Release that Man

After getting the information from the auntie, and after concluding all the news that he they had gotten, Han Chu picked out several useful details. First, the people at Nature Village were not newcomers, and they had been living there for a very long time already. This village had existed for decades—it had probably been there when the country gained its independence. Therefore, as rich as the money laundering organization was, they would not have installed their agents in China since back then.

Secondly, even though Nature Village was an old village, it still had its fair share of secrets. After all these years, it should be common for people from the nearby villages to marry into it, so there should have been countless such relationships bridging Nature Village to other villages. Such interactions should have been common. However, not one girl from Nature Village had married out of the village before. The villagers there normally married within the same village, or they found outsiders who appeared to have dropped from the sky and shared the same reluctance to interact with other people. Therefore, even after all those years, the surrounding villages knew very little about Nature Village.

“The locals are either spies sent by the organization or are at least in some kind of working relationship with the organization.” Han Chu frowned to think. And then he turned to ask for Ye Shuang’s opinion. “Which do you think is more possible?”

Ye Shuang gave it some serious thought. “I think the possibility of them being a local gang is higher.”

“Then they’re cooperating with the organization.” Han Chu nodded. “There is such a possibility.”

Reaching a consensus, Han Chu turned the steering wheel and headed away from the previous route. Ye Shuang looked at the familiar scenery that flew past the window, and she asked in shock, “Brother Han, where are we going?”

“We’re going back to Nature Village.”

Ye Shuang was shocked. After she calmed down, she tried to persuade him against it. “It’s like this, we’ve just been there at around noon, and now that we’re returning almost right after lunch. They are already paying outsiders a lot of attention. Even if they did, I believe they will still remember us, since we were there not too long ago.”

Han Chu turned his eyes slowly toward Ye Shuang. “What do you know about a local gang’s product chain?”

Don’t know anything. She was not in this business, so why would she know anything about how a gang gathered its money? Of course, she had encountered some through novels and TV shows, but all of them had disclaimers that ‘all similarities to real life are merely coincidences’. To put it plainly, about half of those were fictional, so could she still believe them?

Ye Shuang looked at Han Chu with a speechless expression. The latter sighed under his breath and shook his head. “You’ve worked with Su Zheng for too long, and lockpicking is the only thing you’ve learned from her? Even for these unorthodox careers, each of them has their own rules. If you wish to seek convenience through them, sometimes, you have no choice but to try to mingle into their circle in the shortest amount of time, or at least, you have to understand them enough to know where to hit so that they will crumble easily…”

“My plan is to work lazily for a few more years, then find a good man to marry, and excuse myself from this kind of life,” Ye Shuang said with honesty.

This time, it was Han Chu’s turn to be stumped. It was the first time that he had heard such a lazy proclamation. “In any case, try to think of it this way, to use a company as an analogy, have you encountered a company that only receives one case each time and will only start to find a new case after the current case is over?”

“No.” Ye Shuang scratched her chin. “It’s a business, so of course, they won’t say no to more money.”

Han Chu nodded. “It’s the same theory that’s applied here. A gang has to keep so many people afloat, so it’s impossible for them to just accept one case at a time. Removing the issue of the military arms, Nature Village feels like the base of a gang. So, people who come here have only two purposes—one is to find trouble, and the other is to find money.”

“Brother Han, do you plan to go work for Master Five?” It finally dawned on Ye Shuang. “Prostitution, gambling, drugs, which line of career are we from?”

Han Chu looked at her. “Which one are you familiar with?”

“I’m a good girl,” Ye Shuang quickly said. “I’m not familiar with any of them.”

“Wrong.” Han Chu smiled coldly. “At least you’re good at stealing.”

Oh right, she had forgotten that she had learned that skill. Han Chu had not left the vicinity of Nature Village, so it did not take long for him to return to the place. Plus, this time, he did not need to slow down to observe the surrounding.

After he entered Nature Village the second time, he felt several hidden glances coming from around them. The villagers were still chatting and wandering aimlessly around the village. They looked free, but obviously, each of them had been given an area to patrol. They looked like they were walking around aimlessly, but it was clear that they would not wander into another person’s territory.

Han Chu parked the car in the same spot as earlier. He led Ye Shuang to a convenience store and ignored the eyes that turned toward them.

There was an auntie who was chewing on sunflower seeds inside the store. Han Chu stood before the counter, knocked on the glass, and said, “I’m here to visit Master Five. Do you mind telling me where he is?”

The auntie spat out the husk and gave Han Chu a once-over. “Master Five is not home. Who are you?”

Before Han Chu answered, she continued in a displeased tone. “You here to buy some stuff? How about a bottle of soda?”

Ye Shuang chuckled. “Auntie, you haven’t even left your seat, yet you know he’s not home? Is Master Five your husband?”

The auntie had an expression of ‘if you’re not here to do business, then I have no time for you’ initially, but once she heard that, her face paled instantly. She roared, “Little girl, what are you talking about‽”

Han Chu’s mouth was still hanging open. He noticed how the situation had changed, so he quickly sighed with helplessness. “Xiao Shuang, stop kidding!”

Then, he used a polite yet detached tone to explain to the auntie, “We’re here on Master Eight’s recommendation. We wish to buy some stuff from Master Five, but we do not know the price here. So, we will need to trouble you to lead the way, auntie.”

The meaning of this was simple. There was no soda in the counter at all, and the question from auntie was most likely a test. Han Chu did not know the password, but he knew Master Eight, so he wished to use his name to get a favor from Master Five…

Master Eight was Su Zheng’s teacher, who had his two fingers cut off. He was quite famous in China’s underground scene, but not everyone would have heard about him. Han Chu did not need them to know him—he only needed them to believe that they came from the same circle.

The auntie’s expression became better after hearing what Han Chu had to say, but she could not resist the urge to glare at Ye Shuang. “A girl shouldn’t run her mouth like that. You’re looking for Master Five? Go to the dojo next door and ask for Xiao San.”

The dojo meant a cards room, or in this culture, it meant a mahjong place. Han Chu gave his thanks and led Ye Shuang away. Soon, they arrived at the dim and dark room swirling with cigarette smoke.

When the two arrive, a young man at the counter was chatting with a villager. He sent the latter away with a smile and turned to the two. “Please come with me, I’ve heard the news. Master Five is upstairs.”