Transmigrating to the Qi Family - Chapter 177

Jiang Miao leads Pei Che to a small courtyard that has been sectioned off. As soon as they step inside, they see thick smoke hovering in the air and catch a whiff of a pungent smell that makes their faces pale.

Old Tan has clearly anticipated this. He wears a thick cloth mask over his face, leaving only his focused eyes visible as he closely observes the reaction of the materials before him. When the stone pot in front of him begins to boil violently, he quickly uses tongs to lift it, cools the contents, and pours the refined material onto paper.

The result is a black powder that Jiang Miao can’t identify. It isn’t until Old Tan reveals the answer that Jiang Miao learns it is iron powder mixed with other substances. This powder, when heated in a furnace to produce molten iron, forms pig iron. Pig iron, after repeated smelting and hammering, can be turned into the iron tools they use in daily life.

“I never expect Cangzhou to have such a large iron mine,” Pei Che says with amazement. Cangzhou, long considered barren, turns out to have hidden treasures lying beneath its surface.

“Yes, it turns out they are mining iron!” Jiang Miao, though suspecting it might be ore before, is still quite surprised by the confirmation. Illegally mining iron is a much more serious crime than mining stone.

Pei Che orders his men to collect everything at the site as evidence to present when the Chengtian Prefect arrives.

By the time they finish, it is already afternoon. Just as Pei Che steps out of the gate, ready to return to the government office to handle affairs, he spots a runner coming toward him with a face full of excitement.

“My Lord, we’ve found the manager of the Datong Grain Shop!”

“Oh? Did he turn himself in?” Pei Che asks.

The yamen runner replies, “No, we caught him at his home. Someone sent us a letter with his address and a note saying we’d find him there. When we arrived, Manager Zhu was in the middle of disguising himself, likely trying to evade the authorities.”

This manager had been appointed just days before the Datong Grain Shop closed. The locals are more familiar with the previous manager; otherwise, they might have directed the authorities to him earlier.

“Yes, sir.”

Pei Che rushes back to the government office and orders the court to convene.

Soon, Manager Zhu is brought before the hall. Facing the crowd, he shouts in a blustering but unconvincing tone, “What are you doing? Does the government think it can just arrest people at will? I’ve done nothing wrong! What right do you have to detain me?”

Pei Che responds calmly, “If you’ve done nothing wrong, then why were you disguising yourself to avoid detection? If you’re innocent, why didn’t you come forward when the government sought the grain shop’s manager?”

“I… I was…” Manager Zhu stammers, unable to provide a coherent answer. Earlier that day, when the government surrounded the grain shop, one of his informants had hidden among the crowd. Hearing that the authorities were looking for him, Manager Zhu panicked, thinking they were investigating past events. His first instinct is to flee. However, before he can complete his disguise, government officials break down his door and arrest him.

“This official knows that you’re merely a manager at the Datong Grain Shop, and you probably don’t know everything about their operations. How about this: if you disclose everything you do know, your punishment can be reduced accordingly,” Pei Che says.

Faced with Pei Che’s veiled coaxing, Manager Zhu puts on a mournful expression and says, “Please understand, My Lord, I truly don’t know what to say. I’ve only been managing this shop for six months, and during most of that time, the shop has been closed. We barely conducted any business at all. If you have questions, just ask me directly. As long as I know, I will tell the truth.”

Since Manager Zhu seems willing to cooperate, Pei Che is more than happy to proceed. He asks directly, “Do you know there’s a large group of people living under the cliff at Yangshupo?”

This question seems unrelated to business, and Manager Zhu freezes for a moment before replying, “Yangshupo? Isn’t that place haunted? How could people live under it?”

His surprise doesn’t seem fake, suggesting he genuinely doesn’t know. However, as the manager, how can he be unaware of such a large quantity of grain missing from the shop? Pei Che suspects he is lying.

“If you didn’t know people were living down there, why did you have your workers deliver grain to them?”

“Injustice, Sir! I never instructed anyone to deliver grain to them! Ever since the shop closed, we’ve only occasionally moved some rice and flour to maintain connections, but everything else has been stored in the warehouse.”

He speaks with such conviction that Pei Che is momentarily puzzled. Could the people under the cliff have another source of food? But that doesn’t seem plausible.

“Come on, take the things out for him to see!”

Soon, several yamen runners carry in a few burlap sacks and place them in front of Manager Zhu. He picks one up, and with just one glance, his expression changes. These sacks are clearly the ones used exclusively by Datong Grain Shop.

“Sir, these bags do belong to Datong Grain Shop, but I swear, I’ve never dealt with those people under the cliff, nor have I sold grain to them!”

“You keep claiming you’ve had no dealings with them, but these bags don’t lie. Could it be that someone bypassed you and secretly made transactions with them, sneaking the grain out?”

Manager Zhu immediately denies it. “Impossible! The warehouse keys are in my possession. No one could have taken the goods without my knowledge.”

“Are you certain no one could have moved the goods out?”

Manager Zhu hesitates for a moment before replying, “I’m certain. Each warehouse has two locks, and I inspected them just the day before yesterday. There were no signs of tampering.”

The situation reaches an impasse. Manager Zhu doesn’t appear to be lying, yet the food consumed by the people under the cliff clearly comes from Datong Grain Shop. Finding out the truth is straightforward enough—one simply needs to inspect the warehouse and check if the grain stock is missing.

Pei Che clarifies the amount of stored grain in the warehouse with Manager Zhu, then sends men with the keys to verify the inventory. Two quarters of an hour later, the yamen runners return and report their findings. The numbers show a significant discrepancy—much more is missing than Manager Zhu has claimed.

“It seems you won’t shed tears until you see the coffin. The evidence is right in front of you. What do you have to say now?”

Manager Zhu looks confused and shakes his head repeatedly. “Impossible, impossible! How could it be missing?” As he ponders, a sudden realization strikes him. “Sir, I understand now!”

“What do you understand?”

“It’s the bookkeeper—Bookkeeper He! It must be him secretly selling the warehouse’s grain. He’s been here for five or six years and is trusted by the owners far more than I am. If the owners assigned someone to watch over me, it would definitely be him!”

“Where is he now?”

“Three days ago, he says he’s heading to Chengtian Prefecture to meet a friend. He shouldn’t be back anytime soon! But I know where he lives. If you search his home and find the keys, it will prove my innocence!”

“If you’re so confident, I’ll give you another chance. But if no keys are found at his home, what then?”

Manager Zhu smiles bitterly. “If they aren’t found, I’ll accept whatever punishment you see fit.” He has no choice but to gamble. The warehouse keys are large, and the bundle for several warehouses weighs two or three pounds when carried together. He wagers that Bookkeeper He wouldn’t take them with him while traveling.

The yamen runners, having just returned from an earlier trip, set out again. This time, it takes longer, as searching for something specific is more challenging than merely counting supplies.

However, the news they bring back is a relief to Manager Zhu. Hidden in a concealed spot at Bookkeeper He’s home, they indeed find a large bundle of keys that match Manager Zhu’s warehouse keys exactly.

It seems that Bookkeeper He is the hidden contact within Datong Grain Shop. The secrets he holds are bound to be numerous!