The Russian felt it was a pity afterwards; there were so many small yellow croakers there. He wished he could have caught one.

Wei Aiguo: "Then why don't you touch one?"

Maozi: "I still want to live! Second brother, why did you make me hit that person?"

“That bastard looks down on me, so I’ll make him suffer,” Wei Aiguo said nonchalantly.

The Russian remained silent; this was no ordinary situation. Those who lived in that compound were no ordinary people. The sudden discovery of gold bars was no small matter.

"If someone helps me, I'll definitely remember their kindness. Come on, I still have food coupons and meat coupons. I'll take you to the state-run restaurant for steamed buns." Wei Aiguo and Maozi went to eat meat steamed buns.

Perhaps it's easy for men to deepen their relationship; they just need to eat and drink together.

After that, Wei Aiguo started hanging out with the Russians.

The Russian boy had no parents and no one to care for him, so he spent his days wandering around aimlessly. He was always stealing from this neighbor or that neighbor, and that's how he grew up.

But he felt he was much better off than the second son, because at least he had a place to live. So he took Wei Aiguo, who had nowhere to live, into his home.

Wei Aiguo didn't take advantage of him; instead, he gave him a few yuan as rent for the house.

Mao Zi thought Wei Aiguo was a trustworthy person. He was very familiar with the inner workings of Beijing. He took Wei Aiguo with him wherever he went.

Wei Aiguo had money, and whenever he saw something someone used, he would buy it for a few yuan. However, he often made mistakes in his judgment; he bought things five times in a row, but Hou Jiu refused to accept them.

The Russian was heartbroken; Wei Aiguo had already spent 20 yuan, but it was all for nothing.

Wei Aiguo just smiled and didn't say anything else. He saw an old lady using a copper object as a soap dish, and Wei Aiguo bought it for fifty cents.

The Russian was really angry. Couldn't he have kept the 50 cents to buy something good to eat? If he didn't have the skills, he shouldn't be in this line of work.

Wei Aiguo ignored him and cleaned the thing he had bought. It was a sheep-shaped oil lamp. The sheep's belly was where the lamp oil was stored. The old woman used the oil compartment to store soap.

When Hou Jiu took the sheep-shaped oil lamp, he took a liking to it. Wei Aiguo sold it for thirty yuan.

The Russian felt like he was watching a story; this thing could actually be sold for money.

Wei Aiguo was very generous with the money from the sale and gave the Russian five dollars. The Russian didn't want it, feeling he hadn't done anything wrong. Wei Aiguo insisted on giving it to him.

Because of Wei Aiguo's accent, many people were wary of him. Maozi took him around, and he chatted very well with the elderly people, who were willing to sell them things when they had them.

And so his relationship with the Russians grew even closer. Wei Aiguo made a hundred or two just by moving things in and out.

Although Wei Aiguo had sold things to Hou Jiu several times and was quite familiar with Hou Jiu's men, he still couldn't get close to them.

Maozi was a local and very familiar with Hou Jiu's men. Sometimes when Hou Jiu needed to hire people, his men would go to Maozi.

With Wei Aiguo by his side, Mao Zi had even more contact with Hou Jiu's men.

In fact, Wei Aiguo took the initiative to get to know Mao Zi for this very purpose.

To smuggle cultural relics out of the country, one needs to pull strings in many places. Wei Aiguo, following the Russians, discovered even more, and promptly reported any public officials found involved in the trafficking of cultural relics.

Wei Aiguo was sleeping when there was a knock on the Maozi's door. Wei Aiguo lay still, but he was actually listening intently!

"Work's here! Go to the usual spot!" the man who arrived said.

Mao: "I have a brother who's really strong. Can I take him with me?"

Is it reliable?

“It’s definitely reliable!” the Russian said.

"I have a lot of work to do today, so take him with you! Teach him the rules." With that, the person left.

"Hey!" Maozi happily returned and called Wei Aiguo to his feet.

Wei Aiguo yawned. "What are you doing in the middle of the night? Aren't you going to sleep?"

"Great news! I'll take you to do some work, and we'll even provide food. You can earn several tens of dollars," said the Russian high school student.

"What kind of job can make so much money?" Wei Aiguo asked.

"I'm telling you the rules now: we're just here to do the work. We don't look around or ask questions. We just do what we're told."

"They always give me a fair amount of money," the Russian said.

"Then you have to tell me what kind of work it is, right?" Wei Aiguo sized up the Russian's expression.

He seems really happy; this job must have paid quite well.

“It’s just some lifting and carrying, you’re strong enough for that. Let’s go!” Maozi led Wei Aiguo through a maze of turns to a courtyard. There were eight more men waiting there.

Hou Jiu's subordinate, Wang Zhi, blindfolded them and led them for about half an hour. They didn't know where they were being led.

A truck arrived, and the truck was loaded with fabric.

Taking advantage of the moonlight, they first unloaded the truck and loaded the wooden crates onto it.

They laid out a layer of wooden crates, then put the cloth back in. The car left, and then another one drove in.

Then continue working as before.

There were six cars in total.

The car drove away, but they weren't allowed to leave. Wang Zhi brought them meat buns.

The other eight people remained silent, took the buns, and ate them.

Wei Aiguo also suppressed the question he wanted to ask.

Wei Aiguo thought they would be released at dawn. He didn't expect them to be made to escort the car.

The Russian said that if you just ride along with the car on the road, nothing serious will happen. If there are carjackers, there are many people in the convoy, so they won't dare to do it.

Around 8 o'clock, they were blindfolded again and pushed into a vehicle. When they got off, they were on the outskirts of Kyoto.

When they arrived in the courtyard at night, they were blindfolded, so Wei Aiguo couldn't make any marks. The same thing happened when they came out. This time, the person who brought them here was clearly more relaxed than before.

Wei Aiguo said he needed to urinate, so he went to relieve himself in the bushes…

"Second brother, second brother...where are you?" It was Maozi's voice calling.

Wei Aiguo hurriedly shoved the note under a clod of dirt. "I'm here!"

The Russian ran over, unzipped his pants, and it was convenient for him.

"You need to pee and you come to me? Can't you stay away from me?" Wei Aiguo said with disgust.

Wei Aiguo observed the Russian's expression but found nothing unusual.