In Qi County, Mingdu County, it was morning at this time. The morning market is bustling with people and looks very crowded. In the crowd, a rich child in a fancy costume played a folding fan, accompanied by several family members, and walked forward with difficulty. This rich kid is the eldest son of the Shen family, Shen Tingyu, who is sixteen years old this year.

Listening to the noise of the surrounding crowd and the shouting of the surrounding vendors, Shen Tingyu said impatiently: "I really don't know what my father thinks, let me mix in with these vendors. They don't earn more than 100 dollars a day, so what business experience can they learn here? It's just a waste of time. ”

Then, he said: "Whoever does big business must be a businessman who enters and exits a few hundred taels between a gesture." Sitting on the top of the Qionglou Yuyu, the silk and bamboo are surrounded by beams, wine and food, the words are like galloping on the battlefield, and between the trade-offs, a hundred taels of gold are not enough to worry about. How can these petty traders quarrel for a little profit? ”

The family next to him immediately said flatteringly: "The young master has a vision, like an eagle soaring in the sky, under the sky, in full view. These hawkers are just like fowls and short-sighted, how can they be compared with you, young master. ”

"Okay, don't slap my ass, I'll say flattering things all day long." Shen Tingyu was born in a family of merchants, and he was particularly interested in business since he was a child, but his father was very opposed, his father thought that with his intelligence and intelligence, he should be tested for fame and become an official in the court, not in business, but he was not interested in being an official at all. After several rounds of hard work, his father finally agreed to let him go into business, thinking that he could show his skills, but his father let him go to the market every day to learn from the business experience of those vendors, and never let him take over the family's tea business.

Just when Shen Tingyu was depressed, he found that at the door of a tofu shop not far in front of him, there were constant quarrels. Immediately aroused his curiosity, he decided to go forward and find out.

Just as he was squeezing into the crowd with his family, he saw a middle-aged man shouting at an old beggar in rags next to him: "You old beggar, why don't you come with me to see the official now!" ”

The old beggar said calmly: "Official? I didn't break the law, so why should I go with you! ”

"It's still hard-mouthed, the shopkeeper said that he saw you steal, and you still don't admit it, you really don't cry when you don't see the coffin!"

"I didn't steal, I won't go!" The old beggar argued loudly.

The middle-aged man was extremely manly, rolled up his sleeves, and was about to make a move, Shen Tingyu suddenly felt that the old beggar was also strange and pitiful, so he decided to come forward. So he said, "Wait! The two of them are not in a hurry to do it first, the reason for the matter, to make it clear, if you start to do it, it is not easy to deal with the government when it comes, right? ”

Although the middle-aged man was angry, Danli could still listen to it, so he calmed down and said: "I bought five catties of pork this morning, and I was going to go back to fight the tooth sacrifice, but I didn't want to have a stomachache on the way, so I put the pork on the table of this tofu shop and entrusted the owner to take care of it, but as soon as I came back, the pork was gone." Everyone saw that the old beggar had been sneaking around the tofu shop, and he must have stolen it. ”

So Shen Tingyu asked the middle-aged man, "How long did it take from the time you left to the time you came back?"

"It's less than half a cup of tea, so it's short."

"And how do you conclude that the old beggar stole your pork?"

"It was the owner of the tofu shop who told me that she saw the old beggar wandering around, and when she was about to put away the pork, it was gone in the blink of an eye." The middle-aged man replied.

"Then how do you know for sure that it wasn't the shopkeeper who stole your pork?"

"He's a tofu shop owner, and he doesn't know what I'm doing with these few catties of meat, but this old beggar is the most suspicious."

Shen Tingyu asked the shopkeeper again: "Have you seen the old beggar stealing meat with your own eyes?" ”

"That's... Not really. But he's been wandering around these four weeks, not to steal meat, but for what? The shopkeeper said in a panic.

"Hehe, it seems that the shopkeeper is quite leisurely, and he has been paying attention to this old beggar? Well, I ask you, why didn't you hide the meat beforehand? ”

"Well, this, after all, I don't know how many catties and taels his meat is, if he says five catties to ten catties to slander me, who will I talk to? Under the melon field and plums, you can't help but guard against it. ”

"Then if you are so cautious, why did you let people steal the meat so easily?"

"It's... I, I was slack... And they let the meat be stolen. The owner was visibly flustered.

Shen Tingyu asked the old beggar again: "Have you ever stolen meat?" Not beat around the bush. I can pay for the meat for you. ”

"No, I didn't steal, I'm old and upright, and I will never do such a thing."

Hearing this, Shen Tingyu looked around, he must have an idea, he thought to himself: The old beggar looked firm, not like he was lying. However, the owner of this tofu shop is cautious for a while, lax for a while, obviously unreasonable, and looks flustered, there must be a problem! Now to find a way to expose her, well... In such a short period of time, there must still be oil stains on the hands of the meat stealers... Pregnant!

Then Shen Tingyu asked his subordinates to bring a basin of clear water over and put it on the ground, so he stroked it on the water with his fingers, and said mysteriously: "This is a basin of divine water, you put your hands in the water respectively, and the gods will tell us who the person who stole the pork is." ”

People looked at him suspiciously, but Shen Tingyu just smiled, and then asked the old beggar and the shopkeeper to put their hands in the so-called "divine water".

The shopkeeper sneered, "Hmph, what's this!" Then he put his hand in the water.

At this time, Shen Tingyu pointed at the shopkeeper and said sharply: "Tofu shop owner, you still don't admit it, do you want to go to the official mansion to confess the crime?" ”

Everyone was very surprised, they thought that it was really something that the so-called god told Shen Tingyu. At this time, Shen Tingyu said: "This is actually not a divine water, just a basin of ordinary water, and you, the shopkeeper, must have not had time to wash your hands after stealing the meat, when your oil-stained hands touch the water, the dense water droplets on your hands are the best proof!" How embarrassed are you to let a penniless old beggar carry the black pot for you! ”

"This, I confess, is indeed the meat I stole." The shopkeeper lowered his head and said ashamedly. Then he took out the meat.

Everyone understood it clearly at this time, and they all admired Shen Tingyu, and they all praised: "Oh, the little brother is really a detective!" ”

The middle-aged man was also busy grateful: "Thank you, little brother, if it weren't for you today, not only would I be kept in the dark, but I wouldn't be able to find meat, this shop owner is really hateful." ”

"Hehe, you're welcome, this is what I should do." Then Shen Tingyu walked to the old beggar and said to him, "Uncle, I have some silver taels here, you take them, it should be enough for you to live for a while." ”

The old beggar took the silver taels, glanced at Shen Tingyu deeply, and said, "Little brother, you won't be rewarded for nothing, and I won't take your silver for nothing." Then he took out a token and continued, "This is a token of the old decay, and you will take this token to Longyang Mountain, Longyang County, Nanling County, Yingzhou, and find a thatched house, where there is a Longyang master." As long as you show this token, you can ask him to do something for you unconditionally. In the same way, if there is anything you need help in the future, I will try my best to help you. ”

The family next to him said disdainfully: "Hey, you old man is very interesting, just you are a beggar, where can my young master use you?" ”

"Don't be rude." Shen Tingyu reprimanded the family. Then he still accepted the token, although he didn't believe that what an old beggar gave him could be anything precious, but after all, it was a piece of people's hearts, and it was not good to save people's face. Of course, he won't think that way in a few years.

After saying goodbye to the old beggar, Shen Tingyu wanted to lead a few family members to the restaurant to drink. The family next to him hurriedly persuaded: "Young master, don't, let the master know that he will be punished!" ”

Shen Tingyu smiled and said, "It's okay, it's still early, let's have a good drink." When the family heard this, they had no choice but to accompany him.