273: Chapter 273 Mother's Secret

The night breeze was slightly cool. The bluestone pavement of the old street in Yunzhou was pitted and uneven.

Chen Fan walked in front, with Su Wanqing by his side. The two passed through two narrow alleys.

Chen Haoyu quickly caught up from behind and lowered his voice: "Boss, the matter has been handled. Liu Dafu was sent to the hospital, and the stall owner took the money and returned to his hometown overnight."

Chen Fan nodded without stopping.

At the end of the old street, the light was dim. A worn-out red lantern hung under the eaves, swaying with the wind.

Four characters were carved on the wooden plaque: Jubao Pawnshop. The handwriting was mottled, and the wood had cracked.

The wooden door was half-ajar. Chen Fan pushed the door and entered.

The wooden door made a "creaking" friction sound. The light inside was very dim, and the air was filled with the smell of moldy paper and old wood.

The counter was very high, with iron bars installed on top.

An old man with white hair sat behind the counter, wearing reading glasses, reading a newspaper by the dim light of a desk lamp. The wrinkles on the old man's face were deep, and his movements were slow.

"We're closed," the old man said with a raspy voice without looking up. "Come back early tomorrow."

Chen Fan walked to the counter.

He took out the yellowed slip of paper from the pocket watch's interlayer, placed it on the counter, and pushed it over.

The old man glanced at the slip of paper through the edge of his reading glasses.

His originally cloudy old eyes froze. He put down the newspaper, picked up the slip of paper, and brought it close to the desk lamp.

"This string of numbers..." The old man's hands trembled slightly as he looked up to size up Chen Fan. "What is your surname?"

"My surname is Chen. The owner of the paper was Shen Qing. She was my mother," Chen Fan said in a steady tone.

The old man took off his reading glasses and looked at Chen Fan carefully for a long time.

He turned and walked to the innermost part of the counter, took out a rusty bronze key, and opened an old safe with a seal on it.

From the bottom layer of the safe, the old man brought out a dusty red sandalwood box.

He placed the wooden box on the counter and pushed it in front of Chen Fan.

"Thirty years," the old man sighed. "Back then, Miss Shen gave me the box and said that if one day her descendant came with the slip of paper, I should give the box to him. If she was no longer around, the item would stay here forever."

Chen Fan reached out and touched the red sandalwood box. The surface of the wood was slightly cool.

He flicked open the bronze latch. The box was not locked.

He lifted the lid.

There were no gold, silver, or jewels inside. There was only a black leather diary and a neatly folded, yellowed piece of paper.

Chen Fan picked up the diary and opened the first page.

The handwriting was elegant.

"My name is Shen Qing. I am the thirty-seventh generation descendant of The Shen Family of Jiangnan."

Chen Fan flipped forward.

The diary recorded the history of the Shen family. The Shen Family of Jiangnan was once a prominent scholarly family in Yunzhou. Thirty years ago, Beijing Chen Family, in order to seize the Shen family's ancestral feng shui land, used their privileges to suppress the Shen family. The Shen family was ruined. To protect the newborn Chen Fan, Shen Qing changed her name, fled to the bottom of society, and made a living as a manual laborer until she died from overwork.

Chen Fan's finger stopped on the last page of the diary.

"Xiao Fan, do not seek revenge. Live well."

Chen Fan closed the diary. On the back of his hand holding the book, veins bulged.

Beijing Chen Family. The biological father who abandoned him as soon as he was born and even drove his mother to her death.

Chen Fan put the diary back into the wooden box. He picked up the yellowed paper and unfolded it.

It was a land deed.

It read: Yunzhou City Center, No. 8 Changning Street. Shen Garden.

"Is this the land that Beijing Chen Family attempted to seize back then?" Chen Fan asked.

The old man nodded: "The Shen family's ancestral land. Miss Shen refused to hand over the deed back then. The Chen family couldn't find the deed, and without a legitimate claim, the matter eventually faded away."

Chen Fan put away the deed and the diary, and closed the wooden box.

"Thank you." Chen Fan took out a bank card and placed it on the counter.

The old man waved his hand: "I was entrusted by someone and I am just fulfilling my duty. The Shen family showed me kindness back then. Take the money away."

Chen Fan did not take back the bank card and turned to walk out of the pawnshop.

A light rain began to fall in the night sky.

Chen Fan stood under the eaves, looking at the drizzle outside.

Su Wanqing stepped forward and held Chen Fan's hand with both of hers.

"Let's go see Auntie," Su Wanqing said softly.

Yunzhou West Suburb Cemetery.

The rain stopped. The night breeze blew through the cypress trees beside the tombstones.

Chen Fan placed a bouquet of white chrysanthemums in front of the tombstone. On the tombstone was carved 'Tomb of the Late Mother Shen Qing'.

Chen Fan knelt in front of the tombstone and reached out to wipe the rainwater off the photo.

"Mom, I've retrieved the things you left behind," Chen Fan's voice was raspy. "I will take back the Shen family's things. The life the Chen family owes you, I will make them pay it back."

Su Wanqing knelt beside Chen Fan and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Auntie, please rest assured," Su Wanqing looked at the photo on the tombstone. "I will be with him from now on. The love he missed, I will use my whole life to make it up to him."

Chen Fan turned to look at Su Wanqing and held her hand in return.

He stood up and took out the land deed from his pocket.

Yunzhou City Center, No. 8 Changning Street.

"Hao Yu," Chen Fan spoke.

Chen Haoyu stepped forward: "Here."

"Check the current status of No. 8 Changning Street," Chen Fan ordered.

Chen Haoyu took out a tablet computer and connected to the Pangu Computing Center.

A few seconds later, data popped up on the screen.

Chen Haoyu glanced at the screen, his brow furrowing.

"Boss, No. 8 Changning Street is currently occupied by a local Yunzhou criminal force called the 'Green Dragon Gang'," Chen Haoyu reported. "They have built an underground casino on it. The daily turnover exceeds ten million. This group has a protective umbrella behind them, and no one in the city dares to touch them."

Chen Fan looked at the words on the land deed.

The Shen family's ancestral land had become a foul underground casino.

In his mind, the long-absent "god-level investment system" issued a notification sound.

"Ding! Detected that the host has triggered a core asset recovery task."

"Task objective: Reclaim the Shen family's ancestral land. Eradicate the Green Dragon Gang."

"The system has acquired the complete architectural drawings of the underground casino, financial records, and the list of the protective umbrella. High-risk, high-reward investment information has been generated."

Chen Fan closed the system panel. He folded the land deed and put it in his pocket.

"What is the name of the Green Dragon Gang's leader?" Chen Fan asked.

"Zhao Qinglong," Chen Haoyu answered.

Chen Fan looked at the distant city lights.

"Notify Pangu Computing Center to package all of Zhao Qinglong's criminal evidence, financial records, and the list of the protective umbrella intercepted by the system, and send it directly to the National Ministry of Public Security's Gang-Cracking Supervision Group," Chen Fan said in a steady tone. "I want them wiped out tonight."

Chen Haoyu nodded and prepared to execute the order.

Su Wanqing pulled Chen Fan's sleeve and pointed to a corner of the tablet screen.

"Chen Fan, look at this message," Su Wanqing whispered.

Chen Fan looked down.

On the tablet screen, Pangu Computing Power had just intercepted an encrypted call record of Zhao Qinglong's.

The call time was ten minutes ago.

The other party's IP address showed as being in the Capital.

"Boss Zhao, Beijing Chen Family has spoken. Tonight, seal off the basement of No. 8 Changning Street with concrete. The things hidden inside must never see the light of day."

Chen Fan stared at the text on the screen.

Basement? Hidden things?

"Why is Beijing Chen Family suddenly in such a hurry to seal the basement of the Shen family's ancestral land?" Chen Fan looked at Chen Haoyu. "Prepare the car immediately, we're going to No. 8 Changning Street ourselves!"