Merchant of the Underworld

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Diagonally opposite is a demolition site, all demolished in a mess. What is this guy doing there?

Upon my inquiry, the landlady explained that the area was indeed a demolition site, but a group of migrant workers carrying hammers were working there.

Judging from the way this guy is dressed, he looks a bit like a migrant worker.

Could it be that he picked up a silver dollar at the construction site and sold it to Ma Hongjun?

I paused the video, took a picture of the guy, bought a few packs of good cigarettes, and walked straight to the demolition site.

Smoke and dust were everywhere in the demolition site, and there were sounds of banging on the walls everywhere.

A group of bare-backed migrant workers were wielding sledgehammers and pounding the remaining corners of the demolition.

I walked up to them kindly, and while blowing cigarettes to everyone, I pulled out the photos on my phone and asked them if they recognized the people in the photos.

But after they saw it, they shook their heads and said they had never seen it before.

I was feeling a little discouraged when suddenly a guy with a mustache said, "I've seen this guy twice."

"Oh?" I immediately said happily when I heard it: "Where have you seen it?"

He pointed forward and said: "The building in front has not yet been demolished. People from the nearby construction site often gamble there. I have been there twice when I have nothing to do. I seem to have seen him."

If I ask about other things, this brother doesn’t know either.

I handed half the box of cigarettes in his hand and ran straight away with Ma Hongjun.

After searching for two units in succession, I finally heard a loud noise.

The two of us followed the sound and saw a group of people in gray clothes and dirty faces sitting around on the ground playing poker, with some scattered change piled in front of them.

It seemed that the gamble was not big, but when they saw us two strangers coming, everyone looked at us warily.

I took out my cigarette and handed it out to everyone. I took out my cell phone and asked them about it.

This time someone finally recognized him.

He said that the person in the photo was Wang Dawang from their neighboring village. He had just worked here for two and a half days before he felt too tired and left. He couldn't tell where exactly he went.

I gave the brother a few boxes of cigarettes, asked for Wang Dawang’s address, and hurried over.

Wang Dawang's home is not too far away, in a small village on the outskirts of the city, and he arrived at noon.

I thought I could finally find the guy now, but I didn't expect it. After asking someone, I found out that Wang Dawang was a drunkard and gambler. His wife thought he was up to no good, and angrily, she took the child back to her parents' home.

After his wife left, he was even more desperate and lost all his house and land in just a few months. He no longer lives in the village, and no one knows where he is now.

However, someone saw him near the building materials market a few days ago, where he seemed to be doing odd jobs in exchange for drink money.

When Ma Hongjun heard this, he was even more dumbfounded. He sighed and said: "Hey, it's all my fault for buying randomly. Now, I can't even find anyone. What should I do?"

"Don't worry." I comforted him: "Our real purpose is to find ghosts. Ghosts can be found, let alone a person."

As I said this, I took out my cell phone and called Xiaopang Zhong, whom I met during the Hungry Ghost Bodhisattva incident.

His food stall is located in the building materials market, and he is very familiar with that area. Maybe he can help me find some clues.

When Zhong Xiaopang heard what I said, he promised with great enthusiasm: "Master Zhang, don't worry, as long as there are people here, I will definitely be able to help you find him."

Not long ago, another call came in.

When I picked up the answer, it was Zhong Xiaopang’s buddy San Gangzi: “Master Zhang, I found him, where should I send him?”

I was very happy when I heard it and quickly told me the address.

When Ma Hongjun heard that the person had been found, he rubbed his hands with great joy and praised: "Master Zhang has a way!" Then he gritted his teeth in hatred: "This bastard almost killed me, I can't let him be spared lightly. he!"

Ma Hongjun and I sat under a big tree at the entrance of the village and waited for more than two hours. A van drove over from a distance.

The car stopped in front of him, and Sangangzi jumped out of the driveway: "Master Zhang, you caught me, what should I do with him?" He waved back, and the two gangsters picked him up from the car like a chicken. Here comes the skinny guy.

This guy was tied tightly with a rope as thick as his thumb, his eyes were blindfolded, and his mouth was blocked with a ball of smelly socks.

It seems that this San Gangzi is really not a fuel-efficient lamp. He thought that this guy and I had some deep hatred, so he kidnapped him directly.

I was a bit dumbfounded and said it would be great if I found it. Sangangzi said goodbye to me, got in the car with his men and went back.

Suddenly there was a painful whine behind him, and when he looked back, it was Ma Hongjun kicking Wang Dawang who was tied to the ground.

However, Ma Hongjun is not a gangster after all. He is a civilized person after all. Even if he hates him, he just kicks him in the butt a few times.

He was indeed harmed miserably by this guy. Besides, it would be good to teach this guy a lesson, so as to save him from playing tricks and being dishonest during the questioning.

I lit a cigarette and stood watching.

When Ma Hongjun was almost done with his anger, he stepped forward and removed the black cloth covering Wang Dawang's eyes and pulled out the smelly socks from his mouth.

"Brother, I was wrong." Wang Dawang immediately begged for mercy as soon as he was untied.

"Tell me where you went wrong?" I squatted in front of him and blew a puff of smoke into his face.

"I...I..." He didn't seem to know where he went wrong or who he offended. He hesitated for a long time. Suddenly he turned his head and saw Ma Hongjun standing next to him, his face flushed with anger, and then he said: "I shouldn't have sold fake money."

"Your money is not fake. If you think about it again, where did you go wrong?"

Wang Dawang was stunned for a moment, and became even more confused, as if saying, since the money is not fake, why are you arresting me?

"Where does the money come from?" I reminded.

"I..." Wang Dawang's expression changed and he hesitated to speak.

"You won't tell me, right? Then let's talk somewhere else!" I turned cold and flicked out the cigarette butt.

"Don't, don't, I said it, I said it!" Wang Dawang immediately became frightened: "I was dug out of the grave."

"Tell me more details! If there is half a lie, it will look good to you!"

"Yes!" Wang Dawang nodded repeatedly in fear.

It turned out that Wang Dawang was cornered by gambling debts. In desperation, he came up with a crooked idea. There is an old grave buried outside their village. It is said that there are many valuable things there.

But he had this idea, but he didn't have the courage. He didn't dare to go at night, so he secretly dug a grave at noon when the villagers were sleeping.

But there was nothing there, so after rummaging around, I found a silver dollar.

He didn't know what this thing was or how much it was worth, so he immediately ran to the city to see how others were selling it.

Originally, I wanted to sell it to the stall owner, but I thought the price offered by the dealers was too low. By chance, I saw Ma Hongjun buying several ancient coins in a row, so I pestered him to sell it.

This silver dollar was not worth much at first, but it was all spent within a few days. When I really had no way to survive, I went to the building materials market to make a living. Unexpectedly, I was caught just a few days after arriving.