My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

The old man never raised his eyelids.

He stared at the celadon glaze patterns on the cup lid and spoke.

His voice was soft and his speech was slow, as if he were reciting a passage that had nothing to do with Wei Biao.

"Clean up your own mess and don't drag me into it."

Wei Biao's lips moved slightly.

"Uncle—"

The young man standing behind the old man had already walked around and opened the door to the private room.

He stepped aside to make way for the doorway.

The meaning couldn't be clearer.

Wei Biao stood up, supporting himself on the edge of the table. His legs were numb and weak, and he was unsteady on his feet.

He glanced back.

The old man started turning the cup lid again.

One lap, two laps.

The door closed from the outside, and the corridor was quiet.

Wei Biao leaned against the wall as he walked towards the stairwell, his steps unsteady, unaware that his trousers were stained with tea.

Downstairs, the streetlights cast his shadow long and crooked.

……

provincial capital.

After arriving, Lu Qingshan did not go to the store, but went directly to the clinic.

I gently pushed open the door to the ward.

Scarface Liu lay on the narrow bed, his upper body bare, his back wrapped in a thick bandage, the outermost layer of which was stained with pale pink blood.

Lu Qingshan sat down on the wooden stool next to the bed.

Fourteen stitches.

He pulled a palm-sized coarse cloth bag from his pocket and tied it in a knot.

Inside the cloth bag was a small bottle of dark brown ointment, the cap tightly screwed on, with a faint, pungent herbal smell.

The wound medicine was personally prepared by Master Zou Yuan.

He placed the medicine bottle next to Scarface Liu's pillow.

Scarface Liu heard the noise and groggily opened his eyes.

"Brother...when are you going to—"

"Go to sleep."

Lu Qingshan pressed down on the arm that he was trying to prop up, and pulled the blanket up to cover his exposed lower back.

"Apply the ointment twice a day, don't skimp on it."

After saying that, he got up, pushed the stool back to its original position, and went out the door.

He spoke a few words to the nurse on duty in the corridor, then took out twenty yuan and handed it to her, asking her to make more bone broth for the next two days.

……

The door to the backyard of the shop was bolted from the inside.

It was Monkey Three who opened the door.

Lin Xiulan and Chen Meili sat behind the counter, with account books and a stack of business cards spread out on the table.

"Let's get down to business first." Lu Qingshan looked at Hou San, "The person you were with yesterday went into Nanshan Mingyuan?"

Monkey nodded, leaned closer, and lowered his voice.

"After leaving the association building, turn into the narrow alley in the southern suburbs. At the end of the alley, there is a small two-story building with gray walls and a wooden sign hanging above the door that reads 'Nanshan Mingyuan'."

Which gate did you enter through?

"Side door. I took out my key and opened it myself."

"And then what?"

"I didn't dare follow any further. That alley was too narrow, with dead walls on both sides. My unfamiliar face squatting there would have been too conspicuous."

Monkey Three rubbed his hands together, a hint of annoyance on his face. "Brother, how about I go stake out the place again tonight?"

"No rush."

Lu Qingshan turned to Lin Xiulan.

Lin Xiulan opened the cabinet drawer, took out three business cards, and handed them over.

"Guanghua Food Processing Plant, 500 jin of dried black fungus. The Second Food Wholesale Station in the provincial capital, please quote a price for dried hawthorn. There's also a company that exports pine nuts, a considerable quantity, but I haven't given them my order yet."

Lu Qingshan flipped through the pages one by one, neither saying it was good nor bad, and placed them on the corner of the table.

"What about Uncle Guo?"

"He said the procurement contract with the provincial health product factory will not change, and that's what he says no matter who asks."

"Section Chief Zhou?"

"The exact words were: 'The contract for Xiushan will be executed as usual, without a single change.'"

"Where is Qian Shouyi?"

"I didn't go in person, I had Section Chief Liu deliver a message." Lin Xiulan paused and repeated her words.

"Xiushan Industry is a partner recommended by the Provincial Pharmaceutical Corporation. Anyone who touches them is disrespecting the Pharmaceutical Corporation."

Lu Qingshan listened without saying a word.

He stood up and walked towards the small room at the back that had been partitioned off to serve as a study.

He took two steps and then stopped, turning back to look at Lin Xiulan.

"You should rest for a while; you don't look well."

……

Lu Qingshan pulled an iron box out of a hidden compartment under the writing desk in the study.

He took the items out one by one and arranged them on the table in order.

The first item was a yellowed parchment—a ginseng harvesting map found on the body of the notorious bandit Lei Dong. It had two locations marked with cinnabar as "Centennial Ginseng Kings," and there were traces of wax seals on the corners.

The second item was a US$20,000 fixed deposit certificate, printed in English and issued by HSBC Hong Kong.

The third item was a letter. The envelope was stamped with an oval red seal, and the three seal characters "Huichuntang" were clearly visible. He had already memorized the contents of the letter—Huichuntang was responsible for receiving rare medicinal materials such as tiger bones and bear bile smuggled into the country by Lei Dong's gang, distributing them to various southern provinces, and splitting the profits 40/60.

He then took out a sketch of the location of Nanshan Mingyuan drawn by Hou San from his pocket and spread it out next to him.

Then, from the side pocket of the leather document bag that Lin Xiulan had arranged, he pulled out two documents—a forged freight receipt from the "Gaoping Transportation Team" and a copy of the confession written by Yu Gaoyang after his capture.

"Every month on the 15th of the month, General Manager Wei goes to Nanshan Mingyuan to meet an old man in a long gown. He will then give new instructions the next day."

Six things were arranged in a row on the table.

Lin Xiulan brought in a cup of hot water.

"Wei Biao is just a dog." Lu Qingshan's voice was very low.

"The person holding the rope is sitting in Nanshan Mingyuan. This person is connected to Huichuntang, which in turn is linked to Lei Dong's gang of bandits' arms smuggling case. If this line is pulled, what will be revealed is something that the two of us can't handle."

Lin Xiulan's gaze fell on the letter stamped with the "Huichuntang" seal and lingered for a few seconds.

"You're looking for Wang Jianguo."

Lu Qingshan nodded.

"If we hand these things over, they won't be our trump cards anymore," Lin Xiulan said in a low voice.

"Are you willing to part with it?"

"Even if it's hard to bear, we have to give it up. People are more important than money. Scarface Liu had fourteen stitches in his back—just two inches above that and it would have pierced his lung."

He picked up the stack of materials, patted the edges, and aligned them.

"This is something I, as a businessman, cannot and should not be responsible for. If Huichuntang is really involved in the arms case, then even the provincial department will be involved."

Lin Xiulan remained silent for a while.

"What about the US dollar deposit certificate?"

"Keep it." Lu Qingshan put the materials into a kraft paper envelope and folded the seal twice.

"It's better to keep one card in your hand than to show him all the cards."

……

The shop closes at 10 p.m.

Lu Qingshan had the kraft paper envelope spread out in front of him, next to a piece of paper covered with writing—he had spent the entire afternoon going through all the events in chronological order, from the blockade of the transport station to the interception of the vehicle on Chang'an Road, from Yu Gaoyang's confession to Nanshan Mingyuan.

He then picked up the phone and dialed a number.

It rang three times.

"Feed?"

Wang Jianguo's voice was hoarse, carrying the dullness of someone who had just been woken up.

"Brother Jianguo, it's me, Lu Qingshan."

The sound of someone turning over on the other end of the phone made the spring mattress creak.

"Qingshan? Calling at this hour—what happened?"

Lu Qingshan held the receiver, speaking very softly and calmly.

"Brother Jianguo, my family members are being bullied in the provincial capital."

"explain."

Lu Qingshan picked up the sheet of paper covered with writing and began reading from the first line.

After the reading was finished, there was a long silence.

When Wang Jianguo's voice rang out again, his speech had changed; it was fast and deep, with not a single word left unsaid.

"Once the materials are organized, send them to my office by express mail first thing tomorrow morning. I'll arrange for someone to go to the provincial capital the day after tomorrow to get a clear understanding of Nanshan Mingyuan and Huichuntang's operations."

He paused for a moment.

"Qingshan, if what you have is solid evidence—this is not something a county bureau like mine can handle. I have to pass it up to higher levels."

I'll wait for your message.

"Um."

The phone hangs up.

Lu Qingshan put the receiver back on the landline and rested his fingers on the edge of the phone for a while.

Lin Xiulan stood by the door the whole time, the noodles had already clumped together, but she didn't mention it.

"The noodles are getting cold, I'll go make another bowl."

"No need, this bowl will do."

Lu Qingshan picked up the bowl, took a couple of bites, and the noodles clumped together, but he didn't mind.

Halfway through the meal, he suddenly said, "Xiulan, starting next month, no one will dare to touch your business in the provincial capital."

Lin Xiulan looked at him.

"What are you planning to do?"

Lu Qingshan lowered his head and finished the last mouthful of noodle soup, then placed the bowl upside down on the table.

He gave a vague answer of three words.

"Uproot it completely."

There was no wind outside the window.

In the night of the provincial capital, scattered lights still shone, some near and some far.

The light in the private room on the second floor of Nanshan Mingyuan in the southern suburbs went out sometime ago.