Boss, this is going to be a tough one to handle.

The old man wasn't like those narrow-minded people who looked down on scholars; he held a very high opinion of them. Those narrow-minded folks didn't even bother to look at what kind of education the cadres possessed. How many coarse and illiterate fellows could sit in an office or become high-ranking leaders? According to the old man, if one wanted to amount to something in life, one still had to study. Because of this favorable impression, his attitude toward Xu Lin improved significantly as well.

After leaving the recycling station, Xu Lin continued to wander around, wanting to find Qin Fang and see what kind of mischief that person was up to again. Yet, after making a full circle, she couldn't find anyone. Feeling somewhat disappointed, Xu Lin decided to try her luck at the black market. Just in case Qin Fang wanted to pull off something shady at the black market, there was a chance the two of them might cross paths.

Regrettably, even after combing through the black market from end to end, Xu Lin still failed to locate Qin Fang, though she did end up buying quite a few snacks. Stepping out of the black market, Xu Lin stood there feeling a bit troubled. Where on earth could this Qin Fang have hidden herself? The county town was only so big; if she were truly in the county town, it made no sense that she couldn't be found. And then there was that Zhou Mei; whether that woman had returned to the city or gone somewhere else, she was nowhere to be seen either.

With a trace of disappointment, Xu Lin glanced back at the location of the black market, wondering who the current boss of the black market was. Lowering her head in brief contemplation, Xu Lin decided to track down the black market boss, just to see who had taken over this territory. As a master of metaphysics, it was quite easy for Xu Lin to find the black market boss. With a few divining calculations, she arrived in front of a very dilapidated residence.

Looking at that run-down courtyard, Xu Lin was utterly speechless. Why did all these black market bosses have a fondness for living in decrepit courtyards? Did they actually think this would keep them safe from prying eyes? With people constantly coming and going from such a shabby yard, whose eyes and ears could it possibly deceive?

While complaining internally, Xu Lin quietly rendered herself invisible. She circled the compound first to identify and bypass the traps set around its perimeter, and only then did she leap into the dilapidated dwelling.

Wang San was leaning lazily back in his chair, exhaling a large ring of smoke with a blissful expression plastered across his face. That self-satisfied little demeanor of his was remarkably punchable. Standing opposite Wang San was a dark, thin teenager around fifteen or sixteen years old. The boy's eyes were exceptionally sharp and nimble; one could tell at a glance that he was a smart cookie.

"Shanzi, you've been following your Third Master here for quite a while now, haven't you?" Wang San asked, narrowing his eyes with a haughty, superior tone.

The dark and thin teenager named Shanzi hurriedly put on a fawning smile and replied, "Third Master, you're entirely right. Ever since I stepped foot into this line of work, I've been running with you under your wing. If it weren't for Third Master, there wouldn't be the Shanzi you see today. Whatever tasks Third Master has, just hand them over to Shanzi, and I guarantee they'll be handled impeccably."

Shanzi patted his chest in assurance, his bright eyes fixed intently on Wang San. That eager little expression greatly pleased Wang San.

"Good, good. Third Master just loves how sensible you are." Wang San blew out another smoke ring, so happy that his eyes narrowed into slits.

After a short while, Wang San spoke up again, "Shanzi, do you know why there are so many thugs in Qingshan County, yet I'm the only one who made it to the top?"

Shanzi shook his head. He was merely an errand runner; how could he possibly know so much? If he had known, he would have been the one sitting in that chair.

"That's because your Master has someone backing him from above." Wang San reached out a thumb and pointed it behind himself. "Do you know who Seventh Brother is?"

Shanzi shook his head, the ignorance on his face becoming even more pronounced. This ignorant and cute look made Wang San burst into laughter.

"You, oh you! With such ignorance, even if you spent your whole life in the underworld, you'd never amount to anything. Let me tell you." Wang San readjusted his sitting posture to make himself more comfortable before continuing. "Seventh Brother is the absolute top dog right here in Heilongjiang Province, understand? Among all the underworld forces across our entire Heilongjiang, which faction doesn't acknowledge Seventh Brother? Those who don't die the fastest. If we want to get ahead, we have to keep Seventh Brother supplied and content."

Wang San made a cupped-fist salute gesture. "I'm telling you, my Second Brother is currently hanging around by Seventh Brother's side and is a huge favorite in his eyes. The reason that fellow A-Song was able to act like an overlord in Qingshan County before was simply because A-Song used to be a minor outer circle lackey under Seventh Brother. Now that A-Song has gone missing, I successfully rose to power by relying on my brother. Nowadays, in Qingshan County, what I say goes."

Wang San pointed a thumb at his own nose, looking so smug his nostrils were pointed straight at the sky, utterly arrogant.

Upon hearing this, Shanzi immediately laid on the flattery. He truly hadn't expected his Third Master's connections to be so formidable. That being the case, there was nothing more to say—he definitely had to stick close to Third Master.

The two of them—one sitting, one standing, one boasting, and the other buttering him up—went back and forth for half an hour without repeating a single line. Xu Lin had been listening to their bragging ever since she entered, and by now her ears were practically numb.

Unwilling to listen any longer, Xu Lin began to inspect this dilapidated courtyard. The yard looked large, but there weren't many rooms: three main rooms, two wing rooms, a firewood room, and that was it. In the east and west rooms, supplies such as rice, flour, grain, cooking oil, cloth, and cotton were piled up. Xu Lin didn't touch these supplies; instead, she headed to the backyard.

The backyard must have measured sixty or seventy square meters, and it had clearly never been tended to. Wild grass grew to half a person's height. If not for a faint, uneven path winding through the weeds, Xu Lin would have truly thought this place was a wasteland.

Following that faint, winding path, Xu Lin's spiritual perception detected a secret chamber hidden inside a dry well.

Never one to miss out on a discovery, Xu Lin immediately slipped into the dry well, lightly triggered the mechanism, and burrowed into the secret chamber.

The secret chamber was neither large nor small, but the items stored inside were quite plentiful, neatly arranged box by box. No matter how one looked at it, these things hadn't been placed here recently; they must have been stored away a very long time ago. It was unclear whether Wang San was even aware of it.

Hah, whether he knew about it or not, Xu Lin had no intention of letting them slip by. With a flicker of her spiritual power, she began collecting everything: *collect, collect, collect*.

In no time at all, all several dozen boxes were swept into her spatial dimension. After that, Xu Lin carefully checked the surroundings once more, and finding nothing else, she climbed back out of the dry well.

Returning to the front yard, Xu Lin found that Wang San and Shanzi had stopped their boasting. Shanzi was squatting by the doorway, clutching his head with a bitter expression. It was unclear what kind of difficult problem he had run into.

"Boss, this matter isn't easy to handle. The current political climate is really too tense; if we get targeted, even if we survive, we'll be skinned alive." Shanzi looked at Wang San with a troubled face. "Can't we really drag this out for a while?"

"Do you think I don't want to? It's just that there's no other choice." Wang San spread his hands. "You come up with a solution. As long as you handle this well, I'll reward you handsomely later."

Perhaps feeling that empty promises lacked motivational power, Wang San fished a ten-yuan bill from his pocket and slapped it onto the table. "Shanzi, if you pull this off well, Third Master will reward you with a hundred yuan."

"Really?" Shanzi's eyes lit up. A hundred yuan! That was enough to take two wives. As long as the reward was high enough, the task wasn't entirely impossible to execute.

"What I say is naturally true. Hurry up and think of a way to get it done. This ten-yuan note is an advance payment." With that, Wang San pushed the money toward Shanzi and waved his hand, signaling him to hurry off and get to work.

"Alright, I'm right on it."