I begrudgingly opened my eyes and forced my hands to close the ringing alarm on my phone.
"Ugh..."
Well, it's time to get up.
All of my smaller wounds had healed during the night, but my ankle seemed to remain the same.
Still fucking throbbing.
This was made pretty evident when I stood up from the couch, with the pressure being put on my foot being supposedly too unbearable that it hurt just standing normally.
I wonder if I could drink another health potion today...
But I pushed through the pain and grabbed my toothbrush and other necessities that I needed for the day, and stuffed them into my suitcase.
I quickly...or, more like as quickly as I could with my probably half-sprained ankle, left the house, with the cold, early morning breeze hitting me, a reminder of how busy I was going to be today.
Heading towards the river, I quickly cleaned myself up, brushed my teeth, and slicked my hair back, washing all the grogginess away.
I wanted to make myself look somewhat presentable today.
Hmm...but this water isn't going to keep my hair slicked back for long...I should probably buy myself some actual hair gel.
But I wasn't quite in a position where I could buy anything I wanted, so I just kept the thought behind my head.
Having already told Grandma Guanhuai about my schedule last night, and maybe because of my spectacular sales, she peacefully agreed.
Now, it was time for the real busy work to begin.
My first destination, the pawn shop.
***
"Hah...Hah...Leng Fei's...Pawn...Shop....it should be right around this corner...."
I had only walked for thirty minutes, yet I had still ended up panting like a dog when I finally got to the store.
I...I even paced myself this time...am I really just that weak?
Whatever, right now, I need to focus on selling everything to their fullest potential...but...Maybe I should take a break first.
Before reaching the shop, I casually sat down on the sidewalk and leaned my back against the wall, making sure that my briefcase was still right beside me.
It was surprisingly quiet as I watched fresh green leaves fly through the breeze.
Only the rustling of the trees was heard.
It was a lot chillier than yesterday, with the sky being quite cloudy.
It might rain today...
With most of my sweat now gone and my breathing being more stabilized, I decided to head into the pawn shop.
***
Considering we were in the mid-slums, this pawn shop was relatively well taken care of.
Everything looked pretty new and in good condition, but in a way, everything also felt cheap, as if they wouldn't last very long against time...only looking good in the present.
With no hesitation, I went straight up to the front desk.
"Hello, I'm looking to sell off some of my goods."
"Straight to business, I presume."
An early middle-aged man stood before me.
He had some white hair peppered in with his black, with striking, dark brown eyes.
But what stood out to me was that he wore a rather expensive-looking suit, with jewels and chains attached to the front...very professional.
I swiftly took out a brooch, embedded with a beautiful, vivid ruby with delicate gold carving that surrounded it.
This was the first item I wanted to sell off.
"This is a brooch, with the center piece being a natural ruby, and as you can see, it was hand-crafted by someone with master craftsmanship. I'm looking for around 160,000 Jia for this item, and I won't be needing it back."
The man took the brooch, carefully inspecting it under a light and with his newly put-on glasses.
"...Indeed...this truly is one of a kind delicacy...where in the world did you obtain this, young man?"
"From my Master. He asked me to sell off some of his goods, so here I am."
"And may I ask who your 'Master' is?"
"That...is confidential."
Of course, I was actually that so-called "Master", but if I let these people know I'm Wen Hanzhi...it might cause some unwanted attention, which was exactly why I pretended to be a servant.
"So, you're a Valet?"
"Hm, yes, you could say that."
"...Well, I'm sorely sorry to disappoint you, but I just cannot buy this for 160,000 Jia! Not only are there multiple scratches on the ruby, but this piece is an obviously mass-produced item."
... Seriously?
It seemed that I had the unfortunate chance of meeting a sly little fox.
But I wasn't about to let this guy have his way.
This damn bastard, I took a grueling thirty-minute walk to get here, so I'm making my damn money's worth, so come at me!
I put my hand up to my chin, as if thinking hard for a long moment, before finally asking in a meeker voice than I had before.
"...Then how much are you willing to buy for it?"
"Well, I'd say at most 20,000 Jia."
"Hmmmmm.....I'm...not sure...it won't be enough for my Master's plans."
"You do have other items, don't you? If you let me see everything, perhaps I could try to give you a total amount enough for your Master's."
Tch, as if I'd let you see everything.
"Thank you, sir, but I think I should just leave...I don't want to get my Master upset for not getting the amount he wanted..."
Seeing his jaw drop as I snatched the brooch back up felt quite nice...but...the real test was whether or not he was going to fall for it.
Stuffing the brooch back into my suitcase, I "dejectedly" walked out of the store.
...Isn't he going to say anything?
My heart raced a little.
...I...I didn't push too far...did I?
There was no way I could take another thirty-minute walk with this ankle.
As if right on cue, the man immediately palmed his hands onto the table, no longer concerned about how he held himself.
"Wait! I'll...I'll see what I can do..."
"Really?!"
On the inside, I sighed deeply, relieved that things weren't over just yet.
He watched intently as I walked back over to the table, with his eyes immediately hooked onto the brooch the moment I took it out again.
"Look, at the maximum, I can do maybe 50,000 Jia."
"Hmmm....."
He stared at my pondering face, trying to get a hold as to what I was thinking.
"B-but...my Master said every item I have could go for at least 160,000..."
I glanced back at the exit.
It was a short and unnoticeable glance, but not for this guy. I guess I was signaling that his time was running short.
All I have to do is increase the pressure.
"Sir, but I do believe this is a real ruby...my Master would never lie! A-and from what I've heard, rubies like this can go for at least 90,000 Jia!"
I dramatically turned around, and with my back facing the shop owner, I, of course, just had to throw in some eye drops.
Seeing the tears now flowing, I could see how much tenser he got.
His eyes flared, and he tried to hide his shaking hands behind his back.
"Master...he, of all people, would never lie to me..."
"...Fine. 75,000 Jia."
Even when speaking directly to me, he still stared right at the brooch.
"...Sir...after hearing your words, I think I can allow for 130,000...but any less than that..."
"Okay, okay, I get it. You want money? Fine! But 100,000, that's all I have."
100,000 Jia...I think I can go just a little higher.
"I'm sorry, but that's just too much money lost! My Master will get mad at me for not getting the remaining 60,000 Jia!"
"But I can't-"
I deliberately took a couple of steps back and hid the brooch from his view, putting it back into my suitcase.
"W-what? What are you doing?!"
"I'm leaving."
In a huff, I confidently strode away, opening the shop doors.
"You're only my first stop, and Master said if I couldn't find the right price, I should just move to the next location."
"130,000 Jia."
"..."
If it wasn't for the fact that my back was turned to him, he would've seen the devious smirk on my face.
"...R-really?"
I had tried to sound meek, but a small laugh had almost escaped from my mouth, causing me to stutter, but that didn't seem to matter, as the man was so focused on getting the brooch that he didn't even realize how much deeper of a hole he had dug himself into.
"...Yes, 130,000 Jia. That's...my final offer."
"...I-I guess Master won't be too mad if it's only a 30,000 Jia difference."
The truth was that this foolish man had just paid 30,000 more Jia than the actual price of the brooch.
There was a fun trick I learned, which was to always demand more than you need, so when they pay the "discounted" price...what they paid for is what exactly what you needed.
And either way, people who aren't in the higher classes could never even dream of having the opportunity to buy something handcrafted like this, even if they did have the money.
I must have hit the jackpot, considering how this guy only cares about flashy things.
Hmm, this is probably the only item I'm going to sell today. Considering how much money this guy just threw away, he won't have enough money to buy the rest of my things.
Before the deal was even complete, I had already started planning out as to what I would do with the rest of my stuff.
I was likely going to sell a couple more things to the mid-slum pawn shops, and as for the rest, they were to be taken to a higher-class pawn shop.
"I need your ID first..."
He was barely even paying attention, with his eyes still on the ruby like it was his already.
"Here."
I quickly flashed my digital ID at this distracted moron.
"Zhang Wei?"
"Yep."
After briefly checking my ID, we clicked our phones together, finally completing the transfer.
Like someone feeding a hungry animal, I slowly slid the brooch over, just for him to frantically snatch it up.
He stared so deeply into it that he could've drowned in the ruby's reflection.
I decided that was my cue to leave, and so, I just walked out the door, with an extra 130,000 Jia in my bank account...prepared with just a ruby, an eye drop, and a man-made fake ID.
In the slums, it was concerningly easy to fake everything.