Chapter 43 Selling Raw Materials
After four hours, it was the darkest of the night.
Fang Yuan, who was tired like a dead dog, lay on top of the carriage piled with raw materials and watched Su Li skillfully driving the carriage to the depth of the mountains. He felt stranger and stranger. Considering Su Li’s experience as the miss of the Su Family, how could she have such good driving skills?
In his eyes, Su Li was mysterious and unpredictable like a mist.
He struggled to sit up after a few breaths. Looking at the back of the carriage, he frowned and blurted out, “Little… Su Li, the carriage was so heavy that it would leave a deep rut. We’ll be easy to be found.”
“Not really.” Su Li answered confidently ahead of the carriage but didn’t speak any more.
Fang Yuan could not help frowning more heavily. He remembered what had happened on the South Street the other day. But he did not ask any questions; instead, he turned back and lay down to recover his strength.
Two hours later, the sky turned white and the carriage finally stopped.
Fang Yuan turned over and jumped out of the carriage. Looking around, he was astonished. The place was so covert. He did not expect that there was such a place in the Dasu Town.
They stayed in a natural valley, which was extremely narrow. Both the smooth mountainsides, covered with vines, rose straight up covering all the sky. If Su Li had not brought him here, he would not have found it.
“Stop the carriage here. Let’s go back. After a while, the Su House will be chaotic. I have to go back and join in the fun.”
Seeing Su Li said in such a light way, Fang Yuan could not help turning his eyes and said, “You’d better think of the way to cover the ruts.”
Then he walked out of the valley with anxiety, only to find a traceless road.
“How is it going?”
Fang Yuan was amazed. He clearly saw the ruts left by the carriage along the road. How could they disappear? It was amazing!
“Hurry up and go back.”
Su Li’s face looked normal. She urged Fang Yuan and left the valley. Fang Yuan came to his sense and immediately followed up. Walking along the way, he became more shocked. The ruts left by them were totally gone. Su Li… How did she make it?
“Small skill, don’t ask too much.”
Su Li perfunctorily said. She entered the Su House from the back door of the Jinyuan Court and disappeared.
“Is it a small skill?” Fang Yuan smiled bitterly. Such a magic skill didn’t exist in the Nanjiang known for cunning.
It was the time to get up when Su Li went back to the Jinyuan Court. She changed clothes and did not lie down. Mammy Li came over to wake her up.
Thanks to her cultivation, Su Li did not feel tired despite the fact that she didn’t fall asleep all night. As usual, she washed her face, ate and went to have a cla.s.s. Only when she stayed alone would she show a little sadness.
“It’s a pity that the rare soil that was hard to be cultivated has been used up…”
She gained the making of the rare soil by accident in her previous life. With a little rare soil scattered along the way, no matter how severely the road was oppressed within six hours, it would be restored to its original state in a short time; besides, the soil had the effect of covering up smell.
Six hours later, the rare soil would become ordinary soil and any anomalies would not be detected. In her previous life, she avoided countless kills relying on the rare soil. So, in this life, she prepared some early in order to prevent any misfortune.
After the cla.s.s in the morning, Su Li returned to the Jinyuan Court. The Su House was still quiet as usual.
“It seemed that Su Huanli blocked the news. He was not stupid.”
Putting down the writing brush, Su Li dried the ink on the envelope, with her calm expression showing some coldness.
At the warehouse in the back mountain of the Su House, Su Huanli looked pale seeing a few small bags of seasoning in the corner of the warehouse. He banged hard on the wall and shouted in a low voice,
“The warehouse of the Su Family is extremely covert. Who on earth did it? With so little seasoning left, the Baiwei Building can’t last two days at all!”
Li Yin heavily frowned. Such an accident was unpredictable.
“Master, the guards all pa.s.sed out due to effect of knockout incense and knew nothing. And… It’s weird that there are no traces of carriages outside the warehouse.”
Hearing Li Yin’s a.n.a.lysis, Su Huanli immediately said angrily, “Could the seasoning fly by themselves? Butler Li, there aren’t any raw materials in the mountains near the Dasu Town, are there?”
Li Yin quickly leaned down and said, “Master, after our search in this month, it is found that the maturity period of such spice plants has pa.s.sed. All the raw materials were collected in the warehouse. Even if we search in the mountains around other towns, we won’t find any at all.”
“b.a.s.t.a.r.d, there is no such a rule!”
Su Huan Li was so angry that he was trembling, “Such a coincidence! There must be a mole in the Su Family! d.a.m.n it, without those raw materials, it is impossible to make Beggar’s Chicken, and the reputation of the Baiwei Building will severely fall! Such a clever trick! Who on earth is aiming at our Su Family…”
The more Su Huanli said, the more he felt cold and desperate. The enemy’s means were more than smart. It seemed that everything they did was seen. The Su Family, however, didn’t know who did it at all.
Su Huanli calmed down after gasping for a moment. He ordered in a low voice, “Don’t disclose it, otherwise I will not be able to account for it to the Yang and Zhu Families. Go to ask Er… Li if other seasonings could be alternatives. If not, ask her to develop new dishes right away!”
Li Yin sighed softly when he heard the words. New dishes were not so easy to be developed. The Baiwei Building may come to an end.
Li Yin just thought of it and rushed to the Jinyuan Court.
“Raw materials stolen? Develop new dishes?”
In the study, Su Li stood up in surprise and said, “Butler, what on earth happened? Were all those raw materials stolen?”
Li Yin sighed. When he was ready to explain, he heard the shout of guard outside, “Butler, take a look at the letter on the gate!”
Li Yin, with a stern look, rushed to the gate. He took the envelope in the guard’s hand and asked, “When did you find it?”
“When I was opening the door, the letter fell from the crack between door leaves.” Hearing the guard’s truthful answer, Li Yin frowned more heavily. He couldn’t get the specific time from such a description.
Having a sigh, Li Yin unfolded the note. After he gave a cursory look, his face changed slightly. He immediately brought the note to the Master.
“I am so lucky to have hundreds of jin (a unit of weight, equal to half of one kilogram) of raw materials for the Beggar’s Chicken! If the Su Family intends to buy, come to the Sanhe Bridge at midnight to trade. The price is 800 taels per jin. Considering financial resources of the Su Family, it’s easy to take out ten thousand taels of silver. Su Huanli, remember: If you come with officers or guards, I will disappear immediately. If you still want the Baiwei Building, come and trade by yourself! I don’t wait!”
Su Huanli read with trembling hands and immediately tore the note into pieces in anger, “This is naked blackmail! d.a.m.n it! d.a.m.n it!”
Li Yin shook his head helplessly, “Master, the thief sold the seasonings blatantly immediately after stealing them! Obviously, he knew that our Su Family couldn’t give up Beggar’s Chicken. One jin of raw materials for seasoning can be used for cooking 300 dishes of Beggar’s Chicken. Plus the precious Beggar’s Chicken made by the Second Miss, the gross profit is only about 2,500 taels. Our Su Family accounts for forty percent of the total, which is only worth one thousand taels of silver. The thief wants 800 taels, which is the bottom line. It is really terrible…”
Hearing the a.n.a.lysis, Su Huanli instantly broke out into a cold sweat. When did the Su Family get into such a terrible enemy? Unknowingly, he took all the seasonings away and could thoroughly find out the bottom line of the Su Family’s profits. He was not a mole but the roundworm in the Su Family’s stomach!
“However, the thief fails in one aspect.” Li Yin whispered, “The Zhu and Yang Families did not find any abnormalities in the false accounts made before. Thus the profits of our Su Family could account for sixty percent. In fact, the Zhu and Yang Families account for most loss of the 800 taels, and we do not lose much.”
Su Huanli looked better but still pale, saying, “Tonight, go with me together and hide in the dark. If the thief is caught, I’ll peel off his skin!”
Li Yin kept silent for a moment and promised unnoticeably.
Su Huanli sighed and said helplessly, “Butler Li, I know that you are very reluctant, but the Su Family is not a martial arts family. In face of such a danger, I can only rely on you. If you can help me catch the thief, you can take half of the Su Family’s property.”
Li Yin was shocked and quickly said, “Master, I never thought about seizing the property of the Su Family. I just want to live out my life in retirement here.”
Hearing what the butler said, Su Huanli smiled and squinted, saying, “If so, I won’t force you to accept it. Be careful today.”
“Yes, Master.”
In the afternoon, the weather was extremely good. The Baiwei Building was busy as usual. Yet Fang Yuan felt something unusual. It seemed that there was a surging undercurrent under a calm surface and that it was hard to predict what followed.
“How on earth does she deal with those seasonings…” Fang Yuan felt doubtful but didn’t dare to find Su Li in the Su Family, for fear of exposing himself.
In a flash, it was night. The moonlight covered the Sanhe Bridge like a veil, and the calm lake reflected a lonely figure.
In the moonlight, Su Li watched herself in the lake, only to find a black-faced figure in his thirties with a bristly unshaven chin. The figure, with a plain look, was tall but thin like a bamboo pole.
Whoever saw it would never a.s.sociate it with the most beautiful Miss Su Li in the Dasu Town.
“Fortunately, I have gained the acquired ninth hurdle of cultivation. Otherwise, I may need to recover for a few days due to such a severe stretch of bones.”
Su Li thought. At last, a figure appeared on the other side of the Sanhe Bridge. It was Su Huanli who came alone.
Seeing the man’s appearance, Su Huanli instantly felt confused. He never saw such an unfamiliar man.
“Who on earth are you? Do you hold any grudges against our Su Family? Why do you steal the goods of our Su Family?”
Su Huanli asked the three questions in a row. Su Li laughed lightly, creating a low and hoa.r.s.e voice, “Old guy, cut the c.r.a.p! Do you want those hundreds of jin of raw materials or not?”
Then Su Li turned around and watched the bridge. In a stern tone, she said, “Old guy, I clearly told you to come alone, but you failed to follow it. Isn’t the note given to you unclear?”
Then Li Yin, who had just dived into the water, was nervous. Was he found out? Or cheated?
“You are talking nonsense!” Su Huanli had a guilty conscience but his face remained unchanged, saying, “I do come alone. Don’t make an unfounded attack upon me!”
“Hehe he…”
Su Li sneered and said, “Unexpectedly, the elder butler of the Su Family was a master of the acquired eighth hurdle. Do you think I will treat you as a fish if you stay at the bottom of the lake? I’ll count from one to three. If you don’t come out, don’t blame me for turning you into a dead fis.h.!.+”