NOVEL SIMPLE
Chapter 193
“Hmm?”
Qin Wei was also very surprised to hear the story continue to develop this way. Is this allowed? If she had known earlier, she would have relaxed and gone with the flow!!
...
She opened the box. Inside was a piece of paper...
Another letter...?
Qin Wei complained inwardly, then picked it up to read.
"Pick Up Receipt..."
With handwritten calligraphy.
Qin Wei struggled to decipher the unfamiliar words:
“Peni...cillin...”
(Note: Transliteration of penicillin, an antibiotic)
Her words caught everyone else's attention, and their expressions changed.
...
Li Hanming leaned forward half a step, involuntarily recalling a letter he had received not long ago:
"The man in the photo is called Xu Hongen, he's a doctor at Xihe Hospital. Find out his whereabouts, and the money is yours. Here's a down payment."
Enclosed with the letter was a check, which he had tried and found he could withdraw money from.
As a private investigator, Li Hanming made a living by helping others investigate leads and clues. No one could be relied upon in this day and age, the only reliable thing was money.
It was common for clients to want to remain anonymous, after all not every matter could withstand scrutiny.
As long as the client paid up, he, as private investigator, would not inquire as to the background, only take care of the job at hand.
This case was no different.
"Penicillin..."
Li Hanming murmured softly,
"This stuff is as good as hard currency, perhaps even more valuable than gold..."
...
The look in Qiao Journalist's eyes also changed. Just earlier, when she and Qin Wei were escaping, they got separated. By a stroke of luck, she contacted her superiors at the communications station, and they gave her this mission, which happened to be related to this stuff!
"Xu Jia Yi, who was responsible for transporting the imported penicillin, is one of our operatives, but he has lost contact. We have no evidence to rashly suspect him, but we cannot rule out the possibility of his defection."
"Nightingale, your mission is to find him and also figure out what happened to the penicillin. If you discover he has defected, you may deal with him as you see fit!
Also, to conceal his identity, he changed his name while studying abroad in France. You must remember his current name is Xu Hongen."
...
Qin Wei frowned, thinking this penicillin sounded familiar but she couldn't recall at the moment what it was exactly. Also, there were no notes about what this stuff was in her script for today...
Penicillin...
Judging from the suffix it should be a mycin, so it must be some kind of antimicrobial agent...
So to summarise, it is medicine... She tried to piece together the original shape of the story with her limited clues and analysis.
As a doctor boyfriend, birthday present, medicine.
Oh well, too difficult, better not overthink it.
Sun Boss said:
“The goods have been delivered to Miss Qin. Please keep them safe.”
As he spoke, a few men in suits walked in. Everyone assumed they were the Men in Black at first, but to their surprise, the men bowed to Qin Wei as soon as they entered.
“Miss, we finally found you. The old master’s birthday banquet is being held tonight to entertain guests. The old master asked you to come home and get ready, then attend the banquet.”
With that, they handed her an invitation card.
Qin Wei put away the pick up receipt, and was about to leave with them, when Qiao Journalist called out to stop her:
“After Miss Qin helped me so much, haven’t you forgotten the promise you made to me?”
“The interview, I remember,” Qin Wei said as she walked out of the bookstore.
“Come home with me.”
Qiao Journalist followed her into the car and they left.
Li Hanming watched the departing vehicle, lost in thought.
“What, smitten?”
Wei Lai walked over to Li Hanming and asked.
Li Hanming made no attempt to hide how taken he was with Qin Wei:
“That stuff is as good as hard currency. A single vial already sells for more than gold in the black market. To say I’m not tempted would be a lie.”
Wei Lai asked him:
“So why not team up for a big score?”
Li Hanming said nothing, just eyed her up and down.
Clearly just a student, yet daring to dabble in such dangerous dealings?
Seeming to read his thoughts, Wei Lai's smile turned inscrutable and her expression difficult to decipher.
She lowered her voice and said:
"Detective Li took my deposit, so he is duty-bound to solve the case for me. Wouldn't you say?"
...
Back at the Qin manor again, Qin Wei told Qiao Journalist to go ahead and wait in the small reception room, while she herself went directly to the study because she heard her father had returned.
In the study, it was just father and daughter.
Qin Lord stood by the window. Seeing her come in, he snuffed out his cigar in the ashtray.
“The current situation is turbulent. I’m tied up with business and cannot get away. Do not add to my worries with your antics.”
His tone held reproach, but even more so, concern.
Qin Wei said:
“I'm sorry Father, but I can't ignore Hongen's matter... Can you tell me where he is?”
"Hongen is sensible. He was doing me a favour this time..."
Qin Lord mentioned him with even heavier worries,
"The committee procured a batch of medicine above. I sent Hongen to pick it up personally. For one thing I felt he was reliable. For another, I was thinking about how he's going to marry you in future - just staying a doctor at the hospital won't do. I wanted to use this chance to get him a semi-official appointment, that was why I sent him."
The handover on the other side went smoothly. By the timeframe he should be back by now, yet for no reason he's lost contact, and the escorted medicine has also gone missing without a trace.
As vice chairman of the supply committee, and the one in charge of this operation, if this major slip-up got out to our superiors, I too would be held accountable.
So Qin Vice-Chairman has been working hard to keep things under wraps, secretly sending people to investigate, hoping to find the goods within 3 days.
Qin Wei held the pick up receipt in her pocket, yet made no move to produce it.
If it wasn't to sidestep her father, why would Dr Xu go to such lengths just to get this receipt into her hands?
“Today is Father’s birthday. Let’s set aside our worries for now. I will go get ready too. After all we have guests coming to celebrate.”
Having said her piece, Qin Wei left the study and headed for the small reception room. Qiao Journalist was still there waiting. In the interim, she also organized the information she had, going through it again. During this time, a servant came in to bring her some water, while covertly slipping her a small note:
“Find a way to attend the banquet. Get the receipt on-hand there to avoid blowing your cover. Use whatever means necessary to protect yourself if needed.”
Qiao Journalist sighed, knowing that tonight's mission would determine the final outcome. Failure meant being ousted from the communications station.
“What's with the heavy sighs?” Qin Wei said as she walked in, sitting beside her. “Time for the interview now? Because if so, I’m ready. We can start anytime.”
Qiao Journalist said:
“The Shanghai News wanted to select some well-known figures for a lifestyle feature series. I’m in charge of interviewing Miss Qin, and also documenting your daily life routine.”
“Republic of China vlog?” Qin Wei blurted out without thinking, then felt like her words were out of place here,
“What I mean is, since this records my daily life, let’s start from today. Tonight is my father’s birthday banquet. If you’re interested, you are welcome to come.”
...
The night came round, and so did the birthday feast.
Receiving Qin Wei’s invitation, Li Hanming also came to celebrate, and he brought along Wei Lai as his guest.
All who arrived dressed luxuriously for the occasion.
So, the four had gathered together again.