I dialed Zhao Wei's number and put it on speaker. Soon, Zhao Wei's hearty laughter came through, "Younger Brother Xiang, you're calling me so soon?"
"Brother Zhao, I'm truly sorry, I've run into a bit of trouble..." As I spoke, I glanced at the bald man and continued, "Can you bring me some money?"
"Need money?" Zhao Wei seemed even happier, "How much?"
I glanced at the bald man and asked, "Brother, how much do you want?"
The bald man eyed my phone suspiciously and held up five fingers, "This much!"
I nodded and said into the phone, "Five million..."
"So much? Did something happen, Younger Brother?" Zhao Wei asked on the phone.
I hesitated and said, "Brother Zhao, I'll give you an address, just bring the money over first."
"Alright! Give me the address, I'll be right there."
After hanging up, the bald man looked somewhat uneasy and muttered something to his accomplice.
Liu Zaixi leaned in and whispered, "Mr. Xiang, did you just call Xue'er sister's husband?"
I nodded. She seemed surprised, and her expression suggested she wasn't too happy about Zhao Wei knowing about this.
Seeing her reaction, I said, "Don't worry, I'll say you were accompanying me, and it has nothing to do with you."
Liu Zaixi looked at me gratefully.
"By the way, what's the use of that appraisal disk you want?" I asked curiously.
"Mr. Xiang, it's not that I want to hide it from you intentionally, but that item belonged to my father..."
"Your father's?"
She nodded, "My father lost it during a gambling match with someone. I know it's very important to him. A while ago, I heard it appeared in the black market, so I asked someone to inquire about it..."
I nodded, "It seems you're quite filial."
She gave a wry smile and didn't say much more.
A large part of why I was helping her was a feeling of shared destiny.
Of course, that was only one reason. More importantly, I wanted to learn more about Zhao Wei's situation through her.
Now that Zhao Wei wanted me to help him forge documents, I couldn't refuse directly, as I didn't yet understand his standing in the local area.
As for seeking help from the Yan family, that was also a last resort.
Although my relationship with the Yan family seemed good now, I wasn't sure if they would stand up for me in matters like these.
This auction today, however, could be a test of Zhao Wei's strength, to see how much influence he truly had in Guangbei.
This was why I had caused such a scene earlier. I simply wanted to escalate the situation and gauge Zhao Wei's capabilities.
About twenty minutes later, a commotion could be heard from outside the warehouse door, and then Zhao Wei entered with a few men.
The bald man visibly froze upon seeing Zhao Wei and his entourage, followed by a flicker of seriousness in his eyes.
"Younger Brother Xiang!" Zhao Wei approached me with a smile, "What are you doing here?"
I smiled and replied, "I took a liking to an item, so I came to join the fun."
Zhao Wei's smile shifted as he turned his gaze towards the bald man.
"Brother Zhao, what brings you here?" the bald man asked, walking over with a smile.
"Old Eight, long time no see. It seems you're doing quite well here?" Zhao Wei asked with a smile.
The bald man pursed his lips, "Brother Zhao, you say that, but what we do is just small-time stuff. Compared to you, what are we?"
"A deal worth over five million in one night, and you call it small-time? Old Eight, your appetite is growing bigger and bigger..."
Despite the smile on his face, Zhao Wei's words were far from polite.
The bald man, named Old Eight, looked extremely displeased.
"Brother Zhao, who is this brother of yours?" Old Eight asked, looking at me.
Zhao Wei replied, "He is my distinguished guest."
"Alright, since he's Brother Zhao's distinguished guest, I won't say much more. He disrupted my business tonight and broke the rules... For Brother Zhao's sake, I won't pursue this. However, my other brothers shouldn't have worked for nothing..."
"Old Eight, don't waste any more words. Since I'm here, I'm naturally here to resolve this matter."
Zhao Wei then had someone bring over a large leather bag and tossed it to the ground. "Here's five million, take it."
Old Eight was taken aback, his expression wavering between anger and indecision.
I was also a bit surprised. Was Zhao Wei this easy to deal with?
However, I lost that thought the next second.
Zhao Wei continued, "But before you take this money, you'd best consider carefully if you have the ability..."
Old Eight said, "Brother Zhao, I've already said it, for your sake, tonight's matter is settled..."
"Your matter is settled, but what about my matter?" Zhao Wei sneered, "Am I supposed to bring this much money out in the middle of the night, along with so many brothers, for them to have run for nothing?"
Old Eight flinched. Before he could respond, Zhao Wei slapped him directly, "You ungrateful fool! Do I need to spell it out for you?"
"Zhao... Brother Zhao, what do you mean?" Old Eight gritted his teeth, clutching his face.
"What do I mean? You motherfucker set a trap for my friend, playing a double-bluff, and then made me bring money out here late at night, and you ask me what I mean?" Zhao Wei cursed, "I'll give you two choices. First, kneel down and apologize to Younger Brother Xiang, and consider everything tonight as compensation. Second, from today onwards, you can all get out of Guangbei."
"Zhao Wei! You're going too far!" Old Eight roared.
"I'm going too far?" Zhao Wei grinned, "Since you say I'm going too far, fine, I'll show you how far I can go!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two men behind Zhao Wei instantly drew shotguns. One of them unceremoniously pressed the barrel to Old Eight's forehead.
The atmosphere instantly became extremely tense. I hadn't expected Zhao Wei to act so ruthlessly.
It was at this moment that I finally understood. Zhao Wei hadn't been bragging earlier; he truly had some influence in Guangbei.
This made me even more troubled. It seemed this treacherous path I'd stepped onto wouldn't be easy to disembark from.
"Fine!" Old Eight gritted his teeth, "I'll apologize to this brother!"
Before I could react, Old Eight had already knelt before me, "I'm sorry!"
"Louder!" Zhao Wei sneered.
"I'M SORRY!!"
Zhao Wei raised an eyebrow at me. I said, "Brother Zhao, let's just let this matter rest here."
"Alright, since Younger Brother says so, then this matter ends here."
Old Eight crawled up from the ground, his head bowed, looking dejected. He instructed his subordinates to bring all the items from the auction, saying they were to be given to me as compensation.
I glanced at the items and said, "I don't need the other things. I'll take this round disk... And don't blame me. You were the one who didn't play by the rules. If you hadn't tried the double-bluff, I wouldn't have brought Brother Zhao here."
Old Eight remained silent, his head continuously bowed. From his demeanor, it seemed he dared not seek revenge.