Chapter 152: Pounds and Dollars

"Manager Chen, trust you have been well since we last met!" Ning Zhiheng walked up to Chen Kangshi and said with a smile.

Chen Kangshi quickly gave a slight bow and greeted him warmly, "Young Master Lin, it has been quite a while. You are as dashing and debonair as ever. I have been waiting here for a long time, please come right in!"

At this moment, the bank attendants who had been waiting for a long time stepped forward and, following Ning Zhiheng's gesture, lifted the four cases down.

Exchanging pleasantries, Chen Kangshi and Ning Zhiheng walked into Chen Kangshi's office and took their respective seats as guest and host.

An attendant served clear tea and then quietly withdrew. Without further delay, Ning Zhiheng pointed to the four leather suitcases on the table and got straight to the point, "Manager Chen, I've come today just like last time. I want to exchange some goldware and fiat currency that I'm holding into British pounds or US dollars. I wonder if there are any favorable rates?"

With that, he stood up, walked over to the suitcases, undid the leather clasps, and opened them one by one. Instantly, the suitcases filled with gold bars and banknotes were revealed before Chen Kangshi's eyes.

Delighted, Chen Kangshi stepped forward, reached out to pick up a large gold bar, and carefully inspected its texture and purity, feeling secretly overjoyed. He turned back to Ning Zhiheng and said, "Young Master Lin, you are an expert yourself, so I won't mince words. The general economic environment right now is poor, and current gold prices are twenty percent higher than half a year ago. It is a great honor that you, Young Master Lin, specifically sought me out. Just like last time, I will add another twenty percent on top of the existing rate. What do you think?"

This remark actually took Ning Zhiheng somewhat by surprise. He had originally expected that, just like last time, the two of them would engage in a battle of wits, crossing swords verbally and haggling over the price. He never imagined that Chen Kangshi would so readily propose such a sincere condition. He could tell that Chen Kangshi was extremely eager to close this exchange transaction.

"Straightforward! Manager Chen has really surprised me this time. Let's do it just as you said. These fiat currencies can also be exchanged into British pounds and US dollars at the current market rate, no problem, right?" Ning Zhiheng pointed again at the pile of fiat currency and asked.

These boxes of fiat currency were indeed a huge sum, but that was from an individual's perspective. For a large bank like Nanye Bank, once injected into the capital flow, they would be digested very quickly.

Besides, this time Chen Kangshi had no intention of bargaining at all. He nodded directly in agreement and said, "Let it be done according to Young Master Lin's wishes!"

The two of them hit it off immediately and wanted no further entanglement. Chen Kangshi went outside and called in the clerk who had been waiting at the door.

Everything proceeded methodically according to procedure: counting the quantity of fiat currency and inspecting the purity and fineness of the gold. It took a full hour before the counting was finally completed. The professional calculation personnel tallied the amounts according to the negotiated exchange rate and handed the result to Chen Kangshi.

Chen Kangshi took it, glanced at it, nodded, and passed it on to Ning Zhiheng, saying, "Young Master Lin, please take a look. If there are no errors, I will proceed with the settlement."

Ning Zhiheng took it and looked, clicking his tongue in silent astonishment. To be honest, he had never taken the time to carefully count these gold bars and banknotes, and only had a rough estimate of their value. Yet he truly had not expected there to be so much.

Rejoicing inwardly, he maintained a completely calm and composed expression on the outside, nodded nonchalantly, and said, "Very well, let's do it! However, this time I want half in British pounds and half in US dollars. Is that acceptable?"

"No problem at all, the vault has already prepared them. I'll make a phone call right now!" Chen Kangshi replied briskly.

He immediately picked up the telephone to give instructions. Soon, in accordance with Ning Zhiheng's request, several bank personnel carried over two cases of cash, opened them right before Ning Zhiheng's eyes, and counted them on the spot.

The total amounted to twenty thousand British pounds and eighty thousand US dollars. This massive sum of money made Ning Zhiheng extremely satisfied!

After the gold and fiat currency were fully settled, everyone withdrew. Looking at the two boxes of brand-new banknotes, Ning Zhiheng nodded with a smile and said to Chen Kangshi, "Manager Chen, I am very satisfied with this exchange transaction. If I have needs in the future, I will contact you again. I hope the next time will go just as smoothly!"

At this point, Chen Kangshi was also immensely pleased with this exchange transaction. He had taken in a tremendous amount of gold today, all of which was full-weight and high-purity. This performance far exceeded his expectations and was more than enough to satisfy the bank's senior executives. It is fair to say this transaction completely extricated him from his current predicament, leaving him with a deep sense of gratitude toward Ning Zhiheng.

"Young Master Lin, whenever you have business, a single phone call will arrange everything for you, and the price will definitely satisfy you!" Chen Kangshi answered solemnly.

Carrying the two suitcases crammed with banknotes, Ning Zhiheng walked out of Nanye Bank. Chen Kangshi escorted him all the way to the entrance, where the two bid farewell to each other and watched as Ning Zhiheng drove away.

Returning to his home, he emptied the banknotes from the two suitcases and dragged two large leather trunks out from under his bed. Only then did Ning Zhiheng have the opportunity to organize all the banknotes. Now, everything in his possession consisted of rock-hard currencies like British pounds and US dollars; he no longer needed to worry about the depreciation of fiat currency or the difficulties of transporting gold.

It took a long time, but he finally finished sorting them. His total gains from these recent operations amounted to fifty thousand British pounds and one hundred and eighty thousand US dollars. Adding in the real estate properties that Wang Shucheng was handling, Ning Zhiheng's net worth at this moment made him an absolute multi-millionaire!

Ning Zhiheng gazed quietly at the banknotes before him, calculating carefully in his mind. This wealth was more than enough to let him and his loved ones live a life free from material worries through these turbulent times. Moreover, he knew that with his current capabilities, this wealth would continue to multiply. It was safe to say that in less than a year since arriving in this era, he had firmly planted his feet. Both his personal ability and status had undergone tremendous enhancement and transformation, giving him even greater confidence to face any predicament in reality.

Ning Zhiheng fetched two small, exquisite leather cases and packed each of them full of US dollars, with each case holding around thirty thousand US dollars. These were naturally the favors he intended to present to the Director and Deputy Director Huang. Naturally, the more money the better; a massive sum of thirty thousand US dollars would definitely satisfy the two directors!

Finally, he brought over the box of jewels. Such a box of gemstones was currently of immense value, but Ning Zhiheng lacked good channels to deal in them. Besides, in the coming years, such jewelry would depreciate increasingly. After all, when people struggled just to fill their stomachs, a single steamed bun would likely be more precious than a gemstone, so he had never planned to hoard antiques and jewelry.

He placed this box of jewels into the small leather case prepared for Deputy Director Huang Xianzheng, which would be more than enough to demonstrate his sincerity.

As for Xiang Yan, who was directly in charge of this case, a token of appreciation was naturally necessary as well. He prepared ten thousand US dollars, which was entirely appropriate and reasonable!

There was now too much money, and the safe could not possibly hold it all. He left a portion of the banknotes in the safe for daily use, then pushed aside his bed and lifted the floor tiles. Finding a shovel, he dug a deep pit right there, buried the two large cases of banknotes inside, filled it back with earth and tiles, carefully restored the surface to its original appearance, and cleared away any traces.

With everything properly settled, Ning Zhiheng finally let out a sigh of relief. His house was very close to the Military Statistics Bureau, and the police department patrolled this area very strictly, so ordinary thieves dared not break in or commit crimes nearby; thus, public security was relatively good. Coupled with the fact that the exterior of the house looked completely unremarkable, it remained relatively safe.

By now it was a little past two in the afternoon. Ning Zhiheng tidied himself up and hurried over to the Military Statistics Bureau.

He went straight to Xiang Yan's office, knocked on the door, and pushed it open only after hearing Xiang Yan's voice.

Yesterday's incident involving Guo Xueyi had left Xiang Yan in a very poor state of mind. A subordinate who had followed him loyally for years, a brother he had worked alongside for many years, had just left like that. Even though Xiang Yan's heart was as hard as iron, he still found it difficult to conceal the sorrow in his heart.

When Ning Zhiheng walked in, he saw Xiang Yan sitting alone in his chair with a grim expression, several documents lying on the desk.

"Section Chief!" Ning Zhiheng called out softly.

"It's Zhiheng, sit down!" Seeing that it was Ning Zhiheng entering, Xiang Yan pulled himself together slightly.

"Section Chief, you shouldn't grieve too much over Major Guo's affair. Your health is what matters most!" Ning Zhiheng persuaded.

With a bitter smile, Xiang Yan waved his hand and said gloomily, "Ah! I just feel it's such a waste for Xueyi! He followed me for so many years, and I originally thought this was a good opportunity to give him a hand, but—!"

Unable to finish his sentence, Xiang Yan shook his head and waved his hand dismissively, "Let's not talk about this anymore!"

Straightening his expression and sitting up straight, he handed a document from his desk over to Ning Zhiheng: "Zhiheng, I was just about to look for you. We subjected Su Yu to an interrogation throughout the night yesterday, and he has confessed to his crimes without reservation. This is the interrogation record, take a look!"

Ning Zhiheng took it, opened it, and read through it carefully. His expression shifted slightly as he said, "The Black Water Group? This Su Yu was turned by Tian Liqun—that is, Takeda Kaede—two years ago! Takeda Kaede's identity is truly extraordinary! To think he is actually the legitimate son of the top Japanese aristocratic Takeda family. How could such a prominent noble scion be assigned to lurk in Nanjing? And what about their group leader whose codename is 'Viper'? Between Meng Lesheng and his wife Kong Shulan, who on earth is the 'Viper'?"

"Su Yu doesn't know the answer to this question either; he simply didn't have the clearance. Although he was a member of the Black Water Group, he knew very little about its situation. Among the other members, he only knew Takeda Kaede, and that was solely because Takeda Kaede was the one who recruited him.

Furthermore, they always used dead drops to transmit intelligence, and he had no way of contacting his superior," Xiang Yan explained.

"Wasn't his superior Tian Liqun, alias Takeda Kaede?"

"That was only because Takeda Kaede used it as a private liaison between the two moles so that Su Yu would help him retrieve the seal. Later on, when their intelligence transmission channel was accidentally destroyed, he borrowed Takeda Kaede's channel, which led us to mistakenly believe that Takeda Kaede was Su Yu's superior. Fortunately, the end result is the same; we still managed to ferret out the Viper," Xiang Yan explained.