Chapter 406 - Middleman (1/2)

Zhang Heng tagged along with Little Boy to the nearby Carrefour, where they bought blankets, pillows, a rinse cup, underwear, socks, and razors. Little Boy also picked out a bottle of cologne for him, but Zhang Heng waved it off, indicating to her that he had no need for that sort of thing. When he pa.s.sed by the knife rack, however, he stopped and picked up a pocket knife.

Its handle was made of rosewood with a bra.s.s end. Sporting a stainless-steel blade, it felt st.u.r.dy and durable. More importantly, it was only 11cm long-compact enough for traveling. With Zhang Heng’s level 3 knife fighting skills, it would make a perfect melee weapon. “Do you want it?” Little Boy asked. “Can I?”

Zhang Heng looked at the price tag that read €35. “It’s a little pricey,” he hesitated, “I can choose another one.”

“Never mind, just take this one. It’ll just be deducted from your salary.”

“Thank you.”

After their trip to the mall, Little Boy brought Zhang Heng to a used clothes store and spent €10 on a black suit, a collared s.h.i.+rt, and leather shoes—the whole set.

Zhang Heng changed into the suit and walked out of the fitting room. Little Boy took two steps back and gave him a once over.

“How is it?” asked Zhang Heng.

“It’s half a size too big, but it seems pretty good overall,” Little Boy commented as she picked out a pair of shades off the rack and handed them to Zhang Heng. “You don’t have to wear it, just put it in your front pocket.”

Zhang Heng did as instructed, and Little Boy finally nodded in approval. “Now, that’s more like it…”

Little Boy did not explain why it was ‘more like it,’ and Zhang Heng didn’t ask.

They dropped their shopping bags at home before getting two hot dogs from a roadside stall for dinner. It was already night by then.

“Let’s go. Time to get to work.”

Little Boy finished off the last of her sausage, wiped her mouth, and lead Zhang Heng to the subway.

It was the hour where everyone was just getting off work, so the station was packed to the brim. The two had to squeeze their way into the train. “In a while, we’ll be meeting a guy called Fox. He’s a famous middleman in the neighborhood,” Little Boy explained to Zhang Heng as the doors of the coach slid shut.

“Middleman?”

“Yes, he sets up the connectionsmatchmaking businesses. He then draws commissions from them. Simply put, he’s the go-to person when you’re in trouble. As long as you have money, he’ll do anything for you. Of course, he won’t be doing them himself. What he does is recruit the right talents for you.”

“Like an intermediary?”

“They have the same method of making a profit, but the biggest difference is that an intermediary only does legal things. Fox, on the other hand, has no taboos—lawful, unlawful, or even grey-area endeavours… as long as it brings him money, he’s willing to make a deal.”