Chapter 9

The next day, the two siblings got up very early, before the sky was even light, around five o'clock.

Children from poor families don't have the habit of sleeping in!

The two of them made breakfast together, and after eating, Xia Ning packed her easel, paints, and paper into a backpack, while Xia Ping'an also carried a thick backpack containing his market stall supplies, such as oilcloth, balloons, and a pump.

Then the two siblings put 25,000 yuan in cash in a bag, left the remaining 15,000 yuan at home, and set out.

After leaving the residential area, they first went to an ATM near the police station, where they deposited the 25,000 yuan. Then they went to a nearby bus stop, waited for a while, and boarded a bus heading out of the city.

Today was the weekend, and in the open area near General Temple on the southern outskirts of Xianghe City, a temple fair spontaneously organized by the citizens took place every weekend.

At such fairs, many merchants would bring various snacks and entertainment facilities, and citizens could also sell their own items, such as old records, used furniture, various second-hand goods, and some handicrafts.

The General Temple fair was a lively place, brought by Chinese immigrants to Yan Country, with a tradition of several hundred years.

By around eight o'clock, the sun had risen. After transferring buses twice, the two siblings finally arrived at the open area near General Temple.

Many people had already arrived, and many of them had driven private cars and pickup trucks. They parked their vehicles, opened the rear doors, and started selling their goods.

Xia Ping'an and Xia Ning found a space of about six square meters and began setting up their stall.

Xia Ning took out her easel, paints, and paper, hung up two pre-drawn portraits, and waited for customers to come.

Xia Ning charged 30 yuan for a portrait, which was not expensive, and her skills were already very good. Many people, seeing such a beautiful and talented young girl selling portraits, couldn't resist having one done.

Xia Ping'an took out the oilcloth and a folding stand from his backpack, put on a wig and a smiling clown mask, and started inflating long balloons with a pump. Once the balloons were inflated, he skillfully twisted them into shapes like dogs, flowers, and swords, selling them for 2 yuan each.

Many children came to the fair, and once one child bought a balloon, the others would want one too.

Xia Ping'an had been running this stall for several years. It required little investment, had quick returns, and was not prone to losses. The technical requirements were low, and it didn't attract much attention. All he needed were some balloons, a pump, a folding table, and an oilcloth to get started.

The clown mask and wig were used to attract children. In total, the cost was only a few hundred yuan. The business was profitable, and if done well, they could earn 300 to 400 yuan a day, or at least 100 to 200 yuan.

However, there were two other balloon-twisting stalls competing with Xia Ping'an, so their earnings were not particularly high.

"Brother, let's save up and buy a pickup truck. In the future, you can drive us wherever we want to go, for both business and travel!" Xia Ning, seeing how convenient it was for those with pickup trucks, said enviously.

Yan Country, which occupied the entire Beiguang Continent, was sparsely populated, and pickup trucks, which could be used for both farming and commercial purposes and could carry people, were very popular among ordinary families. At the fair, over 70% of the stalls were set up using pickup trucks.

"Sure, when will you learn to drive? Once you do, we can buy a used one and drive it together!"

Hearing this, Xia Ning became excited and full of energy, "Then let's start a second family fund, called the Used Pickup Truck Fund. By the way, how much does a used pickup truck cost?"

"About 20,000 to 30,000 yuan for a decent one, and around 70,000 to 80,000 yuan for a better one!"

"Then let's set our goal for the Used Pickup Truck Fund at 70,000 yuan. Let's work hard... " Xia Ning started to motivate herself.

Xia Ping'an had just twisted two dog-shaped balloons when he made his first sale. A little boy, holding his mother's hand, bought a purple balloon dog from Xia Ping'an.

When Xia Ping'an had sold five balloons, Xia Ning welcomed her first customer, a seven- or eight-year-old girl in a pink dress, who was attracted by the portraits Xia Ning had drawn and asked her to paint one for her.

Today, fewer people came to the fair compared to usual, and business was not good. The impact of the spatial invasion had not yet fully passed. In one day, Xia Ping'an sold 106 balloons, earning 212 yuan.

Xia Ning painted six portraits, earning 180 yuan.

The two siblings had two bowls of rice noodles, two spring rolls, two bottles of soda, and a fruit platter for lunch. Xia Ning also rode the carousel, the small roller coaster, and played a shooting game, spending 86 yuan. By evening, they packed up and went home, having earned 306 yuan after a day's work.

Xia Ning was extremely happy. Since junior high school, Xia Ping'an often brought her to the fair on weekends. For her, it was always a joyful experience, as she could play, paint, and eat delicious food.

The next day, they stayed at home, watched TV, cleaned, washed clothes, cooked, read, and daydreamed.

In the morning, Xia Ping'an called the boss of the repair shop and told him he was resigning because he couldn't handle the work anymore and wanted to find a more relaxed job.

"Xia Ping'an, you're still young, and I won't stop you from trying something new. It's normal for young people to want to see the world. You have a great talent for car repair. If you ever want to come back, I'll give you an extra 2,000 yuan a month. You won't find a better salary at any other repair shop..."

The boss of the repair shop was very reluctant to see Xia Ping'an leave, as it was hard to find a young person as skilled and hardworking as him in the entire shop.

Xia Ping'an politely declined.

Tomorrow, he would report to the Order Committee. He didn't know what awaited him there, but with his remote viewing ability, he doubted they would let him go.

...

While Xia Ping'an was on the phone with the repair shop boss, at the headquarters of the National Order Committee in Xianghe City, a man in his thirties, wearing thick glasses, a beard, and a dirty, flowery shirt, and wearing slippers, whistled as he walked down the long corridor to Mo Yan's office.

The door to Mo Yan's office opened, and the short-haired woman and the bald man who had gone on a mission with Xia Ping'an came out.

Seeing the short-haired woman, the man in the flowery shirt's eyes lit up, and he almost drooled. After swallowing, he quickly approached, "Shan Shan, are you going on another mission? Do you have time tonight? Come to my place and listen to some Hi-Fi. I just bought a 4 million yuan sound system, and it's amazing. My place is big and comfortable..."

The short-haired woman didn't even look at him, just glanced at him and coldly said, "Get lost!"

The man in the flowery shirt looked annoyed but didn't back down, "Oh, I should have been more direct and asked if you'd like to roll in bed with me!"

Before the black boot kicked his butt, the man in the flowery shirt laughed and, like a monkey, quickly dodged the short-haired woman's kick and rushed into Mo Yan's office.

Mo Yan was just putting away a file at his desk.

"Boss, I've prepared the information on Xia Ping'an you asked for!" The man in the flowery shirt put away his smile and became serious, pulling out a black USB drive, "That guy is not simple, very interesting..."

Not simple? Very interesting?

Mo Yan raised an eyebrow in surprise, looked at the black USB drive, hesitated for a moment, and thought about whether to take it. The USB drive looked dirty, with some unknown substance on it.

In the end, his cleanliness overcame his curiosity. After a few seconds of hesitation, Mo Yan didn't take the USB drive but said, "Tell me, I'll listen..."

"After his parents died, he refused the foster family arranged by the government and dropped out of school to work, supporting his sister's education!"

"Hmm, I know that!" Mo Yan nodded.

"There are a few things you probably don't know. His first job was selling balloons near the school. After a while, he became a car mechanic at a repair shop at 16 because the balloon business was unstable!"

"Being 16 isn't considered child labor. What's the problem?" Mo Yan asked.

"Hehe, that's where it gets interesting. According to the information I gathered, before becoming a car mechanic, he had never repaired a car, only had a junior high school education, and had no relevant training. But after joining the repair shop, guess what? In less than two months, he became the main mechanic, able to repair all kinds of vehicles and solve various problems. It usually takes at least three years of training for a young person to become a skilled mechanic. He told the shop he learned at home!"

Mo Yan's eyes brightened, squinting, "What else, go on..."

"His parents..." The man in the flowery shirt licked his lips, "His parents were victims of the major traffic accident in Xianghe City on August 17, five years ago!"

"Oh..." Mo Yan's eyebrows twitched.

The August 17 major traffic accident resulted in 11 deaths and dozens of injuries, shocking Xianghe City. A sports car was driving at 150 km/h in the city center and crashed into a crowd waiting at a traffic light, creating a bloody path...

Mo Yan remembered the incident. The Order Committee initially investigated the August 19 incident, but later found it was just a large traffic accident unrelated to spatial invasion or supernatural abilities, so they handed it over to other departments for routine handling.

"The August 19 major traffic accident happened five years ago. If you hadn't asked me to check on Xia Ping'an, I would have forgotten about it. Out of curiosity, I checked the status of the people involved in the August 19 major traffic accident. Guess what I found?"

The man in the flowery shirt tried to create suspense, but seeing Mo Yan's unfriendly glare, he laughed and continued, "The young master of the Dashi Group, Zhao Yuan, died in Germany four years ago. His body was found in his villa, and the German media and autopsy results stated that he died from a drug overdose, not a homicide. Zhao Yuan's father, the president of the Dashi Group, Zhao Jincheng, died of a sudden heart attack three months after his son's death!"

"From the causes of death, there doesn't seem to be a problem!" Mo Yan tapped his fingers on the desk.

"Individually, the causes of death don't seem problematic, but the doctor who provided a mental health evaluation to help Zhao Yuan escape legal punishment died four months after Zhao Yuan, electrocuted in his bathtub. The judge in the August 19 case died seven months after Zhao Yuan, losing control of his car on a highway and crashing off a cliff. The prosecutor in the August 19 case was stabbed to death by the husband of a woman he was having an affair with nine months after Zhao Yuan's death. If these were all coincidences, the probability would be less than one in a million..."

Mo Yan's expression grew serious, "What else?"

"The most coincidental thing is that Xia Ping'an's only international travel record is a week before Zhao Yuan's death. He went to France on a tourist visa. I couldn't find any information about his stay in France. He didn't use a phone, credit card, or take a flight. The only record is a hotel stay in Strasbourg..."

"I remember Strasbourg is close to Germany, near the border!" Mo Yan frowned.

"Yes, it's only an hour's drive from Strasbourg to Offenburg, Germany. Mannheim, where Zhao Yuan died, is also not far from Offenburg. Zhao Yuan died four days after Xia Ping'an returned from France..." The man in the flowery shirt smacked his lips, still not satisfied, "Damn, Xia Ping'an was only 17 at the time, hard to imagine..."

"Without evidence, don't speculate or imply anything. I'll make my own judgment!" Mo Yan said sternly.

"Hehe, of course, I'm just stating facts. They were all scumbags, and it's better they're dead. It's none of my business!" The man in the flowery shirt shrugged, looking indifferent.

"Anything else?"

"The day after the prosecutor in the August 19 case died, Xia Ping'an and his sister visited their parents' graves. You won't believe what happened next. Half a month later, Xia Ping'an went to Qianlong Temple alone and stayed for three days. After he left, the monk Yun Gu announced he would no longer tattoo people!"

"Is Yun Gu's decision to stop tattooing related to Xia Ping'an?" Mo Yan was genuinely surprised. He knew Yun Gu, who had tattooed the fire lion on his own body. Yun Gu was the best tattoo artist in Yizhou Province.

"This is based on the data and information I gathered. Xia Ping'an's phone location data shows he was at Qianlong Temple for three days, which coincides with the time it takes Yun Gu to complete a tattoo. After Xia Ping'an left, Qianlong Temple announced that Yun Gu was in seclusion. Since then, all tattoo requests have been handled by Yun Gu's disciples. When Lao Tu went to Qianlong Temple for a tattoo, he didn't see Yun Gu, only his disciples. It's highly likely that Yun Gu stopped tattooing after Xia Ping'an left, but the reason is unknown."

"Understood. This conversation ends here. You didn't come to see me today!" Mo Yan paused, silently picked up the USB drive, and it instantly turned to smoke and melted into a ball.

The man in the flowery shirt's eyes twitched, patted his head, and looked confused, "Boss, why did you call me? I must have forgotten again..."

"Yes, you were sleepwalking. Go back and rest!" Mo Yan smiled.

"Looks like I need to catch up on some sleep. Those demons in my dreams are really annoying..." The man in the flowery shirt yawned and turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, he seemed to remember something, patted his head, and turned back, "Boss, one more thing. Zhao Jincheng had another son, and Zhao Yuan had a younger brother named Zhao Jian. Zhao Jian has been attending a noble school in France and became a summoner two years ago..."

Mo Yan's eyebrows twitched, "Understood..."