Chapter 23: Old Yang Coming to Work

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

“Why do I feel a sense of achievement?”

After watching Tang Youxin run into the alley, Xia Xu suddenly laughed and shook his head.

Giving money to the little white flower was more difficult than swindling money from others. Successfully giving money to her even gave him a sense of achievement.

“Youxin, you’re back. Why are you back so late today? Did the teacher delay class?”

“Hehe, little girl, I saw it just now. Who is that little boy? Is he your boyfriend?”

“No, Auntie Zhou, don’t talk nonsense~”

After some neighbors greeted and joked with her, Tang Youxin’s slow footsteps turned into a fast jog as she entered a small shop in the middle of the alley with an old signboard which read ‘Fang Yuan Bakery’.

This time, Xia Xu finally understood why she had been eating buns and buns all day long. It turned out that she was eating her family product.

The residents of the city had to have a source of income. If they had no income at all, they would not only be poor, but would also have to live on the streets or even starve to death. Therefore, he was not surprised by the small white flower family’s business.

This situation made him vaguely understand that the situation at Tang Youxin’s house might not be good.

With a certain amount of income and still falling into extreme poverty that she couldn’t even bear to eat her own family products just to save money. This could only mean that their income was not enough to cover their expenses. They were either bearing huge debts or spending a lot of money on long term and necessary expenses.

After staring for a while, Xia Xu looked away and got into a taxi.

…

The night went by.

The next day, Saturday.

Since he had Yang Bowen come to work at 8 in the morning, Xia Xu, the boss, naturally had to open the door earlier. He arrived at the shop at 7:30 am.

But someone actually came earlier than him.

Tang Youxin was already waiting at the entrance of the shop, but she couldn’t go in because she didn’t have a key. She squatted on the steps by the door. The morning fog was cold, causing her to hug her shoulders and tremble.

But Tang Youxin’s outfit surprised Xia Xu. This was the first time he had seen the little white flower changed out of her school uniform and into casual clothes.

She was wearing a pure white dress that was not new. It was simple and had no additional embellishments, but it accentuated her temperament, just like how he called her a pure and delicate little white flower.

No, with the swaying in the wind and the toughness that seemed to come from the bones, maybe the snow lotus that grew in the snowstorm of the Heavenly Mountain was the better term.

Tang Youxin, who was squatting down, saw Xia Xu’s shoes. She then realized that someone was here and quickly looked up.

When she looked up, she coincidentally met Xia Xu’s aggressive gaze. Her fair and delicate face had a hint of redness, making her so cute that people couldn’t help but want to bite her.

“Didn’t we agree to come at 8 am? What are you doing here so early? You can’t go in and you have to suffer from the cold here.”

Xia Xu pretended to knock Tang Youxin on the forehead.

The latter immediately covered her head and squatted down, but the knock did not come.

“Come in quickly, why are you still squatting there?”

Xia Xu had already walked to the door, took out his keys, and quickly opened the door.

“Oh…”

Tang Youxin nodded and walked over, but when she got up, she picked up a small plastic bag from her lap. She hesitated for a while before finally handing it to Xia Xu. “Here.”

“Steamed buns? Did you make this?”

Xia Xu took it and saw that it was a few buns. She must have brought them from her house.

“No, my father made them.”

Tang Youxin shook her head and added, “Just… just getting breakfast for you.”

“What a shame, I wanted to eat the ones you made.”

Xia Xu said regretfully, causing the already embarrassed little white flower to feel even more embarrassed. She pretended not to hear him and went to the corner to grab a broom and mop, continuing the unfinished cleaning from yesterday.

Tang Youxin cleaned the shop while Xia Xu also cleaned up the furniture inside. He then threw the metal stove, tables, chairs, and stools he didn’t need to the trash recycling station in the community.

After a while, Yang Bowen joined in and after some time, they basically cleaned up the entire shop.

“Boss, what should I do now?”

After resting for a while, Yang Bowen looked at Xia Xu. He was taking the initiative to seek his opinion.

The reason for this was because he felt that it was not good to stay idle in front of his boss, and also because he wanted to test his ‘talent’. After all, he did not come here to be a cleaner.

“The main skills of a detective are investigating, tracking, and intelligence gathering. These techniques are difficult to master, but just the basics don’t require much theoretical knowledge.”

Xia Xu understood what he meant and said, “Of course, you still have to learn the necessary techniques and theories. I will buy you some professional learning materials later.”

“However, Brother Yang, you are very talented, and you are actually very good at this. Basically, as long as you think hard and perform as usual, you will perform well, so I prefer to let you train in an actual mission.”

“I believe you also urgently need to verify my statement yesterday and witness your own talent, right?”

Yang Bowen was taken aback. He hesitated. “Actual mission? Boss, are you asking me to solve a case?”

“No, in the words of a private investigator, this is called a commission. To complete a client’s commission.”

Xia Xu corrected his words and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to do anything difficult or dangerous. I just want you to find someone. It’s best if you can find him, but if you can’t, it’s fine. Just treat it as practice.”

“Okay, Boss, no problem, who do you want me to find?”

Yang Bowen was relieved when he heard that.

Although he believed Xia Xu’s words yesterday, and his salary was attractive enough, if he was asked to conduct some difficult and dangerous business as soon as he arrived, he would shrink back.

“This person is called Zhang Jianmin. I will mark out his approximate address and activity area for you later. In addition, you may start with the owner of the Mingjie Noodle Shop at the entrance of Star City Third High School, Xue Mingjie. Last week, Zhang Jianmin was arrested together with him for gambling…”

Xia Xu said that it was a simple test mission, but in fact, he gave Yang Bowen the most urgent and difficult task right away.

This was a natural scout. Even without any experience or technique, his thinking pattern, ability to communicate with people, and observation skills would not disappear and be born out of thin air. If he used these skills properly, he could be used countless times better than ordinary people.

Moreover, just like he said, even if he failed, there was no loss. Zhang Jianmin was not a dangerous person. If he couldn’t find him, he just couldn’t find him. He could always treat it as practice.

After sending the newbie Yang Bowen out, Xia Xu didn’t dare to have too much hope as it was like finding a needle in a haystack. He also planned to go out and find the old man at the construction site.

If Zhang Jianmin really couldn’t be found, then he would just let him go. It was still uncertain whether there would be any benefits later. Although Xia Xu was unwilling, he was not too regretful. However, if he missed this opportunity to find the old man at the construction site, he would be furious.

Moreover, if Zhang Jianmin could be guided back to this part of the plot, finding the old man at the construction site who was the core character of the second scene, would mean finding the main character, Zhang Jianmin..