Su Yun casually echoed Xia Ying's chatter.
After some time had passed, Xia Ying arranged to meet Su Yun again another day and then left the recycling station.
As soon as she was gone, Su Yun didn't waste another moment. She quickly opened the bag of scrap items Gu Hai had brought and touched each object one by one.
Ding!
"Detected: a Ming Dynasty abacus frame, severely decayed. Recycling price: 10 yuan. Sell?"
Ding!
"Detected: a fragment of Yuan Dynasty porcelain, damaged. Recycling price: 2 yuan. Sell?"
Ding!
"Detected: a Qing Dynasty black-glazed stone brush washer, minor flaw. Recycling price: 200 yuan. Sell?"
Ding!
"…."
Among the things Gu Hai brought, almost nothing was truly worthless.
Grinning happily, Su Yun sold everything she could to the system. The balance in her account kept rising until it finally reached 12,867.4 yuan.
In other words, this single bag of items had earned her 1,485 yuan!
At this moment, Su Yun had long forgotten the minor matter of Gu Hai teasing her the day before.
She immediately decided she needed to give Gu Hai a little incentive. She couldn't let him stop cooperating with her just because of what Xia Ying had said earlier.
---
Meanwhile, at the Inspection Office.
Because of yesterday's incident, Captain Liu had been scolded by the head of the office that morning. The entire day he was shrouded in gloom and irritation, finding fault with everyone around him.
In the office, he scolded whoever happened to catch his eye, clearly venting his anger on others.
At lunchtime, Captain Liu took his lunch box and headed to the cafeteria, still thinking about how he would deal with Su Yun.
As soon as he left, the people in the office began speaking badly about him.
"That Liu Blackhand—he messed up his own work and got criticized. Why does he take it out on us?"
"I heard he offended Director Sun from the Public Security Bureau yesterday. His career might even be finished."
"Then why is he still acting so arrogant? He should show some restraint."
"If I ever get the chance, I'll deal with him ruthlessly. Let's see if he still dares to act so domineering!"
After venting their complaints, the group also went to the cafeteria.
When they returned, they discovered an anonymous report letter inside each of their desk drawers.
Some read the letter and quietly hid it away, while others looked thoughtful and left the office with the letter in their pockets.
---
That evening, Captain Liu went to his cousin's house with several subordinates to drink.
When the topic of the recycling station came up, Captain Liu's expression darkened.
"I thought that job would be easy to handle, but who knew a stubborn little bitch would get in the way? She refused the polite approach and even dared to extort fifty yuan from me!"
"Since becoming captain, I've never suffered such humiliation. Sooner or later, I'll deal with her!"
His cousin had already drunk a few glasses of liquor. A lecherous expression appeared on his face.
"What's so hard about dealing with a woman like that? In a few days, we'll just pick a random night, throw a sack over her head, and drag her away. After that, whatever we want to do will be up to us…"
The group of men discussed their malicious plan and even decided when they would act.
---
Early the next morning, Captain Liu arrived at work in high spirits, humming a tune.
But the moment he stepped into the Inspection Office, several former colleagues immediately arrested him.
"Liu Blackhand, you've been reported for embezzlement and bribery. The report includes strong evidence. From this moment on, all your duties are suspended. Your only task now is to confess your crimes honestly and strive for lenient treatment from the state!"
"Injustice! This is injustice!" Captain Liu shouted desperately.
"It's Su Yun! She must have reported me! Bring her here—I want to confront her!"
No one paid any attention to his demands.
The Inspection Office acted swiftly. They immediately sent a team to search Captain Liu's home.
Captain Liu's overweight wife was still asleep. When she saw a group of people storming in, she began shouting angrily and even tried to attack them.
But the officers had a clear objective and ignored her completely. They rushed straight into the kitchen and began searching everywhere.
One of them casually broke open a white radish. Inside was a bundle of cash wrapped tightly within.
With a triumphant smile, he shouted toward the others outside,
"We found the stolen money!"
The group came quickly and left just as quickly. While returning with the confiscated money, they also made a detour to Captain Liu's cousin's house and brought the still-sleeping cousin back to the Inspection Office.
The investigation moved with thunderous speed. In the end, Captain Liu and his entire group were caught in one sweep. With solid evidence against them, they were even paraded through the streets that same day.
---
In a quiet corner of the alley, the head of the Inspection Office spoke kindly to Gu Hai.
"Xiao Hai, thank you very much for that radio. My father wouldn't let go of it once he got it. He's going to stay in the hospital for observation for a few days, and having the radio with him will make things much easier for me."
"How much did the radio cost? I'll pay you later."
Gu Hai immediately waved his hand, looking humble.
"Uncle Du, you're too polite. I assembled that radio myself—it's not worth much. Giving it to you is simply my way of thanking you for always helping me. If we start talking about money, it'll hurt our relationship."
Director Du thought for a moment and nodded.
"Alright then, I'll accept it. But if you ever run into difficulties in the future, you must come find me. As long as it's something I can handle, I won't refuse."
"Thank you, Uncle Du…"
---
By the time Su Yun heard about the matter, Captain Liu had already been sent to the police station.
At the recycling station, Gu Hai briefly explained everything to her.
"Director Sun said that Liu Blackhand's crimes are fully confirmed. He embezzled more than five hundred yuan, and many people have come to the police station to report his other offenses. Based on a preliminary estimate, he'll receive at least twenty years in prison."
Su Yun smiled so widely that she could hardly close her mouth. She kept saying that Captain Liu deserved it.
Then she mysteriously led Gu Hai into the inner courtyard and showed him the pile of cotton cloth.
"Comrade Gu Hai, my friend was very satisfied with the items you brought yesterday. He specially had someone deliver this pile of cotton cloth. Take a look—if you don't like the colors, they can still be exchanged."
Calling it a pile was no exaggeration.
The heap of cotton cloth completely stunned Gu Hai.
It looked like a small hill, with every color imaginable—red, green, blue, white—bright and colorful.
After quite a while, Gu Hai finally recovered and asked Su Yun directly,
"Comrade Xiao Su, did your friend ever mention which era of antiques he prefers the most?"
Of course he liked items from any era.
Su Yun herself wasn't picky at all.
But judging from Gu Hai's question, it seemed he wanted to be selective.
After thinking for a moment, Su Yun pretended to recall.
"Hmm… he seems to be more interested in items from older periods. Oh, and they should be in relatively good condition—not too badly damaged."
Gu Hai nodded.
"Understood. I'll make sure to pay attention next time."
Then he added,
"Comrade Xiao Su, this pile of cloth is too conspicuous. I'll come back tonight to move it. When you finish work, could you leave the key for me?"
"Of course. This isn't our first time cooperating. I trust you."
After saying that, Su Yun suddenly remembered what had happened the previous day. She glanced at Gu Hai and said cautiously,
"Comrade Gu Hai… please don't take what my friend said yesterday to heart. She was just talking nonsense. We can't let such a small matter ruin the beautiful revolutionary friendship between us… right?"