Chapter 401

Late at night, only the orange streetlights on both sides of the road were lit; nearby homes rarely had any lights on. There were basically no pedestrians on the road, and the lanes that had seemed crowded during the day now had few cars.

Inside the grocery store, Huang Laoban took a cigarette from the pack, put it in his mouth, took out a lighter to light it, and just then the door was knocked.

Huang Laoban lives in the room behind the grocery store at night, and the door being knocked on now is the store's back door.

He wasn't in a hurry to light the cigarette anymore; Huang Laoban, cigarette in mouth, slipped on his slippers and came to the door to open it.

The person standing at the door was someone Huang Laoban did not know.

Liuba was about to say something when Huang Laoban directly spat out the cigarette from his mouth; the cigarette hit Liuba's body, and as it fell Huang Laoban quickly caught it again.

Liuba felt that if it weren't for the cigarette in this person's mouth, he would have likely spat a mouthful of saliva straight at him. So he ought to be grateful that what was spat out was smoke rather than saliva.

Earlier on the phone, Liuba had said that Liaojingcha had introduced him over, and Huang Laoban's tone had not been good; Liuba sensed that this person probably had some minor friction with Liaojingcha, but for the sake of the orchid matter he still came over.

He put the cigarette back in his mouth, Huang Laoban lowered his gaze and saw the familiar black cat squatting nearby. He took a deep breath, said nothing, and Huang Laoban merely turned his face to the side, indicating they should come in.

Huang Laoban indeed had no intention of helping when he heard that Liaojingcha had introduced them; even if he helped, he wouldn't act hastily, preferring to settle a score first. But he hadn't expected this black cat to tag along; no matter what, because the cat had once given his store a free advertisement, business is still decent. Besides, the cat also knows Er Mao, so driving them away outright would also be inappropriate.

Seeing Huang Laoban's action, Liuba felt relieved; as long as entry was permitted, it meant this person would help. He first returned to the car, looked around, saw no one paying attention, then brought the still-unconscious person from the car inside.

Zheng Tan had only seen the front shop of the grocery store before, never came to the back resting area. The space here is only about ten square meters, yet it's not messy. By comparison, Huang Laoban's temper at night seems not so good; although he appears rather stingy, his attitude toward people during the day is usually fairly good—not like now. He seems to be holding in a bellyful of anger and not intending to endure it. Probably he got woken up, so he's irritable?

He glanced at the Qushu thrown on the ground nearby. Huang Laoban puffed on his cigarette and said, 'I really hate being woken up at night; this surnamed Liao is deliberately having you lot disturb me late at night. Tsk. Young people are just narrow-minded.'

This time Zheng Tan could be sure that Huang Laoban and that Liaojingcha definitely later had some minor friction over certain matters; earlier when Zheng Tan followed them on a delivery run, their names weren't clear, but now speaking of them they are quite familiar. Probably after that they had some friction, not a major issue; although they seem to be causing trouble for each other, this is also a form of communication.

Indeed, at the end of September Huang Laoban and Liaojingcha were both invited to a wedding of an acquaintance; they sat at the same table, where they played drinking games and Liaojingcha lost, being goaded by Huang Laoban and a few older ones into acting a bit clownish; consequently Liaojingcha took note of those few old-timers and, whenever he has free time, finds small ways to trouble them. This time too, even though he knows Huang Laoban dislikes being disturbed at night, he still called and had them come over.

Liuba wanted to learn something from the Qushu's mouth, while Huang Laoban, this Folk Artist, obviously also had the ability to make the Qushu speak; originally Liuba had been wondering what price this person would charge, but he didn't expect the person not to mention any fee at all.

Huang Laoban looked at Zheng Tan and said, 'This time let it slide, we'll call it even; next time don't bring people over at night, and besides, next time I'll charge money, no discount.'

One hour later.

Liuba, holding the recorded information, was driven out the door; at the same time, still being driven out was the Qushu that had again fallen unconscious; Zheng Tan, before the Huangshulanglaoban started to drive them out, had already left on his own initiative; tonight Huang Laoban's temper really is bad.

Zheng Tan had Liuba call Jiao Ba, saying he wouldn't be going back home tonight; so after leaving Huang Laoban's place, Zheng Tan followed Liuba to his place, which is the old den of the golden turtle.

"I really didn't expect you to actually know so many capable people." Liuba glanced at the cat on the passenger seat and said.

Regardless of Liaojingcha or Huang Laoban, they are both a rather special kind of person, possessing superb skills but not showing them off; even Liuba himself, having stayed in Chu Hua Shi for so long, had never heard of these two. When just interrogating the Qushu, Liuba had thought Huang Laoban would reveal some special talent, but Huang Laoban did nothing, just sat there with a cigarette in his mouth, and the only two or three simple actions he made showed nothing; it seemed he was merely observing what the Qushu looked like, then picking up his tea cup and sitting back down; otherwise Huang Laoban just sat in his original spot asking questions. This made Liuba deeply impressed, and he also thought that if he ever gets a chance, he'd like to interact more with these two. This is also the biggest gain from this incident, not a loss. Liuba thought.

The information pried from the Qushu's mouth wasn't much, but it was very useful. Although the Qushu didn't directly participate in stealing the orchids, he helped obtain a vehicle and a few license plates; one of those plate numbers is exactly the one given by Kunye.

The orchid thieves switched vehicles midway; the vehicle they changed to was the one the Qushu helped obtain. By tracking that vehicle and those license plate numbers, one should be able to roughly figure out their travel routes within the province.

However, Liuba does not intend to handle cross-province tracking, lacking the energy; instead, after organizing the information he obtained, he sent it to the overall person in charge of the Special Task Force.

After the orchid was stolen, due to the great impact, the City Public Security Bureau established a Special Task Force, still with a deadline to crack the case, deploying large numbers of police and joint defense personnel to carry out a dragnet-style sweep of suspicious persons in the jurisdiction. Liuba believes the police should have some leads by now; merely his information will make the case progress faster. He believes this information will let the Special Task Force Leader have an easier time, after all, this is a deadline-bound case: if solved, promotion; if not, his position is in danger.

The Special Task Force Leader has indeed been worried lately that the case is progressing too slowly, with two key persons still not found; after receiving the email Liuba sent over, he followed the clues in the email and found the Qushu, who had been thrown unconscious in some underground parking lot. The Special Task Force Leader would like to know who the sender is, but the email is anonymous, the sender also took related concealment measures, making the correct IP untraceable, and the email also contains a line: 'Don't ask who I am, I am Leifengmiao.'

The Special Task Force Leader stared at the final 'miao' character for a full minute; if it weren't for the urgency of the matter, and if he weren't busy solving the case, he would probably have studied it longer. Who exactly is the sender? What is his age? This has been a lingering question in the Special Task Force Leader's mind.

When Liuba was sending the email, Zheng Tan was right beside him. After seeing what Liuba had sent, Zheng Tan's moustache twitched several times; he recalled that back when he still had diamonds, he had written 'red scarf' on a bun bag. Indeed, it's not just him who does such silly things.

Early the next morning, when the Jiao family members got up, Zheng Tan went back to knock on the door. He needed to show his face before they left home; otherwise they would probably keep worrying.

Indeed, after seeing Zheng Tan, Jiao Ma felt much more at ease. Jiao Ba and Xiao Youzi didn't say anything, but Zheng Tan felt that their mood was about the same as Jiao Ma's.

Following Jiao Ba to eat breakfast at the cafeteria, Zheng Tan then went to visit the Orchid Old Man at his home. The old man's spirit was still not good; in just these few days he has lost a bit of weight, and with his age, even a minor ailment can trigger a chain of adverse reactions; continuing like this, one doesn't know what will happen. Elder Lady Zhai is very worried, needing to console him every day; the Orchid Old Man's sons and grandsons often come over to comfort him.

Actually Zheng Tan thought that if the orchid truly couldn't be found, he would look for an opportunity to dig up a few more to replace it; but hearing Elder Lady Zhai's meaning, the Orchid Old Man has become obstinate again, fixated on that pot of orchid, and any orchid dug up again would not compare to the one that was lost.

The first pot is always the best; in the Orchid Old Man's heart, its position is irreplaceable.

The Special Task Force sent back news in mid-November, saying they had found that pot of orchid in a border area of Dian Province. It is said that in a county-level public security bureau in Dian Province, 70% of the criminal cases handled are orchid thefts; there are many orchid cultivation experts there, as well as many orchid thieves.

When the Special Task Force found that pot of orchid, they also saw the two missing orchid cultivation experts; just as the Poker King had anticipated, those two had been hired at high pay to tend the orchid, and it was originally planned to ship them abroad after they were well cared for, but they ended up being intercepted.

As for the person who placed a bid on the black market, it's said he's abroad; for now there's no trace, and it's hard to investigate. Whether that statement is true or not, we'll leave that aside; for the Orchid Old Man, finding the orchid is the greatest comfort.

When the orchid was being transported back, the Orchid Old Man was supported by Elder Lady Zhai, trembling as he walked over; upon seeing that pot of orchid still in bloom, flawless and jade-like, tears streamed down his face. After that, the Orchid Old Man slept soundly for a day and a night, and then his spirits began to improve.

Mood directly affects one's condition; as the orchid was recovered, the Orchid Old Man's recovery was encouraging. Once this old man recovered, he had people remodel the small flower bed.

The Orchid Old Man adopted a series of anti-theft measures for the small flower bed, hiring several professionals with whom he had good relations to help. He reinforced the flower beds inside with steel rebar, iron mesh, and anti-theft doors, etc., and installed automatic alarm devices, high-voltage pulse electric nets, television surveillance and recording systems, etc.; he hired people to stand guard, with the School Security Office and nearby logistics personnel conducting joint defense. The school gave full cooperation.

Besides these, the Orchid Old Man also thought about getting a dog, since electronic equipment isn't entirely reliable—just like the Botanical Garden, which has all sorts of electronic anti-theft measures, yet they were still tampered with. So the Orchid Old Man intends to take multiple approaches. He will continue to raise orchids, and he himself is confident he can cultivate more premium orchids; anti-theft measures must be done well.

Having decided to get a dog, the Orchid Old Man runs into a problem: he only knows about plants, not dogs. The ones he usually sees are just a few in the compound; however, as guard dogs, the often-mischievous Sahala and the good-natured Saint Bernard definitely won't work—perhaps he should get a Niu Zhuangzhuang type? But he's heard that breed is hard to train and too fierce; the small flower bed needs to keep out thieves, yet people often come to visit, and if he accidentally bites someone, what then?

Recently many people have been giving the Orchid Old Man advice; because there are so many suggestions, he doesn't know whose to follow, and so he hasn't made a decision yet.

Thus, one day, as Zheng Tan was out for a stroll, he was stopped by the Orchid Old Man returning from his walk.

"Hei Tan, come here, give Orchid Grandpa some advice—what kind of dog should I raise?" (To be continued...)