Chapter 96: Tomb Robbers Appear
The fat black man, his hands handcuffed behind his back, heard his eldest brother's scolding, but he couldn't see the thin white man's expression, so he wasn't as scared. Besides, he was more afraid of the police than his eldest brother, so he answered honestly, "Well... my master's surname is Cheng. He used to be the chivalrous thief Bai Sanye from the provincial capital. Have you heard of him? During the Japanese occupation, he specialized in stealing from traitors and running dogs. He was quite powerful. Just like the capital has Swallow Li Saner, we have the chivalrous thief Bai Sanye in the provincial capital!"
He spoke with pride, his head held high, feeling extremely proud. "We are his apprentice's apprentice, so he is our master. When our master died, we came to find him. We don't know where he lives, only that he's in the oil fields."
Jiang Nan's eyes lit up. Oh my goodness, is Old Chengtou's story finally going to be exposed? Jiang Nan sighed for the ten-thousandth time. Old Chengtou is really cautious. He even changed his stage name. He's afraid that others will associate Mr. Bai Sanye with him, Old Chengtou.
If Old Cheng were here, he would tell him that no, he was paying tribute to Bai Yutang, the Golden-Haired Mouse. Paying tribute, understand?!
No one knew what Old Cheng was thinking. At this moment, the landlord, Old Li, was so shocked that his eyes widened. "Damn it! He was just renting out his house to make some money, but why did he take in two thieves?" He suddenly felt guilty and lowered his head, not daring to look at anyone.
But Zhou Zhixing didn't pay any attention to Lao Li. He continued to ask Heipang: "What's your master's name? How come you don't even know his address?"
The fat black man was very confident and said: "Our master worshipped the portrait. Mr. Bai San didn't know about it, so of course he didn't know the master's address."
Zhou Zhixing twitched his lips. Where did this fool come from? He even said he wanted to become a disciple without permission. If this could be done, he could still say that he was the apprentice of the Public Security Bureau Director. Is there really such a thing?
Zhou Zhixing tightened his arms and asked, "Then how did you know Third Master Bai was in the oil field?"
Heipang yelled, "My master asked Mr. Bai's friend in the provincial capital. That friend was Mr. Bai's former landlord. When Mr. Bai quit the lease, he said he was returning home. His hometown is this area, so this area is occupied by the oil field. It must be at the operation site."
Jiang Nan's eyes moved, and he turned around and asked, "You went to Courtyard No. 1 yesterday, didn't you?"
Heipang nodded: "Yes, we will look for it in every family compound, and we will find it eventually."
Jiang Nan was speechless, a thick black line running through her mind. Old Chengtou was standing right in front of you, and you didn't recognize him. She asked uncertainly, "Have you seen Mr. Bai Sanye? Do you know what he looks like?"
Heipang shook his head, but his tone was very sure: "I haven't seen it, but a thief must have a smell on his body. We can find out who is the thief by following the smell."
He was very confident, and Jiang Nan lost his voice again. "Brother, although you are confident, you really didn't recognize me."
It seems that Old Cheng has been retired for many years and has not done anything in the meantime, so the "smell" on his body has disappeared.
Jiang Nan shook his head and turned back to continue searching the room. Seeing this, Zou Li started looking from the other side. After a while, Zou Li pointed to the bag in the cabinet and said, "Found it! The bowl and flour are here."
Good heavens! The two unlucky thieves didn’t even have a place to hide, so they just put the stolen goods in the cabinet.
Zhou Zhixing couldn't help but twitch his lips again. He asked, "What else did you steal?"
Black Fatty was aggrieved and didn't try to hide it anymore. He said with a bitter face, "It's all gone. We just stole some food, really. Wow, why are we so unlucky? We didn't find the master, and we were so scared by the dismemberment case that we didn't dare go out for more than ten days. We just went out to steal some food and we were caught. Wow, brother, why are we so unlucky?"
He continued to cry, "That fortune teller was right, brother. We shouldn't have come to the oil field. This is a bad start. Woohoo, they said I was destined to be rich and powerful, but that was all a lie."
"Stop howling!" Bai Shou was very impatient. "What fortune-telling? There's no such thing. My fate is in my own hands, understand? Police comrade, we have to pay the money, we have to pay the money, isn't that enough? Wuwuwu, if we didn't have food coupons, we would never have been able to steal the food."
Then you can go to the black market. I've never heard of a thief not daring to go there. Encountering two stupid thieves, Jiang Nan couldn't help but complain in her heart. Of course, she wouldn't be so stupid as to say it out loud. After all, the black market is a gray area, and going there is not allowed.
Zhou Zhixing: "Alright, if we catch you, of course we have to compensate you. Tell me, why did you steal that bowl?"
Bai Shou said as a matter of course: "Put the meat in. The pork belly is fat, so of course I have to put it in a bowl. I don't want to dirty my hands."
Wow, he’s a mysophobe, a Virgo man for sure.
Zhou Zhixing was speechless and continued to ask, "Which of the things in the house are yours? If you want compensation, of course you have to double it. Otherwise, everyone will steal things, and how can the people in the operation office live in peace?"
Bai Shou curled his lips and said, "Except for the furniture, everything else is ours. We came here to seek refuge with the master, and we brought all our belongings with us. We were hoping to live a good life from now on."
They searched the house again, gathering all the belongings of the black and white thieves together. They claimed to have all their belongings, but there really wasn't much. Besides two pieces of clothing, there was a small paper bag. Jiang Nan opened it and found five yuan inside. She asked, "Is that all you two have? How long have you been here? How do you live?"
Bai Shou answered obediently: "April 24th, we came on April 24th, and we brought food with us. We couldn't steal anything in our hometown, so we thought of coming to the oil field. Well, life in the oil field is good, so we thought of coming here... to do odd jobs, yes, odd jobs. We bought a letter of introduction on the black market, so we came here. Before going to the black market, we still had more than 40 yuan on us, but who knew that the people in the black market in the provincial capital were so damn black, they dared to ask for 30 yuan for a letter of introduction, which was really a rip-off! Look, I only have 5 yuan left on me, so I don't dare to buy things on the black market. Really, what I said is true. If I didn't have so little money, I really wouldn't steal things."
He looked innocent, pointing at the things he had found and said, "Give all these things to those companies as compensation, and just let us go this time. We really didn't do anything else, really. Wow, your oil field is so scary. When we first arrived, we heard about the dismemberment case, which scared us, wow..."
At this point in the interrogation, Bai Shou was really a little broken and was crying loudly.
Everyone was speechless. Seeing the man crying so sadly, Zhou Zhixing had to speak up to comfort him, "Alright, stop crying. He's been caught red-handed stealing things. It won't be easy to let him go."
He said to everyone, "Take your things and go back to the police station."
He nodded to the landlord, Lao Li, and said, "Please come with us and explain why you took these two people in."
Old Li sighed with a bitter face. He was really unlucky. He said to Uncle Niu, "Old Niu, if my son comes home at noon, tell him that I've gone to the police station and tell him not to worry. I'll be back in the evening."
He was quite confident. However, although he had taken in two thieves, he had no knowledge of their activities. He could have let them go after a few words of criticism and admonition. The punishment for the two clumsy thieves wouldn't be severe. They hadn't stolen anything valuable, and their confession was acceptable. They probably wouldn't get more than ten days or half a month in jail.
But the two of them were really stupid. They were obviously good at breaking into houses and picking locks, but they had been here for so many days and had done nothing. It seemed they were really scared.
The case was not a big one, and everyone had almost finished handling it before lunch.
Group six was on duty at noon today. The six of them got their lunch in the cafeteria. With Wen Qiang there, the meal was full of meat and happiness.
After sitting down, Zhou Zhixing whispered, "The theft is a small matter. We need to keep an eye on that Mr. Hu. He's in trouble."
Zou Li took a bite of the braised pork and nodded, "Well, I guess it's a big deal. Let's change into casual clothes this afternoon and have that Hu Niu lead the old man out. We can ask him privately. I guess there will be too many people around this morning, so he won't dare to say anything."
Zhou Zhixing nodded, he meant the same thing. Seeing that no one else had any objections, he lowered his head and concentrated on eating.
Well, Father Wen’s cooking skills are really good.
Wen Qiang couldn't help but ask, "Who is that righteous thief, Mr. Bai Sanye? Should we look for him?"
Jiang Nan started coughing violently. Zhou Zhixing had no choice but to take out a handkerchief and hand it to her, saying softly, "Be careful."
Jiang Nan took it and waved his hand. Zhou Zhixing turned to Wen Qiang and said, "Forget it, there's no rush. He committed crimes during the Japanese occupation, which is at least 40 years ago. As long as he doesn't commit crimes, we don't need to look for him."
Wen Qiang chuckled: "Well, I'm just curious and want to see what the righteous thief looks like."
He lowered his voice, his expression full of admiration: "I admire him very much. Being able to steal those traitors and running dogs at that time was also a way to vent the anger of the Chinese people."
Zhou Zhixing tapped his head and said sternly, "Let's just talk about this in private. We can't say it publicly. No matter what he says, he's still a thief. We're police officers, we can't admire a thief."
Wen Qiang naturally understood this principle. He nodded and said, "I'm only telling you guys this, I won't tell anyone else. Do you think he's unworthy of admiration? Isn't this what they call 'even thieves have their own code of conduct'? But I don't think I've ever heard of Mr. Bai giving away stolen goods."
He scratched his head, somewhat puzzled.
Jiang Nan remembered Bai Zhantang's lines from "Ode to the Swordsman" that she had watched in her previous life. She coughed and recited them righteously: "What do you mean by thieves also have their own code of conduct? It's all nonsense! A thief is a thief, there is no such thing as a good thief or a bad thief. Is it chivalrous to just steal a few things and give them to others? Although the items may be small, the negative impact they cause is indelible. Social order is disrupted, social atmosphere is corrupted, and trust between people is instantly destroyed. If this is the so-called justice, then I would rather not have this kind of stolen justice."
"Good!" Lan Qingshan cheered loudly, scaring Jiang Nan so much that he shivered.
Deputy Director Lan, these are Ning Caishen's original words, not her own. Ugh, I didn't expect her to be a plagiarist!
Lan Qingshan had no idea what Jiang Nan was thinking. After he had prepared his meal, he saw six people chattering from afar. When he got closer, he was surprised to see that they were really impressive. This little girl Jiang Nan was indeed specially recruited, as she had a high level of ideological awareness.
He praised: "That's a good point. I've been a police officer for so many years, and I've never seen any chivalrous thieves or righteous thieves! Stealing is stealing, and a thief is a thief. Just because the person being stolen from is a bad person, it doesn't mean that the act of stealing is right or can be forgiven. That's not how things work, and the law doesn't stipulate that. Okay, this little girl Jiang Nan said it well. Jiang Nan, write down what you just said. I want to show it to Chief Shen. When we go to the General Administration for a meeting later, we have to talk about this! It's really great!"
"Yes." Jiang Nan stood up and saluted. Hey, plagiarism is not allowed. So, she immediately found a job.
"Okay, sit down and eat." Lan Qingshan sat down next to him and asked about the case of Group 6 this morning. Hearing the name of 'The Righteous Thief Bai Sanye', Lan Qingshan pondered for a moment and said, "I've heard about this person from my master."
Seeing the others looking at him, Lan Qingshan smiled and said, "I used to work at the Baishui City Street Police Station. My master is an old resident there. His family has been patrolmen for generations. He's known as the know-it-all in Baishui City. There's nothing he doesn't know about Baishui City and the counties below. He's also heard of this Third Master Bai. He's from Da County in Baishui City. Because he was born thin and lacked strength, he couldn't get enough to eat even if he had to dig in the soil, so he went to the provincial capital to find a way out. I don't know how he learned the skill of stealing, and he caused quite a stir in the provincial capital."
He recalled, "He was just pretending to be a righteous thief. He was just too lazy to work in the fields. He hid the stolen goods and sold them after the news died down. I heard that he came back with a lot of big yellow croakers. But this is all hearsay. Except for a few insiders, no one else knows. Master wanted to take me to meet him, but unfortunately, a spy was arrested that year, and Master passed away. I never met this Mr. Bai San."
He said to them, "Don't let the term 'righteous thief' fool you. If he commits a crime again, we must arrest him without mercy, understand?"
"Know."
The six groups answered in unison.
Lan Qingshan waved his hand: "Okay, don't be so serious, eat. Do whatever you need to do this afternoon."
Everyone finished lunch quickly. Jiang Nan recited the words and handed them to Lan Qingshan.
In the afternoon, Zhou Zhixing was going to take Jiang Nan to the Liushugou compound again. Before leaving, he said to Zou Li, "Brother Zou, Xiaonan and I are going to meet Mr. Hu. If too many people come, he probably won't dare to tell him. Please take Qiangzi and the others to guard the station. If anything happens, we'll need the help of the rest of our team."
Zou Li was also unambiguous: "Okay, you and Xiaonan, be careful. Don't worry about Qiangzi and the others, I'll take care of them, nothing will happen."
Zhou Zhixing was naturally relieved. Zou Li was a college student. If he hadn't been parachuted in, he would probably have been the leader of Group 6.
He patted Zou Li's shoulder and quickly left with Jiang Nan.
The two stopped in a secluded alley. Zhou Zhixing stayed behind to make sure the environment was absolutely safe and reliable, while Jiang Nan went to find Hu Niu alone.
The little girl and the little Nengzi were playing with glass beads on the street, giggling. Jiang Nan waved and called the two little guys over.
She squatted down, took out her big white rabbit and said temptingly, "Tiger Girl, can you quietly call your grandfather out? I have something to ask your grandfather. Remember, you have to call him quietly and don't let others get suspicious. Can you do it?"
Hu Niu was delighted to recognize the policewoman from this morning. She naturally thought she was entrusting her with an important task, so she patted her chest and assured him, "Don't worry, policewoman. I'm very capable and will definitely get Grandpa out."
She grabbed the candy from Jiang Nan's hand, put it in her trouser pocket, turned around, and ran into the slum.
Jiang Nan found it amusing. Seeing Xiao Nengzi looking over eagerly, he took out another candy and handed it to him, chatting with the child: "Xiao Nengzi, do you know why Hu Niu's grandfather loves her so much?"
Xiao Nengzi quickly stuffed the candy into his mouth and said incoherently, "Because Hu Niu is lucky. When Hu Niu was born, our place became an oil field. Isn't that amazing?"
Jiang Nan thought for a moment and said, "Then Hu Niu is almost ten years old? I thought she was only seven or eight."
Xiao Nengzi chuckled: "Hu Niu looks like her mother, she's short. Hehehe."
Perhaps because he had said something bad about his friend, his face turned red. He stood up and was about to go find someone else to play with. However, he paused as he turned around, then turned back and told Jiang Nan worriedly, "Police sister, don't say I said that. You heard it wrong. I didn't say anything."
He ran off in a flash, leaving Jiang Nan shaking his head. Could these two little guys be the legendary bad friends? This morning, Hu Niu blamed Xiao Nengzi for calling the police, and this afternoon, Xiao Nengzi called Hu Niu short. They truly are good friends who stick by each other through thick and thin.
Jiang Nan was lost in thought, but Hu Niu was very quick and agile. Not long after Xiao Nengzi left, she pulled Old Man Hu out.
When he came out and saw Jiang Nan, Grandpa Hu sighed inwardly, patted his granddaughter on the head, and said softly: "Okay, Grandpa knows what's going on. You can go play."
Hu Niu made a face at Mr. Hu and went to look for Xiao Nengzi by pedaling her stirrups.
Jiang Nan stood up and said to Mr. Hu, "Grandpa, let's go somewhere else. We'll make sure no one knows what you said."
Mr. Hu nodded and said, "Then please let the female officer lead the way."
Jiang Nan led the man into the alley. Zhou Zhixing stepped forward and said with a smile, "The old man is here. Don't worry, I've checked everywhere around here, and there's no one here. If you have anything to say, just say it. I guarantee no one will know it was you who said it."
Mr. Hu looked at the two of them, sighed, and said, "It's not that I want to hide it, it's..."
He said sternly, "You must promise not to reveal a single word of what I said today, or my family will be in danger of death."
Zhou Zhixing and Jiang Nan had serious faces. Zhou Zhixing said solemnly, "Don't worry about that. This is a new society. We will never let anything happen to you just because you provided clues to the police. We have a disciplined approach and will never leak any information about informants. Don't worry."
Seeing that he was serious, Mr. Hu finally felt relieved. After a while, his eyes lost in memories, he slowly said, "Okay, I believe you. Hey, my family... my family used to run an antique shop in Beijing..."
Now that he had spoken, he had to tell it all, and continued: "That was all before the liberation, between three or four years ago. At that time, my family specialized in collecting antiques. You may not know that there are rules in the antique business. We don't ask about the provenance of the items. As long as someone wants to sell them, we will buy them. My family has a good reputation and the prices we give are fair, so many people come to sell things. Gradually, all kinds of people came to our door, including poor Eight Banners children and people who are obviously thieves. As long as they have something to give, we will accept it. And..."
He glanced at the two of them before getting to the point: "There are also tomb raiders, who specialize in digging things out of the ground. What they dig out are all funerary objects, which are different from things used by living people. We have been doing business for a long time and can tell the difference at a glance. However, the rules of the industry cannot be broken by speaking out loud. Anyway, we are doing business, and we just buy and sell things in an orderly manner, and we don't get involved in those things. After a while, two people have been supplying us with goods steadily. The things they sent are quite mixed, some are from the Western Regions, some are from the Liao, Jin and Xixia in the northwest, and some are from Shaanxi. They are all genuine goods. That Ge Kiln..."
Seeing Jiang Nan's understanding look, knowing that she had guessed it, Mr. Hu sighed and said, "That Ge Kiln was given to me by them. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it, and I couldn't bear to sell it, so I kept it at home. There is also a set of Ge Kiln teapots, the one Hu Niu mentioned. They were also given to me by them, and I kept them all at home. A few days ago, I went to visit relatives in Yangjiawa and saw two of the guys in that group. They were the two who often came to the store to sell things. I recognized them at first sight. I thought they stole my things, so I didn't dare to say anything."
He swallowed hard and explained, "In the summer of 1944, I made a mistake when buying things and bought a batch of fakes, which cost me everything. I had no choice but to return to my hometown. That's how I got labeled a poor peasant. If these two people recognize me and tell me something, I..."
He looked at Zhou Zhixing with pleading eyes, "Comrade Police Officer, can you understand? They're tomb robbers. They've seen everything and are very vicious. I didn't dare say anything because I was afraid of offending them. These two valuables are all we have left at home. We don't have much else, and we haven't done business since. We've been honest for so many years. I'm really afraid something might happen."
Zhou Zhixing nodded and said understandingly, "I know. Don't be nervous. Can you tell me about that gang of tomb robbers? How many people were there? Where did they rob tombs? How many people did you see in Yangjiawa?"
Old Man Hu breathed a sigh of relief, frowned in thought, and quickly said, "I've only seen two people, a man and a woman. They should be the ones in the group responsible for selling things. The man was about twenty-five, probably in his fifties now? Not tall, just over 1.7 meters, with a square face, small eyes, a relatively large nose, and a mole on the right side of his nose. I don't remember anything else. The woman looked no more than thirty, and looked like a Taoist nun. She should be the Feng Shui master in the gang, responsible for surveying Feng Shui and finding graves. She wasn't tall, about 1.6 meters, good-looking, with big eyes and a high nose bridge, and she was quite talkative."
He said somewhat dejectedly, "I saw them in Yangjiawa. They were acting quite intimately, like a married couple. I ran into them head-on on the street. There was no way to avoid them. I ran into them head-on. I guess they recognized me. I was afraid... afraid they'd follow me and know where I live. That's why I didn't dare to tell anyone when I lost something, fearing they might have done it."
Zhou Zhixing: "Which street in Yangjiawa did we meet? Do you know where they live?"
Mr. Hu: "In front of the large compound at No. 15 Yangjiawa. I saw them turn into the third alley on the east side. They haven't come out for a long time. I wonder if they live there."
An hour later, after chatting with Mr. Hu, we finally got to see his hidden Ge kiln teapot. Honestly, it was quite beautiful. According to Mr. Hu, it was from a famous Song Dynasty kiln, and it was also made by the government, so it was extremely valuable. If it hadn't been unearthed by tomb robbers, he probably wouldn't have seen such a fine item in his lifetime.
Zhou Zhixing loved it so much that he admired it for more than ten minutes before he was willing to leave. He was still thinking about it all the way. Jiang Nan couldn't help but tease him, "Why, didn't you have this in your dynasty before?"
Zhou Zhixing shook his head. "It's different. My dynasty was similar to the Tang Dynasty, earlier than the Song Dynasty, and the porcelain there wasn't this exquisite. At that time, the beauty was still grandeur and simplicity. It was rare to see such exquisite porcelain, so I just appreciated it more."
Jiang Nan squinted his eyes and said, "Do you regret not having the chance to appreciate antiques?"
Zhou Zhixing smiled with a relaxed and comfortable smile: "What's there to regret? You always say that you should be happy all the time. There are many new things in this era. Okay, let's go back and make some arrangements. I don't know why these tomb robbers came to our office. We don't look like we have any large tombs here."
Jiang Nan was also puzzled. "That's right. This area was very poor before. If it weren't for the discovery of oil, everyone would still be digging in the dirt for food. I've never heard of any celebrities, big landowners, or big capitalists."
Zhou Zhixing: "Who knows? Just follow along. Go back and tell Lan Shuo that we'll probably have to work with Group 5 and follow them for a few days to see what they're up to."
The two of them talked and quickly returned to the police station.
Zhou Zhixing told Lan Qingshan the clues provided by Old Man Hu. Lan Qingshan was very serious. He said, "Tomb robbers usually act in groups. Old Man Hu saw two people, but that doesn't mean there were only two of them. So, Zhixing, you go talk to Shao Yong and Xiao Sun from Group 4. All three groups will work together to keep an eye on that alley. Watch what they're up to. Keep a close eye on them and don't let them notice. Report anything to me at any time."
Those who are good at tomb robbing are all very brave. They are afraid that the ruthlessness of tomb robbing will be used for other things, which will cause unrest in the work place.
Zhou Zhixing also thought of this and said seriously, "Okay."
Jiang Nan was quite excited as it was her first time participating in a tracking operation. She rubbed her hands together and asked with a smile, "Do you want to disguise yourself? I know how to put on makeup. I can make you look good and make sure no one can recognize you."
Wen Qiang kept waving his hands, leaving a shadow behind. "No, no, no, I refuse. I can't do it. Don't consider me. I, I, I..."
He searched the props with his eyes and immediately pointed at a wig and said, "I'll just wear this wig. I guarantee no one will recognize me."
Shao Yong grabbed him and teased, "Hey, Qiangzi, last time you drew lots, you dressed up as a woman. I heard she was very charming. Why are you being passive this time? You can't be too picky."
Everyone was laughing, and Wen Qiang's face turned red as a monkey's butt. Jiang Nan also laughed, and looked Wen Qiang up and down, but couldn't see where the charm was at all. This is a true person who never shows his true colors.
Wen Qiang grunted, "Nonsense, what nonsense are you talking about? Anyway, I'm wearing a wig, and I have Xiaonan as a woman. Hehe, Xiaonan, just act naturally, no need for makeup."
Team leader Sun Zhengyi smiled and waved his hand, coming to Wen Qiang's rescue. "Alright, stop teasing Xiao Wen. Jiang Nan, just put on a skirt and pretend to be a couple in love with your team leader. I guarantee no one will notice."
Everyone changed their clothes and quickly discussed an action plan. The fourteen people were divided into two groups to carry out intensive surveillance for twelve hours. Each group was divided into two small groups. Four people would keep an eye on the tomb robbers who came out, and the other three would be responsible for watching the alley to prevent the remaining tomb robbers from going out again or causing any trouble in the alley.
The three team leaders once again emphasized discipline, stating that no one could act alone during the tracking and surveillance period.
Zhou Zhixing, Jiang Nan, Wang Zili and Wang Gengsheng were in the group responsible for following the tomb robbers coming out of the alley, while Shao Yong, Xiao Zhao and another young man from the fifth group were in charge of keeping an eye on the alley.
Jiang Nan changed into a skirt and pretended to be a couple with Zhou Zhixing, while Wang Zili and Wang Gengsheng pretended to be street thugs and wandered around the alley.
The four of them quickly dressed and took their positions. The tomb robbers were incredibly cunning. The alley they rented in Yangjiawa was located at the northernmost edge of the brigade, the most crowded, narrowest, and most diverse area. Among the tenants were oilfield workers, former village smugglers, and even men who were rumored to have worked with beards.
The Chaoyang Oilfield was mountainous, and before liberation, the world was in turmoil. Farming alone couldn't support a family, so many people took up part-time banditry. Of course, most did it to support their families, robbing without killing, but some were purely criminals, responsible for numerous deaths. While those who could be apprehended were apprehended, some were undoubtedly hiding. It's likely that many were locals from Yangjiawa, and even if the oilfield took over the land, they couldn't be driven out.
Therefore, the population in this area is more complex, and it is also the most suitable place for tomb robbers to hide.
Jiang Nan and Zhou Zhixing sat on a bench under a tree. Although they were pretending to be lovers, these days, even real lovers were not allowed to have intimate actions on the street. There was a distance of one person between the two of them, and they chatted casually.
Jiang Nan: "You're going to get off work at 11pm tonight, right?"
Zhou Zhixing: "I guess so. Are you hungry? There aren't many people around right now. I'll block it for you. If you're hungry, buy something to eat from the system. If that doesn't work, go to the state-owned restaurant up ahead."
Jiang Nan shook his head. "I'm not hungry yet. What do you think these tomb robbers are doing here? Treasure hunting?"
Zhou Zhixing: "I guess so. Otherwise, why would I come here? You'll know when you see me in the system."
Jiang Nan nodded. Suddenly, she nudged Zhou Zhixing: "Look, it's Tong Lili again. What is she doing here?"
Zhou Zhixing thought for a moment and said uncertainly, "Didn't Mr. Hu say there's an old Chinese doctor in this alley who specializes in treating infertility? You're not going to see this, are you?"
Jiang Nan clicked on the system and whispered, "That's true. She's been married for less than a year, is she so eager to have a child?"
Zhou Zhixing said with great understanding: "Cheng Meijuan, Wang Jianyi, Qiu Pan'er are all pregnant, and even Xia Honghong from the Su family is pregnant. Naturally, she is anxious."
Jiang Nan squinted his eyes: "You know quite a bit?"
Zhou Zhixing grumbled, unconcerned. "I'm not called the most confidant grandson for nothing. I listen to my grandma gossiping every day about all sorts of things. Let me tell you this, there's nothing I don't know about Courtyard No. 1. I know more than Uncle Jiang and Aunt Chen do. After all, they still have to go to work."
Jiang Nan nodded in understanding, and the two chatted quietly. In the alley, someone from the tomb-robbing gang finally emerged. It was the feng shui expert that Old Man Hu had mentioned. Jiang Nan immediately locked onto her target, activated the system, and began scanning.
After the woman went out, she was not in a hurry to leave. She strolled along the way, looking very leisurely, but she kept glancing around with her eyes. She probably felt that the two boys, Wang Zilii and Wang Gengsheng, were not a threat. After strolling for a while, she felt relieved and walked towards the family building in the east.
The two brothers were in danger of being exposed, so Zhou Zhixing gestured for them to stop following and wait to see if anyone else came out. He and Jiang Nan then stood up and followed the woman from a distance.
The woman's name was Rong Fengxian, known as Fairy. She had studied feng shui and geomancy, but after liberation, these practices became feudal superstitions, so she publicly stopped. However, she secretly continued to do fortune-telling, making a living. Fairy Rong walked with a focused gaze, her goal clear. Whenever she came across a public restroom, she would go in and take a look.
Jiang Nan twitched her lips. How come another one of them is involved in a public toilet scandal? She whispered to Zhou Zhixing, "It's over! This group has set their sights on the public toilet. The man named Fatty He is in charge of the men's restroom, and Fairy Rong is in charge of the women's restroom. They probably think there's a treasure in the restroom."
Zhou Zhixing's eyes were filled with confusion, and Jiang Nan laughed: "They also came here for Third Master Bai, but they have never seen Third Master Bai, and don't know what he looks like. They just heard that he stole a lot of treasures, and they learned something, so they came here."
Jiang Nan explained carefully, "At the time, there was a traitor in the provincial capital. He was very cunning. He saw the decline of the Japanese in advance and secretly hid the treasure in his home. He wrote the coordinates of the treasure on a piece of paper and stuffed it into a silver bracelet. After the Japanese surrendered, he gave a lot of silver to the government at the time and removed the label of traitor from his head. I don't know where the news leaked, which attracted Mr. Bai Sanye and the silver bracelet was stolen."
Jiang Nan: "The old man was so angry that he died. He tried to memorize the coordinates before he died, but failed. Although the traitor's children knew about the silver bracelet, the old man was dead and didn't write down the coordinates before he died. There was nothing they could do, so they divided up the little remaining family property and each found a place to hide. The youngest son went to the next province and happened to be from the same hometown as Fatty He. He let it slip when he was drunk, and Fatty He started to have ideas. The group reunited, asked around, and finally came to our office."
Zhou Zhixing: "Then why are they targeting the toilet again?"
Jiang Nan: "They were quite cautious. They inquired about Mr. Bai's affairs in the provincial capital. They heard that one family was robbed by Mr. Bai once, and the owner, like everyone else, didn't report it to the police. However, during a banquet, the owner got drunk and started talking nonsense, saying that Mr. Bai didn't know what was good and that he only stole worthless things. He looked down on Mr. Bai and even boasted that no one could find his things!"
Jiang Nan spread his hands. "Third Master Bai felt challenged, so he stole from this guy again and robbed his house. I heard that this guy kept his treasures in the toilet of the courtyard. This time, all of them were stolen by Third Master Bai, and the owner was so angry that he almost died on the spot. This incident caused quite a big uproar at the time, and Third Master Bai became famous overnight. They believed that Third Master Bai had a connection with toilets and would definitely put the stolen items in public toilets."
Zhou Zhixing twitched his lips. "They don't want to keep an eye on people, but instead come looking for treasure first?"
Jiang Nan: "They haven't seen Mr. Bai Sanye. There are so many people in the operation office, they can't confirm it. Fortunately, they don't look for people, but go straight to the treasure."
"That's alright, that's an idea. It's also something tomb robbers would come up with. After all, they're after things and rarely interact with people," Zhou Zhixing pondered. "Should we go check in the public restroom? Why hasn't she come out in such a long time?"
Jiang Nan: "Let me see, something bad has happened, a fight has broken out between them and Old Wu! Should we go and stop them?"
Zhou Zhixing was speechless and shook his head, "No, Old Wu knows us both. If we go there, our mission will be exposed. Just wait, someone will go to the bathroom again. I don't think the fight will last long."
He looked around and saw a few people walking towards the toilet not far away. He pointed and said, "Someone is coming. Let's go."
Jiang Nan breathed a sigh of relief and walked quickly, saying angrily, "That old Wu is everywhere! He's been filling in for a few days now, why hasn't he handed the job back to Uncle Yang? He hangs out in the public toilet all day, and everyone knows what he's up to. There have been more and more people watching the public toilets these days."
She wailed for the ten-thousandth time, "Please don't stir up another cesspool of filth, will you? I was sick enough last time, and I can't handle it again. It's summer, and it smells so bad."
Zhou Zhixing was also a little confused after hearing this: "No way? No way? No normal person would do this in such hot weather, right?"
His voice was weak, and he looked at Jiang Nan. Thinking about Lin Bing, Tian Jiaguang, Sun Qiaolian and others he met last time, it seemed that... there were really few normal people.
The two men sighed and walked dutifully, staring at the public toilet not far away.
Fairy Rong came out quickly, but her right eye was red and swollen, her hair was messy, and her steps were unsteady. It was obvious that she had been in a fight.
Behind him, Old Wu came carelessly out of the women's restroom, both eyes bruised, having clearly been beaten up by a gang of female comrades. He didn't care, snorting heavily as he followed Fairy Rong closely, whispering a warning, "I own all these restrooms, so don't mess around with me. I'm telling you, if I catch you doing this again, I'll beat you up every time I see you! Just try it if you don't believe me!"
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