wind in the dark night

Chapter 240 The Secret of Eternal Wealth

"As far as I know, in the past two years, the anti-bandit forces have borrowed money and grain from Liu Wanchun a lot. In name, it is a loan, but in fact, everyone knows it. Who can expect them to repay it in the future? To put it bluntly, this is like throwing meat buns at dogs. It is a matter of no return."

Gao Kejian picked up the wine glass and took a sip.

Qi Yue frowned: "So, you already knew about the anti-bandit and Liu Wanchun incident?"

Gao Kejian smiled slightly: "In Binjiang, nothing can be hidden from my eyes and ears."

Qi Yue said: "From this point of view, it is certain that Liu Wanchun is in contact with the Communists."

Gao Kejian said: "Liu Wanchun was forced to lend money and grain to the anti-bandit movement. I dealt with him in the arms smuggling case two years ago. My impression of him was that he was a local tycoon who loved money like his life. As for collaborating with the Communists, he didn't have the guts to do so."

Qi Yue asked: "Did he participate in the arms smuggling case two years ago?"

Gao Kejian said calmly, "There is no such thing as an arms smuggling case. It was just a few soldiers from the Shao'e Army who escaped from Su Lian and wanted to sell the guns they were carrying. When Liu Wanchun heard about this, he bought the guns through a middleman and used them to equip the dozen guards he had at home."

"That is, he did buy arms, but it wasn't that serious."

"This matter can be big or small, it can be minor or serious. Nowadays, buying a few guns to guard the house is understandable. In addition, there is insufficient evidence, so I did not investigate further. I gave Liu Xiaochen a face. Otherwise, humph, it would not be so easy for Liu Wanchun to get away with it."

"Oh, I see……"

Qi Yue secretly guessed: Today's meal is most likely related to Liu Wanchun.

Mrs. Gao said, "Xiao Qi, stop talking and eat more vegetables."

Gao Mingyu suddenly said, "Officer Qi, I heard that you are from Peking."

Qi Yue said, "Yes."

Gao Mingyu asked again: "Do you eat dumplings during the beginning of winter in Beijing?"

Qi Yue said: "The custom of eating dumplings on the beginning of winter seems to be the same in northern China."

Gao Mingyu didn't raise his eyelids, picked up a dumpling and dipped it in the vinegar dish, and said lightly: "I also correct your wording. It's not the northern region. Beiping is China. This is Manchukuo."

Qi Yue was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay, you are setting a trap for me to jump into."

Gao Mingyu's gloomy face showed a sly smile, and he hummed, "Tit for tat, we're even."

Gao Kejian frowned: "Your little cleverness is really put to good use!"

“I learned all this from you…”

Gao Mingyu muttered softly.

Gao Kejian's face darkened.

Mrs. Gao scolded her son: "There are guests here, can't you say less!"

"……I'm stuffed."

Gao Mingyu put down his chopsticks, stood up and walked a few steps, thought for a moment, then turned back and said, "Okay, stop beating around the bush. Officer Qi, my father wants you to be the middleman, that's all."

Qi Yue looked at Mrs. Gao, then at Gao Kejian: "What middleman?"

Gao Kejian pointed at his son's back and said angrily, "This child has no respect for his parents... It's all because of you!"

The last sentence was directed to Mrs. Gao.

Mrs. Gao tried to calm things down: "Okay, okay, it's all my fault, okay? Xiao Qi is asking you a question, let's talk business."

Gao Kejian kept silent and drafted a draft in his mind before he said to Qi Yue, "Do you know why Liu Wanchun would rather be blackmailed by the anti-bandit bandits than leave Liujiabao? With his financial resources, he could easily move his family to Binjiang, or even to Xinjing."

Qi Yue thought for a moment and said, "I heard someone say that the Liu clan's ancestral hall is in Liujiabao. Maybe they are worried that if they move away, there will be no one to take care of it?"

Gao Kejian said: "You don't have to go to the ancestral hall every day, just hire two people to look after it. The reason why he didn't leave was because of a secret, a secret that would allow his descendants to enjoy wealth forever!"

Qi Yue asked: "What secret?"

Gao Kejian said seriously: "So far, I have only told two people about this matter, one is Ning Zhiyuan, and the other is you." Qi Yue said: "Thank you for your trust in me."

Gao Kejian said solemnly, "I specially transferred you from the Criminal Division, and I promoted you. If I don't trust you, who else can I trust?"

Mrs. Gao was a little impatient and urged, "You keep talking over and over again. Stop keeping us in suspense and continue talking!"

Gao Kejian glared at her, then said, "This matter is somewhat related to the Manchuria Railway. Five years ago, geological surveyors from the Manchuria Railway discovered coal reserves on a barren mountain near Liujiabao. They mobilized all kinds of large-scale engineering equipment and started mining in a big way. As a result, after digging for more than half a year, they didn't even find a piece of coal slag. The Manchuria Railway believed that the exploration was wrong, so they sent people to seal the mine, and the mining business ended in such a hasty manner..."

“Who would have thought that instead of digging out a coal mine, we dug up a gold mine!”

Mrs. Gao couldn't help but interrupt.

Qi Yue was surprised: "Gold mine?"

Gao Kejian sighed: "Sometimes, people have to believe in fate. Some people are just lucky. Liu Wanchun's youngest son went to the mountains to play with a few children from the village. He accidentally picked up a shiny stone. He thought it was interesting and took it home..."

The matter was very simple. When Liu Wanchun was a teenager, he worked as an apprentice in a gold shop. He knew at first glance that this was a piece of high-quality gold, so he personally led people up the mountain. After repeated searches, he finally confirmed that the gold came from a mine abandoned by the Manchurian Railway.

With this major discovery, Liu Wanchun was ecstatic. He made a prompt decision and spent a large amount of money to buy the barren mountain including the mine from the Manchurian Railway on the pretext of reclaiming land for farming.

In order to keep the secret, Liu Wanchun took great pains. He first built a new house at the foot of the mountain and moved his whole family there. He also reclaimed wasteland and cultivated land in a proper manner to conceal his tracks.

"Could this be true?"

Qi Yue was half-believing and half-doubting.

Gao Kejian said: "Think about it, a local rich man in the countryside gave away dozens of loads of grain and thousands of yuan in banknotes to the anti-bandit fighters for free. Where did he get so much money? The most important thing is that he could have left Liujiabao and lived a comfortable life in the city, but he was willing to be blackmailed and refused to leave. This indirectly proves the truth of this matter!"

Qi Yue thought for a moment and said, "But, when the coal mines were being mined, with so many people in the Manchurian Railway, how come they didn't find the gold mines?"

Gao Kejian said: "The professionals sent by the Manchurian Railway were all heading for the coal mines. The equipment they brought might not be able to detect the gold mines, or the gold mines were so hidden that no one noticed them."

"That's possible..."

Qi Yue seemed to be thinking about something.

Gao Kejian took a bite of the food and continued, "After hearing about this, I didn't quite believe it at first, but I sent people to keep an eye on Liu Wanchun's movements. Last summer, Liu Wanchun went to Xinjing in person and sold 15 kilograms of roughly processed ore gold to a gold shop through his eldest son Liu Xiaochen. So far, this matter has been completely confirmed!"

Qi Yue asked: "What are you going to do?"

Gao Kejian sighed and said, "Alas, we can only envy their good fortune and do nothing about it. We can't just write an IOU and forcibly take the gold mine like we did when we were fighting bandits. If we do that, Liu Xiaochen won't let it go."

Qi Yue said: "I have a solution."

Gao Kejian asked: "What method?"

Qi Yue said seriously: "Report the situation, and let the government come forward and forcibly requisition the barren mountain on the pretext of building military facilities. Liu Xiaochen will not be able to do anything to us."

Before Gao Kejian could speak, Mrs. Gao became anxious: "How can that be possible? Once the situation is reported, the gold mine will become public property. We have worked in vain. What's the point..."

Gao Kejian coughed lightly and said, "What do you mean by working in vain? I planned this so that I could use this wealth for the country!"

Mrs. Gao glared at her husband: "What? For the country? Didn't you say yesterday..."

Gao Kejian interrupted her and said, "I am discussing serious matters with Deputy Captain Qi. As a woman, you should stay out of it!"

As he spoke, he winked at Mrs. Gao. Mrs. Gao was stunned for a moment, then reluctantly got up and left.

After Mrs. Gao left, Gao Kejian put on a smiling face and said to Qi Yue: "No matter how you put it, it's uncomfortable to see such a huge fortune fall into the hands of a local tycoon. Now, we have evidence that he is in communism, and we can legitimately take the gold mine!"

Qi Yue asked: "Why?"

Gao Kejian said: "In two days, you go to Liujiabao in person and talk to Liu Wanchun in person. As long as he is willing to give up half of the gold mine, we can forgive his past actions. If he refuses, we will say that he secretly colluded with the anti-bandit movement and charge him with the crime of collaborating with the Communist Party!"

Qi Yue hesitated and said, "The problem is that we only have one witness to prove Guan Dazhi's guilt. If Liu Wanchun refuses to admit it, and Liu Xiaochen backs him up, it will be difficult to convict him..."

Gao Kejian sat up straight and said with a smile, "This problem is easy to solve. I have asked before. Among the captured anti-bandit bandits, there is one called Wang Baochang. He followed Zhang Zhaolin to Liujiabao. Liu Wanchun knew him. You take Wang Baochang with you and say that Zhang Zhaolin sent you to borrow grain. As long as Liu Wanchun agrees, won't we have evidence?"

(End of this chapter)