Thirty Thousand Yuan in Half an Hour

Miao Ruolan was startled…

5,000 isn't enough?

Sister Song jumped up, "5,000 isn't enough? 5,000 can buy a dog!"

"Sister, I don't like hearing you say that!" Lin Xiaosu said, "Are you looking for a dog? That's your baby! You look like you're from a wealthy family, Sister, does your baby only deserve 5,000 yuan?" This is called using someone else's methods against them!

Miao Ruolan's teeth felt a little sore…

Sister Song choked, "Then how much do you want?" "30,000!" "30,000?" Sister Song almost jumped.

Lin Xiaosu sat down in front of her, "What? Sister, are you short on cash? Or… do you think your baby isn't worth 30,000 yuan?" Miao Ruolan's eyes darted around, and if she had smiled, it would have been a mischievous one. This little rascal is too cunning. If you push them like this, how are they supposed to answer?

Sister Song's face turned as dark as water. After a long hesitation, she gritted her teeth, "Fine! But I have a condition!" "Let's hear it!" Lin Xiaosu said. "Within two hours, I want to see my baby. Once I see him, the remaining payment will be settled! If I don't see him, the deposit will be returned double!" It was Miao Ruolan's turn to be in a difficult position. Two hours? Setting a time limit for finding something… this… Sister Song also had a smug smile on her face, "What? Are you lacking in ability? Or lacking in courage?" Lin Xiaosu raised his hand, "We accept!"

The contract was signed. A deposit of 5,000 was paid upfront. By 12:00 PM on May 17th, if the dog was found, the second party would pay the remaining 25,000 yuan. If the dog was not found by then, the first party would return double the deposit, totaling 10,000 yuan. The rest of the terms were standard, but the last clause was handwritten. Miao Ruolan hesitated slightly, but when Lin Xiaosu nodded, she still signed her name. It was exactly ten o'clock.

Lin Xiaosu glanced at the dog's photo on Sister Song's phone. It was a small Teddy, with various poses in the photos: on the bed, eating, wearing flowers. These weren't the main point; the background behind the dog's bed was. There was a piano, a villa, luxury cars, and elegant afternoon tea. Showing off dog photos isn't really about the dog; it's about showcasing a refined lifestyle, a certain level of living.

Lin Xiaosu swept his gaze over it, "Let's go." He followed Sister Song out the door and got into the luxury car that had appeared multiple times in the photos.

The car drove to the small park outside Fengcheng Building, where Sister Song usually walked her dog with her friends. They were chatting happily when, in a blink of an eye, the dog disappeared. Lin Xiaosu looked up at the sky in the small park and let out a silent sigh, lamenting the decline of his Heavenly Dao Insightful Eye, now being used to find a dog! Then he lowered his head, initiated Time Reversal, and began to track.

He left the park and entered a nearby alley. At the end of the alley was a noisy market, the Fengcheng wet market. The morning market had just ended, leaving behind scattered rotten vegetables, fish heads, and animal offal everywhere. Sister Song frowned deeply, "My baby wouldn't even walk on dirt roads. Would he really come to such a dirty place?" Lin Xiaosu ignored her. He passed through a small gate in the market and saw a riverbank outside. The riverbank was covered in household garbage, and several small dogs were running around, looking particularly happy. Lin Xiaosu smiled and gently raised his hand, pointing to one of the small dogs, "The baby has changed clothes, Sister, can you recognize him?" Sister Song stared at the small dog, covered in mud, its color indistinguishable. She rubbed her eyes, "Baby, is that you?" The little mud ball scrambled over, leaped up, and a collar around its neck was revealed. Sister Song's eyes lit up, "It really is you! How did you get like this…" The little dog stuck out its tongue and licked her face. Sister Song was caught off guard and got licked directly. Her expression changed, "Pah! Why does it smell so bad? What did you eat?" Miao Ruolan wore an expression of sour teeth… What did the dog eat? Did that even need asking?

Lin Xiaosu raised his phone and held it in front of Sister Song, "Sister, it's 10:29 now. The mission is successfully completed. Please pay the final balance!" Sister Song put the dog down, fastened its collar, and held it on a leash. She slowly looked up, "In just this half hour, you really want to charge 30,000?" "It's all written in black and white in the contract, how can I not charge it?" Lin Xiaosu said. "Besides, Sister Song, you are a noble lady of Fengcheng. 30,000 yuan isn't a big hurdle for you. If you go back on your word, how will you maintain your reputation? So, I can only accept it." Sister Song, with a dark expression, took out her phone and scanned Miao Ruolan's payment code. She took the dog home to bathe, not looking back.

Miao Ruolan and Lin Xiaosu walked back side by side. They left the market, walked through the pedestrian street, and returned to the detective agency. After half a cup of tea, she finally let out a soft sigh, "Xiaosu, isn't our pricing a bit too high? 30,000 yuan for half an hour, it's really hard to imagine." Lin Xiaosu smiled, "This is the specialty of the detective industry. We have to set a threshold." "A threshold?"

"Yes, if I charged her one or two hundred, we'd have a ton of work later, and the cost-effectiveness would be super low. We'd be busy all day just to earn a bit of hard work money, and that's not what I want."

"But if you set the bar this high, will anyone dare to come to us in the future? Won't we just be doing one-off deals?"

"Don't worry, people have inherent flaws. Sometimes, the more outrageous your price, the more people will show up. If this Madam Song shares her experience on social media, we'll be famous among the wealthy ladies in Fengcheng. In the future, perhaps their way of showing off wealth won't be afternoon tea, but affording the exorbitant investigation fees of the Fengcheng Detective Agency."

Miao Ruolan blinked her eyes, "Will Madam Song really post about this?"

In her understanding, Madam Song looked so depressed and constipated, completely treating this as a loss she had to swallow. Would she really post about it?

Lin Xiaosu chuckled lightly, "She will! You can't imagine the logic of those women who have money but are very shallow... If you don't believe me, look at her social media."

Miao Ruolan actually looked.

After browsing a few social media posts, a new message popped up.

It was Madam Song's latest update...

She was holding her dog, sitting at the entrance of her villa, with the caption: "Baby got lost today and I sought help from the Fengcheng Detective Agency. It cost 30,000 yuan to find him. I told Baby, your running around cost you a month's worth of food. Mommy is grounding you for three days!"

Miao Ruolan was dumbfounded, "She's not complaining about our high fees, she's just showing off her wealth... She's emphasizing that 30,000 yuan is just a month's worth of food for her dog."

"That's the logic of the wealthy ladies! They can afford to lose money, but they can't miss an opportunity to show off their wealth!"

"It's quite ironic, really. The wealthy ladies pride themselves on being out of touch, even making it their main selling point, but their pets are surprisingly down-to-earth, rolling around in the wild at every opportunity..."

"So, sometimes, people really aren't as good as dogs! At least dogs live authentically..." Lin Xiaosu stood up, "I'm going to the library to read. Call me if anything comes up."

The library was just across the street, a short walk away.

At the street corner, a black car was parked, with two people inside. The driver was a young man, and in the passenger seat was a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, giving him a somewhat refined appearance.

"Boss, when he was with Miao Ruolan, I didn't have a chance to make a move," the young man said.

"Even if there's no opportunity, we have to create one!" the boss exhaled lightly, "With him around, we're in great danger."

"Yes, Huang San's deal failed, and it was only a loss of one bag of goods. But after he intervened, seven people on one line were all caught. Moreover, I've also found out that he was the one who acted last time. The kidnapping incident at the martial arts gym was solved that day. He even solved the murder case in the secluded meditation room at Lingyin Temple. And just now, he found Sister Song's dog in half an hour. This person seems to have a special ability for tracing connections. We can't let such a person establish roots in Fengcheng!"

"He also knows this line of work is dangerous, so he found Miao Ruolan as a partner!" The boss gently adjusted his glasses.

"Is Miao Ruolan really that strong? She looks so quiet and demure..."

"She's a successor of Ancient Martial Arts, not to be trifled with. Remember, as long as Miao Ruolan is by his side, absolutely do not make a move. If Miao Ruolan separates from him, don't miss the opportunity. The money has already been transferred to your account, and your false identity has also been prepared. Once you succeed, leave immediately!"

"Don't worry!" The young man licked his lips, a glint of ferocity in his eyes.

The black car started and merged into the traffic...

At noon, Miao Ruolan entered the library. When she saw Lin Xiaosu, he was half-reclining on a sofa, looking at a screen in front of him. The screen rotated before him, displaying a map with latitude and longitude lines. This was another way of reading at the library: electronic reading.

Electronic reading connected to a database, covering everything from astronomy to geography.

As long as you had the interest to read, you could search for all public information and have it displayed on the electronic screen for you to read.

"What are you looking at?" Miao Ruolan placed the lunchbox in front of him.

"Geography."

"You're interested in geography?"

"Of course, as a detective, I'll inevitably have to travel north and south in the future... Hmm? Beef over rice?" Lin Xiaosu opened the lunchbox, and the aroma wafted out.

Miao Ruolan smiled gently, "It's a great opening day today, and you just earned 30,000 yuan. Can't I add a special meal for you?"

"It's us! We earned 30,000 yuan!" Lin Xiaosu lightly brushed Miao Ruolan's nose with the tip of his chopsticks.

Miao Ruolan seemed to enjoy his intimacy, smiling enchantingly, "You eat here, and I'll go borrow a book."

When Lin Xiaosu came out of the library and returned to the shop, he immediately saw the book in Miao Ruolan's hand: "Surveying"...

"Are you really starting to study?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

Miao Ruolan said, "You're so talented and yet you work so hard, what reason do I have not to work hard?"

"Working hard is good, but can you retain what you read?"

Miao Ruolan scratched her head, "I'm definitely getting it in, but whether I can retain it is a big question. I feel like my brain is a sieve; knowledge goes in the front and comes out the back..."

She spent the entire afternoon reading diligently.

And the entire evening, continuing to read.

By dawn, she felt like the great subject of detective work had opened a crack in her mind, but it also felt like it hadn't opened. In any case, her head was filled with various terms...

"It's raining!" Lin Xiaosu emerged from the adjacent room.

"With this kind of weather, let's hope no cases come in. According to surveying, rain washes away traces and dilutes scents."

Lin Xiaosu chuckled, "You better not tell me you've been reading all night."

She guessed correctly!

She had indeed been reading all night.

Miao Ruolan smiled gently, went downstairs, and opened the shop door...

She went out to buy breakfast. Just as she returned with fried dough sticks and soy milk, a car sped towards them. A middle-aged woman got out of the car and rushed towards the detective agency. Miao Ruolan, using the surveying knowledge she had studied all night, judged that this woman... was in a great hurry.