[Ding! All items have been redeemed, for a total of 3580 points.]
Afterwards, Xu Kuo redeemed some premium fertilizer in the system shop, keeping the remaining points for future use.
His points were instantly reduced by more than half, leaving him with a pitiful 80 points. But Xu Kuo was quite satisfied. He had obtained the top-grade fertilizer, and the system upgrade was an unexpected bonus. Basic land improvement? Sounds very useful!
He pushed open the warehouse door, preparing to go to his own small plot of land to carefully plan how to use this precious premium fertilizer, striving to make the next batch of vegetables grow better and sell for a higher price.
No sooner had Xu Kuo left the warehouse than a dark figure, like a raccoon dog, darted out from a corner—it was Xu Jianguo, who had been sneaking around following him all the way.
He looked around and, seeing no one was there, a sinister smile appeared on his face. He tiptoed into the warehouse, carefully closing the door slightly behind him.
"Hmph! Xu Kuo, you dog, you think you can keep all this money for yourself now that you've made it? No way!" Xu Jianguo sneered inwardly, his eyes gleaming as he scanned the warehouse. "So many treasures, if I just take one item and sell it in the market, it'll be enough for me to live a life of luxury for years to come!"
He greedily imagined those antiques, and his steps became lighter.
However, the smile on Xu Jianguo's face froze completely the next second.
The warehouse... had almost no antiques!
"Wha...what happened?" Xu Jianguo was stunned, rubbing his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing. The auction house people had clearly brought in so many things just now! Piled up like small mountains! How come in the blink of an eye, there's so little left?
He frantically searched the warehouse like a madman, turning everything upside down and meticulously examining every corner, even the cobwebs in the corners of the walls.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"Where are the things? Where did all that stuff go?"
"Could it be...could it be that Xu Kuo hid the things?"
He lay on the ground, knocking and tapping, trying to find some hidden compartment or cellar. But the dilapidated warehouse was completely exposed; the floor was rammed earth, and the walls were made of adobe. What kind of secret passage or mechanism could there be?
After searching for more than ten minutes, and sweating profusely, Xu Jianguo still found nothing. Those priceless treasures had vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed!
A chill suddenly shot from the soles of Xu Jianguo's feet to the top of his head! He shuddered in fright, his face turning deathly pale.
This is too bizarre! Even if Xu Kuo had incredible abilities, he couldn't possibly have moved so much stuff in such a short time, and without anyone noticing! Unless… unless…
"Am I seeing a ghost? Or... is there something wrong with Xu Kuo?!" Xu Jianguo grew increasingly frightened, feeling an inexplicable eeriness emanating from his third brother. He dared not stay any longer and scrambled out of the warehouse as if a demon were chasing him.
No! This is too suspicious! We must report it!
Xu Jianguo's first thought was the village's security office. He stumbled to the office and, panting, grabbed the dozing head of the security office, Old Wang.
"Wang...Officer Wang! Something terrible has happened! Xu Kuo...Xu Kuo, he..." Xu Jianguo recounted what he had just witnessed incoherently, emphasizing how valuable the treasures were and how they had mysteriously disappeared.
Old Wang was so dizzy from being shaken that after hearing his words, he just waved his hand impatiently: "Go away! Xu Jianguo, what's wrong with you now? Xu Kuo just came back, isn't it normal for the warehouse to be empty? Are you seeing things?"
Old Wang has always looked down on Xu Jianguo, a "debt dodger" in the village, and he doesn't believe his nonsense.
"I'm not seeing things! It's real! Absolutely true! So many things, all gone in an instant!" Xu Jianguo was so anxious he jumped up and down.
"Alright, alright, I don't have time for your nonsense!" Old Wang pushed him out the door and slammed it shut.
Xu Jianguo was turned away and stomped his feet in anger, but there was nothing he could do.
That's it! A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and he remembered someone—the town's deputy secretary, Shi Jixing!
Last time Xu Kuo embarrassed Shi Jixing at the market, this deputy secretary must hate Xu Kuo to the core! Going to him is definitely the right thing to do!
Without further hesitation, Xu Jianguo took off running towards the town.
Upon arriving at the town government, he inquired for quite some time before finally finding Shi Jixing, who was drinking tea and reading a newspaper, in the deputy secretary's office.
“Secretary Shi…” Xu Jianguo bowed and scraped as he approached.
Shi Jixing put down his newspaper, glanced at him, and frowned: "You are... what do you want with me?" He had some impression of this idle fellow.
"I am Xu Kuo's older brother, Xu Jianguo. I have something important to tell you."
Xu Jianguo quickly embellished the story of how Xu Kuo brought back a pile of "priceless" antiques from the county town, and then those antiques mysteriously disappeared in the warehouse.
After listening, Shi Jixing showed a hint of disdain on his face, picked up his teacup and took a sip: "Xu Jianguo, you came all this way just to tell me this weird stuff? Do you think I'm a three-year-old, or do you think I have nothing better to do?"
He didn't believe such nonsense at all, and thought that Xu Jianguo wanted to use him to cause trouble for Xu Kuo.
"Secretary Shi! Everything I said is true! Every word is true!" Seeing that Shi Jixing didn't believe him, Xu Jianguo became anxious, gritted his teeth, and raised three fingers to swear, "If I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"
Seeing Xu Jianguo's swearing and vowing, Shi Jixing's eyes flickered slightly. He put down his teacup and tapped his fingers lightly on the table. Although he didn't believe in things disappearing into thin air, Xu Kuo's sudden acquisition of a bunch of "antiques" was quite interesting.
However, even if it were true, an empty warehouse doesn't prove anything. He can't just go and search an ordinary villager's warehouse for no reason, can he? He can't find a pretext.
Seeing that Shi Jixing seemed somewhat tempted, Xu Jianguo's eyes darted around, and he immediately lowered his voice, adding in a sinister tone, "Secretary Shi, think about it, where would Xu Kuo, a vegetable farmer from the countryside, get so much money to buy those antiques and paintings that look incredibly valuable? There's definitely something fishy going on! Maybe... his money came from illegitimate sources!"
"Oh?" A glint flashed in Shi Jixing's eyes, and a meaningful smile appeared on his lips. He gave Xu Jianguo an approving look. "You kid, you finally said something of some use."
The money was obtained illicitly! That's a good excuse! Especially in this era of cracking down on speculation and malpractice, it gives him a legitimate reason to "investigate"!
Even if they can't find any tricks behind the disappearance of the antiques, as long as they find out about Xu Kuo's economic problems, that will be enough to make him suffer!
"Let's go!" Shi Jixing suddenly stood up and shouted towards the door, "Xiao Li, Xiao Zhang, gather a few men and come with me!"
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