Tea Merchants of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 156: The Master of Crutch

Li Ji had woken up when he felt the warmth beside him disappear, but he did not open his eyes. Instead, he secretly regretted for a while.

After a while, he pretended to wake up slowly.

He turned his head to look at Jiang Yin, and found that Jiang Yin was not there. He panicked and looked around to see where Jiang Yin had gone. Then he found that Jiang Yin was walking out the door, and he hurriedly followed.

As for Jiang Yin, she actually wanted to relieve herself. After waking up, she stretched and got up to find a place to relieve herself outside.

It was still early in the morning and Jiang Yin walked towards the woods cautiously.

She really didn't understand why there was no toilet in the dilapidated temple, so she could only go to the woods to solve the problem on her own.

Seeing her go out, Wang Heng, who was always vigilant, followed her out quietly.

I don’t know if it was because Wang Heng and Li Ji went out one after another, but among those husbands who carried their children on their backs, some of them secretly followed him out.

As a result, Jiang Yin's own men followed two more people out.

Suddenly, everyone went out one after another as if they had made an appointment. Some people also followed them out just to join in the fun.

Even the young boy that Jiang Yin had paid attention to before hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and followed.

So, when Jiang Yin finally found a suitable location, a lot of people had already gathered around.

The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, she glanced at everyone, and then set her sights on Li Ji.

There was no other reason. In the eyes of others, she only knew Li Ji.

Li Ji raised his hand to his lips, chuckled and said, "I'm worried about you."

Jiang Yin didn't say anything. Li Ji strode forward and stood next to her, blocking the people behind him. Then he turned around and looked at the others with an expressionless face.

Among the others was Liu Er, and Liu Er was quite close, so he could be considered the first one to follow out.

Liu Er smiled awkwardly and said, "I just came out to pee. I'm going somewhere else, somewhere else."

He winked at Li Ji, as if he was hinting at something.

Li Ji's face darkened, and he knew what he was hinting at.

Without waiting for his reply, Liu Er turned and ran to the other side. The others also followed Liu Er and ran in another direction.

Only the young boy was left hesitating there, while the rest of the gang were scattered not far away.

Seeing that the young boy didn't leave, Jiang Yin took two steps forward and said in a rough voice, "What do you want?"

It can be seen that this young man is not someone who trusts others easily, and he will not meddle in other people's affairs.

I'm hesitating here now, either asking for help or wanting to say something.

As expected, the young boy looked up at Jiang Yin and said with a complicated expression: "Be careful of that person just now. Also, thank you."

After he finished speaking, he ran away without looking back, not giving Jiang Yin any chance to ask any questions.

Jiang Yin raised his eyebrows slightly, turned around and whispered to Li Ji: "Did you hear what he said?"

She sighed in her heart that this young boy knew how to be grateful.

"I understand. I'll take care of it." Li Ji nodded and changed the subject, "If it's convenient for you, I'll help you keep watch."

His face turned red as he spoke. He had never experienced such an embarrassing moment before.

Not only did he blush, but Jiang Yin also blushed.

Jiang Yin also wanted to turn around and leave, but important events in life cannot be paused just because you want to.

On second thought, maybe Li Ji would stay away from her because of this. If that were the case, it would be a win-win situation.

So, although she was embarrassed, she still went to a secluded place to relieve herself.

After she finished using the toilet, she pretended to be calm and thanked Li Ji, and asked Li Ji if he needed to use the toilet and she would help keep watch.

Li Ji raised his eyebrows and glanced at her, then nodded and said, "Yes, thank you."

After he finished speaking, he strode towards the place Jiang Yin had just chosen. Jiang Yin quickly stopped him and said, "You, you go to the other side."

No matter what, I can't go to the place she just went. It would be so embarrassing.

"Heh~" Li Ji smiled lightly, but still listened to her and went to the other side.

After everything was resolved, the two of them tacitly agreed not to mention the matter again, but found a place to wash up.

After washing up, the two did not return to the dilapidated temple, but ate dry food in an open area outside and discussed what to do next.

"I think there's something wrong with Liu Er." Jiang Yin narrowed his eyes and said, "Not only him, but also his subordinates who cheated on him. Who knows, maybe they are the ones who are profiting from this."

Originally, she had a hunch that Liu Er was not a good person, not to mention the young boy's reminder.

Li Ji handed her a baked bun and said, "Don't worry, I have arranged people to watch them. If they make any unusual movements, the people in the dark will take action immediately."

He didn't plan to do it himself for the time being. After all, besides these people, there might be others watching in the dark and looking for a suitable opportunity.

They will not be exposed for the time being, and the initiative is still in their hands.

Jiang Yin nodded in agreement, then sighed and asked in confusion: "Why don't you send someone to follow them? The Tea and Horse Bureau has so many people, aren't they supposed to be used for times like this?"

If there were people from the Tea and Horse Bureau following the porter, I believe the porter would not do such a thing, let alone collude with outsiders.

"The porter is the eyes of the Tea and Horse Department." Li Ji explained with a distant gaze, "There are endless teams of porters transporting tea every day.

The Tea and Horse Agency would set up checkpoints at several entrances and exits to count the number of people and the amount of tea. As for the journey, it was left to the full responsibility of the crutcher.

The Master of Tea and Horses has an agreement that if something goes wrong, the Master of Tea will be the first person to be contacted."

The more money a master earns, the more responsibility he bears. If he is not careful, he may be killed. This is also the risk of seeking wealth and honor.

Of course, this was only the arrangement for transporting tea. Once the war horses were exchanged and transported, the Tea and Horse Department would coordinate and arrange the transportation.

Sometimes, the local garrison would assist in the transportation. After all, war horses have a far-reaching impact, and losing one is a huge loss.

Jiang Yin's expression straightened slightly, and he tilted his head and asked, "Has the person who lost the tea leaves been found?"

Since the master-teacher is responsible for the problem, he should be the first person to be looked for in the matter of the missing tea.

She looked numb. There were people who were responsible, so why were they running out here?

Li Ji quickly explained: "The porter has been arrested, but he refused to plead guilty. He said that the porters who disappeared with the tea leaves all joined in halfway, and he didn't know in advance that they had other purposes."

The crutches refused to confess, nor did they confess who was behind it. They could not get anything out of him, so they could only make two preparations.

While continuing to torture the crutches master, he also continued his investigation along the Tea Horse Road.

"What a good excuse." Jiang Yin sneered, "No matter if he was added halfway or not, he should be responsible as the crutches master!"

If you really don't want to take responsibility, you shouldn't recruit a stranger to carry you around or do something betrayal.