The first ray of sunlight in the early morning filtered through the broken window and quietly fell on the bedside. He Qing slowly opened his bloodshot eyes, with a sleepy look on his face, indicating that he had not slept well last night.
He was worried about his brother's affairs and worried about his current extremely embarrassing situation. He was spending money like water. The tens of thousands of dollars he brought from his hometown were almost spent in the blink of an eye. Now he only has less than
One hundred yuan can't even support a few fast food meals.
He Qing stood up listlessly. There was a woman sitting beside a simple wooden bed not far from his bed. The woman was dressed simply, but her body was upright, neither fat nor thin, and she had a certain charm.
The young woman who lives in the same rented house with He Qing is not He Qing's girlfriend, but his sister-in-law, whom he just met not long ago.
A few days ago, He Qing was preparing to retake the postgraduate entrance examination at Jiangzhe University. Unexpectedly, his sister-in-law Zou Mei came to him with his sick brother and asked him to accompany them to Jiangzhou for medical treatment.
His brother is suffering from a serious illness, leukemia, a terminal illness. This kind of disease has no effect at all in the small hospital in their hometown, so they can only be sent to the hospital in the big city, but this is a bottomless pit, and the huge medical expenses make them
This ordinary working-class family is overwhelmed.
The treatment had just begun, and all the life-saving money Zou Mei brought had been invested. Those funds were all their family's savings, and some money they had borrowed from here and there. He Qing didn't know what to do next.
All his relatives and friends have borrowed it, and now he can only live with his sister-in-law in the cheapest rented house, which is only a few square meters and can only accommodate two beds. Although the uncle and sister-in-law are deeply affectionate, there are always differences between men and women.
It is also inconvenient to sleep in the same room with clothes on.
When He Qing sat up from the bed, he found that his sister-in-law Zou Mei was secretly wiping her tears. Her pitiful look made people feel heartbroken.
"Sister-in-law, are you up so early?" He Qing greeted gently. He had a very good impression of the sister-in-law he met for the first time. She was a typical traditional Chinese woman, reserved, loyal, and husband-friendly.
When she was seriously ill, she took care of her wholeheartedly, tried every means to raise money for treatment, and never said a word about giving up, which made her brother-in-law He Qing respect her.
"I just got up. Why don't you sleep a little longer?" Seeing that He Qing had gotten up and found herself, Zou Mei quickly wiped away the remaining tears in the corners of her eyes and tried her best to squeeze out a smile.
He Qing said: "It's dawn and I can't sleep. Sister-in-law, don't worry too much. I'll think of a solution. I have a few classmates here in Jiangzhou. Maybe I can borrow some money from them for urgent needs."
If they don't borrow money, they will really have to live on the streets and cannot afford to eat.
His eldest brother's illness has been devastating, dragging down an otherwise happy family in an instant. Everyone is worried about his eldest brother's condition and treatment.
"Yes." Zou Mei responded in a low voice. She always sat there with an upright posture, and the sadness on her face could not be concealed no matter how hard she tried.
"Xiaoqing, today you find a place to pawn my bracelet. It has been passed down from generation to generation by my ancestors. My mother passed it on to me. It is said to be quite valuable. I hope I can exchange some money for your brother's treatment."
sick."
After He Qing got out of bed, Zou Mei suddenly stood up, took out a small bundle from her arms, and then carefully unfolded the yellow silk satin handkerchief, revealing a delicate antique bracelet.
The bracelet looked crystal clear and emerald green in color, but mixed with strands of red threads, as if they were blood threads that had penetrated into it, making it a bright red.
For some reason, He Qing vaguely noticed that the blood threads coiled in the jadeite seemed to be active, floating slightly, and exuding a mysterious aura.
However, He Qing didn't pay much attention to this scene and just said: "Sister-in-law, this is your family heirloom. It would be a pity if it was pawned."
He couldn't bear it. The inheritance that Zou Mei's family regarded as a treasure was unique. How could he pass it on to her daughter or granddaughter after selling it? I'm afraid it would be too late to regret it.
"Compared to your brother's life, it's nothing to regret." Zou Mei said firmly, "Look, we are almost at the end of our rope, what's the use of keeping this jade? Xiaoqing, if you can find a good buyer
, just sell it directly, maybe you can get more money, and if you spend more money, you will have more hope for your brother's treatment."
"I understand." He Qing nodded and agreed. At this point, what could be more important than saving his brother's life? At worst, he would just redeem the bracelet later, even though he knew full well that they were the only ones.
With the current financial resources, it is impossible to redeem the pawn in a short period of time. The bracelet will eventually be swallowed up by the pawn shop and then transferred.
"Xiao Qing, take it carefully, and then find a reputable pawn shop." Then Zou Mei handed the ancient jade bracelet to He Qing.
The moment his hands first touched the bracelet, He Qing was shocked. He suddenly found that the crimson blood threads on the bracelet rippled violently. In an instant, the blood threads melted away and turned into a blood mist, a faint blood-colored mist.
The mist moved slowly, as if sensing a magical force, and rushed straight towards He Qing's door.
This is incredible!
He Qing couldn't help but widen his eyes slightly, that scene was so wonderful.
He Qing watched helplessly, and he found that countless blood-red particles were pouring into his eyes one after another, but other than a faint sourness, there was no other uncomfortable feeling in his eyes.
"It's a ghost! Are my eyes deceived?!" He Qing was surprised. He also said that it was because he didn't sleep well last night, so his eyes were hallucinating.
"Xiao Qing, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Seeing He Qing suddenly looking at her stupidly, Zou Mei asked in surprise.
She was not distracted, she was only worried about her husband's condition, so she didn't notice the strange phenomenon.
"Oh, it's okay. Sister-in-law, I'll wash my face and go to the pawn shop right away." He Qing reacted immediately and wrapped the bracelet and put it away.
He Qing brushed his teeth and washed his face hastily. After that, he ran downstairs and bought two breakfasts, each of which was two meat buns and a cup of soy milk. At present, they could only afford such a "big meal".
After handing a breakfast to Zou Mei, He Qing made some preparations and set off, his destination being a pawn shop in this city.
After all, this was the first time he came to Jiangzhou. He Qing was not familiar with the situation in this place. Fortunately, he was prepared and bought a "Jiangzhou Travel Guide". The relevant map showed that the largest pawn shop in the area was
The pawn shop is located in Antique Street. Since you are pawning things, of course you have to find the most famous and reputable pawn shop.
So He Qing carried the piece of jade and rushed to Antique Street. The antique market was far away from the suburb where they rented a house, so they couldn't save a few yuan on the bus and had to take a bus.
In the car, He Qing did not forget to call a few classmates, but those people either turned off their phones or did not answer the phone. He had told the university alumni group that his brother was seriously ill, and maybe many people paid attention to him because of this.
I don't want to contact him. At this time, what else would he do if he calls besides borrowing money?
The world is really cold and human relationships are as cold as water!
He Qing couldn't help but sigh in his heart, but he had nothing to do. If others don't lend you money, you shouldn't force it.
After riding for three or four hours before arriving at the station, He Qing cheered up and stepped out of the car. There was a huge flow of people here, people were rubbing shoulders and there was a lot of noise.
As soon as he walked down the street, He Qing nervously looked around for a pawn shop. Everywhere he looked, there were shops with the name of antique shops. There were many shops on both sides of the street, but he had not seen a specialized pawn shop yet.
The word "antiques" seems distant and mysterious in He Qing's eyes. Of course he has heard of antiques and knows that some antiques are very valuable. Didn't his favorite host Wang Gang host a program related to antiques? The above
Some of the antiques that appeared were worth a lot of money, and it was not uncommon for them to be worth millions. When he thought about it now, He Qing was very envious of those treasure holders. If he had an ancient treasure worth millions, he wouldn't need to pay for it for his brother.
I am worried about my medical expenses.
Following the bustling crowd, He Qing walked forward looking around. After going deep into the antique market, he inadvertently discovered that there was a market on the vast field not far to the right. Under the huge tent were densely packed stalls, and the flow of people was even greater.
It is crowded and must be the favorite place for ordinary people to buy antiques.
There was a shop next to the antique stall gathering point that caught He Qing's attention. There was a large billboard erected in front of the shop. The word "pawn" on it was particularly eye-catching to He Qing.
"Let's go and have a look." He Qing thought secretly. Although it wasn't the pawn shop he spotted on the map, it didn't matter to check out the situation. As the saying goes, if you compare shopping, whichever pawn shop is willing to pay a higher price will be the pawn shop.
To which pawn shop?
After thinking about it, He Qing quickened his pace and walked towards the pawn shop. What he needed most now was money, and he would do everything possible to raise treatment expenses for his brother.
"Brother, do you want to play something?"
Before He Qing could take a few steps, someone suddenly walked over and stood in front of him.
He Qing subconsciously took a step back. He thought someone was looking for trouble for him. There were many people in this place, so he was naturally more vigilant from the beginning. After all, he had a piece of jade on his body.
got it.
The Cheng Yaojin who emerged midway was a young man, dressed in ordinary clothes, tall and thin, with gleaming eyes. He was obviously not a serious businessman.
"What do you think of this thing?" The man then took out a bowl from the bag in his hand. It was a very exquisite celadon bowl, but in He Qing's eyes it was just beautiful. In fact, it was no better than an ordinary eating bowl.
Not much difference.
"No, thank you." He Qing shook his head without hesitation. He could tell that the other party was an antique dealer, the kind who would sell everything he saw.
He Qing doesn't understand the rules of antiques, and he has no interest in playing with antiques now. That's only for wealthy idlers.
After saying that, He Qing was about to walk away, but the man refused and stretched out his hand to stop him.
"Brother, don't worry. If you don't like the blue and white bowl, isn't there something better?" The man said with a smile, "I see that you look familiar, and I feel that I am destined. I also have an antique here.
It's a real treasure, I believe you will like it very much! Here, a piece of ancient jade! As long as you like it, the price is easy to negotiate."
After the man took out a piece of jade that was euphemistically called "Gaogu Jade", He Qing glanced at it casually, and he was shocked at this sight.
Something strange happened again!
I saw a faint light emitting from the piece of Hideyoshi's mottled ancient jade, a faint red light. The red light slowly rose up and rippled like a tide.
When the looming red light rose to a place not far from He Qing's eyes, it formed a chaotic light group, like an invisible barrier.
The red light condensed by the light cluster shot into He Qing's eyes like shooting stars...