National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 806 - 749 Dry Abalone

Chapter 806: Chapter 749 Dry Abalone

In the lingering drizzle,

Yang An called for a ride-hailing car, carrying the briefcase he had stolen, which contained four dried abalones and a box of dried sea cucumbers, arriving in silence at the Jingfeng Building where he had made a reservation.

The Jingfeng Building was three stories high, with red bricks, red tiles, red corridors, and a red roof. Whether the imitation of ancient architecture was a success was unknown, but the main theme of brilliance and splendor made it clear to all who came: this place was exceedingly expensive.

And it was precisely this exorbitant air that Yang An wanted!

He knew he had struck luck this time.

Having been a thief for so many years, including the more than a year he had spent in prison, had taught Yang An a simple life lesson: ordinary people with ordinary jobs only earn ordinary incomes. To make big money, you either needed strength, like ’Locksmith’ who at 17 years old stole from three dormitory buildings in one night, or you needed connections, like Chai’s son, Six Hundred, who was a young cattle head leader.

Otherwise, you could only rely on luck.

Yang An had neither strength nor background, but he had always hoped for good fortune, which was why he persisted in thieving and, when he felt the time was right, he even dared to commit burglaries.

Finally, his time had come.

Before checking Baidu, Yang An didn’t know how valuable dried abalone was, but he was well aware of the value of sea cucumbers.

Just finding sea cucumbers in a kitchen had already hit the level of good fortune for Yang An, but after he returned home and auctioned the dried abalones on Taobao, Yang An knew he had completely turned his life around!

As long as he sold this batch of dried goods, his net worth would instantly increase by two zeros. Although he wouldn’t be financially free, he felt he was about to sprint down this path.

Next, if he casually invested in some equipment, bought a car or something, the places he could steal from... no, he might even be able to change professions, like dealing with stolen goods, or even money-lending, then the speed of making money would be much faster.

Money was also a form of strength.

"What would the gentleman like to buy?" A middle-aged man came over to inquire, looking quite professional, although Yang An still preferred female salespeople.

"I’ve got some sea cucumbers and abalones, all dry, and I’m thinking of selling some," Yang An said, suppressing his emotions and speaking expressionlessly.

He had practiced this act in front of a mirror. If the other party asked where the goods came from, Yang An was ready to explain that they were left by his family, hinting at his downfall from wealthy nobility.

The middle-aged man, however, didn’t ask further and smiled with a "fine" before leading him to the second floor.

Shortly after, in a small compartment, an old man dressed in traditional silk attire knocked on the small door and took a seat opposite Yang An.

"These four abalones. And the sea cucumbers." Yang An took out the dried abalones and sea cucumbers he had selected as a test.

The dried abalones were about 8 head grade. That is, the weight of eight dried abalones amounted to one jin (old Chinese unit of weight). A traditional "jin" referred to a Sima Jin, which is roughly 600 grams, calculated as sixteen Sima Liangs, or half a jin and eight liangs in the traditional sense. The traditional markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan used the Sima Jin as a unit, and later, as mainland China’s purchasing power increased, it gradually transitioned to the market jin.

In short, dried abalones of size 8 head grade meant that each weighed about 75 grams.

And to dry fresh abalone, seven or eight, even up to ten jin are needed to obtain one jin of dried abalone, so even if size 8 head abalones don’t seem that impressive, as fresh abalone, they also weighed about a jin, without the shell.

Dried abalones of this size were the most consumed commodity abalone, belonging to the volume sellers within dried abalones. As long as the appearance was good, there were plenty of businesses willing to purchase them.

Of course, the price had to be negotiated.

The silk-clad elder put on his gloves, examined the four dried abalones, then smiled and said, "The quantity is a bit small, but since it’s the gentleman’s first visit, we’ll take them. As for the price... how about 5000 yuan?"

Yang An frowned and stood up abruptly, saying, "That price doesn’t show sincerity!"

"6000 yuan each, four pieces regardless of appearance, all at that price," the silk-clad elder immediately raised the offer.

Yang An was startled; he had thought the offer was 5000 yuan for four pieces, which was significantly lower than the prices he had seen online, and that made him angry.

But 6000 yuan each, making it 24,000 yuan for four, was still a significant difference from the prices he had researched online.

Years of thieving made Yang An immediately realize that there must be something special about this batch of abalones he had stolen. Otherwise, the purchasing price wouldn’t be higher than the selling price he was aware of.

But faced with the buyer, it wasn’t appropriate for Yang An to inquire. After hesitating a moment and unable to resist the temptation, he said, "Let’s settle these four at that price."

"Quick decision!" The silk-clad elder’s face lit up with a smile. Heart-shaped premium-quality abalones of large size were scarce, and size 8 was quite fine; it was top-notch among the premium goods.

Compared to that, the sea cucumbers were just standard goods. The elderly man in the silk robe overcharged Yang An by hundreds of dollars, immediately had someone fetch the money and the contract, and completed the transaction on the spot. Afterward, he earnestly said, "Mr. Yang, if you have any more dried abalone in the future, please bring them to our store, and we will definitely purchase them at a high price."

Yang An nodded absentmindedly, pocketing the money, and walked out in a daze.

It wasn’t until he got home and locked the door that Yang An still felt surreal.

"I need to find someone more professional to ask about this, maybe this bottle of abalone could shoot me straight to success..." Yang An excitedly threw himself onto the bed, unable to stop smiling.

Bang!

Boom! Boom!

Before Yang An’s mind could react, the balcony windows were already shattered into pieces, and two dark figures burst into the room from outside.

Immediately afterward, another stream of shadowy figures charged in from the front door.

"Police!"

"Don’t move!"

"Police!"

The suddenly heightened voices erupted like thunder from both the front and the back.

Yang An instinctively stood up, only to be knocked over by a clear shield striking his face.

In the next second, people were all over Yang An, on his body, arms, head, and legs.

"Got him."

"Don’t move."

"What’s your name? What’s your name!"

The harsh questions immediately pulled Yang An back to a few years ago.

That time, Yang An was still a clueless fool of a thief, pinned down on the spot by two police officers, with what seemed like the same barrage of noise in his ears.

Yang An really wanted to answer, but found he couldn’t open his mouth at all.

He tried to turn his head, but his neck simply wouldn’t obey. In fact, it seemed like not a single muscle in his body was under his control.

"Is everyone uninjured?"

"There’s no one else in the room."

"Handcuff him, and be careful with the evidence."

"Camera, get the camera in here."

Yang An didn’t know how many people were around him, just that it was unbelievably noisy, like 500 ducks quacking away, excited as if they were shedding feathers.

The police who arrived were indeed excited.

This was the thief who had stolen from Jiang Yuan’s home, and without Jiang Yuan’s help, my Criminal Police Brigade, along with the SWAT Team, the Cybersecurity Brigade, the Graphic Investigation Brigade, the Traffic Police Brigade, the National Security Brigade, the Public Security Brigade, the Economic Investigation Brigade... and other departments had closely coordinated to solve a home burglary case worth 300,000 yuan in less than 8 hours, catching the suspect on the spot and confiscating the stolen items!

With this level of skill and responsiveness, wasn’t it worth being proud of?

Cui Qishan laughed heartily with hands on hips, then commanded, "Lift him up, aim the camera at his face."

In an instant, Yang An was hoisted up.

"What’s your name?" Cui Qishan asked loudly.

"Yang An." Yang An looked around blankly, feeling surrounded by layers of police on all sides, above and below, inside and out.

At that moment, all thoughts of luck had vanished from Yang An’s mind, with only one thought remaining: It’s over, the abalone hid top-secret data!