Chapter 486： Shao Family Courtyard

Two days later, Xu Lili arrived in the capital smoothly, and found a place to stay under the care of Wen Qingsheng.

Wen Qingsheng now runs a literary magazine, and he has to do everything by himself, and he is very busy. After simply helping Xu Lili, he found his idle cousin to be Xu Lili's guide.

"Brother Xu, see where you want to go for a visit tomorrow, so I can make arrangements first."

On the way to send Xu Lili back to the hotel, Zheng Hua enthusiastically asked Xu Lili for his opinion.

Zheng Hua is Wen Qingsheng's cousin, and Wen Qingsheng is someone Yunmo can trust, so Xu Lili told him the purpose of coming to the capital without hiding anything.

Knowing that Xu Lili came to look for someone, Zheng Hua immediately said: "It's too easy to find someone. My brother-in-law is from the Public Security Bureau. Give me your name, and I'll ask him to help you look it up."

Really fell asleep and picked up the pillow, Xu Lili gave Zheng Hua his name with some joy.

"Is your surname Shao?"

Hearing the name Xu Lili reported, Zheng Hua's attitude became a little more cautious, "What's your relationship with him?"

"I run a detective agency. Someone asked me to come and find this person. By the way, his wife should be called Yuan Jia."

"Yuan Jia? I've never heard of this person."

It is not convenient to talk on the street, Zheng Hua found a quiet teahouse, ordered two cups of Gaiwan tea, and then pulled Xu Lili to talk.

"Brother Xu, although I wasn't born here, I am still from the old capital. As far as I know, there is only one family named Shao in the capital."

While talking, pointing to the sky, it is very secretive.

"That is a big family that no one dares to offend. Although I don't know who your client is, we are destined to meet thousands of miles away. That is fate. I have to advise you, brother Xu, that the water in this wealthy mansion is very good." It’s so deep that if you’re not careful, you’ll be drowned.”

Xu Lili clasped his fists at the other party gratefully, "Thank you Brother Zheng for your reminder, but I'm just here to pass on a message, so I shouldn't cause trouble."

Zheng Hua picked up his teacup and took a sip, "Okay, anyway, you know what's in your mind. As for people, I will try my best to help you find out, but I don't guarantee that there will be results."

"Of course, Brother Zheng, please accept this little idea."

Looking at the envelope pushed by Xu Lili, Zheng Hua's eyes lit up, but he waved his hand and refused, "No, no, you are my brother's friend, how can I charge you for favors."

"Brother Zheng, I came to the capital for the first time. I was blind in both eyes, and I couldn't find the direction. I will have to trouble you in the future, and you need to find someone for me. I need to take care of everything. I can't let you pay for it yourself."

When it came to this point, Zheng Hua was no longer polite, and happily accepted the money.

"Brother Xu, don't worry, I will give you news as soon as possible."

"Thank you so much."

"It's easy to talk about."

Although Zheng Hua helped to search for it, Xu Lili himself had nothing to do.

If you have nothing to do, go to some market places for a stroll, while admiring the local customs, tasting street food, and doing business at the same time.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed, and when Zheng Hua saw Xu Lili again, he no longer had the confidence he had at the beginning.

"Brother Xu, I'm really sorry. I searched all the people I could, but I didn't find the two you were looking for. I used some of this money, and I will return the rest to you. "

Zheng Hua handed the half-thin envelope to Xu Lili.

After Xu Lili took the envelope, he added two hundred yuan to the envelope, and then pushed the envelope back in front of Zheng Hua.

Zheng Hua looked at him in surprise, "Brother Xu, you are..."

"Brother Zheng, I have caused you trouble during this period, and I will not come to those empty gifts. The money is not much, and I hope you don't think it is too little."

"how come!"

Zheng Hua looked at the envelope on the table, his expression changed several times, and he finally opened his mouth as if making up his mind.

"Brother Xu, there is actually another way..."

It turns out that the Zheng family has a close buddy who is in the flower business at home, and many high-ranking wealthy families in the capital like to order flowers and plants from his family to decorate their yards.

"The Shao family is the top customer of his family's business. Every time Shao's family asks for flowers and plants, his father personally delivers them to the door. Now his father is going to hand over the business to him. Every time he goes to Shao's house, he will also bring my friend Bring it on, on the one hand to increase your knowledge, and on the other hand, it will make you familiar with the Shao family."

What Zheng Hua meant was to let Xu Lili go to the Shao Family Courtyard by himself to inquire about this "Shao Mingzhi".

So, led by Zheng Hua, Xu Lili disguised himself as a porter of flowers and plants, and successfully entered the Shao family compound in the name of sending flowers and plants.

The reason why it is called the compound is not that the Shao family is a compound, but the collective name of the Shao family by the outside world.

In fact, the Shao family’s house was a prince’s mansion in the last dynasty. It is located on the East Avenue of the capital, where every inch of land is precious, and it faces the Forbidden City far away.

Other palaces of the same scale that have survived to this day have all become places of interest.

This shows the prestige and status of the Shao family.

The layout of the Shao Family Courtyard is divided into three roads: central, east, and west, and each of the three roads has a central axis, forming a symmetrical pattern.

In the middle is the main courtyard, which is the residence of Mrs. Shao and the current owner of the Shao family. The east and west roads are the living areas of the other houses of the Shao family.

Although they are all in the same compound and connected to each other, they are clearly separated and do not interfere with each other.

Xu Li came here this time to send the newly planted flowers and plants to the East Road Courtyard, and then move away the last batch of withered flowers and plants.

Needless to say, the magnificence and magnificence of the interior of the Shao family compound, but Xu Lili couldn't care less about admiring it.

While following the instructions, he removed the old flowers and plants in the flower bed and replaced them with new ones. At the same time, he tried his best to find an opportunity to get close to the nannies and servants in Shao's compound, and took the opportunity to inquire about news.

After moving the flowers and plants for a whole morning, Xu Lili is basically familiar with the nannies, servants and gardeners in the entire East Road courtyard, and even heard the gossip that the masters of the Xu family raised a few women outside, but But nothing was found about "Shao Mingzhi".

Xu Lili couldn't help suspecting that there was no such person in this world, or that he was not from the Shao family.

Xu Lili was engrossed in his thoughts for a while, but he didn't notice a pebble on the ground. The wheel of the cart was crushed, and the body of the cart suddenly shook violently.

Xu Lili hurriedly stopped the cart to clean up.

"You can't clean it like this, you have to use a broom to sweep it. In order to prevent water from accumulating on the ground, the brick joints are made deep, and you may not be able to dig it clean even if you dig it with your fingers."

The ground is covered with blue bricks, and there are finger-thick gaps between the bricks. Xu Lili was half kneeling on the ground, using his fingers to dig out the flower soil embedded in the gaps bit by bit, when suddenly there was a low-pitched, thick sound from above his head. the sound of.

He looked up and found that it was an old man with gray hair. Looking at his attire, he should be a manager or something.

Xu Lili smiled gratefully at the other party, "Excuse me, can you lend me a broom and dustpan?"

The old man nodded and quickly brought him a broom and a dustpan.

"Are you new here?"

The old man chatted casually while watching Xu Lili sweeping the ground.

"Yeah, it's only been a few days since I came here. Fortunately, these flowers and plants are all eliminated, otherwise this month will be wasted."

The old man smiled and nodded, "Yes, it is not easy to earn some money when you are away from home. Where are you from?"

"I am from H province."

"It's quite far away, why do you want to come to the capital to work?"

"I didn't hear from fellow villagers that the wages here are high, so I wanted to try it."

"I see."

Xu Lili, who was cleaning the ground with his head down, didn't notice that the old man looked at him full of inquiry.