Chapter 52 Extra Benefits

Chapter 52 Extra Benefits

The Zhao family garden resonated with the melodious sounds of Pingtan (a traditional Chinese storytelling and music performance).

Lin Yufan sat with Wang Junyao in the side hall, listening intently to the soft Wu dialect of their hometown, feeling utterly relaxed and at ease.

Mrs. Peng, the wife of Director Peng (Peng Si Zhang), walked over with a smile and said to Lin Yufan, "They're betting too high—oh my, it's making my heart race."

Lin Yufan stood up to greet her, "Mrs. Peng, do join us and enjoy the Pingtan."

Mrs. Peng sat down next to Wang Junyao.

Wang Junyao asked with a smile, "I heard Mrs. Peng is also from Jiangsu?"

Mrs. Peng replied with a smile, "Yes, but now we've come to this place to make a living. My husband had promised to go home for the New Year, but how could we possibly go back now?"

Though Mrs. Peng was somewhat plump, her features were beautiful, and she must have been a great beauty in her youth. Moreover, she was friendly and very sociable.

After her husband, Director Peng, retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he became the head of a charity and welfare association. Mrs. Peng usually had access to various socialites and wealthy ladies, exactly the kind of people Wang Junyao needed to win over.

Wang Junyao held Mrs. Peng's hand and said, "Let's wait until things settle down before going back. Living in Haicheng is more comfortable. Here, I can't get used to it, and I don't know anyone when I go out."

Mrs. Peng was only a few years younger than Wang Junyao, and the two got along very well.

"We live at the foot of the mountain, and not far from my home is a small Pingtan house. If you ever feel like listening to Pingtan, just come by anytime. I don't have many friends at home either, so I have plenty of time on my hands."

Hearing that there was a Pingtan house nearby, Wang Junyao immediately became interested, "That sounds great. We listen to the radio every day at home, so having a place to enjoy Pingtan would be wonderful."

Liu Fang, who was sitting behind Wang Junyao, was also happy to hear this. She asked softly, "Is that Pingtan house open every day?"

Liu Fang's voice was too soft for others to hear, but Mrs. Peng, who was considerate of everyone's feelings, heard her.

Mrs. Peng smiled and said, "Not every day—they have a monthly schedule, and it's hard to say which day they'll perform, but they open at least twice a week."

Wang Junyao said, "Listening twice a week isn't bad. Mrs. Peng, let's plan to go together then."

"Sure," Mrs. Peng said, then turned to Lin Yufan, "Mrs. Zhao, you should join us too."

Lin Yufan wasn't particularly interested in Pingtan, but she didn't want to refuse directly, so she just smiled and said, "Sure, let's plan it then."

*

Deng Kuan hurried in from outside and whispered a few words into Director Gao's ear. Director Gao's hand, which was about to draw a tile, paused slightly. It felt like the sky was falling, and he no longer had the heart to play mahjong.

But with so many people around, Director Gao didn't show his emotions. He silently finished the game and then found an excuse to leave first.

By the time Director Gao arrived at the warehouse in Hong Kong City's eastern district, the fire had already lit up half the sky.

The fire trucks had just arrived, and everyone was busy putting out the fire.

Wang Liu saw Director Gao arrive and hurried over.

Director Gao asked, "Where's Cui Yuan?"

Wang Liu, covered in ash, wiped the sweat from his face and said, "Captain Cui was shot and was just taken to the hospital."

"What happened?"

Wang Liu briefly explained how they were attacked by dozens of robbers, who looted the place and then set the warehouse on fire.

"In our team, including Captain Cui, there were four people on duty. Two have been sent to the hospital, and only me and Longjing have minor injuries. Several security guards were also injured."

"What about the stuff? How much did they get away with?" Director Gao was more concerned about this than whether there were any casualties.

Wang Liu shook his head: "We were pinned down by their firepower and had to fall back to the next street, so we couldn’t see what was happening here. By the time we fought our way back, the place was already ablaze. The gangsters were long gone, vanished without a trace. We have no idea how much they took."

Director Gao asked, "Who were those gangsters?"

Wang Liu looked utterly confused: "No clue. They were all in dark clothes, no markings or anything, but they were probably from a chapter. With all the gangs in Hong Kong, who knows which chapter it was."

Director Gao placed his hands on his hips: "How did they know we had something stored here?"

"Someone must’ve tipped them off. We had a ton of armed guards here, fully loaded, watching this place 24/7."

Even with all those armed guards, they still couldn’t keep the stuff safe. How the hell was he going to explain this to the higher-ups?

The heat from the flames had Director Gao sweating buckets, and his head was spinning.

"Is the security team here yet?"

"Captain Zhuang and his guys are in there battling the fire."

Just then, Captain Zhuang emerged from inside. He threw aside the wet towel he had been using to cover his nose and mouth and glanced at Director Gao with a hint of impatience: "It’s pointless. Even if we douse the flames, it’s too late. All the good stuff’s already gone."

Director Gao, feeling a bit guilty, muttered quietly, "What exactly was taken?"

Captain Zhuang didn’t answer. Instead, he stared at Director Gao and questioned, "Where’d you disappear to tonight, Director Gao?"

Director Gao immediately saw through Captain Zhuang's attempt to shift the blame onto him. "It’s the weekend. I was off duty, at a birthday party."

"Whose party was it?"

"Zhao Zhiao’s mom."

Zhao Zhiao? Again!

Captain Zhuang gritted his teeth: "This is a textbook diversion and deception move. We’ve been fooled!"

Director Gao quickly thought it over: "So Liu Pangzi was killed, and they threatened me next, just to pull the special agents off the case?"

"Isn’t it obvious?"

Director Gao cursed: "You’ve got a whole team in the security department here in Hong Kong, right? If the warehouse was so important, why didn’t you have your guys on it?"

"We’ve got different jobs and different priorities."

Director Gao: "Since we’re not on the same level, get your boss to talk to me."

Meaning, our ranks are different, and you’re not qualified to lecture me here!

Despite his immense anger, Captain Zhuang didn’t say anything more at the moment.

Two hours later, the fire was extinguished. All that remained in the warehouse were some worthless ceramics. The rest of the supplies were either burned or stolen.

Director Gao, who’d been up all night, caught a quick nap in his office in the morning. Before 8 o’clock, a crowd of people rushed into his office.

Captain Zhuang and Cui Yuan sat across from Director Gao, while the others stood behind.

Director Gao looked at Cui Yuan’s bandaged arm and asked, "How’s your injury?"

Cui Yuan looked ashen: "They got the bullet out. It’s no big deal."

Director Gao sighed, "The higher-ups are already aware. We're just waiting for them to assign blame."

He shot a cold glance at Captain Zhuang and asked sarcastically, "What instructions does Captain Zhuang have for us so early today?"

Captain Zhuang adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and said, "Our superior in the Confidentiality Department, Linghu, has given the latest directive. Linghu mentioned there’s a traitor in our midst."

Everyone exchanged glances, but no one dared to speak. Whoever spoke might be the first to be suspected.

Director Gao clicked his tongue, "Our intelligence unit was all brought here by me from Nanjing. They’ve been with me since the War of Resistance against Japan. How could there be a mole? If you’re going to investigate, start with your own team and the security guards!"

Wang Liu grumbled, "Exactly! All those security guards are outsiders."

Captain Zhuang said, "The warehouse has two levels. The security guards generally can’t access the inner warehouse, and they certainly wouldn’t know what’s stored where. Only your intelligence unit would know such details."

Cui Yuan, known for his short fuse, couldn’t hold back, "How are we any different from the security guards? Sure, we can access the inner warehouse, but we have no clue what’s stored there. Let alone being able to pinpoint where everything is."

Captain Zhuang didn’t argue, seeing no point in it. No one would easily admit to having a traitor within their ranks.

"Whether it’s the security guards or our own people, we will investigate the mole! If anyone has any leads, they can report directly to me. There will be a handsome reward."

After these words, everyone fell silent again.

Where there’s a reward, there’s bound to be risk-takers!

Who knows who might betray whom.

Captain Zhuang said, "Yesterday, I told the director that we fell for their diversion tactic. They killed Liu Pangzi and then explicitly named Director Gao as the next target. During this time, they staged an assassination attempt, making us think they were really going to target Director Gao. So the question is, why was Liu Pangzi their first target?"

Wang Liu said, "They likely chose him at random. The rest of us live together, but Liu Pangzi and Captain Cui live alone."

Captain Zhuang asked, "Then why didn’t they choose Captain Cui instead of Liu Pangzi? Liu Pangzi is so big and tall. Logically, he’d be tougher to handle and harder to kill than Captain Cui."

Everyone fell silent again.

Cui Yuan pulled out a cigarette. He wanted to smoke, but his hand wasn’t cooperating. Wang Liu quickly helped him light it.

Cui Yuan snorted, "Why overthink it? I think Liu Pangzi was just more fated to die than me, so he’s the one who died."

"Could someone have been killing two birds with one stone? The first target was to kill Liu Pangzi, and then use this incident to divert our attention and reduce the number of patrols in the warehouse?"

Everyone considered this angle, and it seemed plausible.

Captain Zhuang said, "So, who in Hong Kong would have the strongest motive to kill Liu Pangzi? I doubt it’s the Nanjing opium den owner traveling all this way for revenge. If he wanted revenge, it would be easier in Nanjing."

Cui Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Captain Zhuang, are you suggesting Zhao Zhiao? Before Liu Pangzi died, he was investigating Zhao’s concubines."

Captain Zhuang replied, "Exactly, Zhao Zhiao!"

Deng Kuan, standing nearby, said, "But yesterday, when we were protecting Director Gao, we went to Zhao’s garden for the birthday banquet. All three of Zhao’s concubines came out to greet the guests. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary."

Director Gao also nodded, "That’s right. The concubines even played mahjong with the guests. There was indeed nothing out of the ordinary."

Captain Zhuang asked, "Do we have any photos of Zhao’s concubines?"

Director Gao replied, "We attended the evening banquet. It wasn’t the right time to take photos at night. There were so many guests last night, all social elites. With so many eyes watching, if Zhao’s concubines really had issues, how could they dare to come out and meet people?"

If it wasn’t necessary, Director Gao really didn’t want to investigate Zhao Zhiao. In these chaotic times, why stir up trouble with these wealthy and powerful people?

This time, it was Captain Zhuang’s turn to fall silent.

Director Gao shot him a look, "Captain Zhuang, maybe we should look at this from a different angle?"

Captain Zhuang: "What do you mean?"

Director Gao tentatively suggested, "Was Liu Pangzi killed because of his identity?"

Captain Zhuang paused, then played dumb: "What kind of issue?"

Director Gao looked at Captain Zhuang and gestured, "Should I really say this here?"

Captain Zhuang pondered slightly, "Go on, say it."

Director Gao: "Because Liu Pangzi was one of your Confidentiality Department guys!"

This sent a ripple of shock through the room.

They say the Military Statistics Bureau is everywhere, and they’re right!

Captain Zhuang looked up at Director Gao. He’d always dismissed Director Gao as a smooth talker with no substance, but he didn’t expect him to have some real capability. Maybe he’s been playing dumb all this time, hiding his smarts.

Captain Zhuang didn’t argue but didn’t admit it either: "I’ll double-check Liu Pangzi’s identity. But why kill Liu Pangzi just because he was in the Confidentiality Department?"

Director Gao: "I agree, Captain Zhuang, it was a two-for-one strategy. But they killed Liu Pangzi because he belonged to the Confidentiality Department, and people in the Confidentiality Department know the secrets of the warehouse. That answers your question, Captain Zhuang, why they picked Liu Pangzi over Cui Yuan, because Cui Yuan doesn’t know what valuable items are in the warehouse or where they are stored. I remember you said as much when Liu Pangzi was killed."

Cui Yuan’s eyes widened in realization: "Right! I remember now, didn’t the police say that Liu Pangzi was strangled twice before he died? When he was strangled the first time, the killer let him down and interrogated him about the secrets of the warehouse. After getting the information, they strangled him again and killed him!"

"That’s it!" Wang Liu was more excited than anyone, "That must be it. So, the mole theory is out the window. It’s not that one of us leaked the information, because we don’t know anything, we couldn’t have leaked it. The only leak could’ve been Liu Pangzi from your department."

A faint smile crept across Director Gao’s face: "So, the problem still lies with Liu Pangzi."

Bottom line, it’s all on the Confidentiality Department.

Captain Zhuang was surprised the usually useless spy team was now pinning everything on the Confidentiality Department, leaving themselves completely clean and without any issues?

But the other side had more people, and Captain Zhuang was fighting alone. In such a situation, he couldn’t argue too hard, "We’ll keep digging for the truth. Maybe your direction is right, or maybe our direction is right."

Director Gao played dumb: "What’s the plan?"

Captain Zhuang: "We can’t let the Zhao Zhiao lead go cold. Later, the Foreign Ministry will send a diplomatic note to the UK government. Let’s wait for the notification. Next, we will definitely search the entire city for the lost items."

Cui Yuan was slightly impatient: "What was lost? We don’t even know what was lost, how are we supposed to find it?"

Captain Zhuang stood up: "I don’t have the authority to tell you what was lost."

After saying that, he left.

Bang! The door closed.

Wang Liu spat out, "Damn it! What’s he being so arrogant about? If he’s so capable, why doesn’t he go fight the bandits himself! Don’t hide behind us! Clearly, it’s their people who leaked the information, and they’re saying we have a mole. They’re really good at shifting the blame!"

Deng Kuan: "I didn’t expect Liu Pangzi to be from the Confidentiality Department."

Wang Liu: "No wonder I always disliked him!"

Director Gao looked at them: "Let’s rest first and wait for the notification."

It was the next day, after the Nationalist Government sent a diplomatic note to the UK government, that they found out what was lost.

Wang Liu stared at the document, shaking his head in disbelief: "My goodness, 64 boxes of gold, weighing 16 tons..."

Long Jing, who was listening nearby, gaped in surprise, "How many catties is that?"

Wang Liu started counting on his fingers, "One ton equals 2000 catties, so 16 tons would be... 3200 catties..."

Cui Yuan threw a document at Wang Liu's head, "What happened to the rest? 16 tons is 32,000 catties! That means each box of gold weighs 500 catties."

Deng Kuan was puzzled, "Is that really how much was lost? Do you think they might have exaggerated the amount and secretly embezzled the difference?"

Wang Liu, reminded by him, nodded repeatedly, "How could it not be possible? Those heavy boxes, where could there be as many as 64?"

Cui Yuan said, "A box holding 500 pounds of gold couldn’t be very big. It’s possible that boxes were stacked inside each other, so we can't figure it out. Forget it, it's none of our business now. What else was lost?"

Wang Liu continued reading, "A batch of cultural relics from the 4000-year-old Yundian culture, the specific quantity is as follows... You can check the details yourself. So many treasures vanished just like that. We should’ve taken them ourselves. We shouldn’t let the good stuff go to others."

As soon as he finished speaking, he was hit on the head by a book thrown by Cui Yuan.

After the Nationalist Government's communiqué was published in the newspapers, it caused a huge uproar.

The common people were not only concerned about the whereabouts of the cultural relics and gold, but also about what the Nationalists were doing.

Why were they shipping large quantities of gold and cultural relics to Hong Kong? Where was the next destination? Were they being sent to Taiwan or the United States?

Had the Nationalist Government already collapsed? If so, why were they moving the cultural relics away?

Hong Kong newspapers were filled with scathing editorials, among which the magazine "Ask the Sea," founded by Qin Hai during this period, published some particularly incisive commentaries. They suspected the Nationalists were trading cultural relics and gold for American weapons.

In the Zhao family garden, the women seldom paid attention to the news, and everyone was lamenting not knowing which bandits had stolen so much gold.

Wang Junyao sighed, "If there's one thing Hong Kong is better at than Haicheng, it's these bandit gangs. Mrs. Peng even asked why our family's walls are so high. Isn’t it because of all the bandits and the lack of safety?"

Lin Yufan, after reading the newspaper upstairs, also asked Zhao Zhiao, "The newspaper has several theories, and several gang chapters are suspected. I heard the police have raided these chapters. They found nothing."

Zhao Zhiao was looking at company documents, "Even if the chapters took it, they wouldn’t stash it where the police could find it."

Lin Yufan asked, "Who do you think stole the gold and cultural relics?"

"What do you think?" he retorted.

Lin Yufan had suspected it might be the Communists, but she didn't dare say it out loud, only shaking her head, "How would I know? Let me dream tonight and see if I can picture what the bandits look like."

Zhao Zhiao laughed, "Had any interesting dreams lately?"

Lin Yufan whispered, "The Huaihai Campaign has begun, and the Nationalists are losing."

Zhao Zhiao looked up in surprise, "Really?"

"Really."

"Until when?"

"January, before the Lunar New Year."

After hearing this, Zhao Zhiao was in high spirits, "Tell the kitchen to prepare more dishes; we’ll have a proper celebration."

Lin Yufan smiled, "Better not; it’d be hard to explain if word got out."

Just as they were talking, Zhao Zhiao received a phone call from Police Chief Charlie, who gave him a heads-up that the police would search all his properties.

The other party explained that most wealthy individuals’ properties would be searched, and it wasn’t specifically aimed at him.

Zhao Zhiao eventually cooperated fully, allowing them to conduct the search.

After all, 64 boxes of gold is no small amount, and the places that could hide them without notice were likely to be houses or warehouses in more desolate areas.

Zhao Zhiao didn’t own many such properties.

In the end, the police found nothing and had to apologize to Zhao Zhiao, with their sergeant personally inviting him to afternoon tea as an apology.

*

After nearly a week of fruitless searching, Captain Zhuang hurriedly arrived at Director Gao's office.

Captain Zhuang noticed Sergeant Li, who had been stationed there, was missing and asked, "Where's Sergeant Li? Has he left?"

"He went to grab a bite," Cui Yuan asked Director Gao, "Director, what do you want? I’ll get it for you."

Director Gao waved his hand, "Not hungry."

Captain Zhuang said, "I’ve got a new lead."

Director Gao asked, "What’s the lead?"

Cui Yuan, about to leave, also stopped.

Captain Zhuang: "Mrs. Zhao bought a paper mill the same day our warehouse was robbed, also in the East District of Hong Kong Island, only 5 kilometers from our warehouse. But that paper mill is in a very remote location with two large warehouses, a perfect spot to hide things."

Director Gao asked, "Whose name is the paper mill under?"

Captain Zhuang: "It's under Mrs. Zhao's name."

Director Gao couldn't help but question, "If Zhao Zhiao really directed the robbery of the gold and artifacts, why would he be so careless as to stash the loot in a warehouse under his wife’s name? And buying a paper mill at such a sensitive time?"

Captain Zhuang was unconcerned, "The more dangerous a place looks, the safer it could be. You never know unless you check."

Director Gao glanced at Cui Yuan, who pointed outside, "I’ll get Sergeant Li back and hear his thoughts first."

Due to Captain Zhuang's insistence, after Sergeant Li returned, he quickly gathered a team and headed to the Gangxing Paper Mill.

*

That day, Lin Yufan and Fifth Brother had arranged to meet a construction crew at the Gangxing Paper Mill.

She planned to build a large warehouse on a vacant lot behind the paper mill to stockpile paper ahead of expected shortages in the next few years.

On site, after taking measurements, the contractor sketched a blueprint in a notebook with a pencil for her approval.

Lin Yuwu, following his sister's instructions, instructed the contractor, "It needs to be taller than the existing warehouses, with two floors to store as much pulp as possible."

The contractor said, "You can just stack it higher on shelves, saving time and labor."

Lin Yufan agreed, "Then let’s go with the cheapest option."

As they were discussing, the sound of cars came from outside. Going out to look, they saw over a dozen cops and a few Hong Kong office staff arriving in a rush.

Lin Yufan immediately spotted Director Gao and greeted him, "Director Gao, what's going on?"

Director Gao feigned surprise, "Mrs. Zhao, what are you doing here?"

Lin Yufan pointed behind her, "I just bought this paper mill and hired a construction crew today to add a warehouse."

"Adding a warehouse?"

"Yes. What brings all of you here..."

"Oh, we’re in the area today for a search. We heard there are two warehouses here, so we thought we’d take a look. We didn’t realize it was your factory, Mrs. Zhao," Director Gao said, feeling too embarrassed to admit they had come specifically to search her warehouse.

Lin Yufan, long accustomed to being a wealthy lady, exuded a commanding presence. She frowned slightly, "Do you have a search warrant?"

Sergeant Li, not daring to offend these powerful and wealthy people, carefully explained, "This is a special case, so we’re following special procedures. We don’t have a separate warrant; we’re just here for a quick look."

Captain Zhuang, meeting Mrs. Zhao for the first time, was struck by her beauty and refined demeanor. He politely said, "Mrs. Zhao, don’t worry, we’ll keep your warehouse tidy."

Director Gao chimed in with an explanation, and Lin Yufan let it go.

She turned around and called out, "Tie Long, do you know where the warehouse keys are?"

Tie Long replied, "The factory manager’s not here, and he hasn’t given me the keys yet. I’ll go to the office to look for them."

With that, he quickly turned and walked towards the office.

Not even knowing where the keys are?

This seems a bit fishy.

Are they trying to buy time?

Captain Zhuang shot Sergeant Li a look and quickly motioned the police inside.

They rushed in so fast they nearly knocked Tie Long over.

The once-polite officer now acted so brashly, startling Lin Yufan.

Could they be suspecting her?

The police quickly sealed off both warehouses.

Sergeant Li and Captain Zhuang walked forward, eyeing the drafty door and rusty lock. The setup was convincing; it looked more and more like a stash spot.

Not waiting for Tie Long, they forced the lock open. They had prepared a large iron rod to break the lock, but before they could exert much force, the lock opened.

The lock wasn’t even secured; it was just hanging there.

As they pushed the door open, the smell of wood hit them. The warehouse was packed floor-to-ceiling with solid wood-colored pulp, stacked like cardboard boxes.

How are they going to search this? It’s a massive job!

Lin Yufan stood at the door, looking at the pried-open lock, and instructed Tie Long, "Make a note to have the officers pay for a new lock."

"..."

Sergeant Li wanted to retort but didn’t dare.

Lin Yufan eyed the dusty aisles and turned to the police, "We should clean up before moving and searching, right? Tie Long, get a broom for the officers."

The police: "..."

Lin Yufan suggested, "You’d better check each stack carefully, what if something is hidden inside the pulp? I just bought this factory and haven’t inventoried it yet. Since you’re here today, it’s a good time to do an inventory."

Relocate all the pulp?

Sergeant Li’s pupils dilated; this was practically forced labor.

Director Gao and Cui Yuan watched from the side, not having to do the work themselves, they didn’t mind.

"Yeah, a thorough check will make it easier to explain."

The more Lin Yufan let them search, the more Captain Zhuang grew suspicious. He encouraged Sergeant Li, "No worries, I’ll call Superintendent Charlie to send over more officers. Only a thorough inspection will put our minds at ease."

Lin Yufan smiled at them, "There's a phone in the office."

Go ahead and call in more cops.

Having the officers pitch in is a real bonus!

It’s like an added perk.