manynovel Chapter 561: Habits of People Outside the Pass, Milk Tea
Chapter 561: Habits of People Outside the Pass, Milk Tea
"Can you take me to that small courtyard to have a look? Maybe we can find some clues there."
Jiang Youzhen couldn't help but feel worried about the efficiency of the imperial court. The Dali Temple, and the heavily guarded mansion of the Third Prince, is only capable of this?
Following the guards to the small courtyard in Xima Lane, Jiang Youzhen looked around the small courtyard.
There was a pile of scattered firewood in the yard, all of which were very dry. Judging from the cuts on the firewood, they looked very fresh, indicating that someone lived in the yard.
I heard that the owner was not in the capital and had returned to his ancestral home for a year, so the house was rented out.
He walked into the kitchen first and saw several bowls in a row, three large bowls, and the rest were vegetable plates. There were even three pairs of chopsticks.
Glancing at the putty on the kitchen, Jiang Youzhen said, "There should be three people living here. They don't go out during the day, so the supplies will be delivered at night."
The flour and rice in the kitchen were very dry, but there was still water in the large bowl.
Jiang Youzhen entered the main house again. The main house was very simple. In addition to simple tables and chairs, there was also a small clay stove.
When Jiang Youzhen opened the small jar on the small clay stove, she found that there was white stain on the inner wall of the jar. She was a little confused, so she picked up the jar and observed it carefully, and then leaned in to smell it.
Then his eyes swept around the main room, finally landing on a ceramic jar on the table.
When I opened it, I found that it was exactly what I had guessed, and I began to think about it.
The second prince walked around the house. "It looks like he left in a hurry, but he took away everything he should have taken away."
"Except for some daily necessities, there are no other clues." Zhu Zhimin shook his head. Now he could only hope for the registration at the city gate. There should be news soon.
"Who said there isn't one? Isn't this it?" Jiang Youzhen pointed at the clay stove pot and the ceramic pot on the table and said.
"Oh?" The second prince was very puzzled. He then picked up the jar on the clay stove, opened it and took a look. He found white sticky substance hanging on the inner wall.
"What's in this?" He said as he sniffed it again. Then a light bulb went off in his head. "Is it goat milk?"
"Yes! Even though two days have passed, I can still smell it." Jiang Youzhen nodded.
"Look at the tea can on the table. It contains fermented black tea, which most people are not used to. We all like to drink green tea. The fresher the green tea, the more expensive it is."
The second prince opened the tea can on the table again and found that it was just as Jiang Youzhen said.
"You mean they like to drink black tea and goat's milk?" The second prince thought of a possibility and couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.
"But this doesn't mean anything. Maybe some people like to drink goat milk, and some people like to drink black tea. It's not like no one in this dynasty likes to drink this fermented black tea!"
Zhu Zhimin was very confused. Did he have to find someone based on his preferences? Suddenly, he felt that it made sense.
"Sir, look what this is?" Jiang Youzhen asked, pointing at the fine powder on the corner of the table.
"What is this? Zhu Zhimin looked at it for a long time before he saw some white particles in the cracks on the ground. "It looks like salt?"
"Why don't you try it, sir?" Jiang Youzhen said with a smile.
Zhu Zhimin rolled his eyes when he heard this. "Why don't you try it yourself? If it's poison, then he's going to die."
Unexpectedly, a hand suddenly appeared from the side, quickly picked up some grains on the ground and put them into its mouth.
Zhu Zhimin immediately shouted in horror: "Second Prince?"
The second prince tasted it and nodded, "It is indeed salt."
Jiang Youzhen nodded, "Students like to read some miscellaneous books in their free time. I have read about the customs and geography of the previous dynasties before, and I know that people outside the Great Wall have a habit of drinking milk tea."
There was a period of time in the previous dynasty when border trade was open, so there are many records outside the border.
"Milk tea?" Zhu Zhimin had never heard of it.
"That's right. The Northern Ming Kingdom and some tribes outside the Great Wall all like to make milk tea. The production steps are roughly the same, but there are some differences in the raw materials. They like to use black tea or tea bricks to boil tea, and then filter out the tea and add goat milk or cow milk, and also put salt and butter in it."
Jiang Youzhen walked around the house, talking and observing, to see if there were any other clues.
"This kind of butter is extracted from goat's milk or cow's milk. For them, it is an indispensable part of milk tea. Therefore, they need a lot of goat's milk or cow's milk. We can find clues from those families who raise a lot of sheep in the nearby suburbs."
Jiang Youzhen's words made Zhu Zhimin suddenly realize, "You mean, the goat milk, black tea, and salt here are all raw materials for making milk tea? In other words, they are all outsiders who sneaked into the interior?"
Zhu Zhimin's expression became more serious. If it was just people from his own dynasty who were collaborating with the enemy and selling out the country, then it would be easy to deal with, just find them out.
But if the spies outside the Great Wall have already infiltrated the capital and they are unaware of it, that would be too dangerous.
"That's right! People outside the Great Wall rely on animal husbandry for their livelihood, and vegetables are a rare commodity. They eat more meat than vegetables, and they get tired of it after a while. Milk tea is an indispensable food in their daily life.
Therefore, they have a huge demand for tea, and the money-hungry merchants in the interior will take risks and smuggle tea to make huge profits. "
The Second Prince was also very familiar with this matter. After all, tea was one of the major tax items of the dynasty, and many merchants who sold it privately were caught every year.
The hawkers were more concerned with money than life, and they would try to pass through the restricted area even with baskets on their backs. Fresh corpses were added to the bottom of the cliff every day.
"So their habits are hard to change. But they were very careful. They just left these utensils in a hurry when they left, and the salt bags were scattered all over the floor."
Zhu Zhimin couldn't help but admire these two people, especially Jiang Youzhen, who was so meticulous and knowledgeable.
"Mr. Jiang is indeed meticulous!" Zhu Zhimin said with emotion.
"Your Excellency is too kind. However, I think the most urgent task is to track down these people. We can do multiple things at the same time, such as sending people to find nearby farmers who have many sheep, or even farms.
In addition, follow the registration book at the city gate to find out whether there are any suspicious carriages that left the city during that period. Students remind that they may also pretend to be escorts following the escort agency, or guards and servants of wealthy families, which cannot be ignored.
Zhu Zhimin quickly ordered the guards beside him, "Remember, write it down quickly!"
"Send someone to find out the source of the black tea. This kind of black tea is of decent quality. Small shops definitely don't have it. We have to check with big shops. They need a lot of it.
It's a pity that a day has passed. However, judging from the time when Rou'er retreated, they should not have escaped in time, which means there is still time. As long as we catch a few people, we can follow the clues to find out the cause. We don't need to catch them all, but as long as we can catch some, it will be a great feat for the country and the people."
Jiang Youzhen listed all the things he could think of. "The next one is the spy named Tong Gang in the prison. He must be hiding something. All he wants is to get away with it, preferably with the money and run away. If we want to get some more information out of him, it won't be difficult."