Ning Zhiheng had visited this compound in his previous life, when he was at the height of his power in officialdom. At that time, Nanjing was undergoing major urban redevelopment, and the city plan included this ancient building in the demolition area.
So, during the excavation of the foundation, two large urns of gold ingots were unearthed underground in this compound. The construction workers and onlookers immediately began looting, creating extreme chaos. The struggle for the gold ingots even resulted in a tragedy where one person died and several others were injured.
By the time the police arrived and brought the situation under control, it was too late. Despite a lengthy recovery effort, a large portion of the gold ingots were lost in the chaos.
Ning Zhiheng was one of the government officials sent to handle the accident. He also worked with experts from the cultural relics department to survey the site and pinpoint the location where the gold ingots were unearthed.
Later, a report from the cultural relics department revealed that the compound was built in the mid-Qing Dynasty and was the residence of an official surnamed Sun. Therefore, it was always named Sun Family Compound. However, it gradually fell into disrepair due to war, and the gold ingots were unearthed from the site of one of the innermost houses. Because they were buried deep, they had remained undiscovered until now.
As for who buried it and why so much wealth was hidden, it is impossible to verify due to the passage of time.
Ning Zhiheng was personally involved in this incident, so he remembered it vividly. Although he still had a lot of information he could use from his previous life, the treasure in Sunjiayuan was the easiest to access, so he decided to make his first fortune.
The middle-aged man explained that this compound is now called Liu Family Compound. The landlord also lives in this compound, in the largest room on the east side. His family used to be well-off, but now they've fallen on hard times. All that's left is this compound, and they make a living by collecting rent.
Ning Zhiheng understood. It seemed there wasn't much of a problem. This kind of person had no money or power; he could be dealt with as long as he spent some money.
He waved the middle-aged man away and let him go. Stepping into the courtyard, he found it to be quite large, with ancient-looking buildings, but now overrun with houses, making it appear rather cluttered.
Now is the time when these ordinary people go out to make a living, and when they see a soldier in military uniform with a pistol at his waist enter the compound, they all hide away.
Ning Zhiheng ignored them and went straight to the landlord's room. After knocking for a while, a sleepy-eyed man in his thirties finally opened the door.
He looked like he wasn't fully awake yet and was annoyed at being woken up, but when he suddenly realized that it was a pistol-wielding officer looking at him impatiently, he immediately woke up.
"Sir, did you need something?" the landlord asked cautiously.
Ning Zhiheng was getting impatient, and seeing that the landlord was unkempt and didn't look presentable, he said coldly with a long face, "You're the landlord of this courtyard? I'd like to rent a few rooms."
Landlord Liu nodded hurriedly and ushered Ning Zhi into the house. Seeing the officer's cold face, he didn't seem like an easy person to talk to, and dared not offend him. These days, are soldiers easy to talk to? Besides, he was just making a living from rent; why would he turn away customers?
“We do have a few vacant rooms in this courtyard. A few families couldn’t pay their rent and were evicted a while ago. They’re very clean, and if you like them, you can move in right away.” Landlord Liu hesitated for a moment, then added, “Rent is negotiable; I can even give you a discount if you’re interested!”
Ning Zhiheng smelled the landlord's foul breath and took two steps back to create some distance between them. He said, "That's good. Now take me to see the house. If I like it, I'll move in today."
The landlord was delighted to hear this. The officer was in a hurry to move in, so the deal was likely to go through. He had been worried about the rooms being empty and not generating any income, and now a tenant had come knocking.
The landlord showed Ning Zhiheng all the empty rooms in the courtyard. In fact, Ning Zhiheng had already scouted out the exact locations. The room where the gold ingot was unearthed was right next to the northernmost room, but it was already occupied by tenants.
Ning Zhiheng didn't want to waste any more time. Pointing to the house and the two next to it, he said directly, "I've chosen these three houses. The residents here need to vacate them immediately, and I'll move in tonight."
"But all the rooms are already occupied, you—" The landlord was taken aback. This officer was quite decisive, wanting to rent three rooms at once, but the rooms he had his eye on were already occupied. What was he going to do?
Ning Zhiheng noticed the landlord's hesitation, but he didn't want to waste too much time on this matter. He didn't know when the action team would be replenished, but given the situation of the Military Intelligence Bureau, once the order was issued, no one would dare to go against it, so it shouldn't take long.
During this time, he also needs to go back to his hometown of Hangzhou to send Xiao Wan back and help her find her family, which will take a few more days. So he plans to finish things in Nanjing in the next two days.
He didn't give the landlord time to think about it and continued, "What's there to think about? Don't you have a few vacant rooms? Let them change rooms. I'll add some extra rent. They have to vacate today."
A swift and decisive approach is best; the more you fuss, the more complicated things become. Besides, the people living in this dilapidated courtyard are all ordinary folks struggling to make a living at the bottom of society. If you offer them more money, they're more likely to agree.
"What, is there anything else you're considering? I don't have that much time to waste. Do you think I'm afraid of losing money?" Ning Zhiheng glared, lightly patted the pistol at his waist, and demanded, "Are you still worried that I, a soldier, can't afford the room? Should we talk somewhere else?"
You can't be too polite with guys like this. Threatening or bribing them is the best way to get them to comply. If the landlord really doesn't know what's good for him, then he should just arrest him and lock him up for a few days to keep him out of the way. Then who will care about this guy's life or death?
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