Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 454 Return the Stolen Goods

Liu Huasheng shook his head and said, "You're just talking nonsense. Hei Zi himself has already thrown in nearly 30,000 yuan in the past few months."

Third Brother turned to look at Huang Laowu and said to Liu Huasheng, "You only meet one idiot like this once a year. He's so showy, loves to brag, and is always trying to provoke us. He's always up to no good and loves to play games. We approached him a few times at first, but afterwards he came to us himself. You can ask him anything if you don't believe me. He's always talking about making tens of thousands a month."

Liu Huasheng turned to Huang Laowu and said, "Did you hear that? You still say he's not an idiot?"

Huang Laowu smiled and shook his head.

Liu Huasheng asked his third brother, "I haven't seen you much before. Where do you hang out? What do you do to make money?"

Third Brother said, "I run an arcade on Heping Street. I usually stay there and don't come here much. I stopped going to work a long time ago. My uncle used to get me a job at the food company, but that's not possible anymore. They're just forcing me to pay my salary."

In the early 90s, video game arcades were incredibly profitable, to a degree that's hard for people today to imagine. Back then, arcade owners were all rich. Moreover, not just anyone could run an arcade. They were key targets for police monitoring, existing somewhere between gambling and entertainment. Their success depended entirely on the police station's perspective, so you needed connections and the ability to keep the local thugs in check; otherwise, their meddling would force you to close down.

Liu Huasheng thought for a moment and said, "I'll try to help you, after all, you have your uncle's connections. It seems like returning the stolen goods and paying a fine is inevitable now, but I think it would be good if that were all it took to settle things. What do you think?"

Third Brother nodded and said, "Okay, I know the situation. Brother, we didn't know each other before, so this time it's my fault. Please help me out, okay?" He turned to Huang Laowu and said.

Huang Laowu rubbed his scalp habitually and said with a smile, "Actually, there's nothing between us from beginning to end, and I couldn't have come to you for help. Besides, I have no say in this matter at all. Director Liu knows that I'm just a hanger-on, not someone with any real influence. That's the truth."

Liu Huasheng said, "You don't need to ask Lao Wu, I know his situation. How much can you return? Give me a number, so I can have something to say to them tomorrow." At this point, the so-called return of stolen goods was actually just taking out money to settle things. This money was definitely going to the owner of the billiard hall, and everyone knew that.

Third Brother rubbed his hands together and asked Liu Huasheng, "How much do you think is appropriate for me? To be honest, I can't afford too much. I spend all the money I have on trivial matters. Running an arcade requires attracting customers, and I have to answer questions about how much to pay each month. After all that, I don't actually have much left. It's only slightly better than working a regular job."

Huang Laowu burst out laughing and said, "Come on, buddy, it's just the three of us. Do you have to be so poor? We all know what an arcade is, right? I was thinking of getting one at first, but Xiaowei didn't agree. He thought it was too much trouble."

Liu Huasheng laughed and said, "Sanzi, can you be honest for once? This is too fake, isn't it? You've gone too far."

Third Brother chuckled a few times and said, "I'm used to it, I'm used to being asked this all the time, sorry. Well then, how about I pay ten thousand? Consider it a meal for their boss and everyone. After that, Brother Liu, you just follow the normal procedures, I'll pay whatever the fine is, okay?" He pointed at Huang Laowu.

Liu Huasheng asked Huang Laowu, "Do you think Xiaowei's suggestion will work?"

Huang Laowu said, "How am I supposed to guess? I've never done anything like this with Xiaowei and the others. Xiaowei is too upright in his business dealings; he doesn't touch anything shady and doesn't let us touch anything either. He's not pretentious and doesn't provoke anyone. To be honest, he's always smiling, but I'm quite afraid of him."

That day, when he mentioned Heizi borrowed money, he told me Heizi was definitely gambling and I should get rid of him immediately. He said if I and Lao Hou got involved in gambling and prostitution, I should leave right away before he found out; he was absolutely not joking.

Third Brother asked, "Why? Damn, don't young people have fun? You're not going to have fun yourself, and you won't let me have any either?"

Liu Huasheng said, "Do you think you can afford to play with people of their level? They're afraid these messy people and things will damage their image, understand? Their goals are beyond the comprehension of people like us. Sanzi, do you think you're someone important in Longcheng? Tell me, would you spend two thousand yuan on a meal? How many meals like that would you dare to eat in a month?"

Third Brother stubbed out his cigarette, lit another, and said, "Eating gold? Two thousand a meal? And several meals a month? I couldn't even afford one meal, how could I bear to? How much do we earn a month? This cigarette is pretty good, where do you buy it?"

Liu Huasheng said, "Xiaowei and his friends stay at this level of restaurant in Fengtian. A meal there costs at least two thousand yuan, you understand? That's the kind of people they associate with. These cigarettes are the kind they serve at their restaurant; you can't buy them outside. Even if you could, you probably couldn't afford them. I estimate this pack costs at least twenty-five or thirty yuan. Can you afford that?"

Huang Laowu pulled out a large box of special-supply cigarettes from his pocket and tossed it to Third Brother, saying, "Xiaowei's restaurant is called Anji. This is specially ordered from the cigarette factory, using tobacco specially supplied by the central government, so it's called Anji Special Supply. I heard about it once; ordering this batch of cigarettes cost nearly 200,000 yuan."

Third Brother picked up a cigarette, looked around for a while, and said, "This is completely on a different level. I took that slap today without flinching. Fine, I'll offer 50,000. I can't afford to make this grudge. Is that alright, Brother Liu?" In Northeast China, calling someone "brother" doesn't necessarily mean they're old; it's just a sign of respect.

Liu Huasheng said, "I'll call as soon as I get up tomorrow morning. To be honest, I'm even more scared than you. They trusted me enough to ask me to look after them, and this is what happened. I feel so embarrassed. Anyway, that's settled then. Go sleep in that room. Do you need me to take you, Lao Wu?"

Huang Laowu said, "Alright, I'll walk back myself. By the way, can you write me a statement? How am I supposed to pay off this three thousand yuan tomorrow morning?"

Liu Huasheng nodded and said, "Okay, I'll write you a note and stamp it." He took a piece of paper, wrote a note, signed his name, stamped it with an official seal, and handed it to Huang Laowu. Huang Laowu put the certificate away, stood up, said, "Thanks," and left.

Huang Laowu came out of the house and watched through the window as Liu Huasheng swaggered out of the police station's courtyard. Third Brother sighed, tossed a cigarette to Liu Huasheng, lit one for himself, and said, "Damn it, what bad luck. I thought I'd caught a sheep and could make a living off it for a year, but it turns out he's a jinx. I only got about 30,000 yuan from him, and I still have to pay out of my own pocket."

Liu Huasheng lit a cigarette and casually pushed the window open a little, saying, "Alright, you're proud of what you do? It's true that you have your uncle's influence, so as long as nothing serious happens, no one will bother you. But can you control it? You'd be happy if some loser took a knife and chopped you up one day. This kind of thing is fine as long as nothing goes wrong, but once something happens, it can't be covered up. Your uncle is just the head of the fire department, not the bureau chief."

Third Brother said, "I'm not doing anything big, it's just a matter of a few thousand yuan. I don't lend money, so what could possibly happen?"

Liu Huasheng said, "Isn't it good that you're making money running your arcade? Why do you have to bring this up? Are you looking for a thrill?"

Third Brother said, "It's boring to stay here all day."

Liu Huasheng waved his hand and said, "Alright, it's none of my business to tell you what to do. Go to sleep, I'll talk to you after I finish my call tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)