Money-robbing bank

Ye Fei's mood was not one of joy, but of genuine shock. If it were a hundred thousand, he would have been over the moon, feeling like he had unexpectedly come into wealth. Even a million would have made him smile from ear to ear. But this time it was over twenty million, such a large sum that once it got out, it could lead to loss of life.

Although Ye Fei's social experience was lacking, it didn't mean he was ignorant. For a mere two hundred yuan in rent, that old lady had been able to threaten him with her son. If she found out he had dug up over twenty million worth of gold in her house, wouldn't she try to kill him?

With this in mind, Ye Fei jerked upright, brought over the military backpack he had intended to use for carrying the soil, and started packing the gold bars into it, one by one. As for the antique wooden box, it probably wasn't worth much. After hesitating for a moment, Ye Fei decided not to bury it back in the ground.

He carefully filled the hole with soil, leaving a gap for the wooden box that he couldn't seem to fill no matter what. After surveying the room, he moved the bricks that were propping up the table and tossed them into the pit. When no one was looking, he discreetly carried more bricks from the yard and used them to level the ground. However, it only appeared level; in reality, the entire room's floor was pitted and uneven from Ye Fei's digging.

Ye Fei dusted off his clothes, shaking the soil loose, still wearing his camouflage outfit. Everything in the room was tidied up, or at least it seemed so—a canvas bag containing clothes. After a thorough check, Ye Fei found nothing amiss and finally sat down on the bed, panting for breath.

At this moment, the sky had just darkened, with people coming and going in the courtyard, and the streets bustling with activity. Ye Fei dared not leave at this time; he had to wait until it was quiet at night before he could sneak away.

Never before had Ye Fei felt time pass so slowly; even in detention, it seemed to move faster than it did now. He hadn't eaten a thing, and even if a dragon's liver and phoenix's gall were placed in front of him, he wouldn't have had the appetite.

Finally, when the clock struck eleven, the doors of all the rental rooms were shut, and the rooms fell silent. It was then that Ye Fei, carrying the backpack, canvas bag, and wooden box, slowly left the courtyard.

At this moment, Ye Fei was grateful for one thing: he had never signed a lease with the landlady from beginning to end. In other words, besides a name, the landlady knew nothing about him—where he was from or what he did.

Indeed, as Ye Fei had expected, after half a month, the landlady found that Ye Fei's room had been locked all along. Worried, she opened the door and was instantly taken aback.

To prevent the landlady from discovering his actions, Ye Fei had made a mess of the room. The once tidy bed had been torn apart by Ye Fei, who had split the wooden boards and trampled them into halves. The walls were covered in scratches, and the ground was pitted and uneven.

These losses were far beyond what Ye Fei could compensate with the five hundred yuan he had paid. At this point, the landlady deeply regretted; apart from Ye Fei's name, she had no information about him at all. It was only after this incident that she earnestly began to sign lease contracts with tenants and collect rent according to the terms of the contract. If such a thing happened again, she felt it would be the death of her. However, she had no idea how much fortune she had missed out on. Of course, if it weren't for Ye Fei's X-ray vision, these gold bars would have remained buried underground, only to be possibly unearthed when the area was redeveloped, or perhaps forever hidden underground.

But all of this was no longer Ye Fei's concern. After disposing of the wooden box on the garbage heap, nobody would ever know what Ye Fei had done in that rental house.

Ye Fei didn't dare stay in Hedong District and took a taxi to Nankai District.

After getting off the car, Ye Fei found a hotel to stay in, because the items on him were too valuable. Ye Fei rented a standard room for 128 yuan a night, which was a considerable expense for him.

After locking the door, placing the backpack on the bed, and taking a shower, Ye Fei finally relaxed.

With everything that had happened in the past few days, one thing after another, Ye Fei only now had the time to carefully think about what had transpired. That night, Ye Fei thought about many things; he himself didn't know what he was thinking. When he woke up, it was already noon the next day.

After washing his face and clearing his head, Ye Fei knew that the most important thing now was to find a safe place to store the gold bars. Carrying them around was just too unsafe. With the backpack on, dressed in his camouflage outfit, Ye Fei walked into the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.

Though he deeply resented the bank's handling fees, at this moment, Ye Fei really didn't know where else it would be safe to leave this backpack! He had only heard of bank safety deposit boxes once when he was delivering a package to a customer. Prior to that, Ye Fei had never known that banks could store things other than money.

Ye Fei approached the inquiry desk and asked, "Hello, I'd like to inquire about renting a safe deposit box. Who should I speak to?"

The bank staff summoned the branch manager, and everything went more smoothly than Ye Fei had imagined; the bank already had a complete set of procedures in place. Before long, Ye Fei rented a safe deposit box for 1360 yuan annually, stashed his backpack inside, and finally felt relieved.

Exiting the bank, with the gold bar still nestled in his pocket, Ye Fei headed into Jin Da Fu Jewelry Store.

"Hello, may I help you with something?" the attendant asked warmly.

Ye Fei sheepishly inquired, "Do you buy gold here?"

The attendant smiled and asked, "Did you purchase it from us? Do you have a receipt?"

Shaking his head, Ye Fei explained, "No, this has been passed down to me. My family urgently needs money, so I'm planning to sell it."

The attendant said, "Alright, please come with me. Since you did not purchase it from us, the price will be lower, depending on the purity of the gold."

Ye Fei was led to the counter, where the manager said, "This gentleman wishes to sell gold."

"Sir, the price of gold is currently on the rise and has good collectible value. Are you sure you want to sell?" the branch manager inquired.

In fact, everyone knew that people who came to sell gold were usually facing difficulties, but it was customary to ask. Ye Fei nodded and took out the gold bar wrapped in red cloth, saying, "Please take a look and let me know the price."

Both the branch manager and the attendant fell silent. They had expected some jewelry, not a gold bar. The shape and the markings indicated that it was an antique piece, inherited rather than purchased from a jewelry store.

"Sir, please come in here," the branch manager hurriedly invited him inside the meeting room. It wasn't because the manager was snobbish, but because it was difficult to appraise gold bars compared to gold jewelry, especially those with a vintage appearance. Jewelry stores had specialized experts for such appraisals. Only after their examination could the gold be considered genuine and its price negotiated. There had been cases of jewelry stores being deceived in the past, so people were more cautious now.

Ye Fei was not worried at all. He had examined these gold bars himself and knew they were genuine. After a middle-aged man in his forties entered and scrutinized the gold bar by weighing, measuring, inspecting, and tapping it, he finally nodded and said, "It's genuine and of high purity."

Without further ado, the branch manager smiled. Gold bars like Ye Fei's had great collectible value. Once they stamped it with the Zou Da Fu logo, they could sell it with a considerable profit. After weighing it, the branch manager said, "Mr. Ye, this gold bar weighs 106.8 grams, and we can offer 330 yuan for it."

Ye Fei exclaimed, "Isn't gold selling for over 400 yuan per gram now?"

The branch manager explained with a smile, "Mr. Ye, the selling price and the buyback price are different. Of course, if you had purchased it from us, the price would be different."

Ye Fei was prepared for this. Taxes on lottery winnings, fees for remittances, and kickbacks for selling gold—this was indeed a bit harsh. Perhaps seeing Ye Fei's hesitant expression, the branch manager said, "Mr. Ye, I'm not lying to you. You will get the same price at any other jewelry store, and some might even offer less."

Ye Fei gritted his teeth; after all, he hadn't spent any money on it, so he decided to sell it. "Alright, I'll sell it," he said.

The branch manager smiled, sealing the deal, and also securing a handsome commission for himself.

"I've calculated it to be a total of 332,244 yuan. Would you like cash or a bank transfer?" the branch manager asked.

Although mentally prepared, Ye Fei was still taken aback by the figure. It was over 330,000 yuan. He knew that if he withdrew all that money and sold everything, he would attract unwanted attention. Trying to remain composed, he said, "Transfer 330,000 yuan to my bank account and give me the rest in cash."

The branch manager said, "Alright," and instructed a staff member, and soon the transaction was completed. The staff member approached with an envelope.

Handing over 2,244 yuan in cash, the branch manager said, "The remaining amount has been transferred to your account."

"Thank you," Ye Fei said as he took the money.

Suddenly, the branch manager had a bright idea and asked, "Mr. Ye, do you have any more gold bars like this at home?"

Surprised, Ye Fei asked, "Why do you ask?"

Sure enough, there were more. The branch manager was testing the waters earlier, and Ye Fei's response made him optimistic. He handed over his business card and said, "If you plan to sell more, you can contact me. My name is Lan Haiyang."

Ye Fei calmed his emotions and said, "Manager Lan, this has been passed down in my family. If it weren't for the urgent need, we wouldn't have sold it. We do have more at home, but whether to sell or not is not solely my decision."

Manager Lan didn't press further and said, "Alright, Mr. Ye, if you decide to sell, give me a call, and I will offer you the best price."

"Okay," Ye Fei said with a smile.

Leaving the jewelry store, Ye Fei quickly found an ATM and checked his balance. Sure enough, there were 360,000 yuan in his account, including the lottery winnings, recent lottery purchases, and the 330,000 yuan just transferred. 

Now that he had money, Ye Fei was ecstatic. He had never imagined that money could come so easily. If he hadn't just transferred 300,000 yuan home, he would have wanted to transfer another 300,000 yuan. But there was no way to explain this incident, and given his father's conservative nature, he would definitely not let it go. Thinking about this, Ye Fei could only smile bitterly. Fortunately, his parents now had 300,000 yuan, enough to live comfortably without worrying as before.

What to do next? Ye Fei suddenly felt at a loss.