Part 2 Chapter 26 The Mysterious Seller
I have never been to this teahouse, but according to the address, it's not too far from where I live, so it won't be a big deal to go there. So I agreed over the phone and arranged to meet in half an hour. Then I went to eat something and went straight to the teahouse.
Arriving at the teahouse, I went directly to the private room on the second floor as agreed on the phone. I opened the door and saw four people sitting inside. They looked young, around 30 years old. They all smiled and greeted me. They looked quite enthusiastic, which surprised me. Are there four people coming to discuss the house? And they are all men?
I was a little afraid that this was a trap, so I didn't rush in. I turned around and glanced left and right, but there was no one in the corridor. Based on my experience, if this was a trap, then when I went in and closed the door, there would definitely be an accomplice outside to block the door and keep watch.
Since there was no one in sight, although there was no guarantee that the other party had set up an ambush, at least I was not so nervous. After thinking for a while, I still went in. Anyway, this was my territory, and as long as they didn't kill me, I was confident that I could find them all.
After we sat down, the four people were very attentive. One handed me a cigarette, the other poured me tea. They talked to me for a while, and for ten minutes, no one talked about business. I wanted to ask what kind of house it was and where they got my contact information, but as soon as I opened my mouth, they changed the subject.
I was a little annoyed. They were definitely not here to discuss business. Am I already famous enough in the industry to have fans? Are these four people here to get close to their idol? Seeing this, I didn't plan to waste time with them. I stood up and said I had something else to do, and prepared to leave.
When the four people saw that I was about to leave, they were quite nervous and tried to keep me, but still did not talk about anything related to business.
I really couldn't stay in this place any longer. These four people were clearly trying to stall for time. Who knows what conspiracy they might have. I simply didn't even bother to say hello. I just opened the door and walked out. As soon as I took a step, I saw someone coming towards me in the corridor.
What I said was right. There really is someone outside blocking the door!
After so many experiences, I became braver and my reaction ability improved a lot. I was actually prepared for a life-and-death fight, and I also planned what escape route I would take. Unexpectedly, when I looked closely, I found that the person walking towards me was a little old man, wearing a black hat, hunched over, and looked particularly weak. When he saw me, he smiled and nodded, and made a "please" gesture.
I finally understood why the four people inside tried so hard to keep me. I guess they were waiting for the old man to come. Those four people must have no right to speak, so they kept dawdling with me. But even if the old man came, I was no longer interested in this business. He was being too arrogant. I didn't need his money. I shook my head at the old man, meaning there was no point in talking. I didn't even stop and walked out.
The old man didn't try to stop me, and even made way for me in the aisle. But after walking a few steps, I couldn't help but stop, because I suddenly realized something - the hat the old man was wearing looked very familiar.
I turned around and took another look. My heart suddenly tightened. Was the hat that Liu Guizi gave to Fang Wanjin? How did it end up in his hands? Or did he already have one?
I stood there, staring at the hat on the old man's head. The old man didn't turn around, and just stood there, as if he wanted me to observe him. I looked at it again and was sure that it was the same hat that Liu Guizi left behind. At least, the style and color were the same.
Did this old man know Liu Quezi? Did Liu Quezi give him a hat before he left? Or was he related to Liu Quezi's disappearance? I think the old man is quite old, maybe he is a senior in the field of metaphysics. I regretted not waiting for Qin Yiheng to come up. I wanted to ask the old man about the hat, or even where he bought it, but I had just shaken my head to him, so I was a little embarrassed.
After hesitating for a long time, I decided that I couldn't miss this opportunity, so I took two steps forward and called the old man. The old man turned around and smiled at me with his wrinkled face. The white beard on his chin was still quite long. He didn't open his mouth to speak, but still made a "please" gesture.
This time I didn't refuse, I just nodded and went back. The four people in the room were very happy to see me back, and they quickly made way for me and went out, and when the old man came in, they gently closed the door.
Although the old man looked frail, he had a very strong aura, which made me feel inexplicably nervous while sitting on the chair, a bit like when I was a kid and did something wrong and was waiting for the teacher to scold me.
After the old man sat down, he still didn't open his mouth immediately. Instead, he took a sip of tea slowly. After he finished the small cup of tea, he suddenly said, "Young man, what's your name?"
The old man's tone was very kind, but it didn't seem polite to me. I had no choice but to answer, "My name is Jiang Shuo."
After hearing this, the old man looked up at me, smiled again, and continued to ask: "Wan Jiangshuo?"
His question confused me. I am very sensitive to the surname "Wan". Damn, he didn't think I had any relationship with the Wan Family Ancestral Hall, did he? Did he recognize the wrong person and thought I was from the Wan Family? I hurriedly explained to the old man that my surname was Jiang and my given name was Shuo.
The old man nodded and poured another small cup of tea. After he finished it, he asked again, "Do you know what to buy tomorrow?"
I thought to myself: "Is this old man crazy? Why does he sound like he's crazy because of lottery?" But even though I thought this in my heart, I couldn't say it out loud, so I could only shake my head and say, "I don't know."
The old man looked at it thoughtfully for a while, then took out a small object from his arms. Instead of handing it to me, he put it on the table, pointed at it, and asked me, "Have you seen this thing?"
I hadn't been in for three minutes when the old man started asking me questions, which made me a little nervous. Why was it like an interview? I felt very passive and wanted to ask the old man something, but in this situation, it was probably useless to ask him. I had no choice but to stand up, take the little thing, and look at it in my hand.
I do recognize this thing. It is a square seal, black and feels like it is made of clay. It is about half the size of a palm and quite heavy. The workmanship is very rough. It is obviously not a high-end item. I have only seen seals carved in stone or jade, but this is the first time I have seen one made of this material. I looked at the bottom and there were not many words engraved on it. I tried hard to recognize it, but I couldn't recognize a single word.
Putting down the seal, I shook my head at the old man. The old man stared at me for a long time without saying anything, just kept drinking tea. From the way the old man drank tea, I guessed that his health was better than I expected, otherwise he would have had frequent urination and had to go to the toilet.
After the old man finished another cup of tea, he said, "I'll leave this seal with you for now. Please keep an eye out for me. If you find one that is the same as this one, I will pay a high price for it."
The old man said this, and it really sounded like he was here to discuss business. He was trying to get me to help him find something, but I was clearly here to discuss the house, so I asked the old man, "Didn't you say you wanted to discuss the house?"
When I asked this, the old man smiled strangely and said, "If you find this thing I asked you to find, you will make much more money than selling the house." After that, he stood up and walked out.
I couldn't sit still any longer. I didn't care whether the thing he gave me was safe or not. It might be a time bomb. The key point was that I still had many questions that needed to be answered. So I stopped the old man, hoping that he would stay and talk more.
The old man stopped and looked at me, then suddenly asked me, "How many fingers do you have on your hand?"
The old man's tone was still calm, but I was speechless. His question was really profound. Was he threatening me? Did he mean that if I tried to stop him again, I would be in danger of losing my life, or was he really referring to something else? While I was distracted, he adjusted his hat as if nothing had happened and opened the door. The four people outside were probably guarding the door all the time. When they saw the door open, they hurriedly welcomed the old man out.
To be honest, I was very disappointed with my performance. I have met many people, but I didn't expect that I was still so naive. The old man confused me with just a few words. Now, I felt that I missed this opportunity, and I was afraid that I would never have the chance to ask again. So I chased him out and called him "Stay", regardless of whether the old man would stay or not, and asked him where he bought the hat. I saw many people wearing it.
I decided to ask this question after a brief consideration. It was relatively obscure. The old man was such a shrewd person that he would definitely understand the hidden meaning of my words.
When the old man heard my question, he actually stopped, but did not turn around. He just coughed lightly and said, "This hat is worn by people whose bodies are half buried in the ground. Young people should keep up with the fashion." After that, he went downstairs.
I didn't chase them out, because I knew very well that even if I did, it would be useless and I might even get beaten up. I returned to the private room and looked out the window. I watched the old man and the four men get into two cars and drive out of sight. Then I sat down and thought about what was going on.
The car the old man got into just now was a BMW 7 Series, which was really expensive, so it was obvious that he was not a poor man. But why did he find me? Was it because my business was special? This seal could only be found in a haunted house? And the words the old man said were so confusing that I could understand them but also didn't. From what the old man said, it seemed that he had , and the question he asked me about my fingers, I didn't think it was just a threat, right? Damn, did he know Six Fingers?
I am still too young after all. I have been in the society for so long, but my knowledge of thick black has not improved much. In fact, I once thought that I was quite good at scheming and calculating, and I usually took advantage of others in business. But when I met this old man today, I realized from his aura that there are always people better than you.
I sat in the chair and thought for a long time, and came up with countless questions. I was thirsty and wanted to drink some tea, but found that the whole pot of tea had been drunk by the old man. I simply got up and prepared to go back, wanting to discuss it with Qin Yiheng and listen to his opinion.
The seal the old man left for me was still on the table. After thinking about it, I decided to put it in my pocket. At least I would let Qin Yiheng take a look at it before making any plans.
I left the teahouse and called Qin Yiheng again, but he still didn't answer. It seemed that he hadn't come home yet. I had no choice but to go back home, take a shower, and spend time on the Internet. I would call Qin Yiheng every hour or forty minutes. But in the middle of the night, no one answered the phone. Finally, I had to give up, took out the square seal, and looked at it under the light, but I still didn't see anything special.
The seal was too ordinary, without any carvings. It was just a square lump on the table. I thought to myself, since the old man wanted me to find a similar one, and this thing has no special features at all, how can I find one? Could it be that the secret lies in the printed object?
The more I thought about it, the more I felt that my guess was reliable, so I wanted to find a piece of paper to print it on, but although there was plenty of paper at home, there was no ink. I didn't dare to use anything else, for fear of accidentally ruining this thing, so I had to put it on the table again, tidy up and get ready for bed.
My mind was in a mess and it was hard to fall asleep. I tossed and turned until the second half of the night and finally fell asleep. It seemed that I had just fallen asleep for a while when the phone rang. I answered the phone reluctantly. Qin Yiheng's familiar voice came from the phone. The first thing he said was to wake me up, because he asked: "Do you know what to buy today?"
This question is exactly the same as the one the old man asked during the day. After the old man asked during the day, I checked it out. Today is not a holiday. Why did they both ask me this question? I just woke up and my mind was still a little heavy. I slapped my face twice and asked Qin Yiheng on the phone: "Is there anything you want to buy today?"
He muttered something on the other end, and I couldn't hear what he said clearly. Then, Qin Yiheng said, "Hurry up and get ready. I'll pick you up at your house later." Then he hung up the phone.
