Chapter 264 - 226: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, the Oriole Is Behind

Chapter 264: Chapter 226: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, the Oriole Is Behind

Xu Dongliang found Xu An’s request a bit strange, but then he recalled Anzi mentioning his current shop was too small for his staff. This furniture store must be the new place Anzi had set his sights on.

Investigating someone’s background wasn’t difficult for Xu Dongliang. This was especially true for a born-and-bred local like Mr. He, who had a complex web of connections. A few inquiries were all it would take to piece together a general picture.

Besides, Xu Dongliang knew plenty of scoundrels. They might not be useful for major crises, but for a small task like gathering information, they were perfect. All he had to do was get them together, treat them to a meal and some drinks, and pass out a few packs of cigarettes. As long as it wasn’t anything illegal, they’d handle it without a hitch.

After a satisfying meal and drinks, each man left with two packs of cigarettes tucked away, their faces beaming with delight. One by one, they thumped their chests, promising Xu Dongliang they would take care of it.

Seeing that things were arranged, Xu Dongliang was ready to leave and wait for news. But his butt had barely lifted half a centimeter off the chair when a young man sitting across from him scratched his head and spoke up sheepishly.

"Brother Xu, are you talking about the Mr. He from the furniture store on Zijing Road’s Qianjin Street? The short, stocky guy who’s always acting so high and mighty? Is that him?"

"Hm? That should be him." Xu Dongliang nodded, waiting for the young man to continue.

"My relative took a liking to one of his properties not long ago. It belongs to that same Mr. He. He said his son was going abroad and was a little short on the required proof of funds. He claimed he wouldn’t be selling it so cheap if not to raise cash. Because he only wanted cash, the price he asked was a hundred thousand lower than the market rate..."

"Monkey, where is this house your relative is interested in? Azure Sea Garden?" a chubby young man suddenly interjected.

"Hey, how’d you know? I don’t think I ever mentioned this to you guys!" Monkey looked at the chubby young man, puzzled, then said smugly, "Don’t tell me you were eyeing that house too. You’re too late! My relative already paid the deposit and signed the contract!"

"It’s not that." Hearing Monkey’s words, the chubby young man’s expression turned ugly. He confirmed with Monkey again, "Azure Sea Garden, Apartment 1203, 107 square meters, two bedrooms, two living areas, one kitchen, two bathrooms, two balconies... Is that right?"

"Hey, it’s a perfect match! Not a single detail is wrong, even the apartment number is identical!" At this point, Monkey was still grinning like an idiot.

"My brother also paid a deposit and signed a contract. The deposit was fifty thousand!" The chubby young man’s face was as dark as a thundercloud.

"Impossible!" Monkey cried out in shock. "I saw my relative sign the contract with that Mr. He with my own two eyes!"

"Wait, is that Mr. He’s son named He Shouwu?" While the two were arguing, another person at the table chimed in.

"I think so..." Monkey racked his brain for a moment before giving a noncommittal answer.

"He Shouwu? He already went abroad two months ago!"

The moment he said that, the whole table fell into stunned silence, none more so than Monkey and the chubby young man.

After a few of them pieced together their information, everyone realized something was very wrong. Both Monkey’s and the chubby young man’s relatives had paid a deposit and signed a contract for the exact same apartment. Mr. He’s excuse for the discount was that his son was going abroad, but his son had already left two months ago!

If the group had initially shown up just to freeload a meal and score a couple packs of cigarettes, they were all business now. With their own relatives’ interests on the line, their expressions turned serious. They cut the idle chatter and dispersed, their faces grim.

According to Xu An’s calculations, the earliest Uncle Dongliang could get back to him with information about Mr. He was the next morning. He never imagined that at eight o’clock that very night, Uncle Dongliang would show up at his door, his face dark.

"Uncle Dongliang, what’s wrong? Did you find some leads?" Xu An grabbed a can of beer from the kitchen fridge, pulled the tab with a crisp *CRACK*, and handed it to him.

"Yeah." Uncle Dongliang nodded, took the beer, and took a long swig before speaking. "I found something out. That Mr. He... there’s a problem..."

"You’re telling me that besides me, two other people are negotiating with Mr. He for the furniture store?" Xu An’s eyes grew so wide they looked like they were about to pop out of his head.

Xu An had sensed something was off after getting the call from Mr. He that afternoon, but he’d never imagined this. Mr. He wasn’t just trying to sell the same property to two buyers—he was trying to sell it to three...

"And that’s not all." Uncle Dongliang took another swig of beer and continued, "This Mr. He has three properties in Hai City: two apartments in buildings with elevators and one old family house. All of them are up for sale. As for that old house, he’s actually promised it to two of his own uncles..."

’He even cheats his own family. The man has no conscience!’

As Uncle Dongliang continued his story, Xu An dredged up a hazy memory from his past life.

He seemed to recall one year when he was home for the New Year, the villagers were gathered under the big banyan tree, gossiping. They’d mentioned someone in Hai City being released from prison.

The reason he’d been locked up was because two brothers had bought the same house. Neither was willing to back down, and a conflict erupted. Later, while drinking, the man was goaded by his tablemates and went to confront his brother for an explanation. The more they talked, the angrier they got, until he accidentally inflicted a serious injury on his brother, who died in the hospital a week later...

He thought back carefully. The timing seemed to line up—it had happened in either September or October.

’Cheating his own relatives... He’s a real piece of work.’

Xu An sighed to himself, then asked Uncle Dongliang for more details to get a clearer picture of the furniture store’s situation.

Three people, including himself, were interested in the shop. The other two were at roughly the same stage as he was: unable to produce over a million in cash at once, so they were all trying to negotiate. The prices Mr. He had quoted the other two were 1.46 million and 1.38 million, compared to his own 1.3 million.

’This wasn’t Mr. He giving me preferential treatment. He saw that I was young and inexperienced and was planning to rip me off for all I was worth!’

Whether the other two could successfully secure the land-use certificate was another question. But based on price alone, Xu An was the one with the slimmest chance.

"Uncle Dongliang, did you find out if any of these properties have liens on them? Don’t just check with banks; you need to check with private lenders and financing companies too," Xu An asked urgently, as if a thought had just struck him.

"Two of the properties have liens on them." At this, Uncle Dongliang’s face grew even darker. "Goddamn it, two of the guys’ families went for the same apartment. One paid a fifty-thousand-yuan deposit, the other paid eighty thousand. If you hadn’t brought this up and had me get everyone together for a chat, they would’ve been screwed six ways from Sunday by that bastard He!"

’So the furniture store doesn’t have a lien on it. Does that mean whoever completes the paperwork first gets the property?’

Xu An propped his left elbow in his hand and stroked his chin, a calculating glint in his eyes.

’He now had two choices. The first was to give up and find another suitable shop. The second... was to beat the con man at his own game.’

’No, no, no! I’m a law-abiding citizen. How could I be a crook? This is called turning his own plot against him. It’s the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole lurking behind!’

’The key to Mr. He’s con was his choice of victims. He had to make sure their social circles didn’t overlap to minimize the risk of being found out.’

’But now, he’s shown his hand. Xu An knew exactly what he was up to!’

’The tables had turned. Before, the enemy was in the shadows while he was in the open. Now, the enemy was exposed, and he was the one in the shadows. The roles of attacker and defender had been reversed.’

’Most importantly, this shop had no lien on it! In theory, as long as he could secure the land-use certificate before the other two, the shop would be his! And his ace in the hole for snatching this shop before anyone else... was Uncle Dongliang!’

At some point, Xu An’s gaze fell upon Xu Dongliang, who was sitting in the rocking chair and drinking his beer. The corners of his lips curved into a slight smile.

"Uncle Dongliang, what do you say we... work together... and give this Mr. He a taste of his own medicine? We can get your friends’ money back and, at the same time, secure this shop for me. How about it?"

"What’s the plan?" Xu Dongliang’s head snapped up to look at Xu An.

Xu An leaned in and whispered the plan into Xu Dongliang’s ear. Afterward, he patted him on the back. "Remember, tell your friends not to let on that they know anything. If they’ve already told their families, it’s even more important to keep things quiet. Otherwise, if Mr. He senses something’s wrong and decides to bolt, your two friends will never see their deposit money again!"

"What if he gets desperate and does something crazy?" Xu Dongliang was still worried.

"Don’t worry. Once I have the land-use certificate in hand, I’ll prepare a special ’parting gift’ for him." A cold glint flashed in Xu An’s eyes. ’Scum like him should get what they deserve.’

"Alright." Xu Dongliang drained the rest of his beer, clapped Xu An firmly on the shoulder, and grinned. "I’ll go contact them now. Time to set the trap!"

「Mr. He’s Home」

Pale moonlight streamed through the window, falling upon the living room coffee table and illuminating the otherwise dark room. On the table sat three open containers of braised delicacies, next to several unopened bottles of beer.

Mr. He was sitting at the coffee table, chopsticks in one hand and a beer in the other, heartily feasting on the food.

"This braised food is really something else! I’ll have to go back tomorrow and try their other dishes." After another bite, a look of regret crossed his face. "It’s a real shame, though. I won’t be able to eat such wonderful food anymore after this."

CHOMP... CHOMP...

"I was already perfectly happy finding two suckers. I never expected a little punk like you to come knocking on my door. Seeing that eager look on your face, I almost felt bad turning you down!"

Perhaps it was the alcohol going to his head, but Mr. He suddenly let out a sinister chuckle.

"Once the money for the shop from these three comes through, I’ll go straight to a private lender to cash out. I’ll have the money in three days, and then the world will be my oyster! If I’d known these three morons were so easy to fool, I’d have taken out a loan on the shop ages ago. Then I wouldn’t have to wait three more days and add all this unnecessary risk..."