"This!"
Ethen's words caught Azrul off guard. After a mont of thought, Azrul realized that it indeed made sense. Wasn't this a superfluous move for the evening?
"Master, what do you an by that?"
Curiosity flickered in Azrul's eyes.
"My conclusion is quite simple: their strength may be decent, but it's far weaker than you imagine. Otherwise, they wouldn't have acted this way," Ethen replied.
His analysis made Azrul slam the table in approval. Seizing the mont, Azrul pressed on, "Master, what you said makes a lot of sense. Have you discovered any other suspicious points?"
"Indeed, there are other suspicious points." Ethen took a sip of water and looked intently at Azrul. "When you were just inspecting the scene of the robbery in the warehouse, did you notice that the items taken by those two were all finished dicines and valuables like jewelry? However, they didn't touch any of the very precious pharmaceutical tools and raw materials?"
"Yes, I noticed that too," Azrul replied.
"Exactly." Ethen continued, "At first, I thought this was a case triggered by business conflicts. Now, it seems we can basically rule out that possibility. The ones likely to have a business conflict with your Ling family would probably be the pharmacies in Heishui Town. If it were people from another pharmacy, do you really think they would only take finished dicines and leave behind raw materials and tools?"
Upon hearing Ethen's words, Azrul suddenly realized, slapping his forehead.
"The fact that they didn't take the raw materials and tools indicates that they are not from these pharmaceutical families, and they might not even understand the process of making dicines!"
"Smart!" Ethen chuckled lightly.
"Because for soone who doesn't understand dicine making, taking the raw materials would be useless. After all, they were robbers, and with limited ti at the scene and heightened tension, they naturally would pick the things they valued the most."
At this point in Ethen's analysis, he had actually reached a preliminary conclusion: the robbers were not from the other pharmacies in Heishui Town.
This elimination of options imdiately clarified the situation significantly. Just then, Saiful ca to report that he had discovered so seemingly unusual soil residues at the scene. The quantity of this soil was very small and likely ca from the shoes of the two n in black.
"Oh?"
This piqued the great interest of Ethen and Azrul. The two imdiately began to examine the fine soil closely.
After rubbing the soil between their fingers and bringing it to their noses for a sniff, Ethen asked Azrul, "This is red clay produced during the pottery making process. Are there any pottery workshops in the town or nearby?"
When Ethen was in middle school, he had worked during sumr vacations at a pottery workshop, where he learned to identify this unique type of clay. Pottery workshops?
Azrul was usually focused on pharmaceuticals and knew nothing about pottery. He genuinely had no idea whether there were any pottery places nearby. He imdiately turned to Saiful.
Hearing this, Saiful organized his thoughts and said, "Master Ethen, there actually are pottery workshops nearby. I often mingle in the markets and know of two pottery places in this vicinity."
"Oh? Quickly, tell more."
Azrul was delighted to hear this and urged Saiful to continue. Ethen listened quietly, not speaking.
"The first one is the Yuan family located at No. 2 Yuhua Road in Heishui Town," Saiful said.
"The Yuan family? Is that the sa Yuan family that runs the Yuan Pharmacy?" Azrul asked.
"That's right, it's the sa Yuan family," Saiful confird.
"But the Yuan family is clearly one of the best pharmacies in town. What does that have to do with pottery?" Azrul inquired.
"The young master may not know this, but the Yuan family originally ca from a pharmaceutical lineage. However, two years ago, they married in a new daughter in law. This daughter in law has a passion for pottery, and to please her, the head of the Yuan family set up a small workshop for her to play with. The pottery produced is quite exquisite, especially the clay figurines, which are particularly delicate..."
Saiful described animatedly.
"Alright, that's enough. Let's move on to the next one," Ethen interrupted Saiful's description.
Upon hearing this, Saiful quickly stopped and began talking about the next place.
"Apart from the Yuan family, the other pottery workshop is not located in this town. There is a village called Kiln Village, situated about 20 li east of the town, at the foot of that straw covered mountain. The villagers have inherited their pottery making skills for generations, and while their work is not as refined as that of the Yuan family's daughter in law, they typically produce so coarse pottery to trade for a bit of silver at the market. Aside from Kiln Village, as far as I know, there are no other pottery workshops within a 200 li radius."
"Does the Ling family have any dealings with Kiln Village?" Ethen asked.
"Our Ling family is large and prosperous, so we naturally don't have much interaction with these villagers. However, about half a month ago, there was a mudslide over in Niu Town that destroyed many hos and furniture of the townspeople. The Ling family donated a batch of pots, bowls, and other utensils as charity. Those utensils were actually procured from Kiln Village," Saiful strained his mory to recount the only instance he knew of the Ling family interacting with Kiln Village.
Upon hearing this, Ethen's eyes lit up, "Was that batch of pots and bowls brought back by soone from the Ling family, or were they delivered by Kiln Village?"
"They were delivered. I happened to be on duty that day. I personally led them to place those pots and bowls into the supply warehouse," Saiful replied.
"You an the people from Kiln Village ca close to the supply warehouse?" Ethen's eyes suddenly shone with realization.
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