The air in the private room seemed to freeze.
Qian Canjun's small eyes, gleaming with greed, were fixed on Xiao Che, awaiting his reply.
The 30/70 profit split was the maximum sincerity he could offer. In his view, although this "Master Xiao" had powerful connections and influence, he was ultimately an outsider in Zhenbeiguan. Without him, the local bigwig, all the money in the world would be nothing but a mirage.
The shock and hesitation on Xiao Che's face lasted for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
He would sometimes frown in deep thought, and sometimes pick up his wine glass and put it down again, perfectly portraying the image of a "proper businessman" who was new to "business that could cost him his life" and who both longed for huge profits and feared risks.
Qian Canjun was itching to join in, but dared not urge them, and could only watch anxiously from the sidelines.
Finally, just as Qian Canjun was about to burst from holding it in, Xiao Che slammed his hand on the table, as if he had made a huge decision!
"Alright!" He stood up abruptly, his eyes gleaming with the profit-seeking light of a businessman. "Qian Canjun is indeed a straightforward man! This deal... I, Xiao, will take it!"
"That's wonderful!" Upon hearing this, Qian Canjun was so excited he almost jumped for joy! He knew he had latched onto a truly powerful patron! From now on, his meteoric rise to prominence was just around the corner!
However, Xiao Che's next words cooled his excitement slightly.
"However..." Xiao Che changed the subject, a hint of businessman's shrewdness and caution appearing on his face, "Business is business, and rules are rules. Before cooperating, I, Xiao, must personally see what kind of 'goods' Qian Canjun has to offer, to know their true quality, right?"
“This is what we should do! This is what we should do!” Qian Canjun nodded repeatedly, as he had been prepared for this.
He knew that someone like Xiao Che, who was in big business, would never invest lightly without seeing the benefits firsthand and without personally inspecting the goods.
"Master Xiao, Lady Lin, please come with me!" Qian, the military advisor, immediately stood up, a smug and mysterious smile on his face. "I'll take you two to see my 'strength'!"
...
The three left Zuixianlou and boarded Qian Canjun's rather ornately decorated carriage.
The carriage did not head elsewhere, but went straight towards the military supply depot at Zhenbeiguan.
Throughout the journey, Qian Canjun's mouth never stopped. He boasted to Xiao Che about his immense influence and extensive connections in Zhenbeiguan, claiming that even Meng Wei, that one-eyed rascal, had to give him some leeway.
Xiao Che listened with a smile, occasionally chiming in, but in his heart, he had already sentenced this person to death.
Soon, the carriage stopped in front of a heavily guarded warehouse area.
This is the military supply depot of Zhenbeiguan, the logistics hub of the entire northern border. The entrance is heavily guarded; ordinary people cannot even get close.
However, the fierce-looking guards, upon seeing Qian Canjun's carriage, didn't even bother to question him, and immediately bowed and scraped as they opened the gate.
Qian Canjun glanced at Xiao Che triumphantly, his expression as if to say: See, this is my strength!
The carriage entered the warehouse area and stopped in front of the tallest and most sturdy warehouse.
Qian Canjun personally opened the car door for Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan, then took out a large bunch of keys from his pocket and opened the heavy iron door of the warehouse.
"Creak—"
As the iron gate slowly opened, a complex odor, a mixture of musty smells, stale rice smells, and rotten fabric smells, wafted out.
Qian Canjun lit the torches inside the warehouse, instantly revealing the scene inside to the three of them.
Even though they were somewhat prepared, Xiao Che and Lin Wanwan's pupils still couldn't help but shrink slightly when they saw what was happening before them.
Inside the enormous warehouse, supplies piled up like small mountains were on display.
On the left were neatly stacked sacks of grain. However, the sacks were not marked with the words "military rations," but rather with the emblem of a famous grain merchant from Jiangnan.
On the right were bundles of cotton cloth and fur. These were clearly not standard military supplies.
Deep inside the warehouse, large quantities of military equipment and medicines were piled up, all of which had been repackaged and were ready to be shipped out.
This is not a military supply depot at all.
This place is clearly Qian Ming's private warehouse for selling stolen goods!
"Master Xiao, look!" Qian Canjun spread his arms wide, as if showing off his kingdom, his face full of pride and smugness. "How is the quality of my batch of 'goods'?"
A cold killing intent flashed in Xiao Che's eyes, but his face showed a perfectly timed expression of shock.
"Military Advisor Qian... what a generous gesture!"
"Hahahaha!" Upon hearing this, Qian Canjun burst into triumphant laughter. "It's nothing, just a piece of cake!"
In order to further demonstrate his "strength" and "sincerity" to this "big spender," Qian Canjun, as if presenting a treasure, led Xiao Che to a small room inside the warehouse.
Inside the small house, there was a counter.
Qian Can-jun carefully took out two ledgers from a locked secret compartment.
He slapped one of them onto the counter.
"Master Xiao, please look!" He pointed to the ledger and boasted, "This is the ledger for that one-eyed bastard Meng Wei. Every single military supply disbursement is clearly recorded, without a single flaw! Even if he investigates for a hundred years, he won't find a single problem!"
After saying that, he picked up another, even thicker ledger, and a greedy yet smug smile appeared on his face.
"And this..."
He smiled mysteriously, flipped through a few pages of the ledger, and pushed it in front of Xiao Che.
"This is the real account, the one we ourselves are seeing!"
Xiao Che's gaze fell on the real ledger.
The document above was densely packed with records of every single item of supplies that had been embezzled, the profits made from reselling them, and... who received the ill-gotten gains.
This is a book of sins, enough to cause countless deaths!
A murderous intent surged within Xiao Che's heart!
What an idiot!
He actually...voluntarily presented his greatest incriminating evidence to me!
"Come, Mr. Xiao." Qian Canjun warmly pulled over a chair. "Please sit down first, and we'll... go over the accounts slowly. Take a look at which goods you can afford, and then we'll discuss the prices in detail."
Xiao Che took a deep breath, suppressing the killing intent in his heart, and a "satisfied" smile appeared on his face.
"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony."
He slowly sat down and began to go over the wicked accounts with Qian Canjun, item by item.
Just as Xiao Che successfully stalled Qian Canjun and began secretly noting down the contents of the ledger, Lin Wanwan, who had been silent all along, temporarily left the small house under the pretext of needing to use the restroom.
At this moment, Qian Canjun's attention was entirely focused on Xiao Che, the "great god of wealth." He didn't care about Lin Wanwan, the "woman," at all, and simply waved his hand impatiently, telling her to do as she pleased.
Lin Wanwan walked out of the hut, but did not actually go to the outhouse.
Her gaze, like radar, began to rapidly scan this enormous "den of thieves."
She knew that Xiao Che had already obtained the most crucial piece of evidence—the ledger.
She, on the other hand, needed to find something more touching...
She pretended to be curious and "strolled" around the warehouse.
She walked past piles of grain and fodder ready to be resold, and past bundles of cotton-padded clothes that should have been worn by soldiers.
Her fingertips gently brushed over the cold supplies, but in her heart, a burning anger raged.
Suddenly, she stopped in a corner piled with various odds and ends.
In that corner, there were some broken burlap sacks and some discarded junk, which looked like a garbage dump.
However, Lin Wanwan's gaze was drawn to one of the old burlap sacks, which looked bulging but had been carelessly discarded.
The burlap sack wasn't tied shut; from the open opening, you could see that it contained neither gold nor silver, nor grain or fodder.
Instead, there were stacks of yellowed...letter paper.
A sudden thought struck Lin Wanwan!
She stepped forward, and casually squatted down to straighten her skirt.
Then, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, she quickly pulled a hand out of the sack.
By the dim light of the fire, she could make out the handwriting on the envelope—
"Zhenbeiguan, Third Battalion, recruit Wang Ergou (recruitment)"
"To the Wang family's elderly mother in the capital (written by the author)"
Lin Wanwan's breath caught in her throat for a moment!
She slowly reached her hand into the sack again...
Inside, there was no gold or silver, no food or provisions...
Instead...
Mountains of discarded items, items withheld, items carrying the longing and hopes of countless families…
A soldier's letter home!
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