The next day,
The first rays of dawn shone upon Qin Yu, as he slowly stood up and took a deep breath. He had spent the entire night meditating under this stone tablet. Now, he glanced at his clothes, which were slightly damp, likely due to the dew brought by the midnight frost.
"It seems like I was completely absorbed all night." Qin Yu chuckled at himself. Even he hadn't expected the allure of the feng shui techniques recorded in the Zhuge's Inner Canon to be so strong. In his memory, aside from back in high school when he would stay up all night reading a thick novel in the dormitory, he had never spent a whole night reading a book.
The Zhuge's Inner Canon was no less than a thousand pages thick, and during that night, Qin Yu had only read the introductory section on physiognomy. Just the content related to physiognomy had captivated him completely. There were also sections on feng shui, talismans... He had only managed to skim through them briefly.
Today was the day the tour group was returning. Qin Yu hadn't gone back to the hotel to rest with the tour guide last night, so he assumed everyone must be at the hotel preparing to board the return journey. The hotel was still a distance away from here, and Qin Yu didn't dare to delay any longer. He brushed off the dust from his buttocks and quickly walked towards the outskirts of Zhuge's residence.
"What's the matter with you? You disappeared all night, and now you're making everyone wait for you alone."
As Qin Yu arrived at the hotel entrance, he encountered the tour guide leading the tourists towards the bus. He ran into trouble as soon as the tour guide saw him. There was no trace of a friendly expression on the guide's face as he spoke.
"Sorry, I ran into an old classmate last night and went to his place to rest," Qin Yu said apologetically, his face showing remorse.
"Old classmate?" The young tour guide's face revealed a skeptical expression, muttering under his breath, "I bet he went out for some prostitution."
Qin Yu had keen ears, and although the young tour guide spoke quietly, he heard it. He stared intently at the guide and then smiled. This smile left the young tour guide puzzled, inwardly thinking, "Is this guy crazy? I made such a comment, and he's still able to laugh."
The reason Qin Yu smiled was because he took a glance at the young tour guide's facial features. His nose was red and slightly dusty. According to the physiognomy section of the Zhuge's Inner Canon, a red and dusty nose signifies financial loss. Moreover, the guide had a split lower lip, forming an inverted "three mouths" shape that reflected the nose's characteristics. It indicated a leakage of wealth and an imminent financial loss.
Since Qin Yu knew that the young tour guide was bound to face financial difficulties, he didn't bother to argue with him about his previous words. He turned around and boarded the bus along with the other tourists, ignoring him.
The bus carried everyone along the return route. However, it made a stop at a shopping mall midway. The young tour guide shouted, "This mall is the most famous one here. You can buy some local specialties to take back. After all, you can't visit a tourist destination and leave empty-handed, right?"
The tourists on the bus buzzed with excitement. It's common for people to buy souvenirs when visiting tourist attractions. But the young tour guide paid no attention to the discussions and gave a glance to the driver, who began muttering to himself:
"I need to have the bus cleaned up ahead, so all of you can wait here and get off for about an hour. Once it's clean, I'll come back here to pick you up," the driver said and started urging the passengers to disembark. Although the tourists were reluctant, they had no choice. Such situations were quite common in China. Tour companies often collaborate with nearby shopping malls, with the tour guides responsible for leading the tour groups to make purchases, and in return, the malls provide certain kickbacks.
Of course, it's not mandatory to make purchases if you don't want to. However, those who can afford to go on a trip usually have some disposable income or better living conditions. It's rare to find someone who can resist making a purchase in such shopping places.
Even if some individuals initially had no intention of buying anything, seeing other fellow tourists carrying bags of purchases would make them feel embarrassed not to buy something. After all, people have a tendency to compare themselves with others. If everyone else is buying, and you're the only one not buying, it would make you seem stingy. Moreover, the tour guide would gaze at you disdainfully, making the situation even more uncomfortable.
"Tour guide, are there any good things to buy here?" Among the passengers getting off the bus, a man with a thick gold necklace around his neck took out a pack of soft Zhonghua cigarettes, pulled one out, and tossed it to the tour guide nearby before asking him.
The man appeared to be around forty years old and had the appearance of a wealthy businessman. His hair was shiny and greasy. A voluptuous young woman with an alluring figure, accentuated by her protruding front and perky backside, was clinging to his side. Her hands were wrapped around the man's arm, and her 36D breasts were occasionally rubbing against his arm, forming various shapes. This sight made the young tour guide salivate.
"Brother Chen, I still need a bracelet on my hand. Go inside and buy one for me," the woman held onto the man's hand, her bosom swaying seductively. Not only the young tour guide, but even other male tourists stole a few glances.
"Sure, I'll go in and buy it for you. Tour guide, take us to the jewelry store for a stroll," the middle-aged man laughed heartily. He opened his briefcase, revealing bundles of crisp, unopened hundred-yuan bills. He took out a few and handed them to the young tour guide.
"Boss, you're too kind. I'm very familiar with this mall. I know which jewelry store is the best. Let me take you there," the young tour guide smiled, his face lighting up at the sight of the bills. It was clear to him that this man was a nouveau riche, bringing his mistress along for the trip. He had encountered many such people, and they often spent generously, allowing him to earn some extra tips.
However, the young tour guide didn't forget to instruct the other tourists to return to the meeting point in an hour. Then, he led the man towards a particular store in the mall.
"From his facial features, this middle-aged man appears to be cunning and flamboyant. Such people are usually lazy and involved in shady activities," Qin Yu also observed the facial features of the man with the appearance of a wealthy businessman. He felt that something was off. According to the records in the Zhuge's Inner Canon, this man's physiognomy should be associated with deception and fraud, which had nothing to do with being wealthy.
Although he had no intention of buying anything, Qin Yu still entered the shopping mall and began to wander around. The mall was not far from the tourist attractions, and Qin Yu frequently saw groups of tourists being led by guides to purchase items in the mall.
The mall was filled with a wide variety of goods and had three floors. The first floor mostly consisted of jewelry counters and cosmetics stores. As soon as Qin Yu entered, he noticed the young tour guide leading a middle-aged man who looked like a nouveau riche and a woman named Botao towards a counter. However, it seemed that Botao was not particularly satisfied with the jewelry there and moved on to another counter.
"Hmm, what's going on here?" Qin Yu noticed an elderly person in plain attire calling out to Botao and extending their hand as if showing something to her. Botao's face showed a surprised expression, and she clung to the middle-aged man while having a conversation. After a while, the group quickly left the mall. Although Qin Yu was curious, he didn't follow them and continued exploring the mall alone.
After aimlessly wandering around the mall, Qin Yu bought a can of chewing gum and headed towards the designated waiting area for the bus. However, he found the young tour guide standing there, his eyes scanning around from time to time, and he appeared somewhat excited. He had a wide grin on his face, as if he had just won a lottery jackpot.
The young tour guide tightly held a delicate small box in his hand, the kind of box Qin Yu had seen before, usually used for packaging jewelry. When the tour guide noticed Qin Yu approaching, his gaze only lingered for a second before moving past him, scanning ahead.
"Wasn't he accompanying those two people to buy jewelry? How come he's the only one left now?" Qin Yu wondered. He had a feeling that something fishy was going on, especially with the appearance of the elderly person and the tour guide's unlucky appearance. A certain intuition formed in his mind: "This tour guide seems to have fallen for a scam."
Although he didn't have a favorable impression of the tour guide, Qin Yu still approached and warned him, saying, "Be careful not to get tricked into giving them money."
"Tricked into giving me money?" The young tour guide looked at Qin Yu with suspicion, not understanding why Qin Yu would say such a thing.
"Are you waiting for that middle-aged man? And did you lend them money again?" Qin Yu guessed.
The young tour guide looked surprised, then nodded and replied, "Mr. Chen's... cousin took a liking to a blood jade bracelet, but Mr. Chen didn't have enough cash. He borrowed 30,000 from me, and he's now going to the bank to withdraw the cash to repay me."
"He borrowed 30,000 from you. Have you known Mr. Chen before?"
"No, we haven't met before. But Mr. Chen entrusted the blood jade bracelet to me for safekeeping. There won't be any issues," the young tour guide said, a proud expression appearing on his face. Mr. Chen promised him that when he returned with the cash later, he would give him an extra 50,000 as interest for the additional 20,000 borrowed.
Thinking that he could earn 20,000 in just half an hour, the young tour guide couldn't help but smile happily. This amount equaled half a year's salary for him.
"It seems my speculation was correct," Qin Yu pondered for a moment and whispered.
"What were you thinking?" The young tour guide was still immersed in the joy of having 20,000 yuan, completely oblivious to the sympathy in Qin Yu's eyes as he looked at him.
"If I'm not mistaken, while you were shopping in the mall, you encountered an elderly person who wanted to sell a blood jade bracelet. Mr. Chen's cousin took a liking to the bracelet, and you all left the mall intending to make the transaction. At that time, Mr. Chen realized he didn't have enough cash, but the elderly person insisted on cash only and seemed quite urgent. In the end, Mr. Chen borrowed 30,000 from you to pay the elderly person first and entrusted the blood jade bracelet to you, saying he would take his cousin to the bank to withdraw cash and repay you. I wonder if my guess is correct."
"Wow, how did you know?" The young tour guide exclaimed.
Qin Yu's guess was accurate. Initially, they encountered the elderly person in the mall who claimed to have some urgent matters at home and needed money. The elderly person wanted to sell the blood jade bracelet but found the offer from the pawnshop too low and refused to sell. They thought of going to the mall to see if anyone interested in buying jewelry had a better offer.
The young tour guide scoffed at the elderly person's words but couldn't resist when Mr. Chen's cousin expressed her liking. They followed the elderly person out of the mall and found a secluded corner to negotiate the price.
"Three hundred thousand, I won't sell it for a penny less!" The elderly person's attitude was resolute, and a pained expression appeared on their face. They claimed that the bracelet had been passed down from their ancestors, and if it weren't for the urgent situation at home requiring money, they wouldn't sell it for even a million.
Upon hearing this price, the young tour guide gently tugged at Mr. Chen's sleeve and led him aside, advising, "Mr. Chen, there are too many scammers nowadays. Just because this old man claims it's a blood jade bracelet doesn't mean it really is. He might be a fraudster. Let's just observe and not make any impulsive purchases."
As for what kind of jade a blood jade bracelet was, the young tour guide had no idea. However, he understood that three hundred thousand was not a small sum. But Mr. Chen just smiled and handed him a business card.
The gold embossed letters on the card read, "Chen Xuanyu, General Manager of Shanghai Xuanyu Jewelry Co., Ltd." It left the young tour guide dumbfounded, realizing that he had been unnecessarily worried. Chen Xuan Yu was in the jewelry business, and he had been needlessly concerned.
Mr. Chen smiled and informed him that the blood jade bracelet was genuine. Moreover, based on the current market prices for jade, the market value of the bracelet would not be less than one million. Purchasing it for three hundred thousand would not be a loss.