The boss suddenly stood up, his surprised eyes darting back and forth between Xu Qingqing and the coins.
"How could you agree so readily? These coins can't be real, can they?"
How could Xu Qingqing tell the boss the truth? She just made up an excuse casually.
"Of course they're not real. It's just that my dad likes collecting coins, and I want to give them to him as a New - Year gift."
Hearing this, the boss relaxed his vigilance. He just thought Xu Qingqing was a fool with plenty of money to buy these coins.
It so happened that he was worried about not being able to sell them at a profit. In this case, he could just sell them all to Xu Qingqing.
"Okay, I'll pack them for you." After saying that, the boss casually grabbed a plastic bag and roughly stuffed all the gold coins into it.
Xu Qingqing paid the money briskly, took the bag and left. Then she and Lu Chuanbai strolled on in the market at a leisurely pace.
The two kids had already had a wild time following Lu's father and Lu Fenglin.
Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai searched for them for a long time but couldn't find them. They had no choice but to call and tell them to let them know when they were going back.
The snack - stall owners on both sides of the road were doing their best to make the snacks smell delicious and look tempting. Xu Qingqing, who hadn't eaten such snacks for a long time since being abroad, couldn't move her feet.
Every time she saw a delicious snack, Xu Qingqing would always stuff the unfinished snack in her hand into Lu Chuanbai's hand and then buy a new one.
Before long, Lu Chuanbai was holding a large pile of food in his arms. Xu Qingqing happened to glance over and saw the many plastic bags in Lu Chuanbai's hands. She felt a bit embarrassed.
These were clearly all the snacks she ate, but it was Lu Chuanbai who had to carry them.
Xu Qingqing took the initiative to take the plastic bags from Lu Chuanbai's hands. Her palm - sized face glowed pink in the sunlight, with a delicate nose and a pair of peach - blossom eyes with slightly curved corners shining brightly.
"Sorry, I got too excited and bought too many. I'll finish them all right now."
"No need."
Lu Chuanbai blinked, his long and narrow phoenix eyes filled with a gentle smile. He raised his hand to stop Xu Qingqing, his eyes full of doting.
"Buy whatever you want to eat. I can still carry these."
"But if we can't finish them, it will be a waste."
Wasting food was not Xu Qingqing's style. She still wanted to finish them all, after all, Lu Chuanbai didn't like these street - stall snacks.
Unexpectedly, Lu Chuanbai picked up a takoyaki and took a bite. Under Xu Qingqing's nervous gaze, Lu Chuanbai raised his eyes and gave a gentle smile, nodding to praise the taste of the takoyaki.
"The taste is good."
Seeing that Lu Chuanbai was willing to try these snacks, Xu Qingqing felt a bit relieved.
Eating these snacks brought a kind of happiness that eating steak couldn't.
However, Xu Qingqing still didn't feel at ease with him eating too much and gently reminded him.
"Don't eat too much for the first time. You might not get used to it."
"Got it."
Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai walked all the way to the back of the market.
At the back of the market, there were all kinds of furniture and cabinets on sale.
Xu Qingqing was thinking about getting the gramophone she bought onto the car, so she didn't go all the way to the end and turned back.
When she got to the stall where she bought the gramophone, an old woman was arguing loudly with the stall owner.
The old woman was hunched over. Her wrinkled face was like the bark of an old tree. She was thin, and although her clothes were not fashionable, they were clean and tidy.
The old woman was arguing with the stall owner about something, and there were quite a few people at the market watching the commotion.
Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai couldn't squeeze in, so they stood behind the crowd and listened. They managed to get the gist of it.
The old woman's unfilial grandson had secretly sold the Yuan Datou silver coins and antiques that she had treasured for many years.
After the old woman found out, she immediately interrogated her grandson and learned that he had sold the items to a peddler who collected things in the countryside.
The old woman traced the peddler's trail to the market and wanted to buy back the items.
"Those are all the memories of me and my late husband. Boss, please be kind enough to sell them back to me."
The old woman pleaded desperately.
The boss was also quite helpless and regretful.
If he had known earlier that those coins and the gramophone were really from the Republic of China era, he would never have sold them for such a low price.
But the deal was already done, and the buyer had already paid. It wasn't appropriate for him to go back on his word.
Buying and selling antiques was like this. One wrong judgment could lead to a huge loss.
The boss looked at the old woman helplessly and let out a long sigh.
"Auntie, it's not that I don't want to return them to you. Your items have already been sold, and I can't get them back."
Hearing this, the old woman's eyes flashed with deep disappointment and sadness. Her gaze fell on the gramophone beside the boss's stall.
The boss was afraid that the old woman would misunderstand and quickly explained.
"Someone has already paid for this gramophone and will take it away later. If I return it to you, I won't have any goods for the customer."
Hearing this, the old woman's dull eyes showed a bit of embarrassment. She took out a blue - and - white handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, then let out a long sigh.
The old woman looked at the gramophone by the roadside reluctantly, filled with regret.
"Okay then, boss. I'm sorry to have caused you trouble. I'll leave now."
After saying that, the old woman turned around and left. Some onlookers who felt sorry for the old woman thought the boss was heartless.
Some busybodies even spoke up and morally pressured the boss.
"Boss, can't you think of a way to buy the items back and return them to the old woman? Look how sad she is."
"Right, boss. She came from so far away. You can't let her go back empty - handed. Even if you return a few of them for her to have a memento, it would be good."
Hearing the accusations from those who were just talking without thinking, the boss blushed with anger and argued for himself.
"Why are you saying this to me? I didn't force - buy these items. It was the old woman's grandson who sold them to me. I had no idea about all this."
"I've already sold them. How can I get them back!"
The angry boss caught sight of Xu Qingqing standing outside the crowd and immediately called out to her, diverting everyone's attention to Xu Qingqing.
"She's the one who bought the silver coins and the gramophone. Go negotiate with her! It has nothing to do with me."
There was a bit of complaint in the boss's tone. He was sure that Xu Qingqing must have known that the silver coins were genuine and had deliberately deceived him.
It would be great if Xu Qingqing and the old woman could sort things out. Then it would have nothing to do with him.
Xu Qingqing had no intention of running away. She walked up to the old woman calmly and generously.
When the old woman saw Xu Qingqing coming, hope immediately lit up in her eyes. She squeezed through the crowd and came in front of Xu Qingqing, her voice pleading.
"Please, could you sell one of the silver coins to me? I don't care how much it costs. Just let me have a memento."
As she spoke, tears welled up in the old woman's eyes again.
Xu Qingqing felt sorry for the crying old woman. Besides, she had bought these items at a bargain. So she couldn't bear it.
Xu Qingqing generously found most of the silver coins and gave them to the old woman.
"Grandma, I didn't know these were your silver coins. Now I'm returning most of them to you for free."