150: You police officers really make a lot of money!

Soon, Lei Zhen's dishes were all served, and the three ate and chatted.

From next door, the voice of his master, Zheng Wenchang, also came; his family of three had all arrived.

The negotiation began quickly, but it was clear that it wasn't very successful.

Although the master complained bitterly, the woman's parents absolutely refused to budge, and in the end, it almost turned into an unpleasant parting.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Xiao Nan quickly stopped everyone from continuing the discussion and first let the family eat.

It felt like the atmosphere next door was quite awkward.

Lei Zhen put down his chopsticks and patted Zhu Xiaojun's shoulder, "Brother Jun, come down with me for a bit."

Zhu Xiaojun was startled, "Where to?"

"Come pee with me, help me hold it."

"Ah?" Zhu Xiaojun paused, "You need my help for that?"

"Let's go, no more nonsense." Lei Zhen pulled Zhu Xiaojun up.

"Gu Qingcheng, you keep eating."

After speaking, the two went downstairs with thumping steps.

As Zhu Xiaojun went downstairs, he said, "Master, as your apprentice, I shouldn't refuse any of your requests, but this matter, isn't it a bit... too much? It might damage our master-apprentice reputation if word gets out."

"What are you thinking? Do you really think I need you to hold it?" Lei Zhen curled his lips, "Come on, follow me to the parking lot to get something."

"Get what?"

"You'll know when we get there."

The two arrived at the parking lot, Lei Zhen opened the car door and took out the two brands of premium cigarettes.

"Are these cigarettes really worth over a hundred thousand per brand?" Lei Zhen was still a little unconvinced.

"Absolutely!" Zhu Xiaojun simply pulled out his phone and opened an auction app. "See? There are auctions online. The current price for one brand is one hundred twenty-eight thousand. Two brands must be over two hundred thousand, right?"

"That's good then." Lei Zhen handed the cigarettes to Zhu Xiaojun and then instructed him on what to do.

Only after listening did Zhu Xiaojun realize that the dinner invitation today wasn't for his welcome, but to help his grandmaster deal with the bride price issue.

Although a little disappointed, Zhu Xiaojun didn't mind too much and quickly found the restaurant owner, who was Xiao Nan's brother.

Xiao Nan's brother, Mao Zhiqiang, was in the tobacco business himself, and he was stunned when he saw the a brand of premium cigarettes.

After careful inspection, he confirmed that they were genuine cigarettes.

"You mean, these two brands of cigarettes will replace the Zheng family's bride price?" Even Mao Zhiqiang found it hard to believe.

"Uncle Zheng is my master. If I wasn't trying to help him with his family difficulties, I really wouldn't bear to give them to you. But there's one condition: you can't tell him about this. Just pretend that the bride price isn't needed, understand?"

Mao Zhiqiang held the two brands of cigarettes, unwilling to let go, and nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, I'll definitely keep it a secret."

"Also, don't let my master suspect anything. You must make the 'no bride price' story perfectly seamless."

After speaking, Mao Zhiqiang went back to report to Lei Zhen.

The two returned to continue eating, and Lei Zhen soon heard Mao Zhiqiang's voice from next door.

"Uncle, the bride price issue wasn't actually something my parents wanted. It's because I had some problems with my business and urgently needed funds. But I just received a call that someone is voluntarily paying back a sum of money I lent out before, so this bride price, it's not needed."

Mao Zhiqiang's words not only stunned Zheng Wenchang's family of three but also bewildered his own parents and sister.

"No, son, think carefully before you speak. Why isn't it needed?" Mao Zhiqiang's mother even stood up directly, looking at her son with a face full of disbelief.

Mao Zhiqiang's father also stared at him with the same look.

"Mom, that's not right for you to say," Mao Zhiqiang said. "I've always detested things like bride prices. Why are the marriage and birth rates in our Great Xia Kingdom so low now? It's caused by high bride prices!

When I married Ajin back then, Ajin's parents not only didn't ask me for a single penny, but they even gave me ten thousand yuan to support my business. Such parents are truly worthy of our learning from."

"But, this bride price..." Mao Zhiqiang's mother still couldn't accept the huge reversal, and her face was even more constipated.

"No more 'buts'." Mao Zhiqiang pressed his mother back onto her seat. "We can't learn from those unreasonable parents who sell their daughters; we don't sell ours. You're a teacher, after all. Haven't you always taught students to promote positive energy? How come when it comes to yourself, you get mixed up with these traditional bad customs?"

"Aqiang, you..." His father was about to stand up but was also pressed back down by Mao Zhiqiang. "Dad, don't say anything more. You originally intended my sister's bride price for my business turnover. Now that I don't need it, let's not mention this matter anymore."

After speaking, Mao Zhiqiang picked up a glass of wine from the table, raised it, and said, "Come, come, come, let's all raise our glasses to congratulate my sister on finally getting married!"

Mao Xiao Nan finally came back to her senses and rushed up to excitedly hug her brother.

"Brother, thank you. I really didn't expect you to be so understanding."

Zheng Wenchang and his wife looked at each other, completely unaware of what had happened.

Zheng Hongbo quickly stood up, holding his wine glass, and thanked his mother-in-law and father-in-law.

The bride price issue was thus resolved lightly.

Lei Zhen, Gu Qingcheng, and the three of them had also eaten and drunk their fill, then Lei Zhen got up to pay the bill.

After paying the bill, the three prepared to go home. When they reached the parking lot, Lei Zhen saw Mao Xiao Nan's brother walking towards the parking lot with two brands of cigarettes.

Lei Zhen paused, then a hint of wickedness flashed in his eyes.

"Gu Qingcheng, you go back first. Brother Jun and I still have some things to do. See you tomorrow." Lei Zhen bid farewell to Gu Qingcheng.

Gu Qingcheng didn't ask what the two of them were going to do, only replied, "Then drive slowly when you go back."

After saying that, she drove off in her car.

After seeing Gu Qingcheng off, Lei Zhen turned to Zhu Xiaojun, "I always feel like giving him both brands of cigarettes was a bit of a loss."

Zhu Xiaojun was startled, "What do you mean? You're not thinking of taking them back, are you?"

"Hey, that's a good idea." Lei Zhen grinned, "Wait for me here, I'll be right back."

With that, Lei Zhen walked straight towards Mao Zhiyong.

Mao Zhiyong didn't even notice Lei Zhen approaching. He took the cigarettes, opened the trunk, and just as he put them in, his arm was grabbed and twisted behind his back, pressing him against the car door.

"Don't move. I'm an officer from the Municipal Criminal Investigation Team. What did you just put in there?"

Mao Zhiyong originally wanted to struggle, but upon hearing that the other party was a police officer, he quickly replied, "Officer, have you misunderstood? What I put in there are my personal belongings."

Lei Zhen released Mao Zhiyong, pulled out his police ID, and flashed it in front of him, "This is my ID. Just now, our Municipal Bureau leader's home was burglarized, and two brands of special-supply premium cigarettes worth over two hundred thousand were stolen. We found through surveillance that the thief appeared nearby. Did you see anything?"

"Ah?" Mao Zhiyong was instantly dumbfounded. Only then did he realize that the person who had just given him the cigarettes was actually a thief.

"'Ah' what 'ah'?" Lei Zhen raised his voice, "Luke Myes, answer my question, did you see the thief?"

Mao Zhiyong's expression immediately became flustered, "No... no?"

"No." Lei Zhen scrutinized him from head to toe, "Then why are you nervous?"

"I... I'm not nervous." Mao Zhiyong replied, trembling.

"If you're not nervous, why are your legs shaking?" Lei Zhen pointed downwards.

Mao Zhiyong quickly used his hand to steady his thigh, "No, I'm just a little cold."

Lei Zhen then looked at the car compartment, "You said it's your personal belongings. Open it and let me see."

"This... this might not be good." Mao Zhiyong became even more nervous, "This... this is my wife's... under... underwear."

Lei Zhen snorted coldly, immediately grabbed the black plastic bag, opened it, and indeed, it contained the two brands of cigarettes from before.

"Underwear, say it again, is this underwear? Alright, so you're the thief."

Lei Zhen put down the cigarettes and once again pressed Mao Zhiyong against the car door.

Mao Zhiyong wailed loudly, "Officer, it's all a misunderstanding! How dare I steal the leader's cigarettes? A young man just sold them to me."

Lei Zhen released Mao Zhiyong again, "Sold them to you? How much did he sell them for?"

"Two... two hundred thousand." Mao Zhiyong trembled, holding up two fingers. "The things really weren't stolen by me. I'm the owner of this restaurant, and I've been in the restaurant all day today. There's surveillance that can prove it for me."

"You're quite bold, kid! You dare to buy stolen goods?" Lei Zhen said sternly, "Even if you didn't steal them, this counts as assisting a criminal in selling stolen goods. I'm not trying to scare you, but an amount of two hundred thousand is considered a particularly large sum, at least five years in prison."

Mao Zhiyong was instantly stunned by the five fingers Lei Zhen held up, "Officer, it's a misunderstanding! I truly didn't know these were stolen. I confess, the cigarettes weren't bought by me. I didn't spend any money; that young man gave them to me."

Lei Zhen sneered, "Buddy, a thief giving you something worth hundreds of thousands, do you believe that yourself? Do you think we police are fools?"

Mao Zhiyong was now in a situation where he couldn't clear his name, no matter what, and could only cry out that he was wronged.

"Let's go, come back to the Criminal Investigation Team with me. We'll give you a big memory recovery technique in a bit. Let's see if you still try to argue." Lei Zhen reached out to pull Mao Zhiyong.

"No, please, I'm really innocent." Mao Zhiyong almost knelt down to Lei Zhen, "Brother, I'm truly innocent. I don't even know that young man. How about this, you take the cigarettes, and we'll pretend this never happened."

Lei Zhen pretended to sigh, "Your attitude is quite good, and you seem like an honest person, not someone who would lie. How about this, I'll take one brand of cigarettes, and you keep the other one. But you can't tell anyone about this, and I'll pretend I didn't meet you today."

Mao Zhiyong instantly understood. This was a shakedown!

"Alright, alright, I promise not to tell anyone." Mao Zhiyong had no choice but to nod repeatedly.

Lei Zhen said, "Now we're in this together. You don't sell me out, and I don't sell you out, understand?"

"Understand, understand, absolutely understand." Mao Zhijun's head shook like a rattle-drum.

Lei Zhen patted his shoulder, "Don't be nervous, relax a bit. Remember, we don't know each other."

With that, Lei Zhen picked up one of the brands of cigarettes and turned to leave.

Watching Lei Zhen's retreating figure, Mao Zhiqiang's heartbeat finally slowed down.

Thinking that he had been extorted out of one of his two perfectly good brands of cigarettes, he almost cried!

"You police really make money ruthlessly!"