10 AM.
Xie Jing’s apartment.
Dong Xuebing looks at Xie Jing in the messy room, who was not giving up and searching for the safe, and Xie Hao, who was cursing and swearing. He took a deep breath and stopped them from destroying the evidence. It’s useless to say anything now, and they must call the Police immediately. Xie Jing reached for her phone in her pocket and called a friend who is a police officer. After that, the three of them went downstairs to wait for the Police in Dong Xuebing’s car.
In the Mercedes MPV.
Xie Jing’s head was almost on her chest. “It’s all my fault! Why did I borrow the Buddha statue in the first place?! I…”
Dong Xuebing consoled. “Don’t be anxious. Let’s wait for the Police to collect the fingerprints. Maybe we can still get it back.”
“It’s impossible!” Xie Jing knew it was too late. “Those clothes on the floor are covered with a layer of dust. The burglar must have stolen it at least two weeks ago. It’s too late for us to do anything. Even if the burglar had not escaped, he would have also sold the statue. How are we going to get it back?! I… it’s all my fault! How am I going to face my Aunt?”
“Second Sis.” Xie Hao said. “Our Aunt has a good temper, and she will not blame you.”
Xie Jing covered her face and cried. “That’s a gift from our grandfather to her, and it’s not any other antique! It’s different.”
Xie Hao waved his fist in anger. “That damn bastard! Should we… tell Aunt now?”
“Madam Han’s health is not very good. I think we should not let her know first.” Dong Xuebing took a deep breath. “Let’s wait and see if we can get it back with the clues from the Police first.”
Xie Jing had her palms together and prayed towards the sky.
After a while, the Police arrived. There are six to seven officers in uniform and a few crime scene officers. Xie Jing saw the officers and quickly bring them upstairs. The Police had sent so many officers is because this is a big case. Not only is this the Xie Family’s family heirloom, but it is also worth over ten million, and it’s a Tier two cultural relic!
After half an hour, the Police got the findings.
There are markings on the floor indicating that the safe had been dragged happened at least twenty days ago. The criminal did not leave any fingerprints and should be an experienced burglar with gloves. The Police did not even find a shoe print or other DNA samples. The only clue is a CCTV footage from twenty days ago. A tall skinny man had carried a heavy object covered in cloth out of the building. His face was captured, but it was not very clear. The Police’s team leader promised he will do his best to catch this guy and made a few calls to get other departments to assist.
Now, there’s no way for them to hide this matter.
Xie Jing clenched her teeth and called her father Xie Guoliang. “Dad…”
Dong Xuebing and Xie Hao are standing not far away and could hear the laughter on the other line. “Haha… Xie Jing ah? Are you coming back for dinner today?”
“I… I…”
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
Xie Jing’s eyes turned red, and she told her father about the stolen Buddha statue.
Xie Guoliang is the second son of the Xie Family and is currently the Finance Ministry’s First Deputy Minister. He has a good temper, unlike his elder brother, Xie Guobang. He always wears a smile on his face, but this time, he lost his temper and started scolding his daughter. “Why did not borrow that Buddha statue from your Aunt?! Ah?! Why didn’t you tell me about this earlier? You! Do you know how important that Buddha statue is to your grandfather? Several decades ago, your grandfather killed two Japanese soldiers who tried to snatch this statue from him. This is how he joined the resistance force and got to where he is now. You… I am speechless! You should know how important this statue is to your Aunt!”
Xie Jing knew she had got herself in deep trouble and sobbed.
Xie Hao could not stand it. He and Xie Jing might always be bickering, but they are very close. He snatched the phone from Xie Jing. “Second Uncle. Stop scolding my Second Sis. What should we do now?”
“You all don’t interfere in this. I will get someone to investigate. Also, don’t tell your Aunt about this first!” Xie Guoliang hung up.
Xie Guoliang is worried. He knew how important this statue is to his Sister-in-law. So, he immediately calls his elder brother, Xie Guobang, to inform him about this incident before calling an old friend.
The second generation of the Xie Family has more weight than Xie Jing and Xie Hao. After a while, another group of Public Security Officers arrived to investigate this case. Dong Xuebing thought they are officers from the City Bureau or the District Station initially. But after he spoke to them, he found out that they are from the Central Public Security. It’s been twenty days, and if the burglar is not an idiot, he would have gone into hiding in other provinces. Having the Central Public Security Officers investigating this case will make it easier to coordinate between Provinces and cities. Once they got a suspect, they can order the Public Security Bureaus under them to look out for him.
“Xiao Jing, let’s go and have lunch first.”
Xie Jing had been standing downstairs for two hours, and it’s almost 12 PM. Dong Xuebing dragged her into the car and drove them to a nearby restaurant.
The food was served, but Xie Jing did not take a single bite. She continued to stare at the ceiling in a daze.
Dong Xuebing saw her and loses his appetite.
Xie Hao threw his chopsticks on the table. “If I get that bastard, I will f**king kill him! How dare he steal from our house?!”
Dong Xuebing replied. “Leave it to the Public Security. I hope they can find out the culprit soon.”
Since Lunar New Year until now, Dong Xuebing had been saving his power. He will not use BACK or STOP unless necessary. He checked his MENU and had accumulated more than 40 minutes now. But the break-in happened twenty days ago, and there’s nothing he can do. He felt terrible as he still owes Xie Jing a favor, and the Buddha statue belongs to Xie Huilan’s mother. He wants to help badly but doesn’t know how.
One hour…
Two hours…
Three hours…
The three of them sat in the restaurant and waited. The food is still in front of them, but they did not eat much.
Ring… ring… ring… Xie Jing’s phone rang.
They had been waiting for this call, and Xie Jing quickly answered. “Hello, Dad?!”
Xie Guoliang said. “It is impossible to get it back now. Don’t interfere in it now. I will speak to your Aunt.”
Xie Jing’s face turned pale. “What happened? Is the burglar caught?”
Dong Xuebing and Xie Hao were stunned as they were listening to Xie Jing’s conversation.
Xie Guoliang replied. “I had asked someone to investigate. The local Police recognized this person. He is called Wang Dongran, and was arrested ten days ago in a neighboring province for theft.”
Xie Jing asked anxiously. “Since he is arrested, what about the statue?”
“He was arrested for break-in and stealing cash and pieces of jewelry and did not admit to other cases. Two hours ago, the local Police questioned him again. He admitted to breaking into our house and stole a safe and 2,000 RMB. After that, he used tools to cut the safe open in a friend’s house. They took the Buddha statue from the safe, but they don’t know the market value. So, they sold it to a Japanese businessman through the black market for 100,000 RMB. We don’t know what methods that Japanese businessman used, but the statue had been smuggled to Japan.”
The Xie Family is resourceful. Within a few hours, they found out so many things. The Buddha Statue is now in Japan and is confirmed to be in their Tokyo National Museum. That Japanese businessman had bought the statue for 100,000 RMB and donated it to the museum.
Xie Jing panicked. “Since the statue is in Tokyo, can we contact them to get it back?”
“Your Eldest Uncle had already contacted them, but you must be prepared. The odds are slim.”
After hanging up, Xie Jing said in a daze. “My Dad says the item is in Tokyo National Museum now, and the hopes of getting it back are slim.
Dong Xuebing and Xie Hao were stunned to know the statue is overseas now.
Xie Hao is furious. “F**k! We cannot get it back even when we know it is in the museum? That’s a stolen relic! Even our Foreign Affairs cannot get it back?! The Embassy can send someone to get it back!”
Xie Jing covered her face and sobbed.
Dong Xuebing knew this is much worse than not knowing the location of the stolen statue. Although the Xie Family is influential, their influence is limited to within the borders. Once it involves two nations, they might not get it back even if it is a stolen good. There are lots of cases of foreigners committing crimes in China and escaping overseas. How many of them are repatriated to China? Most of them are still scot-free overseas. The local Police are not doing anything, let alone this statue was donated to Tokyo Museum by a Japanese businessman. Japan had robbed lots of National Relics from China in the past. How many of these items had been returned? It will be the same this time!
But the three of them still hoped for the best.
At around 5 PM, Xie Guoliang called Xie Jing again. “We had contacted the Museum, and they refused to return the statue!” He sounded angry.
Xie Jing bit her lower lips. “That means we cannot get it back?”
“… Yes. There’s nothing we can do.”
“But…”
“Xiao Jing, I will go over to your Aunt’s place to apologize first. You go over later.”
“Dad! Let me speak to Aunt…”
“That’s final! I will speak to her first!”
Xie Hao heard it and cursed. “Those Japanese had stolen our items and still dare to refuse to return it to use?! Bastards!”
Dong Xuebing’s face also changed. Damn!
Translator’s notes: Lol… Another racist arc.
