Super Soldier in the City
Chapter 261 - 267 Reached an Agreement

Chapter 261: Chapter 267 Reached an Agreement

Yao Mingyuan had maintained an aloof attitude ever since Li Yifei and Lin Qiong appeared, which had also secretly surprised Li Yifei. Generally, those in the underworld business, including smugglers with a good downstream buyer, would value such a relationship, but Yao Mingyuan seemed indifferent; he acted as if reaching a deal with Li Yifei wasn’t anything significant.

This also meant that the contraband of this smuggling group was very popular and they always had good sales channels, so they weren’t concerned about finding buyers. It was evident how large this smuggling group was, and their meticulous way of conducting business also demonstrated their strength.

"Elder Fourth, Little Ma must have told you about my situation. I am a straightforward person. My wife keeps a tight hold on the purse strings, so I don’t have a lot of spare cash. I only have one million right now, and I want to take one million worth of goods this time. I’m not sure whether we can make this deal happen," he said.

"One million..." Yao Mingyuan looked at Li Yifei with a hint of surprise and said, "Are you sure you want to take goods worth one million in one go?"

It was only the mention of one million that seemed to pique the other party’s interest. Li Yifei quickly added, "Yes, I want to test the waters this time. If this line of business works out, I can definitely raise more funds. Taking three or five million worth of goods next time will not be a problem."

Fortunately, he had prepared one million this time. If he had prepared less, it really wouldn’t have attracted any attention from the higher-ups, and he and Lin Qiong wouldn’t have been able to get in touch with them at all.

Yao Mingyuan took a puff of his cigar, and as thick smoke curled from his mouth, he said, "Brother Li, don’t you think you’re being a bit reckless? It’s no problem for me to supply the goods, but selling them may not be so easy, and avoiding trouble is not a simple matter either."

Li Yifei laughed proudly and said, "Elder Fourth, you’re overthinking it. In my territory, I can definitely take care of customs and police. As long as the goods get there without any issues on the way, I can guarantee that within a month, my one million worth of goods will be sold out."

"Then Brother Li, what kind of goods do you want exactly?" Yao Mingyuan asked.

Li Yifei quickly said, "Do you have any high-end watches? These items are in great demand in our area, and due to their small size, they’re less likely to cause problems."

"High-end watches are not only in demand in your area but also here. Although this shipment includes a number of watches, most of them have already been pre-ordered."

"Ah? Then what about cameras, cell phones, or similar electronics?"

"We do have those. Tell you what, since it’s our first time doing business, I’ll give you fifty thousand worth of watches, another twenty thousand in cameras, and thirty thousand in cell phones. How does that sound?"

Excited, Li Yifei slapped the table and stood up, exclaiming, "Okay, okay, I’m really grateful to Elder Fourth for this."

Yao Mingyuan nodded and said leisurely, "Don’t mention it. I hope we can work together over the long term. However, let’s be clear about the ugly part up front. You need to give me a three-hundred-thousand down payment first before I can prepare the goods. The rest of the payment must be settled upon delivery, and there will be no contracts or receipts of any kind. If you agree, then we have a deal. If you have any doubts, we can drop the matter."

Li Yifei’s expression stiffened and his face changed several times. Yao Mingyuan’s demand was too risky; if he gave the money to Yao Mingyuan and Yao just walked away, that one million would be completely lost.

After gritting his teeth, Li Yifei slammed his hand on the table again and said loudly, "Fine, let’s do it that way."

"Are you sure?" Yao Mingyuan asked with a sly smile.

"I’m sure! In this business, even if I’m given any kind of contract, it’s completely pointless and provides no legal protection at all. So, whether I have it or not makes no difference. I’ll just trust Elder Fourth’s word," Li Yifei affirmed.

Yao Mingyuan laughed heartily and said, "Good, Brother Li is really straightforward. I like doing business with someone like you."

With that, Yao Mingyuan gestured to Ma Yiwei and said, "Go ahead and serve the food. Today I want to drink heartily with Brother Li and toast to our successful partnership."

Everyone enjoyed the meal greatly. Li Yifei and Yao Mingyuan drank quite a bit, with Lin Qiong also offering her toasts to Yao. Since the business was nearly settled, Yao didn’t give Lin any unpleasant looks. However, when Lin went to the restroom, Yao Mingyuan patted Li Yifei’s shoulder earnestly and said, "Look, brother, it’s no problem for a man with money to enjoy himself, but women... they often bring disaster. Many have fallen because of them. If you want to aim for big things in the future, you’d best not bring women into the mix."

Li Yifei laughed heartily and replied, "Don’t worry about that, Elder Fourth. Little Lin is completely loyal to me. If it wasn’t for me, she’d have been long dead."

Yao Mingyuan smiled faintly and said, "The minds of women are something men can never quite figure out, and their demands can change at any time. It’s okay to have fun with them, but when it comes to big ventures, involving women is not a good idea."

At that moment, Li Yifei said humbly, "Elder Fourth is right. Next time I venture out, I won’t bring her along."

"That’s not necessary. Since she’s already involved in this matter, you need to keep a tight grip on her heart to prevent her from causing trouble later. But as for other women, they cannot get involved," Yao Mingyuan advised.

"I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Elder Fourth."

"You’re good, listening to my advice," Yao affirmed.

Li Yifei nodded repeatedly and said, "Elder Fourth is a senior figure, and I’m just a greenhorn. Your advice is definitely for my own good." He raised his glass, "Elder Fourth, I toast to you."

"Good!" Yao Mingyuan clinked glasses with Li Yifei and drank heartily.

The meal didn’t take long, and neither Li Yifei nor Yao Mingyuan drank much. After the meal, Yao Mingyuan said to Li Yifei, "Little Ma, accompany Little Li to get some money. The goods will be delivered at midnight the day after tomorrow."

Then he said to Li Yifei, "Little Li, I’m pretty busy these next couple of days, so I won’t be able to keep you company. But we’ll still need to keep in touch frequently in the future."

Li Yifei immediately responded, "You’re busy, Elder Fourth. I believe we’ll have plenty of time to get together later."

Elder Fourth nodded, then left with two bodyguards. Li Yifei and Ma Yiwei headed to the bank, where Li Yifei withdrew three hundred thousand yuan and handed it over to Ma Yiwei, who then left.

Back at Lin Qiong’s home, Li Yifei said, "There goes three hundred thousand, just like that. It really hurts."

But Lin Qiong was excited, "Why feel bad? We’ve now hooked a big fish. I’ve long known about Elder Fourth; he’s quite famous in Mile City, with a significant standing in both the legal and underworld scenes. I never imagined he was involved in smuggling."

"Are you saying he’s the big boss?"

"No, no, he’s definitely not the big boss. However, within this smuggling ring, he’s certainly a pivotal figure. Did you see those two bodyguards he had with him? They were quite formidable. If his status wasn’t high, he wouldn’t have such strong protection."

"So if we catch him, can we completely take down this smuggling ring?"

"Impossible. Yao Mingyuan is important, but without more evidence, we can only arrest him, not hurt the smuggling ring’s foundation. So for now, with him, we can only collect evidence. After this deal is done, we’ll try to make contact with more important figures."

"Big Sister, once we put a million into this deal, we’ll be out of money. How will we negotiate the next deal?"

Lin Qiong’s expression stiffened, having not considered this aspect yet.

"I think it’s about time anyway. Capturing Yao Mingyuan would at least make the others lay low for a while. And by catching such a big fish, you’ve made a significant contribution, with a chance for a promotion or something. Why push yourself so hard?"

Lin Qiong’s face darkened, "My aim in cracking this case isn’t for promotion or wealth; I just want to maintain social stability and public peace. If they’re criminals, I want to catch them."

Li Yifei rolled his eyes at Lin Qiong, "You really are stubborn. Consider your own abilities. You’re just a precinct chief, so you should act according to the role of a chief. You’re attempting to do the work of a bureau chief. What will your leaders think? Moreover, you don’t have that many resources. I know your sense of justice is strong, but I suggest waiting until you move up the ranks, become a Sub-bureau Chief, and then do what a Sub-bureau Chief can. Once at the Municipal Bureau Chief level, you can take on bigger tasks."

Lin Qiong pondered for a moment, then shook her head resolutely, "In this matter, I don’t necessarily have to be the one doing it. I just need to gather enough evidence, and then I can let the higher-ups take action. That way, I’m not overstepping my authority or offending anyone. It would be like handing them a significant achievement on a silver platter; why wouldn’t they appreciate it?"

"You really are foolish, working yourself to death only to dress someone else for the wedding."

"That’s just the way I am. But what do we do next? After we handle this batch of goods, we’ll be out of money."

"Then we’ll sell the goods, right? This will also earn their trust even more."

"Sell them? Wouldn’t that mean we’re smuggling too?" Lin Qiong’s eyes widened.

"That’s what I mean by you being stubborn. If we want to gain their trust, we naturally have to sell the goods. That’s what really counts as smuggling. Otherwise, how would they trust us? Besides, it solves our money problem, so why not?"

"But... if we sell the goods now, wouldn’t it be a huge hassle to seize them later? And the people who bought our goods would suffer significant losses. It’s practically scamming them."

Li Yifei rolled his eyes at Lin Qiong. This policewoman was always about the law, about principles, with not enough flexibility, which could be quite frustrating.

Just then, the phone rang. It was Xu Yingying calling. Li Yifei answered, and Xu Yingying’s voice came through, "Honey, how’s the deal going?"

This endearment of "honey" really sent a shiver down Li Yifei’s spine. It sounded so much like a wife calling her husband that Li Yifei almost believed Xu Yingying was indeed his real wife.