Song Laosan's sudden remark left me stunned: "I've only been in the underworld for a short time, and apart from the Su family, I've never made enemies with anyone. Why would a desperate criminal come looking for me?"
"Look at this." Old Song pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to me. "I got this from the other person's corpse before. To avoid trouble, I didn't make it public."
I took the crumpled paper, unfolded it, and glanced at it, my brow furrowing.
This A4 sheet of paper contains my complete information and resume, which was clearly retrieved from the household registration system. However, the section for retrieving department information has been torn out.
Old Song continued, "These people were carrying guns, and they opened fire as soon as their identities were exposed. When they realized things were going wrong, they retreated decisively. Their quality is that of a notorious bandit! How did you end up offending people like this?"
"The He family of Shanxi!"
I uttered a name: "When the Wei family approached me, they had opened a Tang Dynasty tomb in Suzhou. I had dealings with the He family, and they were buried in there."
Song Laosan's expression changed: "The He family from Shanxi? Is He Jinfeng the leader?"
"Yeah, I heard he's a thief."
"Damn it, wasn't He Jinfeng already executed? How did you end up getting involved with this bunch of scourges?"
Old Song clicked his tongue in worry: "Those who reach the top in this circle are all corrupt. If He Jinfeng hadn't committed any crimes, it would be fine, but he's already in jail. The others are like stray dogs. Being targeted by these people is not a good thing!"
"That was done by the Wei family. I was just forced to take the blame. The Wei family originally said they would resolve the matter, but given our current relationship, I'm afraid we can't count on them."
I shook my head helplessly: "Fortunately, the Su family and the Qing family have already cooperated, so we are still safe on their territory for the time being."
Song Laosan didn't say anything more: "Xiao Duan, you talked to Su Gouzi for so long, what did you talk about?"
"It's nothing, he agreed to return Gongxinzun to us."
I hesitated for a moment and did not tell Song Laosan about Duan Jinyan's matter.
When I said I suspected the He family, it was just an excuse to appease him.
Actually, the person I suspect the most is Song Laosan himself.
When Su Jiaming and Qing Huai were fighting the gunmen, Song Laosan had no weapon at all, yet he managed to get a piece of paper from one of them immediately after the incident, and there was no blood on it, which was suspicious in itself.
Furthermore, I didn't travel by public transport when I came to Luoyang from Beijing; it was Song Laosan who arranged for a motorhome to bring us here. How could the He family have gotten this information and found the copper smelter while I was being kidnapped?
Although Su Jiaming said that the gunmen didn't seem to be there to rescue Wei Shengnan and the others, it's an undeniable fact that they managed to escape.
With that thought in mind, I had already gotten into Qinghuai's car.
Qinghuai was in a much better mood after completing the negotiations: "Gentlemen, I was able to negotiate with Su Gouzi so smoothly today, all thanks to you. The Su family will never forget this kindness!"
Seeing that Qing Huai was being evasive, Song Laosan cut to the chase: "Xiao Huai, we said before that we would help you take over Su Gouzi's business and take a 20% stake. You haven't forgotten that, have you?"
Qing Huai smiled and said, "Don't worry, from now on, the Qing family will give you 20% of the projects that the Qing family is working on with Su Gouzi. We will never go back on our word!"
"Twenty percent of the Qing family's wealth?"
Song Laosan was somewhat dissatisfied: "The Qing family only took 40% of the shares, and your 20% only accounts for 0.8% of the total share capital?"
“We have done our best in this matter. You two are unaware that yesterday, the partner company that we owed money to sued the Qing Group. We urgently need the funds provided by Su Gouzi to keep the business running. My father’s idea is that as long as Su Gouzi is still around, the business can be taken over and run smoothly. This is the most beneficial thing for the Qing family.”
Qinghuai sighed: "We didn't expect Su Gouzi's business to be so intricate. We simply couldn't do business without him. However, the Qing family owes you both a great favor. If you ever need anything in the future, we will do our utmost to serve you."
I already owned a 10% stake in Su Gouzi, so I wasn't as conflicted about the matter as Song Laosan. Seeing that the die was cast, I changed the subject: "Mr. Qing, I'm very curious how you managed to find us after we lost contact?"
“During the day, Third Master made a phone call in town, telling me to send my men up the mountain to arrest people. After they went up the mountain, I couldn’t get through to you when I tried to call you again. I guessed that something must have happened to you, so I had my men deliberately let the people on the mountain go and even let one person get arrested. Before he was arrested, he swallowed a capsule-shaped locator, and the signal disappeared at this factory.”
I already guessed who it was: "Your man is gone; he was pushed into the molten iron pot."
“When his signal disappeared, I knew that he was probably in trouble. These people all had serious criminal records on their hands. The Qing family kept them for this purpose. They also knew that they had no other choice but to work for the Qing family. It was better than being caught and sentenced to death. At least their families could get some benefits.”
Qinghuai remained calm and continued without any psychological burden: "I was afraid something would happen to you, so I sent people to keep an eye on this factory. I used this time to get information about Su Gouzi's protector. Fortunately, I arrived in time."
Qing Huai's calm and understated words sent chills down my spine.
The antique trade is inherently dangerous, and counterfeiting is the dark side of this industry.
Unbeknownst to me, I had fallen so deeply into this mess, becoming involved in several murder cases and associating with a group of desperados.
Fortunately, my risk was not in vain. I not only retrieved Mr. Leng's public trust, but also dug out information about Duan Jinyan from Su Gouzi.
Thinking of Duan Jinyan made me feel uneasy again.
I have already witnessed the brutality of the Su brothers.
Duan Jinyan, however, is a ruthless person whom even Su Jialiang fears and dares not easily provoke.
Just what kind of person is this guy?
The thought of Hu Shahu gives me a headache.
Not long ago, I opened the tomb of the evil monk, who was the mastermind behind the poisoning of the Tang emperor.
Unexpectedly, I have now encountered Hu Shahu, the regicide.
Why did we get so hung up on these regicides?
It's bad enough that the targets are all traitors, but what's worse, these guys are all buried overseas, each one more troublesome than the last.
More importantly, after today's events, I no longer trust Song Laosan. Whether or not to tell him this news before heading to the Far East is a question worth pondering.
Without Song Laosan, my logistics and intelligence would be compromised, but if I were to use him, I would risk being surrounded by enemies.
This feeling of having to be wary of those around you is really unpleasant.
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