vrcanaries Chapter 59 Questioning
Chapter 59 Questioning
"Third Master, my business has been slow lately. The prices in the Northwest are pretty fair and straightforward, so I was thinking of giving it a try!"
“Old Qiu, Pan Zi has always been in charge of the business in the Northwest. You didn’t inform him or let anyone know. This means you don’t respect Third Master!” Before Wu Sansheng, who was sitting in the superior position, could express his opinion, Black Fox interrupted him.
"What business is it of yours! Just because Pan Zi can do business in the Northwest doesn't mean others can't!" Wang Baqiu glanced at the black fox to his side and retorted, "Besides, didn't you transport some sea sand a while ago? You made a fortune and now you can't stand seeing others make money?"
Wu Sansheng's eyes flickered slightly, but he continued flipping through the ledgers as if he hadn't heard anything. However, the black fox knew that Wu Sansheng was already waiting for his explanation.
"You bastard Qiu, don't try to be ungrateful! Everyone knows that seafood is raised on the sand! And all my seafood was shipped from Qinghai, it's all written down in black and white, unlike you, who can't stay in one place for long before moving on!"
Wang Baqiu was furious after suffering repeated setbacks, but he was still in the wrong with Wu Sansheng and dared not turn against him at this time. It was all because of this inexplicable audit. If Wu Sansheng found out who was behind this mess, he would personally tear that person's skin off without Wu Sansheng even having to say anything.
“This time, I was unfair, brother. Otherwise, if this shipment from the Northwest is indeed profitable, then I’ll split it 70/70 with Pan Zi and give you a portion as a tribute, Third Master. How about that?” Wang Baqiu stood up, gritting his teeth. He lowered himself and cupped his hands to Wu Sansheng and Da Pan in turn. This was his final concession.
Wu Sansheng clearly knew that teasing this turtle too much would make it bite, so he stopped pressing the matter. He closed the turtle Qiu's ledger and stacked it aside. Then he reached out and picked up the next one: "We're all brothers, so I won't stand on ceremony."
"You're too kind, Third Master!" Wang Baqiu nodded resentfully, swallowing his anger, and sat back down in the sandalwood chair behind him.
Da Pan stood behind Wu Sansheng as a background figure, not uttering a word, as if he would do whatever Third Master said!
However, the sudden vibration of the phone in my pocket was still quite noticeable in this serious atmosphere.
Da Pan glanced at everyone in the private room, then slightly turned to take out his phone to check—it was a message from Master Xie...
Da Pan frowned and looked at Wu Sansheng: "Third Master?"
Wu Sansheng took the phone without changing his expression, glanced at the caller ID, and hung up. Unsurprisingly, less than ten seconds later, a text message popped up on his phone: "I'll buy a private room at your Sujin Teahouse for you to use. Come and chat—Jie Yuchen."
This kid actually came knocking on our door!?
Wu Sanxing was both amused and exasperated: This time there was no escaping it. You cunning Jie Lianhuan, no wonder you wanted to switch back!
Wu Sansheng handed the phone back to Da Pan and nodded calmly.
Da Pan understood, but there were still things to resolve at the moment.
"Old Liu, could you please explain how the news leaked about the batch of goods that Third Master sent back the day before yesterday?"
A young man, who looked like a rogue and a scoundrel, sitting in the third sandalwood chair on the right, trembled slightly upon hearing this. He glanced between Wu Sansheng and Da Pan with feigned ignorance: "What kind of news is this? I haven't heard anything about it! Da Pan, you're framing me!"
"Where were you at 11 PM the night before last?"
Old Liu grinned: "Of course I'll stay home and sleep!"
"The delivery guy said he ran into you at 11 p.m. the night before last and even said hello."
"He must have seen wrong. I really have been sleeping at home the whole time. Which little chopsticks is it?"
Unfortunately, he is dead!
Old Liu clicked his tongue a few times and shrugged: "That's even stranger. The man is dead, how could you possibly know what he said?"
Da Pan sneered and threw the dagger from his waist into the center of the private room: "The person is dead, but the dead can still talk. Do you remember what the corpse you disposed of looked like?"
Old Liu's expression changed slightly, and his fingers trembled more noticeably: "What corpse? Da Pan, don't make false accusations!"
"You burned my brother to ashes in the woods by the pond in the western suburbs!"
A voice filled with hatred suddenly came from behind the curtain to the right of Da Pan, and then a thin figure walked in front of everyone.
"You!" Old Liu suddenly stood up. How could this be? How could it look so much like...?
"It looks like it!" Qi Yao's eyes were bloodshot, her thin fingers clenched into fists. "That night, my brother was ordered to help Third Master receive goods. He was afraid it wouldn't be safe for me at the trading post, so he took me on the truck. But to avoid getting into trouble, he still hid me in a hidden empty cargo box. That's how I escaped. But my brother..."
Qi Yao's shoulders trembled as he stared intently at Old Liu's face, tears streaming uncontrollably down his cheeks. "Just because I saw you coming out of Third Master's warehouse and casually greeted you, you stabbed him to death and burned him alive... I barely managed to escape from the woods with my brother's ashes, which hadn't been shoveled into the pond, but when I got home, my father and mother were both dead! Do you remember how they died? They were missing their hands, their feet, their eyes... They were driven to their deaths!"
"You're talking nonsense! I didn't kill anyone!" Old Liu panicked, but still refused to admit it. "Third Master, you can't just listen to this brat's side of the story. He must have teamed up with Pan Zi to frame me!"
The mad killing intent surging in Qi Yao's eyes was terrifying, unlike other young people who were just over twenty. He glanced at the gleaming dagger on the floor, ran straight over, grabbed the dagger in his hand, and then suddenly stabbed the still arguing Lao Liu with ruthless force.
Third Master promised him that he would take revenge himself!
"You little brat, you're asking for it!" Old Liu reacted quickly, intercepting the dagger Qi Yao was throwing, and raising his right hand to slap Qi Yao.
But the next moment, with a gunshot, a bloody hole appeared in Old Liu's palm. Qi Yao, standing in front of him, seemed oblivious to the gunshot; the moment Old Liu released his grip in pain, the dagger plunged into his abdomen, then pulled it out, and stabbed it back in...
In a private room on the second floor, Xie Yuchen, who had just heard the gunshot, paused slightly while fiddling with his tea leaves. He glanced in the direction of the gunshot, then lowered his eyes and continued fiddling with his tea leaves, seemingly unaffected. In his heart, however, he thought to himself, "Wu Sansheng is finally coming to see me."
"Go open the door." Xie Yuchen instructed Xie Qi behind him, without any sense that his actions and his status as the head of the Xie family required him to avoid suspicion.
"Yes!"
Although Jie Qi couldn't quite grasp Jie Yuchen's meaning, he figured listening was the right thing to do. However, he didn't notice the sudden chill in Jie Yuchen's eyes as she watched him walk away to open the door...
"Master Jie!"
Not long after, Wu Sansheng entered the private tea room where Xie Yuchen was. He looked at this junior whom he hadn't seen for quite some time and felt somewhat comforted.
"Third Master, it's been a long time." Xie Yuchen said with a professional fake smile, gesturing for the man to take a seat.
"Master Jie!" Da Pan nodded to Jie Yuchen according to custom, and behind him was a young man who seemed to be lost in thought.
Xie Yuchen returned the greeting, but his gaze subtly swept over Qi Yao.
"Master Xie, just say what you have to say!" Wu Sansheng had no intention of introducing him, but judging from Xie Yuchen's intelligence, even without an introduction, this kid Qi Yao could still become familiar to him.
"It's no secret that you brought back from Hainan, but I'm not here today for that thing. I want to ask someone."
Wu Sansheng understood what Jie Yuchen meant, but how could he say it? He joked and talked nonsense, but he just wouldn't give him a direct answer.
"So many years have passed, let's not talk about that! Hey Panzi, does the teahouse have any new dim sum? Go and bring some up for Xiaohua, and put it on my tab."
"Third Master!" Xie Yuchen's voice was already filled with anger. He stared into Wu Sansheng's eyes, his expression resolute. "Today, you must give me an explanation!"