Chapter 149 Counterfeit Money
Ancheng is located at a northern latitude, so the sun sets very early in winter.
It was a little after four in the afternoon and the sun had begun to set. The cold wind blowing against his face seemed to have color, orange-red with gold edges, dyeing the fur collar of his down jacket bright red.
When the factory was still prosperous, many workers came from all over the country to seek jobs there.
After leaving the bus station, the whole street is lined with small hotels and home-style restaurants. In the summer, the metal roller shutter doors are pulled up, and at the end of the year, thick army green door curtains are hung to block the wind. There are not many customers, and the price lists at the door are densely packed.
The ground was icy and dirty, with tire tracks everywhere.
Xu Jiqing walked past a Sichuan restaurant and turned into the alley next to it.
A man had been waiting inside for a long time.
The man with a scar on his face and a woolen hat was shivering as he smoked a cheap cigarette away from the wind. When he saw him come in, he twisted the cigarette butt against the wall and shattered it.
Xu Jiqing handed over two pink banknotes, "Where's the stuff?"
The man pulled out a small ultraviolet lamp from his pocket and shone it carefully before picking up the handbag under his feet. "No need to count. If I say ten, it means ten."
The narrow alley is lined with low buildings with gray walls and is dimly lit.
Xu Jiqing is tall, with sharp features that cannot be concealed by the mask, and a calm look in his eyes that reveals his experience.
The other party is just secretly posting advertisements on the second-hand website and making a little money through gray channels.
Unsure of his origins, he frowned and added, "This is a regular practice ticket. It's marked. You can't do what you want."
Xu Jiqing curled the corner of his mouth.
I unzipped the bag and looked inside. There were ten neatly arranged bundles. They couldn't stand a close look, but when they were stacked together they were quite impressive.
He didn't say anything else, poured the things into his backpack, turned around and left.
Ancheng is an old city developed based on old industries. The main urban area is not big. Xu Jiqing has lived in this town for almost seventeen years and is familiar with every street and every tree.
He could find his way to the schools he had attended since childhood, the shops where Xu Wenyao had ordered him to buy lottery tickets and cigarettes, and the underground casino where Xu Jiaojiao had been slapped, all with his eyes closed.
Knives and weapons are not allowed.
Buying it will leave a trace, and once he is tracked by the police in the future, no matter what happens afterwards, his position will be fundamentally twisted to the disadvantageous side.
He didn't eat a single bite during the more than ten-hour journey, from train to car.
Xu Jiqing found a small shop, bought a pack of compressed biscuits, ate them with water on the roadside, and hailed a motorcycle taxi.
The factory has declined in the past two years. Young people who were able to work outside have long since left, and most of those left are elderly people who live on pensions. The entrance to the family compound is a bit desolate, and the telephone booth is rusty.
It was not yet five o'clock when Xu Jiqing arrived downstairs. He looked up at the familiar window on the fourth floor.
It wasn't completely dark yet, so I couldn't tell whether the lights were on or not, but the curtains were drawn.
He took a deep breath and walked upstairs.
The door is locked.
I inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it a circle, but it didn't open.
After turning the knob for the second time, before he could push the door, someone inside opened it.
At sunset, the room was dark with the curtains drawn. Just as Xu Jiqing's eyes were adjusting to the light, a sudden crackling sound of electricity suddenly rang in his ears.
The next second, he was hit hard on the head by something like a metal stick.
Severe pain, accompanied by a spasm as if his heart had stopped beating, suddenly hit Xu Jiqing, and his eyes went dark.
He subconsciously leaned to the side, but before he could stand firmly, the hand he stretched out was hit by an even more ferocious force.
This time there was no pain, only a dizziness close to shock.
The world spun and two frames were dropped as if in fragments.
Xu Jiqing slammed his knees heavily on the door sill and fell forward.
The management and control of small towns is full of loopholes.
If he could get "legal counterfeit money" within a day, Xu Wenyao would get a police electric baton from somewhere.
He had endured countless beatings and scoldings as a child, but he had never experienced this kind of thing—
Electricity is a strange thing.
It can cause pain and also numb pain.
Xu Jiqing felt no sensation in the area that was hit, and his consciousness was blank. He was dragged into the house by Xu Wenyao like a heavy bag of cargo.
After the phone call in the early morning, Xu Wenyao seemed to have not drunk any more alcohol, and his hands and feet were light and happy.
He blew the whistle of the Spring Festival Gala overture, and like coaxing a young child to eat, he put him on a chair, tied him up with rubber wire, and tied a knot.
The lights in the restaurant were suddenly lit up.
The light from the old light bulb was dim and yellow, but it was still very dazzling when it was suddenly turned on. The pain began to resurface, Xu Jiqing regained consciousness, and opened his eyes with slightly squinted eyes.
Xu Wenyao sat opposite him.
He must have been back for a while. It was obvious that he had dressed up specially. His hair was combed meticulously, he was wearing a sweetheart-neck sweater, and even a tie.
The table was filled with peanuts, fried hairtail, dumplings with unclear fillings, and pork elbows in sauce. They were not put on plates but in a box from the small restaurant at the door, with a plastic bag underneath.
"Is my son awake?" Xu Wenyao poured him a glass of white wine and pushed it in front of him, looking very gentle.
"You, on the other hand, are disobedient. You were disobedient when you were little, and you're even more disobedient now that you're older."
"Your father is incompetent. It was not easy for us to spend the New Year together, and it was me who begged for it. Daddy couldn't bear to leave you. He was afraid that you would run away for some trivial matter after sitting for a while. I wanted to sit down and have a good chat with you."
Xu Jiqing didn't say anything.
He tried to move his wrist, and the wire cut deep into his flesh. The binding was very professional.
He even twisted his right wrist, causing excruciating pain.
No one pays the heating bill.
As soon as the sweat seeped out from the corners of my forehead, it was wiped away by the cold wind coming in through the window glass, making me feel cold.
Xu Wenyao seemed completely oblivious. "Did you think I was a step behind you and were waiting for me at home?"
"How could I let my good son wait for me?" He squinted his eyes, sipped his white wine, and chewed peanuts with a loud crackling sound. "Have you forgotten who your father is in your hometown?"
"This is what your father did in Ancheng." Xu Wenyao gave a thumbs up.
"As soon as I got off the train at the railway station, brothers rushed to pick me up. It was just a matter of going through fire and water with just one word."
"You've followed me, becoming a well-off person in the big city," he grinned. "Even with all the progress of the times, marrying into the family still requires your father's approval. How far have you and that rich girl progressed?"
Xu Jiqing looked at him expressionlessly.
Xu Wenyao stared at him for a moment, then smiled and looked away, "Be careful of me."
"You've landed on this golden branch, and you'll be able to go to a good university soon with a bright future. Why would you still need to be on guard against me?"
Xu Jiqing remained silent.
He also felt it was a bit boring, so he put down his chopsticks and asked, "Have you brought the money?"
Xu Jiqing: "In my bag."
"Good son."
Xu Wenyao smiled, stood up and walked to the living room, and brought over the black bag that he hadn't seen since he entered the door.
The money counter was plugged in and placed on the small table in the restaurant.
Xu Wenyao opened the zipper, and the banknotes tied with white paper strips were taken out, stacked high, and then unpacked into stacks and put into the money counting machine.
The newly printed hard paper was sharp, and when it passed through the spring bars of the machine, it made a rustling sound like leaves blowing in the wind.
The last banknote fell, and the sharp "di di" sound filled the room.
The digital screen showing the total amount didn't move at all from beginning to end.
Always a "0".
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