While everyone was chatting, the people from Wu Dong's side and Zhang Shuya's side arrived together.
It was evident that the leaders of these two parties knew each other, as they not only arrived together but were also speaking in low voices.
This was normal, after all; the county town was only so large, and it was a place where people were bound to run into each other. It would be abnormal if the heads of various departments didn't know one another.
Wang An didn't know the leader from Wu Dong's side, but he did recognize the leader from Zhang Shuya's side.
The leader from Zhang Shuya's side was the middle-aged man Wang An had met once—the time he had been kicked in the heart for staring at a bare backside. He was Sun Nian's father, Sun Xianghuo.
At this time, Sun Xianghuo was already the highest leader of the DJ County Public Security department and also a deputy county magistrate.
Of course, his primary responsibility was as the Director of the Public Security Bureau; the deputy magistrate position was merely a titular appointment.
However, since Sun Xianghuo led such an important department, he should logically be a member of the County Party Committee, though Wang An wasn't familiar with those details.
As soon as the two men saw Wu Dong, they both beamed and began exchanging pleasantries with him.
From this, it was clear that although Wu Dong was young, his rank was not low at all.
Then, without appearing too deliberate, the two leaders greeted Wang Shuai, Zhang Shuya, and the other five, ensuring no one felt neglected.
Naturally, no one paid any attention to Wang An at the moment, but Wang An didn't mind; more importantly, caring wouldn't have helped.
Once the eight of them finished their greetings, Wu Dong specifically introduced Wang An to the two leaders, stating directly that he was his younger brother.
After Wu Dong's introduction, Zhang Shuya also made it clear that Wang An was her sworn younger brother.
In truth, based on Zhang Shuya's previous position, she was only half a rank lower than Sun Xianghuo, but that was the nature of officialdom—half a rank of difference could be an insurmountable wall.
That was why Wu Dong did the introduction and Zhang Shuya provided the supplement.
After Zhang Shuya spoke, Wang Shuai added a few words as well.
With this, Wang An's status rose rapidly, and he instantly became someone to be valued.
At this point, it was apparent that although He Liang and Ma Guoqiang were also "second-generation" elites, their families' spheres of influence were not in this area.
The reason they received courteous treatment from the two leaders was entirely because their families held significant power in the provincial capital.
To be honest, Wang An understood these social intricacies perfectly; after all, he had been a formidable figure in his previous life.
But the current Wang An was essentially a nobody. Having lived a second life, having Wu Dong and the others as his backing was enough; further social networking was truly unnecessary.
Wang An deeply understood one truth
When you are of no use to others, you are dispensable to them. Even if you break a horse's leg for them, you won't win their friendship!
After the pleasantries, the weapons and ammunition were all loaded onto trucks and hauled away. Jia Renlu and the two women were treated the same—all loaded onto the trucks.
Finally, the cave dwelling, the house, and the courtyard gate were all plastered with seals, awaiting further processing.
As the group parted ways, Zhang Shuya pulled Wang An aside and whispered to him
"Xiao An, once I've settled things on my end, I'll bring people to find you. You haven't forgotten where that place is, have you?"
Wang An patted his chest and told Zhang Shuya
"Big Sister, just put your heart at ease. It's absolutely sorted."
Zhang Shuya smiled. "Alright, I'm leaving then. See you in a few days."
With that, Zhang Shuya left with the others.
Wang An waited until the group had vanished from sight. He scanned left and right, and finding no one, he climbed over the wall and returned to Jia Renlu's courtyard.
He didn't know how Jia Renlu had chosen this courtyard, but the location was quite remote.
Although Jia Renlu and Qiao Xiaohu belonged to the same neighborhood, geographically, he was more than a li away from the outermost household of the main street.
This was why there hadn't been a single onlooker despite the massive commotion earlier.
However, it was also a good thing. While the location was secluded for Jia Renlu, making it convenient for him to do bad things, it was even better for Wang An and the others who had dealt with him. No matter how they handled him, no innocents would be harmed.
Wang An's return to Jia Renlu's courtyard wasn't for any other reason than money and valuables.
Simply put, Wang An believed that Jia Renlu was now a dead man.
Therefore, Wang An wanted to take the good stuff before the house and its contents were confiscated.
In other words, he was playing the thief for a bit. It was as simple as that!
Mainly, Wang An believed that whether it was Wu Dong or Zhang Shuya, they would ensure Jia Renlu's matter ended in their hands.
As for Jia Renlu's acquisition of furs and bear gallbladders, that would certainly be kept completely under wraps; the credit would absolutely not be linked back to the Foreign Trade Department.
The matter of the weapons and ammunition was enough to kill Jia Renlu.
Something like buying furs and bear gallbladders could be made into a huge deal if one wanted, but otherwise, it was nothing.
The house door was sealed, so Wang An circled around to the backyard, intending to crawl in through the rear window.
The backyard was currently a complete mess. As for those several Wolf-Hounds, they had long since been blown into small scraps of meat; no large pieces could be found.
It had to be said that a series of grenades exploding in succession was indeed vicious. Not only were the dogs blown to bits, but the fence gate of the cave dwelling was reduced to a few wooden poles.
The two seals were actually stuck to two of those wooden poles; if someone wanted to enter the cave, they could easily just walk around them.
Wang An reached the rear window, reached through the shattered glass to open it, and then climbed into the house.
Knowing the layout, Wang An went straight to the east room and began searching everywhere.
In a chest, Wang An found half a stack of "Big Unity" bills, about 500 yuan, which he stuffed into his crossbody bag.
As for the few pieces of gold jewelry, silver jewelry, and jade pieces, Wang An didn't touch a single one.
Mainly, Wang An didn't lack gold, the gold pieces weren't large, and silver wasn't worth much; it wasn't worth the effort to take them.
As for the jade pieces, not only was the carving poor, but the quality of the stone wasn't great either; they had very little value.
Under the wooden board beneath the kang mat, Wang An found another small stack of "Big Unity" bills, also about 500 yuan.
After that, there was no more money in the east room.
Next, Wang An walked to the west room. After searching, there wasn't a single cent in the west room—more accurately, there was nothing of value.
But Wang An was not discouraged. He went to the outer room, because in the Northeast, most people had a special fondness for the stove pit and the firebox.
Mainly because that was the place that kept people full.
He yanked the pot off and scraped the ash in the firebox to the side. Sure enough, there was something hidden at the bottom of the firebox.
Because normally speaking, who on earth would place a stone slab at the bottom of a firebox?
(End of Chapter)