My entire life, I had never heard the term "Móu Jú Zhě" before. I really didn't know what this profession entailed.
...
While Old Tie was in the hospital, not needing constant care, I specifically found an internet cafe to look up the term "Móu Jú Zhě."
"Móu Jú Zhě" is not a recently coined term; such individuals have existed since ancient times.
Guiguzi, confined to his home, schemed for the entire realm.
Viewed from this perspective, a "Móu Jú Zhě" might seem like the smartest person. However, that's not entirely accurate. When people think of intelligence, they usually first consider Zhuge Liang. But from the perspective of a "Móu Jú Zhě," Zhuge Liang was merely a tool for Liu Bei to achieve a three-kingdom dominance; the true "Móu Jú Zhě" was Liu Bei himself.
A "Móu Jú Zhě" must observe Heaven, Earth, and Man. Heaven represents trends, Earth represents the occasion, and Man represents the tools.
Liu Bei had already understood the future trends. His visit for the "Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage" laid the foundation for his three-kingdom dominance from that very moment of planning. Modern "Móu Jú Zhěs" are similar; they understand a certain trend, set up a scheme in a specific location, and then lie back and make money.
...
During our recent deception, the fat man called "Greedy Ghost" told me that this was a scheme, and only by finding the true "Móu Jú Zhě" could the matter be completely resolved. If I only pinned my hopes on reporting to the police and catching Master Wang, then I would never recover the money I was scammed out of in my lifetime.
So, who was the "Móu Jú Zhě" behind this scam?
...
I meticulously recalled everything that had happened. Was the "Móu Jú Zhě" that General Lan? General Lan didn't seem to be lacking money. I thought carefully and was certain: no, it wasn't General Lan. If I were the "Móu Jú Zhě," General Lan would merely be a tool.
Come to think of it, not long after we arrived at Jingxin Zhai that day, Master Wang and General Lan appeared. They arrived at precisely the right time, then put on a show for us. If I had entered Jingxin Zhai a little later, would I have been deceived?
Perhaps not!
I immediately rejected my own thought.
No, there were so many people on Emerald Street, with people coming and going. In such a situation, randomly acquiring prey would be foolish. Because I personally witnessed him transact with Boss Xie.
So, it's highly likely they had been targeting us from the moment we entered Emerald Street.
Every industry has its experience. It was entirely plausible that these scammers could spot us as novices at a glance. But did we have money to be scammed out of? They spent money on the transaction to make us believe it.
Wait, a transaction involving money?
Things happened too quickly. Old Tie attempted suicide. I recounted what happened to the police. From beginning to end, one point was overlooked: that General Lan and Master Wang had bought the raw stones from Boss Xie with money.
Transaction, raw stones.
Whether a veiled raw stone is good or bad is something even immortals cannot discern.
Yet, they were able to use the veiled raw stones to ignite our deepest desires. Their transaction naturally led us to believe that gambling on raw stones was a path to sudden wealth.
For them to achieve this, there was only one condition: they replaced the veiled raw stone, which cost thirty thousand yuan, with a substitute through the "Li Mao Huan Tai Zi" (a stratagem where one replaces something with a fake).
If this inference holds true, then another question arises. How could Boss Xie, who could discern that the cut jade we bought was suspicious, not realize that the veiled raw stone he sold had been replaced?
...
Was Boss Xie in cahoots with those scammers?
Could that be possible?
The reason Old Tie took me directly to Jingxin Zhai among so many jade gambling shops was because he had communicated with Boss Xie online many times and considered Boss Xie a friend.
Old Tie and I grew up together, sharing even our underwear. His password was unique. I logged into the jade forum he trusted. Boss Xie had posted a sincere and appealing thread on that forum.
Below the main post, many people had left comments, mostly inquiring about jade. Boss Xie answered every question diligently, his words conveying his sincerity as a merchant.
After reading this, I switched to Old Tie's private messages with Boss Xie.
Old Tie expressed his interest in gambling on jade, and Boss Xie invited Old Tie to come to Ruili.
Old Tie hadn't told me any of this. He only said he knew a boss in Ruili and that we should go and look at some raw stones there; he wanted to make a jade bracelet for his mother as a birthday gift.
...
If that were the case, I would have to re-evaluate.
Master Wang and General Lan, these two scammers, weren't just lurking at the entrance looking for novices to prey on. They knew we were coming because Old Tie had called Boss Xie in advance. Boss Xie had ample time to notify Master Wang and General Lan. Then, they cooperated to stage a play, allowing them to buy a veiled raw stone and bring back a fake one to lure us in.
...
Thinking this way, it seemed logical, but I clearly remembered that after I obtained Master Wang's contact information, Boss Xie had reminded me that gambling on raw stones was something people without experience should never dabble in. If he were a scammer, why would he warn me?
Could it be??
I continued to check the thread. There were quite a few similar replies: "Don't randomly gamble on jade when you get to Ruili; you'll be scammed."
"I didn't listen to Boss Xie, and I regret it immensely."
"Boss Xie is quite straightforward. It was my own greed that allowed the scammers to find an opportunity."
...
From the posts, it was clear that many people came specifically because of Boss Xie, but they were all scammed. Furthermore, their situations were the same as ours: they hadn't heeded Boss Xie's advice and had been tricked by scammers.
Greedy Ghost asked me to find the "Móu Jú Zhě" who could make money lying down. It seems this "Móu Jú Zhě" is Boss Xie. He uses the forum as a channel to lure people interested in gambling on jade to Ruili, and then at Jingxin Zhai, he stages a scene of a jade stone exploding in value for these people to witness firsthand? Afterwards, he would warn us, who were tempted by the illusion, and thus easily extricate himself after we were scammed.
As for Master Wang and General Lan, they were merely tools. They were locals who would disappear for a while after participating in the scam and reappear when things calmed down. There were many such individuals; we encountered Master Wang, but others might have encountered Master Li. We met General Lan, but others might have met General Zhang, General Li, and so on. These tool-users would profit, but the person who truly made money was Boss Xie.
...
Once I understood, I gritted my teeth in anger, wishing I could confront Boss Xie immediately and drag him to the police station. However, I knew in my heart that all of this was my own conjecture, and even if it were true, I had no evidence to prove that Boss Xie had lured us from out of town and then scammed us.
I wanted revenge, and the only way was to call Greedy Ghost.
We met at a restaurant and ate some local dishes that didn't quite suit my taste. Greedy Ghost didn't look like a local either, but watching him eat made me feel like he was enjoying it immensely. After I finished speaking, he snorted twice, "Hmm, hmm, and then?"
"Then what?"
"What are you planning to do to resolve this?"
"I want to find evidence of the collusion between Boss Xie and Master Wang, but I can't think of a way. It seems harder than climbing to heaven."
I said with a pained expression. Greedy Ghost laughed heartily, "Are you a famous detective or a righteous police officer? Still looking for evidence; is this trying to solve a case?"
"Then what do you suggest we do?"
"Do you know what a 'Móu Jú Zhě' is now?"
"I do!"
"To get the money Boss Xie scammed back into our hands, this kind of outcome is called 'breaking the scheme' (pò jú)."
"How do we break the scheme?"
"Understand the scheme (shí jú), set up the scheme (bù jú), break the scheme (pò jú)."
I roughly understood these simple six words. The battle between "Móu Jú Zhěs" was probably like martial arts masters, countering each move.
"Brother, can you help me?"
"Yes!"
"How will you help?"
"Since you have already understood the scheme, then think of a way to set up the scheme. When it comes to breaking the scheme, I will help provide the conditions."