Chapter 104: Way Too Tempting For A Man’s Willpower
Cao Weida fiddled with the Browning in his hand, looking at the four people squatting trembling on the ground, walked forward, slapped Tong Mazi across the face, and said coldly:
“This old man just wants to have a little chat with you, what are you gonna do about it.”
Tong Mazi, slapped across the face, flushed red with anger, gritted his teeth and said: “If you’re a real man, put the gun down, we’ll go one-on-one, relying on a gun doesn’t count for shit!”
“Damn it, still talking back?!” Cao Weida laughed, you really aren’t afraid to die, huh.
He drew a wooden stick from the side, eyes cold, and smashed down with one strike.
Whoosh~~
The stick whistled through the air, clanging loudly as it smashed onto his head.
Bang!!
A muffled thud, then stars immediately appeared before his eyes, Tong Mazi didn’t even groan, collapsing straight to the ground.
“Damn it, this old man is a soldier, you’re a bandit, you want me to talk jianghu rules with you? Idiot.” Cursing under his breath, he threw the wooden stick broken in two onto the ground, gaze shifting to the other three,
“What about you guys, wanna talk jianghu rules with me too?”
“No no.” The three jumped in fright, immediately shrinking like turtles, heads shaking like rattles, afraid that answering too late would get them beaten like Tong Mazi.
“Hey, you there.” Cao Weida looked toward the neighbor who had stood at a distance to watch the excitement after hearing the commotion, “One of you go make a telephone call to report to the police, say it’s me Cao Weida here, tell them to hurry and send someone over.”
A long while later, a flurry of hurried footsteps came from the hutong.
“Make way, everybody make way, patrolmen on duty, clear out!”
Little Ear led his brothers rushing over quickly, dispersed the crowd of onlookers, then saw the furniture on the cart and the four people—three squatting, one lying on the ground—glanced at the unscathed Cao Weida, and Little Ear immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
“Big Brother Cao, what happened?”
Cao Weida briefly recounted what had happened.
Upon hearing it was Tong Mazi, Little Ear immediately flipped him over, couldn’t help but grin, “Well well, it’s really this bastard, got some courage huh, we’ve looked for him several times before and couldn’t find him, I thought he’d run out of the outer second district, didn’t expect he’d still dare hide here and commit a crime here.”
“Come on, tie them up for me!”
Right, tie them up with rope.
Handcuffs were available early on, but the standard issue official gear wasn’t widespread, only used generally in more formal situations.
Grassroots patrolmen generally used rope, easy to carry, low cost, and quite versatile, so it became a common tool.
“Big Brother Cao, what about this furniture?”
Cao Weida thought for a moment, then said uninterestedly: “Take it all back, it’s not worth much anyway.”
In a low voice: “This is the place where Fu Decheng’s mistress lives, there should be quite a bit of money hidden here, take your brothers and carefully search inside the room again, once you find the ‘stolen goods’, take it all away.”
“Also, they have another accomplice who followed the master of the house, probably to prevent the woman from coming back early and to stall for time, send someone to grab him for me.”
“Got it!” Little Ear immediately told several men to stop, “Don’t tie them up yet, you three, go, put the furniture back exactly as it was for me! Whoever dares slack off, this old man will beat him to death!”
The three didn’t dare utter half a word of complaint, could only pull long faces and carry the things back piece by piece, with patrolmen watching the whole time beside them, they didn’t dare run and couldn’t get away anyway.
In their hearts, they had already cursed Tong Mazi’s eighteen generations of ancestors, damn it, this old man really fell for your bullshit!
This old man followed you to live good days, but who would’ve thought we’d end up like scattered dogs.
We could’ve just run, but you had to tell me to make a fortune before running!
And make a fortune from the previous boss Master Fu’s mistress!
This old man knew it, not following jianghu ethics, we’re definitely gonna be out of luck!
Before long, Little Ear rushed out from inside the room, ran to Cao Weida, and excitedly said in his ear: “Big Brother Cao, found it!”
“This bastard Fu Decheng is cunning enough, actually built another layer of wall outside the wall, put three wooden chests inside, full of gold bars! Didn’t count exactly how many, but definitely a lot! Silver dollars about a hundred bundles too!”
Silver dollars generally a hundred to a bundle, a hundred bundles, wouldn’t that be ten thousand silver dollars?
This haul was a windfall!
“Good job, have your brothers find a few sacks, call a rickshaw over, pack all this up and load it onto the rickshaw, I’ll take it directly later, escort Tong Mazi and them back to the police station for me, no outsiders allowed near them, wait till I get there.”
“I’ll go handle it right now!”
Before long, the called rickshaw was stuffed full of sacks, not even a place to sit.
After giving Little Ear some instructions, Cao Weida directly followed the rickshaw on foot to Caomao Hutong.
After Cao Weida left, Little Ear personally led the team, escorting the five criminals in grand style toward the police station.
Quite the spectacle, drawing curious gazes from many along the way.
On the other side, after the rickshaw arrived at Caomao Hutong, Xiangzi who had been sitting at the entrance waiting at any moment for Xinghong’s orders immediately ran over.
“Eh? Xiangzi?” The rickshaw puller said in surprise.
Xiangzi turned his head, grinned and said: “It’s Big Brother Zhu, how are you, long time no see.”
“Sure is, heard before you got a monthly contract, turns out, you’re on monthly contract with Cao Ye?”
“Yeah, Cao Ye thought well of me and took my monthly,” Xiangzi nodded with a silly grin, saw Cao Weida about to move things, immediately stepped forward to stop him:
“Master, take it easy, let me do it.”
Xiangzi stopped Cao Weida from doing it himself, eagerly carried the sacks down.
The rickshaw puller surnamed Zhu on the side also helped carry, received a cigarette from Cao Weida, sniffed it under his nose, stuck it in his mouth but didn’t light it.
Cao Weida lit one for himself, laughed and cursed: “You kid, didn’t you say at first, if I take your monthly, you don’t do other jobs.”
Xiangzi while carrying, grinned sillily: “Master, ever since you took me on monthly to pull your cart, it’s been idle every day with nothing to do, only occasionally take a fare, getting that much money every month, if I don’t do a bit more, I’ll feel uneasy taking the monthly pay.”
“You’re a righteous master, I Xiangzi can’t let others poke at my backbone.”
Hearing this, envy flashed in the eyes of the rickshaw puller surnamed Zhu, he and Xiangzi were fairly familiar, both used to pull jobs for Master Liu Si at the Renhe cart factory before.
Now seeing him again, Xiangzi’s skin was clearly much fairer, before he was all solid muscle but a bit skinny, now he’d bulked up a whole circle.
All this showed without a doubt that Xiangzi was living quite well here.
Not resenting poverty but inequality, here we are day to day not knowing tomorrow, even getting sick is a luxury, why’d you suddenly start living so cushy?
He couldn’t help feeling jealous inside, half-jokingly said: “Our boss Master Liu Si’s treasure daughter has had quite the temper since you left, keeps asking about your news, I reckon she has a thing for you.”
“Master Liu Si has just the one daughter, spoils her rotten, the future cart business will all be hers, Xiangzi, opportunity doesn’t wait, if you’re interested, I’ll go tell the miss for you?”
“Yo, Xiangzi, didn’t expect it, you’re pretty popular huh, even the boss’s daughter wants to marry you, not bad kid, if you agree, won’t you hit life’s peak in one go!” Hearing this, Cao Weida looked shocked, but inside he was grinning ear to ear.
He’d happened to read the novel Camel Xiangzi, and remembered the description of Master Liu Si’s daughter Hu Niu’er.
Round eyes, short thick eyebrows, arched, showing seductive charm and domineering on a face caked with weird powder.
Big nose, square mouth, a pair of big tiger teeth, mouth open like a tiger, giving a fierce feeling.
Dark skin, face black-red like withered black leaves, complexion like overcooked pig liver, even with powder it looked extremely weird.
Tall stature, like a big black tower, tall and sturdy, fat build, belly sticking out some, neck almost as thick as her head, at a glance giving a heavy, solid feeling.
Head not that big, but always shaved shiny, like a man’s.
Just this image, Cao Weida couldn’t even imagine how to get it on at night, really too challenging for a man’s willpower.
Zhu the rickshaw puller was delighted inside, immediately chimed in: “Exactly, Xiangzi, Master Liu Si has just the one daughter, if you marry her, won’t all Master Liu Si’s property be yours later, then you Xiangzi won’t be called Xiangzi anymore, gotta call you master!”
“A good thing others dream of, what are you hesitating for, if it were me, I’d have pounced already!”
“No no, I don’t have that good fortune, Big Brother Zhu don’t joke, I think doing monthly cart for the master now is pretty good, won’t climb that high branch.”
Cao Weida could only rely on imagination to describe, but he saw her often, Master Liu Si’s daughter at home, he had no blessing to enjoy.
Not to mention that off-putting outward image, just her shrewish and shrewd personality, he avoided her like the plague.
Xiangzi knew Hu Niu’er had a thing for him, but at the same time looked down on him from the heart, corners of her mouth always with a cold sneer, eyes showing disdain yet urgent, both vulgar and fierce, just thinking of facing such a wife every day made him shiver uncontrollably.
Didn’t dare think further, he hurriedly changed the subject, “Master, where to put these sacks?”
Cao Weida didn’t tease further,
“Carry to the study room and put anywhere.”
“Got it, I’ll carry now.” Xiangzi immediately picked up a sack and ran into the courtyard.
Had to say, people these days could endure hardship and had strength, that sack just now was full of gold and silver dollars, not light at all.
Xinghong came out hearing the commotion, saw Xiangzi busily carrying the sacks, doubt flashed in her eyes, but she didn’t say much.
When alone with two people, she could ask out of curiosity a couple questions, but with outsiders present, as a woman, she absolutely wouldn’t be chatty.
After the things were unloaded, Cao Weida paid the rickshaw puller surnamed Zhu upfront, Zhu seeing Xiangzi didn’t take the bait, could only unwillingly take the money and go.
