This time it was a major deal, so it was decided that Fan Debiao would handle the transaction in person, while Cai Qingchong and Liu Dashao guarded him. The three walked into the office building. Fan Debiao knocked on the door, which was then pulled open. A strange young man smiled and came out to greet them. Seeing the three, he paused in surprise and quickly said, “I’ve been waiting here for you specifically. Follow me to the car; the deal won’t happen here—it’s not safe.”
Fan Debiao hugged the woven bag, and the trio followed him to an old jeep. The car drove out through the back gate of the auto repair shop and headed up the mountain. After driving for a while, two bright car headlights appeared not far ahead. The young man stopped the jeep in front of that car, and the three got out.
As soon as they stepped out, they saw the smiling tiger boss, flanked by several muscular henchmen. “Have you brought the goods?” the smiling tiger asked.
Liu Dashao nodded. Fan Debiao patted the woven bag in his hand and asked, “Have you brought the money?”
The smiling tiger nodded, glancing at a briefcase on the hood of the car. “Let’s check the goods first!”
Fan Debiao lifted the woven bag and took out four bronze bells one by one. The smiling tiger, as usual, took out a magnifying glass and carefully examined them under the headlights for a long time before finally saying, “Hmm, nice! All rare treasures!”
“Alright, then give us a price,” Fan Debiao thought to himself, knowing even the smallest one was worth 50,000 yuan. These four should be worth at least several hundred thousand yuan.
The smiling tiger calmly picked up the briefcase from the hood, opened it, and pushed it toward Fan Debiao. Fan hurriedly checked it and was stunned. The box was packed tightly with stacks of money—but they were all spirit money, resembling Renminbi in color but utterly unusable. He immediately became furious, “Are you trying to play me?!”
At the same time, he felt a cold, hard object pressed against his head. Fan Debiao immediately realized—it was a gun! Several muscular men surrounded them, trapping the three in the center.
“Not playing you,” the smiling tiger chuckled. “It’s for your use in the afterlife. I’m being considerate.”
Fan Debiao panicked, his mind buzzing, but quickly thought of a plan. “With your big operation, you dare to pull this stunt? Don’t you fear retaliation from our people?”
“Your people?” the smiling tiger laughed even harder. “Don’t try to fool me. Do you think I’d act without checking your background? You’re only three people from out of town, with no connections or background in Beijing. I even know which hotel you’re staying at. Let me tell you honestly, I can eliminate you here, and even the heavens won’t have anything to say!”
Fan Debiao gritted his teeth, “So you’re trying to double-cross us?”
“Brother, you finally said something smart before your death,” the smiling tiger nodded, then turned sideways. “Guys, send them off.”
He said it so casually, as if their lives were as worthless as ants. Fan Debiao closed his eyes, lamenting his sharp intuition. From the moment they got out of the car, Cai Qingchong and Liu Dashao sensed something was wrong. Both were highly skilled and had seen countless dangerous situations. These few punks trying to act tough in front of them? Not a chance.
Cai Qingchong quietly reached behind him, grabbed a short dagger, exchanged a glance with Liu Dashao, and suddenly the two crossed each other’s positions. The henchman pointing the gun at Fan Debiao was about to shoot, but Cai Qingchong ducked forward, extended his right hand, and with lightning speed, slashed the dagger across the man’s wrist holding the gun. The thug first froze, then screamed like a butchered pig. The gun dropped, and his hand hung limply from his wrist like a chicken’s head, completely useless.
Immediately after, Cai Qingchong kicked the briefcase from behind Fan Debiao straight into the smiling tiger’s face. The spirit money scattered everywhere, and the tiger staggered backward, falling down in pain. Cai Qingchong then delivered a side kick directly into the face of another charging henchman, sending several sparkling teeth and fresh chunks of flesh flying.
Liu Dashao was no pushover either. He swiftly moved toward the other henchmen. As they aimed their pistols, Liu Dashao kicked the first one down, causing the others to fall like dominoes. Liu gave them no time to breathe, rushing forward with fierce kicks and punches, holding nothing back. Within two minutes, Liu Dashao and Cai Qingchong simultaneously finished their fights. The gang was sprawled on the ground, groaning in pain. Every one of them had lost the ability to fight.
Fan Debiao hadn’t even had time to react when he saw the once-arrogant henchmen now wailing on the ground. He steadied his fast-beating heart, wondering if he should go to Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts someday.
The smiling tiger lifted his head from the briefcase, hands raised high. “Grandfathers, spare my life! Spare my life!”
Liu Dashao picked up a gun from the ground, looked at it, spat on the ground, and approached the smiling tiger. “You old bastard! You thought you could double-cross us? If you wanted to play rough, at least bring real guns! Scaring us with homemade ones? Who do you think you are?”
He pressed the gun against the tiger’s head.
The smiling tiger was so scared his face turned pale, his voice trembling with fear. “It’s a misunderstanding! I’ve been blind! I shouldn’t have dared to provoke you, the big boss. Grandfathers, please spare my life!”
Liu Dashao pointed at the tripod on the ground and asked, “Tell me! How much are these things worth altogether?”
Out of professional habit, the smiling tiger raised his hand and extended four fingers. Fan Debiao immediately punched him, “What the hell! Our smallest tripod is worth 50,000 yuan. Are you saying these four are only worth 40,000? Do you want to die?”
The smiling tiger covered his face, wiping the blood from his mouth. “Grandfather, you misunderstood me. I meant 400,000 yuan!”
Liu Dashao smiled, thinking, “Hmm, pretty valuable indeed!” Then he poked the tiger’s head with the gun. “Make it 450,000! You tried to trick us, so you should pay some compensation for mental distress!”
Fan Debiao looked at the men lying on the ground, thinking, “Even in this state, they still have to pay us mental distress compensation. Liu Dashao sure knows how to think!” The smiling tiger didn’t hesitate at all, nodding frantically. “Sure! No problem! Come to my shop tomorrow, and I’ll prepare the cash for you, grandfathers!”
“Spit!” Liu Dashao spat on the ground. “Still trying to play tricks? Let me tell you, this place is very remote! We can kill you and leave without a trace. Where will you find us then? Behave yourself!”
The smiling tiger, with a sorrowful face, said, “But I really don’t have the money on me! At this hour, where can I get the money?”
Liu Dashao pulled out his dagger and gently rubbed it against the smiling tiger’s face, saying in an extremely gentle tone, “I’ll give you two choices! Either I cut off your ear or your thumb. You pick!”
The smiling tiger immediately slumped to the ground, hesitantly asking, “Is there a third option?”
Liu Dashao laughed. “Of course! Hurry up and call your men to bring 450,000 yuan!”
The smiling tiger had no choice but to take out his phone and call Stick to bring the money. Liu Dashao said, “If you had done this earlier, you wouldn’t have suffered so much!”
Soon after, Stick arrived with the money. Fan Debiao carefully counted it, then they got back into the old jeep they had come in. Don’t underestimate Fan Debiao—he might seem careless usually, but when it came to getting things done, he was indeed reliable. He collected all the guns on the ground and threw them down the mountain. Then he used his dagger to puncture all four tires of the car with its headlights still on. He also confiscated Stick’s and the smiling tiger’s phones before driving off.
Back at the hotel, they packed their luggage, checked out that night, and moved into a small, inconspicuous inn. The next morning, Liu Dashao woke them all up early. Fan Debiao grumbled, “Hey, Dashao! We were so tired yesterday. Why get up so early in the morning?”
Ignoring his complaints, Liu Dashao threw each of them a cold towel to wipe their faces, then poured a pile of money from his bag onto the bed. Cai Qingchong and Fan Debiao looked at Liu Dashao in confusion. Liu divided the money on the bed into several stacks. “We made a total of 450,000 yuan from this deal. Here’s my idea—we’ll use 300,000 yuan to cover Da Guoguo’s medical expenses, and the remaining 150,000 yuan we’ll split equally. Divided into four shares, one of which will go to Brother Su Yougui. Haven’t seen him in over ten years. I miss him, hehe.”
Naturally, Cai Qingchong had no objections. Fan Debiao, seeing he would also get some money, was so happy he couldn’t speak. Thus, the resolution was passed.
After breakfast, the three divided the money. To avoid being followed, they deposited it in different banks in several installments. Then they hailed a minivan and prepared to head to the hospital where Da Guoguo was being treated.
As the three were about to leave for the hospital, Liu Dashao’s phone suddenly rang.
“Hello, who is this…?”
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