Siheyuan: Start with a big car

Zhang Sanmao trotted all the way back to the trust store, panting and with beads of sweat on his forehead.

As soon as he entered the store, he went straight to where Zhou Qing was, eager to report the situation to him.

At this time, Zhou Qing was sitting in a corner, seemingly sorting out some lists of goods, but in fact he was always thinking about Zhang Sanmao's trip.

Seeing him coming back, she put down the work in her hands, looked up at Zhang Sanmao with a questioning look in her eyes.

Zhang Sanmao approached Zhou Qing and said in a low voice, "Master Zhou, I have found out everything. Li Weidong does live in the compound that was converted from the palace. When I knocked on his door, he opened the door drunk and swearing.

He looked like a lazy guy, and he even admitted that his ancestors were stewards of the palace. However, he said that now he only had some worthless things and was reluctant to sell them. I felt that he didn't lie, so it must be true."

After listening to Zhang Sanmao's report, Zhou Qing nodded slightly, and a look of relaxation appeared on his face.

I thought to myself that this matter didn't seem to be a big problem. It seemed that Li Weidong was just a prodigal son who lived on the wealth left by his ancestors.

Maybe there really are so-called "national treasures" there. Let's go to the abandoned factory tomorrow.

If you can get that treasure, you will make a lot of money.

There was no way. Although he had funds for the activities, those people were becoming more and more stingy.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qing stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked towards the office of the trust store director.

He first knocked on the door gently, and when he heard the voice of "Come in" from inside, he pushed the door open and walked in.

The director of the trust store was sitting at his desk looking at documents. When he saw Zhou Qing coming in, he asked, "Zhou Qing, what's the matter?"

Zhou Qing immediately put on a weak expression, covered his chest, coughed twice, and said slowly: "Director, I'm really not feeling well. I think I caught a cold these two days. I have a severe headache and I feel weak all over.

I want to ask you for a day off so I can go back and have some rest, is that okay with you?"

The director looked at Zhou Qing's sickly appearance and thought that he was actually quite serious and responsible in his work.

Now that he was sick, he really needed to take a rest, so he nodded and said, "Okay, Zhou Qing, you have to take good care of yourself since you are not feeling well. Then you can go back today and don't worry about work. Come back to work when you are better."

Zhou Qing hurriedly said gratefully: "Hey, thank you for your concern, Director. I will go back now. Sorry to trouble you."

After that, Zhou Qing left the office, returned to his seat, packed up his things, and winked at Zhang Sanmao, signaling him to follow. Then the two of them left the trust store together and went home to prepare.
The next day, Zhou Qing got up early at daybreak and tidied up his things.

With full of expectations, he took Zhang Sanmao and headed towards the abandoned factory on the outskirts of the city.

Along the way, Zhou Qing was still thinking about what would happen if he met Li Weidong later.

How can I lower the price of that "national treasure-level antique" so that I can make more money?

Soon, the two arrived at the agreed location.

The abandoned factory building on the outskirts of the city stood in a desolate land, surrounded by weeds, with vines crawling all over the dilapidated walls, exuding a desolate and gloomy atmosphere.

Zhou Qing stood in front of the factory building, looking around vigilantly, then turned to Zhang Sanmao and said, "Sanmao, you stay outside and keep watch. If there is any disturbance, report it to me immediately."

Zhang Sanmao was a little suspicious when he heard this. He showed a worried look on his face and couldn't help saying, "Master Zhou, I always feel uneasy. You brought 500 yuan with you this time. What if Li Weidong has bad intentions? Seeing that you are so old, if he tries to rob you of your money, it will be troublesome. We have to be careful."

Zhou Qing listened, but smiled nonchalantly, patted his chest, and said confidently: "Humph, Sanmao, what do you know? Don't look at my age, I have the kung fu passed down from my ancestors. If Li Weidong dares to mess around, I can take care of him in a few moves. How can I let him bully me? You can rest assured and just keep an eye on him."

Zhang Sanmao heard Zhou Qing say this, so he could not persuade him any more and could only respond: "Okay, Master Zhou, you have to be careful. I will be guarding nearby and call you as soon as there is any movement."

Zhou Qing nodded and walked into the abandoned factory alone.

As soon as I entered, I saw Li Weidong standing in the middle of the yard, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

Zhou Qing didn't bother to exchange pleasantries. His eyes were filled with anxiety and greed. He asked directly, "Li Weidong, did you bring the antique? Let's not beat around the bush. Take it out and let me see it."

As expected, people die for money and birds die for food.

A barely perceptible smile appeared on Li Weidong's face. He took out an antique carefully and leisurely from a package beside him.

This antique is not an ordinary object, but a genuine national treasure that he borrowed specially from the museum. It has an exquisite shape and ingenious craftsmanship. It exudes an ancient charm that has been accumulated over the years. Even people who don't know much about it will be deeply attracted by it.

Zhou Qing's eyes suddenly widened, his gaze fixed on the antique, unable to move his eyes away for a long time. He was so excited, thinking that it was indeed a great treasure. If he could get this item and resell it, he would make a fortune.

However, he was an old hand after all, so he quickly suppressed his excitement, deliberately put on a disdainful expression on his face, curled his lips and said: "Oh, this thing, it doesn't look that good, it's not worth much at all, I think it's worth fifty yuan at most, if you are willing to sell it, we can make a deal now, if not, then I'm leaving."

Upon hearing this, Li Weidong flew into a rage, his eyes widened as he rebuked: "Zhou Qing, you are so shameless! Do you know what's going on? This is a genuine national treasure, very valuable, and you actually said it's only worth fifty yuan. You are clearly bullying me! I brought this thing from far away, and you only give me this price. It's really unfair!"

Zhou Qing, however, still looked calm and composed, with his hands folded across his chest, and said slowly, "Hmph, that's what I say it's worth. If you think it's not suitable, then there's nothing to discuss. I don't even want it."

Li Weidong was secretly delighted when he saw this, knowing that Zhou Qing was completely attracted by the antique and was just trying to lower the price. However, he had just fallen into his trap. So, he pretended to hesitate for a moment, gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, fifty is fifty. I'm in a hurry to use the money, so I'll give you a discount, but you have to pay now. We can get the goods at the same time as the money."

When Zhou Qing heard this, he was overjoyed, thinking that this boy was quite sensible and gave in so easily.

However, he still kept a little bit of caution and said, "Of course, I will definitely not default on the debt, but I need to take a closer look at this thing first to make sure there is no problem before I can give you the money."

Li Weidong thought to himself, humph, let's see how long you can keep jumping around, but he said, "Okay, then go watch it quickly, and pay me when you're done. I don't have that much free time to waste here with you."

Zhou Qing was now completely focused on the antique that he was about to get at a "low price" and completely let go of his vigilance. He muttered, "This thing looks okay, I guess I got a bargain."

He happily took out the fifty yuan he had prepared from his pocket and quickly handed it to Li Weidong, his eyes still fixed on the antique, as if he was afraid that Li Weidong would go back on his word.

At this critical moment, Section Chief Li, who had been lying in ambush nearby and observing the situation closely, saw that the time was ripe and it was time to close the net, so he shouted: "Do it!" Immediately afterwards.

He was the first to rush out from behind the hidden scrapped machines, followed by a group of security officers. They surrounded Zhou Qing quickly like divine soldiers descending from the sky.

A gust of cold wind blew, and the atmosphere at the scene became solemn.

When Zhou Qing heard the noise, his heart skipped a beat and he instantly realized that he had been fooled. He was so angry that his face turned blue and his eyes were wide open. He cursed, "Li Weidong, how dare you plot against me!" He knew that if he was caught, he would be finished. He didn't care about anything else and turned around to find a chance to escape.

Upon seeing this, Li Weidong quickly and steadily handed the antique in his hand to Section Chief Li who had rushed over.

Then he rushed over, nimbly blocking Zhou Qing's way and shouted, "Zhou Qing, you can't escape today, just surrender!"

Zhou Qing stared at Li Weidong with eyes wide open, as if he wanted to eat someone. He cursed viciously, "You little bastard, do you think you can stop me? Even if I risk my life today, I won't let you succeed!"

Before he finished speaking, he shouted suddenly, his body was as fast as lightning, waving his arms, performing the ancestral mantis boxing, and pounced straight at Li Weidong.

Zhou Qing's moves were fierce. His palms were like knives, making whistling sounds as he chopped and hacked. His steps were flexible and varied, like a hungry mantis looking for the flaw of its prey.

Li Weidong was indeed careless at first. He did not expect that the old man was quite capable. He was not careful and was hit by Zhou Qing's side palm on the shoulder. He felt a sharp pain and could not help but let out a "hiss".

"Humph, it seems I underestimated you, old man!"

Li Weidong rubbed his shoulders, his eyes instantly became hot and focused, his fighting spirit was completely ignited, and he immediately became energetic. He spread his feet, stood firmly in horse stance, and started the military boxing, shouting: "Then let me show you my skills!"

Are you kidding? He has the support of the system, how could he be afraid of an old man?
In a flash, Li Weidong took a step forward and punched Zhou Qing's chest with his right fist like a cannonball. This punch was powerful and full of force.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing was not in a hurry. He dodged to the side and bent his left arm to push Li Weidong's ribs with the tip of his elbow.

Li Weidong also reacted very quickly. He quickly pressed down his left arm to block Zhou Qing's elbow, and then changed his right fist into a palm and swept it towards Zhou Qing's face.

Zhou Qing quickly leaned back and dodged the fierce attack with a bridge pose, then kicked out with both legs in a series, attacking Li Weidong's lower body like a gust of wind.

Li Weidong leaped up to avoid Zhou Qing's kick, turned in the air, and after landing, he immediately gave a beautiful side kick towards Zhou Qing's waist.

Zhou Qing crossed his hands to form a defense in front of him and took the kick head-on, but was also kicked back a few steps.

"Old man, you're still strong!" Li Weidong grinned and rushed forward again. He quickly punched back and forth, hitting Zhou Qing like raindrops, with a whistling fist that made people dizzy.

Zhou Qing dodged left and right while looking for an opportunity to counterattack. Suddenly, he seized the gap when Li Weidong punched, grabbed Li Weidong's wrist and pulled it hard, while raising his knee and pushing towards Li Weidong's abdomen.

Li Weidong took advantage of the situation and moved closer to Zhou Qing, slamming his forehead into Zhou Qing's nose. Zhou Qing felt pain and the strength in his hand loosened a little.

Li Weidong took the opportunity to break free, then swept his leg low towards Zhou Qing's ankle.

Zhou Qing jumped up to avoid it. While in the air, he made claws with his hands and grabbed Li Weidong's shoulders, intending to knock Li Weidong to the ground.

Li Weidong quickly retreated and did a backflip to create distance.

The two took a short breath and then rushed towards each other again.

This time, Li Weidong found out Zhou Qing's background.

He changed his tactics. He no longer blindly attacked, but instead dealt with Zhou Qing skillfully and launched unexpected attacks from time to time.

Zhou Qing gradually lost his strength and his moves were no longer as fierce as at the beginning.

Li Weidong seized the opportunity, rushed forward, and used all his strength to hit Zhou Qing in the abdomen with a heavy punch. Zhou Qing screamed "wow", and his body flew backwards like a kite with a broken string, and fell heavily to the ground, unable to resist anymore.

Li Weidong walked forward, looked down at Zhou Qing, and said with a heavy breath, "How about it, old man, are you convinced?"

Zhou Qing lay on the ground, his face full of resentment, but helpless. He could only glare at Li Weidong fiercely, unable to utter a word.

Section Chief Li was standing aside. He was originally worried about the sudden fight, but he did not expect Li Weidong to be so skilled. He was filled with amazement and could not help but applaud, walking towards the two men while clapping.

At this time, the surrounding security officers also quickly gathered around, and at the signal of Section Chief Li, they swiftly picked up Zhou Qing, who was lying on the ground without the strength to fight back, and brought him back to the Security Department.

After returning to the Security Department, Section Chief Li and Li Weidong sat at the table and began to interrogate Zhou Qing with serious expressions.

Section Chief Li spoke first, staring at Zhou Qing with a sharp gaze, and asked, "Zhou Qing, stop pretending and tell me the truth. Why did you send people to steal the Russian equipment in the machine repair workshop?"

Zhou Qing pretended to be calm, put on an innocent look, shook his head and said, "Chief Li, you can't wrongly accuse a good person. I am just an ordinary clerk in a trust store. I work honestly every day. How could I do such a criminal thing? I am really being wronged!"

As he said this, he pretended to wipe away a few tears, trying to get away with it.

I have to say, these guys may not be good at other things, but their acting skills are top-notch.

Li Weidong looked at Zhou Qing's refusal to admit his mistake, snorted coldly, turned around and said to the security officer next to him: "Go, bring Niu Dazhuang over."

(End of this chapter)