Chapter 442: Search
In one night’s time, all the facilities within the gambling den were transported away overnight.
The entire building underwent drastic changes. The walls and windows were decorated with wallpaper featuring the style of the Celestial Dragon Continent, alongside calligraphy masterpieces, landscape paintings, and so on.
Huge bookshelves were placed on both sides of the floor, resembling a library, stocked with various books.
Besides the two large bookshelves, there were also two counters, with a beautiful waitress in a cheongsam standing in front. The shelves behind her were filled with various famous teas.
The place originally meant for gambling tools was now filled with wooden tea tables and chairs, and various exquisite tea sets, all neatly arranged.
Before Lin Tian even stepped inside, he caught a strong aroma of tea, invigorating his entire being.
Not far from the reception desk, there stood two rows of young people, all dressed in traditional Hanfu, politely conversing.
Upon inquiry, Lin Tian discovered these people were invited ’tea artists’ performing tea ceremonies.
Lin Tian felt his eyes were truly opened. Could this really have been transformed in just one night?
"How’s that, pretty efficient, right?" Mei Ruyan casually asked, with a touch of pride in her voice.
Lin Tian nodded vigorously, "If you told me this place used to be a gambling den, I wouldn’t believe it."
"That’s right, I spent a fortune on this transformation. Otherwise, how could it change so drastically in one night?"
"What about those gambling tools now? It’s definitely not feasible to turn this place back into a gambling den," Lin Tian said.
He thought Bai Shishi was too risky for hosting a gambling den here. In the past, having the Bai Family covering for them meant that even if there were reports to the police, no one dared to inspect.
But this time, the scale was too big, and if the police had stormed in yesterday, everyone would have been doomed.
Fortunately, the police didn’t come directly yesterday.
According to Mei Ruyan’s explanation: they were waiting. Waiting for me to beg them so they could demand an exorbitant price.
The transformation of the gambling den cost a lot not only for manpower, renovation, tea sets, and famous teas but even the amount Mei Ruyan agreed to pay was considerable. Calling it a huge sum wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
Xianglong Tea House lost three years of revenue overnight.
Luckily, Qiansimei’s profits have been decent lately, otherwise, bankruptcy would have been imminent.
Mei Ruyan nodded, "We were negligent before. As for those gambling tools, they are stored in a warehouse at a factory. If your people need them, they can take them. Anyway, this place will never become a gambling den again."
Lin Tian looked at her in confusion and asked, "Why would I need those gambling tools?"
Mei Ruyan snorted in disdain, saying, "Even after you left, Shishi and I still kept an eye on you. Do you think your Black Gold Security Company could fool us? However, the veterans you’ve hired, aside from being good fighters, aren’t really suited for anything else. I advise you to hire some more talent. It’s easy to take over the underground kingdom of Kanyue City, but hard to keep it."
Lin Tian chuckled, "I understand all this. Remember that call from Pang Yu yesterday? That guy used to work under Ye Feng."
"Ye Feng?" Mei Ruyan exclaimed in surprise, "Those under him are talented and loyal. Both Shishi and Du Dahai wanted to recruit them, but failed. How did you manage it?"
Lin Tian was taken aback, asking, "Ye Feng and his reputation are that well-known?"
Mei Ruyan nodded, "Indeed, they’ve done quite a lot. Our tea house and Du Dahai suffered quite a bit under them. I really can’t figure out how such a bunch of small-time thieves have such great abilities."
Hearing such high praise from Mei Ruyan about them, Lin Tian felt pleased, since now they are under his command.
"Don’t get too cocky," Mei Ruyan poured cold water on him, "Even though they’ve agreed to join you, each of them is a handful. Be careful of the trouble they might cause."
Lin Tian nodded; he had already thought about this yesterday, but such matters can’t be hurried.
As they were talking, the sound of police sirens gradually approached, and Lin Tian went to the window to look down, saying, "They’re here."
Mei Ruyan let out a long breath, and then she and Lin Tian took the elevator down to the first floor, heading toward the police officers.
A group of over twenty people, all wearing police uniforms and full of vigor, the policemen strode into the first-floor lobby.
Leading them was a man with a square face, thick eyebrows, and a big mouth, his face expressionless. He had a menacing aura.
Mei Ruyan and Lin Tian went forward to greet them, but before they could speak, the middle-aged policeman pulled out a black badge from his pocket and flipped it open in front of them.
"Hello, I’m Tang Feng, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Division at the Kanyue City Inspection Office. We received reports from the public stating that this location is a large gambling den, where people gather to gamble for profit with a large amount of gambling equipment."
Tang Feng had a righteous appearance, even his voice sounded upright. He embodied the image of serving the country and the people, enforcing the law with fairness.
Mei Ruyan’s face was similarly expressionless, she said flatly, "So, what do you want?"
"Hmph!"
Seeing Mei Ruyan’s attitude, Tang Feng snorted heavily, then put away his badge and said, "We need to conduct a search here, please cooperate."
"Then go ahead and search."
Mei Ruyan nodded lightly and added, "All ten floors belong to our company. I think your twenty-something people are far from enough. Better call for a few hundred more? Also, there are many valuable items in my company, so please be careful."
Mei Ruyan didn’t bother being courteous just because they were police officers; she remained cold and aloof. Lin Tian even wondered if she would attack the police if she got upset.
Tang Feng’s face turned even uglier upon hearing this, and he snorted heavily, "Our twenty-something people are completely capable. You should worry about how you’re going to explain later. Begin the search!"
At Tang Feng’s order, the over twenty officers behind him donned white gloves and began a floor-by-floor search.
Today in Xianglong Building, Qiansimei Company was not operating at all, with all employees on holiday except for a few guards.
Clearly, Mei Ruyan was prepared for this and allowed the police to conduct their search.
Lin Tian had asked Mei Ruyan yesterday whether Qiansimei had anything incriminating inside. Mei Ruyan’s answer was: none. Qiansimei had no issues regarding materials or craftsmanship.
Sure enough, the over twenty officers searched the first six floors, only going through the motions, unable to find anything, and had to proceed to the top four floors.
Their main target was still the gambling den.