Chapter 139: Remove the Back Seat and It Becomes a Small Truck

At that moment, Yang Meng was sitting in the car, completely baffled.

"You guys are saying this car is mine?" Yang Meng asked, looking confused.

The car they were currently sitting in was none other than Zhao Hai's BMW X5, which had been parked right outside the entrance of Longyun Fitness Club all along.

Logically speaking, since Zhao Hai was a criminal, this vehicle should have been confiscated as evidence. But was Duan Bowen the kind of man to suffer a loss? Through a series of shady maneuvers, he managed to keep the car!

Anyway, the crimes Zhao Hai and his accomplices had committed were already severe enough; having one more or one less car didn't make much difference.

Since the car had been left at Longyun Fitness Club, Qi Kun had been driving it around for the past two days while handling various paperwork. Coincidentally, they had Yang Meng's identification documents on hand, so Duan Bowen simply transferred the ownership of the car directly to Yang Meng.

Qi Kun was driving cheerfully, laughing as he said, "Ha! Just a few months ago, I was driving a taxi, and now I'm cruising around everywhere in a BMW."

"Then you keep driving it. We can use it to run errands and buy groceries and meat for the shop!" Yang Meng said.

"Drive this thing to buy groceries?" Qi Kun asked, puzzled.

Yang Meng patted the backseat behind him and said, "This car is big and spacious. Once we rip out the backseats, it'll practically be a small delivery truck!"

Qi Kun speechlessly replied, "You really love making a mess of things, don't you? Can't I just buy a small van with my own money for hauling cargo? Turning this car into a delivery truck—how do you even come up with these ideas?"

Yang Meng shrugged. "Well, I don't know how to drive anyway, so this car will only be driven by you and Erleng. Whatever ridiculous state you end up turning it into has nothing to do with me."

"Then you aren't the one riding in it!" Hu Erleng said angrily. "Lobster, if you buy a small van, I'll pay half! Let's keep a close eye on this spendthrift! A bumpkin like Mengmeng is entirely capable of pulling off such a disastrous stunt."

Yang Meng burst out laughing. "Why do you guys have zero sense of humor? Fine, starting tomorrow, we'll go buy an actual small delivery truck for hauling goods. As for this car, I'll drive it home when I go back! That way, we can at least return home covered in glory."

Hu Erleng asked curiously, "What was going on inside just now? You managed to rack up romantic debts with three different girls all at once?"

"Romantic debt, my foot! They've got their eyes on my skin-whitening formula! Damn it, I can't stay at Longyun any longer! Drop me off at my place after we finish shopping, I'm going back to live there for a while," Yang Meng said.

"If it's not a romantic debt, what are you running away from?" Qi Kun asked, uncomprehending.

With a smug look on his face, Yang Meng said, "As you can see, I'm a man of great charm. What if all three of them interact with me too much, fall in love with me, and start fighting each other? I'm a kind-hearted person who wishes everyone well, so after thinking it over, I decided it's better to avoid that situation."

*Pfft!* Hu Erleng spat out his saliva instantly. "I must say, your skin is getting thicker by the day!"

Qi Kun nodded while steering the wheel. "Spot on. With skin as thick as that, if you drove an awl into it in the spring, it wouldn't bleed even by autumn!"

Yang Meng grinned widely. "Anyone has the right to say that except you. If someone drove an awl into your skin, it wouldn't bleed either—nothing but grease would flow out!"

Hu Erleng chimed in, "Listen, Mengmeng, you really owe us a big feast. Lately, we've been worked like dogs, while you—look at you, lounging around leisurely every day. Today's opening of the barbecue restaurant basically marks the very first time you've actually put in any real effort for the shop, right?"

Yang Meng shrugged. "What am I? I'm the boss! My responsibility is wild and unrestrained imagination, and your job is simply to execute it and bring my imagination to life!"

"Bah!" Qi Kun spat fiercely. "Erleng, I'm busy driving, go ahead and punch him a couple of times for me to vent some steam. He really thinks he's a lord now!"

Hu Erleng lit a cigarette. "Forget it, Lobster. Mengmeng actually wasn't wrong just now."

"Huh?" Qi Kun blinked in surprise.

Hu Erleng explained, "You driving a taxi actually gives you way more freedom than me! Back when I worked at the 4S dealership, I spent the whole day dealing with this exact kind of thing. The boss would come up with a bright idea on a whim, and we'd have to scramble to execute it. We're used to it. Honestly, our situation right now is actually pretty great."

"What's so great about it?" Qi Kun asked curiously.

Hu Erleng elaborated, "Think about how simple things were when we were kids? The few of us got along well, so we could hang out together. What was that term called again? Oh, 'values.' It just means that our core values were similar, which is why we were close. But when you enter a regular company? You'll find that everyone's values are worlds apart. You can understand some people's train of thought, while others are completely unacceptable to you. In a corporate setting, you're essentially forced to collaborate with a bunch of people who have completely different value systems to achieve a single goal. How damn difficult is that? Isn't it wonderful that Mengmeng gets to be a hands-off boss right now? Why shouldn't the two of us just make the most of it and have some fun?"

Qi Kun slapped his own forehead. "Damn it, why didn't I think of that? Erleng, let's play rock-paper-scissors. Whoever wins becomes the big boss, and the loser becomes the second-in-command, and we won't let this jerk play with us anymore! Since he wants to be a hands-off boss, let's go buy an incense burner at the antique market later and worship Mengmeng like a household deity."

"I'll screw your uncle!" Yang Meng cursed with a smile.

Qi Kun laughed even harder. "Fine by me! Anyway, you're the only hands-off boss I know right now, so go ahead and screw yourself!"

Hu Erleng blinked. "Aren't we supposed to make a trip to the supermarket? To buy some hand cream and toilet tissue for Mengmeng? Otherwise, what's he going to do when calluses start growing on his hands?"

Qi Kun countered, "Is our great Master Yang an ordinary person? What does he need hand cream for? What does he need toilet tissue for? Just hand him a sheet of sandpaper directly!"

Hu Erleng held out his hand, and Qi Kun high-fived him in agreement.

Yang Meng snorted coldly. "You two are plotting a rebellion, aren't you? Once we get to the antique market later, I'm not paying a single cent—you guys are footing the bill yourselves!"

"Don't be like that! If we don't fleece you today, who else are we going to fleece?" Hu Erleng retorted.

Qi Kun nodded in agreement. "We've sharpened our knives, and we're ready to use them today!"

Yang Meng said, "Fine, whatever. Like you said earlier, if someone drives an awl into my skin in the spring, it won't bleed by autumn. I just want to see how sharp your knives can actually be."

Exchanging banter and laughter, they drove straight to the antique market.

Every city has its so-called 'antique market,' which supposedly satisfies people's psychological desire to 'pick up a bargain'—though in reality, it's mostly filled with counterfeit goods. If you're looking to buy fake items just to put up a flashy facade, the antique market will never disappoint you; but if your goal is to buy genuine antiques? Nine times out of ten, you'll walk away disappointed.

However, since Yang Meng and his friends were specifically there to buy fake goods today, they didn't have to worry about getting scammed.

Hu Erleng bought a set of straw rain capes—the kind ancient fishermen used to wear—and walked around parading in them. "Don't you think my taste is pretty good? Just imagine, hanging a straw rain cape like this on the wall would create such an atmospheric vibe, right?"

Qi Kun pointed at a roadside vendor nearby and said, "It might have a vibe on the wall, but wearing it on your body just makes you look like an absolute idiot. Mengmeng, look at that small bronze tripod on the vendor's stall over there. What do you think?"

Yang Meng glanced at the stall Qi Kun was pointing at and said speechlessly, "My friend, could you acquire a little bit of culture, please? That's called a *jue*, an ancient vessel used for drinking wine. Do you not watch television at all?"

"Who has time to watch TV?! I'm too busy trying to make money for you to expect me to keep up with dramas! People in ancient times used this thing to drink alcohol?" Qi Kun picked up the item that Yang Meng had called a *jue*. It was covered in a layer of green patina, supported by three legs underneath, and shaped somewhat like a tiny boat on top.

Yang Meng nodded. "Actually, what they show on TV isn't entirely accurate either. TV shows often depict ancient people drinking straight out of these things, but back then, people drank aged yellow wine, which tastes much better when heated. Therefore, whenever they drank using a *jue* like this, they would actually heat the yellow wine from underneath using a fire."

Qi Kun chuckled, "Ancient people really knew how to have fun when drinking, huh?"

Yang Meng nodded again. "A *jue* was just one type of drinking vessel in ancient times. Do you think ancient people only ever used tiny wine pots and small cups? Let me tell you, ancient drinking customs were far more sophisticated than anything we do today! Our country has unearthed numerous Shang Dynasty bronzes, the majority of which are actually wine vessels. For instance, the *Dragon-Pattern Rhinoceros Jue* is shaped like a dragon boat—or perhaps a dragon-boat coffin—featuring a lid on top. Fine wine would be poured inside, covered, heated, and then shared among drinkers. Then there are the *Elephant Zun* and the *Ox Zun*. An *Elephant Zun* is crafted in the shape of an elephant, with an opening on its back to pour wine in, a trunk that pours the wine out, and a heating element underneath its belly to warm the wine. The patterns and craftsmanship are simply breathtaking! The *Ox Zun* is similar to the elephant version, except shaped like an ox instead. Oh, and there's also the *Square-Belly You*, where wine is poured into the upper chamber while hot water is placed below to warm the wine. There are just so many varieties of these ancient drinking utensils!"

Hearing this, Hu Erleng grew intrigued. "Oh? So do you guys think this *jue* is real or fake?"

Yang Meng waved his hand dismissively. "Don't even bother dreaming about it. The trade of genuine bronze artifacts is strictly prohibited by our laws. Everything here is fake."

Qi Kun wondered aloud, "I wonder who manufactures all these fakes? If we bought a bunch of these and put them in our shop for people to drink from, wouldn't that create an amazing atmosphere?"

"Forget it, 'Lobster'!" Yang Meng said. "Using these things for yellow wine is fine, but nowadays, when people eat skewers, they mostly drink beer, followed by baijiu. Are you really going to serve yellow wine while people eat barbecue? Drinking utensils have to match the occasion. For our place, forget all those fancy gimmicks—we'll just use large earthenware bowls!"

Hu Erleng thought for a moment and suggested, "We could use clay bowls—the kind where you can just smash them on the ground once you've had your fill. Now that actually sounds interesting!"

Qi Kun chimed in, "We passed a pottery shop just a little while ago. They probably have a source for that kind of earthenware. We can go check it out!"

"What are we waiting for? Let's go take a look!" Hu Erleng said.

The two of them were about to leave when they noticed that Yang Meng had already squatted down in front of a roadside stall, examining a stone slab with intense focus.

Curious, they walked over.

"What on earth is this?" Qi Kun picked up the stone slab to inspect it. It was just an ordinary piece of stone, carved with some patterns and characters. The handwriting was remarkably clumsy, clearly not the work of any master calligrapher.

The old vendor running the stall looked at Yang Meng with a warm smile, equally puzzled. Out of all the items on his display, why was Yang Meng fixated on this particular slab? Wasn't this thing considered deeply inauspicious?

He did know the actual origins of the stone slab, but it was merely an item meant to swindle laymen. How could anyone with actual expertise take a second look at it?

Yang Meng took the stone slab back from Qi Kun's hands and asked the vendor, "Boss, how much for this piece?"

The vendor blinked in surprise. "You know what this is?"

"Isn't this just a 'deed to purchase land from the underworld'?" Yang Meng tested the weight of the stone slab in his hands and remarked, "Items like this are exceptionally rare. Which utterly unscrupulous bastard dug this thing up and brought it out into the open?"