Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

"Should we send it to the provincial capital for inspection?"

In the dormitory, the two sat around the table. Zhu Zhengwei listened to the information Chen Xiangdong had gathered and couldn't help but frown and mutter, "Once that batch of goods leaves Dongping, it's as if it's completely out of sight. No one can trace its whereabouts. He said it was for inspection, but who exactly inspected it? And who decides whether it passed inspection or not? If he takes the supply and marketing cooperative's delivery slip and resells it in the provincial capital, who in our county can get it back?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiangdong couldn't help but glance at Zhu Zhengguo a few more times, thinking to himself that this old Zhu was indeed quite capable. Not only did he notice that the "inspection location" was unreasonable, but he also directly pointed out that Lin Zhaotang might sell the goods in the provincial capital.

This is getting closer and closer to the case from his previous life. He remembers it clearly: in his previous life, the so-called Hong Kong businessman sold off several truckloads of local specialties at a low price in the provincial capital and then disappeared without a trace with the cash.

All that remained were a pile of invoices, slowly getting moldy in the drawer of the Dongping County Supply and Marketing Cooperative.

Zhu Zhengwei's furrowed brows relaxed and tightened repeatedly, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the enamel mug as he continued his analysis: "I suspect that selling this batch of goods isn't his ultimate goal. The invoices, the official seal, and the 'letter of intent' signed by the supply and marketing cooperative director—those things are far more valuable than walnuts and dates. With those things, the swindler can go elsewhere and continue his fraudulent activities."

Chen Xiangdong nodded, his voice a little tense: "That's right. Among the people of Dongping, who has the ability to track down the goods to the provincial capital to verify them? Once the goods have left the county, it's too late to say anything."

"So what are you planning to do?" Zhu Zheng raised an eyebrow. "Right now, the heads of the Education Bureau, the theater troupe, the supply and marketing cooperative, and even various departments in the county all treat Lin Zhaotang like a god of wealth, and they're too busy sucking up to him. Even if the two of us stand up and accuse Lin Zhaotang of being a fraud, no one will believe us."

Chen Xiangdong slumped back in his chair, looking deflated like a punctured balloon, and said dejectedly, "Are we just going to stand by and watch that guy screw over Dongping?"

But then, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind, like a match being struck with a "snap" in the darkness.

He sat bolt upright, hands on his knees, his eyes darting around: "I refuse to believe he's completely innocent! Maybe... we should search his luggage?"

"Um?"

Zhu Zhengkuo was taken aback: "But he must have the key with him at all times, and there are people patrolling the guesthouse, so we can't get into the room."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiangdong stood up, not in a hurry to answer, but gave him a mysterious smile: "You don't need to worry about this, I'll figure something out."

.........

Lin Zhaotang is here again!

This time, instead of going to the rehearsal hall or Jia Dafang's office, they went directly to the back of the theater and pushed open the door to the storeroom that had been locked for years.

The warehouse was dimly lit, with only a low-wattage tungsten bulb hanging from the ceiling, casting crooked shadows on the old wooden crates scattered throughout the room.

Chu Shengli, Jia Dafang, and Pan Lanxiang followed closely beside Lin Zhaotang. Jia Dafang smiled and introduced to him, "Mr. Lin, all the old costumes in our troupe's inventory are here."

As he spoke, he bent down, reached out and grabbed the edge of one of the box lids, and gently lifted it up. The lid hinge made a dull "click" sound.

As the box was opened, a pungent smell of "stinky balls" filled the cramped room.

Pan Lanxiang was so overwhelmed by the smell that she took half a step back and raised the back of her hand to cover her nose.

Lin Zhaotang and Chu Shengli couldn't help but wrinkle their noses. Jia Dafang, who was the first to be affected, almost fell over from the stench and coughed twice before he could catch his breath.

These prop boxes are always filled with mothballs to repel insects, and the smell is incredibly strong.

Even Chen Xiangdong, Liu Dezhu, and Lin Datou, who were standing at the door watching, could vaguely smell that strange odor.

Jia Dafang pinched his nose and held his breath, picked up the neatly folded opera costume on top of the box, and shook it off with a "whoosh". Although the color had darkened a bit, the dark gold cloud pattern around the collar still shone faintly under the light.

"Mr. Lin, do you think this costume will do?"

Lin Zhaotang glanced at it casually, then nodded: "Not bad, let's take this one. I'll pick a few more in better condition so I can take them back and have them appraised by an expert."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dafang grinned and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Lin, we have plenty of good stuff in our warehouse. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

One costume costs a thousand Hong Kong dollars! He practically wanted to pack up all the old costumes in the warehouse and give them to Lam Siu-tong.

Lin Zhaotang waved his hand: "No need for too many, just pick three more pieces. Preferably old-fashioned hand-embroidered ones, the older the better."

As he spoke, he glanced at Chu Shengli again: "I'll take them back to the experts in Hong Kong to have them examined. If they are indeed found to have collectible value, I'll take the rest at the price we agreed on before."

These words not only made a promise, but also reassured Chu Shengli and his group.

Upon hearing this, Chu Shengli, Jia Dafang, and the others indeed showed expressions of joy.

Jia Dafang didn't care about the pungent smell of the "stinky ball" anymore. He quickly opened the wooden boxes one by one, took out a black python robe with a large dragon, and shook it with both hands on his shoulders. The four-clawed golden dragon embroidered on the robe had a dark light, and the scales outlined by gold thread were layered.

He hurriedly brought it to Lin Zhaotang, showing it off like a treasure, saying, "This is the costume worn by Bao Gong in 'The Case of Chen Shimei,' made with genuine old craftsmanship. What do you think of it, Mr. Lin?"

Lin Zhaotang bent down and glanced at it twice. His gaze lingered on the gold line for a moment, as if he were looking at something he wasn't sure how to value. He nodded and said, "It's alright, similar to the previous one. I'll take this one."

But as soon as he said that, not only did Jia Dafang's smile freeze slightly, but the expressions of Pan Lanxiang beside him, Chen Xiangdong, Liu Dezhu and Lin Datou outside the door all became somewhat strange.

The one Jia Dafang is holding is a black dragon and python robe, one of the most top-tier and expensive costumes in the opera industry. How could it possibly be the same price as that big collared jacket from before?

Lin Datou was the first to lose his composure. He muttered in a low voice, "What did he just say? 'More or less'? How can that be more or less?!"

Liu Dezhu also leaned closer, smacked his lips, and said, "That python robe is worth three years of my salary. He said it's about the same as that big collared jacket from before? Putting those things together is like comparing a potato to a gold nugget; you can't even stack them together."

Chen Xiangdong winked at the two of them, signaling them to move away.

The three of them moved a few steps away from the warehouse door, and Chen Xiangdong deliberately spoke up: "Something feels off to me. That guy surnamed Lin from before, not to mention he's been in the antique collecting business for over a decade, how could he not even know the weight of a gold-threaded python robe? In this business, a python robe and an ordinary theatrical costume are worlds apart. A knowledgeable collector couldn't possibly be unaware of such a basic thing, could he?"

Liu Dezhu frowned and gritted his teeth: "This Lin fellow is unreliable! The python robe and the imperial armor are the lifeblood of this old opera troupe. I don't even know if the Hong Kong dollar is worth anything. If it's not, we'll lose money just on that python robe."

Lin Datou, listening nearby, rubbed his hands together and said, "That's right! If we buy the robe at that price, our troupe might even lose our underwear."

Chen Xiangdong was secretly delighted. He had been worried about not being able to find any flaws in Lin Zhaotang's story, but this guy pretended to know everything and gave himself away.

Why not take this opportunity to raise a hypothesis and make more people question his identity as a Hong Kong businessman!

Once people become suspicious, it will spread like a flood and become uncontrollable.

Chen Xiangdong's eyes flickered slightly, and he leaned closer to the two men mysteriously: "Do you think this guy surnamed Lin... could he be a conman?"