Return to the 1982 Staff Compound

Chapter 358

Chapter 358 A blessing in disguise

The money nominally belonged to Qiu Huoming, but it was not certain whether he had the right to use it. Now it is confirmed that it does not belong to him.

Qiu Huoming looked at the amount with some heartache and handed the check to Chang Lei.

Chang Lei took a look and asked William in a low voice, "Classmate, can this money be a little less?"

William was stunned for a moment, “Let me ask.”

He leaned closer to Capone and asked, "I want to know if the price can be reduced a little bit over there."

"Of course not. I lowered the price. No one died, but he burned things and injured people..." Capone was angry, "My subordinates who went to make connections were left to help put out the fire..."

William retreated awkwardly. He looked at Chang Lei and said embarrassedly, "It can't be less."

Chang Lei exhaled and handed over the check, "Where should we wait?"

Capone opened the car door and said, "Follow me and find a place where I will let you wait..."

Capone turned his head and looked at Qiu Huoming and William, "You two take my car."

Qiu Huoming turned around and looked at Chang Lei and asked, "Leader, do you think I should sit over there?"

Chang Lei waved his hand and said, "Go ahead, go ahead."

The two cars drove north one after the other.

Capone's driving style was just like his personality, unruly and he drove very fast. Qiu Huoming and William sat in the back seat, looking nervous.

"Capone, no one is chasing you, drive slower." William shouted.

Capone smiled and said, "Don't worry, my driving skills are so good that I can drive in San Francisco and South Bowan..."

"I just saw that this money was paid by you, right?" Capone turned his head and asked Qiu Huoming.

Qiu Huoming was stunned, and William on the side had already spoken, "Of course not."

"Don't treat me as a blind man." Capone said, then retracted his gaze and continued to drive fast.

"I'll go to the bank to withdraw money first." After turning a few corners, Capone parked the car in front of a nearby bank.

He got out of the car quickly, and as his car stopped, Chang Lei leaned over to look over.

Qiu Huoming opened the door and walked over to greet him, "He's gone to get the money, let's wait a little longer."

"Oh, okay." Chang Lei sat in the passenger seat, with a lot on his mind.

Qiu Huoming stretched his limbs beside the car, and not long after, Capone came out.

He waved his hand and Qiu Huoming hurried over.

"boarding."

The car turned and started driving west. There was a long coastline and a large area that was desolate.

Halfway along the way, he stopped the car and turned to look at Qiu Huoming, "Would you like to come with me to see it for yourself?"

Qiu Huoming shook his head quickly. Capone showed a hint of disappointment. He put Qiu Huoming and William down with a stern face and said, "Just wait here."

The car sped away.

Qiu Huoming took William to the car driven by Xiao Qin.

The morning sun was still mild, the car windows were open, and the humid ocean breeze blew over from afar.

There are not many green plants here, but there are quite a few strange rocks.

"Classmate, is your friend reliable?" Chang Lei turned his head and asked.

William nodded, "What you said is still true."

Xiao Qin opened the car door, went to the side to get a cigarette, and asked loudly: "Brother Lei, do you want one?"

Chang Lei responded and got out of the car.

Qiu Huoming and William leaned back in their chairs boredly, each with an arm sticking out.

"Tell me, who is controlling the person you are looking for?" William asked curiously.

"Not many people can come into contact with him, so it's easy to guess who it is. If I can guess it, they should be able to guess it too..." Qiu Huoming looked at Chang Lei and Xiao Qin who were standing not far from the front of the car and smoking.

"Then you won't pursue it?"

"We need evidence..." Qiu Huoming said with a smile, "They probably didn't expect that Engineer Ding is such a man of integrity."

"What will happen when he goes back?" William asked.

Qiu Huoming was silent. He opened his five fingers and the wind leaked out from between them. After a while, he responded, "I don't know either."

Several people circled the direction of the car, going in and out several times, and were tired of looking at the nearby scenery. When it was almost noon, the roar of a car was heard.

Chang Lei immediately perked up. He stood beside the car and looked over.

Qiu Huoming and William walked out from a small path nearby.

Xiao Qin raised his head in the cab.

The familiar front of the car appeared first, and it was indeed Capone's car.

Several people looked at the intersection intently.

"Squeak..." The sound of sudden braking was heard.

Chang Lei was disappointed to see that there was no one in the car except Capone.

Capone parked the car, got out quickly and opened the trunk.

Chang Lei and his group followed and moved to the back of the car.

He looked nervous, he was afraid of seeing a dead body...

Qiu Huoming and William followed closely behind, and not far away Xiao Qin was walking quickly towards them.

In the trunk, Engineer Ding was curled up in a ball and was still unconscious. Chang Lei and Qiu Huoming carried Engineer Ding out from the left and right.

"He just took sleeping pills. He's fine. We're even now..." Capone said thoughtfully looking at Qiu Huoming.

"Well, thank you..." Qiu Huoming said sincerely.

"Let's go." Capone came quickly and left even faster.

The car roared and drove away...

Chang Lei breathed a sigh of relief, and several people worked together to put him in the back seat of the car.

"Get in the car, I'll take you back first." Chang Lei said.

Qiu Huoming shook his head. "If he wakes up, can you control him?"

"William and I are here, sandwiching him on the left and right. Leader, you can either drive back directly or William and I will take the train back to school."

Chang Lei nodded and said, "You're right. OK, let's get in the car."

Several people packed the small car and drove towards the embassy.

The embassy is in the city and the road along the way is very prosperous. Xiao Qin drove very fast and arrived at the gate of the embassy in less than an hour.

This is a small white four-story building with a bright red flag flying at the top and two stone lions at the gate. It looks both oriental and fashionable.

Qiu Huoming didn't have to worry about anything anymore, as a few people in work clothes took over.

There was a platform nearby. Qiu Huoming saw that they were very busy and had no intention of inviting him to visit the embassy.

He felt quite regretful and looked at the door for a while before walking out with William.

He had just walked out a short distance when he heard someone calling him, "Wait a minute."

Qiu Huoming turned his head and saw Chang Lei running towards him, sweating profusely. "The ambassador wants to see you."

William smiled and said, “I’ll wait for you on the platform.”

Chang Lei smiled and said, "You guys come together."

William was overjoyed, "I can go in too."

"of course can."

Chang Lei took the lead and led them into the small white building.

There are many art paintings hanging in the corridors, and the hall is decorated with an artistic atmosphere.

“William, you just wander around here first, I’ll take classmate Qiu to do something.”

Chang Lei said with a smile.

William obediently found a sofa and sat down.

Qiu Huoming followed Chang Lei upstairs.

In an office, I saw an old man with silver hair and vigorous spirit. There was another person sitting next to him, who turned out to be Dean Zhou.

Dean Zhou stood up first, and the old man said to Chang Lei: "Go and see if Engineer Ding has woken up..."

Chang Lei understood, responded and walked out.

Qiu Huoming walked over quickly, "Uncle Zhou, why are you here?"

Dean Zhou smiled and said, "I came here specially to wait for you. This is a great job."

The old man smiled and said, "You are indeed a young talent."

"My last name is Hu, you can just call me Grandpa Hu..."

"Grandpa Hu, now that the person has been found, is Uncle Zhou okay now?" Qiu Huoming asked.

Dean Zhou looked embarrassed, "Huo Ming, this matter is not his responsibility."

Grandpa Hu laughed, "You should first care about your elders. You have a good young man. Don't worry, I will plead for him..."

Qiu Huoming was overjoyed, "Thank you, Grandpa Hu."

"I just wanted to see who the Fields Medal winner is. Now that I have seen it, I am very satisfied."

Grandpa Hu came over and patted him on the shoulder. "It's getting late. Let's go. I'll treat you to a meal."

"Grandpa Hu, I have another classmate downstairs..."

"Can we eat without him? Let's call him together..."

Grandpa Hu walked straight out the door, and Qiu Huoming and Dean Zhou followed him.

In the dining room, William looked around. His family was wealthy and he was used to large occasions, but he had rarely seen this kind of oriental style of decoration.

The food came quickly and was all Chinese food.

Qiu Huoming's appetite suddenly increased.

Grandpa Hu spoke up, "At noon, everyone can just have a light meal. No need to drink alcohol. Let's drink tea. This is the spring tea brought from China..."

"I used tea instead of wine, and this time the matter was handled well..."

Everyone raised their glasses upon hearing this. Qiu Huoming took a sip of the tea, which was still a little light. He glanced at Dean Zhou, who was blowing the tea leaves with a smug look on his face and drinking enthusiastically.

The host had already picked up his chopsticks, and everyone started eating immediately.

William picked up a quail egg with chopsticks tremblingly, and the quail egg rolled down halfway.

Everyone laughed.

Grandpa Hu immediately apologized: "I forgot there is a foreign friend here."

He called down and brought back a new set of knife and fork for William.

At the dinner table, there was constant laughter because of this warm-spoken and interesting old man.

On the way back, Dean Zhou walked with them towards the station.

The afternoon sun was warm and the streets in this area were relatively quiet. A few people were walking on the sidewalks, occasionally passing by a store with a dazzling array of merchandise in its glass windows.

Qiu Huoming was jealous. Dean Zhou at the side joked, "Have you prepared everything? You came all the way here, you can buy more."

"You reminded me. I didn't go to class today anyway, so I might as well sweep the streets and buy more things." Qiu Huoming thought for a moment and asked, "Uncle Zhou, why don't you stay and interrogate Engineer Ding?"

"Avoid suspicion, and take the initiative to avoid suspicion." Dean Zhou smiled and said, "Don't worry, a person of integrity is not afraid of his own shadow. This matter seems to be a crisis, but maybe it will be a meritorious service..."

"As the saying goes, a blessing in disguise..."

Qiu Huoming seemed to be thinking about something, "Follow the clues and find the source..."

After leaving this street, the road began to become lively, and Dean Zhou said goodbye to them at the intersection.

Qiu Huoming no longer had any worries and started shopping with peace of mind.

In addition to buying architectural books for Zhao Jiamin and car-related books for Gu Xiaoran, he also had to buy things for his family...

He kept buying until the sun was about to set, and then he stopped. William, who was standing beside him, had already lost all hope in life.

Qiu Huoming's bags of all sizes were hanging on his hands. "I used to think it was tiring to go shopping with a woman, but I didn't expect that going shopping with a man would be even more tiring..." William lamented.

"If you don't treat me to a drink tonight, I'll never let you go..."

Qiu Huoming laughed loudly, "Please, let's go to Fisherman's Wharf. I miss the seafood here. Please wait a moment. I'll go buy a box to pack my things..."

William sighed and kicked him, "Hurry up!"

The sun sank into the horizon, the lights came on, and Qiu Huoming carried the box and walked towards Fisherman's Wharf with William.

Halfway through the journey, he suggested, "William, do you want to do a business?"

William responded unhappily: "What business can you introduce? You are a foreigner..."

Qiu Huoming carried his box and waved it in front of him. "It really makes money. I promise."

"Oh, if you really make money, I'll give you half." William replied casually.

Qiu Huoming laughed, "I was waiting for you to say this."

"Look, you've been carrying this box in your hand all the time, don't you think there's something wrong with it?" Qiu Huoming asked.

William lowered his head and looked at the box in Qiu Huoming's hand.

"It's made of cowhide, the corners are hard-packed, and the buckles are exquisite..." William shook his head, "I can't see any flaws..."

"It's... very heavy." Qiu Huoming said.

"Tsk tsk, it's because you bought too many books." William laughed.

Qiu Huoming moved closer to him and said, "You need to solve this problem instead of questioning it."

As soon as these words came out, William was stunned for a moment. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

"For example..." Qiu Huoming cleared his throat, "Add two wheels to this box. When the technology is ready in the future, add four wheels and move it horizontally..."

William stopped suddenly and reached out to take the box from Qiu Huoming's hand.

He looked directly at the bottom of the box.

"Why didn't I think of this method..." William murmured, "No, I want to go home once, this is a business opportunity..."

Qiu Huoming touched his stomach and said, "There's no need to rush. Aren't you hungry? I promised to treat you..."

William continued to hold the box in his hand, "Come on, come back with me. Maybe this time, you will have a chance to earn back the ten thousand dollars you just paid!"

"Your home is in San Francisco?" Qiu Huoming asked curiously.

"Of course not, but my family has a house here, and my parents are here for vacation. I originally wanted to go back in a few days, but now is the perfect time..."

William showed a hint of excitement on his face. "Let them say that I have strong limbs but a simple brain. Hum, this time, I will make them look at me with new eyes."

After saying that, he stretched out his hand to stop a car.

Soon a taxi stopped beside them.

"Hey, it's my first time meeting the elders, and I haven't bought any gifts yet!" Qiu Huoming said hesitantly.

"You are the gift, get in the car." William first stuffed the box into the trunk, then pulled Qiu Huoming over.

"Let me make it clear in advance, I sell my art but not my body. I won't acknowledge any gifts or not..." Qiu Huoming said seriously.

"That's not up to you!" William said with a grim smile.

The driver in the front seat shuddered, glanced silently at the two of them through the rearview mirror, and quickly looked away.