Even on Earth where the security is much better than here, there is no bank that opens so early. The only ones that open so early are probably breakfast shops. Her suggestion is to have breakfast first.
After all, they had been running around since last night, and had not eaten or drunk anything in the meantime, and had also consumed a lot of brainpower. After hearing what she said, several of them felt hungry and thirsty, so they went out and walked around the neighborhood for a few times, and quickly found a restaurant located west of the intersection.
Hitzfeld asked Daryl to stay in the bookstore to guard it and wait for Lori to arrive.
Of course, Daryl was reluctant, but she looked at Xia Yibing, thought about it and decided not to say anything.
Dorey originally wanted to stay, as she felt that she had too much responsibility and was not qualified to have a good rest, but Hitzfeld told her that "if you want to avenge Alfred, you must take good care of your health", and finally persuaded her to come.
Eating is certainly not a waste of time, especially if you include the information you gain from asking the store owners during the meal.
The boss was a middle-aged man, slightly plump, with a round face just like the bread he sold... He was very happy to see customers coming at first, but when he found out that the customers were all beautiful girls, he suddenly felt nervous.
He was no longer a young man who loved to dream, and he knew that the anomalies in life were often related to evil.
It was only after Xia Yibing stepped in and showed him the black-clad license that the shop owner breathed a sigh of relief and refused to take any money.
"Although we have the blessing of the mechanical sun, I know that we can live in this city safely and peacefully without you." This is what he said, "So please don't reject me... Let me do my best to contribute."
Xia Yibing was very touched after hearing this and did not insist on paying.
But when the boss turned around, she secretly took out a few silver coins, stepped on them and threw them into the shadow in the inner room of the shop.
The food arrived quickly, which consisted of golden and crispy toasted wheat bread and vegetable soup made from various vegetables mixed with kelp and eggs.
It was already a little cold in the autumn morning. Hitzfeld rubbed his hands, then held the bowl of hot soup for a while, revealing a hint of happiness in his tiredness.
"By the way, boss, I want to ask you for some information."
Seeing that they were the only guests in the store for the time being, Xia Yibing took a bite of bread and planned to start the process directly, "Is there a Prudential store nearby?"
"Yes. Do you want to withdraw money? Turn left from my house and walk to the next intersection. It's on your right - which is opposite you now. It's right there."
"What time do they usually open?"
"Then it will be at least after nine o'clock... If you have time, you can take this time to go around."
After some casual chatting, they learned that the boss's name was Reed. Reed said that the residents nearby were "quite wealthy", so there were many clothing stores and jewelry stores nearby. Although these stores were not open at this time, there were actually some morning markets hidden in the surrounding alleys.
"That's a place for the lower class. It's a bit dirty, but it's very interesting."
Reed was very familiar with the morning market, and it seemed that he went there quite often. Hitzfeld occasionally interrupted and asked some interesting questions, and learned that "morning market" was a general term that included vegetable sellers, meat sellers, clothing sellers, and the antique seller she saw that day.
Of course, most of the antiques sold in this kind of place are fakes. But as the saying goes, where there is demand, there is a market. Not everyone can afford to go to a place like Ross Gold Crown to shop, so it is understandable that they choose defective products, or even fakes, to fill in the store.
"What about that bookstore?" She suddenly changed the subject. "It's the one opposite the corner building, turn right. I see it's covered with a black cloth. What's its name?"
"Lari Gretzer's store." Reed was obviously very familiar with the place. "She's a good person... She lives nearby. As far as I know, she not only often helps the poor around her, but also hires poor children to help in the store. Her integrity is well-known in this area. We all trust her. We feel at ease when a place like the mail station is set up in her store."
“Have you ever bought any books there?”
"No... People in our line of work don't have the time to read."
"Then you went there to get the letter."
"Yes... My child is studying in Blackwood City. Wayne's school is too expensive... He can go to a better school in Blackwood City for the same price. We write to each other every week."
"So this Ms. Gretzer..." Hitzfeld considered his words, "Does she help people who seem disturbed?"
Reid didn't react at first. After a moment's pause, he looked around and came over to ask them quietly, "Did something happen to her?"
"That jewelry store was robbed recently, wasn't it? That's not why you came here?"
"It seems that this Riley Gretzer is really popular."
On the way back, Xia Yibing made a neutral comment.
The crossroads is near.
It was past seven o'clock and the streets were already lively. There were all kinds of people and vehicles running around on the street, and there were more than a dozen people gathered around where they parked their car.
Hitzfeld saw Lori inside at a glance. He worked with another police officer to pull down the top black drape with a rope.
【Gritzer Bookstore】
These are the conspicuous characters on the sign.
There is also a line of small words below.
【The Spiritual Home of the Frustrated】
Chapter 34 Another Kind of Justice Two-in-One
It was almost eight o'clock when Hitzfeld finally waited for the boss to arrive in the bookstore. By then, he had already flipped through most of the books on the first row of bookshelves - this efficiency was possible without looking too closely.
Hearing the noise, she looked up and saw a graceful woman coming in with her skirt lifted.
For a moment, she felt that she understood why Alfred had set up a letter delivery point here, because this Ms. Gretzer was eight points similar to Lilith Gretchen in temperament.
They were both elderly women, and they were both meticulous in their manners and attire. It was just that she was a few notches behind the lady in terms of clothing. Just looking at the stern face and pursed lips, Hitzfeld was a little dazed, and another figure appeared in his mind.
"This is the owner," someone said. "Ms. Gretzer runs this store. We are very familiar with her... She is the most honest and principled person around here."
"Can you give an example?" This was Xia Yibing's voice.
"Of course! Uh... For example, she often gives credit to the poor. If the items they buy are not of such high value and the demand is urgent, she supports credit. But you know, many people's moral character is not so noble, and she may not be able to recover the money in the future."
“But she keeps doing it?”
"Yes... We all think this is not easy, and we are also helping to supervise this bad habit. If anyone owes a debt, they must remember to pay it back."
This doesn't prove that she is a really good person, Hitzfeld thought to himself when he heard this.
She thought of a real-life joke she had seen in her previous life. It started when a student in her class boasted that his family had rented a very cheap shop by stealing a chicken. Considering that there were many residential communities nearby and there was a great demand from middle-aged and elderly people, they planned to convert it into a chess and card room.
This person also did the math for them. According to statistics, they would not lose money as long as one-fifth of the expected number of people came to take care of the business.
But what is the reality? There are indeed many people coming to the card room to play, and the business is even more popular than expected. However, many card players have the habit of gambling on the table, and they even just come out to walk the dog at the beginning, which means they don’t have much cash on them.
If you don't have money, you can only borrow from acquaintances or shops. Acquaintances are always rare at this time, and as a shop owner you need to attract repeat customers, you really can't refuse to lend.
But, just as that person said, this kind of loan is a complete mess. Many people are unwilling to pay it back after they have satisfied their desire. Relying on their large numbers and age factors, the store owners have no way to deal with them.
Not all shops are like this, but if it’s a chess and card room that relies on skill and personal connections, or if the shop owner insists on being a good person, then this is the end of being a good person.
Riley Gretzer was able to pull this off well, gaining a good reputation while ensuring the bookstore was profitable - if that was profitable, it showed that she was very good at handling interpersonal relationships.
But if that's not profitable.
Hey...then we have to find out what's the point of her running this store at a loss.
She walked out of the bookshelf with this thought in mind. When others saw her, they basically came towards her.
"This is Miss Aisuen Hitzfeld." This is Lori's voice. "You should have read the recent news, right? Show some respect, this is the Earl of Xieyang who was just conferred by the royal family!"
"Hello, Gretzel." The girl didn't waste any words. She stared at the old woman and got to the point. "I want to know who usually manages this store."
"Sometimes it's me, sometimes it's my employees." Gretzer's voice was very low, but she couldn't be compared with Lilith-Gree after all, and she was still a little uneasy: "Is this... related to Ross's Golden Crown?"
"Don't ask so many questions. Just answer the questions honestly." Hitzfeld said without any emotion. "Then do you have any impression of this kind of envelope?"
As she spoke, she took out the letter and stuffed the newspaper back into it. If you didn't look at the seal, it looked quite normal.
"It left a deep impression." Gretzer narrowed his eyes. "It's rare to see such a bulging envelope... At first everyone thought it was filled with money. The first time I encountered it, I was watching the store. Someone told me that there was money here. I saw them take the letter off and tear it open, and they took out a folded newspaper."
"Isn't it immoral to open letters?"
"You can't expect people at the bottom to have morals." Gretzer shook his head. "If the envelope is really filled with money, the amount is enough to make some people take risks."
"But they found out it was newspaper? Didn't this happen a lot in the beginning?"
"A lot... They found that every time they read it was just newspapers, so they lost interest over time."
"When did this first start happening?"
"That's a long time, about two years? I'm not sure... but it should have happened soon after we opened."
"Ah? So this store has only been open for nearly two years?"
"Yes."
"Where were you from before?"
“I live in the South.”
"Why did you think of coming to Wayne to develop?"
"Out of my fear of death."
"……I did not understand."
"When people get old, they become afraid of death." Gretzer said, "I wasn't young anymore. I knew that if I got sick, a small city wouldn't have enough conditions to treat me. I wanted to go to a bigger and more prosperous city. Wayneport was my first choice."
“Why did you think of opening a bookstore?”
"It's my spiritual sustenance. I came here to find salvation in life, but I found that even a city like Wayne has its lower classes, and there are so many people struggling in the mud. They have never had the opportunity to be taught how to read properly in their entire lives. I hope to change this phenomenon, or at least do something within my ability."
The questioning of Gretzer ended quickly, and Leon thought the process was nothing special.
Only one key piece of information was confirmed: Alfred actually started funding that group of people two years ago!
"He's crazy?"
Leaving Lori in the store to continue communicating with Gretzer, the group walked out. Leon shrank his neck and spread out one hand: "What on earth does he want to do? Does he want to commit treason?"
Although various information revealed that he was not necessarily doing bad things, because the group he funded missed all good opportunities including the Old Royal Party Rebellion.
Just...if they really wanted to rebel, he didn't believe they could resist that opportunity.
But they never showed up, never jumped out, as if they did not exist... they were just a group of sewer rats, carefully hiding their whereabouts, fearing that they would be discovered and trampled to death.
But from the perspective of behavior alone, this is undoubtedly treason.
"Don't jump to conclusions." Hitzfeld sighed.
"Let's go to the Gold Shop."
"We may find something unexpected."
The time is almost up. With Li Ang's team finding people and coordinating, the gold shop should open now.
“……”Xia Yibing glanced at her and said nothing.
Being familiar with Hitzfeld, she guessed that the girl had already made a preliminary judgment, but now was not the right time to ask.
It's just a short section of road anyway, so why not go and take a look and find out?
Half an hour later, Hitzfeld's prediction was confirmed.
Pleakin's - the same store that Reed, the breakfast shop owner, had described to them. A group of people sat in the office and listened to the bank manager describe what he knew to them.
"Yes... there are many withdrawal records. I have a deep impression of these funds because they don't want Sera. Even if it is a large amount of money, they want to exchange it for Goli."
"There are five records in August alone." Xia Yibing closed the record book. "On average, money was sent once a week? And the identity information of the withdrawer was 'undisclosed'? How dare you allow this to happen in Wayne? Do you not want to continue working in this industry?"
Her tone became increasingly harsh, and in the end she simply slammed the notebook on the table, making a loud noise.
"boom!"
The bank manager and the staff working outside were all startled by the noise. The former quickly began to beg for mercy: "This is indeed our negligence... Sheriff... We accept the punishment... no matter how much it is... no objection..."
It is inevitable that this kind of thing happened to Prudential.
As mentioned before, this money merchant does more business with the lower classes than its peers. That is, they serve many poor people in the middle class and below, helping them with their deposits, withdrawals and gold exchange business.
This kind of business is undertaken by various private exchanges and gold exchange houses in the lower-end market. There is no need to even think about finding any real-name records there. Everyone uses fake names, and this phenomenon cannot be supervised at all at present.
If Prudential wants to enjoy this market benefit, it has to bear the accompanying risks, so it is only a matter of time before it is investigated, which is why it dares not defend itself.
He knew very well what the consequences would be if such a matter involved those great nobles. Even the behind-the-scenes boss of the Plikin Bank could not handle it. Then, if something really happened, he, a small manager... would be the first to be thrown out to take the blame.
So it is better for me to give in first and hope that the female sheriff will not spread the matter.
Xia Yibing discussed with Hitzfeld for a while and made a request: "I need you to use your business and connections to find out if there are similar transactions with other money merchants of the same or even lower level."
The man immediately frowned: "This...ah...how can we check this?"
This is too much. Not to mention replacing Goli, there are even more people replacing Baker! It is simply a dream to find out everything in a short time!
"Who told you to check this? They told you to check this method of withdrawing money!" Li Ang wanted to kick him. "According to your initial description, those people came with newspapers? Sometimes they brought newspapers, sometimes they didn't... Is that what you said?"
"Uh yeah!"
"We need earlier records," Hitzfeld interjected.
Her voice sounded very peaceful and calm, and seemed to have a magical power to soothe people. The manager gradually concentrated on listening to her.
