It did not matter whether outsiders believed them or not. What was more important was that He Ning had something on them now and could expose them at any time to make everyone believe that they had found something.
“Since he reminded us to hurry up, tell him that we appreciate his kindness and know what to do next. Ask him not to worry,” Old Master Cao said resignedly.
He Ning was ruthless and meticulous in whatever he did. Even when he clearly had something on someone, that person still had to thank him.
After He Ning’s attendant spoke to the Cao family, he arranged for people to secretly guard the Xia family and observe their movements carefully.
Xia Zhe discovered this on the same day the arrangement was made. Qiao Mei had originally planned to go to the antique market again. She still needed two pairs of tables and chairs at home, but Xia Zhe stopped her before she left.
“What’s wrong?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.
Xia Zhe said solemnly, “Try not to go out these few days. Just stay at home and wait a few days before you go out again.”
Qiao Mei looked around and whispered, “What happened?”
Xia Zhe leaned close to Qiao Mei’s ear and said, “I don’t know who is secretly monitoring us. There are more people spying on the Cao family, but there are also a few people observing us.”
Qiao Mei was very puzzled. She did not understand what relationship the Cao family could have with the Xia family. They did not have much contact with each other at work nor did they have any common relatives, so how could anyone think that they were related. The only form of relationship they had was living in the same courtyard house.
The house? Could it be…
Qiao Mei stared at Xia Zhe to confirm if her thoughts were correct. Xia Zhe understood what she meant and nodded.
“Maybe the Cao family is being targeted by someone else. Recently, they must be tired from working during the day and then coming back to dig at night. It’s possible that the neighbors heard the commotion or perhaps there were children who saw them and accidentally said something. It’s hard to tell who sent these people here,” Xia Zhe said.
Although there were many possibilities, Xia Zhe felt that this matter was arranged by He Ning. Qiao Mei also thought the same thing. A few days ago, he had just tried to destroy their marriage. Now that such a thing was happening, it was hard not to suspect that he was the one who arranged it.
“What does he want? Could it be that he wants to take advantage of the situation?” Qiao Mei also thought that He Ning might have done this and thought that he wanted to take advantage of the Cao family’s dig to take the treasures for himself.
Xia Zhe did not understand their intentions either. “Let’s wait patiently.”
Ever since there were people monitoring the surroundings, the Cao family no longer went to work. They dug the ground at home day and night to look for those things. Even their grandchildren who were in other cities were recalled home to dig together. Since the He family already knew about what they were doing, they were not afraid of others finding out. Anyway, even if they managed to dig something up, they would still die. If they could not dig it up, they would also not be able to survive. It was a vicious cycle so they could only do whatever they could.
When Qiao Mei saw the Cao family working so hard, she secretly pulled the treasure chest down another 20 meters while they were resting. Even if they worked themselves to death, they would not be able to find the treasure chest.
After digging for more than a week, the time came to hand over the house. Xia Zhe went over to collect the keys. The Cao family knew that this day would come and had long thought about how to delay it for a period of time.
“Have you not found a place to stay yet?” Xia Zhe asked as he looked around.
“It’s not easy for us to suddenly have to find a house. Can you give us a few more days? Anyway, you’re not in a hurry to stay here. Can’t you just give us a few days?” The Cao family’s eldest daughter-in-law negotiated with Xia Zhe in a self-righteous manner.
This reason was exactly the same as what Zhou Hua said when she requested to stay in Xia Zhe’s house, that if no one else was going to stay there, it was only right for them to stay. Their mentality was that since no one was going to use the place anyway, Xia Zhe had no reason not to let them stay.
Xia Zhe did not say anything and turned to leave. The Cao family members looked at Xia Zhe as he left and smiled smugly. Young people were so easy to fool, they believed everything and did not have their own opinions on anything.
Even in the beginning, they had already thought it through. If they could not find anything, they would not leave the house. If Xia Zhe forced them to leave, they would publicize this matter extensively. At that time, the Xia family would be implicated. There were so many people in the Xia family, thus they would definitely be concerned about their reputation. Besides, Qiao Mei’s grandfather was alone and there were already so many rooms for him to stay in at their side.
