After another half a month at home, this boring day finally came to an end. Mustache called me a month later and told me that Xiao Jiuhe had managed to escape from them again.

I asked him, "What's the matter, haven't you already cast a net?" ”

The mustache said helplessly: "We do have the exact location of his hiding, but that guy is too cunning!" Our first arrest was ostensibly a success, with a dozen ghosts and one person captured at once. But later it was confirmed that the guy we caught turned out to be an impostor! Really Xiao Jiuhe has already run away! ”

I was surprised: "So, there is still someone behind Xiao Jiuhe who is protecting him?" ”

"That's for sure! And the force that protects him is not small, and it is also very deeply hidden! The mustache suddenly lowered his voice and said, "I even began to suspect that it might be that someone from our Dao Gate leaked the news!" ”

"Won't it?" I was also taken aback. The relationship between Dao Xiu and Yin Xiu is not very good, not to mention that it still involves Yin cultivation scum like Xiao Jiuhe. He walked around in the Yin Cultivation Circle and dodged, for fear of being discovered, how could he still have so much energy to penetrate and rebel inside the Dao Cultivation?

"Of course, this is just some of my personal speculations, and no evidence has been found yet." The mustache clarified again.

I asked him, "Since he found out and ran away in your first action, why did you stay in Wencheng County for so long?" ”

The mustache said: "Although the others ran away, they still left a lot of clues." We continued to track it down, and even turned over all the Yin Cultivation Sects in Wencheng County, and it turned out that the guy who covered for Xiao Jiuhe was a disciple of a small local sect! ”

"And what do their bosses say?"

"Humph!" The mustache said contemptuously: "Naturally, he brushed off his responsibilities cleanly, and even abolished that disciple's cultivation in front of us and expelled him from the door!" ”

"To put it bluntly, it's just a loss of pawn to protect the car!" I can only sneer. No wonder Master has been too lazy to interact with other Yin Cultivation sects, these people are so selfish, they usually secretly do a bunch of pickles, and once something goes wrong, they will kick the disciples of the sect as scapegoats!

The mustache continued: "Of course, that scapegoat was also interrogated by us, and a lot of things were dug out of his mouth. Therefore, we later tracked Xiao Jiuhe's whereabouts all the way, and only then did we cut off all the clues until we reached Yazhou City. The hall master has decided to withdraw us, and the rest of the investigation will be handed over to the branch hall in Yazhou City to do. ”

"And what are your plans now?"

"What else can I do?" The mustache said excitedly, "Although this operation is the information I found, since I didn't get the expected results, the hall master only praised me verbally." I'll go back to the provincial capital tomorrow, and I'll be given a rest for three or five days at most, and then I'll continue to take care of my antique shop, and then I'm almost going to start taking on the task! So my main purpose in calling you is to ask when are you coming up? If you are okay at home, you should go back to the provincial capital early. ”

Naturally, I gladly accepted the mustache's invitation. It just so happens that I've been worrying about the tuition fees for the next school year lately, and I went to the provincial capital in advance to do tasks with him, so that I can hurry up and earn some more bonuses.

I made up my mind, so I greeted my parents and asked Han Jie to explain the situation. My argument is to go back to the provincial capital in advance to work and earn tuition, and this reason should be very sufficient. It's just that Han Jie still doesn't give up, and insists that I take time out next month to accompany her to participate in that kind of ghost volunteer activity. I couldn't resist her preaching, so I reluctantly agreed.

Before leaving, I was sure that I still had to say goodbye to Master, and by the way, I cheekily made a request to him: to lend me money to pay for my tuition.

It's not that I, an apprentice, don't know how to take advantage of the master, but last year he took the initiative to mention this, saying, "If you really don't have the money to pay the tuition for the next school year, come to me again to get it." "So, after thinking about it, I decided to ask him to borrow it.

When Master heard my words, he frowned. I thought he was very embarrassed, maybe he just said it so casually last year, and he had already forgotten it by this time, so he hurriedly said, "Master, if you are tight, forget it, I'll go to someone else to borrow it!" ”

Master said, "When you go to school, I'm still very supportive." It's just that I'm going to rebuild the ghost market now, and in addition to the lack of ghosts, I also lack cash. Because when the market opened, I had to make sure that I had enough RMB to exchange for the stall owners, so I really couldn't come up with any money for a while. However, I have saved a lot of Yin Yuan here, otherwise you can exchange some for cash! ”

"Exchange Yin Yuan? Where to change? "I wondered.

"It's in the provincial capital." Master said as he pulled out the big box under his bed, "Then I'll give you another address, and you can change it yourself." If someone asks where you got these Yin Yuan, you will say that they are my apprentice, and I will send you to change them. ”

I watched Master open the big box and open the mezzanine, and I wanted to see what treasures he had hidden in the little box. Master made a gesture to me and told me to turn away. I reluctantly did so.

When Master finished taking the things, he pushed the big box back and told me to turn it around. Then he handed me a bag with dozens of Yin Yuan bulging inside. He said: "It's fifty yin yuan, the exchange rate in the provincial city is high, at least five or six thousand yuan can be exchanged, it should be enough for you to pay tuition, right?" ”

I hurriedly nodded and said, "Enough!" That's enough! "Before that, there was a scholarship of 1,000 yuan and Ou Dong repaid me 3,000 yuan, plus my original savings, at least the tuition fee was enough to pay. As for living expenses, I went to the provincial capital and went to earn it with a mustache.

After the master took the Yin Yuan, he went to find a piece of letter paper and sat down to write a letter. I asked him who he wanted to write to, and he replied, "You still have to have a stable income in the provincial capital." I'll write another letter to Donald, and you take it and go to him again. Donald owes me more than that, he will rearrange for you to go back to Xiling Ghost Market to work. ”

It's impossible for me to refuse Master's kindness, but I still don't want to go back to the ghost market for the time being, anyway, now I can make money with the mustache, and there are more, why bother to look at the faces of Donald and Hou Da Pan again?

After a brief packing, I hitchhiked to the provincial capital. At this time, it was still during the summer vacation, and the New South China Technical School did not provide summer overnight stays, so I did not go back to school, but lived directly in the antique shop of the mustache. I also told the mustache before, and I will temporarily borrow the sofa in his store as a bed. I've slept on it twice, and I feel quite comfortable, so don't pick and choose from a wage earner like me.

After I came here a few times, the store manager, the buddy and the master all got to know me, and I also knew that I was now the mustache's right-hand man, and I also had "stunts"!

When I had nothing to do in private, I talked to the store manager about the antique industry. He said to me, "Don't look at the fact that there are a lot of customers in our store every day, in fact, they all see more and buy less." Even if you buy it, you can buy some handicrafts or imitations, which don't make much money. ”

I asked him, "Have you ever sold an imitation as if it were the real thing?" ”

The store manager shook his head and said, "I don't dare to say anything about other stores, but our store is still operated in good faith, and we do business with old customers." The boss never allowed us to deceive people with fakes, otherwise the customer would come back with something and make trouble, and he would smash the signboard. In fact, there is a difference between imitations, there are ancient imitations and new imitations. Although the imitation is not real, it is an antiquity, and it is worth a lot of money in itself. Because the new imitation has to be old, the workmanship must be more troublesome than the general handicrafts, and the cost is not necessarily low. When a customer comes to ask, we will tell the truth that he will buy if he is willing to buy, and forget it if he is not willing. ”

"Is anyone willing to buy a replica?" I can't figure it out.

"Yes!" The store manager explains: "Some people just like to buy imitations. Because he couldn't afford the real thing, he bought some imitations and went back to look at them to fill the façade. Including some connoisseurs, they deliberately bought some similar imitations back as a comparison, and then sold the real thing in his hand at a high price! ”

"Oh!" I nodded in understanding. It seems that the water in this antique industry is indeed deep, not to mention really, even if it is fake, there are so many ways in it. It's no wonder that the mustache went to the ghost market with me, and I could tell the truth at a glance.

"Then a real antique should make a lot of money, right?" I know that the mustache often collects some bright objects of unknown origin, and asks me to palm my eyes. Supposedly, it is impossible not to make money by buying at a low price and selling at a high price!

The store manager admitted. However, he added: "The profit is not as exaggerated as you think. Because most of the people who come to buy the real thing are connoisseurs, everyone knows what the market price is. When we sell it to him, we want to make money, and he will also think about how much we can make back when the thing appreciates in value and then sells it again? Therefore, it is not often that Kaizi who has a lot of money and a lot of stupidity to automatically send you money to the door! ”

Compared with the store manager's talkativeness, the master doesn't like to communicate with people very much. I worked with him a few more times later, and he appraised it, and I saw it. But every time he doesn't take the initiative to speak, except for what he should say and what he has to ask me. Once, when we were waiting for a customer to come to the door, I boldly asked him, "Master, do you have any tricks in the antique appraisal industry?" ”

The master glanced at me, sneered and said, "The trick is that you are like me, you have been in this industry for twenty or thirty years, and when you reach my age, you can pick up an iron rice bowl." If you want to serve a golden job, you also need to have enough family resources and doors, otherwise you don't have to think about it! ”