The Cao Gang is the largest gang in Qiantang and was established more than ten years ago. At first, it was just a private escort, some of the meaning of a water dart bureau, and later developed into an organization mainly responsible for transporting salt and iron to the government.

Shen Qinglong is a legend. It is said that he was only a poor scholar in Qiantang County when he was young, and he was forced to join the Cao Gang because of his life. Because he is very clever and capable of doing things, he was appreciated by the gang leader Cao Dacheng and married his daughter to him. Later, Cao Dacheng's son died in a firefight, and Cao Dacheng was assassinated by the enemy soon after, and Shen Qinglong naturally inherited the position of the gang leader, and slowly developed a small gang into what it is today.

Shen Qinglong is low-key, and his mansion is also unpretentious. The blue-gray wall tiles, and the red-mottled gate are lined with a pair of stone lions. Only the plaque with the word "Shen Fu" on the gate is new. If he hadn't seen this plaque, Lin He would have thought he was in the wrong place.

The gate of the Shen Mansion was not closed, but there were two janitors standing at the door, chatting in a low voice.

"I heard that the master went to Miss Muqing again last night!"

"See, the red mark on my face is still there!"

"How many times have you been to Mu Qing, if you like this Mu Qing, it's better to redeem it!"

"You know a fart, as the saying goes, a wife is not as good as a concubine, and a concubine is not as good as stealing!"

"Hehe, I see, you know more about Lao Li!"

Hearing these words, Lin He stood around the corner and touched his chin, then walked to the gate and stopped his steps.

The janitor saw someone coming and quickly stopped chatting. One of them looked at Lin He and asked, "Who is here?" ”

Lin He arched his hand at the two and said, "After a lot of trouble, Cao Linhe, a thief under the yamen of Qiantang County, came to visit the Shen gang leader. ”

"It turned out to be Lord Lin! Please wait a while, Lord Lin, and the little one will go to Tongyu immediately! When the gatekeeper heard Lin He's identity, he instantly became respectful, and after he finished speaking, he hurriedly ran towards the mansion.

Before the tea was over, Lin He heard a neutral voice coming from the mansion: "Lin Daren's visit to the mansion is really brilliant!" ”

Lin He looked fixedly.

A middle-aged man in his early forties appeared inside the gate, with a wide nose and big eyes, long ears and a large mouth, a ruddy complexion, a white beard, and a rather thoughtful facial features. Dressed in a light blue wide-sleeved jumpsuit and a pair of cloth shoes, he looked less like the head of a gang and more like an elegant squire.

Lin He knew that this should be Shen Qinglong, so he hurriedly returned the salute: "Gang Master Shen greeted him personally, and he was terrified." ”

"Lord Lin is polite, please come in, please come in!" Shen Qinglong smiled.

Lin He didn't be polite anymore, and followed Shen Qinglong into the main hall of the Shen family.

After the two sat down as guests, the maid quickly brought the tea, Lin He took a sip, and said with a smile: "Gang Master Shen, I came to visit on the order of Lord Yu County, and I hope to forgive me for the trouble." ”

Shen Qinglong hurriedly waved his hand and laughed: "Where is Lord Lin, if the adult comes to the door, it is too late for Shen to welcome him!" If it's usual, I'm afraid that I won't be able to invite Shen! ”

"The county lord Lin said is the new county commander Yu Huawen Yu?" Shen Qinglong then asked.

Lin He nodded and said, "Exactly, down there is the new thief Cao Linhe." ”

"Look up for a long time", after Shen Qinglong replied, he leisurely picked up the teacup and stopped talking.

This old fox. Lin He scolded secretly in his heart, he proposed his official position precisely to lead the topic, and he never thought that Shen Qinglong would not take it.

Since he didn't answer, Lin He could only mention it himself.

Lin He pretended to sigh and said, "Gang Master Shen, I heard that the thief Cao in this county is a drudgery. It is a blessing and a curse to take over this position in the next place! ”

A hint of strangeness flashed in Shen Qinglong's eyes, and he asked in surprise, "What did Lord Lin say about this?" ”

"It is said that water bandits are rampant in this county, and many major ship hijacking cases are committed every year, and there is a mountain of cases in the yamen," Lin He sighed.

"Water bandits are rampant in this county, and I have heard of it, but it is not as alarmist as the rumors outside!" Shen Qinglong smiled.

Lin He shook his head, rubbed the ceramic teacup on the table, and said hesitantly: "Gang Master Shen, I have something to ask for advice below." ”

Shen Qinglong raised his eyebrows, stretched out his hand and said, "My lord has something to say, but it doesn't hurt to say it." ”

"Hmm." Lin He pondered for a moment and continued:

"Gang Master Shen is in the Caoyun business, right?"

"That's right."

"But after checking all the cases in the county, I found that the bandits never seemed to have the idea of fighting the cargo ships of the Cao Gang." Lin He put down the teacup and said lightly.

Shen Qinglong narrowed his eyes, the smile on his face had disappeared, and he arched his hand: "Lord Lin, you have something to say......

Lin He hurriedly waved his hand and said, "Why did Gang Master Shen say this? I just want to ask, what is the secret of the Shen Gang Master's Cao Yun being so safe? ”

Shen Qinglong's face was slightly pale, and he smiled: "Actually, Shen doesn't have any special methods, maybe it's because those water bandits have received help from me!" ”

"Oh? Will the Shen gang leader still help the water bandits? ”

"Well, Shen will give porridge every disaster year, as long as it is a poor person, he can hold a bowl." Shen Qinglong said indifferently.

Lin He's face was straight, and he arched his hand and said: "Gang Master Shen has the heart of a saint, I admire it!" But what does this soup kitchen have to do with the water bandits? ”

"Lord Lin smiled, I'm just doing my best!" Shen Qinglong leaned over and continued: "My lord doesn't know, some of the victims have fallen into the grass later. ”

"Oh? In this way, Gang Master Shen knows some water bandits? ”

"Shen is eating Caoyun rice, so naturally he will inevitably have to deal with all walks of life." Shen Qinglong raised his hand to take the lid of the teacup, took a sip of floating tea.

Lin He caught a glimpse of the thick calluses on Shen Qinglong's hands, his eyes narrowed slightly, and then he raised his head and smiled: "Be like this, be like this!" ”

……

An hour later, Lin He and Shen Qinglong appeared at the door, and the two of them looked like old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years.

"Gang Master Shen, there is a lot of disturbance today, so I will leave next!" Lin He smiled and clenched his fists.

"Haha, so bothered, I can't wait to come a few more times!" Shen Qinglong laughed and arched his hand: "Master Lin go slowly!" ”

Lin He nodded with a smile and left the Shen Mansion.

When Lin He left, Shen Qinglong narrowed his eyes, and then said to the subordinate beside him: "Let Han Changzhong go to the backyard to see me." ”

"Yes, sir."

……

The backyard of the Shen Mansion is like two worlds compared to the front yard, the courtyard with carved beams and paintings is full of ancient charm, the scarce sandalwood table top is placed with all kinds of precious porcelain and jade carvings, and the precious ambergris incense is swirling outside the copper incense burner.

Shen Qinglong stood in front of the window, playing with a beautifully carved jade pixiu, as if he had been immersed in it. Until there was a voice behind him—

"Master, are you looking for me?" The voice was slightly muffled.

Shen Qinglong turned his head and saw a man in Tsing Yi standing in front of him with a black cloth covering his eyes all the time, he had a three-inch beard, an ordinary appearance, a two-inch scar on his face, wearing sackcloth shoes, and nothing outstanding on his body.

He is Shen Qinglong's master, Han Changzhong.

Don't look at Han Changzhong's ordinary appearance, Shen Qinglong attaches great importance to this person. When Shen Qinglong knew him, Han Changzhong was just a beggar who almost starved to death, and after being rescued by Shen Qinglong, he took refuge in the Shen Mansion. The Cao Gang has developed from a small gang to what it is now, and Han Changzhong has made great contributions.

Shen Qinglong nodded and said, "Changzhong, sit down." ”

"Yes, sir." Han Changzhong was also not polite and sat down.

Shen Qinglong sat on another chair beside him, and then spoke: "Changzhong, today's new Qiantang County Commander sent someone to visit. ”

"Oh? Is that Yu Huawen? ”

Shen Qinglong nodded, his face a little heavy: "This Yu Huawen is not simple, according to my investigation, when this person was the county magistrate in Jiangyuan County before, he rectified many local powerful gentry, known as 'Yu Qingtian'." Now that the above has transferred him to our Qiantang County, I'm afraid that the person who came is not good! ”

"Master, did that person say something to you just now?" Han Changzhong has followed Shen Qinglong for more than ten years, and knows his suspicious personality well, and now when he sees Shen Qinglong's appearance, he probably knows that something must have happened.

"Well, speaking of this door-to-door person, we discussed him yesterday." Shen Qinglong said.

"Is it Lin He, who defeated dozens of Linjiang Hou's subordinates by himself?" Han Changzhong became interested.

"That's right, it's this person." Shen Qinglong frowned and said, "Lin He is thoughtful, and there are a lot of temptations between his words. ”

"Master, what exactly did you say?"

Hearing Han Changzhong's question, Shen Qinglong did not hide it, so he told him all the content of today's conversation.

After hearing this, Han Changzhong was silent, his faint eyebrows frowned slightly, his eyes stared at the ground for a long time, and his slender hands gently stroked his three-inch beard.

Shen Qinglong knew that this was Han Changzhong's habitual action when he was thinking, so he didn't bother him, but sat aside and waited quietly.

After a long time, Han Changzhong finally spoke: "Master, you sent someone to Master Zhen to say that you should not act again in the near future. ”

"Why? Recently, it is the peak season of the year. Shen Qinglong asked puzzled.

"Lin He visited today, this should be Yu Huawen's meaning."

Shen Qinglong's face changed slightly when he heard this, "You mean, Yu Huawen is starting to doubt me?" ”

"Don't worry, master, since he is testing you, it means that he doesn't have anything to do, just some suspicions." Han Changzhong waved his hand and continued: "Master, when the new official of Yuhuawen takes office, he will definitely burn three fires, and this first fire will be burned on Linjiang Hou. Therefore, beware of this person burning a second fire on us. ”

"As long as this period of time is over, so that Yu Huawen has no way to start, he will naturally not pay attention to us. Otherwise, once he finds out any clues, we are afraid that we will be in trouble. ”

Shen Qinglong pondered for a moment, nodded and said, "It's okay, you can arrange it!" ”