But upon further thought, he could understand why Old Fourth Zhu was so angry. Forty million, just gone like that, was surely hard to accept.
When he went, there was truly nothing there.
So where exactly had things gone wrong? Why had the money disappeared?
“Is there a possibility that someone knew you were in trouble and knew your hiding places, so they secretly moved it?” Tang Shitong ventured.
As soon as he said this, Old Fourth Zhu retorted without thinking, "Impossible, only I knew about that place, no one else could possibly know.”
“Then why wasn’t the money there? Where did the money go?”
“…”
Old Fourth Zhu couldn't answer. He remembered that he personally handled all those secret stashes, and there couldn't possibly be a second person who knew about them. So why had the money disappeared?
Unable to figure it out, Old Fourth Zhu instinctively shifted the blame to Tang Shitong, looking at him with suspicion.
Seeing his gaze, Tang Shitong immediately understood his meaning and became furious, jumping up. “You’re not suspecting me again, are you! I, Tang Shitong, am not so shallow as to steal your things. Besides, I couldn’t possibly have moved forty million in cash that you had stored there in such a short amount of time!”
Forty million in cash couldn't be moved in less than a day.
After Tang Shitong said this, Old Fourth Zhu’s suspicious gaze finally subsided.
It seemed Tang Shitong wasn't lying. If he knew it was gold stored there, he wouldn't have said such a thing.
So, the money really wasn't taken by Tang Shitong. Then who could it be?
Who had the ability to discover his carefully chosen and secretly stored hiding places?
This was truly suspicious.
No, if someone could find this one hiding spot, then the others would surely be discovered as well, right?
The more Old Fourth Zhu thought about it, the more he panicked. To confirm his suspicions, he decided to have Tang Shitong check another location.
“I’ll believe you for now. How about this, I’ll give you another address. Go and check it. If the money there is also gone, then it proves that someone really knows my hiding places.”
Tang Shitong paused, then agreed. He also wanted to see if someone really knew Old Fourth Zhu's hiding places and had already taken Old Fourth Zhu's forty million.
Thus, Tang Shitong received another address and went to investigate with his men.
Coincidentally, before he even got close, he noticed someone acting suspiciously at the location. Moreover, the person was a familiar face, seeming to be Zhang Liunian and his group.
So, was Zhang Liunian the one who took Old Fourth Zhu’s money?
That was plausible.
With this thought, Tang Shitong immediately informed Old Fourth Zhu of this discovery, which enraged him immensely.
His men were put in jail because of Zhang Liunian, and now his money was targeted and taken by Zhang Liunian. It was like he had died, and his wife had fallen into the enemy's hands, making him so upset that he felt like spitting blood.
“I want him dead, I want him dead! He doesn’t have the life to spend my, Old Fourth Zhu’s, money,” Old Fourth Zhu was so angry he wished he could fly out immediately to kill Zhang Liunian and dismember him.
“This Zhang Liunian is truly shameless. He calculated against our Tang family and got our Tang family’s wealth. Now, after harming you, Old Fourth Zhu, he wants to get your money too. How can he get all the good things? It's really infuriating.”
It wasn't just Old Fourth Zhu who was angry; Tang Shitong was equally upset. Zhang Liunian had earned at least thirty million from their Tang family, and now he was earning another forty million from Old Fourth Zhu. In total, he had almost earned a hundred million. How could this not anger their enemies?
“I cannot let him get all my assets like this. I will hand over all the money, I will not let Zhang Liunian benefit from it.” Old Fourth Zhu was currently in jail and couldn’t care about his private stashes. Although he didn't know how Zhang Liunian found out about his hiding places, he was more concerned now that Zhang Liunian wouldn't benefit. Even if he gave the money he earned to the authorities, he wouldn't let his enemy benefit.
Tang Shitong's eyes flashed. Giving it to the authorities was worse than giving it to him. At least he could help him get revenge, right? Old Fourth Zhu must be blinded by anger. He thought this, but he couldn't say it and had to comfort him and guide him, “Don’t worry, he can’t possibly move all your money in a short time. Let’s use his plan against him and use these places to reap Zhang Liunian’s life.”
At his words, Old Fourth Zhu was stunned. Afterward, he thought, yes, he had quite a few hiding places, and Zhang Liunian and his group couldn't move it all in one or two trips. It would be better to cooperate with Tang Shitong and set up a net to catch Zhang Liunian and his gang.
With this thought, he immediately changed his mind, “You’re right, why don’t we join forces to deal with him? Instead of letting Zhang Liunian benefit from my money, it’s better to give it to you. At least you are my ally, and with you, you will never let Zhang Liunian have an easy time.”
Seeing that he was finally thinking as he wished, Tang Shitong was secretly delighted. The subsequent matters would be easier to handle, mainly obtaining Old Fourth Zhu’s private stashes, then inspecting them one by one, and finally setting traps and ambushes at the yet-to-be-touched stashes, planning to catch Zhang Liunian and his entire group in one fell swoop.
Mainly Zhang Liunian. As long as he died, the others would be insignificant.
“Ah-choo!” Zhang Liunian, who was in the process of moving money, suddenly sneezed. He rubbed his nose in confusion, then looked around, finding nothing unusual, and walked away.
Upon returning home, Zhang Liunian said to Uncle Yi and Zhang Qian, “It’s enough. The rest should be given to the authorities. We shouldn’t be too greedy.”
He hadn’t intended to come to this hiding place at all, but Uncle Yi said that this location was remote and not much, and it was not recorded by the authorities, so he came.
The facts were as Uncle Yi said. There wasn't much money here, only a little over a million at most, but it was all cash.
He didn’t encounter anyone during the process, so it was an easy place to access.
“Are you really not moving it? The other location is not far, and it’s also very easy to access, and the amount is huge, which can save us several years of work.” Uncle Yi wished that Zhang Liunian would take all of Old Fourth Zhu’s hidden wealth so that Zhang Liunian would have immense financial power to act more effectively in Pengcheng.
After all, Pengcheng had complex relationships, and it was not easy to establish a foothold without strong power and substantial funds.
Zhang Liunian’s eyes flickered imperceptibly at this, but he quickly returned to his usual expression, “No, this is enough.”
Zhang Liunian preferred money he earned himself. Of course, he didn’t reject this kind of money, but taking every last cent was simply unrealistic, as the people above would tightly grasp this issue, which would then cause trouble.