20demayo Chapter 612 Let Mother Return to Beijing
Chapter 612 Let Mother Return to Beijing
Everyone put down their chopsticks, and Li Mo led his men to clear away the leftover food from the table and replace it with tea.
"You say it doesn't seem like the work of Japanese pirates, what makes you so sure?"
Lin Feng took a sip of tea and said, "I've also heard a little about the Japanese pirates kidnapping people in the capital. They target only young and strong men, whether they are farmers, laborers, or even a few scholars."
These men all shared the common characteristics of being young and strong, and quite handsome. Although I didn't know the Japanese pirates' purpose in abducting them, these captured young men were completely different from those in the south.
"Oh? What's different? Are the people kidnapped from the south older?" Jiang Xiaoqi pressed.
"Not entirely. Most of the people who went missing in the south this time were men, but their ages varied greatly, ranging from teenagers and young adults in their twenties to men in their forties and fifties."
"It is indeed different from the preferences of these Japanese pirates, but we cannot conclude that it was not their doing based on this alone."
"Indeed, but although these people are of different ages, they have another common characteristic."
"What are the characteristics?" Li Mo asked, and Jiang Xiaoqi nodded.
"These people are all craftsmen. Some can build houses, some can make furniture, some can forge iron, and some can cook."
Bricklayers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and cooks?
What kind of combination is this?
The only reason Jiang Xiaoqi could think of using these people at the same time was that wealthy families needed to build houses and also provide meals for the craftsmen.
"Could it be that someone is secretly building some large project and needs these craftsmen?"
Lin Feng nodded. "That's what I think too. And the fact that they kidnapped so many craftsmen from different trades without anyone knowing, instead of recruiting openly, means there must be something shady going on behind the scenes."
"Alas, perhaps these craftsmen will lose their lives there after finishing their work. It's truly a shameful affair; the other party won't leave them alive."
Jiang Xiaoqi had certainly thought of this as well. To kidnap people like livestock and make them slaves and do illegal work was truly depraved.
Li Mo asked in confusion, "What kind of force could it be? If it's not the Japanese pirates, could it be that the people of Great Zhou are harming the people of Great Zhou?"
Lin Feng's expression was solemn. "Why can't the people of Great Zhou harm each other? Maybe someone is doing something unknown for their own benefit."
"No matter who it is, the south is destined to be turbulent. After all, it's not just that one group of people who have disappeared, but rather a continuous stream of people going missing."
Perhaps some of the first group of missing people had already lost their lives, which is why they kept recruiting more laborers and continuing to abduct people.
These people hiding behind the scenes treat the people of the Great Zhou as disposable labor, using them and then discarding them, making them even more despicable than the Japanese pirates.
"They are truly inhumane, not caring about the lives of ordinary people. They must be some high-ranking officials."
Lin Feng's words seemed to come from a deep feeling, and Li Mo, lost in thought, silently nodded in agreement.
Although Jiang Xiaoqi wasn't a sensitive person, looking at Lin and Li, she felt that they were hiding something from her.
But what could it be? Before Master Lin Feng became a martial arts instructor at the Jiang family, he shouldn't have had any dealings with Li Mo's family.
If the two people were complete strangers when they first met, then they must not be old acquaintances.
But so many years have passed, and Li Mo probably hasn't had the chance to meet Master Lin Feng in private. So how did these two develop such similar auras?
As Jiang Xiaoqi was pondering, Lin Feng suddenly spoke up: "Young Master, shall we continue to investigate this matter further?"
How many intelligence agents do we have in the south?
"There should be around three hundred people at present, but that includes the elderly, children, women and children. If we only count men with martial arts skills, there should only be a little over one hundred people."
"More than one hundred people..."
Jiang Xiaoqi seemed to be weighing her options, but ultimately abandoned her initial flash of inspiration.
Everyone only has one life, and no one's life should be gambled with.
As mentioned before, he is not suited to command troops. He is fine with letting people do intelligence work with relatively low risk factors, but he is worried about losing his people if they really confront the evil forces head-on.
"Does the young master have a good plan?"
"Forget it, it's too risky. Just have them keep an eye on gathering the latest intelligence. They absolutely must not expose themselves; their lives are the most important thing."
Lin Feng was somewhat surprised; of course, the young master had surprised him in many ways over the years.
What surprised him most was the young master's attitude towards his subordinates. In theory, everyone had signed a contract of servitude, or at least a contract of living status.
Now that the young master has the contract, these people belong to the young master's private property.
But over the years, the young master has treated everyone not like servants, but more like... subordinates?
No, it's even better than treating subordinates, after all, not every worker can get such a high monthly salary.
The people below clearly follow the young master's lead and are full of loyalty, but the young master never uses this loyalty to achieve his own goals.
Sometimes, it's better to spend more money and time to ensure that the people below are not in danger.
But these people are clearly risking their lives for money.
Things that everyone else takes for granted seem to become abnormal when it comes to the young master.
The young master influences everyone through his way of doing things, so even though it's an intelligence organization, no one has lost their humanity in order to obtain information.
More often than not, people choose to use their brains.
After all, the young master, as the owner and master, cares about their lives and safety. If they themselves don't care, wouldn't they be letting down the young master's good intentions?
So although everyone has not slacked off under the relaxed conditions over the years, they have all accepted the principle that the young master said: "Life comes first, mission comes second."
However, unexpectedly, the probability of everyone completing the task did not decrease, but increased instead.
Perhaps it is precisely because of this greater care for life that all pre-action plans are constantly improved and gaps are filled.
"Young master, the lady is still in the south, what do you think?"
"Alas, the situation in the south is unclear. I will send a message to my mother by carrier pigeon in a little while, urging her to return to the capital."
As for the business in the south, it can be left to the managers below. The Liuxiang Pavilion currently has enough inventory in various regions to last at least six months, so Mother doesn't need to be too busy.
Of course, this is the public version of events. Only Jiang Xiaoqi knows that the current inventory of the franchised stores and directly operated stores he developed is all purchased directly from the system's store by him using a small amount of points and gold and silver.
"Yes, that's the safest way. If there really is any major change in the south, we won't have to hesitate to act."
Lin Feng meant that Lin Yueniang's identity was not a secret in the South. If people found out that their young master was investigating missing persons, the mastermind behind it would inevitably target Lin Yueniang.