Unexpectedly, Huang Rans teahouse had everything, and when Sun Wuzi mentioned eating, Huang Ran made a phone call to arrange it. Not long after, the middle-aged man who had just delivered tea came in again, this time carrying a large tray with some exquisite Cantonese-style dim sum and a big bowl of white porridge.

  Yesterday, I stuffed myself with abalone, sea cucumber and shark fin, what Im most afraid of is Huang Ran arranging another banquet like last nights over the phone. Last night, I ate for a whole night, even the best things can be nauseating after eating too much. Now, even the freshest seafood isnt as comfortable to eat as plain porridge and simple dishes.

  Sun Baozi saw the tray of food and was also delighted, at that time no one cared about politeness anymore. Sun Baozi and I had a big blowout, eating all the porridge and pastries clean. While Huang Ran only filled a bowl with porridge and slowly drank it spoon by spoon, he hadnt even finished half the bowl when the pastries were almost gone.

  Huang Ran looked at me and Sun Baozi, smiled and said: "Being young is great, I really envy you guys. The food I ate last night is still stuck in my throat, now I can only drink some thin liquid to soothe it."

  Sun Baozi searched for a toothpick on the table for half a day but couldnt find one, so he finally picked up a bamboo chopstick and used its inner fibers to pick his teeth. He said: "Old Huang, dont be polite, your belly is not much smaller than mine. Im not saying this, but after eating good food, its time to clean the intestines."

  Huang Ran heard the sound of clearing his throat, and suddenly thought of Sun Baozis words earlier. In Xiaobei Prison, there was a puppet of Liu Cheng that Old Mo had dissected into several layers. Thinking of this, he casually asked: "By the way, whats the deal with Liu Chengs puppet? The one whose head was cut off by himself, your Old Mo said that the time of death for each part of the puppet is different, so it means that this puppet is made up of several corpses. Is the source of the corpses from prisoners in the prison or some other source? Wasnt it investigated when the case was closed?"

  "It should be Luo Ben who brought it in from the outside." Sun Wazi replied to Huang Rans words, and continued: "After the incident, we checked the number of prisoners and prison guards, and no one was found missing. On the surveillance cameras outside the prison walls, two people were seen wandering around before the incident, both covering their faces. However, judging from their figures, one is Luo Ben, and the other is Liu Chengs puppet."

  Here is the translation:

  As he said this, Sun Ao poured himself a cup of tea and slowly drank it down. After smacking his lips, he continued: "Later I figured out that Luo Bens goal was to get Liu Cheng out of prison. To avoid any more trouble after Liu Cheng left the prison, he made a puppet. Letting the puppet die in front of me, having me as proof, Liu Chengs fake death became real. Its not what Im saying, even if he lives outside the prison in the future, there wont be any threat from this aspect."

  Huang Ran listened and nodded directly, almost to the point of applauding, and smiled as he said: "Do you know why I decided to disband the committee afterwards? Its because I saw people like Gao Juzhang and Sun Juzhang sitting in the Peoples Congress, our committee would be hard-pressed to do anything else, thats why I forcibly dissolved it despite opposition."

  This blatant flattery made Suns whole body shake with laughter. After laughing for a while, the Deputy Director of the Public Opinion Bureau, Sun, looked at Huang Ran with narrowed eyes and said: "Actually, if you insist on it for two days, my public opinion bureau might be withdrawn first. Its not that Im saying it, but knowing that there is Chairman Huang in the committee, Ive always been uneasy in my heart, even sleeping uncomfortably."

  "Are you done with the pleasantries?" As soon as Sun Baozis voice fell, I looked at these two chubby men in front of me and said, "Now that weve got the formalities out of the way, lets talk about what happened later."

  "Whats next?" Sun Baozi was stunned for a moment and said: "Now Ive even told you my own wild guesses, what else is there to come?"

  "In the courtyard, the hidden gold, how did it end up? You never told me." I said with wide eyes. When I heard Sun Baozi mention those two heavy gold bars in the hotel, I had been thinking about it all along. According to Sun Baozi and Xiao Heshangs nature, they shouldnt have let go of such a big chunk of gold. Even if it was later taken back by Gao Lian, it was probably hidden somewhere in the corner of the fourth floor of the original Min Diaojing Bureau. Now that the Min Diaojing Bureau is gone, I really cant believe Sun Baozi didnt get his hands on it.

  Sun Baozi had just lit a cigarette when he heard my voice, and on the spot, he choked, two streams of smoke were choked out from his nostrils, causing Sun Baozi to cough non-stop. After coughing for a while, wiping away tears, he said: "Chili... its not me saying, if I really got that hidden gold, next life Id spend all the money lying down. Do I still need to run around looking for work now?

  After glancing at Huang Ran, who was smiling and staring at him, Sun Baozi continued: "Originally, I wanted to create a time difference. After the two sheep left, I would let Xiao Shang think of a way to make a small, hidden gold compartment. As for the hidden gold, I could drag it out for a few more days. Anyway, its already broken and has no collection value, so whoever looks at it again wont be so careful. Its about the size of this table." When he said the last sentence, Sun Baozi stretched out his hand to compare the size with the table in front of him.

  Here is the translation:

  "Speaking of this, Sun Wuzi suddenly sighed and said: "Who knows how long it took for Er Yang to leave, Qiu Lao and Ouyang Pianzuo brought their people over. Ouyang Pianzuo was okay, but before Qiu Lao came, he first went to Gao Laos place, got a list of items, and then came out. The things on the list werent many, probably just seven or eight, but the first one on the list was Mì Cáng Jīn (Hidden Gold). The location where it was buried, its size, shape, and the type of talisman were all recorded in detail. Lazi, do you know? Qiu Laos subordinates all came carrying iron shovels and pickaxes. Never mind, lets not talk about this anymore, saying too much is a sickness."

  Looking at Sun Baozis angry appearance, this matter shouldnt be something he came up with himself after secretly hiding the gold.

  We were supposed to continue chatting at Huang Rans place, but just then Sun Pengs phone suddenly rang. On the other end of the line was Xiao He Shang, who had already found out that we three had returned last night and gave us a nights rest. Originally thinking that we would go to his place as soon as dawn broke, he waited until afternoon and still no one came looking for him. Unable to bear it any longer, he finally called Sun Peng.

  After responding casually for a few sentences, Sun Baozi hung up the phone, smiled at me and Huang Ran, and said: "Old Xiao Da Shi is afraid that I will run away with the money, and wants me to go over immediately to settle accounts. Whos interested in accompanying me on this trip?"

  Huang Ran smiled and shook his head, saying: "You guys go ahead, Old Master Xiao will definitely keep me for dinner and then hand over the bill to me. The bill is a small matter, but I didnt sleep all night yesterday, really cant compare with you young people... just help me ask Old Master Xiao how hes doing"

  Sun Baozi burst out laughing and said: "Dont mention it, Old Master Xiao is indeed this kind of person. Old Huang, you dont have to go, Laizi, lets go"

  "Never mind, Great Sage, youd better go through the trouble yourself." I also waved my hand at Sun Bajie and said: "I didnt sleep all night either, just let me go back and take a break. Besides, you two are settling accounts, whats the point of me joining in the excitement? If I dont trust anyone, can I still not trust you?"

  Seeing that neither of us intended to follow, Sun Dawei smiled indifferently and said: "Alright then, after settling the account, deducting the companys part, Ill transfer the remaining amount to your cards. At the end of the month, Ill report the account to you, and you can verify it at that time."

  After finishing, Sun Baozi slowly left Huang Rans teahouse. I followed his car and let Sun Baozi send me to my residence before parting ways with him. After returning home, I fell onto the bed and started snoring loudly. I dont know how long I slept, but in the midst of a dream, I was suddenly woken up by the ringing of my phone.

  The time displayed was 3:50 in the second half of the night, and the caller was Sun Baozi. Its not that something urgent happened at this late hour, right? At that moment, I was startled awake, and after answering the phone, I heard Sun Baozis greasy voice ringing in my ears: "Lazi...not...Im saying, Im at your door...open it! Lets keep drinking! Hahahaha!"

  As soon as I heard the tone of his voice, I knew that this fatty had drunk too much. At this time, there was another "thud thud thud" sound at the door. The neighbors upstairs were already scolding him. Although Sun Fatty was drunk and slurred his words, he managed to exchange insults with my neighbor on an equal footing. At that moment, I put on my clothes, opened the door, and pulled this drunken fatty inside.

  After pulling him in, I saw that Sun Baozi had two bottles of foreign liquor in one hand and a plastic bag in the other, with an unopened roasted duck inside. Sun Baozi casually threw the liquor and the duck onto my table, opening his mouth to say: "Old Xiao, dont think...Im easy to bully, Ill drink...but you, lets change to another wine and have a drink, vodka, paired with roast goose. Lets keep drinking!"

  After finishing, Sun Baozi leaned against the door and slid down to the floor, sprawling out in all directions and starting to snore loudly. A moment later, he even started drooling. Looking at his mountain-like body, I went back to the bedroom, grabbed a quilt and threw it over him before continuing to sleep on the bed.