The place where Old Man Geng and Zhang Heng agreed to meet was a hot pot restaurant on the first floor. There was a huge Chaoshan Beef Meatball sign outside the door, but the entrance wasn't big. After entering the door, there was a staircase, and one had to climb to the second floor to enter the hot pot restaurant.
As soon as Zhang Heng got out of the car, he noticed a few sneaky guys, disguised as passers-by or people who ran small businesses nearby. Without exception, they were all paying attention to the movements outside the hot pot restaurant.
Considering what happened before, these people should be the people Mr. G sent to protect Old Man Geng.
Since they parted ways last time, Zhang Heng and Old Man Geng hadn't seen each other for a while. The latter was the middleman of this transaction, helping to connect the buyer and the seller. He knew a lot of things, and it was not surprising that he was targeted. After being attacked by the biker gang, he went back to pack up and moved to the first floor for his own safety.
Zhang Heng ignored the people downstairs and walked up the stairs.
Old Man Geng and his supplier friend had already arrived in advance, and they had already ordered the dishes.
When Zhang Heng appeared, Old Man Geng immediately got up and waved his hand. He then handed the menu to Zhang Heng, "See what else you want to eat. Don't stand on ceremony. I will pay the bill. Just count it as the reward for protecting me."
Unlike the previous meetings, Old Man Geng was obviously much more enthusiastic this time.
It was mainly because he had seen Zhang Heng's skills. No matter when, it was never a bad thing to be polite to someone he couldn't afford to offend, not to mention that Zhang Heng had saved Old Man Geng once.
"No need. You guys can order," Zhang Heng said while pulling out a chair and sitting down.
So Old Man Geng ordered a plate of beef and shrimp slips and returned the menu to the waiter on the side.
Before the dishes were served, Zhang Heng raised his head and looked at the man next to Old Man Geng. He was younger than Old Man Geng, looking to be in his early forties. He was in good shape, and the muscles on his arms showed that he should be doing physical work. The strangulation marks on his wrists showed that he often wore gloves. His pair of small eyes flickered vigilantly, indicating that he didn't trust Zhang Heng very much, and what he was doing now was probably not legal.
"Let me introduce you," Old Man Geng said. "This is my supplier and my old friend. More than half of the goods in the House of Old Things are provided to me by him. After selling them, we split the profits 50-50. Of course, if you want to buy directly from him, you can. He is … "
Before Old Man Geng could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the man next to him. "Just call me Gold Digger. That's what everyone around me calls me."
Upon seeing this, Zhang Heng also reached out and shook hands with the gold digger. After that, he introduced himself, "Zhang Heng."
"Listen, Zhang Heng. Old Geng introduced you to me, which is why I'm willing to meet you. However, I also have my own rules. It's better to make some things clear in advance. When you make a deal with me, don't ask too many questions. Whether it's the source of the item or anything related to me, you'd better keep your mouth shut. We'll hand over the money, and we'll hand over the goods. It's fair and reasonable. Also, once I find out that you've told others about our deal, our deal will be terminated," the gold digger said.
Zhang Heng nodded. "Sounds reasonable."
"Very good." The gold digger was also very satisfied with Zhang Heng's tactful cooperation. The vigilance in his eyes eased a little. "As long as we have a good cooperation, it's not impossible to get to know each other more after we get to know each other better."
"That's great," Zhang Heng said calmly.
Old Man Geng, who was on the side, did not have time to interrupt. His forehead was sweating profusely. Although he had repeatedly reminded the gold digger to be polite before Zhang Heng came, the latter obviously did not take it to heart. He was still using the same trick to deal with Zhang Heng. Judging from the look on his face, he felt that he had control of the situation, and he was quite proud of himself.
However, Old Man Geng himself had learned a lot from his past mistakes. He knew that Zhang Heng was never someone who could be easily controlled. The reason why he was so polite was that what the gold digger was talking about had nothing to do with his interests.
However, before Old Man Geng could remind his old friend, the hot pot restaurant on the other side had already begun to serve the dishes.
The gold digger naturally put himself in the position of the host and began to invite Zhang Heng to eat. And as always, Zhang Heng was tactful. The three quickly finished two plates of beef.
The gold digger was having a great time eating. He even unbuttoned his shirt and asked the waiter to turn up the air conditioner. Finally, he got to the point. "Old Geng said you are collecting … Um, shellac records."
"Yes." Zhang Heng put the sweet potato chips into the pot and asked, "Can you help me find them?"
"This thing is not easy to find," the gold digger said. Gold Digger said, "Old Geng told you that shellac records are very rare, especially in the space below. Although I can help you find them, I will have to pay a high price myself. However, since you are Old Geng's friend, I won't charge you too much. One will be … 4,000 credits."
"One hundred." Zhang Heng did not look up.
"What?" The gold digger suspected that there was something wrong with his ears.
"One hundred for one," Zhang Heng said lightly.
'Here it comes. Here it comes.'
On the other side, Old Man Geng smiled bitterly. He remembered the first time the two met. Old Man Geng offered 3,000 credits, and Zhang Heng counter-offered at that time. Now, it seemed that Zhang Heng was not targeting him. Instead, he offered the same price to everyone.
"Say that again." The gold digger glared at Zhang Heng.
"One hundred for one, and I want a lot of them. You'd better find a way to find more."
"Boy, are you looking for trouble? Didn't you hear me say that shellac records are very rare, and I have to pay a price to get them? "The gold digger slammed his chopsticks on the table as he spoke.
"I heard you, but I don't believe a word you said," Zhang Heng said, putting down his chopsticks. "You are from the garbage treatment plant, right? You work on the fifth floor? Secretly pick up some old things that might be useful from the garbage and give them to Old Man Geng to help you sell them. "
"Did you tell him that?" The gold digger turned his head and looked at Old Man Geng angrily.
Old Man Geng quickly shook his head, "No, it's not me. We have been friends for so many years. When have you ever seen me betray you?"
"Then how did he know?" The gold digger was still suspicious after listening to Old Man Geng's explanation.
"Don't overthink it. It's your attire that told me. To be honest, these things have limited channels. Basically, they come from the fourth and fifth floors. But looking at you, you live on the second floor at most. It's impossible for you to contact the buyers on the upper floors. And with the buyer's income, it's unlikely for him to sell these old things. So, the answer is obvious," Zhang Heng said.
"Although you changed into casual clothes before coming here, your hands have the marks of wearing gloves all year round. You are wearing waterproof boots on a hot day, and you also suffer from a certain waist disease. Since I sat here, I have seen you stretch your waist at least three times. But your strong arms show that you do not usually sit in the office. So, here's the problem. You often wear gloves and boots, and you need to keep bending down. And you can touch old things. I can't think of any other place where you would work except for the garbage treatment plant. Besides, you warned me not to ask questions as soon as I came here. This also shows that according to the work rules, you are not supposed to bring those old things out of the garbage treatment plant."
(End of Chapter)
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