Chapter 42: Getting Rich and Getting Promoted

Lao Qian’s reminder was correct. If it were an ordinary He Kao, he would have thought of it, but given his mood at the time, he didn’t react at all.

He didn’t want to talk too much about the injury, so he made an excuse and said, “If I don’t take the things out, it’s not easy for you, an expert, to help me take a look… Look at these two paperweights. Are they pure gold, or do they have tungsten alloy inside?”

He Kao had read similar news before, and some banks had even experienced such incidents, so he thought of this.

Qian Guran picked up the paperweight, closed his eyes slightly, and weighed it: “It’s all pure gold, there’s no interlayer inside.”

He Kao: “You can tell without cutting it. Are you able to see through it?”

Qian Guran looked slightly pleased: “It’s just spiritual awareness, an ability mastered by a third-level sorcerer.”

He Kao: “If you can see through such thick gold, isn’t that more powerful than X-rays?”

Qian grinned but said modestly, “It’s not seeing with my eyes, it’s a kind of extended sensory ability… If it’s farther away, I can’t see through such a large piece of gold, but I can still do it if I hold it in my hand.”

He Kao: “Can you control objects, like telekinesis?”

Qian Guran: “I cannot control the things you grasp consciously; I cannot control spiritual things either.”

He Kao: “Why?”

Qian Guran smiled and said, “There’s no reason. This is the nature of spiritual consciousness. You’ll understand once you master it.”

He Kao: “Then can you control everything else?”

Qian Guran signaled with his eyes, and He Kao turned his head to look at the table, only to see a piece of paper floating up strangely on the table, with one corner on top, as if being gently pinched by someone’s fingers.

He looked at Lao Qian again and saw that Lao Qian’s right hand was at his waist, with his index finger and thumb as if pinching something. He exclaimed, “Are you pinching this piece of paper in the air with your hand?”

Qian Guran loosened his fingers, and the paper fluttered down. He replied somewhat sheepishly, “Theoretically, I can do nothing, but using hand gestures makes the spell more coordinated and natural.”

He Kao: “Can you control something bigger and heavier?”

Qian Guran thought for a moment and said, “Do you have any walnuts at home? They’re about that big and heavy.”

“Please wait a moment.” He Kao turned and went into the house, and actually paid the money and found a pair of walnuts.

Qian Guran took it and said, “Wenwan walnuts, quite good. Is it your grandfather’s?”

He Kao: “I picked it up myself, but I haven’t really cared about it. Someone planted it here a few years ago.”

As he spoke, two walnuts began to spin and fly, occasionally making friction and collision sounds, as if they were being twirled in someone’s hand. Looking at Qian Guran’s left hand, he was also twirling the walnuts.

He Kao: “What would happen if you didn’t move your hands?”

Qian Guran smiled slightly: “That’s the same.”

He put his hands behind his back and stopped moving. The two walnuts were still circling in the air, but it felt noticeably uncoordinated, and their trajectory became jerky, as if they would lose control at any moment.

Looking at Lao Qian again, although he appeared calm, his whole body was tense and he was obviously struggling… It seemed that this was the limit of what he could do, and there was no need to find a weight or something to continue trying.

He Kao gave a thumbs-up and said, “What a skill!”

Old Qian took advantage of the situation and reached out to catch the two walnuts. He took two deep breaths and said calmly, “Excuse me for showing off!”

He Kao: “Old Qian, I have another question. It seems that when you use your spiritual sense to control it, you seem to reach out a hand through the air, which is very similar to the hand of a wizard in novels.”

Lao Qian: “What the hell is this Wizard’s Hand? This is a third-level standard spell, the Hand of Controlling Objects.”

He Kao: “Why hands? Scissors, hammers, bags, etc., wouldn’t work?”

The expert, Old Qian, was also quite patient and explained, “Of course it’s theoretically possible. If you were an octopus spirit, you might use the Octopus Tentacle.

But we are human beings, and the most accustomed way is to use our hands, which can also be the most precise and accurate when controlling. The spiritual consciousness and the original consciousness habits can be seamlessly connected without any barriers, making it the most efficient whether it is practiced or used.

The so-called standard technique is not unchangeable, but it is the method that has been explored by generations of masters and is the simplest and most effective method to master. For example, this hand that controls objects requires the guidance of one’s own hand gestures.”

He Kao: “The Hand of Controlling Objects is so magical, why did you go to so much trouble to steal my pendant?”

Qian Guran said, “How could it be that easy? Not to mention that the pendant has its own magical uses. You’d have noticed if I moved it. Even though I rolled the walnuts so smoothly just now, it was because they were less than a foot away from me.”

If I wanted to use this trick to steal the pendant, there were several walls in the corridor, and I wanted to complete such a delicate operation, I would have to be a god!”

“Old Qian, in my eyes, you’re already a god!” After praising him, He Kaocai continued, “Can this skill be used to throw flying knives? Wouldn’t that mean you never miss a shot?”

Old Qian squinted his eyes and pondered for a while before answering, “In theory, it is indeed possible to play it this way, but it is only suitable for stage performances, with a preset goal and no other interference.

In fact, it is quite difficult. The farther the distance, the harder it is to control with spiritual consciousness. If the inertia of an object is large, it is also easy to lose control… It is more suitable for performing some small actions that take advantage of people’s unpreparedness.

For example, if I wanted to use this pair of walnuts to hit someone, I might as well just use my hands. After all, spiritual control is too weak. Perhaps only someone with the power of Senior Lin Qingshuang can achieve the same effect as hitting someone with their hands.”

“What about the fourth-level warlock?” He Kao was like a questioning baby.

Qian Guran: “A fourth-level cultivator already has the ability to control weapons. He can activate all kinds of magic weapons, which are ever-changing and have infinite uses. This is completely beyond the cognition of ordinary people. He can be called a cultivator.”

He Kao: “I’ve read a fantasy novel about wizards. Can we make this analogy? First- to third-level sorcerers are like first- to third-level wizard apprentices, and fourth-level sorcerers are full-fledged wizards…”

Old Qian finally lost his temper and glared at him, “Stop trying to force things here and talking nonsense! A sorcerer is a sorcerer, and magic is magic… What are we doing here today?”

Starting with the paperweight appraisal, he had already started to talk about so many things. Nowadays, He Kao always subconsciously wanted to learn more about the magic, but he didn’t find many opportunities to speak on weekdays.

On the other hand, all the things he took out from the bank were placed on the table, but He Kao inexplicably wanted to avoid them.

He had been desperate to know what his father had left behind. After receiving the items, he felt something was amiss and wanted to ask Lao Qian for help in analyzing them. But when the time came, he felt too timid to do anything. He Kao asked, “You’ve looked through the items. Have you found anything? Or can you help me analyze what’s going on?”

Qian Guran: “Are there no other last words?”

He Kao: “No, it’s not in the safe. My family, including my grandparents, my aunt and uncle, probably didn’t even know about the existence of this safe, let alone the contents.

Especially this house, otherwise it wouldn’t just be there, unmentioned. And I don’t know where those two gold paperweights came from either.”

Qian Guran looked at He Kao, feeling a little surprised and even more emotional.

A pair of gold bars plus that property, they’re worth at least tens of millions, right? If someone suddenly received such a large inheritance, many people would probably react with ecstasy, right?
There are many unfilial descendants in this world. With such an inheritance, they would even wish their parents would die early. What’s more, Zhou Du has been dead for more than 20 years. What’s not to be happy about?
But when He Kao came out of the bank today, he didn’t show any surprise, only astonishment, confusion and sadness. He wanted to know, but was also a little afraid to know – what had happened to his father back then.

As a third-level strategist, Qian Guran could of course see that Lai Hekao trusted him very much and was full of expectations for him at the moment, but there were some things he didn’t know how to say, and some things he didn’t even know whether he should tell Hekao.

In fact, after seeing this material, Lao Qian regretted something he had done not long ago, but he didn’t want to tell He Kao too much. He asked, “What is the relationship between your father and Gu Yunteng?”

He Kao: “I haven’t heard of any connection between them, but my father was in the construction business and also took on interior decoration business. It’s normal for him to have dealt with the Bada Group and it’s very likely that he took work from them.”

Qian Guran said solemnly, “I’m going to give you a suggestion, and you must listen. This batch of black material is basically outdated. Even if you take it out now, it will be difficult to do anything to Gu Yunteng.

Besides, there is no need to say that. It is just a special period of history.

Put it away, and it’s best to put it in a safe deposit box at another bank. Don’t investigate anything. At least until you have enough self-protection capabilities, don’t do anything and just pretend you didn’t see it…”

He Kao said nothing, just looked at Qian Guran, not knowing what he was thinking. Qian Guran sighed again: “Don’t do anything, I will find a way to help you investigate, and I will tell you if I find anything.”

He Kao finally spoke: “My mind is a little confused now, I just want to ask you to help analyze what might be going on?”

Qian Guran said: “We can make a guess, but it’s just a guess. If it offends your father, please don’t mind. Forget about the gold bars. Your father should have been a hidden moth back then, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he had any good things.

But he may not be collecting Gu Yunteng’s negative information. There is another possibility. Someone is collecting Gu Yunteng’s negative information, and he helps Gu Yunteng steal it back so that the other party can no longer threaten Gu Yunteng.

As for the house, it was probably the reward Gu Yunteng gave him, and maybe even the gold bars.”

He Kao: “But the materials are still in the safe deposit box and have not been taken away by Gu Yunteng.”

Qian Guran: “It’s not uncommon to keep something in reserve and then abandon it. Your father wasn’t in a hurry to hand over the things… Another possibility is that he just didn’t have time.

“It was in a bank safe deposit box, and he could have accessed it at any time, but he probably didn’t realize he’d never have the chance to do so again. He didn’t leave any last words, and it’s not hard to guess why: he was afraid it would bring trouble to you.”

He Kao: “How do you prove your guess?”

Qian Guran: “That was all twenty years ago. Your father is long gone. There’s no need for you to prove anything, or to rush into anything…”

Looking at He Kao’s eyes, Qian Guran finally sighed and said, “If you want to know the answer, this house deed is actually a clue. You can investigate how your father bought this house and how he paid for it.

It’s unlikely to be cash. If it was a transfer, whose account was it transferred through? But after so many years, I’m afraid a lot of information is no longer available.

Another clue is to see if the house is still vacant. If someone lives there, how did they get in?

He Kao nodded and said, “You are right, this is the clue, we can definitely check it out.”

After saying that, he got up and went into his small bedroom. He didn’t bring his laptop home this time, but he had a desktop computer at home, and its search function was better than that of a mobile phone.

He Kao was worried and confused, and was not as careful as usual today, but Lao Qian had already given him a hint, and he also had his own best method, which was to collect information and analyze it.

Although twenty years have passed, the Guanliu Mansion community still exists, and a lot of information can be found. I thought it would be difficult to make any substantial discoveries, but immediately an important clue was found.

A lot of information is public, it just depends on whether you can analyze it.

Real estate policies 20 years ago were very different from today. While many places now require the main building to be topped out before sales, many projects back then began pre-sales as soon as they secured the land and began construction.

However, if you want to apply for a formal property certificate, you have to wait until the house is delivered and various inspections are completed, which often takes a long time.

The news that the Guanliu Mansion project was completed, delivered and passed the acceptance can be found online. The date was just two weeks before this property certificate was officially processed… Based on experience, it is impossible for ordinary home buyers to get their property deeds so quickly.

This probably means that the developer has handled it for you in advance!

Some people may not understand the situation, but veteran investors do. Twenty years ago, the real estate market was very different from today’s. Land acquisition essentially meant a huge profit for developers, and housing prices continued to rise for more than a decade.

One of the simplest PR tactics used by developers is to simply give away houses, usually not to a prominent figure himself, but to someone designated by the other party, such as a distant relative.

Zhou Du was unlikely to be that kind of person, or there might be some other hidden agenda beyond He Kao’s ken. It seemed that Old Qian’s earlier assessment was likely correct; this house was Gu Yunteng’s way of bribing Zhou Du, or perhaps even his reward.

Seeing He Kao sitting in front of the computer with a frown on his face, Lao Qian patted his shoulder and said comfortingly, “Don’t think too much, there is actually another possibility.

Your father works in construction, and there’s a very common situation where the developer owes you money for the construction work and then directly gives you the house to pay for it.”

He Kao: “That’s probably how you deal with a house that’s hard to sell… Even if that’s the case, why didn’t you take it home?”

At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door. Huang Xiaopang shouted, “He Kao, when did you come back? You didn’t even tell me…Open the door!”

After the two of them left the house, Qian Guran quickly put away the pile of documents on the table and warned He Kao, “If anyone asks you what’s in the safe, just say there’s a pair of gold bars and a house deed. Don’t mention the documents.

This isn’t about not trusting anyone, but about not involving them…”

After opening the gate, Huang Xiaopang’s eyes widened as he asked, “Boss Qian, why are you here? You left early this afternoon, and Boss E even discussed with everyone about holding a farewell banquet on the evening of October 7th to celebrate your promotion to Vice President!”

This time it was He Kao’s turn to be stunned: “What? Lao Qian was promoted to vice president? When did that happen?”

Huang Xiaopang: “It was just announced this afternoon. You weren’t there at the time, and Old Qian said he had something to do and left first. The Old Qian now is no longer the Old Qian from this morning. He is now the Vice President of our Qiyuan branch – Mr. Qian!”

**
(End of this chapter)