From the waiters to the cooks, and even the stable hands, Liu Shan’s inn had only thirteen employees in total. Though few in number, each was strong, healthy, and highly capable.
However, this number seemed completely mismatched with the size of the inn, and Xie Yu initially suspected Liu Shan might be hiding additional staff.
According to Liu Shan’s own explanation, the guests at this kind of inn generally had few demands and were content with rough treatment, so fewer staff sufficed.
Yet, when questioned individually, the employees had their complaints:
“The boss is too stingy!”
“We’ve even calculated his profits secretly. He must earn at least a hundred taels a year, yet he acts like a miser, not spending a single penny!”
“What does he mean by saying he doesn’t need so many people? He treats us like animals, making us work ourselves to death…”
Great, instead of finding clues, they ended up collecting a pile of complaints.
Ad, getting a headache from their noise, slammed the table to calm them down, “Okay, okay, it’s indeed not great. Then why don’t you just find another place to work?”
I’m not in charge of this, why are you telling me all this?
The employees hesitated.
“Well, actually, it’s not that bad…”
“Yeah, it’s close to home, and though the boss is stingy, he never withholds our wages.”
“People like us wouldn’t find other jobs easily in the city anyway…”
That’s just how people are. Even if they often complain, once they’ve settled down somewhere and put down roots, they become reluctant to move.
Over time, when outsiders try to persuade them to leave, they even rack their brains trying to find so-called advantages to convince themselves to stay.
Ad inwardly grumbled, this is just like a couple arguing!
You decide for yourselves!
When they asked about Gao Kuailei, most employees didn’t have a clear impression.
Firstly, they were all too busy to carefully observe each guest, and Gao Kuailei wasn’t particularly memorable.
Secondly, it had already been over half a year, so their memories were quite vague.
However, one employee responsible for accommodation thought for a while and said, “He did come once, and he even vomited in the room. I had a hard time cleaning it up!”
Ad asked eagerly, “Was he drunk and vomited, or was there another reason?”
The employee shook his head, “He didn’t seem to have drunk anything. I didn’t smell any alcohol. At that time, I even went to inform the boss, who was afraid that Gao Kuailei might have some illness and die in the inn during the New Year festival, which would be bad.”
Ad: “…”
Your inn’s simple operation really has the potential of a robber’s den!
“Then, did your boss meet with Gao Kuailei? Did they talk about anything? Or did they spend a long time together?”
Prompted like this, the employee indeed recalled some fragmented details and nodded vigorously, “That did happen.”
At that time, they were even worried he might really die.
“Did Liu Shan go out during those days?” Ad asked hopefully.
However, the employee shook his head.
No one could even accurately explain exactly which day and hour Gao Kuailei arrived or when he left.
Due to the shortage of staff at the inn, the service was very poor. Except for serving dishes and washing plates, guests basically had to take care of everything themselves.
Even feeding the animals required guests to bring their own feed from the stable, where it was piled up, and then fetch water from the nearby well.
Though inconvenient, the prices were cheap, and no guests thought it was bad.
This resulted in only one person being on duty at night throughout the entire inn, and even that person had to find time to catch some sleep.
If Liu Shan really did something at night, unless a guest suddenly came out, it would be almost impossible for anyone to notice.
Xie Yu looked at the dense pile of testimonies, “Have these always been the same people?”
Ad nodded, “Confirmed. Since one left a year and a half ago, there have been no changes.”
In principle, with one person fewer, they should hire someone new, but Liu Shan was too stingy. Alas, seeing that the remaining thirteen could still manage, he naturally didn’t want to spend extra wages.
A year and a half ago, Gao Kuailei had not yet met with misfortune, so he was unrelated to this case.
Ma Bing asked, “Sir, is there something suspicious about Liu Shan?”
She noticed that Xie Yu seemed to have something on his mind since earlier.
Xie Yu had Ad put away the testimonies, “I suspect Liu Shan is hiding something.”
In the so-called confession just now, Liu Shan indeed didn’t lie much, but he might not have told everything.
So, at this point, what is it that he is still trying hard to conceal?
Perhaps those unspoken words and fragments would become the key to solving the case.
Xie Yu thought for a moment and chose Ad and another constable, “Later, when we return to Kaifeng, you two should walk a bit further away before secretly coming back to keep surveillance.”
The two men saluted and accepted the order.
Xie Yu continued, “Buy some food supplies here. Also, try not to split up, ensure that your partner can see you at regular intervals. If the situation seems off, immediately set off the signal fireworks.”
He had a feeling that this inn had secrets, and not good ones.
They had thought they would find nothing, but when assembling, the last constable ran in with a delighted expression, “Sir, a regular customer says he knows Gao Kuailei and even knows his real name is Gao Fa, though he doesn’t know his hometown.”
Curiosity is human nature. Ever since Xie Yu’s group entered the inn, many bold guests had waited to see the commotion.
Later, seeing them question the staff, some couldn’t help but chime in.
The constables thought, Gao Kuailei was a regular guest here, maybe he was friends with someone! So they went to ask.
This questioning actually found a traveling merchant.
This person was also a peddler who occasionally came here to rest and had met Gao Kuailei years ago at a place where he bought goods. Later, they met again at this inn, which naturally evoked a sense of meeting an old friend in a foreign land, and they even drank together and exchanged experiences.
At that time, Gao Kuailei had not yet made a name for himself and was still known by his real name.
With this name, everyone was naturally delighted.
The government had household registration documents from various places. As long as they checked for someone named Gao Fa around the same age, they could find him.
Even if there were people with the same name, it would narrow down the scope.
Seeing that Xie Yu and others were about to leave, Liu Shan even came out to see them off.
Ad then said, “After a day of work, watching others eat that big pot stewed pork with vermicelli looked pretty good. I’m hungry too. Boss, do you have some big pieces of braised pork? If so, cut me a few jin to take with me.”
The method of preparing braised pork is relatively simple. In short, you just throw the ingredients into a big pot and stew them hard.
Although the taste might vary slightly due to the seasonings, the common people weren’t picky, so this dish could be seen in many taverns and inns in the north.
Liu Shan immediately had someone go cut some, “Pick the best, the fattest!”
If prepared differently, eating fatty meat plain might be a bit greasy, but after a long stewing, the braised pork’s oil and fat had already dissolved into the broth. The fatty part was truly fragrant, not greasy, and melted in your mouth, making it the best part.
Before long, a servant came over with a fragrant, large paper-wrapped package.
Because it was stuffed too full, the corners couldn’t even close properly, revealing a large piece of hot, quivering braised pork, glistening with oil and fat, exuding a sweet aroma.
Later, when Ad wanted to pay, Liu Shan refused to take the money.
“Officers eating and drinking here means you’re honoring me. How could I possibly take your silver?”
Ad then mimicked Xie Yu, narrowing his eyes to look at him, “You’ve often done this to get rid of the officers before, right? Is your business even legitimate?”
Liu Shan got anxious, instinctively reaching to touch his mustache, and firmly declared, “Of course, we operate with integrity!”
Everyone’s gaze fell on the hand Liu Shan used to touch his mustache, “…”
Liu Shan: “…”
Accompanied by an uncomfortable and eerie silence, the group left the inn.
After rounding a corner and completely hiding the inn behind the trees, Ad and another constable stopped and quietly turned back.
Once back at the yamen, the next task was to search for “Gao Fa” according to the household registers, which temporarily had nothing to do with Ma Bing.
So she returned to the herb garden first. As she walked in, Wang Heng sniffed and asked, “Did you guys go out to eat braised pork?”
Ma Bing was startled and lifted her arm to sniff. Sure enough, the meat Ad bought wasn’t well wrapped, and the smell had transferred to others.
“We just passed by a big pot of cooking meat…”
As she spoke, Ma Bing also felt hungry and went straight to take down some preserved pork, “Fine, let’s eat first!”
After washing and boiling the preserved pork to remove most of the salt, she sliced it quickly. Whether cold-mixed or stir-fried, the meat was great. This piece of meat was excellent, with about six parts fat. After boiling, it became translucent. With Ma Bing’s excellent knife skills, stacking two or three slices together, you could still see Old Wang’s face on the other side, very beautiful.
More fat indeed means more fragrance and sweetness, but for people who usually have enough oil in their diet, eating too much can easily become greasy.
So Ma Bing first stir-fried the preserved pork slices over high heat. When the fat sizzled and the edges of the meat curled, turning a beautiful golden color, and a considerable amount of glossy oil gathered at the bottom of the wok, she then added the cut garlic sprouts.
The garlic sprouts, nourished by the oil, became even more emerald green, as if carved from top-grade jade, gaining nine-tenths of its beauty.
Wang Heng and the two apprentices were stretching their necks and inhaling nearby, repeatedly saying, “So fragrant, so fragrant~”
Since Ma Bing came, everyone has had more exchanges. Now, their medical skills progress aside, their body fat has indeed steadily increased, which is truly commendable.
In addition to the garlic sprouts stir-fried with preserved pork, Ma Bing added a luffa egg drop soup. The light green luffa and pale yellow egg flowers floated in the broth, looking tender and fresh, exuding a sense of spring.
Luffa clears heat and cools blood, making it perfect for consumption during the summer-to-autumn transition while working, preventing internal heat buildup.
Ma Bing divided half of the dish and soup for Master Wang and his three apprentices, then packed the remaining into a large food container and left with it.
Wang Heng shouted after her retreating figure, “Not eating together?”
This little girl eats with such gusto, just watching her increases one’s appetite.
Ma Bing didn’t look back, walking quickly, “No, no…”
As she spoke, she passed through bridges and corridors, circled around several moon gates, and stood under the osmanthus tree outside the second hall, shouting, “Minister Xie?”
If her guess was correct, Xie Yu was definitely reviewing the household registration records with the officials from the household department at this time.
Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, Xie Yu pushed the door open from inside. Seeing the young girl standing in the light and shadows, smiling at him, he couldn’t help but smile too.
“Come in.”
A breeze blew, causing the branches full of golden osmanthus to sway. The yellow flowers twirled down like a fragrant rain of petals.
Ma Bing walked through this flower rain. Upon entering, she indeed saw several familiar constables buried in paperwork.
Hearing her come in, the men looked up, rubbing their eyes and stretching their necks.
“Miss Ma has arrived?”
One man smiled, sniffing, “Oh, looks like we’re in for a treat.”
Throughout the Kaifeng Prefecture, who didn’t know that Miss Ma’s cooking skills were as good as her medical skills!
Though not everyone had the fortune to taste them.
Just then, the kitchen also sent over the daily dishes for each person. Combined with the garlic sprouts stir-fried with preserved pork and the luffa egg drop soup brought by Ma Bing, the table was fully and richly set.
Kaifeng has abundant aquatic resources, so almost every meal includes a dish with fish, turtles, shrimp, or crabs. Today’s dish was vinegar-braised white fish, very appetizing.
Ma Bing ate several bites in a row, and then a bowl of soup was pushed over.
Without even looking, she knew it was from Xie Yu.
She took a few spoonfuls and drank happily. Oh, the soup I made is so delicious!
After dinner, Ma Bing also joined the search for “Gao Fa.”
There were simply too many household registration documents, so they had to go through them one by one. Their eyes soon hurt from flipping through, so having an extra pair of hands helped speed things up.
Despite this, it wasn’t until dusk that they managed to go through all the household registers.
After compiling the data, they found a total of eighteen people named Gao Fa under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng, among whom five matched the age range.
Without any unexpected circumstances, the missing Gao Fa must be one of them.
Without delay, Xie Yu immediately assigned several people, sending them in pairs to visit the hometowns of the five Gao Fas overnight.
The next morning, the dispatched people returned one after another, bringing several bad news and a new lead.
The true identity of the missing Gao Fa had already been confirmed. He was born in a small village more than sixty li away from the Kaifeng Prefecture city.
According to his family, Gao Fa started doing business when he was around eighteen or nineteen. Because the surrounding villages and towns weren’t prosperous and were squeezed by local bullies, Gao Fa went to Kaifeng City, where he gradually established himself.
However, Kaifeng was far from home, so Gao Fa didn’t return often, sometimes staying away for a year or two.
The constable said, “Previously, Liu Shan mentioned that Gao Fa might have gone home for the New Year, but his family said he hadn’t returned since leaving home last summer. He only sent a package of silver back to his hometown through a fellow villager before the New Year.”
Xie Yu asked, “Did he have a residence near Kaifeng?”
The constable nodded, “Yes, it’s in a small town about ten li further from Liu Shan’s inn. That town is one of the closest to the city. Many small traders, who live far from home and can’t return easily, often rent accommodation there for long periods as a transit point instead of settling in the city of Kaifeng.”
Xie Yu patted his shoulder and said to the constables who had worked through the night, “You’ve worked hard. Go back and rest.”
After everyone dispersed, Xie Yu called Huo Ping and Zhuang Peng, “Come on, let’s go check out Gao Fa’s residence!”
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