Overall, Cao Xue's notoriety made me somewhat hesitant; I didn't want to deal with such a person, but the situation forced me to. After some deliberation, I finally dialed Cao Xue's mobile number.

Cao Xue's voice was frivolous and aggressive as he asked, "Who are you?"

I replied in a very calm tone, "Hey buddy, I'm Cao Xiaobei's friend. I'd also like to make friends with you. Want to come to the ancient city for a few drinks sometime later?"

“Cao Xiaobei? I’m not one of his kind, and I don’t acknowledge his friends.”

I was stunned for a moment, which made me even more certain that Cao Xue harbored resentment towards Cao Jinbo's family... I immediately changed my strategy and said, "Brother, don't be in such a hurry to refuse. I've prepared two cartons of Hard Manor cigarettes (one of the best varieties of Yuxi cigarettes) as a gift. I don't mean anything by it; I just want to make friends with you."

The other person hesitated for a moment before replying, "I'm not free during the day, so let's have a drink tonight."

"Okay, tonight is fine too."

Cao Xue, still wary, asked, "Where did you get my phone number?"

"Over there with Cao Xiaobei."

"Don't try to fool me. I haven't been in contact with Cao Xiaobei. He doesn't have my number."

This kind of exposure is actually quite devastating, because I didn't expect that Cao Xue and Cao Xiaobei, who are cousins, had become so estranged. Fortunately, I remained calm and smiled, saying, "Actually, I asked a friend to find out... I thought Cao Xiaobei was closer to you, so I used Cao Xiaobei's name, but I didn't expect it to turn out like this..."

"Don't try to be clever with me... After all this talk, what's your name? Have we met before?"

"You've definitely never met me, but you should have heard of my name... My name is Michael."

"Michael? Alright... Let's not beat around the bush, I know why you're looking for me... Your shop in Jiulongju, it's the one my uncle asked me to have replaced by a locksmith... You're pretty impressive, you even managed to find out about this!"

I was angry, but I held back and said, "If you put it that way, then this matter is much easier to handle... It's hard to explain over the phone, let's talk tonight."

"Cheng... Remember to bring the cigarettes... If it weren't for these two packs of cigarettes, you wouldn't even be worthy to talk to me."

...

Although I was furious, my conversation with Cao Xue was still worthwhile. At the very least, it confirmed that Cao Jinbo was indeed behind this, and I also learned that Cao Xue is greedy for small gains... I was just afraid he wouldn't be greedy, otherwise finding him would be pointless.

I suspect that Cao Jinbo is very strict with him financially, unlike how he is with Cao Xiaobei... Perhaps this is one of the reasons why he is unhappy with Cao Xiaobei.

...

For this matter, I borrowed another five thousand yuan from Taozi… On the phone, she chatted with me for a while. She told me that things were going quite well for them; the rooms for the Chinese New Year were basically all booked, so they had collected a lot of deposits from customers and were financially comfortable. But behind the profits came huge risks, after all, it was going against the policy and engaging in illegal business operations.

Perhaps this is the most difficult stage for our group... and I'm already doing things like robbing Peter to pay Paul, taking every step with extreme caution.

Therefore, persuading Yang Sisi to leave Dali was probably the best thing I did after coming to Dali. Otherwise, all the mudslinging we caused would inevitably have been thrown at her... But she's different now. Even if she's studying abroad, she has her own enjoyment of it. At least she doesn't have to worry about us anymore.

...

I spent two thousand yuan to buy two packs of cigarettes, and then I went to the bar that I had arranged to meet Cao Xue at. It was 7:45, and we agreed to meet at 8 o'clock.

I ordered a bottle of "Wind, Flower, Snow, and Moon" wine and drank it by myself. Cao Xue is not very punctual; he hadn't arrived by 8:30, but I didn't urge him. In my subconscious, I had already categorized him as unreliable.

I asked the waiter for another bottle of beer, and when I was almost halfway through, a man carrying a brown leather bag finally appeared in the bar. Instinctively, I knew this man was Cao Xue.

I waved to him, and he walked over to me. He first threw his briefcase on the table, then pulled out a chair, sat down loosely, lit a cigarette, and squinted at me before asking, "Are you Michael?"

I threw the two packs of cigarettes I had promised him in front of me and replied, "That's me. Shall we have some drinks first, or get straight to business?"

"We don't have a drinking relationship, so just say what you want to say."

As Cao Xue spoke, he pulled the cigarette to his own side.

"Alright, then I won't beat around the bush... The reason I came to you is to ask if there's any misunderstanding between your uncle and me regarding the shop at Jiulongju?"

Cao Xue glanced at me and replied with a forced smile, "You guys didn't misunderstand... He took out his anger from other people on you... You're just getting shot even though you're lying down."

I'm now certain that Cao Xue knows the inside story. He's quite straightforward and didn't beat around the bush with me, but his tone is truly arrogant. So the rumors are probably true. He lives with a lot of confidence because he has Cao Jinbo as his backer.

I first lit a cigarette, then asked the waiter for a bottle of strong liquor. I poured him a glass and said with a smile, "I've seen plenty of hypocritical people in Dali, but it's rare to see someone as straightforward as you... I'll drink this glass first as a sign of respect."

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