Before coming, he had investigated this man's situation. He originally thought that he would not have to worry about food and clothing, even if he didn't live a life of luxury. However, he didn't expect that he actually lived in such a shabby place.
Those who live in this alley are the lower-class people of this era.
"Who are you to him?" An Jingzhi asked.
"We are all neighbors." I originally wanted to say that I didn't know him, but the gentleman in front of me had an extraordinary temperament.
The clothes he wore didn't look like something an ordinary person could afford. What's more, the man selling groceries next to him had also revealed Brother Xu's identity. If he said he didn't know him now, he wouldn't be credible.
"I'm Brother Xu's neighbor," the man said with a harmless smile, "We're all neighbors. Seeing you were well-dressed, I was worried you might be looking for trouble, so I was a little wary. Please don't be offended."
He continued to speak to himself, "Second Brother Xu is a man of justice. He often helps the neighbors move things and watch the stalls. Many times when we were bullied, it was because Second Brother Xu and his friends found a place for us."
"Almost all the neighbors on our street know Brother Xu, and almost all of them have been helped by him."
I saw the other party's hidden intention, which was simply to warn him not to mess around, otherwise the neighbors on this street would gang up on him.
He smiled nonchalantly, "Don't worry, I'm not his enemy." He took out a French coin from his pocket and said, "The extra money is the fee for chatting with me. No need to change."
The other party stood up after receiving the money and bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude.
After asking for the address, An Jingzhi and his companions came to a somewhat dilapidated door.
The man who shined the shoes was not far away, and he would peek at him from time to time.
After knocking twice, he heard a lazy voice from inside, and he also heard the sound of slippers kicking on the floor as he moved.
In a moment, the door in front opened.
Xu Ergou looked at An Jingzhi who was looking at him with a smile, thought for a while, and seemed to understand the identity of the person in front of him. His face changed suddenly, and he wanted to close the door suddenly, but An Jingzhi directly blocked the door with the wooden stick he picked up, making it impossible for him to close it tightly.
The door couldn't be closed. His mind was spinning rapidly. He tried to force a smile and opened the door with both hands.
"Mr. An, how come you have time to come to my house? Come on, please come in."
An Jingzhi threw the wooden stick aside in front of him and stepped in without any hesitation.
The shoe shiner asked from a distance, "Second Brother Xu, are you okay?"
Xu Ergou saw An Jing and his man coming over, and not wanting to make things worse, he shook his head at the other person, and the man left.
He walked into the room and looked around. It was like a chicken coop. The only thing that deserved his attention was a large box in the corner.
He found a clean place to sit down and looked at Xu Ergou, who was restrained in front of him. He said, "Don't be polite. Sit anywhere."
Xu Ergou: “…” Whose house is this?
He casually pulled up a clean stool and sat in front of An Jingzhi. With his messy hair, he tentatively asked:
"What's the matter with Mr. An coming to visit?"
Without waiting for An Jingzhi to answer, he hurriedly said, "Let me make it clear first. The antiques I bought with you last time were absolutely authentic! There are no fakes! I guarantee you with the reputation of my Xu family!"
"My visit this time is indeed related to antiques."
The original owner paid Xu Ergou to help him collect antiques, and Xu Ergou did collect quite a few for him. Just as Xu Ergou said, he had checked them himself and they were all authentic.
"It's not a fake." He said without waiting for Xu Ergou to speak.
"Then why did you come to me?" Xu Ergou wondered.
"You said you were from an antique family, right?"
"That's absolutely true!" the other party assured, patting his chest.
"Since you specialize in antiques, you must be aware that there is absolutely no market for antiques in this current situation, right?"
Faced with An Jingzhi's questioning, the other party was speechless.
Without waiting for his reply, An Jingzhi continued, "At that time, I just asked you to help me buy some antique collections. At first, it was indeed my own intention to buy them, but the antiques I bought later were all those you told me would increase in value, right?"
"I bought many more antiques than expected, and it's all thanks to you." An Jingzhi looked at him with a smile.
Xu Ergou swallowed and looked around, only to find that the exit was blocked by An Jingzhi.
"Well, Mr. An," he tried to explain, "Antiques are valuable in prosperous times, and gold is valuable in troubled times. If you have hope for your country, peace will be restored sooner or later. Then those antiques in your possession will fetch a good sum of money."
"So no matter how you calculate the value of this antique, you won't lose money. It's just a matter of time."
After looking at An Jingzhi's expression, he continued to explain: "And then there's the issue you mentioned, I advised you to buy antiques."
"Even though I was the one who persuaded you, you didn't refuse, right? And what I said was right, right? Those antiques I asked you to buy are all genuine and good things, but they can't be sold at a high price yet."
"I see you're well-off, so I want you to buy more. Even if you can't sell them now, you can leave them to your descendants. No matter how you calculate it, it's a good deal."
The more he spoke, the more reasonable he became. "Although I can earn a commission every time I help you buy an antique, in the end, the real benefit still falls to you, right?"
An Jingzhi couldn't help but applaud his eloquence.
Holding long-term is indeed a good deal, but what era is this? In times of war, who knows if there will be a tomorrow?
Those antiques have tied up a lot of money, and now they can only be looked at but not used. If you are in a hurry to use the funds, no one will be able to afford so much even if you sell them at a high price.
"So, I have to thank you?"
The other party didn't know whether he understood or not, and said, "No need to thank me, I'm just taking money from others anyway."
"Do you really think I'm thanking you?" An Jingzhi said with a smile.
Xu Ergou felt guilty and shuddered for no reason.
"this……"
"You know exactly what you were thinking. You figured I knew nothing about antiques and tricked me into buying a whole box of them."
What could he possibly be thinking of? He simply wanted to earn more commissions because he saw the other party as having more money than brains, but more importantly, he wanted the other party to buy more antiques to store at home, so that at least they wouldn't be lost.
It was supposed to be a good idea to kill two birds with one stone, but I didn't expect someone to come to my door.
"Mr. An, I think there is a misunderstanding between us."
With a turn of his eyes, An Jingzhi probably guessed what the other person was thinking.
Before coming, he also did some research on Xu Ergou, otherwise he would not have come alone and talked to the other party in a friendly manner for such a long time.
"There's no misunderstanding. I know exactly what you're thinking."
He glanced at the wooden box leaning against the other person's back and asked, "There are antiques in here too, right?"
Xu Ergou didn't live such a miserable life thanks to his ability to identify antiques. The reason for his miserable life was the box behind him.
All the money he earned was spent on antiques.
"Yes." Xu Ergou was still a little unresponsive and didn't understand why An Jingzhi suddenly asked this.
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