I am a super cop

In fact, Gu Chen and Lu Weiwei both noticed something fishy at the time, but they didn't say anything to Xu Lang's face.

After all, everyone wants to see what these people are really up to.
After getting off the bus, Gu Chen and Lu Weiwei went directly to Zhao Wen's company, which was located in an old building, following the address information.

The receptionist was a young woman dressed in revealing clothing. Seeing that Gu Chen and Lu Weiwei had an appointment, she led them directly to Zhao Wen's office.

"Knock, knock, knock." After three knocks, the female receptionist opened the office door and politely said, "Mr. Zhao, the two police officers have arrived."

"Go make two cups of tea," Zhao Wen said, sitting in his office chair.

"Okay." The receptionist smiled slightly, then let Gu Chen and Lu Weiwei go in first, while she went back outside to prepare tea for them.

Gu Chen and Lu Weiwei entered the office and, upon seeing Zhao Wen, carefully examined his features.

Zhao Wen was a fat man who looked like the kind of person who was in business; he had the appearance of a boss.

Gu Chen introduced them to Zhao Wen, saying, "Hello, Mr. Zhao, we were introduced by Xu Lang."

"I know everything." Seeing Gu Chen's response, Zhao Wen replied nonchalantly.

"You've come here to learn about Zhang Meng, haven't you?"

“That’s right.” Lu Weiwei nodded silently, adding without further ado:
"We can't contact Zhang Meng right now, but if we want to find him, we can only do so through people he knows."

"You and Zhang Meng are friends, and you two are quite familiar with each other, so we'd like to know how you two met?"

Upon hearing the police's explanation, Mr. Zhao smiled slightly and said, "Oh, I see."

"Actually, I already told Xu Lang on the phone that I met Zhang Meng at an antique shop."

"Can you tell me?" Lu Weiwei asked.

“Of course, please have a seat.” Zhao Wen echoed, and also gestured for Gu Chen and Lu Weiwei to sit on the sofa opposite them.

Then he sat down opposite the two of them.

At that moment, the receptionist prepared the tea and brought it in on a tray.

After the two accepted the tea, Gu Chen asked Zhao Wen, "Mr. Zhao, why don't you tell us how you met Zhang Meng?"

"Hmm." Xu Lang nodded silently, and said without further ado:
"At that time, I remember I was going to discuss a business deal, and while I was doing that, I wandered around the nearby antique market and got attracted by the items in one of the antique shops."

"It's mainly that antique shop; the things inside are quite interesting, with all sorts of old antiques."

"So you were drawn in?" Lu Weiwei said.

Zhao Wen quickly explained, "You might not understand, because the antique business is very complex, especially for someone like me who often likes to buy and collect antiques."

"Ordinary things don't catch my eye, but this antique shop is different. First of all, it has a particularly large and impressive space."

"Other shops are small, but this shop is different. It's grand, and the items inside are very exquisite, so I wanted to go in and take a look."

“At that time, a young man came into the store, asked me what I needed, and then asked me to look at the store’s items. I said I didn’t like them.”

"He then told me to come to the second floor, saying that the first floor didn't meet my standards, so I should come to the second floor to test my judgment."

“I like challenges, so I followed the young man to the second floor.”

"And then?" Lu Weiwei asked.

"Hehe, and then?" Zhao Wen smiled slightly and continued to explain, "Then I discovered that the things on the second floor are very good, and many of the calligraphy and paintings are genuine."

"So I deliberately talked to them to test this guy's understanding. I found that he didn't know much about it, but he told me that his boss was an expert and that the boss had already explained the situation clearly."

"So I was very surprised at the time, because I had seen many of the paintings and calligraphy in it at the auction."

"I used to think it was great that some people were auctioning these good things and asking for low prices, but unfortunately, they all failed to sell at the auction."

"Don't you think these are all good things? Aren't you going to take pictures?" Gu Chen asked.

"I won't film," Zhao Wen shook his head and said with a smile.

“I didn’t want to collect these at the time. As I’ve said before, collecting is just a hobby of mine. I’m a businessman, and I care more about the actual value of the goods.”

“Those kinds of items with high premiums are not suitable for my collection. The shop assistant felt that I should have high standards, so he called over a middle-aged woman from the third floor and asked her to take me to the third floor to have a look.”

"And so, I was taken from the first floor all the way to the third floor."

"What did you see?" Lu Weiwei asked quickly upon hearing this.

"Hehe, what did I see?" Zhao Wen smiled slightly and said slowly:

“I saw things from the museum.”

"Things in a museum?" Lu Weiwei was a little confused upon hearing this, so she continued to ask:

"How can something you see in a museum end up in an antique shop?"

"Yeah, why would it be in an antique shop?" Faced with Lu Weiwei's question, Zhao Wen chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Lu Weiwei frowned slightly and continued to ask, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"What I want to say is that the background of this antique shop owner is a bit complicated, because the things here are genuine, while the things in the museum are fake."

"What?" Gu Chen and Lu Weiwei were both stunned when they heard Zhao Wen's words.

Lu Weiwei quickly pressed on, "You mean, the owner of this antique shop can bring things out of the museum? Is he really that powerful?"

"I don't know if he's all-powerful, but I have a feeling that this boss is definitely not simple, because the same item on display in the museum is obviously fake, while his is definitely real."

"Before I went into the medical device business, I was in the antique business. You could say I started out in the antique business and then went into the medical device business."

"I understand, you're an expert too." Hearing Zhao Wen say this, Lu Weiwei could roughly guess that Zhao Wen must be an expert in antiques.

Zhao Wen smiled slightly and continued, "When I saw those things, I was really tempted."

"Because the things on the third floor are few, but very rare."

"And I discovered that the items on the third floor all seem to have appeared in museums."

"But are the ones displayed in museums now real? I'm sorry, I really can't say."

"You mean, someone stole something from the museum?" Gu Chen asked.

"Hmm, maybe, but I can't quite say for sure." Zhao Wen seemed to be beating around the bush as well.

Lu Weiwei was somewhat displeased and said irritably, "President Zhao, why are you beating around the bush?" After a pause, Lu Weiwei asked again, "Then tell me again, how did you and Zhang Meng meet?"

"This?" Seeing that Lu Weiwei seemed a little anxious, Zhao Wen slowly said:
"Actually, when I saw these nice things on the third floor, I was really tempted. I really wanted to take some home, but I didn't know the prices."

"But after the middle-aged woman quoted a price, I became even more certain that these must have been stolen from somewhere."

"Because these things are all genuine, and the prices are quite reasonable."

"How so?" Gu Chen asked.

"How so?" After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Wen slowly said, "It's like this: something that costs a hundred yuan is genuinely worth a hundred yuan, but he sells it to you for ten yuan. What do you think?"

"A 90% discount?" Lu Weiwei was also somewhat incredulous upon hearing this.

"Yes," Mr. Zhao sighed softly, and said slowly, "Isn't this just like finding a bargain?"

"If these things were stolen, then even if they sell them to you for only 10% of the original price, they're still making a profit."

"Because there are some things they dare not put up for auction, they would get arrested."

"The only thing we can do is try to sell the goods, but that takes time. If we want to get our cash back quickly, the best way is to sell them at a low price."

"Even if they sell at a low price, they still make a fortune."

"I understand." Listening to Zhao Wen's explanation, Lu Weiwei roughly understood some of the shady dealings at this antique shop, so she continued to press Zhao Wen for answers:

"Then you still haven't told me how you met Zhang Meng?"

"Sigh." Zhao Wen sighed and smiled as he spoke.

"Actually, I thought I had found a bargain. After I saw a jade pendant that I liked, I wanted to buy it. But I never expected that those people would tamper with the jade pendant."

"Through their manipulation, the jade pendant that I had appraised was packaged in front of me, but they then switched it with another one."

"You mean they switched the jade pendant and then tried to fool you with a fake one?" Lu Weiwei asked.

Zhao Wen nodded silently, and then said without further ado:

"Yes, they packaged it for me after I had inspected it repeatedly, and they packaged it right in front of me."

"But I never expected that this middle-aged woman would be so skilled at magic tricks. She quickly switched the jade pendant that was being packed up right under my nose."

"At that time, I was still unaware of it and happily thought that I had found a great bargain."

"But at that moment, Zhang Meng was also led to the third floor by that young man. He was also there to see these things."

"But after he greeted me briefly, he learned that I had bought a jade pendant and wanted to take a look."

"I was too embarrassed to refuse, so I agreed and showed him the jade pendant."

"But when he saw the jade pendant I bought, he just smiled and didn't say anything."

"But his smile was also a deliberate reminder for me to take a closer look."

"I understood immediately, so I checked the jade pendant again and found that it was not the one I had seen before."

"Realizing that I had been tricked, I immediately argued with them, but they wouldn't admit it. They said that coming to the third floor to inspect the goods was all about having a good eye."

"But I didn't care about any of that. If they didn't give me the real thing, then I wouldn't buy it. Anyway, I hadn't paid for it yet."

"But these guys don't seem easy to deal with. When they saw that I wasn't paying, they immediately called over a few burly men to try and put some pressure on me."

"Fortunately, Zhang Meng warned them a few times, so they didn't dare to do anything reckless. In the end, Zhang Meng and I left the store safely."

At this point, Zhao Wen also took a deep breath.

After hearing Zhao Wen's explanation, Lu Weiwei couldn't help but exclaim, "Good heavens, so the antique shop you went into was a rip-off?"

"Yeah, I almost fell for it." Zhao Wen couldn't help but complain as he said this.

"Fortunately, I met Zhang Meng at that time. I think Zhang Meng is a knowledgeable person. At least he could see that there was something wrong with the jade pendant. Without a considerable amount of experience in appraising treasures, one would definitely not be able to see the problem."

"I was a bit careless at the time, but luckily Zhang Meng was there, so I didn't fall for it in the end."

"It was also because Zhang Meng was there that those people didn't dare to do anything to us. In the end, the two of us escaped unscathed."

"Then why aren't you calling the police?" Lu Weiwei asked.

"Haha." Hearing Lu Weiwei's words, Zhao Wen waved his hand and said helplessly:
"There was no evidence at the time, and even if we called the police, it wouldn't have any effect."

"Thinking that I wouldn't lose anything, I decided not to bother, but I met a friend named Zhang Meng."

"So later, to repay Zhang Meng for his help, I would usually invite him to join me at drinking parties."

"What's Zhang Meng's attitude?" Lu Weiwei was also curious.

Zhao Wen then slowly said, "Zhang Meng considers you a friend, so he won't refuse your invitation."

"I've also noticed that Zhang Meng is a quiet person, but that's because he has few friends."

“But I’m different. I, Zhao Wen, like to make friends with capable people, especially someone like Zhang Meng.”

"So Zhang Meng was invited to various drinking parties after that, and we gradually started chatting."

"I only found out then that Zhang Meng was a retired chemical plant worker, and that he was particularly knowledgeable about chemistry."

"It is because he has been exposed to chemistry for many years that he is able to spot problems in many antiques."

"So, ever since I met Zhang Meng, I feel like I have a lot of face. When I go out and brag to my friends, Zhang Meng always makes me look good in front of them."

At this point, Zhao Wen chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Don't laugh at me, but when you get to my age, you really do become a bit vain."

"What people are competing on is no longer how much wealth you have, but how many impressive people you have around you."

"So, Zhang Meng became my friend. I took Zhang Meng to various drinking parties and introduced him to all sorts of friends. Xu Lang was at one of those parties."

"He is known as a gentleman in the luxury goods circle. Almost all the bosses in our circle have his contact information."

"So he has a good relationship with Xu Lang. As for how Xu Lang got Zhang Meng's contact information?"

"I guess he mistook Zhang Meng for some kind of boss, and then, in his drunken state, he added him as a friend without really understanding what happened. That's probably how it happened."

...(End of chapter)