Sail across the sea

Chapter 540 There's definitely something wrong with this.
There was no phone in the meeting room, so Bob called over a staff member and asked him to take Xu Dan to the office next door to make a call.

After a while, Xu Dan returned and reported to Gao Fan that Siward had indeed asked Xiao Pei for money, amounting to several thousand yuan, though Xiao Pei herself couldn't remember the exact amount.

Sivard asked Shawpe for money because he felt he was losing out on the dollars he was carrying at customs, so he suggested exchanging them with Shawpe instead.

"Exchanged? He gave the US dollars to Xiao Pei?" Gao Fan asked.

Xu Dan nodded: "Xiao Pei said that Siward gave her $2000 on their first date."

"Where's the money?"

"Xiao Pei said it's still in her hands."

Gao Fan turned to look at Bob; the result was quite different from what Bob had said. The current exchange rate between the US dollar and the Chinese yuan was 5.5, meaning $2000 was equivalent to over 1 yuan. Sivard had given Chaupe $2000, but only received a few thousand yuan in return—this didn't seem like a scam at all.

Bob was starting to lose face. He'd been putting on an act for so long, turning a one-page survey result into several slides. If the final result turned out to be a misunderstanding, he'd be incredibly embarrassed.

However, he was confident in the investigation results provided by the company. As a seasoned investment firm, if they could make a mistake in such a routine credit investigation, their legal department should just be fired.

He turned to Xu Dan and asked, "Dandan, have you asked Ms. Xiao where Siward is now?"

It wasn't that Bob was trying to take advantage of Xu Dan, but rather that their relationship was close enough that if they continued to address each other as "Mr." or "Ms.", everyone would feel awkward. Nowadays, people close to Gao Fan address Bob by his first name, and Bob even remembers their nicknames or pet names. For example, he always calls Ning Mo "Fatty," which everyone finds appropriate.

Xu Dan replied, "I asked, and Xiao Pei said that Siward has been in Ruizhang recently, saying that there is a cooperative project being discussed there."

Bob made a quick decision: "Let's go see Ms. Shaw first, and then confront that Siward. I'm confident in my investigation; I think there's definitely something wrong with this."

Gao Fan had no objection to this. It wasn't that he had any confidence in the legal department of the Hachi Group, but rather that he was instinctively hostile to any white pig that dared to dig up his own cabbages. Therefore, he selectively believed the investigation results provided by Bob.

As for whether it's appropriate to bring Bob to meet Shawpe, that's a question that doesn't need to be considered. Shawpe would certainly be willing to meet a rich American second-generation like Bob. With Bob protecting her, she wouldn't have to worry about being tricked by Sheivad into going to America and being sold off, right?
The three of them went out and hailed a taxi to the Foreign Trade Hall. Gao Fan and Bob didn't go upstairs; instead, they asked Xu Dan to go up and call Xiao Pei down.

Xiao Pei was somewhat surprised to see Gao Fan and Bob. She had heard of Bob from Xu Dan, but had never met him directly. She first nodded to Bob in greeting, then turned to Gao Fan and asked, "Gao Fan, what happened?"

Gao Fan pointed to Bob and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Bob Hatch, the representative of the American Hatch Investment Group in China. He is a good friend of mine who has been working with me for ten years. A few days ago, Dandan told me about Mr. Siward. I asked Bob to look into the situation in the United States. Bob said he would like to meet with Siward."

Xiao Pei was slightly embarrassed. Although she had asked Xu Dan to convey this message to Gao Fan, it was still awkward for them to bring it up in person. She smiled at Bob again and said in English, "Thank you, Mr. Hatch. Regarding Siward, I need to ask him first. He said he's negotiating a rather large business deal in Sweecheon and doesn't want to be disturbed easily, so..."

Her English was a little broken, and before she could finish speaking, Bob interrupted her in fluent Chinese, saying, "Ms. Xiao, you don't need to be so polite. I'm a good friend of Gao Fan's, and I'm also quite familiar with Ms. Dan Dan. You can just call me Bob. I heard that Siward gave you $2000. Do you still have that money?" Xiao Pei glanced at Xu Dan, seemingly somewhat displeased that Xu Dan had revealed this matter. However, she had indeed asked Xu Dan for help before, so she couldn't blame Xu Dan for anything. She nodded to Bob and said, "Yes, that's right. That money is still with me."

"May I take a look?" Bob asked.

“What, you mean…” Xiao Pei’s face suddenly turned pale.

She's actually a very quick-witted person and quite familiar with various conspiracy theories. Previously, she was simply misled by the American aura surrounding Siward and instinctively believed everything he said.

When Bob asked to see the dollars in her hand, she couldn't help but understand his implication. All the doubts she had about her relationship with Siward flooded her mind, making her somewhat dazed.

“In…in my dorm room,” Xiao Pei stammered.

Xiao Pei's single staff dormitory was located in the courtyard of the Foreign Trade Bureau. Several people followed Xiao Pei to her dormitory. Upon entering, Xiao Pei forced a smile and said something polite like, "The dormitory is too messy." Then she pulled a leather suitcase from under the bed, took out a key, unlocked it, and took out a small stack of green US dollars.

Before even handing the US dollars to Bob, Shawpei already sensed something was wrong.

She works in foreign trade and has handled US dollars regularly. The US dollars that Siward gave her were flawless in appearance, but the texture was indeed somewhat strange.

Previously, she had never doubted the authenticity of these US dollars. Even when she felt that the dollars were a little strange, she tried to think positively. For example, she had only ever handled old US dollars in the past, while these were new bills, and the texture of new bills was naturally different.

But now, influenced by Bob's suggestion, she felt something was very wrong when she touched the bills again.

If these US dollars are counterfeit, then...

Xiao Pei dared not think any further.

With trembling hands, he handed the dollar bill to Bob. Bob took it, rubbed it briefly in his hands, and said decisively:
"This is counterfeit money!"

"Counterfeit money!" Xu Dan exclaimed, then covered her mouth with her hand and looked at Xiao Pei with a mixture of emotions in her eyes.

Gao Fan sighed softly, took the US dollars from Bob's hand, rubbed them together, and then said softly, "These US dollars do look a bit fake, but whether they're counterfeit or not, we should have the bank authenticate them. Xiao Pei, we'd like to see Siward first, what do you think?"

Xiao Pei nodded blankly, tears already streaming down her cheeks.

(End of this chapter)