Returning wealthy individuals develop their hometowns and become rich in the 1980s

"What do you need that thing for?"

Instead of directly answering Liu Kun's question, Yamada Inuro mysteriously raised a finger and uttered a few words in broken Chinese: "Technology, comparison, research, legal, big friend."

Zhou Wenbo quickly chimed in, giving Liu Kun a wink, "Brother Kun, Mr. Yamada means that they want to do a comparative study of our domestic cars and foreign cars, they definitely don't have any bad intentions."

"If you can help make connections, or get some blueprints, parts samples, etc., Mr. Yamada will reward you handsomely in addition to the high exchange rate of US dollars mentioned before."

"How will you repay me?" Pepper couldn't help but interject, his eyes fixed on the gold watch on the table.

Yamada Inuro clearly understood the words "generous reward," and immediately held up five fingers, waving them in front of Liu Kun. He then doubled it to ten fingers and tentatively asked, "One hundred thousand?"

Liu Kun couldn't help but glance sideways, his heart pounding. But Yamada Inuro shook his head; he could tell the two Chinese men opposite him were interested. A smirk, which he thought was quite handsome, played on his lips as he uttered in broken Chinese, word by word, "Fifty...hundred...thousand...dollars!"

Upon hearing this number, Liu Kun noticed that Pepper's breathing quickened. Five hundred thousand US dollars—even though Liu Kun and his team had made a considerable amount from their thriving foreign exchange business, this sum was still an astonishing figure.

But Liu Kun himself was a master of empty promises. He knew that the 500,000 US dollars were not so easy to get. The more he inquired about the Chen family in Lianzhai these days, the more unfathomable they seemed, and not someone to be trifled with.

But Liu Kun also wanted the $500,000 reward from this little Japanese dog, Mr. Gou Lang. At this moment, the clever Liu Kun had already come up with an idea. He immediately put on a greedy face, swallowed, and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Mr. Gou Lang, this matter... is a bit difficult. Xiaochi Motors is a big company, and its security department is very strict. I can try, but..."

"You need to pay more!"

"Yoshi! As long as Mr. Liu is willing to help, there's plenty of money to be had," Yamada Inuro seemed to have anticipated Liu Kun's reaction. He pulled out a thick wad of US dollars from his bag, about ten thousand dollars, and pushed it in front of Liu Kun. "This is a deposit. If Mr. Liu can get the person to come out, or get what I want, I'm willing to add another one hundred thousand US dollars!"

Liu Kun stared at the stack of US dollars, not giving Pepper a chance to reach for it. He grabbed the money, stuffed it into his pocket, stood up, and said, "Alright, Mr. Gou Lang, you wait for my good news. But I'll also make the unpleasant things clear upfront: this is very risky, and you'll have to give me time."

"Of course, I will stay in Tuocheng for a long time and look forward to the good news you bring, Liu-san," Yamada Inuro nodded with satisfaction, stood up and bowed again.

Liu Kun and his two companions left the room and took the elevator downstairs. Pepper was still excited, constantly asking Liu Kun, "Will Mr. Gou Lang really give us six hundred thousand US dollars? Damn, I've never seen six hundred thousand US dollars stacked up like this before!"

"Why are you talking so much? Let's talk when we get back," Liu Kun glared at Pepper, who was still excited and unconsciously becoming talkative. The three of them hurriedly walked out of the lobby. Old Liu put down the old newspaper covering his face, quickly got up and followed them out, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Once the Shanghai-plated sedan had driven out of the guesthouse gates, Old Liu quickly got into the "Night-Shining White" and said to Xiao Du, "Follow them!"

"Captain Liu, what's going on?" Xiao Du started the car and slowly followed. Lao Liu lit a cigarette and blew out smoke rings. "They went to see a Japanese businessman. From what I overheard them talking, the Japanese businessman seemed to have promised them some conditions. I only heard one sentence: six hundred thousand US dollars."

"Underground foreign exchange!" Xiao Du, driving, blurted out almost immediately. "They're not just raising funds, they're also running a black market foreign exchange exchange business. That's incredibly audacious!"

"It's hard to say," Old Liu shook his head. "We can only catch thieves red-handed. For now, we can only keep an eye on their every move. You continue to keep an eye on things in the old street area. I'm going to the Jiping Police Station to ask Fang Zhengwen to help coordinate a few more comrades to help us keep an eye on things."

After Liu Kun returned to the card room, Zhou Wenbo glanced enviously at the gold watches in the two men's hands before leaving. Seeing this, Hei Pi asked, "Why did you bring back two big gold watches? Didn't you say you were going to exchange them for money? Where's the money?"

"I didn't change it," Liu Kun said, putting the gold watch on his wrist, which gleamed under the light. Pepper, as always, was quick to speak, repeating to Blackie what the Japanese man, Yamada Inuro, had said. Blackie jumped up, "Really? They really gave that much?"

"All our hard work on this foreign exchange is less profitable than this," Blackie said, his mind filled with thoughts of stealing the data on the Snapdragon 600,000 US dollars. He looked at Liu Kun and asked, "Brother Kun, how do you plan to do it?"

"We'll talk about it later. What's the rush? This can't be rushed. If President Chen finds out we're eyeing his company's information, we might not even keep our jobs; he might bury us alive!"

Liu Kun said this, but in fact he already had a plan in mind. He just didn't want to say it now. Meanwhile, Lao Liu arrived at Jiping Police Station and met with his old colleague, the station chief Fang Zhengwen. He told him about what happened today.

Fang Zhengwen frowned. "How did this involve foreign businessmen? We've been cracking down on the underground black market in Jiping. They're all shrewd, changing locations more frequently than rats moving house. This is the first time we've seen them so brazenly running a black market."

"I'll lead the team over there and wipe them out in a bit," Fang Zhengwen said, but Lao Liu quickly stopped him. "No rush, Lao Fang, let's play the long game and see what kind of trouble they can cause."

"Why would you need to fish for this? It's obvious," Fang Zhengwen said, puzzled. Old Liu shook his head and said, "I think this is not simple. Think about it, why would a merchant from Japan not go to a bank to exchange money, but instead go to the local black market to exchange it? This doesn't make sense."

"The black market exchange rate is higher, right?" Fang Zhengwen blurted out without thinking. Old Liu shook his head and said, "No, no, no, foreign businessmen who come here usually only dare to secretly exchange money on the black market if they've done it many times and become seasoned veterans. And they wouldn't exchange as much as 600,000 at once!"

"This 600,000 doesn't seem like something to be exchanged; it looks more like some kind of reward!"

"remuneration?"

"Yes, think about it, what kind of job would give someone a reward of 600,000 yuan at once?" Old Liu, being a veteran policeman, immediately saw through the flaw.

"You mean, this Japanese businessman is actually a spy!"

"Very likely!"