“Help me pack all this money,” he called out to Du Ziteng and Old Master Huang, handing them the black cloth bags. Zhang Liunian continued his search.
Du Ziteng and Old Master Huang hadn't expected Zhang Liunian to bring them to pack money. When they saw over a hundred thousand in cash stacked within the wall, they were both stunned by the resident's method of hiding money.
“Brother Liunian, could this homeowner be Hong Fei? Is this money his too?” Du Ziteng inquired about the money’s origin as he packed it.
Zhang Liunian, who was intently examining the ground behind the door, replied, “All the money here belongs to him.”
“This is fucking awesome. This bastard tried to harm us this morning, and now he’s in the clink, definitely not expecting us to have dug up his entire fortune.” Du Ziteng felt a surge of satisfaction upon his guess being confirmed.
Old Master Huang, overhearing this, reacted with disbelief. “This is the entire fortune of Hong Fei, the leader of the Hong Gang? My goodness, I never imagined his fortune would be unearthed by me, someone they’ve always bullied. It feels truly great.”
Zhang Liunian simply smiled at this and returned to studying the ground before him. After a long moment, his eyes narrowed. He then tugged on a string behind the door, and a cellar appeared in the ground he was looking at.
“My god, Hong Fei really knew how to hide money. Not only did he put money in the walls, but he also built a cellar in the room. Just how much money did he extort?” Du Ziteng, seeing the cellar revealed before Zhang Liunian, immediately dropped the money bags and rushed over.
“It’s a bit large down there.” Zhang Liunian peered inside. There wasn't just a wooden staircase but also a platform for a lamp, clearly indicating the space below was not small.
“Brother Nian, let me go down and check,” Du Ziteng, who loved exploration, said. He then turned, grabbed a candle from a nearby table, lit it, and started descending.
Zhang Liunian didn't stop him; it was probably better for Du Ziteng to go first.
However, as soon as Du Ziteng stepped down, he let out a scream. Zhang Liunian was startled and, fearing for his safety, instructed Old Master Huang and quickly went down himself.
When he saw the scene below, his jaw dropped.
“What did Hong Fei do to earn so much money? He even piled it up to create a cellar. Damn, he really lived the life!” Du Ziteng swallowed hard, his worldview shattered by the stacks of money before him.
Zhang Liunian scanned the money. There was at least a million, possibly more. The exact amount would only be known after counting.
However, he was quite surprised that Hong Fei had amassed such a fortune in just a few short years.
“Who cares if he enjoyed it or not, it’s all ours now.” Zhang Liunian believed in sharing the spoils and wouldn't shortchange Old Master Huang and Du Ziteng.
“That’s really great, getting paid again.” Du Ziteng didn’t refuse; he was happy to receive a reward.
With this thought, Du Ziteng seemed to gain new energy and began enthusiastically packing the money.
Zhang Liunian looked around and spotted a low cabinet. He pulled open the first drawer, finding a file containing family member information for personnel. Upon opening it, he discovered it was a record of the Hong Gang members' families, with notations on how to retaliate against traitors if they disobeyed.
It listed methods like kidnapping, assassination, and poisoning—a total of eighteen ways. Zhang Liunian was shocked by what he read.
Judging by the handwriting, it seemed to have been written not long ago, and possibly hadn't been implemented yet.
Putting the file away, Zhang Liunian opened the second drawer. In a hidden compartment, he found correspondence between Hong Fei and Tang Shikou, as well as some clandestine tasks the Tang family had asked him to perform.
What shocked him the most was that Hong Fei had been providing Tang Shikou with individuals who were orphaned and had no one to rely on, ten years ago. Where these people went and what happened to them was not written.
“Wait, why is there Ding Xiaoyue’s information?” Zhang Liunian noticed something amiss as he flipped through the pages. In the earliest batch of names, Ding Xiaoyue was listed.
The record indicated she was around seven or eight years old at the time. Could she have been targeted by the Tang family back then?
Zhang Liunian wasn’t sure, but he felt this information was important. For reasons he couldn't quite explain, he pocketed it separately.
“Let’s move quickly to avoid any unforeseen incidents.” Zhang Liunian didn't examine the rest of the documents further. He secured the evidence and turned to Du Ziteng.
The latter understood the urgency of the situation, as no one knew when members of the Hong Gang might show up.
“I got it,” Du Ziteng said, speeding up his packing to get the money moved out sooner.
“I’ll go get people to help with transport.” Zhang Liunian, holding all the important documents, climbed back out.
“How was it down there?” Old Master Huang, having finished packing the money from the wall, was about to go down when he saw Zhang Liunian emerge and quickly stepped aside to ask.
“It’s money down there too. I’ll go arrange for everyone to be ready. You guys pack quickly; let’s get all the money out before it gets dark.” Zhang Liunian patted Old Master Huang on the shoulder with a smile, intending to organize the transportation.
“Really? Boss, you’re going to be rich!” Old Master Huang, hearing it was more money, excitedly rushed down.
Zhang Liunian walked out with a smile. After arranging everything, Du Ziteng had also finished packing the money.
Due to the large quantity, Zhang Liunian dared not leave it in South City. He transported it directly back to his new home in Zhangjia Village, planning to use the money for his sauce business.
“Old Huang, Ziteng, you worked hard today. Here’s one hundred thousand; you each get fifty thousand. The other brothers who came along get ten thousand each. Make sure they keep their mouths shut. If I hear any unpleasant talk, don't blame me for being ruthless.” Back in the ground-floor room of his new house in Zhangjia Village, Zhang Liunian reminded Old Master Huang.
Old Master Huang naturally understood Zhang Liunian’s meaning. For this kind of opportunistic act, any leakage could attract significant trouble.
“Boss, don’t worry. These three are the most tight-lipped. I’ve noted your instructions, and they don’t know what exactly we got out of there.” Old Master Huang looked at the fifty thousand in front of him, feeling the happiness of being struck by a windfall.
Indeed, following the right leader made making money effortless. Today, just by following out to stake out a location and pack things, he received fifty thousand. There was no other boss in the world as generous as Zhang Liunian.
“Mm, this must be kept a complete secret, or we won’t get a single cent.” Zhang Liunian wouldn't let go of what he had obtained. Hong Fei had tried to kill him several times, and now that he had found his fortune, he would confiscate it all.
“Brother Liunian, don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on them too, I definitely won’t let them talk carelessly.” Du Ziteng, holding fifty thousand yuan, beamed from ear to ear.
This was such a large sum of money; he had never possessed anything like it in his life.
“I’ll leave it to you two.” Zhang Liunian smiled faintly, then began counting the day’s haul with Du Ziteng and the others. The counting took several hours.