In years of famine and drought, their village even rejected fatty meat.

Chapter 324 This official is also in a difficult situation.

"of course can!"

Chen Gou was eager for customers to take a look, so he wouldn't refuse: "Please come in, everyone."

As he spoke, Chen Gou led all the guests into the shop. The shop that Chen Gou had taken over was not large, about 10 steps wide (1 step = half a meter) and about 20 steps long. In addition, there was a small partition room, mainly used to entertain guests. At this time, Xu Zhiwen, who had entered the shop earlier, was drinking tea in the partition room.

In the main hall, the customers who came in looked around at the shop's furnishings. Everyone was familiar with the goods in the shop. The bamboo cages contained yellow-feathered chickens and white-feathered ducks, and the shelves displayed white flour made from wheat grown in Chenjia Village. In addition, there were down jackets, a specialty of Chenjia Village.

"boss."

After looking at the goods in the store, a middle-aged man frowned and said, "Your store has too few goods."

Other customers nodded in agreement. Chen Gou's shop had a decent variety of goods, but the quantity was too small. There was one yellow-feathered chicken, one white-feathered duck, less than ten pounds of white meat, and only three down jackets.

"These are just samples, not for sale."

Chen Gou explained with a smile, "Our shop uses a pre-sale method. If you want to buy something, you can place an order with me, pay a 10% deposit first, and then come back the next day to pay the rest and pick up the goods."

This is a sales method that Chen Gou learned from the Chencun Grocery Store. It involves directly displaying the goods in the store for sale, which not only takes up a lot of space but also easily leads to stockpiling of goods.

Pre-sales, on the other hand, are much simpler. Customers simply place an order, and the seller tallies the quantities needed, then ships the required amount from Chenjia Village.

"Pre-sale?"

Everyone looked at each other.

"What if you take our deposit and then don't deliver the goods?"

"That's it."

"That won't do! What if you run away with the money if I give it to you first?"

"..."

The guests were clearly having trouble accepting this reservation method and voiced their doubts.

Faced with the crowd's doubts, Chen Gou remained unfazed and said arrogantly, "We people from Chenjia Village have always been honest in business. How could we possibly run away with your money? Besides, my shop is right here. How could it possibly disappear?"

"That's the truth."

Everyone nodded subconsciously. Chen Gou's shop was right here, so the possibility of him reneging on the deposit was slim. Besides... Chen Gou's background from Chenjia Village also gave everyone an extra layer of trust in him, after all...

The wealth of Chenjia Village is well-known in Taiping County. Given its prosperity, Chenjia Village would not renege on its deposit.

"Okay! I'll order two yellow-feathered chickens then."

"I'll order two white-feathered ducks. The ducks from Chenjia Village are really plump and delicious; they smell wonderful when stir-fried!"

“My child loves Chenjia Village’s white-feathered duck the most, so I’ll order one too.”

"I'll take 5."

"..."

Soon, the customers took out their money to pay the deposit. Chen Gou collected the money and noted down the number of orders, feeling very happy.

In the small room next door, Xu Zhiwen listened to the commotion outside and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips. He was pleased to see Chenjia Village's goods selling well in Taiping County, because meat was scarce in those years, and the chickens and ducks sold by Chenjia Village to the county town greatly enriched the meat sources for the people and slightly alleviated the county town's food shortage pressure.

…………

…………

Taicang County City, Prefectural Governor's Office.

While Chen Gou was happily accepting orders, Zheng Qing was entertaining guests.

This guest was none other than Wang Wenshu, the head of the Wang family.

Wang Wenshu looked at Zheng Qing, who sat in the main seat with narrowed eyes, and said in a low voice, "Does Prefect Zheng know about my son's death?"

Zheng Qing gracefully skimmed the foam off the surface of the tea with the lid, and said indifferently, "Is Patriarch Wang referring to Wang Xi's matter?"

"Exactly."

"As far as I know, Wang Xi isn't dead, is he?"

Wang Wenshu's expression changed slightly. He hadn't told anyone that Wang Xi was still alive, and very few people, even within the Wang family, knew about it.

However, Zheng Qing knew about this, which made Wang Wenshu suspicious.

Did Zheng Qing plant a spy in the Wang family, or was the news accidentally leaked?

Wang Wenshu gave Zheng Qing a deep look and said, "My son is indeed not dead, but he has ended up paralyzed."

At this point, Wang Wenshu changed the subject, saying, "I've heard that Prefect Zheng has had dealings with the murderer Chen Dao?"

"Since Wang Xi is not dead, how can Chen Dao be considered a murderer?"

Zheng Qing said calmly, "Besides, my Zheng family and Chen Dao are business partners. Patriarch Wang, please don't make baseless accusations."

"Is it?"

Wang Wenshu asked, "What about the deaths of Wang Guang, Wang Gui, and others?"

"This official is unaware of such matters!"

Zheng Qing smiled and said, "What? Besides Wang Xi, has anyone else in the Wang family died?"

A flash of anger crossed Wang Wenshu's eyes as he coldly said, "Does Prefect Zheng think my Wang family is blind? When Wang Chuan and the others died, Prefect Zheng was outside the city!"

"Is this happening?"

Zheng Qing feigned ignorance and said, "I don't remember."

Seeing that Zheng Qing refused to admit it, Wang Wenshu became even more furious and said, word by word, "I have reason to suspect that Wang Chuan, Wang Gui and others were killed by you, Zheng Qing!"

"Ouch!"

Zheng Qing feigned surprise and waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Patriarch Wang, please don't wrong me. I wouldn't even dare to kill a chicken, how could I possibly kill someone?"

Wang Wenshu stared directly into Zheng Qing's eyes, hoping to see a flicker of emotion. However, to his disappointment, Zheng Qing's expression remained unchanged except for his denial.

In fact, Wang Wenshu knew that Wang Guang and the others were not killed by Zheng Qing, because the wounds on Wang Guang and the others could not have been caused by a human. Instead, they looked like wounds caused by the claws of some kind of wild beast.

but……

Even if Zheng Qing didn't kill him, he's still involved. After all, Wang Guang and the others were chasing Chen Dao, and Chen Dao... had business dealings with the Zheng family!

“That Chen Dao is a vicious murderer. I hope Prefect Zheng will issue an arrest warrant for him.”

Wang Wenshu, too lazy to engage in veiled banter with Zheng Qing, directly stated his purpose for the trip: to use the power of the government to deal with Chen Dao.

Chen Dao first severely injured and paralyzed Wang Xi, and then successively killed Wang Guang, Wang Gui, Wang Chuan and Wang Yi, killing five people in total, making him a vicious and ruthless murderer.

"That might be difficult!"

Zheng Qing, of course, wouldn't let Wang Wenshu have his way. He shook his head and said, "The conflict between Wang Xi and Chen Dao was started by Wang Xi, and Chen Dao also showed mercy. He can't be considered a murderer. As for the deaths of Wang Guang and others that the Wang family head mentioned..."

Zheng Qing paused for a moment and said, "There is no conclusive evidence in this matter, so it is very difficult for me to handle!"