Chapter 127
You called.
Director Xu's wife heard the phone ring, she rushed into the house without thinking.
Director Xu hurriedly dried his hair as he came out. The workers were too agitated today; some of them even threw rotten eggs at him, making him smell terrible.
Director Xu quickly picked up the phone. The foreigner on the other end said something, and Director Xu frowned. His wife leaned against the sofa, watching TV, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
"Anson, it's really nothing serious, don't worry. The factory will definitely be sold. Yes, yes... the workers did cause a disturbance, but what trouble can they cause? Once we sign the contract, if they dare to cause trouble, just call the police. You're foreigners, the Public Security will definitely side with you."
Director Xu talked until his throat was dry before he finally convinced the foreigner.
After hanging up the phone, he cursed and said, "Damn it, those foreigners are really well-informed. They even knew about those peasants causing trouble today."
Director Xu's wife's heart tightened. She quickly sat up straight, stopped watching TV, and asked with concern, "That foreigner didn't say anything else, did he? We can't miss out on our benefits."
Director Xu stroked his wife's waist, "That won't do. The foreigners agreed to give us another 300,000 US dollars. Once we sign the contract, we can get the rest of the money and go abroad directly. Our child will be born United States."
Director Xu's wife smiled sweetly. She was more than twenty years younger than Director Xu, but she didn't seem to mind at all and kissed him on the Director Xu: "Old Xu, you're really something. If you ask me, we didn't get paid enough. It would have been even better if that foreigner had given us more."
The lights inside illuminated the two figures.
Outside, Zhang Dabiao and a few of his brothers squatted for half a day, getting bitten by mosquitoes and having to listen to the movements of the elderly couple inside.
Snap--
One of the younger men couldn't resist swatting a mosquito, and Zhang Dabiao immediately turned around and glared at him, "What are you swatting mosquitoes for? Aren't you afraid of making a noise and disturbing the people inside!"
The young man looked embarrassed and awkwardly rubbed his hands on his trouser leg. "Brother Zhang, how long are we going to have to wait? We've been waiting for over an hour, and we're probably fed all these mosquitoes."
What's the rush?
Zhang Dabiao remained calm. He took out a pack of Daqianmen from his pocket, a cigarette dangling from his lips, but didn't light it. "We're suffering now, but once we get the money, we can live a life of luxury. I've heard that this guy is really rich, a big boss, probably embezzled a lot. We'll make a fortune this time, and we won't have to worry for seven or eight years!"
The two henchmen's eyes immediately lit up with joy.
In the dead of night, mosquitoes buzzed and swarmed under the dim streetlights.
The lights in every house had already been turned off, and the night gradually quieted down, with only the occasional bark of a dog or the tinkling of a bicycle bell.
The Xu family had already turned off the lights. Zhang Dabiao told one of his underlings to wait outside while he led another over the wall to get inside.
Since his release, Zhang Dabiao has done a lot of petty theft.
He had been eyeing Director Xu for a long time. Ever since the news of corruption and bribery among the leaders of the Textile Factory broke, Zhang Dabiao suspected that Director Xu must have also embezzled a lot of money.
After keeping an eye on things for several months, Zhang Dabiao finally determined that Director Xu hid the money in their kitchen.
There is no other reason.
Director Xu and his young wife neither cook; they eat out every meal.
Strangely, the kitchen in Director Xu's house had an earthen stove, and Director Xu would go into the kitchen every few days.
If there's nothing fishy going on in the kitchen, why would Director Xu, who neither cooks nor washes dishes, be in the kitchen?
Zhang Dabiao told his underlings to keep an eye on the main house while he quietly went into the kitchen.
He didn't dare use a flashlight, but the moonlight outside was enough to see the kitchen clearly. The kitchen was very clean, with a stove, pots and pans, and a large refrigerator standing next to it.
The refrigerator was plugged in and was emitting a low humming sound.
Zhang Dabiao immediately sensed something was wrong. His family didn't buy groceries or cook, so why would they need a refrigerator?
A thought flashed through his mind, and his breathing suddenly became heavy. He quickly stepped forward, carefully opened the refrigerator, and the click sounded particularly clear in the night.
But all Zhang Dabiao could think about at that moment was the stacks of US dollars in the refrigerator in front of him.
"Old Xu."
Director Xu's wife was not asleep; she was just falling asleep when she suddenly heard a noise coming from the kitchen.
She couldn't help but be alert and quickly nudged Director Xu.
Director Xu in a low voice, impatiently shaking off her hand, "What are you doing, not sleeping in the middle of the night?"
"Old Xu, wake up! I hear something's wrong coming from the kitchen, I think there's some noise!"
Director Xu's wife had a bad feeling.
They've never had mice in their house, so the noise couldn't have been made by mice.
Kitchen?!
Director Xu's mind went blank for a moment, and he instantly became clear-headed.
He hurriedly put on his clothes and got up, shuffling along in his slippers. After taking a few steps, he seemed to remember something and turned back, pulling a Black Star pistol from under the mattress.
Director Xu's wife was startled. "Old Xu, what are you doing with this? How come we still have a gun in our house?"
She glanced at the black star in Director Xu's hand with some fear.
Director Xu said irritably, "Never mind that, just stay here."
He turned on the switch directly, and with a creak, opened the door with the Black Star. The noise was quite loud, and both Zhang Dabiao, who were inside and outside the kitchen, heard it and were both startled.
The younger brother immediately turned and rushed into the kitchen, shouting, "Brother Biao, there's movement!"
"Okay, come help me get the money, we'll grab it and run!" Zhang Dabiao didn't care about anything else, he grabbed the money from the refrigerator and stuffed it into his pocket. When the henchman saw so much money in the refrigerator, his eyes lit up. At this point, he wouldn't run away even if there was a ghost, let alone any other movement.
"Who are you? Put my money down right now!"
Director Xu came over, he saw someone stealing money in the kitchen. He was both shocked and furious, and immediately picked up a wooden gun and pointed it at them.
Zhang Dabiao and his companion were incredibly reckless. Without looking back, they jumped out of the kitchen window, clutching the money, their movements swift.
Director Xu could react, the two men had already run to the other side of the wall.
When his wife came over and saw that the money in the refrigerator was missing, her face instantly changed. "Oh no! Thief!!"
Before she could finish speaking, Director Xu covered her mouth.
Director Xu was furious, his face contorted with rage. He yelled at his wife, "Are you crazy? What are you shouting about? Aren't you afraid the police will come?"
His wife's pupils contracted; she had realized what was happening.
That's right, their money can't be made in the open. If the police come to investigate and find something amiss, that would be even more troublesome!
"Stop thief! Stop thief!"
Just then, for some unknown reason, someone outside suddenly shouted loudly, "Stop thief!"
Director Xu and his wife's faces changed drastically. They hurriedly looked outside and saw that the neighbors had all turned on their lights. Someone asked, "Where's the thief?" Another person opened their door angrily and shouted, "Where's the thief? I'll kill him!"
Director Xu and his wife exchanged a glance.
His wife pried his hands away and asked incredulously, "What happened?"
Director Xu know, he glanced at the open refrigerator and said to his wife, "Quick, hide this money! Hide it first!"
Director Xu's wife nodded subconsciously, hurriedly gathered the money, and found a place to hide it.
Outside, the place was already bustling with noise.
Yan Ren led a small team and lay in ambush for half the night. As soon as Zhang Dabiao and his companion climbed over the wall, they captured the lookout outside. After they got the money and climbed back over the wall, Yan Ren led his men to handcuff the two men.
According to procedure, he should have had the two men gagged, but he seemed to have forgotten.
"Where are the thieves? Where are the thieves?"
When the neighbors ran out with sticks and kitchen knives, they saw that Yan Ren and his group had already captured Zhang Dabiao and others near Director Xu's house.
"Don't worry, everyone, we've caught the thief!" Yan Ren said to everyone, showing them his identification.
Everyone was taken aback.
One of the old men was so surprised that he even accidentally pulled out his own beard. "Wow, are you police so quick to catch thieves these days?"
Several colleagues couldn't help but laugh.
Yan Ren was about to explain, the door to Director Xu's house opened, and he came out with a puzzled look on his face. "What are you doing here...?"
"Xiao Xu, you've come at the right time. The police have caught a few thieves. Look at this place, did they steal something from your house?"
The old man asked with concern.
Director Xu glanced at Yan Ren and the others, recognizing him. "It's Captain Yan, what a coincidence."
"Yes, Director Xu, I also find it a coincidence. I never expected that the thief we caught tonight would come from your house."
Yan Ren's lips curled up, with a hint of a forced smile.
He pulled open Zhang Dabiao's coat, and the US dollars inside immediately fell to the ground with a clatter.
The neighbors brought out their flashlights, intending to catch the thief, but instead they illuminated the US dollars on the ground clearly.
"Damn, isn't this US dollars?"
Some young people recognized him and were surprised, trying to squeeze forward.
Yan Ren took out another wad of cash from his pocket and shook the bills in his hand. "This stack of US dollars is a thousand dollars. A thousand US dollars is roughly ten thousand RMB. Director Xu, is this money from your family?"
Director Xu really wanted to say no.
But everyone knows the thief ran away from their house, so denying it outright would be tantamount to protesting too much.
He had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "It's ours, but this is all our savings. I never imagined that a thief would target us. We're so grateful for your help, otherwise we would be starving."
"Shut the fuck up! You still have plenty of money in your fridge; we only took a fifth at most!"
Zhang Dabiao immediately objected, his face flushed and his spittle flying as he angrily rebuked him.
There's money in the refrigerator?!
The neighbors were all taken aback, their eyes scrutinizing Director Xu with various expressions.
Director Xu was so anxious that his back was soaked with cold sweat. He was so angry that he kicked Zhang Dabiao and denied it, saying, "Don't listen to his nonsense. I'm just a small factory director. What money could I possibly have!"
If he hadn't kicked him, Zhang Dabiao probably wouldn't have ruined things. But since he did, Zhang Dabiao knew he'd been caught red-handed and would likely face at least a decade in prison. Since he was already in this situation, he was determined to settle scores and get revenge. He immediately shouted, "Stop pretending! You embezzled so much money, officer! I can testify! There's so much money in their refrigerator! The whole refrigerator is full of money!"
"You!"
Director Xu was absolutely furious.
He was about to hit someone when Yan Ren immediately had him restrained. Yan Ren raised an eyebrow and said, "Director Xu, although he is a criminal, hitting him is still illegal. However, since the suspect has said so, we have to go in and check it out."
Director Xu's eyes instantly darkened.
He broke free from the two policemen, his face darkening as he blocked the doorway. "What right do you have to go in, Yan Ren? Don't think you're so great just because your family has some connections. Let me tell you, you can't afford to offend my connections! Besides, you don't have a search warrant; you have no right to search my house!"
Yan Ren remained completely calm, even managing a rare smile. He patted Director Xu on the shoulder and said, "Director Xu, you're right. We don't have a search warrant, but we can suspect that there might be a thief hiding in your house. Furthermore, we need to confirm whether there have been any further losses. Therefore, we have the right to enter and search!"
"Yes, Captain!"
Several policemen immediately agreed and rushed in, ignoring Director Xu's attempts to stop them.
Director Xu's face turned from black to white, then white to green. He could only hope that his wife would be helpful and hide all the money.
But he clearly overestimated his wife and underestimated the police officers.
Soon, a policeman came out and reported, "Captain, we found nearly $100,000 in the toilet of Director Xu's house!"
Director Xu's legs went weak, and sweat poured down his face. Before he could even process this blow, another policeman came out, saluted, and reported, "Captain, we've discovered a crack in their kitchen stove. It seems something is hidden inside. We'd like to request permission to pry it open and check!"