening to Manager Li's reasoning, Xu Shichu became cautious and decided to give a bonus to Manager Li and the guard who discovered the footprints. These two people were really diligent and deserved a reward!
After understanding the general situation and asking Manager Li to keep it secret, Xu Shichu returned to the Prime Minister's Residence. She planned to wait until night to go to her spice shop to find out who had extended their claws into her territory.
In the dead of night, Xu Shichu, who was lying on the bed, opened her eyes. She quietly changed into her nightgown, disguised herself, took her tools, and left the prime minister's residence. Like a kite, she flew away quickly in the night.
Her internal strength has been well-trained now, and she can continue to move forward for a long time even if she moves quickly in the dark. That's why she ran to the small village outside the capital to investigate in the middle of the night and came back before dawn.
Half an hour later she arrived at the small farm. It was late at night and the craftsmen had naturally gone to bed. The guards were doing their job conscientiously. Xu Shichu entered the warehouse without disturbing them.
The warehouse was filled with raw materials for making incense, but the bags were neatly placed. Xu Shichu checked according to what Shopkeeper Li had discovered, but did not find any reduction in quantity.
These incense-making raw materials must be added to a fixed amount every day before the warehouse is closed to make up for the daily consumption, so that there will be sufficient amount of incense-making raw materials after the warehouse is closed.
It seems that only the quantity from yesterday was small, and it was discovered by the overly competent shopkeeper Li.
Xu Shichu was not at all surprised that she did not find any clues about the spy, but she did not lose heart. She took out a finger-long incense stick from the package she brought and lit it. Then she took out a small jar from the package. A powder moth the size of a bee flew out of the small jar, flew around the incense stick for a while, and then flew away in one direction.
Xu Shichu pinched out the incense stick, put it back into the package, and quietly followed the direction of the powder moth.
The powder moth was not conspicuous in the night, but Xu Shichu did not chase it with his eyes, but by his smell.
People who can become spice masters all have exceptionally developed sense of smell and can identify hundreds of smells. Xu Shichu is no exception. She has a sensitive sense of smell, and she has practiced martial arts, which has made her five senses more acute, and her lightness skills are high, so she can easily catch up with the powder moth.
After flying in the dark for a long time, Xu Shichu followed Fen'e back to the city. This was expected. After all, the only people who could covet Zui Xiang Pavilion were those in the capital who could keep an eye on Zui Xiang Pavilion's business.
Fen'e brought Xu Shichu to Xicheng, which was a slum in the capital. People living there were either poor families or all kinds of people.
After twists and turns, the moth flew into a shabby mud house and landed on a person on the bed inside.
Xu Shichu carefully checked the surroundings and the house, and found that there was indeed only one person there, so she jumped in through the window.
The man sleeping in the room was indeed worthy of being a spy in the spice shop. He was very alert. As soon as Xu Shichu came in, he woke up, jumped up from the bed, shouted "Who" in a low voice, and pounced towards Xu Shichu at a rapid speed.
Xu Shichu easily avoided his grasp, turned around and kicked him, and started fighting with him. Perhaps he had something to hide and didn't want to make it public, so this man didn't even dare to make any loud noise during the fight, for fear of waking up the neighbors.
Xu Shichu also didn't want to alarm other people, so for a moment both of them were a little cumbersome. However, Xu Shichu was more skilled after all, and she soon beat the man to the ground.
Before he could shout, Xu Shichu removed his jaw, making it impossible for him to shout anymore.
Xu Shichu tore off the thin quilt from the bed and tied up the man. After making sure that he had no strength to resist, he found an oil lamp and lit it.
The tied man had an ordinary look, about thirty years old, thin and strong. He was glaring at Xu Shichu fiercely, looking very ferocious.
Xu Shichu ignored him and started searching the room. This man was just a spy, a small fry, not the one behind the scenes. However, it would take skill to get the correct information from him, so Xu Shichu was not in a hurry.