Chapter 5: The Mysterious Swelling Finger

  Indeed strange.

  It's indeed strange, just like Old Qian said.

  In the situation report, the finance department didn't lose anything and didn't damage any account books. Note that it's not damaged, but not messy either. It can't be said to be messy, accurately speaking, it's just like someone was searching for something in our big office with Old Qian. Everything was moved, including two tall potted plants, which were also moved to another place. The safe was wide open, and inside there were only seals and checks, nothing was lost. All the account books, including those in the file cabinet, were all spread out on the table, still neatly arranged, as if someone had carefully searched for something. Everything, including the two cigarette butts that Old Qian had extinguished in the ashtray, was still there. The two computers were turned on, and the Japanese adult video that Old Qian had downloaded was still playing, nothing was lost. What kind of thief is this?

  The result of the matter is naturally to follow the usual practice and wait for further investigation.

  Everyone went back. Old Qian muttered to himself, "I knew it would end up like this. If we had broken up at the beginning, I'm afraid the moon would have become our imperial palace by now." I nudged Old Qian to remind him not to talk nonsense and pointed to the serious-looking boss. Indeed, in a place that is crucial to the company's survival, such an unusual incident would have an impact on the company's image.

  Back at the company, the security guard looked like he was about to cry. This time, it seemed that there was a problem with the rice bowl. Strongly requested to take another look at the surveillance footage together.

  Everyone has a knot in their heart and agrees with me. I also know that this is the security guard's last effort to secure his own rice bowl, which is not easy.

  Inside the security room on the first floor, the monitor is turned on. The familiar scene, every nook and cranny, indeed there is nothing out of the ordinary.

  Suddenly, a soft voice whispered in my ear, "Xīnxīn, pay attention next." Xīnxīn is my nickname, only my mom calls me that. But at this moment, it sounds different.

  I was startled and instinctively wanted to shrink back, but then I heard another voice saying, "Don't move, don't panic, no one else knows."

  Two sentences made me realize it was Li Yan's voice, and I suddenly felt calm inside.

  Staring at the screen with wide eyes.

  Gradually, my heart felt like it was being grasped by something. Oh heavens, I vaguely discovered that there was a black shadow with two red dots mixed in, which flashed on the screen and disappeared, just like the unstable images we usually see. It was extremely light and fast, and if Li Yan hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have noticed it at all. But at the same time, if I hadn't had this encounter today, I also wouldn't have confirmed in my heart that this is a vampire bat.

  I glanced around with a mixture of surprise and stealth, everything seemed normal, the crowd hadn't noticed anything unusual, and Old Qian's dog was tilted its head as if it were about to doze off. At this point, I really didn't dare make any sudden movements, unclear and inexplicable things might really trigger something.

  After the surveillance was finished, it was just like with the police, nothing out of the ordinary. The boss's face looked increasingly ugly, and the pressure in his heart was unbearable to see. The security guard carefully watched the boss's expression, and at this time, tears were about to come down again. He spread open his hands, looking at the boss, unable to say a word. We're all just struggling at the bottom, I know what he means by this, it's that I've really tried my best, you deal with it.

  The boss was about to say something, and I hastily said: "This matter should be investigated by the police station first. Fortunately, nothing has been lost. Our mouths are tight, or it's possible that a rival is playing tricks on us, but we can't be sure. I suggest we keep this quiet for now. If it's really someone else's trap, it won't do us any good to get flustered. On the surface, let's remain calm and investigate secretly."

  Lao Qian suddenly woke up like a dream and repeatedly echoed: "Can't come openly, that's exactly what the little devil wants."

  The boss also nodded. I saw the security guard cast a grateful glance at me, and at least before things were settled, his rice bowl was not a problem.

  The boss said: "There's nothing else we can do for now."

  He then turned to the security guard and said: "You're in charge of this main gate, so you must keep both the gate and your mouth tightly closed."

  The security guard nodded quickly.

  Everyone dispersed. I and Old Qian walked towards the office, still having to clean up.

  I saw the old boss walking away with his back slightly bent, so I deliberately slowed down my pace and followed behind Old Qian.

  "Li Yan, Li Yan, are you still there?" I called out softly.

  Silent and soundless, I pressed the copper bell in my bosom, everything seemed normal, but suddenly felt a sense of loss deep down.

  "Director Li, Director Li." I turned around in surprise, and it was a security guard running over.

  He came up and bowed to me, I quickly retreated and said what are you doing.

  The security guard still had tears on his face, about 1.8 meters tall, damn it, standing in front of the rice bowl, looks like no one can escape this either.

  "Thank you so much, I know it was you who helped me. From now on, I'll rely on you to cover for me. If anything happens, just speak up." The security guard's words were extremely sincere.

  I waved my hand and said: "Actually, just work hard and you'll be fine."

  Security guard: Thank you for your kindness, I'm back on duty.

  Old Qian in front shouted, "Hurry up, wait for your soul, we can't afford to hire a small worker."

  Lao Qian is in charge of collecting rent from the houses. The financial affairs have always been handled personally by me and Lao Qian, no outsiders are allowed to intervene.

  I quickly followed up and entered the house with Old Qian. For the first time, I took a closer look and indeed, as reported earlier, everything had been moved, but was arranged in an eerie order.

  I and Old Qian moved the green plants together, Old Qian said with hatred: "Damn it, this is a hanged ghost's pose, even after death, still want to strike a pose!"

  I burst out laughing and asked casually, "Didn't you attend the manager's office meeting yesterday? Is there another good thing?" Old Qian is the director-general, and only the office director and the person in charge of the finance department have the right to attend the manager's office meeting.

  "Great, another project with no day or night off for our grandson, and now the company has taken on a new highway bridge."

  "Oh, that's good, no fart." I harmonized the atmosphere.

  "But it's still okay, the highway just passes by in the south of the city. This time it's right at our doorstep, much better than the deep mountains and old forests before. If that's the case, you won't have to spend every night with me alone anymore." Old Qian suddenly said with a smile.

  The finance department also has auditing responsibilities. To be honest, it's a common practice for small and medium-sized companies to have one person handling multiple tasks, and both Old Qian and I are used to it. In the past, when our company took on projects in other cities, during critical periods, Old Qian and I would pack our bags and be busy for at least a month. Yu Zhen, that little devil, often complained about this to me back then.

  "Didn't you see our old boss Sun?"

  I hurriedly told you to keep your voice down and mind your words.

  "Keep your voice down, he's treating us like fools, making one person do the work of two. He's saving money, but he's the biggest fool of all. Look at him, his waist is bent over today, and his kidneys are weak. The compensation for the green sprouts in the south city hasn't been settled yet, and now this happens, it's enough to make that fool drink a whole pot." Old Qian said as he worked quickly with me to tidy up the room.

  "Later, the two of us will go take a look. I had a feeling about it. You weren't at work that day, were you? After the meeting, I followed him to take a look. The feng shui is great! And I also heard from local folks that the second widow in Nancun is quite something." Old Qian winked his eye. This guy has been working for many years and has become quite slick.

  "Stop messing around, let's go take a look later, don't get played like last time." I said.

  Last time was also to a construction site, the construction team were all respectful of us, in their eyes, I and Old Qian are indeed the god of wealth. But don't look at Old Qian's carefree attitude, his professional integrity is top-notch, as he would say, even if a mosquito flew by, he could tell whether it was male or female. This is also one of the reasons why our company has always trusted him and me as partners. Damn, big bosses are easy to deal with, small bosses are hard to escape, the excessive construction quantities were audited down by Old Qian and me. For this kind of work, usually living on the construction site, when we first arrived, the small boss would flatteringly provide us with a special water pipe, but after auditing the construction quantity, the water pipe was actually withdrawn by that guy, saying it was to learn from our working style and reduce construction costs. Damn it, it really didn't let Old Qian and me use water for three days. This time I'll go take a look, if it's busy when we arrive, we might have to move in, also find a good place to stay.

  Actually, I've always had a crush on Li Yan, for some unclear reason. I don't know why I still have such feelings despite the ups and downs, is it because of that little devil Yu Zhen?

  Suddenly, the copper bell in my bosom slightly shook, and then the wind started to blow, but I felt a chill run down my spine. The neatly arranged document files rustled loudly.

  Lao Qian hurriedly scolded and went to close the window. But I felt a sudden chill in my heart, this matter was absolutely not that simple.

  Old Qian suddenly let out a cry of "Aiya", I hastily took a look, it turned out that Old Qian's hand was pinched by the window when he closed it, fortunately there was no blood, but an instant big swelling appeared. Old Qian scolded non-stop, but as his scolding continued, the swelling got even bigger.

  Something's wrong, there's going to be trouble.

  I took a step forward, reached out and grasped Old Qian's swollen fingers, slapping them onto my chest where the copper bell was placed. "Be careful, shut up!" I loudly warned him.

  Lao Qian had never seen me speak so sternly and was taken aback.

  Fingers slowly returned to normal. The copper bell fell silent. In his heart, he secretly let out a sigh of relief. A careless thought had almost led to disaster, but Old Qian didn't know.

  Lao Qian stared at his reset fingers, his whole body shocked with his mouth wide open, and he couldn't say a word.

  I patted Old Qian and said, "You haven't been with that little heartthrob for a few days, have you? Your passion is burning brightly! You scolded from downstairs to upstairs without stopping, and I'm the only one listening. What's wrong with you?"

  Lao Qian listened and put down his hand, laughing: "Damn it, really, being dragged out at dawn to make a scene like this, what's the point of scolding?"

  I think to myself, you're not seeing things, you must have bumped into a ghost.

  "Go on, you're also waiting for your soul."

  Old Qian suddenly came back to his senses and said: "Oh right, go go go, I was actually robbed by you little brat."

  Downstairs, drive, and go with Old Qian to the construction site of Chengnan Road Bridge.

  I looked inside the car with a guilty conscience, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

  Lao Qian got on the bus and sniffed with his nose like a dog, saying: "It smells like a woman, you little rascal has been fooling around again."

  I drove attentively and just said: "A single ray of light, that's called a romantic encounter."

  Lao Qian chuckled and said: "It seems we really have to go find Er Guafu."

  I'm really worried about Lao Qian's unreasonable behavior.

  A vast expanse of open land in the south of the city, lush and luxuriant, with a sea of green crops rolling in waves.

  Lao Qian pointed to a depression and said: "A month later, this place will no longer exist. This land is where our company plans to build a bridge. Am I wrong? The feng shui is good, isn't it?"

  I nodded, looked around and saw that there were still villages nearby, with farmers busy in the fields. The village was nestled at the foot of a mountain, and the highway was designed to pass through the mountain. According to Old Qian's directions, our company was responsible for building the road and bridge from this mountain to another one. It was a very ordinary project, just like all the others. But since it was near my hometown, I felt a bit familiar with it. I had heard old folks say that this place used to be called Chengzhi Mountain, where an old town once stood, but was later abandoned and became known as "Cheng". The two mountains surrounded a green valley in between. Legend has it that there were once two rival village heads who fought over the fertile land in the valley, which was said to have abundant water and lush grass, like a shining pearl among the surrounding mountains. Years of fighting had destroyed the town, leaving only ruins behind. Many people died in the battles, and they were buried nearby. In recent years, with the introduction of new agricultural techniques from Dazhai, the slopes of the two mountains were transformed into terraced fields, and the valley was opened up for farming. This place was indeed special - anything planted here would grow well, as the old folks said, "even a chopstick stuck in the ground could sprout leaves". The village became famous far and wide for its prosperity and wealth.

  Now is another opportunity, the highway passes through the village, and development is limitless. Of course, it will occupy a small amount of farmland, but within the legal range, compared to the big development, it's still worth it.

  I asked Old Qian, what's with our company still discussing compensation for the young crops?

  Lao Qian said: "Originally, we didn't want to get involved, but since it's in our territory, the other party pulled our boss in, saying they were acquaintances and it would be easier to do business. Our boss was caught in the middle, feeling embarrassed. If he spoke little, the locals would say he was a thief; if he spoke more, of course, we wouldn't do it. In the end, this matter was actually said to be about cutting off the pulse of the place, which is absolutely unacceptable. Actually, it's just about overcharging a bit."

  I looked towards the mountain recess Mr. Qian had pointed out earlier, and vaguely saw a white mist spreading.

  The copper bell in my bosom moved slightly, I was startled, this place must have a dark spirit passing through, it's not safe to stay here for long.

  Old Qian pointed to a nearby village and said: "Go find Er Guafu?"

  "I said: 'Damn it, go take a look and find a good place to live.'"

  Lao Qian burst out laughing and walked with me towards the next village, just what I wanted, leaving this haunted place behind.