Chapter 162: The Suspicious Phone Call
"Ah?"
Upon hearing this, Li Qianfan's face immediately revealed a look of surprise, "Sister Nine is going to take over as the boss of South Gate? I haven't heard Sister Nine mention this before, and we haven't seen each other much lately, she seems quite busy?"
"What's she busy with?" Wu Lang asked with a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.
"I don't know," Li Qianfan admitted frankly.
Lately, he had been tied up with the martial pavilion and the Yang Strengthening Pills, and genuinely had no idea what Hong Jiumei might be busy with.
The last time he saw Hong Jiumei was when she drove him to service a client at A'hua's place. Thinking about it now, he realized it had indeed been quite a long time since they last met.
"Is she dealing with taking over the gang?"
Wu Lang might have seemed nonchalant on the surface, but he was actually quite nervous inside. He was worried that Lin Manyue might have already arranged for Hong Jiumei to take over as Gang Leader before he could find the Gang Edict.
If that were the case, his plans would be ruined, and taking full control of the gang and South Gate would cost him much more effort.
"I don't know," Li Qianfan shook his head again.
His expressions of ignorance made Wu Lang feel increasingly anxious. He scrutinized Li Qianfan's face, but even with his vast experience in reading people, he could discern nothing from his companion's expression. After a moment of thought, he said, "How about you call Hong Jiumei and ask her out for dinner tonight?"
"Sure, that's perfect. My sister-in-law just started working at Heavenly World, so she can take good care of her," Li Qianfan immediately agreed with Wu Lang's suggestion and took out his phone to call Hong Jiumei.
Soon, Hong Jiumei's crisp voice could be heard on the phone. She seductively said, "Xiao Fan, are you missing your sister? Hehe, wait for me to finish up this busy period, and then come over to my place for a meal. I've been missing you so much, my little darling!"
Although Li Qianfan had not put the phone on speaker, these words still reached Wu Lang's ears, and his face changed slightly. His suspicions were confirmed; Hong Jiumei and Li Qianfan were indeed involved with each other.
"Uh—"
Li Qianfan glanced awkwardly at Wu Lang and said, "Sister, I'm with Brother Wolf right now. He's asking if you're free tonight, to have dinner together."
"You're with Brother Wolf?"
Hong Jiumei's voice immediately became awkward, and she quickly said, "Oh, you silly boy, why didn't you say so earlier? Dinner together tonight? No, I can't. I've been out of town, learning some things with friends. Let's talk about it when I get back."
Li Qianfan asked out of curiosity, "Sister, what are you learning?"
"I'm learning about my career change. Once I've mastered the essence, I can help you make big money when I return. Oh, and I left something very important in Taoyuan County. I'll send you the location via a voice message on WeChat in a while. Can you help me retrieve it?"
"Xiao Fan, this thing is extremely important to me. You must keep it safe until I'm back to collect it."
"Also, this item is very precious and critical to my career change. Don't show it to anyone, got it?" Hong Jiumei instructed very seriously over the phone.
An important item?
The Gang Edict?
Wu Lang listened intently to every word Hong Jiumei said. His pupils narrowed, and his expression changed subtly, his heart filled with immense excitement. The Gang Edict he had been searching for so long might finally reveal itself.
He was astonished that Hong Jiumei would trust Li Qianfan so much, entrusting such an important item to his care.
"Sister, don't worry. I will hide the item so nobody can find it," Li Qianfan nodded gently, then hung up the phone and looked up at Wu Lang, "Brother Wolf, Sister Nine is currently learning something out of town. It seems she's planning a career change and won't have time to dine with us tonight."
"It looks like Sister Nine is really going to take over as the big boss of South Gate."
Wu Lang gave a faint smile and said, "You lucky kid, with your relationship with Hong Jiumei, you can totally strut around South Gate in the future."
Li Qianfan didn't refute this statement. If Hong Jiumei indeed became the big boss of South Gate, their relationship would certainly make his dealings there much more convenient.
Perhaps he could even gather plenty of precious medicinal herbs through his connection with Hong Jiumei.
"Brother Wolf, Miss Meng's employment procedures are all set."
At that moment, Ma Hao walked into the office with Meng Lin.
"Good," Wu Lang nodded lightly, smiled at Meng Lin, and said, "Miss Meng, when can you start work?"
"I can start tomorrow."
Meng Lin highly valued her new job and immediately nodded in response.
"Alright, in that case, come to work tomorrow. I'll arrange for someone to go through the handover process with you and get you acquainted with the job," Wu Lang said with patience and kindness.
"Thank you, Brother Wolf." Meng Lin quickly bowed, her mouth agape with excitement.
After Li Qianfan and Meng Lin left, the smile on Wu Lang's face instantly vanished. He lit a cigarette and began to puff away.
"Damn it, if it weren't for Li Qianfan being the blind gigolo kept by Hong Jiumei, I would've killed him today."
Ma Hao spat on the floor in disgust and said angrily.
"Hong Jiumei is about to take over the gang!"
Wu Lang slowly looked up at Ma Hao with a serious expression.
"What?" Ma Hao became serious in an instant and said, "What's going on?"
Wu Lang said, "Li Qianfan just called Hong Jiumei in front of me. Now, Hong Jiumei is out of town, studying knowledge for a career change. If I'm not wrong, she's already met up with Lin Manyue, and the 'knowledge' she's studying must be about managing a gang."
"What do we do now?"
Ma Hao suddenly became tense and said, "If Hong Jiumei becomes the gang leader now, those old men will definitely support her unconditionally. If we try to move against her, everything will become much more difficult."
"Things haven't gotten that bad yet."
Wu Lang blew a ring of smoke, his face revealing a sinister smile, and he said, "Even though Hong Jiumei is out there with Lin Manyue learning management knowledge, the Gang Edict is in Taoyuan County, and it will soon be in Li Qianfan's hands."
Upon hearing this, Ma Hao showed a look of joy, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes. He made a throat-slitting gesture with his hand and said, "In that case, we can just kill Li Qianfan, snatch the Gang Edict and quickly take control of the gang. By the time Hong Jiumei returns, it'll be too late."
"That's precisely the plan! If that's the case, there's no need for Ah Hua to continue this task!"
Wu Lang pulled out his phone and made a call. After waiting for Ah Hua to answer, he said, "Ah Hua, you're progressing too slowly. I think we can call off our collaboration this time..."
"You think I want to be slow?"
Ah Hua began to complain from the other end of the line: "Big brother, do you even know who he is?"
"Just a blind man kept by someone," Wu Lang said indifferently.
"Hahaha." Ah Hua let out a cold laugh over the phone and said, "Wu Lang, it seems you don't know Li Qianfan well enough. I'll tell you, he's not just a blind man. He's also a student at Four Seas Martial Pavilion, a student who is about to become an instructor!!"