Chapter 252 Contrast of Wealth
Qi Xia's eyes flickered with realization—at last, he had grasped the pattern of Terrestrial Goat’s deception.
{Replenishment of fans}.
In the strictest sense, Terrestrial Goat had not uttered a complete lie—the fans were indeed being replenished, yet not all possessed the means to do so. As he had claimed, the {opportunity} to replenish one’s fans was available to all, but the {ability} remained a privilege of the few.
"Umpire, what’s the meaning of this?" an elderly man inquired.
With a tap on the small blackboard, Terrestrial Goat replied, “It’s exactly as written.”
The discomfort etched on many faces was unmistakable, and Qi Xia understood the cause. On the first day of the cycle, anyone able to afford the five {Dào} admission had already proven themselves to be among the more competent. To ask them to surrender an additional three {Dào} for a fan was, without a doubt, a tall order.
It was a surefire investment—three {Dào} for a fan, which could then be exchanged for five {Dào}. However, the chance vanished before their eyes, and despite their desire, the crowd was unable to seize it.
It mirrored life so perfectly—whenever you wish to use money as a tool for profit, you find yourself devoid of it.
A young man stepped forward with a briefcase in hand, placing it deliberately on the table.
The remaining individuals with briefcases came up as well, revealing their own.
They opened their bags, and inside, each contained twenty to thirty {Dào}.
At this moment, Qi Xia understood what Qin Dingdong had meant by {perceptive}. It was a straightforward and aggressive investment game—if you had sufficient capital, you could easily accumulate {Dào}.
Qi Xia's lips curled into a smirk. He finally understood how one could lose their life in this game.
"Excellent." Terrestrial Goat glanced at the briefcases and nodded, "Please choose freely."
Everyone froze. The supplementary fans were not random this time—they could actually be chosen?
The five men carrying handbags stepped forward. Four of them immediately began selecting fans, while the onlookers whispered among themselves.
‘So that’s why Qin Dingdong gave me three {Dào} earlier…’ Qi Xia murmured, his hand touching his pocket. ‘You want to see what I’m capable of, right?’
Four men with briefcases had already collected nearly ten fans each, but the fifth remained hesitantly standing by, unsure of his selection.
Noticing that the fans on the table had dwindled significantly, Qi Xia silently walked up and handed his three {Dào} to Terrestrial Goat.
"Pick as you please."
For Qi Xia, this was a golden opportunity. Should he be allowed to select a folding fan, his choice would undoubtedly fall on one other than {Sorrow}, thereby ensuring a successful pairing with another.
"Qi Xia, which one are you going to buy?" Qin Dingdong suddenly appeared beside him, asking.
Qi Xia glanced at her and replied, "Naturally, the one I’m missing."
With a deliberate motion, Qi Xia opened the paper fan before him—{Joy}.
His prospects of leaving would certainly rise with this fan. But, considering the cunning nature of Terrestrial Goat’s game, should he truly take {Joy} now?
The grand prize was all the {Dào}, and for that, patience was necessary.
After a quiet pause, Qi Xia placed {Joy} aside and chose instead a fan marked {Sorrow}.
He tucked the fan into his pocket, then glanced back at Qin Dingdong with an indifferent look.
“Oh?” A slow smile spread across Qin Dingdong’s face as she looked at the fan in Qi Xia’s hand. “Now that you have {Sorrow}, is the exit within reach?”
“Just barely, yes,” Qi Xia replied.
Qin Dingdong shrugged and turned to walk away.
Qi Xia, however, kept his gaze on the {Sorrow} fan in his hand, staring at it for a long while. Then, he walked over to a man standing nearby.
This man, although holding a briefcase, seemed hesitant as he looked at the fans on the table.
“Xiōngdì, what are you hesitating for?” Qi Xia asked.
The man immediately adopted a cautious expression upon noticing Qi Xia’s approach. “Why do you ask?”
“I have a proposition for you,” Qi Xia said. “A deal that’s guaranteed to earn you a profit.”
“Proposition...?” The man’s expression showed a hint of interest, but his tone remained wary.
Qi Xia nodded, taking a step forward. “Xiōngdì, I’m willing to give you a fan, but in exchange, I need a small favor from you.”
With a few whispered words in the man’s ear, the tense look on his face slowly faded.
Qi Xia nodded. “Yes, that’s it.”
After a brief moment of contemplation, the man looked at the fan Qi Xia was holding and eventually consented.
He handed over all his {Dào}, then proceeded to purchase all eight remaining {Sorrow} fans from Terrestrial Goat’s table.
In this manner, Qi Xia’s original plan had come to fruition.
For the next half hour, no one could replenish the {Sorrow}, making this fan temporarily a scarce commodity. Regardless of how many participants exited, the {Sorrow} in their possession would either be taken or used up, steadily decreasing in number.
As the final moments approached, about eight more people came forward, pulling {Dào} from their pockets to buy the remaining folding fans.
Most of them bought only one, while a middle-aged woman, with extra {Dào} to spare, purchased the last two fans on the table.
Now, only one step remained in the plan.
Qi Xia turned to look at the man who had bought all the {Sorrow} fans. He needed to ensure that the man would be able to leave safely.
At this point, two obstacles remained that were the most difficult to overcome.
First, a stark {wealth gap} manifested within the room, with five {rich individuals} on one side and a group of {impoverished souls} on the other. Even more alarming was the fact that the sole enforcer present in this space would not intervene in acts of violence, signifying that the {rich} had no choice but to flee as swiftly as possible. The longer they lingered, the greater the peril became.
Secondly, there was an odd number of {rich individuals}. Logically, the {rich} would form pairs to escape, but this would inevitably leave one of the five stranded.
No matter what, Qi Xia had to ensure that the {rich individual} next to him could escape. If he were left behind, his own plan would collapse entirely.
Sure enough, the two {rich individuals} in the distance had evidently come up with a strategy ahead of time. They moved swiftly toward the {Pairing Machine} by the wall, staying close to one another.
The other two {rich individuals} looked like they didn’t know each other and were clearly cautious. They didn’t immediately team up.
As Qi Xia was rapidly coming up with a strategy, he saw that the first two {rich individuals} had already reached the machine and pressed the buttons.
They were about to escape.
The {strong alliance} model was generally something that regular {poor souls} had no access to, but…
Just as Qi Xia had foreseen, a burly man appeared before the two {rich individuals}, positioning his massive body to block the {matching machine}.
This was the same man who had earlier deprived the thin man of his fans.