Sail across the sea

Chapter 541 Time Management Master
According to Xiao Pei, Siward was staying at the Maolin Hotel and was very busy every day, so he didn't allow Xiao Pei to call him. Every time they met, he would call Xiao Pei to arrange the place.

He also forbade Xiao Pei from visiting him at the hotel, because he didn't want his subordinates to find out that he was dating a Chinese girl, which would cause unnecessary speculation.

Regarding the suspected counterfeit US dollars, Xiao Pei added that Siward meant for her to keep them, neither exchanging them nor depositing them in a bank. The reason for not exchanging them was the low exchange rate, making it unprofitable. The reason for not depositing them in a bank was that it would easily attract the attention of relevant authorities, leading to an investigation into the origin of the dollars, which would cause Siward some trouble.

Xiao Pei works in the foreign trade department and knows that foreigners are not allowed to bring large amounts of US dollars into the country according to regulations. Siward must have brought the cash in without telling customs, and such things should not be publicized.

What seemed like a reasonable explanation at first glance now appears riddled with flaws. It was clearly Siward's way of preventing the bank from detecting counterfeit money when Chaupe went to deposit it. It's an open secret these days that foreign visitors and overseas Chinese bring US dollar cash into the country. While there are regulations, they're rarely strict; ordinary people with a few US dollars are hardly worth the "relevant departments'" attention.

The four people arrived at the Maolin Hotel. Upon inquiring at the front desk, they discovered that a Mr. Siward was indeed staying at the hotel, and the registered company was indeed the American Lakenby International Trading Company. However, the person paying the room fee was not Mr. Siward himself, but rather the investment promotion bureau of a certain county in Maolin Province.

In those days, even a foreign-oriented hotel like the Maolin Hotel had extremely rudimentary management regulations. Upon seeing that the person inquiring about the situation was a foreign guest like Bob, the waiter revealed all the details of the guest's situation, and added that Mr. Siward should have gone to dine at the Mirror Garden Restaurant not far away, and that he had seen Mr. Siward heading in that direction when he went out to buy cigarettes.

“He asked me out to dinner... a few times at the Mirror Garden Restaurant,” Xiao Pei said, her lips trembling.

She originally wanted to say that they were having a date there, but now she couldn't say that word anymore; she could only say that they were having dinner together.

She clearly remembered that Siwald had told her he had been very busy these days and didn't get back to the hotel until very late every day. But now, the waiter said he slept until almost noon before going to the restaurant outside for lunch.

He probably didn't eat alone...

The group then left the hotel and headed towards the Mirror Garden Restaurant. A casual inquiry at the front desk revealed that there was indeed a foreigner in a certain private room. Xu Danxin bluntly asked how many people were in the room. The receptionist gave a lewd smile and replied that this foreigner always brought a girl to the private room alone, and he changed girls frequently…

A master of time management!

Gao Fan sneered, found out the location of the private room, and then took the lead and walked towards it. Bob followed closely behind, while Xu Dan practically dragged the limp Xiao Pei along.

Upon arriving at the private room, Gao Fan didn't knock; he simply pushed the door open and went inside.

Sure enough, a man and a woman were cuddling in a way that was inappropriate for children when someone rudely pushed the door open and entered. The woman cried out softly, while the pale-skinned man stood up and shouted rudely, "Who are you? Get out!"

He spoke broken Chinese. Gao Fan also asked in Chinese, "Are you Siward? From Florida?"

"Who are you?" The other person's tone softened noticeably, clearly because Gao Fan had revealed his background, making him think that this person had some significance.

Gao Fan turned around and saw that Xiao Pei had already turned her head and was crying loudly on Xu Dan's shoulder. Gao Fan felt an inexplicable anger surge up in his heart. He took two steps forward and, without saying a word, punched the scumbag hard in the face. He vaguely heard the sound of bones breaking.

"ah!"

The woman who had been in front screamed and took a half step back, wishing she could disappear into a crack in the wall.

Sivad was slightly taken aback, then unleashed a string of American profanities and lunged at Gao Fan. Before he could reach him, a dark shadow flashed before his eyes, and another huge fist landed on his face. It was Bob who had made his move, a genuine American straight punch.

This was the first time Gao Fan had witnessed Bob resorting to violence. Elites like Bob were usually very physically fit. Previously, Bob had boasted to Gao Fan more than once about winning a major prize in a campus boxing tournament while studying at Harvard.

In comparison, Sivad's physique was unremarkable, and his agility was nowhere near Bob's.

Siward fell backward, and Bob rushed forward, kicking him while shouting insults in English. Even with Gao Fan's excellent English, he could only barely make out that Bob was cursing the kid for ruining America's reputation. As for the various slang terms and allusions mixed in, Gao Fan couldn't understand them at all.

The commotion naturally attracted attention, and a group of onlookers quickly gathered outside the private room. Gao Fan gave Xu Dan a wink, and Xu Dan quickly pulled Xiao Pei out of the private room and ran outside the restaurant.

Gao Fan assessed the situation and, confirming that Bob was capable of taking on Siward one-on-one, refrained from interfering. He pushed the table aside to make room for Bob to fight, then casually walked up to the pale-faced woman and asked softly, "Is this your boyfriend?"

The woman nodded subconsciously, then quickly shook her head, unsure whether she felt it was inappropriate to date an American, or worried that if she revealed her relationship with this American, she would be beaten up by the American who knew martial arts.

"He said he could help you immigrate to the United States?" Gao Fan continued to ask.

The woman looked at Gao Fan for a while before nodding slightly.

How much money did you give him?

"He said that the US dollars he brought were not worth exchanging at customs, so he exchanged $2000 with me for some RMB, totaling more than 7000 yuan."

Did he mention that immigration would cost a lot of money?

"He said... he told me to borrow some money first, and after I got to the United States, I could find any job and pay it back in six months."

"When the police arrive, would you please be a witness?"

"What kind of certificate? Comrade, what's going on?"

"He's a liar."

Gao Fan uttered a few words softly, and the woman's body began to tremble like a leaf, and she sat down on the ground.

Restaurant staff rushed in and, seeing that both sides in the fight were foreigners, hesitated for a moment before steeling themselves to step in and break up the fight.

A while later, police sirens sounded outside the restaurant.

(End of this chapter)