Li Chonglou still couldn't determine if he was loyal or treacherous. Therefore, for this small meeting, he only asked Chen Pao to wait outside the company. After he finished handling matters here, they would go together to find the core materials.
About twenty minutes later, Li Chonglou walked out of the company's main entrance alone.
Chen Pao was already waiting there. Seeing Li Chonglou's figure, he couldn't help but complain, "Brother, do you have to take so long to give instructions?"
Li Chonglou smiled and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I might be gone for a while after leaving the company this time, so there are more things to convey."
"Oh? What are you going to do?"
Chen Pao immediately became interested. The matter of the core materials wouldn't take more than a few days; if things went smoothly, it might be done in one day. Therefore, Li Chonglou's statement that he would return after some time registered as something unusual to him.
He instantly realized there was a special situation.
However, this time Li Chonglou did not intend to involve anyone else. He chuckled and ignored it.
"If you don't want to say, then don't."
Chen Pao also chuckled, but Li Chonglou didn't notice his eyes darting around twice.
Skipping the matter and seeing Li Chonglou continue to walk out, Chen Pao couldn't help but ask, "Where are we going now?"
"An Neng Department Store Station."
The so-called An Neng Department Store Station was actually just the name of a company. Its business was to specialize in acquiring various items it deemed valuable and then reselling them.
Its function was somewhat similar to a recycling station and a second-hand market. The difference was that its criteria were a bit different. Li Chonglou had looked it up online last night.
This company didn't necessarily acquire items that had unique value; they might even take an ordinary used mobile phone, or even a pair of worn-out shoes that someone had thrown away.
Their criteria were entirely dependent on the resources of the salesperson at the time.
This meant that for the same item, one salesperson might not even glance at it, while another might pester you like a grandchild chasing a grandfather.
Chen Peiyue was targeted by such a salesperson at that time, which led her to sell the blue doll she liked but found troublesome to the other party.
According to Lu Niu's dying words, this person was also a high-level executive in this company. He had encountered Chen Peiyue by chance while running errands.
As for his name, Lu Niu, for some reason, did not mention it.
He only knew that this person was one of Lu Niu's partners in Shangjing, and could be considered half an informant for Lu Niu, because his current position in the company was entirely thanks to the strange and exotic items Lu Niu brought back for him from abroad.
And Lu Niu had specifically mentioned one thing in his few dying words.
"Don't call him by his full name, or don't blame me if you can't find him."
This had piqued Li Chonglou's curiosity.
Fortunately, the company's headquarters could be found online. Li Chonglou and Chen Pao took a taxi and spent two hours reaching the vicinity of their company.
The company area was only a few hundred square meters, with only two buildings, the tallest being six stories. However, they looked quite new.
And unlike other companies, there were no doormen here; anyone could enter and exit at any time.
When Li Chonglou and Chen Pao entered the building closest to the main entrance, they found that the entrance had a list of the company's internal members' names and portraits.
Although Lu Niu's dying words hadn't mentioned the person's name, they had mentioned his position.
"Deputy General Manager..."
There were quite a few people listed, about twenty to thirty. However, there was only one manager and one deputy general manager. Li Chonglou quickly spotted the person's portrait and name.
He was a fair-skinned, plump man with a buzz cut. From the photo alone, his head seemed disproportionately large, but judging by his features, he appeared to be a simple and honest person.
And his name was.
"Fan Jian."
Li Chonglou burst out laughing when he saw these two characters and immediately understood why Lu Niu had said that.
Chen Pao also said with a strange expression, "Could this guy have been adopted? Or did he offend his parents from birth?"
After the name, there was a phone number, but Li Chonglou had no intention of calling it.
If it could be solved by phone, Lu Niu would have directly provided the number, and there would be no need for them to come in person.
According to Lu Niu's original words, if they wanted to find him, they first had to find his "little lover," Xiao Hong.
After learning the name, Li Chonglou took Chen Pao to the reception desk in the lobby.
Li Chonglou had always thought Xiao Hong was a pseudonym until he saw the small tag on the chest of a woman at the reception desk, which clearly read "Xiao Hong."
However, "This guy really is indecent even to his death."
Li Chonglou felt a mix of amusement and exasperation because the woman named Xiao Hong standing before him was rather voluptuous, almost like a mountain of flesh.
But unlike Rou Shan's sturdiness, she was completely fat! Just sitting there, her flesh seemed to be layered with four or five folds. Li Chonglou guessed the woman weighed at least two hundred catties!
However, judging people by their appearance is immoral. Li Chonglou quickly put away his thoughts and walked forward politely, saying.
"Hello, I'd like to find Manager Fan."
The woman was originally engrossed in writing something. She raised her head upon hearing the voice, and with just this small movement, the flesh on her face seemed to jiggle.
What she said next was even more surprising.
"What are you looking for that dead guy for?"
Li Chonglou was stunned. It took him several seconds to react: "Boss Lu introduced me."
The woman stopped talking, lowered her head, wrote a string of numbers, and handed it over.
"Use this today, you dial it yourself."
After that, the woman ignored Li Chonglou.
Li Chonglou didn't say much more. He took the note and walked away with Chen Pao. However, before leaving, he couldn't help but look back.
"How does this connect with 'Xiao'?"
He muttered to himself, and after reaching outside with Chen Pao, he dialed the number on the note.
Within seconds, the other party answered.
"Who?"
"Hello Manager Fan, I was introduced by Boss Lu."
The voice on the other end of the phone clearly paused for a few seconds.
"Brother Lu Niu? Where are you now?"
"Just outside your company headquarters."
"Okay, wait for me, I'll be right back."
After hanging up the phone, the two waited for another ten minutes before finally meeting the person in question.
Fan Jian was even fatter than he looked in the photo, and quite matched the woman named Xiao Hong at the reception desk. However, he seemed to be trying to hide. He first cautiously peeked inside, then immediately pulled the two of them away from the company.
They didn't stop until they reached a nearby coffee shop.
After skillfully ordering a few cups of coffee, Fan Jian spoke before Li Chonglou, "Where is my Brother Lu Niu? I happen to have something to look for him for."
The expressions of both of them froze simultaneously.