Huai'an's Caoyun Wharf is the largest wharf in Daming, but also the most lively wharf, a new round of Cao Yun is imminent, here has become extremely lively, Cao Chuan has begun to slowly concentrate in the wharf, merchant ships are also mixed in, transported to the capital and other places are not only grain, but also tea, silk, porcelain, etc., this is the last Cao Yun this year, to November, the northern end of the Grand Canal is likely to freeze, guide zhì Cao Yun stopped, after the spring of the next year, it is possible to recover.

Caoyun Wharf has not only wharf, here has formed a huge market town, it is not too much to be called a city within a city, bazaars, shops, restaurants, green buildings, gambling houses, inns, etc., all available, and the business is very good, although Caoyun has a certain seasonality, concentrated in spring to autumn every year, but Caoyun Wharf does not exist zài off-season and peak season, always so lively.

A young man, accompanied by a middle-aged man and four young people, strolling along the wharf, their dress was very ordinary, and they couldn't see anything special, the gang looked at the wharf, turned around, and entered a residential area only about five hundred meters away from the wharf, and in this residential area, there were mainly stewards and sailors who were familiar with water transportation, as well as people who worked as hard laborers and porters at the wharf.

The ship's chief and sailors are basically fixed, but there are also temporary hires, but the porters at the wharf cannot be completely fixed, and these coolies are mainly responsible for carrying a large amount of grain onto the boats to obtain a meager remuneration to maintain the family's livelihood.

Not far from the six people, there were also some people who were wandering, most of them were wearing felt hats, and they couldn't see the expressions on their faces clearly, but their movements were very regular, and the distance between them was not very far from the five people. And what is presented is a situation of encirclement on all sides, if you judge from the eyes of outsiders, once these five people appear in any danger, they will surround them in the shortest possible time, and surround the five people in the middle.

Entering the living quarters, a noisy and damp smell wafts into your face.

The alley in the middle of the residential area is about three feet wide. On both sides of the alley there are many people standing and squatting, most of whom are laborers at the wharf, waiting for someone to call them to carry goods to the wharf. Even the woman in the Qinglou with heavy makeup, the shouting and scolding from the gambling house let people know that the business here is very good.

The young man who walked in the front was always accompanied by two people on the left and right, and the other four were slightly one or two steps behind.

Perhaps the temperament of the young man is not ordinary, when he walked into this alley, the coolies on both sides had warm eyes, and the bold people even stepped forward to ask. He said that he had a lot of strength, and he could carry things very quickly. They thought that the owner of the money had come, and they were afraid that there was a big ship to transport goods, after all, the people who came to this alley were either looking for coolies, or they were here to gamble or look for flowers and willows.

The people who accompany the young people on the left and right are always consciously or unconsciously blocking the coolies who try to get close to the young people. Including those nannies and Qinglou women who took the initiative to flatter thousands of people, the people in the alley were not fools, and they quickly understood that this young man was the real protagonist, and the rest of the people were probably protecting this young man.

There are so many such situations on the docks, nothing unusual. Rich people or people with status, after coming here, they are all protected, otherwise walking alone in the alley, it is not clear who will calculate it.

Soon, the young man walked down the main alley towards an alley on the right.

The situation in the alley is different from that in the alley.

The alleys were narrow, about a foot wide, and were flanked on either side by dilapidated looking houses, most of which were inhabited by sailors on ships, and the coolies lived in a few other alleys in worse condition.

Judging from these dilapidated houses alone, the people who live here have no identity and status, but when they come to the wharf, if they have such a mentality, they must be planted with a problem, and there are many talents living in these places, and even characters who call the wind and rain on the boat.

There are not many women in the alley, most of these women are very strong, sitting on the stone steps on both sides, rolling up their sleeves, or rubbing their clothes, or picking some vegetables that do not look very fresh, they laugh and laugh with each other across the alley, and occasionally burst out laughing, laughing loudly and without scruples.

After the young man entered the alley, the curiosity of these women was aroused, and some women even joked at the young man, but those were harmless words, and the young man did not care.

Men are rarely seen in the alleys, and these men either go to the alleys, or go to the docks, or go to have fun, and basically don't stay in the alleys.

Finally, the young man stopped in front of a very shabby-looking house.

A man behind the young man quickly stepped forward.

Whispered conversations are impossible for anyone to hear from a foot away.

"Wang Xiaoer, is the sailor you mentioned living here?"

"My lord, I live here, this person is Tunding on the boat, everyone calls him A Bingye, he is close to sixty years old, his qualifications are very old, and he is very prestigious on the boat."

There is no need to knock on the door of concealment, and the dilapidated door makes people dare not knock, such a person, I am afraid that if I knock a little harder, it may collapse.

The creaking sound of the door shaft turning, which was very harsh, also reminded the people in the room that someone had come in.

The sound of laughter came from inside, and a woman with heavy makeup came down from the stairs, her feet on the dilapidated wooden staircase, creaking, the red on the woman's mouth had disappeared for the most part, her face was still a little flushed, and her clothes had not been fully buttoned, revealing a large patch of white on her chest.

Seeing the young man coming in, the woman's eyes lit up, she deliberately opened her clothes, twisted her body and walked in front of the young man, and opened her mouth angrily.

"Childe is so handsome......"

Zheng Xunrui frowned slightly, prostituting himself during the day, this is not a good thing, according to what Wang Xiaoer said, this sailor is very old, close to sixty years old, how can he still have such energy.

took out a piece of silver from his arms and handed it to the woman, Zheng Xunrui waved his hand lightly, signaling the woman to leave.

The woman was holding the silver and was a little overwhelmed for a moment, but soon a smile appeared on her face again, trying to rub Zheng Xunrui with her body, and Hong Xingui and Hong Xinyu beside Zheng Xunrui blocked the woman.

After the woman left, Zheng Xunrui stood downstairs and spoke.

"It's Ah Bingye upstairs, I'm looking for something."

After a little silence, footsteps sounded upstairs, apparently someone preparing to come downstairs.

followed Zheng Xunrui to the dock to conduct a secret investigation, in addition to Hong Xingui and Hong Xinyu, there were also Xu Wanghua, Wang Xiaoer and Wen Kun.

Wen Kun is the first time to come to such a place, and it is also the first time to see such a scene, his face is a little pale, obviously not very adaptable, but he understands very well that Zheng Xunrui took him to such a place to secretly investigate, the implication is not ordinary, which shows that he wants to grasp the real situation of the dock, so that he can show his skills in the future, so no matter how uncomfortable he is, he will overcome it.

As for Xu Wanghua, he doesn't care about this qiē, following Zheng Xunrui's side, he has seen too many things, it's nothing, but his expression has always been very strict, because he knows the responsibility he bears, and now Wen Kun has become his helper, and the two need to grasp and learn more about the situation in this secret investigation, so that they know it in their hearts.

Wang Xiaoer's situation is different, he has been here, he came here to investigate as a sailor, and he has had contact with this A Bingye, and he also knows a little about the situation of the wharf, but he has not conducted an in-depth and detailed investigation.

Hong Xingui and Hong Xinyu's task is very clear, that is, to protect Zheng Xunrui's safety, there are fifty pro-soldiers outside, these pro-soldiers are all one hundred, extremely brave, and at the same time a thousand pro-soldiers are waiting three miles away from the dock, once there is an unexpected situation here, the soldiers of the pro-military battalion will be dispatched quickly, in their opinion, the secret investigation is very important, but Zheng Xunrui's safety is more important, and there can be no accidents.

A sturdy man appeared at the top of the stairs, with bronzed skin on his face, indicating that this person had been working on the ship for a long time, and the sailors were very recognizable, just look at the face, and most of them were bronzed, and the color was very dark, that is, very old sailors, these people were on the ship, and they had been exposed to the wind and sun for a long time, and their skin was not the same as ordinary people.

The sailors are also very recognizable, it is difficult for outsiders to blend in, Wang Xiaoer disguised himself as a sailor, and it was also because of his long-term scout career, coupled with countless battles, that his skin was slightly dark, so he could dress up as a sailor, as for Zheng Xunrui, Xu Wanghua and Wen Kun and others, they didn't want to be able to pretend to be sailors at all.

The man's hair is a little gray, and there is a look of indifference on his face, and it doesn't matter if the daytime prostitution is discovered.

Zheng Xunrui won't care, from Wang Xiaoer, he knows that this Ah Bingye has never married a wife in his life, he is always alone, he likes to drink and prostitute, and almost all the money he earns is invested in it, which is a way of life, although it is not accepted by most people.

After carefully analyzing Ah Bingye's situation, Zheng Xunrui decided to find this Ah Bingye and understand the details of Cao Yun, this A Bingye has seen a lot on the Cao boat in his life, as long as he is willing to speak, he will definitely be able to tell countless secrets in Cao. (To be continued......)