dmims Chapter 15: A makeshift team
Chapter 15: A makeshift team
After Tong Kexin's braised food stall closed, the roller shutter door was pulled down with a whoosh, and the inside was like an air-raid shelter, so no one could see inside.
When Cheng Xiaojin arrived, Tieguai Li was already sitting in the corner on a folding chair, his cane leaning against the wall, drinking water from an enamel mug in his hand.
Zhou Banxian arrived last, wearing a faded military overcoat and with his hair in a mess. He didn't sit down as soon as he entered, but took a couple of deep sniffs.
"Whose braised food smells so strong? You can smell it all over the street."
"It's my house, so what? If you don't like the smell, then get out." Tong Kexin pointed to the door with the handle of her spoon.
Zhou Banxian chuckled twice, plopped down on the greasy folding table, and tucked his hands into his sleeves.
"Alright, alright, let's get to the meeting. You're all more slow than I was when I held squad meetings back in the army." Tieguai Li tapped his enamel mug on the table.
Cheng Xiaojin took out a crumpled piece of white paper from his canvas bag and laid it on the table. On the paper, he drew several crooked squares and arrows with a ballpoint pen, marking the words "Houhai" and a few names.
"Let's get down to business. The transaction will take place the day after tomorrow. I'll go over the process with you."
He tapped the square on the paper with the tip of his pen.
"The location is a private club in Houhai, booked by Fatty Sun. He hasn't told me which one yet, but someone will come to pick us up."
"I brought the counterfeit goods there, met with Boss Lin first, told the story that Zhou Banxian made up, and then had Glasses King inspect the goods."
"After the inspection, if there are no problems, we negotiate the price, take the money, and leave."
Tieguai Li broke off a piece of rice crust from the table and put it in his mouth to chew.
"It's that simple?"
"The process is that simple; the complexity lies in the details."
Cheng Xiaojin turned to look at Zhou Banxian.
"Master, could you give me a more detailed account of the story?"
Zhou Banxian pulled a piece of paper that had been folded several times from the pocket of his military overcoat, unfolded it, and found it covered with tiny characters written in tiny characters.
"In the twenty-second year of Yongle, eighteen years after the Prince of Yan moved the capital to Beiping, the military advisor Yao Guangxiao was ordered to supervise the construction of the water system in Beijing. Nine water-suppressing piles were set up in the north of the city. Each pile consisted of a set of fifteen fine iron objects, called the Sea-Suppressing Iron, which was used to lock the nine outlets of the underground water veins in North China."
He cleared his throat, then changed his tone, making it more husky and dramatic.
"This iron is made from the finest ore from the Western Mountains. It has been refined through a hundred processes to remove carbon. When struck, it produces a sound that lingers within the body and is known among the people as the Dragon's Roar. It is the finest among top-grade refined iron."
"During the late Yongle period, several earthquakes struck Beijing. Two of the nine protective pillars collapsed. The broken iron pieces were collected by craftsmen and scattered into the foundations of residential houses to ward off evil spirits. Over the next six hundred years, they were lost and scattered, and very few survive. Each piece is a verifiable Yongle relic."
Zhou Banxian slammed the manuscript paper shut and slammed it on the table.
"How about it, is this set of words tough enough?"
Cheng Xiaojin remained silent for a long time after listening, tapping his fingers twice on the table.
"Master, if you didn't look like this, I almost would have believed you."
"What do you mean by 'looks like this'? What's wrong with my appearance?"
"What do you think, Sister Tong?" Cheng Xiaojin turned to ask Tong Kexin.
Tong Kexin wiped the stove with a rag without turning her head.
"Stop talking nonsense, you guys can talk, why are you asking me?"
"You'll be in charge of logistics and emergency communications." Cheng Xiaojin pulled an old cell phone out of his pocket and placed it on the table. It was the button type, and the screen still had a cracked screen protector.
"This is Tieguai Li's backup phone. You can take it. After I enter the club, I will send you a text message every half hour with just one word: 'Peace.'"
"If you don't receive a message within forty minutes, call Master Ma and tell him that Cheng Xiaojin has run into trouble in Houhai."
Tong Kexin's hand stopped on the stove, and she turned around to look at him.
"You make it sound like you're going to your death."
"That's unlikely. Even if Fatty Sun is ruthless, he wouldn't dare to cause a death in Houhai. That place is packed with tourists, he doesn't have the guts."
"I'm just doing this as a precaution."
Tieguai Li drew a circle on the ground with his crutch.
"I'd like to explain two more technical things."
"First, the rust on counterfeit goods can withstand magnification and acid tests, so there's no problem with those two tests, but buyers shouldn't be able to scan them with a metal detector."
"Why?" Tong Kexin asked.
"The material is indeed old iron from the Qing Dynasty, and the composition is up to standard, but the carbon content is a fraction of a percent higher than that of refined iron from the Yongle period. It's not noticeable to the naked eye or by touch, and the data becomes skewed when scanned with an instrument."
Cheng Xiaojin nodded.
"That's easy. I'll make sure to keep quiet beforehand during the transaction. Feng shui items won't be tested with instruments; that's an old rule in the industry."
"Putting instruments on ironware is like breaking the energy; whether you believe it or not is unimportant, as long as the buyer believes it."
Zhou Banxian chuckled beside him.
"I'll say it when the time comes. It's ten times more believable when I say it than when you do."
"The second thing," Tieguai Li said, holding up two fingers.
"The counterfeit product is less than a pound lighter than the genuine product. You can't feel the difference when you hold it in your hand, but if someone is particular and weighs it on a precision scale, there is a risk."
"How much is one qian?" Tong Kexin asked again.
"A little over three grams."
"Can you weigh it out in three grams?"
"It depends on what kind of scale you use. The steelyard scale at the vegetable market won't show it, but a jewelry scale will."
Cheng Xiaojin waved his hand.
"Boss Lin is into feng shui items, not jewelry. He wouldn't carry a jewelry scale, and besides, they wouldn't know the weight of genuine items."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Tong Kexin draped the rag over her shoulder and put her hands on her hips.
"The three of you have been plotting here for ages, all about how to scam people out of their money. I just want to ask you a practical question."
"explain."
"What if something goes wrong and you run away? I've been doing business on this street for eight years. I can't move my braised food stall."
Cheng Xiaojin leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs.
"Why are you running away? This is a legal transaction, a willing buyer and willing seller. I'm not holding a knife to someone's throat."
Tong Kexin grabbed a large iron ladle from the stove and scooped up a spoonful of braised soup, intending to splash it on him.
"Cheng Xiaojin, if you keep grinning like that, believe me, I'll pour this bowl of soup right over your head."
"No, no, no, this soup is precious, it would be a waste to spill it on me."
Cheng Xiaojin covered his head with his hand, took two steps back, and became serious.
"Don't worry, Sister Kexin. You don't need to show your face at all. Just hold your phone and wait for news. No matter what happens, it has nothing to do with you."
"You make it sound so easy."
Tong Kexin put the spoon back on the stove, said nothing more, and turned to clear the dishes and chopsticks off the table.
While she was busy with her back to the others, Cheng Xiaojin glanced at her, opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything more.
When the show ended, Tieguai Li walked at the very back, tapping his cane on the ground repeatedly. Once Zhou Banxian and Tong Kexin were out of sight, he reached out and tugged at Cheng Xiaojin's sleeve.
"Xiao Jin, I have a question for you."
"you say."
Tieguai Li lowered his voice, "If this round succeeds, how much will we get at least?"
Cheng Xiaojin glanced at him and held up two fingers.
"Twenty thousand?"
Two hundred thousand.
Tieguai Li's leg, which was supporting him with his crutch, trembled, and his good leg also shook. He leaned against the wall to steady himself.
Say it again.
"Two hundred thousand, your share, I mean it."
Tieguai Li's lips trembled twice, but he didn't say anything. He turned around and walked deeper into the alley with his cane. After walking seven or eight steps, he turned back and looked at Cheng Xiaojin. Under the streetlight, he grinned, but it was hard to tell whether it was a smile or some other expression.
Cheng Xiaojin stood at the entrance of the alley, watching his limping figure disappear around the corner, and mentally did some calculations.
The counterfeit goods are sold for 300,000, so Master Qi will have to pay at least 20,000 for tea, Tieguai Li for 200,000, and we haven't even negotiated with Zhou Banxian yet, but he'll have to give us at least 10,000 yuan in red envelopes.
After cutting all that away, how much will be left for me?
Fifty or sixty thousand yuan.
That's enough to pay six months' rent, cover Miao Daqing's stall fee, and treat Tong Kexin to braised pork for a month.
He tightened the strap of his canvas bag over his shoulder, hopped on his bicycle, and headed back. The night wind blew into his collar, making him feel chilly.
My phone vibrated in my pocket.
Tong Kexin's text message contained only two words.
Be careful.