Chapter 920: Hidden in Plain Sight

To be honest, if it weren't for this person's reminder, everyone, including Wang An, would have long since forgotten about the IOU notes, casting them into the furthest corners of their minds.

Mainly, the things found in these two rooms had provided a stimulation that was simply too great.

Perhaps, in everyone's minds right now, they were still thinking about that chest of gold and that gold nugget.

That was money! A very substantial amount of money!

Furthermore, these IOU notes weren't of much use to the group; who would even think to look for such things?

However, although the person asking was a drunk, the issue of the IOUs indeed deserved attention. After all, those notes were equivalent to evidence; many figures were involved, and clues could certainly be found within them.

Subconsciously, Sun Nian asked Captain Zhang and Captain Zhou

"Where do you think those IOUs were hidden?"

At this moment, Captain Zhou and Captain Zhang were lost in their own thoughts. Hearing Sun Nian's question, the two of them couldn't help but freeze for a moment. Once they snapped out of it, Captain Zhang spoke

"We've searched everywhere possible. I can't figure out where those IOUs could be hidden either."

After Captain Zhang finished, Captain Zhou followed up

"Given their line of work, logically, these IOUs should be kept in a place where they can be retrieved at any time. But we've turned everything in this room upside down and found nothing. This is indeed hard to guess."

Just then, Wang An suddenly remembered a detail: on the wall of the room where Wei Cheng and his men had been beaten to death, there was a wall clock.

The clock looked completely unremarkable, almost identical to the ordinary wall clocks sold at the supply and marketing cooperatives.

Linking this to the small box that held the gold nugget, the phrase "hidden in plain sight" suddenly came to Wang An's mind.

Because whether it was the clay statue or this wall clock, Wei Cheng had placed them in very conspicuous locations; one could see them as soon as they entered the room.

Therefore, anyone walking into the room would subconsciously ignore them, instinctively feeling that they were just ordinary objects with nothing worth paying attention to.

Thinking of this, Wang An said to Sun Nian

"Sister Nian, do you think that wall clock in the room might be like that clay statue, with something hidden inside?"

Hearing Wang An's words, not only was Sun Nian momentarily stunned, but the two company commanders and the several officers nearby were also stunned.

Immediately after, Sun Nian said with a smile

"That's right! Why didn't I think of that? Hahaha!"

As she spoke, Sun Nian took the lead and walked back into the room.

Sure enough, when an officer stood on a stool and took down the wall clock, a small hole—approximately 20 centimeters deep, 20 centimeters high, and 20 centimeters wide—was revealed on the wall behind it.

And inside this small hole, there was indeed another small wooden box.

This small wooden box looked very similar to the previous two; even the wood used was the same, a locally famous Huangbo Luo wood.

Clearly, this box and the previous two were the work of the same carpenter.

Moreover, because this small box was used frequently, its surface had been worn very smooth and shiny.

Seeing this small box, Captain Zhou couldn't help but curl his lip and say

"This Wei Cheng gave himself the nickname 'Pi Xiu,' but if you ask me, he should be called a 'Grey Dog.' His ability to hide things is truly impressive."

A "Grey Dog" referred to a squirrel; their greatest hobby was constantly busying themselves with hiding food—pine nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and so on. They hid them so discreetly that often, because they hid so many, even they forgot where they were.

Hearing Captain Zhou's words, everyone in the room couldn't help but laugh.

When Sun Nian opened the box, she found not only a thick stack of formal IOUs and a dozen brand-new ten-yuan bills, but also two small notebooks made of white paper stapled together.

Sun Nian picked up one of the notebooks and flipped through it. The smile on her face, brought about by Captain Zhou's words, gradually froze, and her two beautiful eyebrows slowly knit together tightly.

After picking up the other book and flipping through it a few more times, Sun Nian's expression became completely grim.

It was evident that the contents recorded in these two notebooks were absolutely shocking.

After a brief further glance, Sun Nian placed the IOUs and the two small notebooks back into the small box. She did not call for the people around her to apply official seals to it; instead, she simply tucked the box under her own arm.

No one knew what was recorded in those two notebooks that could make Sun Nian take them so seriously.

However, whether it was Captain Zhang, Captain Zhou, Wang An, or Wang Li, none of them curiously asked. Instead, as if they hadn't noticed Sun Nian's expression, they turned their heads away.

As the saying goes, some things are better left unknown; many things are not meant to be pried into. Knowing is sometimes worse than not knowing.

With the small box tucked under her arm, Sun Nian turned to Captain Zhou and Captain Zhang and said

"Captain Zhang, Captain Zhou, each of you split your company in half for me to lead. I will take them to escort those thugs outside back to the Bureau. Then, the two of you take the remaining men and search the entire courtyard thoroughly once more to see if anything was missed."

Hearing this, Captain Zhang and Captain Zhou replied almost simultaneously

"Yes, Captain Sun."

Sun Nian nodded and turned to walk outside.

Wang An and Wang Li naturally had to follow Sun Nian. Wang An quickened his pace and asked her

"Sister Nian, if there's nothing for us to do, can we go home?"

Wang An and Wang Li's status was merely that of militia members. In a major case like this, they actually shouldn't have been involved. It was only because Wang An was the catalyst for the downfall of Wei Cheng's team and the sworn younger brother of Zhang Shuya that he had the opportunity to participate.

Now, Wei Cheng and those four so-called sharpshooters were dead, and the people who needed to be arrested had been arrested. Crucially, Zhang Shuya's unit had increased its revenue significantly, so Wang An felt that he and Wang Li were no longer needed.

Unexpectedly, Sun Nian said without looking back

"Old Five, go home. Xiao An, you have to ride the sidecar and take me back to the county. Your sister said she arranged an off-the-books job for you at noon; you need to go to the Bureau to handle the paperwork."

Hearing this, Wang An was completely stunned. He had no idea what Zhang Shuya was thinking, but she had actually pulled this on him.

To put it nicely, it was called "off-the-books personnel," but to put it bluntly, it was just a damn temporary job.

With Wang An's current status and wealth, would he really lack a temporary job?

Therefore, arranging such a job was truly useless to Wang An.

(End of Chapter)