Chapter 29
Aren't you bullying an honest person?!
"Li Wei?" Susan's voice came through the phone. "You were right. Someone was indeed deliberately trying to frame me."
"I spent all night checking the accounts last night," she said through gritted teeth. "My accountant has been using two different contracts for me for the past three years. They use one set of prices for me and another set for the actual tenants, pocketing the interest in the difference. They also create fake vacancy records, making a profit of $70,000 to $80,000 a year from me."
"That's high," Li Wei exclaimed, somewhat surprised. "But congratulations on uncovering the company's parasite."
He realized he had underestimated Susan's wealth; an accountant could easily steal $7 a year without her noticing. That amount of money would be enough for him to work over 2000 hours a day as a sales assistant.
"Hmm..." Susan said, "This guy told me everything. He was in debt from gambling and couldn't cover it up, so he had some crooked ideas. He knew that some tenants paid in cash. I was going to collect the rent yesterday, so he found someone to pull off a big heist."
"So I guess the problem is solved?" Levi asked. "Do you still need an accountant?"
"My lawyer will make him cough up all the money," Susan said, not wanting to continue the conversation. "How did it go with your uncle? Is he available for an interview?"
"Of course," Li Wei readily agreed, "I'll call him right away."
After hanging up, Li Wei called Don Quixote and told him to get his ass moving, quickly shave his nose hairs and beard, put his suit back on, and immediately go to an office in Dyke Heights for an interview.
That evening, while Li Wei was cooking, the basement door was suddenly pushed open, and Don Quixote, his face flushed, rushed into the basement like a fiery meteor.
"Li Wei! Where is my nephew!" he cried out. "My child! My great hero!"
He was speaking the kind of Old English used in novels, and for a moment Li Wei thought he had fallen ill before it even got dark.
Upon seeing Li Wei chopping vegetables, he let out a thunderous cheer. He ripped off the suit and tie, tossed them onto the tattered sofa, and then rushed forward, opening his arms to give Li Wei a bear hug.
"We're leaving this damn stinking ditch! We're moving!"
He released Li Wei, his face beaming, and spun around twice, gesturing wildly, as happy as a 40-year-old child.
"That wealthy woman you introduced me to, Susan... no, Ms. Susan! She has a keen eye! She discovered my talent! She recognized my expertise!"
He slammed his hand on the table, making the cutting board on it jump.
"That damned accountant has been taken away by the police. All his accounts are like children's books to me!" Don Quixote rubbed his palms, his voice trembling. "She not only agreed to give us a large house of over 120 square meters in Bell Ridge for free, but also offered me a monthly salary of $3500 after tax!"
Livy had never seen Don Quixote so enthusiastic.
It's as if his original joy and happiness had been compressed and fermented over the years, and then finally exploded and released at this moment.
"Kid, I told you I'd have your back," Don Quixote grinned, revealing a smug smile. "Even though I have to give most of my salary to that damned vampire—God, just thinking about her makes me feel pain, but!"
He emphasized, "This is just the beginning; we will eventually succeed."
Li Wei thought for a moment and suddenly realized that the $27000 he had saved up to rent a place could be saved without spending a single penny, and he immediately felt a surge of happiness.
"Stop cooking," Don Quixote said, watching Livy still chopping vegetables. "Let's go out for a nice meal. How about I treat you to Australian steak?"
"You only get $1500 a month after taxes," Levi said quietly. "After deducting utilities, gas, and groceries, can we really afford Australian steak? Can two people, including tips, come down to $150?"
Don Quixote thought about it and realized that it made sense.
However, despite saying that, Li Wei still went to the supermarket he visited last time and bought some beef ribs to make a pot of tomato stewed beef ribs as a substitute for Australian steak.
That very evening, Don Quixote made a very defiant call to the Spanish restaurant where he worked and said he wasn't going to go there at all.
Then, while listening to online videos about rugby tactics, Li Wei also listened to Don Quixote hurling insults at the restaurant manager in crude Spanish.
When he realized he couldn't win an argument in Spanish, he switched to English and Latin, launching a frenzied attack on his opponent in a mix of the three languages, and finally strode into his cubicle like a rooster.
Sure enough, in New York, everyone needs to be proficient in several different swear words.
As Li Wei was thinking this, a thought suddenly struck him, and he began searching for Russian language tutorials online.
Perhaps because the task of defeating the witch was completed in Don Quixote's dream and the duke's reward would not come for some time, he did not sleepwalk that night.
Li Wei only heard Don Quixote sit up somewhat blankly in the next cubicle, mutter a few words in his own dream-invented language, and then lie back down and fall fast asleep.
Nothing happened that night. Li Wei looked at the slightly moldy ceiling and thought to himself that he was finally going to move out.
Early the next morning, Don Quixote and Livy got out of bed and packed their bags to move.
Since it was the weekend, Don Quixote only needed to work one more day to get a week's wages, so he still went to work his last day.
Li Wei, on the other hand, was packing his luggage in the basement, preparing to move out.
Aside from the two large suitcases he brought with him, some pots and pans, Don Quixote novels, and armor, he found that there was actually nothing worth taking with him.
In less than an hour, Li Wei had packed all the luggage. All they had to do was wait for Don Quixote to return so that a single cart could carry all the luggage away, and they could move into the big house on Bell Ridge.
To Li Wei's surprise, even after 2 p.m., which was past their agreed moving time, Don Quixote still showed no sign of returning.
Will nothing bad happen?
Li Wei tried to call Don Quixote, but found that the call was immediately disconnected.
This made Li Wei's heart jump. He quickly went out, hailed a taxi, and rushed to the construction site in Queens as fast as he could.
Upon arriving at the construction site, Li Wei had just gotten out of the car when he heard Don Quixote's loud shouts.
He sounded very energetic, and the scene that Li Wei had imagined did not appear.
Filled with curiosity and doubt, Li Wei entered the construction site and found nearly a hundred people standing next to a cement mixer.
Squeezing into the crowd, Li Wei noticed that the foremen and security guards at the construction site were standing on one side, while Don Quixote and some other workers were standing opposite them.
"Why are you saying we won't get paid today! Making us wait another week!" Don Quixote shouted at the foreman, "Aren't you just bullying honest people?!"