Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Other than the 888 yuan red envelope that he got from Old Sixth Liu, Soo Yang only had that gold bank card left.
On top of that, he had yet to find a reliable place to sell it. He was really running out of money.
Thankfully, before he even reached his neighborhood, Chu Xia transferred him the money that he helped her pay earlier and she even added several voice messages.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you that you don’t need to rush the notes for Modern History. I went to Old Zhou’s place after class and asked him to spare you a few more days. You can just hand it to him next Monday.
“I thought I’d call you at night to tell you about it, but now is a better chance.
“Still, try not to skip classes anymore. Even if I cover for you, there are some lecturers who have started to notice you. Our new English lecturer, Ms. Qu, has asked me about you a few times already.”
Soo Yang felt warm after listening to the message. He must admit that Chu Xia was heartwarming at times.
However, was Qu Xiaomeng starting to ask about him? It must be because he had scammed her money and left her class abruptly, so she must have remembered him because of all that.
Soo Yang started to wonder what she would do to him. While he was at it, he replied, “Thank you.”
Ms. Chu Xia generously replied to him, “I should be thanking you.”
Soo Yang knew she was referring to the secret. Following the message, a beep came into his mind.
[Mission Complete. Random Point: +1]
Soo Yang grinned as he got another Random Point.
Maybe today was his lucky day. Just as he celebrated getting another Random Point, a thought came into his mind.
‘If I am not mistaken, Chu Xia is a local Shanghainese. Maybe she or her friends might know a reliable gold shop...’
With that in mind, Soo Yang fished out the smartphone that he kept away and wrote a message on WeChat: ‘Oh right, do you or your friends know any reliable gold shops? Or a pawnshop? I have a piece of jewelry I want to sell.’
Less than two minutes later, Chu Xia replied to him: ‘I don’t know any, but I have a friend who might. Gimme a minute.’
He was prepared for a barrage of questions from her, but to his surprise, the girl did not even probe and asked for a reliable source for him right away.
When Soo Yang reached his basement, her reply came in: ‘No. 26 Yongan Alley. There’s a shop named Dafa Gold Shop. My friend said her friend opened it. You can look for the owner, Little Boss Tang, and say that Jiang Yan introduced you.’
Soo Yang replied with a ‘thanks’ and put his bag down. He then searched for this pawn shop.
He was a cautious person. Even though it was Chu Xia’s friend’s introduction, there was still a wall in between them and it would be much better if he could search it himself.
Soo Yang searched for the shop via several search engines with review functions. All the reviews and ratings were quite high, except for a few poor reviews that criticized some minor details.
He finally lowered his guard. It seemed like this recommendation was reliable, but as for the real deal, he had to pay a visit to know for himself.
He keyed in the address of the shop and checked the distance from his place. It was not too far away and there was public transport that could reach the place in around 40 minutes. He then searched for the shop’s number and called it to make sure it was still open because he did not want to reach the place and find it closed.
In the end, he tidied up and headed to the gold shop.
50 minutes later, he arrived at the entrance of Dafa Gold Shop.
Yongan Alley, where Dafa Gold Shop was at, was located at the most prosperous outer harbor of Shanghai. The outer harbor was filled with skyscrapers and neon signages, yet the alley preserved its old architectural style from the olden days of the Republic of China. All the buildings in the alley looked old, so the whole alley felt like a deviant in the modern metropolis, Shanghai.
Despite this, the city council could not afford to tear the place down. After all, every inch of land in the Shanghai city center was as expected to be gold, and tearing down a whole alley with old buildings that had two to three stories was costly. The construction could not be carried out without a few million yuan.
Regardless of which, having a gold shop in Yongan Alley meant that the owner was not only rich but extremely rich!
However, when Soo Yang glanced over at the design of Dafa Gold Shop, it felt cheap as if it was owned by someone who got rich overnight.
The whole shop was dazzling brightly. The display racks and signage were in gold, and even the glass was gold plated. At first glance, even if it was already evening, it looked blinding.
Soo Yang did not look down on the design of the place because it meant wealth. Especially for someone who got rich overnight, it must be a lot of money.
He wanted to be rich overnight too, and if one night could not be enough, he could wait for two nights or even half a month. He did not mind!
Unfortunately, he had not gotten rich, thus he was here to sell the gold bank card.
When he walked into the shop, the interior was overwhelming with gold. The floor was gold, the table was gold, and even the counter was gold. It seemed like the person who designed this place was not afraid of mixing everything up with the same tone.
A salesperson came up to Soo Yang and asked, “Good evening, sir, how can I help you?”
Soo Yang glanced around the golden shop and said, “I’m here for the owner, Little Boss Tang. A friend introduced me.”
The salesperson was obviously shocked for a moment when she heard what Soo Yang said. She sized him up from top to bottom and guided him inside without even informing the owner.
“This way, please,” she said.
Soo Yang thought he would at least get some questions, but things turned out to be smoother than he expected. The first reaction in his head was that there must be something fishy going on.
The salesperson led Soo Yang to a golden door with a golden koi fish in front as decoration.
Soo Yang pointed at the koi fish and asked, “What’s this for?”
“This is the golden koi. Hanging it over the door symbolizes the koi fish jumping over the dragon gate, or prosperity,” the salesperson explained.
Soo Yang nodded. It seemed like the owner did not just have poor taste but was quite superstitious as well.
After the door was opened, Soo Yang realized that he had underestimated the owner’s level of superstition.
The whole office was decorated in an old-fashioned manner. Opposite the entrance was an altar with two red candles on it to worship the Fortune Gods of the Five Paths. Sugar cane, mandarin oranges, apples, and persimmons were used as offerings.
Soo Yang knew what it meant without the salesperson explaining. It symbolized an increase in profit, good fortune and auspicious blessings, peace and security, and that one’s dream may come true.
There was a bloated young man who seemed prosperous standing in front of the altar. He was putting three joss sticks on it and it seemed like he was done with his prayers.
When Soo Yang and the salesperson entered, the man turned around and his plump face broadened with a wide smile, revealing a row of golden teeth that sparkled brightly.
Soo Yang’s heart was pounding.
The man’s appearance might have resembled a wealthy landlord in the past, but now, he just looked cheap and lousy as if he was a gangster in a drama series.
Combined with the room, the decoration, and the settings, no matter how he looked at it, the whole place felt like a fraud!
Therefore, on second thought, Soo Yang looked at the salesperson and said, “I think I might have gotten the wrong person. I’m sorry.”
He then turned around.