Chapter 13 Mystery: "This subordinate remembers that wine cup that was put on hold two years ago..."

Chapter 13 Mystery: "This subordinate remembers that wine cup that was put on hold two years ago..."

"I remember that the Liushangju restaurant that was shelved two years ago, you once mentioned that you wanted to set up a membership system. This time I happened to find it at Miss Xiao's place, and it is very close to your original idea, so I copied it and brought it back."

Wei Sa presented Qin Ji with a sheet of paper filled with writing, and her tone became somewhat stern as she spoke: "My lord, this thing is at least 70% similar to what you originally envisioned. Could it be that someone in the manor has carelessly leaked something from your study? Should we send a message back to have someone investigate thoroughly?"

Qin Ji waved his hand to signal Wei Sa to calm down, then took the paper he was handed over and quickly scanned its contents.

Although the details regarding membership card distribution, tiers, top-ups, discounts, rebates, etc., are not described in great detail, the overall system is quite complete.

This content is incredibly familiar; it's a complete system of modern membership cards to support business operations. In addition to business operations, it even covers the subsequent development of personal networks through the membership system.

It's no wonder that Wei Sa suspected that something went wrong at home, leading to the leak of the old documents. Anyone with a little knowledge could see that this was definitely not something that could be created in a moment of inspiration, and it was almost impossible for a sheltered teenage girl who had never been involved in business to come up with it.

For Wei Sa, whether to believe that Miss Xiao Er was an undiscovered and brilliant business genius, or to suspect that she was a pawn and a smokescreen being used by some force, was a decision that required almost no hesitation.

But for Qin Ji, there is another possibility.

If we are all time travelers, drawing nourishment from the same soil, wouldn't it be normal for our inspirations to occasionally collide? If this conjecture is true, then Miss Xiao's desire to annul the engagement seems to have a reasonable explanation.

Modern women would be extremely unwilling to obey their parents' wishes for an arranged marriage in this era. Given Xiao Quexian's temperament as discovered during this period, and if we add to that her sense of superiority as a time traveler... then she would probably look down on her, who is also a merchant.

"Wei Sa, do you think we should get rid of her?" Qin Ji looked down at the paper for a long time in silence, then suddenly pinched a corner of the paper and shook it.

His face was smiling, but his eyes held an unfathomable mist, and the words he uttered were completely unexpected by Wei Sa.

"..." Wei Sa thought he knew his master quite well, but at this moment he couldn't figure out whether his words were sincere or a joke.

"Does the master want her to die an accidental death without leaving a trace, or does he want to make a scene to scare the others?" Although he didn't understand, as long as the master mentioned it, he would just follow the master's wishes.

"Hahahaha... Just kidding." Hearing Wei Sa's words, Qin Ji threw his head back and laughed heartily, laughing so hard that he almost lost his composure. When his laughter subsided, there was no trace of gloom in his eyes.

After slowly and deliberately tidying up his slightly disheveled clothes and sleeves from the large movements, Qin Ji asked, "I remember Liang Qiyao sent an invitation to the mansion?"

"Yes, the invitation sent three days ago has already been politely declined as you wished, my lord," Wei Sa replied.

However, he had some doubts in his heart. Why did his lord ask about this matter at this time? Did he change his mind and want to attend the banquet hosted by Prefect Liang again?

"Has the Xiao family received the invitation?" Qin Ji continued to ask.

"Prefect Liang's invitation only invited senior officials and scholars with considerable talent in Jiangzuo. Although the Xiao family are wealthy merchants, they are still somewhat inferior in terms of social status."

As for the Prefect's wife, even before she arrived in Jiangzuo, she had already sent people to buy the Guo Family Garden outside the city. It's currently undergoing extensive renovations, and the Liang family has already let slip that next month the Prefect's wife will be hosting a flower-viewing banquet in the new garden, inviting guests from all walks of life. The Xiao family should also receive an invitation.

Wei Sa's spies were not sent out for nothing. Prefect Liang had just arrived in Jiangzuo to take up his post, and it was precisely the time when he was under the most close surveillance. Naturally, Wei Sa had all the details of the Liang family's recent movements.

"A flower viewing banquet? Madam Liang is really in the mood. Let's go and join in the fun." Qin Ji made the final decision.

Upon hearing his lord say "Let's go together," Wei Sa knew what identity he intended to use to attend Madam Liang's flower-viewing banquet.

He rolled up the piece of paper in his hand and threw it directly into the incense burner next to him, which was emitting wisps of white smoke. The cool fragrance he had inhaled was instantly ruined by the burnt smell of the paper, but Qin Ji no longer cared about any of that.

"Any news about the stolen salt?"

The question was asked in a casual tone, but Wei Sa immediately became serious upon hearing it, knowing that the important matters of the day were finally about to begin.

"There's still no movement on the market, so the robbers are probably holding onto their goods and don't dare to sell them. After that batch of salt was robbed, a warehouse keeper at Fengjiang Wharf drowned while drunk. The timing of his death is too coincidental. We investigated immediately, but he was a widower with no relatives, children, or family. He was usually aloof and rarely interacted with others. So far... we haven't found any clues."

Wei Sa and the others were furious about the hijacking of the salt ship.

Having controlled the waterway for several years, now some reckless river bandits dare to provoke us, and have even succeeded. This is like slapping us in the face. What's worse, almost five days have passed since the incident, and neither the stolen salt nor the bandits have any leads. They seem to have vanished into thin air.

Such a result is not only unacceptable to the Lord, but also unacceptable to themselves. Given their incompetence, was the Lord's careful nurturing of them for so many years merely to raise useless good-for-nothings?

"Tell Wei Xun to write a report on the shortcomings of the escort along the way and send it over. As for the salt ship and the bandits, I'll give him half a month to deal with them. Come back to see me in half a month."

These seemingly casual words sent a shiver down Wei Sa's spine, making him realize that if this matter was not handled properly, Wei Xun would likely face a difficult situation.

But he also had his own fault. After being out there for a few years, being called "Master Wei" by everyone made him feel light-headed and arrogant. While the incident was certainly due to the other side's meticulous planning, Wei Xun's defense arrangements also bore some responsibility for the lapses.

"He deserves to be taught a lesson." With this thought in mind, any desire to plead for Wei Xun completely vanished; the most important thing now was to get to the bottom of the matter.

"The guard who died is still being investigated, but it seems there won't be any follow-up findings. Go and find out about the dockworkers; see if there are any unfamiliar faces who have suddenly appeared and disappeared recently, or if any dockworkers who regularly take jobs have suddenly left."

After reorganizing the matter in his mind, Qin Ji immediately noticed something amiss. The death of the warehouse keeper was too conspicuous, like a flaw deliberately exposed to lead people astray.

No, that's not right! Such roundabout methods are definitely not the style of those Jiang bandits.

Qin Ji tapped the table lightly, lost in thought.

...Tapping lightly on the table, Xiao Yan looked at the two fat fish in front of her with great interest.

Qingfu and Lüe, who were beside her, looked troubled and hesitant. In the end, Qingfu was more outspoken and stepped forward to offer a word of advice before Aunt Fu took action.

“Miss, why don’t you let Aunt Fu prepare it before serving it? Slaughtering involves knives and blood, and it smells terrible. It’s not a pleasant sight for you to see.”

Qingfu was very worried that if the scene of killing the live fish was not controlled properly, the bloody mess might frighten the girl.

"I specially invited Aunt Fu to the small hall today to make sashimi, just to witness Aunt Fu's exquisite knife skills, which are as thin as cicada wings. What would I want to see if she did it well?" Not to mention watching someone kill fish, Xiao Yan Hui is not afraid of doing it herself.

Ever since she heard that Aunt Fu had excellent knife skills, especially in making top-notch sashimi, she had been looking forward to it.

She was looking forward to the taste of fish sashimi in this era when the water source was still quite good, and she also looked forward to witnessing the legendary top-notch knife skills. Now that everything was ready, she naturally wouldn't be persuaded by Qingfu's few words.

"Miss, why don't you let Aunt Fu do the basic preparation outside and bring the fish in when you're slicing it? Otherwise, the fishy smell will really affect your appetite," Green Moth suggested, offering another reason.

"Please wait a moment, young lady. I'll be right back. I've practiced my fish sashimi skills diligently, and I'm sure I won't disappoint you today."

Aunt Fu was clearly very confident and proud of her skills. Ever since she knew that her daughter wanted to watch her eat while she sliced ​​the food, she had been determined to show off her skills. Today, she even straightened her back a bit more when she spoke and acted.

But Green Moth's point was indeed very reasonable. She herself was afraid that the fishy smell would spoil the girl's appetite, so she immediately agreed with Green Moth's suggestion.

“You’re right, okay, then I’ll wait a bit longer.” Hearing this, Xiao Yan Hui readily agreed.

Aunt Fu was indeed very quick; in less than half an incense stick's time, she returned with a fish that had been partially prepared. The other fish was left to the two young maids who had just been assigned to help in the kitchen to continue processing.

The girl is waiting for her!

After selecting the knife and setting up the cutting board, Aunt Fu looked solemn, and even her aura seemed to have softened.

Xiao Yan Hui even felt that she inexplicably had the aura of a big boss at this moment.

Her bright eyes looked over, and the anticipation in them deepened.

With a soft, continuous sizzling sound, Cheng Liang's knife swiftly sliced ​​along the fish's spine, instantly removing two complete fillets.

With a flash of the knife, the blade made two clean cuts along the fish skin, and the white and pinkish, delicate and crystal clear fish meat, like peach blossom jelly, was laid flat.

The next opportunity was all about showing off skills. With the blade parallel to the cutting board, Aunt Fu's hands began to move, slicing from the fish tail toward the head, one slice after another, at a speed so fast that you could almost see afterimages.

But what's even more amazing is the sliced ​​meat. What I thought was an exaggeration of being as thin as a cicada's wing turned out to be a true description. Picking up a slice, you can see what it means to be translucent.

On the table were already laid out Aunt Fu's special plum sauce, mustard sauce, orange and garlic sauce, and a five-spice platter, each with its own unique characteristics.

After trying them all, Xiao Yan felt that each one was delicious. At this moment, she felt that she had fully understood what the ancient poem described as "crisp as spring ice cracking, sweet as melted cheese" meant.

After devouring most of the fish, Xiao Yan Hui finally snapped out of her reverie and saw the maidservant, whom Aunt Fu had brought to help, standing hesitantly outside the door.

Aunt Fu frowned immediately when she saw her like this, thinking that the girl's poor skills had ruined the other fish.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Yan had already recognized the girl as the one she had chosen that day, so she waved to her, signaling her to come forward and answer.

"Was it another fish that wasn't prepared properly? It's okay, you'll get the hang of it next time with more practice." Xiao Yan thought that the child hadn't spent much time in the kitchen, and might have accidentally cut open the gall bladder or something, but she was afraid to say anything at the moment.

"No, it's...it's that something strange came out of the fish's belly." The cat said in a low voice, clenching its hands nervously.

A note from the author:

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