"Go ahead and go. Anyway, I'll be going back to Beijing soon, Xiao Zhuangzi. Then we'll have fewer chances to see each other in the future."
Miao Feifei was feeling down. Apart from Zhuang Rui, she had almost no friends in Zhonghai. Since meeting Zhuang Rui, her leisure time had become much richer. She often dragged Zhuang Rui to karaoke after work and traveled to surrounding cities on weekends. This made Miao Feifei almost forget about returning to Beijing in the past two months. Now, when she heard that Zhuang Rui was leaving, she felt a strong sense of reluctance.
"Hehe, why are you being so sentimental? I'll be going to Beijing often in the future, and I might even stay for a while. You'll be the host then, so you'd better treat me well."
Zhuang Rui was also happy to hear that Miao Feifei was going back to Beijing. It was quite pitiful for a girl to be alone in Zhonghai with no friends. So, Zhuang Rui had been very tolerant of Miao Feifei for the past two months.
"Is what you're saying true? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Miao Feifei's eyes lit up.
"Of course it's true. I've already got the knife ready to rip you off in Beijing. How can I not go?"
Zhuang Rui said with a smile that his plan to go to Beijing was suggested by Uncle De.
Most of what Uncle De taught Zhuang Rui was experience he had accumulated over decades. However, Uncle De was also lacking in theoretical knowledge. He could tell the authenticity of many objects, but he couldn't explain the deeper historical background. Therefore, Uncle De suggested that Zhuang Rui pursue a master's degree in archaeology at Peking University.
The Department of Archaeology at Peking University was established in 1922 and is the only key discipline in this field in my country. It boasts a group of professors and associate professors with profound academic attainments and high teaching standards. Its archaeological teaching and research level is among the leading in China and has a great influence internationally. Although Uncle De is an unorthodox student, he has some friends who teach at Peking University. Uncle De recommending Zhuang Rui to take the entrance exam for his old friends' graduate programs will probably give him some face.
Zhuang Rui was quite confident about applying for graduate school at Peking University. Although he was slightly weaker in humanities, he was good at English. Due to the domestic education system, many traditional Chinese arts majors were blocked from graduate school admissions because of English proficiency, to the point that a famous master of traditional Chinese painting resigned from the university in anger. Zhuang Rui, however, did not have to worry about this.
"Okay, I'll take care of it for you. Remember you owe me a favor."
Miao Feifei picked up the documents on the table and put them in her bag.
After seeing Miao Feifei off, Zhuang Rui looked at the house he had lived in for more than two months and felt a little reluctant to leave. The environment here was much better than his home in Pengcheng. Zhuang Rui secretly made a decision: when he returned to Pengcheng, he would definitely buy a better house.
Now Zhuang Rui has nearly nine million in cash again. Song Jun offered eight million eight hundred thousand for Tang Bohu's painting "Li Duanduan Tu" for good luck, which made Zhuang Rui's pockets rich again.
"Hey Xiao Zhuang, you're still reluctant to let go of that lousy manager? Hurry up, brother, I'll be waiting for you in Pengcheng."
Just as Zhuang Rui was thinking about Song Jun, his phone, which was in the living room, rang. He answered and heard it was Boss Song calling, urging Zhuang Rui to finish dealing with the Zhonghai matter quickly. It was already the end of May, and the Pingzhou jadeite rough stone trading was about to begin on June 5th. Song Jun had been holding back his efforts, raising a lot of funds, and was preparing to dominate the market.
"I understand, Brother Song. It won't stop you from making a fortune, don't worry."
After exchanging a few words with Song Jun, Zhuang Rui lit a cigarette and went to the balcony. He needed to resolve this matter of Wang Yi's deception as soon as possible.
Chapter 159 The Truth Comes Out
"Spicy girl, spicy girl, spicy girl. Spicy girl, spicy girl, I'm not afraid of being spicy..."
Wang Yiding hummed a song as he parked his Honda Fit, which he had bought less than a year ago. He was increasingly dissatisfied with the car; the engine displacement was too small, and it was a hatchback, not impressive enough. Just a few days ago, he and Xia went to a car show and saw a Buick Regal that cost around 200,000 yuan. Wang Yiding was thinking that after he bought a new car, he would give this one to Xia.
Thinking of Xia, Wang Yiding couldn't help but hum the song "Spicy Girl" again. Xia's full name was Li Xia, a girl from Sichuan. After graduating from university, she stayed in Zhonghai to work, but she was just an ordinary clerk. By chance, Wang Yiding met Xia and began to pursue her ardently.
But girls these days seem very realistic, especially women living in international metropolises like Shanghai. Are education, looks, and character important to them? Very important! However, if you have money, those conditions can be relaxed, or even eliminated altogether.
Wang Yiding earns over 100,000 yuan a year, which is considered a good income for a high-level white-collar worker in Zhonghai. However, he hasn't been back from abroad for long and spends money extravagantly. He only drives a car worth a little over 100,000 yuan and still lives in a rented house. Therefore, Li Xia, who is very confident in her appearance, has not listed Wang Yiding as her number one boyfriend. In other words, Wang Yiding's assets are not enough for Li Xia to lower her requirements for his education, appearance, and character.
They had been dating for more than half a year and had spent tens of thousands of yuan on each other, but Wang Yiding hadn't even touched Li Xia's hand more than a few times, let alone slept with her. This made Wang Yiding, who always prided himself on being handsome, dashing, young, and rich, very depressed. However, their relationship underwent a fundamental change more than a month ago, and even made a breakthrough a few days ago. This made Wang Yiding smile when he thought about it.
Thinking of Li Xia's graceful figure, fair skin, and intoxicating moans, Wang Yiding felt a certain part of his body involuntarily harden. "Hmm, I'll have Xia make some turtle and chicken soup tonight to nourish her properly."
Wang Yiding took out his phone and dialed while thinking. However, the call went unanswered, making Wang Yiding frown. Could it be that he had been too rough with her yesterday and Xia was still sleeping?
Looking at the time on his phone, it was already 8:30. He was already half an hour late. Wang Yiding quickly got out of the car and walked into the pawnshop. He casually joked with Xu Ling. After winning over Li Xia, his interest in Xu Ling had greatly diminished, but he still wanted to get the better of her every day.
"I'm free this morning. I'm having lunch with Old Shen from the auction house to finalize the auction items for next week. Hmm? Why aren't you answering the phone yet?"
Wang sat in his office, flipping through his notebook. He casually called Li Xia again, but no one answered. He couldn't help but feel annoyed.
Wang Yiding is rather narrow-minded. After he made Li Xia quit her job, he treated her as his own, needing to call her several times a day to feel at ease. From a psychological perspective, this is a manifestation of extreme self-insecurity, which Wang Yiding, of course, interprets as concern for Li Xia. ...
"Damn it, Old Shen is really ruthless. He took two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes from me. I'll see if that invoice can be used for reimbursement. Anyway, this hothead manager rarely looks at these things."
Wang Yiding, who was quite drunk at noon, had just walked up to the second floor when he saw Xiaoli, the saleswoman in the pawn shop. He quickly reached into his pocket, pulled out a fifty-yuan note, and called out to Xiaoli, "Xiaoli, can you buy me a drink? This mineral water tastes bland."
As he spoke, Wang stuffed the money into Xiaoli's hand, then casually patted her hand as well, laughing heartily as he walked towards his office.
"Appraiser Wang, please come over here for a moment. We need to have a short meeting."
With Wang Yiding's laughter, the door to Zhuang Rui's office opened, and Zhuang Rui stood in the doorway and waved to Wang Yiding.
Wang Yi let out a burp, his eyes blurry with drunkenness as he looked at Zhuang Rui and said unhappily, "Why are we having a meeting? I just finished dinner with a client. Sigh, the client was too enthusiastic, and I was forced to drink several glasses. Manager Zhuang, unless it's something very important, I'd like to go back and get some sleep."
Zhuang Rui frowned. He had never seen anyone like Wang Yiding who was completely unfazed after committing a crime. He glanced at Xiaoli, who was holding fifty yuan and seemed a little lost, and suppressed his anger, saying calmly, "You should come here for a moment. There are some things I need to ask you."
After saying that, Zhuang Rui turned around and went into the room. After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Wang Yi seemed to sober up a bit and followed Zhuang Rui in.
"Oh, Uncle De, you're here too. Brother Lai, I heard you acquired a foreign oil painting a while ago? From the early 20th century? You're so inconsiderate, you didn't even offer to let your old brother admire it. I only found out today when Lao Shen told me. Manager Zhuang, what's up? Hurry up and tell us, a client might be coming soon..."
Wang Yi walked into the manager's office and saw Uncle De and Lai Jingdong sitting inside. He quickly greeted them with a laugh and, without waiting for Zhuang Ruirang, plopped down on the sofa. His eyelids were drooping, and he leaned back, wanting to take a nap.
"Take a look at this first. I think you need to give an explanation to the pawnshop or the investment company."
Without wasting any words, Zhuang Rui placed the list of items Wang Yiding had accepted as counterfeit goods on the coffee table in front of the sofa, his eyes fixed on Wang Yiding.
What is this thing?
Wang, unaware that his actions had been exposed, casually picked up the paper. He glanced at it, and his eyes, which had been narrowed to slits, instantly widened. His drunkenness vanished almost instantly.
"Manager Zhuang, what do you mean by this? The items listed on this piece of paper are all the pawned items I've recently received. Why are you showing me this list?"
Wang Yiding shook the paper in his hand, making a rustling sound, and asked Zhuang Rui while pretending to be confused. The slight panic that flashed in his eyes was caught by Zhuang Rui, who had been watching him closely.
Seeing Wang Yiding's clumsy performance, Zhuang Rui was too lazy to beat around the bush anymore and said bluntly, "Appraiser Wang, we've been colleagues, so I'll give you a chance. You tell me yourself, and I'll take the blame for this. Otherwise, you'll have to bear the consequences!"
"What are you talking about? I accepted the pawned items according to the regulations. Even if these were fake, I didn't know. I was deceived too. What do you want me to say?"
Wang Yiding raised his voice, but in Zhuang Rui and the others' eyes, it was all bark and no bite; beneath his tough exterior, he couldn't hide his inner weakness.
"Smack!"
Zhuang Rui slammed his right hand heavily on the table, stood up, and looked at Wang Yiding, saying sternly, "Wang Yiding, I gave you a chance. If you continue down the wrong path, don't blame me for not showing any camaraderie. I never said these items were fake. You didn't identify them as fake back then, so why are you saying this now?"
Wang Yi must have looked at the form in his hand again carefully. It only listed the pawn time and the amount involved for the eleven fake pawned items, without explaining that they were fake. He had let it slip earlier.
"What's there to say? It's just a few pieces of counterfeit jewelry. But let me put it another way: I bought these items at one-sixth the price of the genuine articles. When they're auctioned off, I can immediately make back at least 80%. This way, the pawnshop can generate a lot of profit."
Wang realized he couldn't hide the truth any longer, so he started making excuses for himself. Perhaps that's what he really thought, because he became more and more smug as he spoke, as if everything he did was for the pawnshop's benefit. As for the fake pawn money, he naturally didn't mention it at all.
Upon hearing Wang Yiding's words, Uncle De turned pale with anger, Lai Jingdong gloated on the side, while Zhuang Rui laughed at what Wang Yiding said. This was supposed to be a master's graduate who had returned from studying abroad, yet he was so ignorant of the law.
Zhuang Rui once saw a joke about a doctoral couple who had been married for three years without having children. When they went to the hospital for a checkup, both of them were found to be in good health, which seemed a bit strange. Finally, an old doctor asked the couple a few questions about their sexual activity, and they learned that during those three years, the couple's so-called sex had simply involved sleeping in the same bed, without any other physical contact. This shocked everyone present.
Of course, our forensic expert Wang has done his fair share of those things abroad, and has repeatedly demonstrated national power on tall, strong, and hairy foreign women. However, his understanding of legal knowledge is almost the same as that couple's understanding of human physiology.
"Wang Yiding, are you holding a Chinese passport?"
Zhuang Rui suddenly threw out this question.
"Yes, what's wrong?"
Wang must have been quite confused.
"That's good. Chinese law applies to you. Let me explain the relevant interpretation of fraud in the Criminal Law. Article 266 of the Criminal Law states: Whoever defrauds public or private property of a relatively large amount shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance, and may also be fined."
If the amount involved is huge or there are other serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years and shall also be fined.
If the amount involved is particularly large or there are other particularly serious circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or have his/her property confiscated.
"Fraud" mainly refers to the act of illegally obtaining public or private property by fabricating facts or concealing the truth with the intent of illegal possession.
By the way, Mr. Wang, let me remind you again: personal fraud involving more than 200,000 yuan of public or private property constitutes "especially large-scale fraud." As for which of these criteria applies to you, you can check which one applies to you.
As Zhuang Rui spoke, Wang Yiding's body trembled involuntarily. His face, which had been flushed from drinking, turned pale, and his eyes were filled with fear.
"Clang, clang clang..."
Just as Wang Yiding's mental defenses were about to collapse, there was a knock on Zhuang Rui's manager's office door.
"Manager Zhuang, I'm bringing drinks for Appraiser Wang. This is the orange juice with pulp you always order..."
Xiaoli, who had just opened the door, seemed to sense the tense atmosphere in the room. She stuck out her tongue, quickly walked up to Wang Yiding, placed a bottle of orange juice with pulp and the change on the coffee table in front of him, and then quickly left.
In the past, Wang Yiding would definitely have grabbed Xiaoli's hand and generously slipped the change into her hand. But today, Wang Yiding had no such intention. He didn't even know how he opened the bottle of drink. For the first time, he felt that the sweet drink tasted so bitter. And the energetic model in a short skirt with exposed thighs on the juice bottle lost its appeal in Wang Yiding's eyes for the first time.
"Manager Zhuang, Uncle De, I really didn't know these things were fake. You have to believe me. I can apologize for this, I can resign from the investment company, but... but I really had no intention of defrauding anyone..."
The icy drink seemed to have awakened Wang Yiding's almost frozen mind. He put down the drink and shouted that he was innocent, denying what he had just said. For someone like Wang Yiding, once he swallowed something, he never thought about spitting it out. Even if he quit his job now, he would have earned more than 500,000 yuan. There are plenty of pawnshops in China. He could just move to another city and find another one to make a living.
Zhuang Rui didn't expect Wang Yiding to be such a stubborn and unyielding character, not knowing what would happen until he was faced with a fatal mistake. He picked up his phone, dialed a number, and said one sentence.
Less than two minutes later, the door to the manager's office was pushed open again, and Miao Feifei walked in wearing a neat police uniform. She placed a voice recorder and a statement on Zhuang Rui's desk, glaring at him fiercely. She had spent a lot of money to get these two items.
"Thank you, officer. Please go to the conference room and have a seat. We'll work on the suspect here. We're just following the principle of punishing past mistakes to prevent future ones and curing the disease to save the patient."
Zhuang Rui stood up, pretending to be businesslike and as if he didn't know her, and saw Miao Feifei out. Behind the backs of everyone in the room, he gave Miao Feifei a thumbs up.
Ever since Miao Feifei walked into the office, Wang Yiding's previously composed face became incredibly flustered. His previously upright joystick shrunk back down. After Zhuang Rui saw Miao Feifei out, Wang Yiding's eyes were fixed on the two objects on the desk, but his mouth remained tightly shut, presumably still harboring a glimmer of hope.
"Take a look at this. If you need to listen to the recording after you've looked at it, I can do that for you."
Zhuang Rui threw the statement on his desk in front of Wang Yiding. He had heard the statement and the contents of the recording pen at noon, and was then ripped off by Miao Feifei for it. Several of Miao Feifei's colleagues who had helped him were also at the table at the time. The reason he asked Miao Feifei to bring this evidence over was to intimidate Wang Yiding.
"I confess, I deserve to die, I'll confess everything, please don't arrest me and put me in jail, Uncle De, you have to save me, Manager Zhuang, I really didn't know it was illegal."
Looking at Li Xia's statement, the bright red handprint, and Li Xia's signature on the paper, Wang Yiding's mental world finally collapsed. Tears and snot streamed down his face as he grabbed Uncle De beside him, crying loudly as if he had grasped a lifeline.
"Alright, stop wailing!"
Uncle De's sharp shout interrupted Wang Yiding's words.
"The reason we didn't let the police take you away earlier was to give you a chance. What are you crying for? Explain yourself clearly and return the stolen money. This old man will plead with Manager Zhuang for you."
Uncle De's words calmed Wang Yiding down a bit. After seeing Zhuang Rui nod, he finally believed that what Zhuang Rui had said before was true. Wang Yiding was only over thirty years old this year, and he didn't want to spend ten years in prison before coming out to enjoy life. So he told him in detail how he had been tricked.
Originally, when Zhuang Rui first became manager, Wang Yiding had no wicked thoughts. He just wanted to figure out how to cooperate with the auction house to auction off the few fake pawned items he had mistakenly acquired last year. Who knew that the auction of those four fake pawned jewelry items last year would go so smoothly, with no one raising any objections to the authenticity of the items. This not only earned Wang Yiding a substantial commission, but also fueled his growing greed.
Before returning to China, Wang Yiding spent a few days in Macau. As everyone knows, Macau is a world-famous gambling city in the East, and along with it comes a thriving pawn industry. Due to his profession, Wang Yiding visited several pawn shops and took a fancy to a few counterfeit jewelry pieces and expensive watches that were almost indistinguishable from the real thing. He bought them at a very low price. According to his thinking at the time, the watches were to enhance his image, and the jewelry was naturally for him to use to pick up girls later.
However, his collaboration with the auction house led Wang to reassess the value of those counterfeit jewelry and watches. So he approached Li Xia, asking her to pawn the fake jewelry and watches for cash. Initially, Li Xia didn't know the jewelry and watches were fake. Wang simply said he worked there and couldn't appraise the items he brought, which is why he asked Li Xia for help. Li Xia, who initially thought Wang was just a white-collar worker, was surprised to find he possessed so many valuable pieces of jewelry and fell in love with him. This brought the renowned appraiser Wang both love and career success. Even after Li Xia later learned the items were fake, seeing the hundreds of thousands of yuan in real gold and silver she received in return, she still admired Wang immensely. These days, as long as you can make money, who cares how you got it? In most people's eyes, if you don't steal or rob, it's not a crime.
Wang Yiding did indeed think so. Zhuang Rui's delegation of authority gave him the opportunity to dispose of the counterfeit jewelry and watches in his possession through auction houses. Through the auction process, the pawnshop could obtain several times more funds from these fake jewelry than the amount paid out as collateral. The auction house could also receive a substantial commission. As for Wang Yiding himself, he would reap a double harvest. He was so proud of his brilliant idea that he could kill three birds with one stone for several days. However, he never expected that his scheme would be exposed one day.
Chapter 160 Drunkenness
"Snap...crack..."
Sitting in the living room, Zhuang Rui listened to the sounds coming from the kitchen. His eyes twitched incessantly; he was filled with regret. How could he have agreed to let that young lady into the kitchen?