Chapter 43: Chapter 41 The Man Wounded by a Gun
Su Jinyuan was highly efficient in handling tasks, and agreed to Su Qingqing’s request right away after receiving her call.
That very afternoon, Huo Sining received accurate information about the auction house. A private auction was to be held in S City a week later. The organizer expressed great interest in her massive piece of ambergris, not only accepting her consignment for auction but also extending a cordial invitation for her to attend the event.
This was the first time Huo Sining had received an invitation card to such an auction. According to Su Jinyuan, one needed a certain status to obtain such an invite.
Huo Sining didn’t have a strong sense of vanity; it was just that she had heard there would be many fine items at the auction, and she was thinking of going to broaden her horizons.
Since the auction was still a week away, and the piece of ambergris was problematic to keep at Xianyu Shop, Huo Sining had no choice but to find a bank to store the massive piece in a safe deposit box.
A few days later, Su Jinyuan came to visit Huo Sining again, this time to deliver money.
It turned out that the three Great Eastern Pearls that Huo Sining had given him were sold at a high price—two of them for a staggering four hundred thousand each.
The one he kept, Su Jinyuan decided to turn into jewelry. According to him, the remaining Eastern Pearl would cover the three hundred thousand he had paid on behalf of Huo Sining. As for the eighty thousand obtained from the auction, he couldn’t keep it for himself and had to give it to Huo Sining.
Huo Sining hadn’t expected the three pearls to be so valuable. Her original intention was to gift them to Su Jinyuan in exchange for the three hundred thousand he had fronted for her. Now that she heard them sold for such a high price, she couldn’t say that her heart didn’t ache.
But a promise made must be kept, and Huo Sining was a person of principle. Since she had already said that they were a gift, there was no reason to ask for the money.
“I heard from Qingqing that you’ve been learning to drive recently?” Seeing that Huo Sining refused to accept the money, Su Jinyuan had to let it go, and the conversation shifted to Huo Sining’s driving lessons.
Huo Sining nodded. In her past life, she had actually obtained a driver’s license, but because she had never practiced driving a car, she was a road hazard whenever she hit the road.
Having seen many accidents involving female drivers in her previous life, this time Huo Sining decided to buy a car and practice on the road as soon as she got her license. She was determined to take her driving lessons seriously and not be sloppy at all.
“Have you decided on a car yet? When are you thinking of getting one?” Su Jinyuan thought that since Huo Sining didn’t want the money, he might as well gift her a car.
Huo Sining felt a bit embarrassed: “I haven’t looked yet. I don’t have my license, so there’s no rush. Anyway, I don’t know much about cars. I don’t have high requirements, just need a reliable and suitable car for a woman to use for commuting.”
That wasn’t a high demand indeed, and Su Jinyuan nodded, taking Huo Sining’s words to heart and reminding her, “I’ll send someone to pick you up on the day of the auction. We’ll go together.”
It looked like Donghua had also received an invitation. Huo Sining thought that by “we,” Su Jinyuan meant that he and his sister would go with her, making it the three of them. She hadn’t anticipated that it would end up being just the two of them.
Since the auction was still five or six days away and Huo Sining wasn’t sure if she would go, she didn’t take much notice when Su Jinyuan mentioned it.
If she was to run the fish shop, it was essential to understand the various aspects of the industry. Huo Sining was indeed a novice concerning aquatic products, so she had no choice but to find ways to educate herself.
Always going to the internet café for information was troublesome, so she bought a laptop at the computer mall and had an internet line installed in the shop. Even during the dull moments of tending the store, she could look up relevant information and respond to customers’ inquiries on the spot.
Xianyu Shop gradually began to get on the right track. After some communication and networking with several neighbors, Huo Sining gradually integrated into the community and even learned quite a bit about the market trends.
For instance, she gathered information on the prices and quality divisions of various fish species, where to source high-quality ornamental fish, where to purchase affordable fish feed in bulk, and occasionally, she got wind of some insider gossip. Life was peaceful and stable.
That night, Huo Sining prepared to go out to restock her supplies.
Having had the experience of a nocturnal trip to the East Sea, she had somehow overcome her fear of the ocean, and so she decided to try her luck at sea.
Unfortunately, the weather was not on her side; just as she stepped out, a torrential downpour began.
The night was filled with thunder and lightning, looking quite terrifying. Although the Water-Repelling Pearl could ward off water, Huo Sining was not sure if it could protect her from lightning strikes. Deciding to err on the side of caution, she chose to head back home.
In the middle of the night with the storm raging, even the usually bustling Sleepless City of S City felt desolate, with not a single person on the streets.
Huo Sining hurried back when suddenly, as she passed a corner in an alley, she heard a strange noise.
She paused, ready to speed away, but at that moment, she heard a loud clang.
In the darkness, there seemed to be a figure that had fallen in a corner, and Huo Sining faintly heard a painful moan.
Huo Sining’s heart tightened. She did not want to meddle, yet she felt a twinge of conscience.
She looked around and saw no suspicious people or abnormal situations, after a mental struggle, she finally bit her lip and approached.
Only when she neared the corner did she realize it was a pile of trash, with rotten garbage emitting a foul smell.
A man was slumped against the wall beside the garbage, seemingly passed out.
A drunk? A homeless person? Huo Sining stared blankly for a moment before bravely moving forward to try to awaken the man.
To her surprise, upon pushing him, the man fell straight to the ground.
In the light of the lightning, Huo Sining finally saw the man’s face clearly and was taken aback.
The man was none other than the stranger who had saved her in a previous life and whom she had just recently met in Donghua.
Why was it him? How could this man be lying here?
Huo Sining remembered clearly that she had once spent a night in this man’s apartment, where he had called a family doctor for her.
Considering the man’s family background and his way of doing things, Huo Sining could tell he came from wealth, and she had recently seen him in Donghua with Su Jinyuan, apparently discussing business.
But now, the man was lying next to a pile of trash, without any companions around.
Huo Sining frowned and hesitated before squatting down to try to wake him, “Sir, wake up. Sir—”
Seeing that he couldn’t be awakened, Huo Sining reluctantly helped him up.
But as soon as her hand touched the man’s back, a warm liquid flowed out through her fingers, carrying a strong smell of blood.
Huo Sining pulled back her hand and saw it was covered in fresh blood, the scent of which instantly filled her nostrils.
She frantically took out her phone and examined the man’s back with the dim light from the phone.
Beneath his left shoulder, a tiny wound oozed dark red blood.
It was a gunshot wound!
Though she had never seen someone shot before, after watching so many melodramatic TV shows over the years, Huo Sining knew at a glance that the man had been wounded by some kind of sharp instrument.
Huo Sining was stunned, her mind was in disarray and for a moment blank, she didn’t know what to do.
What should she do, call the police?
But the man had a gunshot wound. Would the police getting involved also drag her into some incident? Would it bring trouble upon her?
Huo Sining’s heart clenched and she immediately dismissed the idea.
She then considered taking him to the hospital, but seeing the man’s pale, unconscious face made her hesitate again.
Why had this man been shot, could it be a vendetta?
If that were the case, his enemy might still be searching for him, wanting him dead. Wouldn’t taking him to the hospital be like walking into a trap?