Fengcheng Jewelry Store

Captain Zhang looked at Wang Donghe.

Wang Donghe shook his head slightly. "Based on my analysis, Sister Feng should be the third-ranked figure among the Five Tiger Generals. Her status couldn't possibly be higher than Brother Hu's!"

"Then it's puzzling. Is there a missing piece in Brother Hu's spending ledger?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

Wang Donghe frowned slightly, unsure how to answer for a moment.

In modern society, income and status are closely related. It's common for higher positions to come with higher salaries within an organization.

This is even more true for criminal organizations; higher status means higher income.

There was no reason for Brother Hu to earn less than Sister Feng. Where was the problem?

Zhou Mei said, "Brother Hu's assets are all here, very clear. The estimated value is roughly accurate, and the account balance is also here. I believe it's precise. The only thing that's not transparent is the mistress he kept. No one knows how much money he spent on this mistress. The other three male tigers among the Five Tiger Generals are the same; their mistresses are unknown. Only Sister Feng didn't keep a lover... Could it be that this is why Sister Feng's personal spending was higher?"

Was this the case?

Under normal circumstances, it really was!

Men get poorer when they are in love!

Women don't need to pay anything in a relationship (except physically), so women have more freedom with their money...

Even in criminal organizations, those who kept mistresses would divide their assets.

Lin Xiaosu smiled slightly. "Officer Zhou's words might be the key. Therefore, it's necessary to find out how much money these four mistresses received from these four tigers, and where they spent it!"

Sun Yang was stunned.

The conversation had gone in a big circle and returned to the original track.

He had initially thought that this Lin fellow really deserved a spanking. He proposed such a difficult task. If Captain Zhang got interested and assigned the job to him, he would be in trouble.

Later, the situation took a turn, and Captain Zhang had assigned Wang Donghe to handle this matter three years ago.

The task was already done, and the immense pressure on him was gone. Just as he was feeling fortunate, this kid pulled this stunt again.

If Captain Zhang handed the task to him, he would have to go through hell again. Was this kid specifically trying to mess with him? He admitted he had been a bit rude when they first interacted, but he couldn't be that petty...

Wang Donghe also frowned. "Captain Zhang, while it's essential to investigate thoroughly, if there are too many side issues, it will eventually interfere with the progress of the main investigation. Do you think it's really necessary to expand this scope further?"

Captain Zhang's thick eyebrows furrowed, and he found himself somewhat undecided.

It had taken three years to investigate the Five Tigers.

Now, they had to investigate four mistresses...

Lin Xiaosu said, "How about this: you don't need to investigate the personal lives of these mistresses comprehensively. Just focus on the main points, see where they primarily spent their money, and that will be enough."

"If that's the case, it's feasible! Donghe, Sun Yang, you two act immediately!"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Both of them accepted the order simultaneously.

Lin Xiaosu also stood up. "It's very late tonight. I'll be going back now!"

"Alright, thank you for your hard work! I'll have Zhou Mei contact you when there's news," Captain Zhang said, standing up to see him out.

Zhou Mei wanted to escort him, but Lin Xiaosu refused. "No need. You didn't sleep yesterday, so you should get a good night's sleep today. I'll go back by myself."

He left.

In the reception room, Captain Zhang chuckled, "Heh heh... still a considerate and warm young man!"

"Warm young man?" Zhou Mei chuckled. "With one sentence from him, Wang Donghe and Sun Yang are working overtime tonight. I bet those two don't think he's warm in any way..."

Three days later, the continuous drizzle was finally replaced by a clear sky.

As soon as the rain stopped, the feeling of summer rushed in.

In the early morning, just as the Fengcheng Detective Agency opened, Zhou Mei's black car pulled up to the roadside.

She got out of the car and entered the detective agency.

Miao Ruolan, with a hint of complex emotion, went to pour her tea.

This feeling stemmed mainly from the night three days ago. When she was settling the final payment with Sister Zhuang, Lin Xiaosu and Zhou Mei went shopping, and they didn't return until the early morning.

She didn't want to ask him anything, but she felt a little disappointed inside...

As a result, she had been feeling a bit depressed for the past two days, inexplicably depressed...

Today, she came again, not in her police uniform, but like an ordinary woman meeting her boyfriend for a date...

Had they really taken that step?

Zhou Mei took the teacup handed to her by Miao Ruolan and looked up. "The task you and Captain Zhang set the night before last has been preliminarily completed. Here are the investigation results."

A piece of paper was handed to Lin Xiaosu.

With one sentence, Miao Ruolan's heart suddenly raced. The night before last?

That was the night he went shopping with her!

The task he set with Captain Zhang?

That night, weren't they just couples out shopping? Or were they investigating a case?

Is that really true?

If only it were true.

Miao Ruolan didn't know why, but the overwhelming sense of disappointment she'd felt suddenly lessened by half.

Lin Xiaosu took the paper and glanced at it, his eyes suddenly lighting up…

"What did you find?" Zhou Mei asked.

Lin Xiaosu said, "Let me ask you a question. If you had ten million, what would you do with it?"

Zhou Mei replied, "I'd probably save five million, buy a house and a good car with the rest, and use the leftover money to buy luxury goods I like, to experience life as a rich person."

"So, buying luxury goods is only the third priority in your fund allocation."

"Yes!"

"Ruolan, what about you?" Lin Xiaosu's gaze turned to Miao Ruolan.

Miao Ruolan shook her head, "I could never have ten million, so I've never thought about this question."

"It's not too late to think about it now!"

"I'd save it all… Oh, I'd keep half for my brother to get married, and live off the interest from the rest," Miao Ruolan said.

"So, you definitely wouldn't spend all the money on jewelry?"

Miao Ruolan's eyes widened, "Jewelry is just decoration; you can't eat it or wear it. If you have the means, you might buy one or two pieces, but to spend your entire fortune on it… isn't that crazy?"

Lin Xiaosu smiled, "Sister Feng spent almost all her money on jewelry. These four mistresses are the same type as her, also spending almost all their money on jewelry. Ruolan says this situation is crazy! If one person is crazy, it's understandable, but if five women are crazy at the same time, it's not madness, it's a suspicious pattern!"

Zhou Mei's eyes lit up, "You think this is the chain of illicit profit transfer?"

"Yes! There are two types of black market capital chains: one is horizontal, which creates a separate door from the source; the vertical chain is more subtle, it involves some form of transformation of the chain, using legal means to conceal illegal transactions."

"You suspect they're using jade and emeralds… for money laundering?" Zhou Mei let out a soft breath.

"Yes! Do you know why? Because jade and emeralds, by their very nature, are impossible to price. They are just things dug out of the ground; a worthless stone can have the same cost as an extremely valuable top-grade emerald worth hundreds of millions. Therefore, their value depends on the market, not the cost."

Zhou Mei picked up her teacup and pondered for a long time, "Normal women like jewelry and jade, but jewelry and jade themselves are a third-tier consumption. A person can be crazy about jewelry and emeralds, but five people connected to the same case being crazy about them is indeed suspicious. However, even if this is money laundering, it's very difficult to gather evidence, because their transactions are out in the open and seem reasonable. Everyone knows the prices of jade are ridiculous, but everyone accepts them. If you were to sell them, someone might still buy them at a high price."

Lin Xiaosu said, "That's true, but you shouldn't overlook another chain!"

"What?"

"The illicit profit transfer itself isn't the goal, it's the transaction!" Lin Xiaosu said, "Since it's a transaction, there must also be the flow of 'goods'!"

"Goods?" Zhou Mei's heart pounded. The so-called goods, naturally, were drugs…

"Have you guys never been able to find out where the goods circulating in the Fengcheng black market come from?"

"No!"

Lin Xiaosu said, "Let me give you a hint. The goods at the Fengcheng Jewelry Store are processed and sold from raw stones. Its raw stones originate from Qingmian Country!"

Zhou Mei's teacup trembled violently in her hand…

In a moment, a complete loop formed in her mind.

Fengcheng is located at the junction of three provinces, with convenient transportation.

That's why it's the hub of the black market.

But where did these illegal goods actually come from?

No one could find out.

Now, she seemed to have touched upon a clear route…

The Fengcheng Jewelry Store operates by cutting, processing, and crafting raw stones into jewelry and emeralds.

The biggest advantage of this approach is that it conveys a strong sense of confidence to customers, assuring them of the authenticity of their goods and the impossibility of acid washing or faking. You can even visit the jade processing workshop and witness the entire process of stone cutting, extraction, crafting, and polishing firsthand if you have doubts.

This has also led to their business being extremely popular.

Not only are the noblewomen of Fengcheng fond of it, but even the noblewomen of Jiangcheng flock to buy from them.

From a business perspective, it's very successful.

But what if it's for another kind of business?

It's also very convenient.

The raw stones come from Qingmian Country, which is itself a drug kingdom.

They operate as a legitimate business, with trucks carrying raw stones openly traveling across the country.

What if they carried some private goods?

As long as the methods are skillful enough, who could possibly find out?

This solves the most difficult problem for illegal goods: the transportation route…

And the funds are another challenge for the sale of illegal goods, which is perfectly closed in terms of logic here…

They don't use conventional bank transfers or conspicuous cash transactions; they incorporate money laundering elements, using legitimate jade and emerald sales to complete the transfer of illicit profits.

In this black market, earning even a single cent was inherently risky for anyone.

Ghost Eye Lao Qi was no exception.

But what if he owned a jewelry store?

Wouldn't that allow him to easily secure the largest share of the funds?

And Sister Feng, along with the four mistresses, served to channel the money into his account through legitimate means...

Based on the currently verified amounts, the five women had already funneled close to a hundred million!

Who knows how many others were engaged in the same business?

Lin Xiaosu slowly raised his gaze. "Investigate when it last received a shipment."

Zhou Mei replied, "I just checked. A batch of raw stones was sent to the processing plant the day before yesterday... You mean..."

"I mean, perhaps we can pay a visit to that jewelry store famous throughout Fengcheng!"

"Just the two of us?" Zhou Mei asked.

"Ruolan will go too!" Lin Xiaosu said. "This has been a dream of mine for years: to have enough money someday to take two beautiful women shopping at a jewelry store..."