Chapter 140: with translation of chapter title

The Night Trip Three Fools moved from the east wing side room to the west courtyard, and at a glance saw an ancient well in the courtyard.

The well opening was over a meter in diameter.

It must have dried up many, many years ago; there wasn't a drop of water in the well. Shining the flashlight down, only visible trash could be seen.

"Which of you two will go down?"

Wu Dai Mei swept the flashlight's beam across Hei Pi and Pang Zi's faces.

Pang Zi poked his head out to check the well's size, gestured with both hands to form a circle of the same diameter, then tried it around his own fat waist: "It's not that I don't want to go down; my build just won't allow it."

His words had just fallen.

Wu Dai Mei immediately shone the flashlight's beam onto Hei Pi's face.

He said nothing.

Hei Pi's face was already filled with a gloomy expression, but thinking that upon completing this single task he would receive fifty thousand as hardship pay, his heart felt much more relieved.

Although in ancient times wealthy families were full of palace intrigue, the well would hold either a dead maid or a dead concubine, and restless spirits not dispersing were a common occurrence.

But the old saying goes:

"The bold get stuffed, the timid starve!"

Once we get the fifty thousand hardship pay in hand, we'll rush straight to the lottery shop, gamble fifty thousand for five million, and becoming a millionaire will be just around the corner!

By then we'll buy a house, buy a car, marry a wife, and spend the second half of our lives washing our hands in a golden basin!

With that thought, Hei Pi's fighting spirit blazed like a raging fire as he wound the rope around his waist: "You dead fatass, pull tight—I'm thin-skinned and brittle-boned, I can't take a fall."

"Go down then!"

Pang Zi kicked Hei Pi in the butt with one foot.

A cry of "Wo ciao ao!" echoed from the well opening all the way down to the bottom, immediately followed by a terrified, painful shout: "Oh wu!"

He finally landed.

Hei Pi roared at the bottom of the well: "You dead fatass, I'll fuck your grandma!"

"Nothing left but a pile of old white bones—if you can move them, go ahead and do whatever you want." Pang Zi grinned, still looking honest and simple, as if he had not a shred of deceit.

Wu Dai Mei shone the flashlight at the well bottom: "Cut the crap, it'll be light soon—hurry up and work!"

"This brick is jammed tight; you can't pry it loose at all."

According to superior orders, there are several movable bricks on the well wall; if you pry them out, you can break through a passage leading to the treasury.

At the same time.

Lin Dongfan and Xie Xiaofeng, still in the hotel, continued to stare intently at the surveillance footage on the computer screen.

However, the hidden camera could only capture Wu Dai Mei and Pang Zi loitering by the well opening; it couldn't see the bottom environment, nor did it know what Hei Pi was doing down there.

Xie Xiaofeng curiously asked: "Brother Fan, do you think that loot will be gold bars or antiquities? The underground is damp; I reckon Xiao Yunce wouldn't hide cash in such a place."

"There are antiquities, and there are gold bars."

That answer came from information Lin Dongfan knew in his previous life.

Precise and flawless.

Not long after, the surveillance footage showed the Night Trip Three Fools' labor results: Pang Zi stood by the well, carefully pulling the rope and hoisting up a basket.

The basket contained fragile antiquities.

At the bottom were three pieces of blue-and-white porcelain, and on top sat a celadon-glazed washing bowl.

"Sure enough, there's a celadon-glazed washing bowl!"

Lin Dongfan's brows lit up with joy at the sight of it, and he smiled without showing his teeth.

Seeing Lin Dongfan's excited expression, Xie Xiaofeng puzzledly asked: "Brother Fan, you said that 'celadon with joy' thing—is it worth a lot?"

"It's not 'celadon with joy,' it's a celadon-glazed washing bowl, worth enough to exchange for four courtyard houses."

A glazed washing bowl is an implement the ancients used to clean brushes; it resembles an inkstone used for grinding ink, looks unremarkable, simple and plain.

But this is a celadon-glazed washing bowl from the Northern Song Ru kiln, extremely rare, capable of fetching over two hundred million yuan at auction.

Lin Dongfan laughed excitedly: "Boss Xiao Yunce's secret little vault—honestly, this is more satisfying than digging up Cheng Dao's ancestral graves, after all Boss Xiao is a true powerhouse with real authority."

"Brother Fan, have you really dug up someone else's ancestral graves?"

Xie Xiaofeng had heard rumors of this before, but remained doubtful, feeling that the upright Brother Fan wouldn't do such a heaven‑defying, unjust thing.

This time he turned out to be short‑sighted.

Although Brother Fan doesn't do heaven‑defying, unjust deeds, when he does cause harm, it's simply beyond reason.

Lin Dongfan calmly lit a cigarette:

"Get rid of that question mark and use an exclamation point. That night I first dug up Director Cheng's mother's grave, then Director Cheng's father's grave. At the time the whole village turned out, but I remained calm under pressure."

"He's a ruthless person."

In the midst of chatting and laughing, Xie Xiaofeng admired him immensely and gave a thumbs‑up.

Just then.

Pang Zi, standing by the well opening, hauled up another basket from the well—this time it was all gold bars.

Xie Xiaofeng asked: "How much is all the treasure in this well worth altogether?"

"Around ten billion yuan." Lin Dongfan took a slow drag of his cigarette, then exhaled a shocking remark: "What could really be lethal isn't this gold and antiquities, but the white bones."

"White bones?!"

Xie Xiaofeng's pupils instantly widened in shock.

His eyes fixed on the computer's surveillance screen, eagerly awaiting the next basket.

Lin Dongfan flicked ash from his cigarette, then smiled calmly: "The one who died was a street‑loiterer named Gu Yushan, 47 years old; when he was young he carried a birdcage to tease crickets, living off his parents."

"Who killed him?"

"One day he just happened to bump into Xiao Yunce discussing antiquities trafficking at Compound No. 37—the kind of deal where you spend 200 yuan to pick up a bargain, then auction it for a sky‑high price of two hundred million—can you understand that?"

Seems you kinda get it — it's just about transferring benefits. For example, I want to bribe you, so I set up a stall selling antiques at Pan Family Garden, and you come by to pick up a bargain. You spend 200 to snag a treasure, then later auction it off for a sky‑high price of 200 million.

Smart, that's how it is.

These people are damn sneaky, this money seems to come pretty legitimately on the surface.

Gu Yushan just happened to run into Xiao Yunce discussing this with someone, later learned Xiao Yunce was an official, then tried to extort a big sum, and ended up losing his life.

Was it Xiao Yunce who personally killed him?

No, Xiao Yunce wouldn't kill personally; it was his mistress who did it. Ye Dan, formerly a low‑level staffer at River Wave Bank, is now an executive.

Damn, it's really complicated.

For a case like this, normally it's a linked case, a nest — you uncover one nest after another. Those people cover for each other. So you need to be absolutely sure before moving in to make arrests.

That's an eye‑opener.

I'm telling you this also hoping you'll be more careful in the future. The more people I arrest, the more I offend, and they all want me dead. If they can't get to me, they'll go after my family.

Brother Fan, don't worry, I'll beef up security for your wife.

Work hard, you won't lose out.

Lin Dongfan laughed and patted Xie Xiaofeng on the shoulder.

Being valued by Lin Dongfan, Xie Xiaofeng also felt excited; he knew well that someone like Lin Dongfan, who sees through human nature and is an anti‑corruption pioneer, doesn't easily trust anyone.

There was movement again on the monitor screen.

The third basket Pangzi pulled up from the well wasn't white bones; it was gold and antiques.

The fourth basket was heavy.

Pangzi gritted his teeth, summoned all his strength to pull up, and it wasn't a basket of white bones either — it was Heipi sitting in the basket as a merit.

Seeing this.

Xie Xiaofeng frowned: 'Looks like they won't be pulling up the white bones.'

Lin Dongfan smirked: 'They're down there digging for treasure, not relocating graves — who digs up bones for no reason? Give the order, tell the brothers to move in and make arrests.'