Before leaving, Jia Yao made a request to Brother Hu for a favor. Jia Yao said, "Brother Hu, I have something I need your help with."
Upon hearing that Jia Yao needed his assistance, Brother Hu asked with great pleasure, "Brother, what is there to say about helping or not helping? If there's anything, please just give me the command!"
Jia Yao was very satisfied with Brother Hu's response. He nodded and said, "I have a friend whose family has encountered some trouble and has come to me for help. I thought since you, Brother Hu, have connections and are well-regarded in Harbin, you might help me find a place in this black market area for his family to stay temporarily and hide. Don't worry, we will pay the rent at the market rate."
To his surprise, Brother Hu didn't ask any questions. Instead, he replied unhappily, "What rent are you talking about? Brother, are you looking down on me? Saying things like that is like saying we're strangers! What's our relationship? It's just a dilapidated house, we wouldn't even mind giving it to you. Let alone just staying there for a while. Besides, houses just sit empty and deteriorate faster! I'd be glad if someone lived in it. Just have your friend move in, stay as long as he wants, for as long as he needs! We're brothers, aren't we! Don't be so formal with me!"
Hearing Brother Hu's words, even Chen Lan had to admire his smooth talk and people skills. It was no wonder his business had grown so large; his ability to gauge people and act accordingly was truly masterful.
After speaking, Brother Hu, without another word, happily instructed Monkey to get the key to a house. He then told Monkey to take the key to the empty house and escort Jia Yao and his mother and siblings there first, so they could look around and choose a suitable one.
Jia Yao thanked Brother Hu with utmost sincerity, and then left Brother Hu's grand mansion with Chen Lan and Jia Hui, mother and daughter.
Chen Lan held the key to the warehouse in the Northern Building. The three of them followed Monkey to see the house. They looked at several places, and finally Chen Lan chose one with a courtyard. Although the house wasn't very large, with only three main rooms and a living area, the rooms were spacious and all faced the sun.
After parting ways with Monkey, Chen Lan took Jia Yao and Jia Hui, brother and sister, to Brother Hu's warehouse in the Northern Building. After storing the batch of goods Brother Hu had ordered that day, the three of them rode a bicycle away together!
Chen Lan sat on the crossbar of the bicycle and checked the system time with her mind. It was already about a quarter past ten in the evening. She wondered how things were progressing with Xu Mingxuan and his group.
Seeing that it was getting late, Chen Lan knew she had to act quickly. Her teacher's family was still waiting at the haunted house. Since she had promised to go tonight, she couldn't break her word.
Chen Lan and the Jia Yao siblings got off the bicycle a good distance from the red house and found the surroundings to be quiet. Chen Lan quickly put the bicycle back into the system's storage and the three of them quickly approached the red house.
Although Chen Lan was wearing infrared glasses, she carefully observed the house for a long time but couldn't find any trace of Xu Mingxuan and the others.
Chen Lan didn't know the specific situation, so she didn't dare to rush in rashly. Su Dan Novel Network.
So, Chen Lan turned on the walkie-talkie, trying to contact Xu Mingxuan and the others. As soon as Chen Lan turned on the walkie-talkie, Xu Mingxuan's impatient voice came through the earpiece. He whispered, "Lan'er, is that you?"
Chen Lan immediately replied in a low voice, "It's me, Mingxuan Ge. Where are you now? I've circled the house and don't see you."
Xu Mingxuan chuckled and replied, "Lan'er, you're only looking at the ground, so you won't see us. Look up at the trees."
Finally, Chen Lan used the system's search function to find Xu Mingxuan and his two younger brothers.
Chen Lan asked Xu Mingxuan about the progress of their task. Xu Mingxuan glanced at Wen Kai, who nodded.
To be safe, Xu Mingxuan picked up a few small stones from the ground and threw them into the yard of the red house. The house was silent. Besides the sound of the stones landing, there were no other noises.
The couple exchanged a look and decided to act immediately. If too many people went in, they would leave too much of a trace. Therefore, Xu Mingxuan only asked Chen Lan to go into the red house with him, while the others were to guard all the exits around the house to prevent any accidents.
For safety, Chen Lan and Xu Mingxuan each put on a gas mask and gloves, and wore two layers of shoe covers.
Chen Lan took a ladder from the system's storage and climbed over the courtyard wall, then quickly descended into the courtyard. Since they couldn't afford to linger inside, the couple decided to split up and act quickly.
Chen Lan opened the system's search function with her mind and first searched the entire red house, upstairs and downstairs. Chen Lan was surprised to find that in such a large house, only five rooms were inhabited!
Chen Lan didn't care who lived inside or who they were; they were clearly not good people. She also didn't have time to be picky. Therefore, she collected all the valuables she could find into the system's storage.
Chen Lan discovered that this family also had a considerable amount of good wine and cigarettes, all neatly displayed in a large wardrobe. There were dozens of bottles of Maotai and Wuliangye, as well as many "Da Zhong Hua," "Mudan," and "Da Qianmen" cigarettes, all in entire cartons.
When Chen Lan reached out to collect them all into the system's storage, she realized the cabinet was locked! With the almighty system, this small matter was no obstacle for Chen Lan.
Chen Lan immediately ordered a universal key from the system and in minutes unlocked the cabinet. After collecting all the valuables from the cabinet into the system's storage, Chen Lan was about to lock the cabinet door as it was, when she suddenly noticed something unusual inside.
Chen Lan felt air flowing from inside the cabinet, like a gentle breeze on her face. If Chen Lan's five senses were not extraordinary, she would not have noticed these subtle details.
Chen Lan then looked at the small red dot that appeared on the system's screen. Indeed, there was something hidden inside the cabinet. Chen Lan felt around the cabinet, both above and below, but couldn't find the mechanism for a while, nor could she open the hidden door within the cabinet.
Just then, Xu Mingxuan came in carrying a large bundle, looking like he had a fruitful haul.
As soon as he entered, he whispered, "How is it?"
Chen Lan whispered back, "There's a secret room in the house, inside this cabinet. I've searched everywhere, up and down, but I still can't find the mechanism!"