Introducing a New Lock
A few days later, Zhou Chun brought Shi Chao with good news. "Girl, the thief who broke into the safe has been caught. It's the two families we mentioned the other day."
"A group of thugs lived in that alley, and they were always stealing chickens and dogs. One of their leaders Lü Yi. Lü Yi was particularly fond of studying strange and lewd techniques. Back when he had someone pick a lock in front of the Court of Judicial Review, he had tried to do it twice. Since he hadn't been able to open the lock, he was itching to study it again."
"He even sent his men to our shop to inquire if we sold locks separately, but the clerk naturally refused outright. He and his men searched everywhere and found that families who could afford safes all had guards and servants. The safes were either kept in the storeroom under the watchful eyes of a servant, or in the master's room, where maids and servants watched over them as they came and went."
"Seeing him like this, his gang of thugs thought that if they could really open a safe, they could break even by robbing just one house, and make even more money. So they gritted their teeth, pooled their money, and bought Lü Yi a safe to figure out how to use it."
"Lü Yi pondered over this safe for over a month. He even made a special tool to pick the lock, but before he could open it, the lock broke. This time, Lü Yi couldn't stop himself. He sold the house his parents left him and bought another safe, finally managing to pry open the lock."
"They had already found out which families they wanted to rob. The first wealthy family they targeted had money but no power, so even if they lost money, they wouldn't dare to cause trouble at the government office or the Baoning Pavilion. They had also arranged for the next families they would target to be similar to this one."
"If it weren't for your reminder, young lady, and the authorities hadn't arrested these people in time, countless families would have suffered. In the heat of the moment, they might have come to our safe shop to cause trouble and demand compensation."
Shi Chao Youyu when he spoke of this.
Although the shop is nominally the Emperor's, the law does not punish the masses. If everyone makes a fuss, the Emperor cannot punish them. He might even turn around and blame the girl, saying that her product is unreliable and has tarnished his reputation.
Their daughter is exceptionally talented, and the Earl has only recently become a sixth-rank official. If this deal were to ruin everything, it would truly be a loss.
"Spread the word about this," Zhao Ruxi said.
"Girl?" Shi Chao was taken aback.
He was still thinking about whether to spend some money to silence the yamen runners and prevent them from spreading the news, so as not to damage the reputation of the Baoning Pavilion and Gao Xing the Emperor.
Although Zhou Chun didn't know what Zhao Ruxi was up to, he already had an inexplicable confidence in Zhao Ruxi.
The girl is the type to think ten steps ahead before taking another; how could they possibly guess what she's thinking?
He said, "Manager Shi, the young lady has her reasons for giving these instructions. Just do as she says. Half a year ago, when she asked you to register the buyers' information, didn't you also not understand? Now let's see how it goes?"
Upon hearing Zhou Chun's words, Shi Chao immediately realized his mistake and bowed to Zhao Ruxi, saying, "Yes, Miss, I will spread this word."
Liu Longcheng was a wealthy family in the west of the city. The Liu Family had worked hard for generations and had some luck, so they had accumulated some wealth. Although they could not compare with the powerful and wealthy families who lived in luxury, they still lived a very comfortable life.
When Liu Longcheng returned from the shop that day, he saw his usually cheerful father looking worried. He quickly asked, "Dad, what's wrong?"
"Hey, do you know Wang Fugui's family on Post Station Front Street? I was out for a stroll today and overheard people at the street corner saying that their house was burgled. Their safe was pried open, and all the gold and silver jewelry inside was stolen. Besides that, they also took the house deed and land deed."
Liu Longcheng was taken aback. "How could this be? So many people tried to open the safe in front of the Court of Judicial Review back then, and none of them could. How did those thieves manage to pry it open?"
They bought the safe because it was indeed sturdy, and since it was made of iron, it could last for decades or even centuries if it was repainted every year to prevent rust. So, the several hundred taels of Old Master Liu they spent were well worth it.
Surprisingly, this cabinet could be pried open.
They keep all their valuables inside. If a thief steals them, the loss would be huge.
"No, I have to go out and ask around." Liu Longcheng couldn't sit still any longer and went out without even eating.
He returned half an hour later, looking extremely unwell.
"Send more guards to watch over the house, especially your room. Send more guards. A thief can't just steal things from inside right in front of the guards, can he?" Liu Longcheng said.
Old Master Liu nodded. "That's the only way."
That's what they said, Old Master Liu couldn't sleep that night. In his hazy state, he kept feeling someone breaking into the house to steal things. The next day, he didn't go out to play with others; he just stayed at home, guarding his safe.
Seeing this, Old Madam Liu was very worried.
When Liu Longcheng returned home that evening, she said to her son, "What are we going to do? This isn't good for your father's health. We should have just not bought this safe in the first place. We spent so much money, and it's not even safe."
"I was worried before I bought it, but there was nothing I could do then. After I bought it, I slept soundly for a while. Who knew this would happen again?" Old Master Liu's words were fair.
The old lady was just feeling sorry for her husband and was casually complaining; she didn't really think the safe was bad.
As the matriarch of the household, she knew all too well the difference between having a safe and not having one.
The valuables in the house used to be stored in mahogany cabinets, locked with heavy padlocks and guarded by servants, but even that didn't put them at ease. The house was often burglarized. Some thieves were outsiders, some were insiders. Those locks were easy to pick, and things were stolen in no time. With the safe, they felt much safer; no one but her, who had the key, could open it.
Who would have thought that the safe wouldn't be safe now, and we're back to living in constant fear.
Liu Longcheng returned looking relaxed. Hearing the elderly couple's conversation, he quickly said, "Father, Mother, I was just about to tell you about this. Today, the yamen posted a notice saying that the thief has been caught, thanks to the Baoning Pavilion. The things stolen from Wang Fugui's house haven't even been dealt with by the thief yet, but they've all been recovered."
"Really? Oh, that's wonderful!" Old Madam Liu exclaimed.
Old Master Liu asked, "How was it caught?"
Liu Longcheng recounted the story of Lü Yi and his gang, concluding, "At first, I thought Baoning Pavilion was being unreasonable. We bought this stuff late, and Baoning Pavilion's business wasn't as booming anymore; there were hardly any customers in the shop, and their safes were just sitting there. But they insisted they were out of stock and asked me to leave my address so they could deliver it to me the next day."