Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 321 True and False Luo Gangzhong

He Yuanchao, who had always kept a distance from the national security personnel, felt a little confused when he saw Luo Gang, who was wearing shabby clothes and looked honest, and could not help but agree with the old policeman.

"Liu Liang, don't be anxious. Listen to the police and take a closer look."

After hearing what He Yuanchao and the old policeman said, Lian Shouren's heart, which had just been relieved, was instantly lifted up again. He looked back and forth between Liu Liang and Luo Gang.

He was not nervous about catching the wrong person, but was mainly afraid that the real spy would flee upon hearing the news. He was also afraid of losing face for the National Security Bureau in front of other units. These days everyone still has a strong sense of collective honor.

Liu Liang looked at Lian Shouren cautiously, and seeing that Lian Shouren had a stern face but did not object, he turned his head and looked at Luo Gang, who was being grabbed by the shoulders by the steel plant security guards.

With the help of the old policeman's flashlight, Liu Liang carefully looked at Luo Gang's face and body for a while, then turned to Lian Shouren and stammered:
"It's like... it's like, but... but it feels... it feels like something is... wrong..."

"Tell me what's wrong?"

Before Liu Liang could finish his words, Lian Shouren interrupted him impatiently.

"He looks a lot like the Luo Gang I know."

Liu Liang said, turning his head to look at Luo Gang again, and his tone of voice was much more affirmative, "But that man is at least seven or eight years younger than he looks. If I hadn't just seen him a few days ago, I would have almost made a mistake."

Upon hearing that all his efforts had ended in a mess, Lian Shouren felt hot on his face. He really didn't want to face He Yuanchao and the others. After saying that he would take Luo Gang back to the steel plant, he opened the door and got into the GAZ jeep.

Seeing this, He Yuanchao knew that Lian Shouren didn't want to see anyone at the moment, so he asked a few security personnel to notify the ambush personnel to come back and gather, and he also walked leisurely towards Luo Gang's house under the pretext of looking for someone.

"Director."

"Deputy Director He."

Arriving at Luo Gang's house, He Yuanchao just stepped into the house and the two people who stayed inside greeted him.

He Yuanchao smiled and nodded, "How is it going? Is it almost done?"

"Apart from more than 30 yuan and more than 20 kilograms of food coupons, there is nothing worth taking away." Without waiting for the national security personnel to speak, the security guard of the steel plant said with a smile.

Living alone, he has two jobs. According to the old policeman, Luo Gang is not good at socializing with others. He usually smokes but doesn't drink. He also doesn't have the bad habits of gambling or prostitution. How come he has such little wealth?

Could it be that he has a hobby of collecting antiques? With doubts in his mind, He Yuanchao couldn't help but look more carefully at the furniture in Luo Gang's room.

Walking from the outer room to the inner room, He Yuanchao did not miss any object that looked old and checked them carefully.

Seeing this scene of scraping the ground three feet high, the national security officer and the steel plant security guard in the room looked at each other and shook their heads silently, not daring to say anything or ask.

He Yuanchao stood beside the bed in the inner room, put down the shabby candlestick in his hand, his face full of disappointment.

Although he didn't know anything about antiques, it was obvious that the furniture and bottles and jars in Luo Gang's house were not worth collecting.

The furniture was made of ordinary old elm wood. The few porcelain vases were damaged, and the patterns and words on the vases were basically confirmed to be from after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Not finding anything valuable, He Yuanchao was about to turn around and ask people to gather at the entrance of the alley when a large, open round-cornered cabinet beside the bed suddenly caught his attention.

The cabinet was about 1.5 meters high and 1 meter long, with a simple design. It contained some unused beddings. This in itself was nothing special, but what surprised He Yuanchao was that the inconspicuous cabinet belly [also known as the cabinet belly] board under the cabinet had been polished to a shiny finish for some reason.

Even if you often put away the bedding, you won't get here! He Yuanchao stood in front of the cabinet and gestured, and came to a conclusion. He became interested and took out all the bedding in the cabinet without fear of trouble. He also asked the steel factory security guard to use his flashlight to observe the cabinet carefully.

This action immediately attracted the attention of the national security and steel plant security personnel, and they both came over and stood next to the round corner cabinet.

"Director, what are you looking for? Why don't you take a rest and I'll help you find it."

Seeing He Yuanchao rummaging and knocking around in the cabinet, the steel plant security guard couldn't help but express his curiosity.

“I didn’t find it…”

After saying just two words, He Yuanchao immediately shut up and knocked on the wooden board at the bottom of the cabinet again with a happy expression.

Bang bang bang~~
The obvious hollow sound proved that he had not heard wrongly. He Yuanchao stood up straight and joked to the two people beside him with a smile:

"Guess what's down there?"

The hollow sound under the cabinet was very obvious. The national security and the steel plant security guards heard it clearly. Combined with He Yuanchao's action of checking the furnishings in the room just now, the two guessed that it was gold, silver, jewelry, cultural relics and antiques.

He Yuanchao's answer was different from the other two, but he didn't say anything. He walked around the round-corner cabinet with a smile on his face, looking for a way to open the bottom of the cabinet.

Both people in the room knew that they were looking for a mechanism or some kind of device.

The national security personnel thought that He Yuanchao was greedy and afraid of damaging the items underneath. They shook their heads and did not quite agree with this approach, but they were tactful enough not to say anything. They stood aside and waited quietly to see the result. Anyway, no matter what was hidden under the cabinet, it would have to be taken back to the national security in the end.

The steel factory security guard finally had a chance to show off in front of his direct supervisor, and couldn't wait to say, "Don't bother, Director. If it doesn't work, we can just move the cabinet away."

As he spoke, the steel plant security guard rolled up his sleeves, stepped forward, grabbed one side of the round corner cabinet and prepared to lift it up.

"Wait, don't move yet."

Seeing this, He Yuanchao's expression became somewhat solemn. While he opened his mouth to stop him, he quickly stepped forward and grabbed the steel plant guard's arm.

After glaring at the steel plant security guard who was about to speak, He Yuanchao pricked up his ears and listened carefully. When he found that there was no sound coming from the room, he breathed a sigh of relief.

It's no wonder that He Yuan was anxious. If there was really something he wanted hidden under the cabinet, if they just moved the cabinet with round corners, they would end up stuck here.

The national security officer and the steel plant security guard were not stupid either. When they saw He Yuanchao's expression, they realized that there was something wrong with the cabinet and became cautious in their movements.

He Yuanchao was relieved after seeing the two men's actions. He held up the flashlight and carefully checked the inside of the cabinet again. This time, he did not miss any tiny bumps or lines inside the cabinet.

Time passed by minute by minute, and just when He Yuanchao was about to give up looking for the mechanism after finding nothing, an inconspicuous wood boil on the wooden board at the bottom of the cabinet caught his attention.

Having made the discovery, He Yuanchao did not hesitate. He took off the key chain on his belt, opened a small fruit knife hanging on it, and tentatively stabbed it into the wood boil.

The hand holding the knife moved slightly twice, but there was no change in the cabinet and no sound was heard. He Yuanchao felt relieved but also a little disappointed.

When he took the knife back from the cabinet, He Yuanchao's eyes, which had been somewhat gloomy, suddenly lit up again when he saw the wood boil on the tip of the knife.

(End of this chapter)