Seeing that I had rejected his plan to kidnap someone, Qinghuai asked calmly, "Since you feel that my plan is not safe, is there a better way?"
"No, I just think your method is unlikely to damage Su Gouzi's foundation."
I hesitated for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly, "As you said, Su Gouzi is an extremely cautious person, and he's been in this business for over twenty years. I don't think he'd easily confide in his agents. If we arrest Ma Quezi but fail to find out Su Gouzi's whereabouts, how do you plan to wrap things up?"
Qinghuai's eyes hardened: "Then let's use Ma Quezi to set a trap and force him to help us lure Su Gouzi out!"
"What you can think of, wouldn't Su Gouzi think of too? What if Su Gouzi has some leverage over Ma Quezi, making him afraid to cooperate with you, or just pretending to cooperate with you?"
I stubbed out my cigarette: "Ultimately, Ma Quezi is just one of Su Gouzi's many agents, and it's not worth him taking the risk. If we handle this too carelessly, it will only lead to two outcomes. The first is that Su Gouzi will change agents and abandon Su Quezi. The worst outcome is that Su Gouzi will realize that someone is targeting him and hide himself even deeper."
"Tsk!"
Qing Huai clicked his tongue in worry: "This is indeed a troublesome matter. The manager of the demolition department of my family's real estate company is a gangster. He said that Su Gouzi's third brother, Su Jiaming, recruited a group of ex-convicts in his early years and even went to Outer Mongolia to buy guns. If these people really decide to become crippled, not only will our clues be cut off, but the Qing family will also get into trouble."
Looking at Qinghuai's worried face, I patted his arm and said, "Su Gouzi's business has been going on for over twenty years. It won't disappear overnight. We have plenty of time to negotiate. Don't get stuck on this."
Qinghuai rubbed his hands together to compose himself: "Yes, the only way forward now is for everyone to work together."
...
That afternoon, Qinghuai took us to visit the Longmen Grottoes and the White Horse Temple.
That evening, I declined his invitation to dinner and went with Song Laosan and Monkey to the antique market in the old town.
After walking around, I found that most of the items in the antique market were imitations and low-quality collectibles, along with some wood carvings and bracelets. I didn't see anything worth looking at.
That makes sense. Luoyang is a famous cultural city with countless private collectors. If these antique shop owners really have anything good, there's no need to display it publicly.
Inside a restaurant at the street corner, Monkey, holding a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), gulped down his spicy soup: "So satisfying! This is what ordinary people should live. That lunch Qinghuai treated us to, he called it a Michelin-starred meal, but I think it was just big plates with small portions, and empty spaces filled with grass! We spent tens of thousands, and I wasn't even full!"
The waiters, including Song Laosan, brought over the trays and handed me a bowl of noodles: "People in the antique and collectible trade all like to do random research and be fussy. Judging from the dilapidated state of this shop, it's probably been open for decades. To be able to stand on this street, the craftsmanship must be excellent! Xiao Duan, try this braised noodle soup. It's hard to find this kind of taste anywhere else except in Henan!"
"I've been craving Luoyang's beef soup and 'hutu noodles' for a long time."
I had been wandering around all afternoon and was starving. I rubbed the disposable chopsticks in my hand and started wolfing down my food.
I had almost finished half a bowl of noodles when I noticed that Song Laosan hadn't touched his chopsticks. Instead, he was sitting right across from me, staring at me, and raised an eyebrow, asking, "What, never seen a handsome guy eat before?"
"I've traveled all over the country and seen plenty of handsome men, but a handsome man as smart as you is truly rare."
Old Song smiled slyly and lit a cigarette: "Little Duan, actually you already had a plan when you rejected Qinghuai, you just didn't tell him. I know you have reservations about Qinghuai, but surely you wouldn't be wary of me too, would you? We're on the same side!"
"You're overthinking it. I do have a solution, but I haven't told anyone because I don't want to hide it from anyone. I just feel that my idea isn't mature enough yet."
When Song Laosan asked about this, I followed up the conversation: "According to Qinghuai, the only clue we can find related to Su Gouzi is Ma Quezi, and he is the key to breaking the deadlock. However, directly arresting and interrogating him, or forcing him to cooperate with us, are too risky. If we mess things up, we will be in a passive position."
"Actually, I also felt that Qinghuai's approach was a bit too radical. Although the Qing family is in the antique business, it's just for making money. Strictly speaking, they should be considered outsiders rather than industry insiders, so they are used to solving problems through fighting and killing."
Song Laosan nodded: "Go on."
"To lure out Su Gouzi, Ma Quezi is an essential link. Rather than forcing him to cooperate, I think it's better to attract him to cooperate with us voluntarily. The most untrustworthy relationship in this world is an alliance of interests, but in some ways, it is also the most unbreakable cooperative relationship."
Seeing that no one around us was paying attention to us, I said in a deep voice, "I want to get Ma Quezi to cooperate with us on his own initiative, and force Su Gouzi to come to us on his own initiative. Only when he thinks that he has the initiative will he not suspect that someone is setting him up."
"That's a clever tactic! I didn't expect you to be such a master of cunning. Looks like I'll have to be careful of you, or I might get betrayed without even knowing it!"
Old Song smacked his lips, his gaze towards me revealing no trace of doubt: "It's easier said than done! Ma Quezi is Su Jialiang's agent in North China. He must have made a lot of money over the years. You want to break their cooperative relationship? Isn't that a pipe dream?"
I put down my chopsticks and wiped my mouth with a tissue: "The antique trade values integrity, but the counterfeiting circle doesn't. Ma Quezi and Su Gouzi have been working together for many years, which is the kind of interest-based partnership I just mentioned. The most direct way to break this partnership is through mutual benefit."
Old Song winked shrewdly: "Haha, you were just pretending with me, saying your plan wasn't mature enough, but you'd already thought of a countermeasure, hadn't you?"
I leaned forward and said to Song Laosan, "I do have a solution, but my main concern right now is..."
...
After Song Laosan and I returned to our lodgings, he immediately called Qinghuai over and said bluntly, "Xiao Duan and I have found a way to deal with Su Gouzi, but we are unfamiliar with the area and need your help."
Qing Huai's eyes lit up, and he decisively stated his position: "No problem. Since we want to cooperate, our Qing family will definitely show our support. I just don't know what ideas you two have come up with, and what you need us to do?"
Song Laosan replied, "We can discuss the detailed plan later. The most urgent task is to excavate an ancient tomb nearby, preferably from the Xia or Shang dynasty, or at the latest from the Warring States period."
Qinghuai scratched his head: "Third Master, you're putting me in a difficult position. Our Qing family has only ever dealt in antiques; we don't know anything about divination or tomb raiding!"
I smiled and said, "We'll handle the dragon-finding. The Qing family just needs to provide the necessary assistance."
"If that's the case, then things will be much easier!" Qinghuai breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest to assure him, "Our group owns several farms and three civilian helicopters. I had my subordinates report the low-altitude flight to the Civil Aviation Administration overnight, and tomorrow I'll personally take you up into the air to take a look under the pretext of spraying pesticides!"
We were all stunned when we heard this.
I've heard of many methods of tomb raiding, but this is the first time I've seen such blatant methods of locating and finding burial sites.
It seems the Qing family wields far more influence in the area than I imagined.
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