Chapter 66

Gu Jinshui interrupted him, "As long as it's not obviously fake, we don't need to know anything else."

He Fei realized his mistake, slapped his mouth, and said, "Yes, yes, I was too talkative."

He had initially thought Gu Jinshui's plan was somewhat uncertain, but now, seeing what An Yi had done, he felt more confident and had a better grasp of the situation.

If he can't tell the difference between real and fake among so many things, then the Overseas Chinese are even less likely to be able to tell.

Chapter 75 The Seventy-Fifth Day of Being Eavesdropped On

Gu Jinshui glanced at the goods and estimated that they were enough to whet the Overseas Chinese's appetite.

He learned from Old Master Lan that foreigners also love jade, and that the jade industry in Hong Kong is booming. Any Overseas Chinese with a brain would never let this opportunity pass them by.

Gu Jinshui then looked at An Yi with a smile on his face, making An Yi's back tingle with unease.

An Yi took a step back and said, "Gu Jinshui, if you have something to say, just say it. Let me tell you, this is all the stock I have left. There's really no genuine stuff left."

"Don't worry, I'm not stupid. Using the real thing would just be letting that swindler get away with it." Gu Jinshui patted An Yi's shoulder affectionately. "Here's the thing, I need someone to help me with something. Could you recommend someone to help me? Putting everything else aside, the pay is definitely good. I'll pay ten yuan a day."

Ten yuan a day?

That's quite a lot.

An Yi was somewhat tempted, but then asked cautiously, "Is this dangerous? Are you suggesting we rob that Overseas Chinese?"

"It's not dangerous, it's just tailing. I have someone I want to keep an eye on to see what he's up to. Just watching is enough, he doesn't have to do anything else. I'll take care of everything, from food and drink to using the restroom. What do you think?" Gu Jinshui said.

He Fei, listening from the side, became quite interested. "What kind of job is this? Why don't you let me have it?"

Gu Jinshui glanced at He Fei's belly and shook his head, saying, "You're good at other things, but you're really not good at this. I need someone with decent skills, at least someone who can't be caught spying on you."

He Fei looked embarrassed.

He touched his nose, looked down and played with the jade, pretending that the person Gu Jinshui was talking about wasn't him.

An Yi immediately understood, "You want to ask my brother to help?"

Gu Jinshui nodded and said, "Yes, but it doesn't have to be him. We just need someone with good skills who is reliable."

That's my brother.

An Yi wasn't too opposed to it, and even thought it wasn't a bad thing. His brother was an unemployed bum who did nothing all day. Giving him something to do would at least allow him to earn some money, so he wouldn't have to steal the fake goods he made to deceive people again.

An Yi brings An Xin.

An Xin was the kind of person who was easy to talk to if he had money, and seeing that Gu Jinshui offered a lot of money, he agreed.

Gu Jinshui led him to the Guesthouse where Song Jianshe and the others were staying, pointed at them, and said, "All you have to do is keep an eye on them these next few days and see what they're up to."

"Watching them day and night?"

An Xin countered with a question. He was wearing a woolen hat and a cotton-padded jacket, and at first glance, no one except acquaintances would recognize him.

Gu Jinshui nodded, took out twenty yuan and gave it to him, "Keep an eye on things, and tell me if anything seems off. We'll be done when you find something wrong."

"That's it."

With the money in hand, I An Xin and readily agreed.

Shanhu didn't quite understand what Gu Jinshui was doing, but he wouldn't ask. He Fei, however, was a very curious person and always wanted to find out what he didn't know.

"Shouldn't you have someone come with us to keep an eye on Tom? Why are you keeping an eye on Song Jianshe? They're no longer relevant now."

You don't understand.

Gu Jinshui ignored him, put his hands in his pockets, and walked towards the Xi'an Hotel.

He Fei chuckled and said, "Isn't that obvious? If I knew, why would I be asking?"

Gu Jinshui was getting annoyed. He wondered where this chubby kid got so much to say all day long. "We were robbed of our prize earlier, don't you want revenge?"

"I want to, but..." He Fei's eyes widened, he pointed at Gu Jinshui, and stopped in his tracks. "You don't mean to smash their bricks, do you?"

Gu Jinshui: "..."

He stopped and looked at He Fei with a puzzled expression. "Hey, what kind of person do you take me for? Do you think I'm the kind of person who would just throw bricks at people?"

The Shanhu standing nearby fell silent.

He Fei glanced at Shanhu, then at Gu Jinshui, as if to say, "You'll see for yourself."

"Fine, even if I wanted to criticize them, they're not qualified." Gu Jinshui turned his head, nonchalantly. "I asked An Xin to go with them because I felt something was off about them. My brother-in-law, to put it nicely, is greedy; to put it bluntly, he's obsessed with money. That old house was already bought by someone, and then he suddenly came over and said he wanted to stay there for a few days. Don't you think that's strange?"

He Fei exclaimed, "Just for this?"

"Isn't this enough?"

Gu Jinshui retorted, "That old house isn't their ancestral home. This is their first time in Xi'an. Why would they stay in the old house instead of a perfectly good Guesthouse? The old house has its water and electricity cut off right now."

"Hey, you know what, now that you mention it, something doesn't seem quite right to me."

He Fei scratched his head.

Gu Jinshui stopped and gestured with his chin towards the front, "Alright, forget about whether this is right or wrong, go upstairs and find the person, see if they're there."

He Fei glanced at the sign; they had arrived at the Xi'an Bell Tower Hotel.

He Fei had been here before, so he went in familiarly and called the front desk to ask for Tom's room number. Gu Jinshui and the others waited outside for a while before He Fei came out and said, "He's in his room, let's go up."

Gu Jinshui then led Shanhu inside.

Shanhu carefully surveyed the restaurant. He had thought the Guesthouse was already quite nice, but this restaurant was even more beautiful and grand. He noticed that the people coming and going were all dressed in smart suits, and there were quite a few blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners speaking gibberish. Shanhu seemed to find it all quite novel.

Tom lived on the top floor, and someone even escorted them to their room.

The door opened, and a man in a suit stood in the doorway, looking them up and down.

"George, let them in, they're my friends." A mature and elegant voice came from the sofa, while the television in the room was playing Huo Yuanjia.

Gu Jinshui and He Fei inside and met the Overseas Chinese named Tom for the first time.

The old man was wearing a blue double-breasted suit, a gold ring on his finger, and his gray hair was neatly combed. When he saw Gu Jinshui and Shanhu, he was somewhat surprised, "Who are these two?"

"This is my brother."

He Fei put on a fawning smile, "They all want to meet you, sir."

"Really? That's my pleasure." Tom extended his hand.

Gu Jinshui shook hands with him and greeted him in English. Tom, without changing his expression, smiled and replied in English.

He patted Gu Jinshui's hand and said, "Young man, your English is pretty good, but your accent is a bit heavy. You can tell you're China."

"I can't tell your accent at all," Gu Jinshui said with a smile. "My family also knows an Overseas Chinese, and your accent is exactly the same as his."

Haha, really?

Tom smiled and looked at He Fei, "Hey He, what brings you here?"

A knowing glint flashed in Gu Jinshui's eyes, and he stepped aside.

He Fei hurriedly pulled a jade safety buckle from his pocket. "Sir, what do you think of its quality?"

Tom took it, examined it carefully, a hint of delight flashing in his eyes, but he feigned composure. "Good quality, not bad for playing with."

"Hey, only your Old Master would be willing to take it for a spin. For people like us, we'd treat something like a family heirloom."

He Fei sighed, noting that he had put on a very convincing act and had even carefully retrieved the safety buckle.

Tom's eyes were practically glued to the safety amulet, but he still had to pretend, "This thing is a bit inferior. It's not Imperial Green. A full-color bright green would be alright, though. I'd like to buy one for my grandson to wear for good luck."

"You have a very good eye; this is definitely Zhengyang Green."

He Fei laughed and said, "But I'm not willing to give it away. I want to save it for my future son."

Tom became a little anxious upon hearing this.

Such a fine jadeite safety buckle would be worth at least tens of thousands of dollars in Hong Kong!

If he could miss out on such a good deal, he would have come all the way to the mainland for nothing.

Tom's eyes lit up, and he chuckled, "Little He, we're such a close family now, I'll treat your future son like my own nephew. When you have children, I'll give them a big red envelope and help them buy a house. How about you share some of that with me?"

"This..."

He Fei hesitated for a moment.

Seeing this, Gu Jinshui spoke up, "He Fei, just give it to Old Master Tang. After all, the Lin Family still has some elders, doesn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Tom's expression changed slightly. He twirled his gold ring and asked casually, "What? Does the Lin Family also deal in jade?"

"Yes, of course there is!"

He Fei said, "I bought these things from them. The Lin Family has been around here for generations. The good stuff their ancestors have accumulated is far more than this. I used to think their antiques were good enough, but after seeing those jadeite pieces recently, I realized there's always something better, especially in the last few years..."

He Fei winked, his meaning quite clear.

Tom immediately realized what was happening.

It turns out the Lin Family had kept something from him, actually reserving such a valuable item.

He immediately burst into hearty laughter and said, "The Lin Family is being unfair! They didn't even leave me such good stuff."

He Fei laughed and said, "You can't blame the Lin Family for that. Their goods already have owners; they were reserved a long time ago."

He Fei looked at the safety amulet in his hand, and said reluctantly, "If you want it, I can give it to you. You can pay whatever price you want."

"No problem, no problem."

Tom looked at the bodyguard. "George, go into the suite and get some money."

He glanced at the safety amulet in He Fei's hand, feeling an itch in his heart, like ants crawling over him. If he didn't know about this, he might have let the Lin Family off the hook.

Knowing this, how could Tom possibly miss such an opportunity to get something for nothing?

It takes some effort to transport antiques out of the country, but jade artifacts are different. These things are small and expensive; you can exchange them in Hong Kong and suddenly become a millionaire.

The more he thought about Tom, the hotter his heart became.

He pulled He Fei aside and said, "Little He, look how I've treated you!"

"You've been incredibly kind to me, you were so generous with the money you gave me before."

He Fei silently wished Tom and his family a safe journey to Eight Treasures Mountain, but on the surface he was all smiles.

Tom laughed and said, "Okay, then do me a favor, I also want to buy this jade!"

Chapter 76 The Seventy-Sixth Day of Being Eavesdropped On

At dusk.

Lin Wenxiang was talking to someone when his son came in from outside and said, "Dad, they're here."

"You're here?" Lin Wenyuan excitedly stood up from his chair.

"Second brother!"

Lin Wenxiang looked at Lin Wenyuan with displeasure.

Lin Wenyuan had no choice but to patiently sit down.

Lin Wenxiang looked at the man beside him and said, "Brother Wei, I'll have to trouble you with this matter again. That swindler is very cunning and not easy to deal with."

"Don't worry about that. I may not be good at other things, but I'm good at lying." Brother Wei laughed heartily, speaking in a very cheerful manner.

The Lin Bohu brothers kept staring at him, finding it all quite novel and puzzling.

This was their first time meeting this Brother Wei, but they found him to be completely different from the kind of swindler they had imagined. Not only did he have a clear and honest appearance, but he also spoke frankly and generously, and even gave off a subtle feeling of closeness.

Tom and He Fei entered the hall, and as soon as they stepped inside, Tom greeted Lin Wenxiang with a smile, "Brother Lin, I've come at the wrong time, haven't I?"

Lin Wenxiang feigned embarrassment and coughed, "Mr. Tom, what are you saying? I'm very happy you're here, but why didn't you tell us beforehand so we could be prepared?"

As he said this, he gave He Fei a subtle glare.

He Fei shrank back and hid behind the person.

Tom laughed and said, "What's there to prepare? We've known each other for so long and are practically friends now. You're being too formal. Are you hiding something from me? I heard from Xiao He that your family still has some good stuff saved up."