Chapter 234: Not Thinking Of Running? Yeah Right!
In the past, Bannerman descendants were basically all wastrels. It was difficult to expect them to be skilled in both literary and martial arts, but if you asked them to listen to opera, raise birds, fight crickets, or play with pigeon whistles, they were all proficient.
E Ye used to be a wastrel, and Fan Wu Ye’s father was also a wastrel. They were both Beiping wastrels from the same era, so naturally they interacted a lot.
Upon hearing this, Fan Wu Ye chuckled and performed a junior’s bow, saying, “E Ye, Fan Wu is here to pay his respects to you.”
He was not of the same generation as E Ye, so it was naturally impossible for them to socialize. Although his father knew E Ye, they weren’t close friends.
If Cao Weida hadn’t brought him to the door, he would have just nodded politely in greeting if he saw him on the street.
However, since he had come this far, he naturally couldn’t lose his manners.
“Get up, get up quickly. I, your E Ye, don’t adhere to the old rules anymore,” he said. Though he said this, the smile on his face showed that E Ye was quite happy.
The counterfeiter standing nearby, seeing that they knew each other, immediately felt his hanging heart relax considerably. His face instantly broke into a smile: “So you’re a friend of E Ye’s? Please, come in, come in.”
He had been truly startled just now, thinking they were looking for him.
As the saying goes, if you haven’t done anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.
But if you have done something wrong, then of course you would be afraid.
He was a counterfeiter, and he most feared being targeted by someone he had cheated.
Cao Weida gave him a pointed look, walked in with a light chuckle, and then closed the door.
E Ye suitably turned his gaze to him, “Fan Wu, who is this??”
“E Ye, allow me to introduce you. This is Cao Weida, my brother-in-law!” As he introduced him, Fan Wu Ye couldn’t help but puff out his chest with considerable pride.
“You’re Patrol Officer Cao from the Police Station?!” Before E Ye could speak, the counterfeiter’s heart pounded in shock, and he immediately became flustered.
He subtly groped his way towards the door, ready to bolt at any moment.
Don’t think that the police don’t deal with antique counterfeiting these days; on the contrary, the Police Station strictly cracks down on antique counterfeiting.
It’s not for any other reason than that antique counterfeiting is commercial fraud!
Actually, this isn’t the main point; the key is that a large portion of these fake antiques flows into the hands of international antique dealers!
Not all of those international antique dealers are knowledgeable about China, nor are they all Lord Lu. After spending a lot of money, they buy a fake item. Can you say those international antique dealers won’t be angry?
When ‘international friends’ get angry, they naturally put pressure on the government, and when the government is under pressure, the inspection intensity naturally increases.
He was engaged in illegal business and paid the most attention to news from the Police Station.
However, he hadn’t seen Cao Weida before, so he didn’t recognize him just now.
But as soon as Fan Wu Ye uttered the words ‘Cao Weida’, he immediately thought of Master Cao from the Police Station!
And now, Master Cao, the well-known Patrol Officer Cao in Beiping’s Outer Fifth District, suddenly stood before him. If his heart wasn’t in a panic, it would be supernatural!
You must know, his courtyard is filled with a large pile of fake goods!
This is a case of being caught red-handed!!
How could he not panic!
As for being reluctant to part with the fake antiques painstakingly made in his courtyard, forget it. How can fake antiques be worth more than one’s life!
His movements naturally didn’t escape Cao Weida’s eyes. He smiled playfully and said lightly, “Don’t even think about running. If you dare to run, believe it or not, I’ll drag you back and throw you in the interrogation room to ‘enjoy myself’?”
The counterfeiter immediately stopped moving, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying, and stammered, “Master Cao, you’re joking. I wasn’t thinking of running…”
As if!!
In his heart, he really wanted to run!
If it were possible, he truly wished he could run as far away as possible!
He was now deeply blaming his mother in his heart, wondering why she hadn’t given him more legs!
Ahhhh!
Did I not check the almanac before going out today!
How could I have been noticed by him, and he followed me all the way here!!
Wuwuwu~~ I don’t want to go to jail!
“It’s fine if you don’t want to run. Come, be good, step back,” Cao Weida instructed with a smile.
The counterfeiter was on the verge of tears but dared not disobey.
Because the muzzle of a Browning was pointed at his head.
E Ye’s previously smiling face froze instantly when he saw this scene. He jumped away from the counterfeiter with a great leap and shouted,
“This boss, let me make it clear to you, I met this person for the first time today, I’m not familiar with him!!”
Not familiar?!
You say you’re not familiar, and that’s it?!
How is that possible!
Were my ten silver dollars wasted for nothing?!
He immediately retorted, “Master Cao, he’s lying! I’m very familiar with him. If you don’t believe me, search his pockets. There are ten silver dollars in there, and I gave them to him personally!”
E Ye’s scalp instantly exploded. Damn it, you scoundrel, you really had no good intentions!
He quickly tried to explain, “Boss, don’t listen to him. I do have ten silver dollars in my pocket, but that’s mine, what does it have to do with him!”
“Has nothing to do with me?” The counterfeiter snorted coldly. Today, he was determined to tie E Ye to himself. He immediately said,
“Master Cao, one of those ten silver dollars has a cross drawn on it. If you don’t believe me, ask him to take it out and look!”
From their recent conversation, he could confirm that E Ye knew the one who called himself Fan Wu, and Cao Weida was Fan Wu’s brother-in-law!
With this connection, he was absolutely, certainly, and definitely going to tie himself to E Ye!
Perhaps, considering this connection, Master Cao would let him off?
It could be said that after assuming Cao Weida had come to arrest him, E Ye was his only lifeline, and he would never let go!
E Ye, who heard this, was dumbfounded. This bastard was playing this game with him!
He hastily took out the silver dollars and looked. As expected, one of them had a cross drawn on it.
Well, the evidence was conclusive!
Now, E Ye also felt uneasy. He guiltily glanced at Cao Weida, and anxiously thought, “This is bad. Will this boss, who isn’t very old, arrest me too as an accomplice of the counterfeiter?”
Seeing that Cao Weida remained silent, just looking at them with a half-smile, without making any further moves, Fan Wu Ye became a bit confused:
“Cao’er, what are you planning to do?”
Before getting into the rickshaw, judging from Cao Weida’s words, he didn’t seem to plan on bringing the counterfeiter to justice.
But now he wasn’t making any moves, so what was he here for?
To his surprise, Cao Weida put away his gun and said with a laugh, “Alright, I never said I was here to arrest you guys, why are you so panicked?”
“Not here to arrest us?” Now, the counterfeiter was also a bit bewildered. He tentatively asked, “Then Master Cao, are you here to buy antiques?”
“Am I going to eat these fake goods in your courtyard?” Cao Weida rolled his eyes, waved his hand, strolled around, sat down on a chair in the middle of the courtyard, and asked:
“Which dynasty is this chair imitating?”
The counterfeiter dared not refuse, and with a fawning smile, bowed and said, “It’s imitating a Song Dynasty Zitan.”
“Oh, even from the Great Song Dynasty. Come, Fifth Brother, take a look, can you tell anything?”
Cao Weida didn’t have an eye for appraising antiques, but he thought the chair was quite beautiful. Even if it wasn’t an antique, just its craftsmanship meant this chair should be worth something.
Fan Wu Ye, hearing the call, immediately walked up and examined the chair carefully. After a moment, he stood up and shook his head, “Too fake, too new. It lacks historical depth. Forget about professionals, even a novice like me can see through it at a glance.”
Upon hearing this, Cao Weida immediately showed a mocking smile, “This one isn’t good either. I say… Right, what’s your name again?”
The counterfeiter gave a fawning smile, “Master Cao, your humble servant is Lan Gui. Others call me Rotten Ghost, you can just call me that.”
“Rotten Ghost? What kind of nickname is that?” Cao Weida pouted disdainfully. He crossed his legs, took out a cigarette, lit it, and offered another one, “Want a smoke?”
“No, no, you don’t have to. You smoke…”
“Don’t be polite, take it if I give it to you.” Before he could refuse, Cao Weida directly placed it in his hand, and then gave the rest to Fan Wu Ye, “E Ye, you know him, you two can chat freely.”
Fan Wu Ye didn’t stand on ceremony; after all, he was his brother-in-law, why be so formal.
Although, the brother of a concubine wasn’t considered such a relationship according to old etiquette.
Cao Weida lit his cigarette, leaned back lazily in the chair, and said playfully, “I say, Rotten Ghost, can you make a living just with this craftsmanship? Aren’t you afraid of being beaten to death?”
Lan Gui smiled awkwardly, not knowing how to answer.
If he said his craftsmanship was poor, it would be an insult, but if he said it wasn’t, he was afraid the other person was trying to trick him into revealing more.
Seeing his struggle, Cao Weida chuckled lightly, “Don’t worry, I told you, I’m not here to arrest you.”
“Moreover, you make fake goods, and you don’t cheat ordinary people anyway, so I’m too lazy to bother with your business.”
He was speaking his mind. The Police Station did strictly regulate the counterfeiting of antiques, but he was genuinely too lazy to deal with it.
Generally, those who buy antiques are the wealthy and powerful, and most of these people are not good people. Why should he stand up for them?
He was even considering getting involved himself.
“You really aren’t planning to arrest me?” Lan Gui cautiously observed Cao Weida’s expression, secretly trying to gauge the truthfulness of his words.
Cao Weida rolled his eyes and said irritably, “Isn’t that obvious? If I really wanted to deal with you, with these fake antiques you have here, do you think you could have escaped?”
“Am I that foolish to waste my time here just to mess with you? My time is very precious, alright.”
Seeing that he didn’t seem to be faking, Lan Gui felt a huge sense of relief. As long as he wasn’t here to arrest him, that was good enough!
“Then what are you here for today??”
“Don’t worry about why I’m here today for now. First, answer me, are all the things you make, for example, this chair,” he patted the back of the chair, quite disdainfully,
“Answer me first, are your creations all at this level? This one isn’t good either! No wonder you’re dressed so shabbily!”
“…” Lan Gui was immediately indignant. Knowing that the other person wasn’t here to arrest him, his courage grew.
“…”
