"Okay, this must be fate…"
Four thousand yuan was indeed the final price for Zhang Jianmin in the plot of «Person About to Die». Moreover, Lin Zhengping was also involved in the original plot in proving the antique was fake, which basically meant that this was indeed Qian Chenghe's lowest price.
"No, young man, this is obviously a scammer. This Guanyin statue is not worth four thousand yuan. It is not even worth four hundred yuan. Any craft shop will sell this at two hundred yuan."
When Lin Zhengping heard that Xia Xu agreed, he couldn't stand it anymore. He said earnestly, "No matter how much money you have, you can't squander it like this. Young man, if you really want to buy an antique or a good Buddha statue, I can introduce one to you. I am the president of the Star City Antiques Association. At least I won't ruin my reputation for this little bit of money."
"Thank you uncle for your kind consideration. I just feel that this Buddha statue fits my taste. My premonition is very accurate. Maybe I can even pick up a huge bargain."
Xia Xu knew that the old man was being kind, but he couldn't explain it right now. He could only smile bitterly.
Ever since he saw Lin Zhengping, he had found all the supporting characters in the plot of «Person About to Die», so Xia Xu naturally saw this part of the plot.
In fact, it was not complicated at all. In fact, it was a cliché. Zhang Jianmin refused to listen to advice and was determined to buy the Guanyin statue. In the end, he accidentally broke it and discovered that there was something hidden inside. He was really lucky. He even 'slapped' Lin Zhengping's face who said that he would never pick up a bargain.
But he did a good job. The thing hidden in the Guanyin statue was a kind of medicine. Lin Zhengping's wife who had a stroke and was in a coma needed that medicine, so Zhang Jianmin sold it to Lin Zhengping to make money and helped him save his wife.
But now that Zhang Jianmin was not here, and Xia Xu was involved, he had to buy this Guanyin statue.
After all, this was Lin Zhengping's wife's life-saving medicine. If it was gone, it was equivalent to losing a life. Moreover, it was because he forcibly intervened in the plot. This was no different from indirectly killing someone.
He knew that he was not a saint, but he still had to have a basic conscience and bottom line. He could not sit back and watch this happen.
Moreover…
Xia Xu glanced at Qian Chenghe and narrowed his eyes.
The storyline of «Person About to Die» was mediocre, but if this storyline was reasonable, it had to explain where the items had come from and why they were a bargain.
In the background story of the Guanyin statue, Qian Chenghe was a ruthless person. Today, Xia Xu might even turn into a person of justice and contact the police for a cup of coffee.
"How can it be so easy to pick up a bargain? People who can pick up bargains are all experts bullying laymen. How can one not understand antique and rely on luck to pick up a bargain? If there are really any antiques in circulation, they have already been sifted countless times by experts."
Lin Zhengping continued to persuade him. In the original storyline, he was a warmhearted and righteous person. He could be said to be 'loyal' in various ways.
However, another wave came before the current one was quelled. Even Xia Xu felt that there were too many ups and downs when he just wanted to buy an antique today.
"It's you!"
He heard the voice of a young girl with a strong sense of anger. He could feel the suppressed anger and sadness in her tone.
"???"
Xia Xu heard the familiar voice and turned around in confusion.
A girl behind him walked quickly with a face full of anger. He also recognized this girl. She was Xia Xue, whom he had met before when he came to the construction site.
'When did I offend this girl?'
Just when Xia Xu was puzzled as he reflected on himself, Xia Xue had already rushed over. However, Xia Xu soon discovered that she was not coming for him, but Qian Chenghe.
"Old scammer, quickly return the money you cheated from my grandfather!"
Xia Xue didn't even notice Xia Xu. Her eyes were red as she rushed towards Qian Chenghe. She was no longer as delicate and sweet as before.
"Hey, hey, hey, what scam? When did I cheat your grandpa's money? Little girl, where did you come from? If you hit me again, I will fight back!"
Qian Chenghe probably knew that he was in the wrong, so he just kept dodging and did not dare to fight back, otherwise Xia Xue, who was as petite as Tang Youxin, would not be his opponent.
"You still dare to deny, if you hadn't swindled all of my grandfather's retirement money, he wouldn't have suffered from cerebral hemorrhage and be in a coma at the hospital."
As she said that, Xia Xue's eyes turned even redder. Large teardrops flowed out of her eyes. She stopped chasing after the old man and squatted down to cry.
"What… What cerebral hemorrhage? This has nothing to do with me."
Qian Chenghe was a little flustered and guilty when he heard this. He quickly said, "I sell antiques and your grandfather buys them. There is no such thing as a guaranteed genuine artifact in the field of antiques. If he bought a fake one, it only shows that your grandfather was wrong in his judgment. He should just admit that he is unlucky, doesn't he know the rules?"
"But my grandfather bought it because he heard you promise that it was genuine."
Xia Xue looked up and choked as she retorted.
"Although there are indeed chances of being scammed for being cheap in the antiques trade, that is a trade between willing experts. Everyone knows there's a chance of being real or fake."
"But this is different. I saw clearly just now that you were purely pretending to be a fraud by selling fake items."
Lin Zhengping was a person with a strong sense of justice. After hearing Xia Xue's words, he couldn't stand it anymore. He scolded, "You even cheated others of their retirement money, are you even human! You don't have many years left to live, aren't you afraid of suffering in hell after you die?"
"You then don't have many years to live. I can live for a few more decades without a problem."
The three of them began to argue.
However, Xia Xu gradually came to his senses and sorted out his thoughts.
Xia Xue obviously did not have a plot destiny and was not a character in «Person About to Die». It should be a coincidence that she appeared now.
This was the real world. In addition to being a plot character, Qian Chenghe was also a living person. If he could fool Zhang Jianmin in the plot, he could also fool others. The others were not as lucky as Zhang Jianmin.
It was not difficult to tell from Xia Xue's words that her grandfather must have been tricked by Qian Chenghe acting as a construction site old man. After discovering this, he was so angry that he was sent to the hospital with a cerebral hemorrhage.
He must have been hospitalized over the past two days. After all, Xia Xue was quite lively the last time he saw her.
Xia Xu was taking advantage of the plot in advance so in fact, he was not in the story process of «Person About to Die».
This time, he just happened to run into Qian Chenghe and Lin Zhengping. Xia Xue running into Qian Chenghe, who had lied to her grandfather, was not incomprehensible.
Maybe the three of them would have run into each other today. Maybe Qian Chenghe was forced to relocate to another construction site because of Xia Xue and ended up bumping into Zhang Jianmin, or maybe Xia Xu brought around a butterfly effect, causing them to run into each other.
Facing Xia Xue and Lin Zhengping's reprimands, Qian Chenghe did not lose out to either of them. However, he squatted down to pick up the items on the ground, looking like he wanted to pack up and run away.
"Wait."
After understanding the situation, Xia Xu obviously couldn't let him leave. He smiled and reached out to stop him, his palm pressing on the head of the Guanyin statue.
Qian Chenghe was a little flustered, and his voice became a little sharp. "What do you want? Are you trying to rob me? Let me tell you, this is a lawful society!"
After all, the tall and strong Xia Xu was not like the delicate Xia Xue and the half-dead Lin Zhengping. If they fought, he would not be able to resist, not to mention Yang Bowen, who looked even stronger.