Chapter 439: He Yuzhu Has Old Accounts Settled Against Him

Inside Rong Bao Zhai, the old gentleman held the porcelain shard, examining it repeatedly, then looked at the bottom of the bottle carefully for a long while.

He put down his magnifying glass and said slowly, "This is indeed a Qinghua General Jar from the Shunzhi era. If it were intact, the market price would be around three million."

After hearing this, the man in glasses sighed and turned to Yan Jiefang, "Kid, Uncle can't help you this time. This uncle didn't lie to you; you'd better... go home and discuss with your parents how to pay for the damages!"

Tears welled up in Yan Jiefang's eyes instantly, and he sobbed, "My family has no money... there are many children, we even have to count the strands of salted vegetables to divide them..."

The man in glasses shook his head, took two stacks of banknotes from his pocket, and stuffed them into Yan Jiefang's hands, "Uncle felt a connection the moment I saw you. Here is two hundred thousand; take it and discuss with him to see if this matter can be settled. Uncle... can only help this much."

Yan Jiefang clutched the stack of money, his tears falling even harder. He walked up to the middle-aged man, knelt down with a thud, and said, "Uncle, I... I only have this much money. Any more, and I really can't afford to pay. Please, have mercy..."

The middle-aged man sighed deeply and glanced at the man in glasses, "Fine, I won't be the villain who drives someone to a dead end. You are young, and your family is poor. How about this: you write an IOU. This two hundred thousand counts as the first installment, and you will pay two hundred thousand every month until it is paid off."

Yan Jiefang returned to the man in glasses, his voice choked with tears, "Uncle Glasses, I really can't pay it back..."

"Do you want to earn money?" the man in glasses asked suddenly.

Yan Jiefang nodded vigorously, "I do! I dream of it!"

"That's good. Spend two hours every day coming to see Uncle, and Uncle will teach you ways to earn money, guaranteed to help you pay it back." The man in glasses' voice was very gentle.

Municipal Bureau, Deputy Bureau Chief's office.

Tian Dan placed a stack of investigation reports on the desk.

Her face was livid, "Deputy Bureau Chief, I know you and Zhou Hao have a good relationship. But thirty lives cannot be lost in vain. You must give me an explanation—deal with Zhou Hao, otherwise, I will file a report to the higher-ups."

The Deputy Bureau Chief waved his hand, "Comrade Tian Dan, let's discuss things slowly; don't get so angry. Comrade Zhou Hao even cracked a major case during the few days you were away on business."

Tian Dan ignored this point entirely and sneered, "He knew there were enemy agents at the mine, yet he went to investigate with such fanfare! Anyone with even a shred of experience wouldn't do something like this!"

"Xiao Zhou did indeed make a mistake in this matter, but Xiao Ma and Xiao Li, who went to investigate, also had issues. Zhou Hao sent them, but who would have thought they would drink some alcohol and spill the mission details," the Deputy Bureau Chief said.

"They have already sacrificed their lives!" Tian Dan stared at him, "Responsibility shouldn't be pushed onto the dead."

Upon hearing this, the Deputy Bureau Chief immediately darkened his face, "Xiao Zhou bears leadership responsibility. Don't you have any responsibility?"

"He sent people without consulting me? What responsibility do I have?" Tian Dan did not yield an inch.

"On this point, he did make a mistake," the Deputy Bureau Chief leaned back, still trying to smooth things over, "Rest assured, I will definitely criticize and educate him severely!"

"Deputy Bureau Chief, if you continue to protect him like this, something major will happen in the future. If it weren't for He Yuzhu risking his life to go down the mine this time, all thirty-plus people would have been buried inside. This debt must be settled on Zhou Hao's head!" Tian Dan said.

The Deputy Bureau Chief nodded, "Section Chief Tian, I understand your opinion. Go back to work first."

Tian Dan slammed the door as she left.

The Deputy Bureau Chief slapped the file, "Not one of them... is easy to deal with!"

In a private room at Quanjude.

The middle-aged man who broke the jar, the man in glasses, the young man who lost the money, along with Wang Baosheng and Xu Damao, sat around a table eating.

The middle-aged man who broke the jar was named Jin Ye, specializing in swindling and fencing stolen goods. In the underworld, there are the "Four Great Swindlers"—Wind, Hemp, Swallow, and Sparrow—and he occupies the "Wind" position.

The man in glasses was named Zheng Deyi, a junior fellow apprentice of Wang Baosheng, whose underworld nickname was "Shadowless Sparrow." He was particularly skilled at picking locks and breaking into houses.

Xu Damao raised his glass and said, "Brothers, it's settled; I'm treating today. Don't set your sights on the little money I have on me."

Wang Baosheng chuckled, "Damao, you're too stingy. We brothers won't lack money in the future, but we just got out and haven't started business yet. Can't you be more generous and give the brothers some living expenses?"

"Brothers, I'm not crying poor," Xu Damao sighed, "I earned some money following my Siqiang in the early years, but that grandson He Yuzhu swindled it all away—enough to buy six United States trucks."

"How about we scheme and go touch his place another day?" Wang Baosheng narrowed his eyes and said.

Xu Damao shook his head, "Don't touch him yet. If you really want to pull a job, I think we could start with He Yuzhu's Siqiang, Chen Qingshan. That old thing opened eight 'He Ji Restaurant' branches; his foundation must be deep."

"Brilliant," Wang Baosheng looked at Jin Ye and Zheng Deyi, "Lao San, Lao Wu, you two go scout the place first and tail that old guy."

"Be careful when tailing him; that old thing has Kung Fu," Xu Damao warned.

"Rest assured, we have our limits," Zheng Deyi smiled.

"If you had limits, how did you get caught?" Xu Damao curled his lip.

"That was because we stayed in one place too long. Lao San stewed Braised Pork every day, and the fragrance drifted all over the Siheyuan, leading the neighbors to report us," Zheng Deyi said.

Municipal Bureau, in a quiet Warehouse.

Zhou Hao had just come out of the Deputy Bureau Chief's office and dragged Chen Jian here in a fit of rage.

"That woman Tian Dan... actually dumped all the blame for Mentougou on my head!" He panted heavily, "I'm not finished with her this time!"

Chen Jian whispered, "Team Leader Zhou, the Mentougou incident this time caused too much of a stir. Ma Zhong and Li Ren were indeed lacking, actually drinking with the old gatekeeper and revealing the bottom line... I heard that Tian Dan has already submitted the materials to the Ministry."

"Chen Jian," Zhou Hao lowered his voice, "Go outside and get some good wine and food. I want to have a good chat with Mei Feng... I always feel there is something fishy about that poisoning case Tian Dan handled. Let him look at the file and see what he can dig up. I don't believe that Tian Dan's own record is that clean!"

"Team Leader Zhou, this... isn't according to the rules, is it?" Chen Jian hesitated.

"Rules?" Zhou Hao sneered, "I'm about to be finished by that woman! This is a final gamble! I'll find a way to borrow the file; you hurry and prepare the food—I'm eating with Mei Feng tonight."

No. 95 Siheyuan.

Yan Jiefang returned home very late.

Seeing her son's strange expression, Yang Ruihua asked, "Why are you back so late today?"

Yan Jiefang kept his head down, "Classmate Xie Jing... wanted me to help him tutor math, paying fifty thousand a month. I... I agreed."

"How many hours a week?"

"Two hours every day."

"Two hours... that's fine." Yang Ruihua calculated, "Do they provide meals? If not, the food will be cold when you get back and you'll have to reheat it, which isn't worth it. You have to tell him they must provide meals."

"Mm... I'll try," Yan Jiefang's voice was muffled.

Municipal Bureau interrogation room.

Mei Feng ate his meal while flipping through the poisoning case file page by page.

Seeing the end, he suddenly looked up, "In your bureau... are there any people from our Secret Service Bureau?"

Zhou Hao hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "There are some things I cannot say."

Mei Feng sneered, "Team Leader Zhou, if you don't tell the truth, I can't give you a conclusion!"

Zhou Hao gritted his teeth and lowered his voice, "Lin Wanning cooperated with us. In the end, she was blown up at Xishan along with your Siqiang."

Mei Feng's eyes narrowed, then he said slowly, "She is not dead!"

"What?" Zhou Hao stood up abruptly, "That's impossible! The three people who went in with Lin Wanning all confirmed she didn't come out!"

Mei Feng pointed to the copy of the secret telegram in the file: "It takes me three days to translate this. Lin Wanning is my junior sister, and her talent is higher than mine. If she participated, she could translate it in two days, and if... a few more people who are even smarter were added, perhaps they really could finish it in one night."

Zhou Hao stood frozen in place, his expression shifting, and after a long while, he squeezed a sentence through his teeth: "Damn it... Tian Dan! You really have some nerve!"

Mei Feng lowered his eyes, his gaze flickering almost imperceptibly.