Old Wei laughed out loud, "What's your name?"
"Chen Changyuan."
"What a great name! Chen Changyuan, are you interested in following me?"
A gleam of light flashed in Old Wei's eyes.
Chen Changyuan's heart moved. This was exactly the result he wanted.
He pretended to be silent for a moment and said, "Of course there's no problem working with Boss Wei. It's just..."
"Just what? Just ask for any conditions you have!"
Old Wei said generously.
"I want to know, Boss Wei, do you know the gang of thugs who hang out at the Jishiditang Chinese Medicine Clinic, and the man in the trench coat who's trying to scam people?"
Chen Changyuan stared into Lao Wei's eyes and asked word by word.
When Old Wei heard the word "Jishidang", his hand holding the cigarette paused and his brows frowned slightly, but he quickly covered it up with a hearty laugh.
The voice was so loud that it seemed as if the barely perceptible expression just now had never existed.
"Hey, little brother, you actually paid attention to those people?"
He patted the table casually and blew out a smoke ring. "Young people are quite good at getting into trouble. Those hooligans around Jishiditang are not many good guys."
Chen Changyuan smiled slightly and didn't respond. He pretended to be calm and arranged the chips in front of him.
But his heart was already in turmoil: Lao Wei's slight reaction just now, although fleeting, did not escape his eyes.
With the keen intuition he developed in his rebirth, he was almost certain that Lao Wei definitely had some connection with the people at Jishidiang.
"Old Wei, if you want to talk about trouble, it must also be about fate, right?"
Chen Changyuan smiled and spoke with a fake relaxed tone, "I think that dealing with people like Boss Wei can not only broaden your horizons, but also help you learn a lot of skills."
"Ha, you're so sweet."
Old Wei twisted the cigarette butt in his hand, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at Chen Changyuan carefully.
Perhaps sensing something unusual in Chen Changyuan's words, he changed the subject and said, "Young man, let me be frank—even though I'm a seasoned veteran, I have to say there aren't many young people like you left."
Chen Changyuan raised his eyebrows, picked up the teacup and took a sip. He didn't express his opinion and just looked at Lao Wei quietly.
A hint of admiration seemed to flash across Lao Wei's eyes.
He changed to a less casual sitting posture, put out his cigarette, and rested his elbows on the table, his tone clearly more inquiring.
"You don't look like someone from some random little place. You seem to have... a bit of a story?"
Chen Changyuan narrowed his eyes and said jokingly, "Even if Boss Wei praises me, I still need to find the right direction. What stories can a country boy who grew up in the mountains tell?"
Old Wei chuckled at this, but the chuckle didn't completely conceal his scrutinizing gaze. "Brother, these days, no one who can handle me at this gambling table, whether they're a country boy or a city lord, is a simple one. Your courage isn't something you can develop by drinking a few bowls of mutton soup."
"Boss Wei, I'm just an ordinary person living a carefree life."
Chen Changyuan put down his teacup, his tone neither hurried nor slow, his silence emanating a certain calmness. "However, after hearing what Boss Wei said, I think you are truly extraordinary. Otherwise, how could you know all about the affairs of those random people near Jishiditang?"
"Ha ha!"
Old Wei suddenly laughed even more exaggeratedly, but a hint of caution flickered across his eyes. "Little brother, that's a very clever rhetoric. It's a pity I'm not that great. I just like to watch the excitement of everything new."
Chen Changyuan didn't respond, but instead fiddled with the chips on the table with his fingers. He seemed to inadvertently reveal a certain calmness and composure, which made the atmosphere inexplicably pause for a moment.
When he spoke again, he deliberately asked in a somewhat casual tone, "So, Boss Wei has never met those people I just mentioned?"
Old Wei met Chen Changyuan's gaze. After a moment's silence, he said with a half-smile, "Boy, are you deliberately trying to trick me?"
Chen Changyuan shook his head nonchalantly. "I don't take your compliments seriously. I just saw that Boss Wei has seen so many people, so I wanted to ask for his advice. After all, when you live in this world, resources always depend on connections, right?"
Old Wei raised his brows slightly, and his eyes became even more unfathomable.
He lit another cigarette, took a puff, and said slowly, "Your words have made me even more curious. Little brother, can you tell me, Old Wei, the truth? What kind of support do you have, kid? Or are you just born with this talent?"
Chen Changyuan's mouth corners rose slightly, and a hint of cunning flashed in his eyes.
He tapped the table lightly and said calmly, "Boss Wei, I'm truly flattered by your words. I don't have any strongholds to rely on; I'm just a poor kid from a small town."
Old Wei narrowed his eyes and looked at Chen Changyuan carefully.
He blew out a puff of smoke and said with a smile, "Little brother, you are quite modest. However, I, Old Wei, have lived for so many years and met many people. The temperament you have doesn't seem to be cultivated by an ordinary family."
Chen Changyuan raised an eyebrow calmly, then lowered his head to fiddle with the chips in his hand. He said in a casual tone, "Boss Wei, you're too kind. I just love reading and thinking about the ways of the world when I have nothing to do. If I have any skills, it's probably this insignificant little cleverness."
Old Wei laughed heartily, but a hint of vigilance flashed in his eyes.
He leaned back in his chair and said leisurely, "Little brother, what you said makes me even more curious. Since you like to think so much, why don't you tell me what you think about the things going on in Jishiditang?"
Chen Changyuan's heart moved, knowing that the opportunity had come.
He pretended to be nonchalant and said slowly, "Jishitang? Isn't that just an ordinary pharmacy? I heard that a mysterious person has been frequenting the area recently. I wonder if Boss Wei has heard of it?"
Lao Wei's expression froze slightly, but soon returned to normal.
He pondered for a moment and said, "My dear brother, you are well-informed. However, this kind of thing cannot be asked casually. The mysterious person you mentioned is not someone that ordinary people can afford to offend."
Just then, there was a sudden commotion in the casino.
Some people were whispering that they had seen the mysterious man in the windbreaker.
Chen Changyuan's eyes lit up, knowing that the opportunity had come.
He casually glanced at the casino entrance and said to Old Wei, "Boss Wei, excuse me for a moment. I need to go to the restroom."
Old Wei nodded, a hint of meaning flashing in his eyes.
Chen Changyuan walked out of the private room and took the opportunity to go to the bathroom to quietly follow a suspicious person.
The man was wearing a gray windbreaker and walking hurriedly, obviously he had something urgent to do.
Chen Changyuan kept a certain distance and followed the man to the back alley of the casino.
Just as he was about to go forward to check, several dark shadows suddenly jumped out from the darkness and surrounded the man in the windbreaker.
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