"What's wrong?" Bai Hanyan asked me.
I hesitated, deciding not to tell her about Fatty's situation. Instead, I said, "You take the pillow to Auntie first and ask her to take a look. I'll come find you later."
Bai Hanyan nodded. "Alright. If anything happens on your end, call me anytime."
"Okay."
Splitting up from Bai Hanyan, I headed to the address Fatty had given me.
It was a bathhouse. As soon as I reached the entrance, I called Fatty. He insisted I go inside and told me to head for the "Heavenly First Class" private room.
I got a locker from the front desk and changed into the clothes provided by the bathhouse before making my way to the room.
The room wasn't large, only about ten square meters. Fatty was sitting at a tea table, facing a stranger.
The man looked to be in his thirties, with a full beard and dark skin.
Seeing me arrive, Fatty quickly gestured for me to sit.
Still a bit confused, I looked at Fatty with an expression of bewilderment.
To my surprise, he showed no inclination to explain anything to me. He simply said to the bearded man, "I've brought the person. How you discuss things from here on out is no longer my concern."
Fatty flashed me a smile and said, "Brother Xiang, you two chat. I'll be next door..."
With that, he scurried away.
Damn it, I'd been tricked by this fatty again!
I frowned slightly, looking at the man in front of me. "You wanted to see me?"
The man smiled, took out a cigarette, and offered it to me. I waved my hand. "No thank you, I don't smoke."
The man chuckled. "Fatty told me you bought the Youxian Pillow?"
So, this man was after the wooden pillow.
I nodded. "Yes, I bought it..."
"Can you sell it to me? I'll give you an extra five thousand yuan."
Hearing this, I smiled and looked at him. "It seems you're very interested in the Youxian Pillow?"
"You could say that," the man replied with a smile. "How much would you be willing to sell it for?"
"I'm sorry, I don't wish to sell it."
The man's eyebrows rose slightly. "Seventy thousand! I'll add another ten thousand."
I smiled and shook my head.
"Eighty thousand!"
As he kept raising the price, I asked curiously, "Are you really that fond of the Youxian Pillow? Don't tell me you think it's real?"
The man smiled. "Whether it's real or not isn't important. What's important is that I'm interested."
I had bought that wooden pillow to lure Yang Hanxue into my trap, and honestly, I didn't want to part with it.
Moreover, I myself was quite curious about the pillow.
Making someone fall asleep in a very short period of time was a difficult feat.
There were only two methods I could think of: first, hypnosis, and second, medication.
But that wooden pillow looked entirely ordinary. How could it make someone fall asleep instantly upon leaning on it?
If I could crack this problem, the value of the wooden pillow would surely increase significantly.
Of course, I wasn't expecting to make money from the pillow itself.
Seeing my silence, the man sighed. He took out a small, worn leather notebook from his pocket and wrote down an address and a phone number with a pen.
Tearing off the page, he handed it to me. "You can think about it. If you decide to sell, you can always come find me."
I took the paper, glanced at it, and nodded. "I'll consider it carefully."
"Alright then, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave."
With that, the man stood up and left the room.
After he left, I casually placed the address and number he had given me on the table.
Standing up, I went next door to find Fatty.
He was lying on a massage bed, with two masseuses struggling to work on his ample flesh.
Seeing me, Fatty asked, "How did your talk go?"
"Is this why you called me over?" I asked.
Fatty laughed. "I'm just trying to help you cut your losses... I've studied that Youxian Pillow for a long time and had people examine it countless times. Honestly, aside from making people fall asleep quickly, it has no other function, nor is it an antique..."
This damn fatty, how dare he say that.
"Don't glare at me like that," Fatty said, pursing his lips. "This is the rule in the antiques trade. Once a sale is made, you can't regret it. Did he pay you extra? I don't want much, just a referral fee."
I gave him a sidelong glance. "I didn't sell it."
"You didn't sell it?" Fatty blinked, getting up from the massage bed. "You think the price was too low?"
"He offered me eighty thousand," I said. "And I still didn't sell it."
"Eighty thousand?!" Fatty exclaimed, his eyes darting. "That kid! When he came to me before, he was only willing to pay twenty thousand... Good thing I didn't fall for that guy's trick!"
"Twenty thousand?" I sneered. "Didn't you say he offered you eighty thousand back then?"
Fatty chuckled sheepishly. "In business, you always have to look out for the money... Don't think I'm cheating you. Look, he's offering eighty thousand now. If you play hard to get, maybe you can even sell it for a hundred thousand."
I didn't want to discuss this topic further. "How is the matter I asked you to handle progressing?"
"I've already sent people to inquire. Don't worry, you'll find out in a few days. You just need to prepare the money," Fatty said confidently.
"Alright then, I'll be going now."
Fatty added, "Aren't you going to relax here? Get someone to give you a massage?"
"No, thank you."
"Alright. When you leave later, you don't need to pay. Someone has already paid. Just give Yang Hanxue's name."
I found it somewhat amusing. Just as I turned to leave, my heart suddenly skipped a beat!
"What did you just say?!"
In less than two seconds, I spun around and rushed back to Fatty!
Fatty seemed startled by my reaction. He blinked a couple of times and swallowed. "Aren't you going to relax here? Get someone..."
"The next sentence!"
"When you leave later, you don't need to pay..."
Before he could finish, I grabbed his arm and asked, "Whose name did you say to give?"
"Yang Hanxue..." Fatty looked bewildered. "It's the person who was discussing business with you just now. He said his name was Yang Hanxue... He used his membership card when he came..."
I finally understood the meaning of "searching high and low for something, only to find it unexpectedly."
The person I'd been looking for so long had actually walked right into my hands?!
I grinned. Fatty blinked and asked, "Is there something wrong with that person?" 138 Reading Network
I shook my head. "You damn fatty, you've been a tremendous help to me this time!"
Upon hearing this, a glint of gold flashed in Fatty's eyes. "Really? Is there a thank-you fee?"
I gave him a sidelong glance and suddenly remembered something, thinking to myself: This is bad!