Chapter 78

Zhong Qilin had just been promoted to deputy division commander and regimental commander, and was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground. At that moment, he didn’t say much, didn’t even eat, and hurriedly left.

"What’s going on? Xiao Wu."

"Two of the soldiers under Big Brother are retiring, and he asked me to arrange it!"

"Damn, what use is it to find you? This matter should be handled by me?"

"Why not be a security guard for my house? What’s wrong with that?"

"I... How about this, Xiao Wu, there are two, right? Can you give me one?"

"That’s not impossible, but I need to ask the old man first. Big Brother said it was the old man’s order."

"Forget it!"

After the meal, the group packed their belongings and returned with a full load. After more than five hours of bumpy travel, they finally arrived in Baoshan as the sky was getting dark. Thinking about the ten days since they left Beijing, and the abundant harvest of this trip, which far exceeded previous trips, everyone was very excited. Although they were tired, they discussed enthusiastically during dinner. Chang Linlin, unusually, was rather quiet. Wu Di gave Zhong Qi a questioning look.

"We’re going back to the cage, need to adapt first. It’s better to be a playboy like me! Ha ha! Xiao Wu, I’m telling you, you absolutely can’t tell the old man..."

"No teaching the kids bad things!"

"I was just saying it casually!"

"You have to listen to me for a month! Have you forgotten about the bet?"

Zhong Qi ate and drank in silence...

After sending the group back to Kunming, Luo Quan’s task was completed. He felt a bit sad and forced a smile.

"Come, have a drink. Once you leave, who knows when you’ll come back. Really..."

"We’re all in the stone business, do we run the Tengchong, Yingjiang, and Ruili line less? Afraid we won’t see each other again? Don’t worry, we didn’t know you before, but now that we do, if any friends come, I’ll let you be their guide. Don’t say you’re busy when the time comes!"

"Fat Brother, don’t say anything else, let’s drink!"

When the plane arrived in Kunming, it was not yet 10 o'clock. The flight back to Beijing was at 1 PM, so there was no need to find a hotel to rest. They decided to wait in the VIP lounge at the airport. Wu Di still had a task to buy the field-yellow stone. Zhong Qi volunteered to accompany him, and naturally, Chang Linlin was included. The three of them took a taxi straight to the flower and bird market.

Wu Di led the way, and after eleven days, saying he wasn’t worried at all would be a lie. As they walked down the antique street, they saw from a distance that the Gu Lai Pavilion seemed to be closed. Wu Di couldn’t help but feel a sense of foreboding.

The building was still the same, but the sign was gone, and the door was sealed with a notice dated yesterday. Wu Di frowned and entered a nearby shop, asking:

"Boss, I’m a friend of Mr. Liu from the Gu Lai Pavilion. What’s going on here?"

"What else? He got scammed, fifty million! All his hard work for decades, and he’s back to where he started."

It turned out that a group of scammers had been targeting Mr. Liu for three years. They were very convincing, delivering goods at low prices to Mr. Liu, making large purchases, and even impersonating famous appraisers. Over three years, Mr. Liu made several million from them. This time, he was scammed by a large Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain piece, losing everything.

"People shouldn’t be too greedy, shouldn’t be too greedy!"

"Boss, what about the things in his shop? They were sold so quickly?"

"We don’t have much working capital, and Mr. Liu borrowed high-interest loans to buy goods. I think it’s been about a week? He thought he could pay back the loans as soon as he got the goods, but they ended up in his hands. Who dares to provoke those high-interest loaners? So Mr. Liu sold the things in his shop at a low price and eventually sold the shop itself. At over fifty years old, he and his wife returned to Beijing in a miserable state. What a tragedy! Those scammers are a tragedy!"

Wu Di remembered the seal on the door and asked, confirming that the shop had closed yesterday. Mr. Liu probably hadn’t left yet. He asked the boss for Mr. Liu’s phone number and address and headed straight to Mr. Liu’s house.

Mr. Liu’s house was next to the flower and bird market. Wu Di knocked on the door and saw a little old man with white hair. He couldn’t help but ask:

"Is Mr. Liu at home?"

"I am. Who are you looking for?"

"Ah?"

In just a week, Mr. Liu looked like he had aged several decades. His black hair had turned white, and his face was full of wrinkles. He stood shakily, as if he might fall at any moment.

"Old man, who’s here? The debts are all paid off. Those who come to see you now are friends, so hurry and invite them in."

As the voice approached, a middle-aged woman dressed simply came over and led Wu Di and the others in. Her expression was natural, without a trace of the sorrow that comes with losing everything. Seeing the expressions on Wu Di and the others, she smiled:

"What, young man, did you think I would be like the old man, as if I had lost everything? When we came to Kunming, we had nothing. Now it’s the same. Besides, we have a child and a house in Beijing, so it’s a good time to go back and retire."

"Aunt, you have a great attitude!"

"What can you do if you can’t think it through? Isn’t that right, old man? Besides, those people didn’t go too far. When they were selling the things, someone bought a piece of junk at a high price, which was left for our retirement! These police are really stupid, letting those people disappear!"

How could Aunt Liu have no complaints? She just hid them well.

"Then, then..."

"Say what you have to say directly, young man. Don’t be hesitant. I often tell our son to be brave and have this family as his support..."

"The support is gone..."

"As long as the person doesn’t fall apart! Old man, if you want to make a comeback, I’ll go all out and support you for a few more years!"

"It’s not the same as before, not the same as before..."

Aunt Liu shook her head and sighed:

"It’s too short a time, and the old man can’t accept it yet. Forget it, are you looking for something?"

"Sorry, Aunt, I came to ask Mr. Liu if the field-yellow stone carving with the three stars of fortune, longevity, and prosperity is still there."

"It’s sold, all sold. Such a piece of field-yellow stone, only sold for eighty million! Young man, if I hadn’t been greedy, you would have given two million, right? It’s all my fault for being suspicious. Later, when the stone carving was examined, nothing was found. Ah, my whole life, I succeeded because of greed, and I failed because of greed."

"Do you remember who you sold it to?"

"At the time, my mind was a mess, like a series of thunderclaps. I only remember that the person had a Guangdong accent, but I don’t remember the specifics. He gave me a business card, but since I’m not doing this business anymore, why keep it? Oh, right, he invited me to Hong Kong."

"Hong Kong?"

Wu Di and Zhong Qi exchanged a bitter smile.

"Young man, can I ask, is that thing very important to you?"

"My master’s eightieth birthday is at the end of the month, and I haven’t found a suitable gift yet. I thought of Mr. Liu’s field-yellow stone carving."

"Oh, I see. I remember that person, he said something about a shop in Hong Kong’s Mong Kok area. He was in his forties, with a big pompadour, slicked back, and wearing glasses. I suspected he was part of the scam, so I paid more attention."

"Thank you so much, Aunt. Knowing where it went, I can give up and look elsewhere. Thanks, thanks. If you need anything in Beijing, find me, and I’ll help if I can!"

Wu Di handed over his business card and left.

Standing in the courtyard of the residential area, Wu Di pondered for a moment and said:

"Fourth Brother, I need to go to Hong Kong. Can you get me a travel permit quickly?"

"Xiao Wu, I’ve heard about Mong Kok from Ziyi. There are thousands of shops! How can you find it without any leads? Grandpa will be happy just knowing you have this heart. There’s no need to prepare a gift."

"Is there something strange about that thing?"

Zhong Qi understood Wu Di.

"Right, I suspect there’s another piece of top-quality field-yellow stone inside, a priceless treasure!"

"Damn, why didn’t you buy it then?"

Wu Di shook his head:

"At the time, that thing was worth at most two million, but he wanted five million. How could I encourage such behavior?"

"You’re good, but now you still have to go to Hong Kong. Whether you can find it or not, others might know you’re looking for it and set a sky-high price!"

Wu Di smiled bitterly:

"It’s too late to say anything now. Tell me, how can I get the travel permit to Hong Kong and Macau the fastest?"

"The permit is easy. We’ll fly from Kunming to Shenzhen, and by the time we land, the permit should be ready."

"Us?"

"Yes, brothers stick together. How can Fourth Brother let you go to Hong Kong alone? Mom will scold me to death when we get back. Linlin, go back with the second master. We’ve been out for too long."

"I want to find Ziyi!"

"Let’s go back to the airport and change our tickets to Shenzhen. A phone call will get the permit sorted."

Zhong Qi was even more enthusiastic than Wu Di.

On the way back to the airport, they arranged the permit, which would be delivered to Shenzhen by the airline. At the airport, Zhong Qi explained the situation, and Song Hongyan hesitated:

"Xiao Wu, I’ve seen that thing, and it doesn’t seem special. Besides, Mr. Liu said he had several people look at it, and none found any problems. How can you be so sure?"

How can I be so sure? I’m just worried about how to explain this to you.

Wu Di pondered for a moment and said:

"You all know I have a special feeling for stones. Since I found Shi Tao’s painting in the brick inkstone, I feel like I can sense the subtle differences in each stone. Really, it’s a feeling that’s hard to describe. That field-yellow stone carving gave me a strange feeling. Anyway, there’s nothing to do back home, so I’ll treat it as a trip to Hong Kong."

Zhong Qi, the quickest thinker, asked:

"Xiao Wu, does that mean you didn’t pick the stones at the public auction randomly? It wasn’t to clear up rumors and give them money?"

Wu Di looked at Zhong Qi as if he were an idiot and pointed to the others with the same expression:

"Oh, I just realized, you all think I’m a fool! At least half of those stones had material. I don’t know how much profit, but I definitely won’t lose."

"Damn, special abilities! I’ll follow you from now on. We’ll sweep the good stones together."

"Let’s not talk about accuracy. This feeling comes and goes, and it might disappear one day. It’s better to learn something solid. Actually, Sister Linlin’s feeling might be even stronger."

"Ah?"

"Try cutting the stones they bought, and you’ll see. Sister Linlin knows nothing about gambling on stones!"

"I remember, in Kunming, the stones she pointed to turned out to be high-quality. The glass-like stones in Jiegao were also bought by Sister Linlin. At the public auction, she opened three pieces of golden-threaded jade... Oh, Sister Linlin, how did you do it?"