Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 351 Finding People

Xiao Wei took out the red notebook and put his mental arithmetic skills into his stomach, but he couldn't help but want to laugh.

As Liu Sui exited the housing bureau, she said, "That's settled then. I'm going back to the bureau. You can wander around by yourself. When are you going back?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'm leaving now, I have things to do over there. Let's get together again when you get to Fengtian, Brother Liu."

Liu Sui said, "You bought that house and just left it empty?"

Xiao Wei said, "Let's leave it there for now. It'll definitely be empty this year. We can come back and do it next year when things are more stable there. Anyway, I feel at ease now that I've bought the house. We can take our time with the rest."

Liu Sui nodded and said, "Okay, then you go ahead and do your thing. I'm going back now." She was about to go to the roadside to hail a taxi when Xiao Wei said, "Brother Liu, are you trying to embarrass me? Get in the car, I have to take you back no matter what." Liu Sui laughed and nodded as she got into the car.

After dropping Liu Sui off at the entrance of the power bureau, the two said goodbye, and Xiao Wei drove to Binjiang Road.

The restaurant was already closed, and no one knew where the staff had been transferred to. Anyway, they were all official employees of the Grain Bureau, so they must have shifts. Xiao Wei parked his car on the side of the road, took out his key, opened the door, and went inside. Almost everything that could be moved was gone, but it was definitely taken by private individuals. A public institution like the Grain Bureau wouldn't come to take things; there was no point in asking for them.

The kitchen was a mess; many things had been taken away, including oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. The oil, seasonings, and other items were all neatly separated. It seemed the employees had made a small fortune. Xiao Wei kicked aside a broken ladle lying on the ground, shook his head, and chuckled. He walked through the kitchen and through a side door to the back. Sure enough, there were several rooms, but they were all locked. There was a U-shaped corridor leading to the backyard, which looked like a kindergarten, separated from this area by trees and flower beds.

There were four rooms, but the windows were all blocked by something. There were cobwebs on the outside, and it was pitch black inside, so you couldn't see anything. There was also a locked door at the end of the corridor, and you had no idea what was outside.

Going back to the front, I walked around the room a few times, thinking it over. It seemed like there should still be some space outside the back door. I went up to the second floor and walked around again, but everything that could be taken was gone.

Looking at the time, it was not yet eleven o'clock. I went outside the store and looked around. There were two other shops in this building, but there were obviously fewer than the restaurant. One was for selling supplies, and the other was locked.

I walked up to the entrance of the supply store and glanced inside. Supply stores were quite common in this era. They mainly sold tools and hardware, as well as farm shoes and seeds. They were essentially a combination of hardware, agricultural materials and production materials in the future.

"What do you want to buy?" A man in a blue work uniform was standing by the store entrance and asked Xiaowei. These days, sales clerks are usually women; it's quite rare to see men in this job. Xiaowei smiled, took out a cigarette, and offered it to him, saying, "I'm from next door, brother. Can I borrow your phone for a bit?"

The man paused for a moment, took two steps outside, and leaned halfway out to ask, "Which one?"

Xiao Wei pointed and said, "I've bought this restaurant and this house."

The man looked at the restaurant, then at Xiaowei, and said, "You bought the house? I was wondering why it was closed down. What are you going to do with it? Yesterday, those guys were carrying big bags and small packages out, and they came in two cars."

Xiao Wei said, "I haven't decided what to do yet, I need to get ready." He held out the cigarette to the man, who took it, put it in his mouth, turned around and went into the store to get a lighter, saying, "Come in and light one."

Xiao Wei entered the store, dodging the ropes and cords hanging above his head, and came to the counter inside. The man went inside, took out a telephone, placed it on the counter, pushed it towards Xiao Wei, and found a lighter to light a cigarette.

Xiao Wei took out his phone book, flipped to Xie Xiaolong's house number, and dialed it. Or rather, it was the phone number of the grocery store at the entrance of his alley.

After a few rings, the other end answered. Xiaowei said, "Hello, could you please call Xie Xiaolong's house? I'm looking for his wife, Mu Lijuan."

A woman on the other end asked, "Who is it? Xiao Long? Who are you?"

Xiao Wei said, "I'm Zhang Wei. Just tell her and she'll know."

The older woman said, "Zhang Wei? What do you do? Xiao Long is out, what are you doing looking for someone's wife? What's the matter?"

Xiao Wei said, "Xie Xiaolong is helping me with the work now. I need to talk to Mu Lijuan. Could you please call her, sister?"

The older woman perked up immediately, saying, "Are you Xiaolong's boss? Excuse me, what does Xiaolong do for you? How much does he earn a month? Are you hiring? What do you need Xiaojuan for?"

Xiao Wei said, "Big sister, why don't you ask your wife about these things? Could you please call her? I have something to do."

I heard a man on the other end of the phone say, "Whoever's calling, aren't you bored? Go call someone if you want." The woman snorted and said, "Wait a minute, I'll call them for you." The phone clicked and was put aside. I could hear a lot of people making noise on the other end.

A few minutes later, the phone rang, and Mu Lijuan's voice came through: "Feeding?"

Xiao Wei said, "Sister-in-law? It's me, Xiao Wei."

Mu Lijuan said, "Yes, I knew it was you. You're leaving already? Have you finished your business?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, the business is done. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning. I need to talk to you about something else. Could you find some people? I have some work to do here, and I need a few strong men."

Mu Lijuan asked, "What are you doing?"

Xiao Wei said, "Remember that restaurant we ate at last time? I bought that house. There are some hidden walls inside, and I'm thinking of getting a few people to break them down. I haven't seen what it's like inside yet. Do you think we can find it?"

Mu Lijuan said, "You bought it? Let's break down the wall. Wait a minute, I'll ask my brother. Where are you right now?"

Xiao Wei said, "Okay, I'm here. You can find a few people to take a taxi over. I'll pay for the fare, and I'll give each person fifty yuan for the work. Is that alright?"

Mu Lijuan said, "Let me ask. If it's okay, I'll bring them over. Money isn't an issue. You wait a bit."

Xiao Wei agreed and hung up the phone. The man in the store said, "Your surname is Zhang? My surname is Wu. What wall do you want to tear down? Is there a hidden wall in that restaurant?" Xiao Wei pushed the phone over and said, "Well, there are two places I knocked on that are hollow. Let's break them open and see what's inside."

Angkor, puffing on his cigarette, thought for a moment and said, "You know what, what you're saying is actually true. Look at this side of mine, it's so deep behind here. The hotel side doesn't seem to be this deep. Why is that? Is there a partition wall? What's inside?"

Xiao Wei lit a cigarette and said, "I just don't know. I just heard it was empty inside. Let's open it and see."

(End of this chapter)