The plan to eliminate Xie Ruolin had just ignited in his heart, burning fiercely like a flame.
However, before he could put his plan into action, the telephone in his room rang. The caller was none other than Xie Ruolin.
"Guess who it is!" Xie Ruolin's voice on the phone was, as always, stammering, making it impossible not to guess.
Anger flared in Wang Xu's heart. He didn't ask how the other man had gotten his room's telephone number. Instead, he said coldly, "Xie Ruolin, you've touched my things, and you still dare to call me? You've got quite the nerve!"
"What things? I don't understand," Xie Ruolin continued to play dumb.
Wang Xu snorted coldly and muttered, "A bottle of anti-inflammatory medicine. Don't tell me you didn't steal it. And, you actually followed me. What's the meaning of that?"
Xie Ruolin on the other end of the line fell silent, not saying a word for a long time. When Wang Xu listened again, all he heard was a busy tone.
It took Wang Xu a moment to react. He cursed under his breath, "Damn!"
Knock, knock, knock... No sooner had he hung up the phone than knocking sounded at the door.
Just as Wang Xu was about to go open it, someone outside called out, "In ancient times, there was 'apology with brambles.' I have offended you before. Today, Xie is here to learn and apply it on the spot, offering my apology!"
"Who? Xie Ruolin? Was he calling from downstairs?" Wang Xu thought he must have misheard. But when he opened the door, it was indeed that guy.
At this moment, Xie Ruolin was wearing a high-collared Western suit, dressed up to look respectable.
As soon as he saw Wang Xu open the door, he made an exaggerated gesture and, without another word, performed a deep, formal bow.
Seeing this, even though Wang Xu harbored killing intent, he was momentarily stunned by the display. He retreated two steps subtly and asked, "What's the meaning of this?"
"Apology with brambles!" Xie Ruolin drawled out the phrase, then promptly knelt down without any hesitation.
Wang Xu didn't know what game he was playing. He glanced behind Xie Ruolin and asked, "Where are your brambles?"
"The brambles are here." Xie Ruolin reached behind his back and pulled out—good heavens—two large, gleaming gold bars.
One large gold bar was worth ten small ones, weighing exactly one jin on the scale.
Wang Xu looked at the two large gold bars. So, Xie Ruolin's 'apology with brambles' was actually 'apology with gold.' No wonder he had drawn out the pronunciation. This young man had quite the idea!
"Two gold bars, a small token of my respect. I have offended you before; please be magnanimous." Xie Ruolin smiled ingratiatingly, holding the two gold bars high.
Wang Xu found it strange. What kind of person was Xie Ruolin? Someone who would squeeze oil out of a stone.
Apologizing to him and bringing two gold bars? What kind of show was this? Zhuge Liang crossing the river to mourn Zhou Yu?
"We're both sensible people, so I'll speak frankly. That medicine, I did take it. I just wanted to cooperate with you!"
Xie Ruolin winked and smirked, still kneeling on the ground like a shameless dog, and chuckled, "I had that medicine looked at by the foreign doctor. The foreigner said it's a new drug from Europe. He'd only heard of it and didn't expect it was already being produced. I'm not asking for much. Just look at these two gold bars, be the bigger person, and let's cooperate, okay?"
Xie Ruolin's intentions and explanations were completely different from what Wang Xu had imagined.
In his mind, Xie Ruolin should have been threatening him, even showing up with a gun, acting as if he had him completely figured out.
What was going on? Did Xie Ruolin not know his secret at all, or was he pretending to be ignorant?
"Last night, were you following me?" Wang Xu gestured for Xie Ruolin to stand up, asking as if it were a casual question.
Xie Ruolin scratched his head sheepishly. Once inside the room, he busied himself pouring tea and water, bowing and scraping as he said, "My occupational habit kicked in, hehe. Just think of me as a fart and let me go."
"What did you find?" Wang Xu's heart tightened. Sure enough, Xie Ruolin had followed him last night. He wondered if the shuttle gate had been exposed.
Wang Xu stared at Xie Ruolin, and Xie Ruolin stared back.
The two of them stared at each other for a good while before Xie Ruolin finally spoke up timidly, "You're a magician."
"A magician?" Wang Xu wondered what this was about. Was it some kind of spy code?
Fortunately, Xie Ruolin didn't keep him waiting long. Seeing Wang Xu's confusion, he explained, "Last night, I followed you. You turned a corner and just vanished. Impressive, truly impressive. If I'm not mistaken, there must be a secret passage or mechanism there, right? Hehe, that passage is really cleverly made. I searched for half the night and found absolutely nothing."
Hearing this, Wang Xu let out a deep sigh of relief.
It seemed the shuttle gate hadn't been exposed. Xie Ruolin thought he had left through a secret passage.
This was understandable. It was the republic of china era now, and science, as an emerging concept, held great sway in this time.
Besides, something like a shuttle gate—even if you saw it with your own eyes, you might not believe it.
Moreover, when Wang Xu had crossed over, he had deliberately looked around. It had been so dark that it wasn't strange Xie Ruolin hadn't noticed anything.
Of course, even so, Wang Xu's killing intent remained undiminished.
Xie Ruolin's curiosity was too strong. Regardless of whether he had seen anything, Wang Xu was convinced he had. This man could not be allowed to live.
"Tell me, why should I cooperate with you?" Though murderous intent stirred in his heart, Wang Xu showed no outward sign, continuing to play along.
Xie Ruolin's mind was entirely on making a fortune. Upon hearing the question, he answered without hesitation, "My connections are far stronger than Yu Zecheng's. As long as we cooperate—you provide the goods, I provide the connections—we can plow right through, no matter if it's the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics, the Central Statistics Bureau, the Underground Party, or the Japanese. When the time comes, you take the meat, I'll take the broth. We'll never have to worry about selling our goods."
Xie Ruolin had seen Wang Xu long ago but hadn't paid much attention at the time, just casting a wide net aimlessly.
After seeing Yu Zecheng come and go frequently, Xie Ruolin became more intentional.
Sure enough, after one unsuccessful attempt at following him, he still managed to discover a secret: a new type of anti-inflammatory medicine from Europe.
These days, Tianjin lacked everything except patients.
The penicillin Wang Xu had brought, Xie Ruolin had already had it appraised. Its effectiveness was beyond question.
More importantly, this was a brand-new, untapped market. Just thinking with your toes, you could imagine the immense profits involved. So, not just an 'apology with gold'—if cooperation was possible, Xie Ruolin would even be willing to kneel and call him 'grandfather.'
"Sounds good. What if I don't agree?" After listening to Xie Ruolin's speech, Wang Xu asked coldly.
Xie Ruolin glanced at him furtively and replied in a tone that was both relaxed and certain, "I'm not afraid you won't agree. I grew up in Tianjin city. Warlords came, the Central Army came, the Japanese came—I've never been afraid of anyone. Me, I'm like a piece of stubborn plaster. Once I stick to you, if you want to peel me off, you'll take a layer of skin with you. I can outlast you..."
Xie Ruolin's words were somewhat shameless. A proper, upright businessman would indeed have no way to deal with such a local bully.
But Wang Xu was different. He would only do business here if he thought it was feasible.
If he felt unsafe, it wasn't a matter of never returning; he could easily hide in the real world for a few months.
So, Xie Ruolin's threats meant nothing to him. Moreover, he had no intention of letting the man live.
"Yesterday's news broadcast reported that the Nanjing Wang Puppet Government is going to establish a Political Security Protection Bureau in Tianjin. Rumor has it that Boss Dai is very angry. Probably during this period, Yu Zecheng will be very busy. When people get busy, they inevitably become distracted. So, I think I'm more suitable than him."
On the surface, Yu Zecheng was with the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. When their Boss Dai got angry, they had no choice but to be busy.
Feeling that his reasoning was sound, Xie Ruolin added in a murmur, "This is big business. Those who can do it, rise; those who can't, fall. You don't think your relationship with Yu Zecheng is more important than money, do you? Compared to money, our little grudge is nothing!"
In every sentence, Xie Ruolin talked about cooperation and money, his eyes practically glowing green with greed.
Wang Xu looked at him with a strange expression. If there was anyone in this world who valued money over their life, it was Xie Ruolin. His greed for money was bone-deep, incurable.
"What you say makes sense, but you made one mistake: you shouldn't have followed me..."
"Then..."
Xie Ruolin wanted to say something more, but when he looked up, a heavy glass ashtray came whistling down through the air... Thud...