Chapter 273 It takes no effort at all

"Since then, my friendship with Mr. Wang has gradually deepened." Shopkeeper Qian said with deep emotion.

Zheng Chaoyang took a sip of tea to moisten his throat before continuing to ask, "When was the last time you saw him?"

Shopkeeper Qian said without hesitation: "About ten days ago, he waited for me at the entrance of our alley that night..."

It turned out that at about 9:30 that evening, when Manager Qian was returning home from get off work, and reached the entrance of the alley, Mr. Wang, who had been waiting for a long time, suddenly stopped him.

His sudden appearance frightened Shopkeeper Qian so much that his heart beat faster, thinking he was being robbed again.

"what!"

Shopkeeper Qian was so frightened that he lost his balance and dropped his bicycle onto the stone road with a bang.

Wang Ba Ye realized that he was scared, so he comforted him in a deep voice: "Don't be afraid, it's me."

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Qian came to his senses and looked at the man in front of him clearly. It turned out to be Mr. Wang Ba.

He patted his chest in shock and said to Master Wang Ba, "Master Ba, why is it you? I was scared to death. I thought I was robbed again."

Then, he asked doubtfully, "Master Ba, what do you want to do so late at night?"

Mr. Wang Ba smiled awkwardly and said apologetically, "Old Qian, I'm so sorry. This happened so suddenly that I had no choice but to come to you."

Shopkeeper Qian saw at a glance that Master Wang wanted to ask him for help, so he greeted him, "Since you are already at the door, why don't you come in and wait for me? Come on, let's go inside and talk."

Wang Baye hurriedly grabbed the arm of Shopkeeper Qian and said hurriedly, "Old Qian, stop working. It's really not convenient to go to your house so late now. I have something I want to ask you for help with today."

Shopkeeper Qian was always grateful, and he remembered the help from Master Wang Ba. When he learned that Master Wang Ba had something to ask of him, he responded without hesitation: "Please tell me. As long as I can do it, I will do it without hesitation."

Mr. Wang nodded with satisfaction. He came to find Manager Qian because he knew that Manager Qian was kind, friendly, and helpful, and more importantly, no one knew about their relationship.

So he confessed to Qian that he came here to avoid debt. He was a gambler and had lost a lot of money in the casino a few days ago and owed a large gambling debt.

Due to the compounding interest, he is now unable to repay. He has been hiding from the casino people who came to collect the debt these days. He dared not go home even if he had a home. In desperation, he found Qian the shopkeeper for help.

When Shopkeeper Qian heard this, he immediately asked, "Master Ba, how much money do you owe? How about I help you get the money together and pay it back? This is not going to work!"

Mr. Wang Ba was silent for a moment, and finally said, "Ah! Thank you! This is not a small amount of money. If you really want to help me, just arrange a place for me to hide for a while."

He waved his hand to reject Manager Qian's proposal, with a hint of helplessness and fatigue in his words, and it was obvious that he had not had a good rest in the past few days.

Shopkeeper Qian nodded, "Okay! Then you can come home with me and stay with me for a few days. I have children at home, so please don't mind."

Mr. Wang Ba pretended to be relieved and said, "I have been so hungry these past few days that I don't even have a place to sleep. Now I have food and shelter, which is great. If it doesn't work, you can let me sleep on the floor."

Wang Baye was invited by Qian to stay at his home. The Qian family was not unfamiliar with his arrival, as they had had some dealings with him in the past. They received him warmly and welcomed him.

Mr. Wang Ba originally wanted to hide in Manager Qian's house for a few days to test the waters, but other residents in the compound were somewhat curious about the arrival of this stranger.

It was fine in the first few days, but as time went on, they started to point fingers and talk about him.

Wang Baye thought this was not going to work, he didn't want to let everyone know about it, so he asked Qian Zhanggui to help him think of a solution and find a secluded place to hide for a few days.

Shopkeeper Qian thought that there really was such a place, and the story started from "Hongxing Building", the predecessor of "Hongxing Dumpling Restaurant".

Before liberation, Wang Shicong, the owner of Hongxinglou, decided to close the business for a while, seeing the chaos in the world. He thought that business was not going well, and he would reopen the business when the world was stable.

So he took his whole family to another place. Before leaving, he arranged for Manager Qian to help look after the family business.

Although society is peaceful now, the Wang family cannot return for some reason. Qian, the shopkeeper, has no choice but to represent the owner to make "Hongxing Building" a public-private partnership and change its name to "Hongxing Dumpling Restaurant" to show that it is close to the people and that ordinary working people can also afford it.

In addition to this restaurant, the Wang family's other businesses in Beijing were also handed over to Manager Qian to look after, including several properties.

So, Manager Qian cleverly arranged for Mr. Wang to live in a secluded courtyard with a private entrance, allowing him to hide there for a few days.

Wang Baye was very satisfied with this place. It was a God-given hiding place. It was secluded and had its own door and yard. It was the perfect place to hide. …………

Zheng Chaoyang and Liu Zhiye were overjoyed when they heard this. They finally knew the whereabouts of Mr. Wang Ba. They immediately asked, "Where is that place?"

Shopkeeper Qian immediately said, "No. 58, Qingyun Hutong, Xianyukou Street."

Liu Zhiye asked: "Are there other residents in this yard?"

Shopkeeper Qian was stunned for a moment, then responded: "How could there be other residents? This is private property, and the key is in my hands."

After Zheng Chaoyang asked a few more questions about Wang Baye, he and Liu Zhiye agreed to leave. He especially told Qian to keep it a secret.

"Manager Qian, we must keep our secret investigation a secret today. We cannot even tell our family members, especially not Mr. Wang Ba. Can you do it?"

At this time, Qian, the shopkeeper, had figured out what was going on. As the shopkeeper of a famous restaurant, he was also deeply trusted by his boss, so he was definitely not an ordinary person.

So he asked curiously, "Could this bastard be a spy?"

Liu Zhiye frowned and sternly rebuked: "You shouldn't ask questions. Don't pry into it. Just pretend nothing happened. Do you understand?" His words revealed unquestionable authority, and people dared not neglect him in the slightest.

Shopkeeper Qian was shocked and became more convinced of his guess. So he responded tremblingly: "I understand, I understand, please rest assured, I will do it."

Zheng Chaoyang smiled at him and said, "Okay, thank you for your cooperation, we won't disturb your work." He nodded to Liu Zhiye, and the two were about to say goodbye and leave.

Upon seeing this, Shopkeeper Qian immediately tried to persuade them to stay, saying, "Two leaders, it's already time for lunch, why don't you eat in our shop before leaving?"

Zheng Chaoyang declined, "No, we have other things to do. Thank you for your kindness."

Shopkeeper Qian advised again: "Hey! It doesn't matter how busy you are after dinner! You two should stay. I will invite you to taste the food in our shop. It will definitely leave you with an unforgettable aftertaste."

Liu Zhiye continued, "Manager Qian, we have our own rules. Thank you. We will definitely come and taste it if we have the chance."

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Qian had no choice but to give up and personally send them out.

After leaving "Hongxing Dumpling Restaurant", Liu Zhiye invited Zheng Chaoyang and others to go to "Xiaochang Chen" in Menkuang Hutong not far away to have a meal of braised pork and steamed buns.

This restaurant is quite famous in Beijing. It originated during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty and has a history of one hundred years. It is famous for its old Beijing-style braised small intestines.

Braised small intestine originated from an imperial dish called "Suzhou meat", which was later introduced to the folks and evolved into braised small intestine after improvements.

The braised pork made by Chen Yutian, the third-generation successor of Xiaochang Chen, is a unique dish with "fat but not greasy, tender but not bad meat, cooked through but not sticky, and rich and mellow soup".

People in Beijing are particularly fond of this food. There are shops selling braised pork and steamed buns in every street corner. In the past few years, there were also mobile vendors carrying small baskets on their shoulders selling this food.

Especially when the sun sets and the braised small intestines are ready for sale, people can smell their unique aroma from far away.

Those who like this dish will come here when they smell the aroma and order a bowl of braised small intestines and one or two steamed buns, which can satisfy their cravings and hunger.

After having a hearty meal, Liu Zhiye and his friends shaved their teeth with toothpicks and drank a bowl of barley tea. They felt so satisfied.

In the hot season, after eating meat, drinking a sip of barley tea is really refreshing and relieves greasiness. The key is that this tea is cheap and is a must-have drink in some snack spots and roadside stalls.

"Zhiye, I think we should go investigate where Mr. Wang is staying tonight to prevent any unexpected events." Zheng Chaoyang suggested.

Liu Zhiye nodded and agreed: "That's what I was thinking. We finally found out his whereabouts, so don't let him slip away again."

So a few people drove to the vicinity of Xianyukou Street. Fearing that they would be discovered, they chose to park the car in a secluded place and then walked to Qingyun Hutong.

They moved carefully, trying not to attract the attention of others, and then hid themselves and waited patiently until late at night.

Xianyukou Hutong is a famous hutong in Beijing, running from the Qianmen Street entrance to the Chongwenmen Street in the east. It is said that "from door to door, it is three li long", and it is a representative of the folk market commercial street in Beijing.

It is also very prosperous here at night, with bright lights. There are many time-honored shops, such as the Dazhong Theater, Zhengmingzhai Pastry Shop and Changchuntang Pharmacy, Tianxingju, Xinghuachi, Bianyifang, Duyichu, Tianchengzhai Shoe Store, Lianyou Photo Studio, Heihou Department Store and Ma Juyuan Hat Shop.

(End of this chapter)