I lent my brother 500 yuan, and he offered his wife as collateral.

……

The bugging device, the size of a button battery, was flipped between Qin Feng's fingers.

Wu Hai's face looked very grim.

The red traffic light flashed on and off, as if mocking the old butler's incompetence.

Just then, a sudden ringing broke the silence.

Wu Hai instinctively reached for his phone, but his hand froze as soon as he put it in his pocket.

He looked up at Qin Feng, his Adam's apple bobbing, and his eyes even carried a hint of seeking permission.

That brief exchange made him realize that the young man before him was far superior to him in both skill and intellect.

"catch."

Qin Feng toyed with the bugging device, casually tossed it into the air, and caught it steadily.

"Don't keep your husband waiting."

Wu Hai took a deep breath, took out his phone, pressed the answer button, and turned on speakerphone.

"Hahahahaha!"

The moment the call connected, he burst into hearty laughter, showing no sign of anger or displeasure.

"Good! Good lad! Truly a hero among the young. To be able to find that thing right under Wu Hai's nose."

Don't give me that.

Qin Feng grabbed Wu Hai's phone with one hand and picked up the vinegar bottle on the table with the other, shaking it idly:

"Su Tianxiao, let's be frank. You want to use me as a pawn, to use me to disgust Su Linglong, so that you can get a bargain at tomorrow's auction and monopolize that 'Millennium Snow Lotus,' right?"

"Your abacus beads are about to hit my face."

Qin Feng's face showed a mocking expression, but his gaze was as cold as ice: "You want to use me to target Su Linglong? Fine. But I have a problem; I don't like working for free."

The laughter on the other end of the phone stopped abruptly.

The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.

Su Qingxue sat on a small stool, holding the empty bowl tightly in both hands, not daring to breathe.

Looking at Qin Feng's sharply defined profile, she felt both fear and admiration.

"Qin Feng".

Su Tianxiao's voice turned cold, the feigned kindness of an elder vanished, replaced by a sinister and menacing tone:

"It's not a good thing for a young person to be too arrogant. I'm giving you a way out, that's the biggest reward. Don't forget, you're already a dead man with Su Linglong, and no one can protect you except me."

"Threatening me?"

Qin Feng chuckled, placed the bugging device on the marble table, picked up a chopstick, and aimed it at the flashing red light.

"Grandpa Su, aren't you mistaken about something?"

"I have nothing to lose, so I'm not afraid of anyone wearing shoes. Believe it or not, if I just call Su Linglong right now and tell her I want to work with her to help her drive up the price at the auction..."

Qin Feng paused, his tone becoming playful: "Do you think she'd be willing to forgive and forget about me just to disgust you?"

"After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That's a principle your housekeeper just taught me."

"Click."

The chopsticks fell to the ground.

The sophisticated listening device was instantly shattered, its parts scattered all over the table.

I could hear heavy breathing coming from the other end of the phone.

Su Tianxiao's defenses were breached.

Qin Feng's move was too ruthless, hitting him right where it hurt.

The collateral branch of the Su family desperately needs that thousand-year-old snow lotus; it is their last bargaining chip for turning the tables and seizing power.

If Qin Feng really sides with Su Linglong, given the strange insight and disruptive ability that kid showed tonight, Su Tianxiao might suffer a huge loss tomorrow, or even end up with nothing.

"Qin Feng, you've got guts."

Su Tianxiao gritted his teeth, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth: "What do you want?"

Qin Feng moved his phone a little further away and picked at his ear.

"That's right, you have to have the right attitude when doing business."

Qin Feng glanced at Wu Hai, whose face was ashen, and said slowly:

"First, for tomorrow's auction, I need a list of the reserve prices for all items. Don't give me those promotional brochures that are just to fool outsiders; I need the actual reserve prices calculated internally by your Su family."

Wu Hai suddenly looked up, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

List of bottom prices!

That's top secret from the auction house!

With this thing, it's like having a full-map perspective cheat; you can find bargains however you want!

"second."

Qin Feng held up two fingers, though Su Tianxiao couldn't see them. "I want Su Linglong's trump card. I need to know exactly how much money she brought this time, and what backup plans she has."

"impossible!"

Su Tianxiao flatly refused, his voice filled with anger: "This is a trade secret! Giving you a bottom-line price list is already the limit. Even I'm still investigating Su Linglong's trump cards..."

"beep."

Qin Feng hung up the phone immediately.

It was concise and to the point, without a single wasted word.

He tossed the phone back to the petrified Wu Hai, stood up, and pulled Su Qingxue to her feet.

"Qingxue, let's go find Miss Su and have a chat about life. I heard she has a nice car; let's try to scam her."

Wu Hai frantically caught the phone, his whole body trembling.

This kid's gone mad!

How dare he hang up on Old Master Su?!

However, only three seconds passed.

"bite--!"

Wu Hai's phone rang again.

It was still Su Tianxiao.

Wu Hai answered the call shakily, but before he could speak, Su Tianxiao roared furiously from the other end:

"Give him the phone! Give it to him!!"

Qin Feng stopped and turned around, looking at Wu Hai with a half-smile.

Wu Hai, like a eunuch holding an imperial edict, trotted over and handed over the phone.

"Feed? The signal was bad just now, it cut out," Qin Feng said calmly.

"Qin Feng!"

Su Tianxiao took several deep breaths on the other end of the line before he could barely suppress the urge to kill.

"You win. The list and intelligence, I'll have them sent to your phone right now. But remember this: if you dare to try anything tomorrow, I, Su Tianxiao, swear I'll turn the entire Southwest upside down to tear you to pieces!"

"No need for Grandpa Su to worry about that."

Qin Feng said casually, "I'm a man of great integrity when it comes to contracts. As long as the money's right, you can do whatever you want."

"Give."

On the other end of the phone, Su Tianxiao spat out a single word as if he were spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Then came the silent tone.

Less than half a minute.

Qin Feng's phone vibrated.

He pulled out his old, cracked phone and opened an encrypted document.

Fingers swipe rapidly across the screen.

A long list of detailed data came into view.

[Lot 1: A Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain cup with a "pressed-hand" design, starting price 800 million, Su Linglong's asking price 1200 million...]

[Lot 7: Warring States Period Red Agate Ring, Starting Price 30, with signs of repair (hidden mark)...]

[Final item for auction: Thousand-year-old snow lotus from Tianshan Mountains, starting price 5000 million, maximum funds Su Linglong can raise: 15 billion (including collateral assets)...]

detailed.

That's incredibly detailed.

This is the result of years of infiltration and dormancy by the collateral branch of the Su family, and now it has all become a card in Qin Feng's hand.

Qin Feng turned off the screen with satisfaction and put his phone in his pocket.

He looked at Wu Hai, who was standing in the cold wind with a look of existential doubt on his face, and reached out to pat the old butler on the shoulder.

"Go back and tell your master to prepare the money."

Qin Feng pointed to the black Maybach not far away, "I'll act with you in tomorrow's show. Also, you can pay for this wonton soup; I didn't bring any change."

After saying that, he didn't even look at Wu Hai's fascinating face, and pulled Su Qingxue away.

The Maybach's headlights illuminated, and its engine roared with a deep rumble, like a wild beast awakening, tearing through the night and speeding away.

Wu Hai was left standing alone in front of the roadside stall.

This moment.

The head housekeeper, who held immense power in the Su family, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the bowl of wontons with only soup left.

……

inside the car.

The Maybach drove on the empty Second Ring Road elevated highway.

Su Qingxue sat in the passenger seat, still reeling from the shock she had just experienced.

She secretly glanced at Qin Feng, who was driving.

At this moment, Qin Feng was holding the steering wheel with one hand and a cigarette between his other fingers.

The arrogance she had shown when facing Su Tianxiao was gone from her face; instead, she wore a calmness that she couldn't understand.

"Brother Feng..."

Su Qingxue mustered her courage and asked softly, "Are you really going to help that bad old man? He's Su Tianxiao..."

As she said this, her voice trembled slightly with hatred.

Qin Feng exhaled a puff of smoke, which hit the windshield and dispersed.

"Qingxue, I've got it."

Qin Feng rolled down the car window a little to let the cold air dissipate the smell of smoke in the car. "In this cutthroat world, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests."

He tossed the old cell phone onto the center console, and the screen lit up, displaying the priceless document.

"Su Tianxiao wants to use me as a knife, and Su Linglong wants to use me as a stepping stone."

Qin Feng turned his head and looked at Su Qingxue's pure, rabbit-like eyes, revealing a wicked smile.

"Since they all want to play, I'll play a big game with them."

"The muddier the water in this pool, the better."