The room was extremely quiet at the moment, the heavy snow outside muffled their already faint voices, but undoubtedly, both of their voices were extremely excited. It wasn’t loud shouting, but the kind of excitement that was desperately restrained in their hearts, voices trembling, words unclear.
"Chuan, what’s that thing on the roof beam for?"
Zheng Ergou’s voice was at its peak of excitement, yet still desperately restrained.
Chuan, upon hearing his words, furrowed his brows and shifted his gaze to the roof, where Zheng Ergou was pointing with a spotlight at the beam showing a silver corner, similar to the money boxes seen on TV.
"Found it!" Zhao Ergou growled in a hoarse voice, like a roaring cannon!
What followed was simple - roof top gentlemen were born for sneaking around; one person acted as a ladder, and another climbed to get the items, simplicity at its finest.
"Did you touch the box?"
"First check around the box for anything. Lift the box horizontally when you take it out..."
Chuan’s instructions were cut short as he felt a lightness on his shoulder; Zhao Ergou had already jumped down.
"Stop the damn nonsense! Nothing’s wrong!"
The silver-white box equipped with a combination lock was hefty.
Chuan wanted to take it, but Zheng Ergou stopped him, "Bro, it’s not convenient here, let’s talk outside. The money in here can last us a while."
Chuan scoffed in his heart, greedy to keep it all for himself the moment he got his hands on it. Even thieves knew to offer a tribute to the Earth God.
"Alright, Brother Gou, you go first, I still have to tidy up here. How about this, we arrange a place and meet up later."
"Fine. Beihua Restaurant then. Everyone there is upscale, won’t have to worry about prying eyes."
Upscale, as if you look upscale. "Alright, Brother Gou, how about the day after tomorrow? Too rushed isn’t good."
After further discussion, Zheng Ergou walked away, erasing the footprints and fingerprints he left on the corner before sprinting off. At 1 AM, no one knew there was someone fleeing in an unnamed small alley.
Chuan returned inside immediately, took out a couple of round tube-like rods from his bag that were as thick as a water glass. Those who knew the trade would recognize these as Luoyang Shovels, a tomb raider’s favored tool. Chuan disliked these tools as they were inconvenient; a few were manageable, but when assembled, they could weigh tens or even a hundred kilograms, time-consuming, effortful, and easily conspicuous. He preferred using military spades, quieter and smaller. Fortunately, he brought two rods just in case, never expected to actually use them.
The two rods were connected into a meter-long Luoyang Shovel. After one last glance outside the door, where everything remained still, Chuan let down his guard and knelt on the ground, his hands fiercely poking the spot where he peed earlier.
Zheng Ergou didn’t know that when he used the spotlight to check what Chuan was doing, Chuan noticed something different - the soil rinsed out by the urine, which covered the area beneath the table, differed from its surroundings. The soil here was clearly filled in later, suggesting something important was definitely buried here.
A foreboding intuition surged through Chuan – the real treasures were likely hidden right here. He inwardly cursed himself for stupidity; with such a small space, where else could things be hidden if not up above or down below?
His intense desire for wealth spurred the Luoyang Shovel in his hands to move rapidly, quickly burying half into the soil. At that moment, with a "clink", a blunt sensation transmitted through his hands.
Early next morning, under a nice weather, the previous days’ snow had melted into water and frozen solid on the ground, seeping and hardening the earth. Ye Tian pulled He Ku to wash up and have breakfast before heading out together.
"Brother, where are we going?"
Ye Tian coughed uncomfortably twice, irritated remembering the previous incident.
For seven or eight consecutive days, Ye Tian had been busy with the hot pot restaurant, the more he engaged, the more errors made, baffled why he had to endure such frustrations.
Zhao Sanque lived up to his name, only slightly larger-minded than a sesame, but with a temper like a homebound sparrow, still lively despite the cold. Fifty thousand cut by twenty percent wasn’t much, but that kid thought of it, wouldn’t have slapped him already if not for his age. After much haggling, finally settled the price at thirty-three thousand. Just when everything was agreed yesterday, about to finalize at noon and paid a three hundred deposit, planning to pay the rest in the evening and have both the landlord and He Biandan sign the contract, Zhao Sanque suddenly changed his mind, deciding to continue running the place and returned the three hundred to Ye Tian. Ye Tian openly cursed the other for being unscrupulous, had He Biandan not stopped him, a fight would have broken out.
It should’ve ended there, but Zhao Sanque came over again yesterday, saying he wanted to sublease the house, just for ten thousand. He wouldn’t explain anything, just that going there this morning would settle it.
Ye Tian patted He Ku’s head, gazing at the dazzling sun ahead, "It will succeed."
He Ku’s school was already set, right next to the film academy’s International College, allowing him to study up until senior high graduation, then he could choose to continue higher education domestically or study abroad. This was a stroke of luck, and He Biandan specifically bought two bottles of Er Guotou to thank Ye Tian. After the New Year, He Ku could start attending school. Solving He Ku’s issue was solving half of the He family’s problems. Adhering to his principle of doing good to the end, Ye Tian decided to set up He Biandan’s computer repair shop.
"Oh, Tian’s here, have a seat. He Ku, have you eaten? Look at this young man, sure to be a handsome fellow when he grows up."
Such pleasantries were exchanged back and forth, and Ye Tian, uninterested, directly broached the main topic: "Third Brother Zhao, just speak bluntly. I have to check out a property soon, been discussing about another place in Green Willow Alley for three days now, about to pay the deposit."
Zhao Sanque waved dismissively, "Brother, comparing these locations, how’s that spot supposed to make money when no one goes there on weekends?"