The residential complex where Fang Yong lived was separated from the outside world by a small river several meters wide on the west side. Fang Chao had long since familiarized himself with the terrain around the complex. He led Liu Zhi to the riverbank, where a small garbage-clearing dugout canoe was tied. The two untied the mooring rope from the bank, jumped onto the boat, and with a few chaotic paddle strokes reached the opposite shore. The bank was just a green tree isolation belt—once through it, they were inside the complex.
They walked straight toward Fang Yong’s residence. This was a five-story building, and Fang Yong’s home was on the first floor, with a twenty-square-meter small garden attached to the backyard.
The two cautiously observed their surroundings—no people, no surveillance cameras nearby either. They quickly climbed over into the garden, crouched in the corner, slowly stood up and peered through the window to look inside. After observing for a while, there was no one in the house. No time to waste—they had to act quickly. They initially wanted to pick the lock directly, but when they looked up, they were delighted to discover that the crescent lock on the window wasn’t fastened tightly. Liu Zhi pulled out a U-shaped wire, inserted it into the gap between the two window panels, probed around a few times, and completely unhooked the crescent lock. Then the two pulled open the window and jumped inside. After entering the house, to avoid leaving traces, they took out specially prepared shoe covers to put on and closed the window again.
Next came the treasure hunt game!
They exchanged smiles and walked in to survey the entire house in a circle, but it seemed somewhat different from their imagination.
The house was about one hundred fifty square meters, with a bonus basement. Speaking of area, it wasn’t small, but this goddamn decorating style was far too frugal!
The entire floor was covered with dirty tiles, and the walls were actually just bare cement, with a few calligraphy paintings and plaques hanging, looking quite shabby. There wasn’t much furniture either, mostly wooden pieces that seemed to have some years on them. All the objects placed on the table were also very old.
Everything here had nothing to do with luxury, and even less connection to a mega-corrupt official. You wouldn’t expect a mega-corrupt official’s ashtray to be made of gold, but the decoration should at least reach star hotel standards, right? Yet this house was so makeshift it couldn’t even compare to a small inn.
Liu Zhi couldn’t help but complain, “Brother Chao, did you find a mega-corrupt official or Jiao Yulu?”
Fang Chao glared at him, his face gloomy as he picked up an enamel cup from the table. There were still tea leaves steeping inside. On the outside of the cup was printed Chairman Mao’s classic portrait with the words “Long Live Chairman Mao.” He took a deep breath and said unwillingly, “Disguise! The bigger the corrupt official, the more they love disguising themselves. He can’t very well put all his money on display outside, or he would have been reported long ago! There must be some room packed full of cash. Search carefully, especially the ceiling, under the mattress, and hidden compartments in the walls—don’t miss a single one.”
Without further words, the two began shuttling back and forth between several rooms, carefully searching all possible places where money could be hidden. They wanted to search the ceiling, but all the ceilings in this house were just original cement boards. As for mattresses—damn it, they were all wooden plank beds, where would there be any mattresses! They tapped their fingers all over the surrounding cement walls but didn’t tap out a single goddamn hidden compartment.
More than ten minutes later, the two stood together again, their faces filled with frustration and unwillingness.
An honest official—this fat man was actually an honest official. The entire house only had a few hundred yuan in cash placed on the shoe cabinet by the entrance, not a single extra cent!
Fang Chao’s expression was very ugly. Liu Zhi kept cursing Fang Yong as a bastard, and Fang Chao felt Liu Zhi was implicitly cursing him. Just as the two didn’t know how this job should end, suddenly the sound of several people talking and footsteps came from the entrance.
Along with a burst of polite conversation and laughter, Fang Yong opened the door, leading Zhou Rong and Hu Jianren inside.
“Teacher Fang, your home is truly—” Zhou Rong stood at the entrance and surveyed the area in a circle. Just as he was about to flatter him, he discovered that this goddamn house could be called decorated? He saw several calligraphy paintings hanging on the walls and finally found words to ingratiate himself with, “It has an extremely ancient and simple cultural atmosphere.”
Hearing him say this, Fang Yong stopped in his tracks. After a long while, he nodded at him, “Boss Zhou, what good eye you have!”
Zhou Rong was just wondering what kind of eye he had when Fang Yong had already enthusiastically led them to sit down in the living room. From a black pottery jar that resembled a pickled vegetable barrel, he scooped out a spoonful of tea leaves that looked like peat, deliberately held it in front of Zhou Rong, and asked, “Boss Zhou, how is this tea?”
“This tea…” Zhou Rong thought to himself, this shit-like substance is also called tea? But he could only say with his mouth, “This tea has some years on it, right?”
“Good eye!” Fang Yong nodded at him again, even happier now, and laughed, “This is black brick tea from the 1950s, with quite a special flavor.”
While brewing the tea with interest, Fang Yong showed off tea culture to them. Zhou Rong initially thought there was some hidden meaning in his words, or that he was hinting at something. After listening for a while, he understood that he was just talking about tea.
Finally, when the tea was ready, Zhou Rong took a sip and insincerely complimented that this tea was completely different from any he had drunk before, which made Fang Yong feel quite pleased with himself. Taking advantage of the other party’s good mood, Zhou Rong quickly seized the opportunity to steer the topic toward business. After a few pleasantries, he laughed in a deliberately relaxed manner, “Teacher Fang, with your cultural taste, you must have your own ideas about the cultural industry park project the new city district is about to launch, right?”
“The cultural industry park…” Fang Yong was startled and put down his teacup. After a while, the smile disappeared from his face. He leaned back slightly and sized up Zhou Rong, “The industry park is a government investment attraction project, and I’m just helping the government with affairs. Whether I have ideas isn’t important—what’s important is that the park can truly be done well, using culture as a foundation to drive the new city district’s development. Why? Boss Zhou suddenly brings up the industry park—do you have ideas?”
Zhou Rong smiled reservedly, “Our company has been deeply cultivating San Jiang Kou for many years and has extensive experience in project operations. I’m also particularly interested in the cultural industry. Frankly speaking, I very much hope to do some practical work in the cultural industry. I wonder—”
Fang Yong directly interrupted him, saying indifferently, “To put it bluntly, it’s still about money.”
“This…” Zhou Rong, suddenly seeing this attitude from him, felt awkwardly at a loss.
Fang Yong sighed, “The cultural industry park has a lot of supporting government funding and tax support. Many companies are eyeing this park like tigers watching their prey. From my perspective, getting things done well is most important. What I’m most worried about is that developers will only care about making money themselves, cutting corners on materials, and end up botching things.”
When Zhou Rong heard “only care about making money themselves,” he thought for a few seconds and immediately understood. He hurried to express his position, “Teacher, rest absolutely assured. No company can make all the money by itself. If I can be allowed to operate this, I will definitely do well, make the cake bigger. This cake isn’t just mine alone—everyone has a share.”
Fang Yong sneered, “How do you want to divide the cake?”
Zhou Rong was startled. Was he already starting to openly price and demand money? No foreplay at all, just wanted it directly—this speed was a bit overwhelming! He pondered for a moment and said with a smile, “To be honest with you, teacher, our company has done financial analysis on this project. There is indeed profit to be made. If our company can do it, we definitely won’t hold back on money that should be spent, including various… um, for example, consultation fees for companies you designate—”
“Are you trying to give me money?” Fang Yong interrupted him, and the smile on his face instantly disappeared completely.
Seeing this expression, Zhou Rong was secretly alarmed. Could it be that Fang Yong was just testing him earlier, and after confirming he wanted to bribe him, would now turn against him? Was he really the Hai Rui of San Jiang Kou? Zhou Rong’s heart was greatly anxious. Having provoked this kind of character, what should he do in the future?
Fang Yong stood up, walked to a piece of calligraphy on the wall, pointed at it and said, “Boss Zhou, come take a good look.”
Zhou Rong could only stand up in distress, come to the wall, and read out the words above, “How can the pond be so clear? Because there is living water from the source.” He gasped, almost kneeling down to admit his mistake, “Leader, I misspoke. That’s not what I meant, I—”
“This is the authentic work of Yu Youren. That one of yours is too fake—just tear it up directly. Boss Zhou, come, look at this again.” Fang Yong walked to the bookshelf, opened the glass cabinet, and pointed at a palm-sized ashtray object, “A genuine Yuan dynasty blue-and-white chi dragon tripod with double ears and three feet. I rarely take it out to show people. Oh right, that piece on your left is a small work by Qi Baishi from his youth. The size and level are both somewhat low, but even if Qi Baishi made a draft, it would be a rare treasure today… That’s Tang sancai pottery. The object is small, but precious for its exquisite craftsmanship. And this set of chairs we just sat on—don’t think they’re old, they’re Hainan huanghuali wood from the Ming dynasty. There’s a bed next door that’s even more precious—I don’t even dare sleep on it.”
Listening to Fang Yong narrate the origins of various inconspicuous objects in the house, Zhou Rong and Hu Jianren gasped, their minds racing. Although they didn’t understand cultural relics and antiques, just from these names they knew the items in this house were absolutely not cheap. Even the dark tiles laid on the floor were specially found by Fang Yong and laid with ancient bricks—not antique-style bricks, but genuine ancient cultural relic bricks!
After Fang Yong led them around in a circle, he turned back and said earnestly, “I’m different from other people. I’m not interested in money at all. My only hobby is doing some collecting. As you can see, the things in this house are my entire interest.”
Zhou Rong sighed deeply with admiration, “Teacher, you’re a cultured person—your realm is truly different. I really must study hard. Not like me, a businessman whose home is just piled with money. In front of you, I’m truly too vulgar.”
Fang Yong laughed proudly, “In my life, I’ve never accepted a single cent from anyone, and of course I won’t make an exception for you. Most of these things in the house were given by others. Speaking of which, what I love most are bronze vessels, but I only have small pieces left at home. Originally I had a bronze tripod in my basement to guard the house, but a while ago a high-ranking leader liked it, so I could only reluctantly part with it. To be frank, if cutting away this piece of flesh hadn’t hurt so much, I wouldn’t have invited you, an outsider, to my home. What I most want to collect is a set of bronze bells. If there were a set of bronze bells placed here, my wishes would be fulfilled.”
“A set of bronze bells? Understood, understood!” Zhou Rong smiled and nodded repeatedly.
In the small garden behind the house, Fang Chao and Liu Zhi were hiding at the foot of the wall, vigilantly listening to everything in the house, not daring to act rashly.
They could tell there were three men in total in the house. They worried that if the people inside suddenly opened the back door, they would have no choice but to steel themselves and act. Although they had guns and the two weren’t afraid of three men, making a big commotion would be unavoidable. They might alarm the security guards—they couldn’t very well shoot and kill everyone chasing them.
After waiting a long time, they finally heard the sound of Fang Yong and Zhou Rong saying goodbye and leaving. Fang Chao and Liu Zhi quickly climbed over the small garden to escape, following their entry route to leave the complex. Only then did they dare to breathe a big sigh of relief. The two looked at each other, and after a few seconds, simultaneously laughed out loud.
Fang Chao imitated Zhou Rong’s voice, “I’m a businessman whose home is just piled with money. In front of you, I’m truly too vulgar.”
Liu Zhi shook his head and sighed, “This is the first time in my life I’ve seen an idiot tell two robbers right in front of them that he has money at home. Brother Chao, let’s switch targets.”
Fang Chao nodded proudly, “This fat man is indeed a mega-corrupt official—my judgment was correct, right? However, cultural relics aren’t hard currency. We can’t sell them either. Money is more practical! That businessman—we’ve got him locked in!”
After Zhou Rong bid farewell to Fang Yong, he got into the Mercedes and left the complex. Once on the outside road, the smile on Zhou Rong’s face instantly disappeared. He sternly cursed at Hu Jianren, “You spent five hundred thousand yuan to buy a fake calligraphy, and I used it as a meeting gift. I’ve truly lost face all the way to outer space!”
Hu Jianren tremblingly explained, “I… I didn’t know this calligraphy was fake either. I’ll definitely settle accounts with the seller. I’ll definitely get this money back.”
“If you can’t get it back, you pay for it yourself!” Zhou Rong gritted his teeth, then turned to say, “This account is recorded on your head for now. Where can we get a set of bronze bells now? Remember, it must be genuine!”
Hu Jianren didn’t understand cultural relics either. He pulled out his phone to check Baidu and cried out in alarm, “These bronze bells aren’t cheap.”
“How not cheap?”
“Bronze bells are bronze vessels, bronze vessels are excavated cultural relics and can’t be bought or sold. The few that can go to auction are all circulating overseas—at the very least several tens of millions, expensive ones can even reach hundreds of millions.”
“Several tens of millions?” Zhou Rong gasped, “That Fang fellow says he’s not interested in money, but the items he names really show a big appetite. But that’s also good—I’m not afraid of him asking for expensive things, I’m only afraid he won’t accept them. As long as we succeed in this collaboration with him, from now on we’ll have the meat of the Eastern New City locked down. We need to get the bronze bells as soon as possible.”
“I know someone in San Jiang Kou—people call him Brother Zheng. He used to deal in cultural relics and is familiar with people in that circle. I’ll ask him, but—” Hu Jianren frowned, not without worry, “Brother Rong, Director Fang directly set an open price on our very first meeting. Isn’t this too direct?”
Zhou Rong sneered and shook his head, “I’ve tried to arrange meetings with him so many times—he’s long understood my intentions and was just waiting for us to come to his door. Look, a set of bronze bells costs tens of millions. Why does he want a set of bronze bells? His asking price isn’t random—he’s long calculated the returns from our entire project in his belly.”
Hu Jianren couldn’t help but sigh, “I never expected Fang Yong, such a poet, would be so shrewd when asking for money.”
Zhou Rong snorted disdainfully and drew his conclusion about Fang Yong: “He’s a poet—but unfortunately without a soul.”
At this moment, the driver suddenly spoke up, “Boss, there’s a car following us from behind.”
“A car?” Zhou Rong looked toward the rearview mirror and noticed that following behind them was a broken Xiali.
Hu Jianren said hesitantly, “Could it be the police? But does the Public Security Bureau have this kind of broken Xiali?”
“Uncle Dong was right after all.” Zhou Rong bit his teeth, “We know all the civilian vehicles at the Public Security Bureau. It must be the new Director Zhang who found a car that’s been impounded for many years to follow us, thinking we don’t know. How clever he thinks he is!”
The driver asked, “Boss, should I shake them off?”
“Shake what! That would make me look guilty. Drive slowly, let them follow.”
In the Xiali car following behind them, Fang Chao was fiercely stepping on the gas pedal while simultaneously gripping the handbrake, in case he couldn’t brake at intersections. After following for quite a while, he finally breathed out, “Just now when I saw their Mercedes come out, I thought this was hopeless, we definitely couldn’t keep up. Fortunately, this Mercedes driver is a novice who can’t drive well. So slow—haha.”
Fang Chao and his companion had already set their sights on Zhou Rong, this local snake’s money. Could they succeed?