After a day of hard work, I was exhausted. I took a hot bath and lay on the hotel bed, but I had no intention of sleeping. All I could think about was the palm print.
I most likely won't be able to sleep well that night. I've always been so careful, but I still dropped it.
Fortunately, it was sold by Chen Xiaogang, and he didn't know what it was.
As long as the palm print doesn't fall into the hands of thieves, it's fine.
"Brother, what is that thing you are looking for? The pawn shop owner said it is worthless!" Chen Xiaogang suddenly said to me.
"I told you, that thing is worthless to you, but it is priceless to me, do you understand?"
"If I had known this was the case, I shouldn't have stolen it. Brother, I'm such a bastard."
"That's all. There's no need to keep repeating it in front of me."
"Don't worry, I will definitely help you find it."
"What are you looking for?" I sneered and said, "What are you looking for?"
"When the pawn shop owner comes tomorrow, I will redeem it for you."
"Do I still need you to redeem it? Chen Xiaogang, let me tell you, if I can't find the thing, you will ask me to take it back!"
After saying that, I said to him: "Stop talking and go to bed quickly!"
I couldn't sleep peacefully. I tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep, so I simply put on my shoes and went to the balcony.
It's four o'clock in the morning, and the sanitation workers and some breakfast shops have already started a new day.
But I'm still trapped in yesterday, I can't find anything, and I really can't sleep at all.
I lit a cigarette, took out my cell phone and called An Lan.
It was only ten o'clock in the evening over there, so she probably wasn't asleep yet.
After the call was made, it took a while before the call was answered.
"You got up so early?" An Lan asked in surprise.
"I didn't sleep at all. Are you still awake?"
"I just finished taking a shower, what's the matter with you? It should be almost dawn over there, right? Why aren't you sleeping?"
"I encountered something troublesome."
"What's wrong?"
"Is it convenient to talk?"
"It's not convenient, let me call you."
I knew it would be inconvenient for her to make phone calls, so I haven't contacted her in the past few days, let alone talked about the palm print.
I hung up the phone and after waiting for a minute, an unknown number called, and the location was displayed in London.
I immediately answered the phone, and she said to me: "Okay, it's convenient now."
"Is this your new number?"
"That's right. If you have any inconvenience to tell me, just call me at this number."
"Okay, I've always been afraid of contacting you, just because I'm afraid it would be inconvenient for you to talk to me."
"I'm not sure whether that phone has been tampered with, so it's better to be cautious."
"Um."
"Tell me, what's going on?"
"I found the palm print, but I lost it again."
"Why did you lose it?" An Lan's tone was a little serious.
So I told what happened at my second uncle's house last night, including everything that happened last night.
I wanted to find an outlet in my heart, because I couldn't tell the people around me, and I felt uncomfortable holding it in.
I know An Lan must be anxious too, but I just want to talk to her.
"How could this happen? But don't worry too much. Didn't the owner of the pawn shop say that you can get it back early tomorrow morning?"
"I'm just worried about something happening, and I'm always in a panic."
"Don't think too much, at least you know where things are."
I sighed and said, "I just feel so stupid. I'm such an adult and can't see anything."
"Stop blaming yourself. It's useless for you to blame yourself now! Go to bed quickly and redeem yourself when you wake up."
"Well, when you say that, I feel better."
"Don't put too much pressure on yourself, you just have too much pressure."
Maybe, because I know that only the palm print can save An Lan, so this is more important than my life.
After exchanging pleasantries with An Lan, we ended the call.
After finding an outlet for the words I was holding back in my heart, I felt a little more relaxed.
When I got back to the bed in the room, I didn't think about it so much anymore. After setting the alarm clock on my phone, I fell asleep.
After sleeping for less than three hours, I woke up to the reminder of the alarm clock.
Although I was still very sleepy, I couldn't sleep anymore. I had to redeem the palm print as soon as the pawn shop opened to avoid being bought by others.
Wu Di has also woken up, and I asked him to wash up first.
Chen Xiaogang is still sleeping, and his snoring is loud, but he sleeps soundly!
He had no idea how important the thing he sold was, and there was really nothing I could do against him.
I woke him up and untied his hands and feet.
After Wu Di finished washing up, I asked him to look at Chen Xiaogang. After I went to wash up, we left the hotel together.
The pawn shop is across the street and is not open yet.
I bought steamed buns, fried dough sticks and soy milk from a nearby breakfast shop, and stood guard at the door of the pawn shop.
At 8:30 in the morning, the pawn shop finally opened.
I immediately walked in and said, "Are you the owner of the pawn shop?"
The young man shook his head at me and said, "I'm not the boss. Do you want to pawn it or redeem it?"
"Shu, a box this big was sold to you yesterday. Please help me take it out."
"Box? What box?"
I called Chen Xiaogang in, and he told me that the owner of the pawn shop came to collect it yesterday.
It seemed that the young man was unaware, so I asked him again: "When will your boss come?"
"It will probably take a while."
"Then you go about your business, I'll wait here."
Time flew by and another half hour passed, and the owner of the pawn shop finally came. He was a middle-aged man with a big belly and looked very greasy.
I didn't waste any time and walked up to him and said, "Are you the boss? I called you last night and asked you for a dark purple box that was sold to you yesterday."
He looked at me with a smile and said, "You came quite early!"
"I've been waiting here for an hour."
He didn't talk nonsense to me and asked, "How much do you plan to buy it back for?"
"Say a price!"
"Twenty thousand."
Before he finished speaking, Chen Xiaogang became excited: "Boss, this is a bit unethical! Yesterday you sold it to me for two hundred yuan, and now I want to buy it back for twenty thousand? Do you do this kind of business?"
The owner of the pawn shop didn't listen to his complaints. He waved and said, "If we can't get it out, we won't talk about it."
"It's me who wants to buy it, not him." I said, "Twenty thousand, take it out!"
Yes, I don't want to bargain with him. This thing is more important than my life. Isn't it just 20,000 yuan?
The boss smiled and said, "Wait a minute, I'll get it for you."
We continued to wait, and Chen Xiaogang kept his head lowered and said to me in a deep voice: "Brother, I'm really sorry! I caused you to lose 20,000 yuan in vain."
"Stop talking."
He quickly shut up, and after waiting for a while, I heard the pawn shop owner ask the young man: "Xiao Qiu, where were the things I put in the second safe last night?"
The young man replied: "Boss, Mr. Zhang came to pick it up last night. All the goods received in the past two days have been taken away."