The Downtrodden Villain In A Redemption Romance Novel Chapter 23
byChapter 23 Pawning
Carrying the heavy watch in his arms, Xu Wen rejoined the murky flow of people in the dark alley alone.Unlike when he came with Lu Qingrang, he was alone now, and he felt that the bright or covert glances around him seemed to be more unscrupulous.
He subconsciously tightened his coat and covered the pocket containing the watch more tightly.
The facade of the pawn shop in the system navigation is slightly more regular than the surrounding shops. There are some gold items, jade ornaments and various watches displayed in the glass counter. It is difficult to distinguish the authenticity.
Behind the counter, a middle-aged man in gold-rimmed glasses who looked to be in his early forties was wiping a porcelain bottle with a velvet cloth. His eyes behind the lenses occasionally raised and flashed.
Xu Wen took a deep breath, opened the door and walked in. The bell hanging on the door made a clear but slightly harsh sound.
The boss put down the porcelain bottle and put on a professional smile on his face: “Young man, what are you looking for? Or…” His eyes swept over Xu Wen’s slightly tense face and the hands covering his pockets, “Is there anything you need to move around?”
Xu Wen walked to the counter and did not take out his watch immediately. Instead, he looked at the environment and asked calmly: “Boss, do you accept watches here? It’s a good job.”
“Take it, of course I’ll take the good stuff.” The boss’s smile remained unchanged, but his eyes became sharper. “You have to take a look at the goods first.”
Xu Wen then took out the platinum watch from his pocket and carefully placed it on the velvet cloth on the counter.
The boss picked up the watch and his expression became less casual.He picked up the magnifying glass and looked at it carefully, from the material and workmanship of the watch case to the structure and polishing of the movement, he looked extremely carefully.
Especially when he saw some special modification marks inside and the location where the logo was deliberately removed, a flash of surprise flashed in his eyes, but it was quickly covered up.
“Hmm…” The boss put down the magnifying glass, tapped his finger on the watch case, and looked at Xu Wen, “Young man, this watch… is a bit interesting. It’s a customized model, and it doesn’t have a mark yet. The origin… I’m afraid it’s hard to tell?” He paused, and without waiting for Xu Wen to answer, he slowly added: “This kind of thing, in my case, is just a dead giveaway.”
Xu Wen’s heart tightened. The road to work was blocked. He was a little helpless, but he could only take the initiative: “It’s left by the elders in the family. I need money urgently. Boss, please give me a real price. If it’s suitable, I’ll sell it. If it’s not suitable, I’ll find another home.”
The boss chuckled and held out two fingers: “The origin of this thing is unknown. It is very risky for me to accept it. I can only pawn it to death. Seeing that you are in urgent need of money, two thousand yuan, I will bear the risk.”
Two thousand?Xu Wen almost couldn’t breathe.This bargaining price is too harsh!The system estimates the value of the raw materials to be over 40,000!He knew the price would be lowered, but he didn’t expect to cut his ankle directly.
“Boss, you’re not interesting enough.” Xu Wen frowned, his tone full of dissatisfaction, “This watch is just a platinum case, and this sapphire mirror is more than that. Twenty thousand! I won’t sell it for one cent less!” He deliberately quoted a high price.
“Twenty thousand?” The boss seemed to have heard a joke and shook his head, “Young man, you don’t understand. In a place like this, the value of something depends not only on its material, but also on whether it is clean. Your watch is too eye-catching. Five thousand, five thousand at most.”
“Eighteen thousand!”
“Seven thousand.”
“Fifteen thousand! This is really the bottom line!” Xu Wen had an expression of struggle and pain on his face.
“Nine thousand.” The boss pushed up his glasses, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice, “Young man, I won’t beat around the bush with you anymore. Nine thousand dollars, in cash, you can take it away right away. In this dark alley, I can give you nine thousand dollars in cash at one price, without even asking you where you are from, and you can’t find another one. If you take this watch elsewhere, either the price will be lower, or… you may not even get the money. Do you understand what I mean?”
The boss’s words had obvious implications, and Xu Wen understood them.
In this lawless place, he was a stranger, holding a watch that was obviously valuable and of unknown origin, which was a danger in itself.The boss got it right and he didn’t dare to stay long, nor did he dare to ask around for prices.
Xu Wen’s face was uncertain, and he was making quick calculations in his heart.[System, is this price acceptable?】
[Analysis: The price is far lower than the actual value of the item, but it is in line with the risk discount in the current environment.】
“Ten thousand!” Xu Wen gritted his teeth and made a last-ditch effort. “Together, ten thousand! If it works, I’ll leave immediately!” He pretended to get the watch back.
The boss stared at him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled, with some evil intentions in his smile: “Okay, I see you are a very honest young man, ten thousand is ten thousand! Just treat it as a friend.”
He readily opened the drawer, took out ten wads of brand-new hundred-yuan bills, counted them again in front of Xu Wen, and handed them over, “Here, ten thousand, you count them.”
Xu Wen didn’t expect that the other party would be so cheerful all of a sudden, and he felt a little uneasy.
He carefully checked the authenticity of each banknote, and after confirming that it was correct, he carefully put the money into his inner pocket and zipped it up.
“Thank you, boss.” Xu Wen thanked him and turned to leave.
“Go slowly, young man. If you have any good things in the future, come and take care of the business!” The boss greeted enthusiastically from behind, but the enthusiasm did not reach his eyes.
Xu Wen quickly walked out of the pawn shop and rejoined the flow of people in the dark alley.With the huge sum of money in his arms, he did not feel much relief. Instead, he felt that the ten thousand yuan was burning his chest like a soldering iron.
He didn’t dare to stay and walked quickly in the direction of Ping An Hotel according to his memory. He just wanted to get back to Lu Qingrang as soon as possible.
However, as soon as he turned into a relatively quiet alley full of debris and was about to take a shortcut back, the system’s alarm sounded sharply in his head:
【Warning!It has been detected that the host has been tracked by multiple people!Speed up!Intent determination: Highly dangerous!It is recommended to abandon the original route immediately and move to the main road where the crowds are densely packed!】
Xu Wen’s scalp instantly became numb, and cold sweat suddenly broke out.He didn’t dare to look back, so he glanced back from the corner of his eye, and sure enough he saw three men wearing tight black T-shirts with fierce looks on their faces, leisurely following him more than ten meters behind, their eyes locked on him as if they were locked on him.
One of them was the customer who was pretending to look at something in the pawn shop just now!
Black eats black!The boss really had no good intentions!You pay quickly in person, and someone is sent to snatch the money back behind your back!Maybe even the little money he had on him would have to be plundered!
Xu Wen’s heart was beating wildly, almost breaking through his chest.He immediately followed the system’s advice, turned sharply, and ran towards a side road that looked busier and brighter!
“That kid found out! Chase him!” A low shout came from behind, and the footsteps instantly became rapid and chaotic.
Xu Wen ran with all his strength, hearing the roar of the wind and his own heavy breathing.
He has never run so fast in his life!The shouts and footsteps behind him were getting closer and closer, and the other party was obviously very familiar with the terrain here.
[Turn left at the intersection ahead!There is a temporary vendor gathering area on the right front!】The system calmly provides the optimal path.
Xu Wen was like a frightened rabbit, darting left and right in the maze-like alleys, using stacked trash cans, clothes hanging to dry, and even stalls knocked over while running as temporary obstacles.The shouts of the stall owners and the roars of the pursuers mixed together, adding to the chaos.
But after all, he was not familiar with the terrain, and his physical strength was far inferior to those of the thugs who had been hanging around here all year round.At the end of a dead end filled with abandoned building materials, he was still blocked by the three people.
“Run! You kid can run really well!” The leader was a strong man with scars on his face. He was panting and approaching with a grin. “Be smart and hand over the money. Let me help you suffer less.”
The other two people surrounded him on the left and right, blocking his escape route.
Xu Wen leaned against the cold brick wall, his chest heaving violently, and his despair poured down like ice water.beat?His body is not even strong enough to fill the gap between the opponent’s teeth!【System!What to do?!What can be done?!】
[Environmental scan… Bamboo poles are stacked on the left, with loose bricks underneath.The enemy in front seems to be carrying a dagger on his waist.The success rate of armed confrontation is extremely low.It is recommended to try to create chaos, use bamboo poles and bricks to block the enemy, and look for opportunities to break out.】
Systematic analysis is cold and realistic, without any miracle solutions.The desire to survive is overwhelming at this moment!Xu Wen’s eyes quickly glanced at the bundle of slender bamboo poles hastily tied with rope on the left, as well as a few loose red bricks in the corner.