BPIFC -Volume 1 – Chapter 181 The Gift

Early the next morning, Che Qianzi woke up from a hangover. After groggily glancing around, he finally realized what had happened—he had gotten drunk the night before and fallen asleep at the old man’s house.

But something felt wrong.

He clearly remembered falling asleep fully clothed… so why was he now completely naked?

The attendant known as Old Four, who had been taking care of him, saw that he was awake and immediately sent someone to inform the old master, who was having breakfast with Sun Desheng. At the same time, he personally helped the young Taoist get up and said, “Your clothes got dirty last night. Our master prepared a new set for you—custom-made according to your measurements. We have a tailor at home, so if anything feels too loose or too tight, we can adjust it immediately.”

However, the clothes prepared for Che Qianzi had no brand labels. The young Taoist immediately got suspicious and, still slightly drunk, said, “Don’t try to fool me! I know exactly what you’re planning. You saw my clothes are all designer brands worth hundreds of thousands, so you got me drunk, took my clothes, and are going to sell them off while telling me they were dirty!”

Seeing him getting worked up, Old Four quickly explained, “It’s a misunderstanding! Your clothes are being dry-cleaned. They’ll be ready this afternoon. The clothes we prepared for you are Hangzhou silk custom-made—much more expensive than what you were wearing.”

At that moment, the old man entered the room and smiled. “You’re awake? Old Four, you don’t know how to do things—help your uncle get dressed properly.”

Then he added warmly, “Breakfast today is Hangzhou-style. Uncle, come and try it. Oh right, a chubby man named Sun Desheng came last night. He said he’s your sworn brother and is currently outside eating breakfast.”

“Sun Fatty is here?”

Che Qianzi immediately forgot about the clothes, jumped up, got dressed, and rushed into the dining hall.

There, he saw Sun Desheng enthusiastically devouring a bowl of noodles. Seeing the young Taoist come in, he pointed at a bowl opposite him and said, “Hurry up and eat before it gets soggy.”

“Fatty, why are you here?” Che Qianzi asked in surprise. “I thought I’d been kidnapped. I was nervous all night, but nothing happened…”

“Come on,” Sun Desheng laughed. “They already told me—you just got drunk last night. Luckily you were still nervous, otherwise you’d have been out cold for three to eight days. Uncle Jiang called me using your phone because he was worried your family would panic. I stayed up the whole night looking for you.”

At that moment, the old man and his three sons came out smiling.

“It’s good that you brothers have reunited,” the old man said warmly. “Uncle, try our Hangzhou breakfast. This is scallion pancake wrap, this is crab roe soup dumplings… and this one—crispy fried eel noodles. The eel was caught fresh last night.”

A full table of breakfast dishes was soon laid out. Still hungover, Che Qianzi felt a bit overwhelmed, but out of politeness he tried each dish once.

When he was about done, the old man smiled and said, “Uncle, I originally planned for you to stay a few more days. But your sworn brother said you still have matters to attend to, so it’s not convenient to keep you here too long.”

Then he continued, “I’ve prepared some local gifts for your grandfather and the others. Please take them back for me. Old Four, bring the gifts out.”

At his command, Old Four, Old Two, and Old Three each carried out a suitcase.

When they opened them in front of everyone, the entire room fell silent.

Each suitcase was filled with gold.

Not gold bars—but solid gold ingots.

The old man explained casually, “It’s nothing valuable. Just some gold I’ve saved over the years. The older I get, the more cautious I become, so I buy a bit of gold every year to steady my nerves. Over time, it just accumulated.”

Three suitcases of gold—far more than fifty gold bars.

Che Qianzi stared in disbelief, wondering if he was still dreaming.

Seeing his reaction, Sun Desheng chuckled. “Since it’s your elder nephew’s kind gesture, just accept it. Don’t be shy—we’re all family.”

Still dazed, Che Qianzi somehow accepted the three suitcases of gold.

Afterward, Sun Desheng said to the old man, “Old Master Jiang, we still have matters in Hangzhou, so we won’t trouble you further. When you go to Beiping, remember to visit the Bureau of Folk Affairs Research and Investigation. Your uncle there will treat you to a meal.”

Seeing that they were leaving, the old man did not insist on keeping them. He personally led his entire family to see them off and even provided an off-road vehicle for their journey.

Once the car drove off, Che Qianzi, now inexplicably holding three suitcases of gold, felt increasingly uneasy.

“Big Brother,” he said, “why don’t we go back? Maybe the old man mistook me for someone else. This much gold should be for his real uncle…”

“Brother,” Sun Desheng replied with a smile, “there’s no such thing as giving it to the wrong person. Everything has its fate.”

He glanced sideways. “Besides, didn’t you see? Your nephew is very wealthy. This little bit of gold is nothing to them. If it’s lost, so be it—it’s just money spent to avoid disaster.”

“No… that old man didn’t mistake me. He’s looking for me,” Che Qianzi suddenly said, sobering up further.

He rubbed his head, thinking hard. “But why is he looking for me? I’m not someone important…”

Then he turned to Sun Desheng. “Fatty, I’ll ask you again—why are you being so good to me? Not just you, even that old man… what are you hiding from me?”

Sun Desheng laughed. “Then let me ask you—why is my brother so good to Shen La? And why is Wu Rendi also so good to him? Some things in this world just can’t be explained—it just comes down to liking someone.”

At that moment, a car drove past them.

Sun Desheng immediately lowered his head, hiding his face.

Che Qianzi noticed and asked, “Fatty, what’s wrong with you? Are you having a stroke or something?”

“Get lost,” Sun Desheng laughed. “A fortune teller said I’ll live to eighty-six—I’m not even halfway there yet.”

Then he continued, “Didn’t you see? That Cherokee just passed—it was Old Huang and the others.”

Hearing this, Che Qianzi frowned. “What are they doing here? Don’t tell me they’re after that old family too? Fatty, should we go back and check? We took so much gold—it doesn’t feel right not to return.”

“Who said they’re after them?” Sun Desheng said casually. “They’re clearly here looking for us.”

He didn’t mention the truth about the old man being Jiao Dalang.

Instead, he smiled and added, “They probably found out we’re no longer in Hangzhou and thought we uncovered something, so they followed us here. Perfect timing—I’ll take you to meet an old acquaintance.”