Villa of Mysteries Chapter Thirteen: The Pharmacy

“Carrots, sweet as honey, just in time for New Year's, I want to eat duck, but both my pockets are empty of money...”
Zhu Dachang squatted on the ground, gnawing noisily on a carrot and mumbling nonsense. He glanced over and saw Hou San lift a black bag from the front seat of the taxi and put it in the trunk. Bewildered, he said, “San-ge, didn’t you say that bag was dangerous? Shouldn’t we have ditched it already? Why put it in the trunk again? Wouldn’t it be easier to just toss it in that stinking gutter over there?”

Hou San locked the car doors and cast a quick look around. “What do you know? Of course we need to get rid of it... After all, we’ve had it for a while, and it’s not like we wore gloves the whole time. There are fingerprints all over it... But we have to dump it somewhere no one will find it. Look around—roads going every which way,” he pointed at the residential buildings across the foul water channel. “There’s even a neighborhood over there. People coming and going. If we throw the bag in the gutter, someone will spot it right away. We have to stick to the plan—get it out to the suburbs where it’s safer...”

Zhu Dachang immediately stood up, stuffing the carrot back into his pocket. “Let’s go, then. The sooner we’re done, the sooner we can get some duck...”

“Duck, my ass…” Hou San rolled his eyes. “The car’s almost out of gas. We need to fill up first.”

“Then let’s hurry up and get gas…”

Hou San held out his right hand to Zhu Dachang. “You got any money? If you fork over some cash, I’ll fill up right away.”

“I spent my last bit on gas for the motorbike...” Zhu Dachang poked his stomach a few times with two fingers. “I don’t even have enough for a flatbread now...”

“Then what are you talking for…” Hou San wrinkled his nose. “That cheapskate driver finishes a long haul and doesn’t bother to fill up either... Wants me to do it for him—what a joke…”

“San-ge, why don’t we just leave the taxi here? I’m not filling his tank. Not doing something that loses money—gas money could buy a whole stack of flatbreads…”

“No way. I told that jerk to pick up his cab at the depot, so I’ll deliver it there. Zhu Dachang, remember this: in our line of work, you have to keep your word. A promise is worth its weight in gold. That’s the only way to make a name for yourself.”

Zhu Dachang nodded earnestly. “So what now? We’re both broke... And with no gas, even if we had the money, we couldn’t drive to the station.”

Hou San gave a cold snort. “Why do you think I stopped here out of the blue? I wanted to save enough gas to make it to the station later... The dashboard says there’s seventeen kilometers’ worth of fuel left. But you can always knock a few off that number. Luckily, there’s a station a few kilometers away. Once we have the money, we’ll fill up. I’m not as dumb as you—always leave yourself an out.”

Zhu Dachang gave a thumbs up. “You’re the smart one, San-ge…” He glanced left and right, lowering his voice. “So how are we getting the money? Highway robbery?”

Hou San slapped the back of Zhu Dachang’s head. “Daylight robbery? You want us in jail that fast?” He let out a long sigh and rubbed his hands together. “On the way here, I noticed a pharmacy across from that neighborhood. The door’s closed, no one inside. We break in, grab some cash from the register, and leave. Quiet and clean…”

Zhu Dachang’s eyes lit up and he licked his lips, excited. “Let’s grab enough for some duck too…”

No sooner said than done, Hou San led Zhu Dachang at a brisk pace to the pharmacy door. After a quick, furtive glance around, he pulled a piece of wire from his pocket, bent it a few times, and slid it into the U-lock. Narrowing his eyes, he held his breath and concentrated on picking the lock.

Meanwhile, Zhu Dachang kept nervously checking their surroundings, then drifted over to the right side of the door as if he’d spotted something.

A minute later, Hou San finally popped the U-lock open. He raised his eyebrows in triumph. “It’s done—” He reached out to pat Zhu Dachang but found only empty air. Turning, he saw Zhu Dachang had vanished.

At that moment, the pharmacy door was yanked open from inside. Zhu Dachang stared at the unlocked U-lock in admiration. “Nice work, San-ge!”

Hou San’s mouth twitched. “How did you get in?”

Zhu Dachang pointed to the right of the entrance, then cupped his left hand around his mouth and whispered, “There’s a window over there—it was open… I climbed in through that.”

Hou San’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He cleared his throat and strode inside. “Climbing through windows is hardly respectable. Next time, use the door… Anyway, get moving. Grab the cash and let’s go before something goes wrong.”

With that, the two rushed to the register. Hou San yanked open the drawer, but found only a few coins. He stuffed them into his pocket, disgruntled. “I’ll keep looking here. You check the back. No way a shop this size only has a handful of coins…”

Zhu Dachang nodded and went deeper into the pharmacy, pulling aside a curtain and rummaging through the back room with a noisy clatter.

“Damn it, you’re making enough racket to bring the house down,” Hou San muttered. “Trying to make sure everyone knows we’re in here?”

The back room quieted down. Hou San continued searching near the register, but after checking every nook and cranny, found nothing else. Frustrated, he kicked the counter.

Suddenly, he heard something fall beneath the register. Getting down on the floor, he peered under and was delighted to find a stack of red bills scattered beneath the counter. He gathered them up and counted—one thousand in all—then stuffed them into his inner pocket. He glanced at the register drawer, pulled it out, and saw a tilted little box hidden underneath. He clicked his tongue in appreciation. “A fellow pro… Clever, very clever…”

Just then, Zhu Dachang emerged from the back, lugging a large barrel and pouting. “San-ge, this pharmacy owner has no morals…” He thumped the barrel down and grabbed a handful of white powder from inside. “This bastard’s selling flour as medicine… Out to make a buck and kill people too!”

Hou San finally noticed that most of the shelves were stocked with health supplements. He frowned. “No ethics at all—preying even on old folks’ life savings… In that case, I’d say we’re doing society a favor by taking his money…”

Zhu Dachang’s face darkened, as if recalling a bitter memory. He pulled out his phone and dialed. “Hello, I’d like to report a crime—someone’s selling fake medicine here… The location?” He walked to the door and read the street sign. “Jingming Road, the pharmacy across from the neighborhood…”

Hou San’s eyes bulged. “Who are you calling?”

Zhu Dachang lowered the phone and turned to Hou San, serious. “Nine-one-one, of course. That bastard’s selling fake drugs. I’m reporting him.”

“Uh…” Hou San’s mouth went dry and his Adam’s apple bobbed. “You didn’t say who we are, did you?”

“Oh, right, almost forgot…” Zhu Dachang brought the phone back to his ear. “My name is Zhu Dachang… What do I do? I’m a thief! Yes, I’m in the store right now, come quickly!”

Hou San’s eyelid twitched. He snatched the phone and hung up, staring at Zhu Dachang like he was an idiot. “Zhu Dachang, you really do have pig intestines for brains…”

At the police station, a young officer put down the phone, walked over to He Wei, and relayed the report word for word, barely holding back a laugh. “There’s something strange… The caller said he was…”

He Wei asked calmly, “Said he was what?”

The young officer burst out laughing. “He said he was a thief…”

“Interesting…” He Wei chuckled. “Did you ask for his name?”

“He gave it himself—said he was Zhu Dachang. No idea if it’s true or not…”

He Wei was about to reply when he saw Zhang Xiaoman approaching. He waved the young officer away. “A report’s a report. Take two people and check it out. Handle it as you see fit; no need to keep me updated on something this minor.”

The young officer brought his hand to his brow in a crisp salute. “Yes, sir!”

Zhang Xiaoman stopped in front of He Wei and glanced at the departing officer. He cleared his throat. “A new case?”

“Nothing major…” He Wei’s tone turned serious. “Uncle Man, did you find any useful clues in the villa earlier?”

“Anyone bold enough to frame Nie Yi and Li Jun would be thorough. Not so easy for me to find anything…” Zhang Xiaoman rubbed his nose. “By the way… you seem quite concerned about the villa’s mistress. Got your eye on her?”

He Wei quickly waved his hands, denying it. “No… I just feel bad for her. So young and already a widow. Besides, you saw how Yang Qingqing treated her—I just couldn’t stand it…”

“Xiao He,” Zhang Xiaoman said earnestly, “When I was young, I met my share of pitiful women, but in the end, they proved not only pitiful, but sometimes despicable too… You never really know what’s in someone’s heart. Don’t judge by appearances.”

He Wei frowned. “You think Jinyue is hiding something?”

“Let’s put everything else aside for now,” Zhang Xiaoman narrowed his eyes, “Just the timing of Yang Qingqing’s outburst today—it was too perfect, not too early, not too late, just when we arrived.”

“But she couldn’t have known we were coming to see her today…”

“Are you sure?” Zhang Xiaoman fixed He Wei with a meaningful look. “Because I got the feeling she wasn’t surprised to see us at all.”

“Is that so…” He Wei’s gaze darted away. “Now that you mention it, it did seem like that… Maybe she guessed we’d come—after all, with a murder in her house, the police are bound to investigate… But even if she knew we were coming, she couldn’t have known exactly when…”

“Knowing roughly what time is enough,” Zhang Xiaoman replied impassively. “If one slap isn’t enough, drag it out to two; if two won’t do, stretch it to three… Now that’s a well-played act.”

“All just to make us think she’s pitiable? I don’t see the point…”

Zhang Xiaoman’s gaze grew distant and he sighed. “Of course there’s a point—the act wasn’t just for us…”