False evidence

Chapter 298 It's a real lifesaver
The bald boss is Yan Fengwei.

When I mentioned "bees, hemp, swallows, and sparrows," he paused for a moment, then his eyebrows shot up. "Damn it! Another bunch of bastards! I've got my eye on them. If I see them again, I'll kill them!"

I didn't expect him to react so strongly. "Why are you so angry? Did you quarrel with your sister-in-law again?"

Yan Fengwei waved his hand, "Alright, alright, you've come at the right time. I don't need to do business today, let's go inside, you can have a drink with me for a while."

After closing the shop, Yan Fengwei opened two bags of peanuts and two bags of vacuum-packed meat products.

Seeing the trash can full of instant noodle packets, I couldn't help but ask, "Why are you living in such dire straits? What happened?"

Yan Fengwei downed his drink in one gulp, then wiped his eyes. "Don't even mention it. I got ripped off before the New Year. I spent 260,000 yuan on something that turned out to be fake."

I exclaimed in surprise, "Two hundred and sixty thousand?"

Yan Fengwei nodded: "That's right, more than 200,000 yuan is no small sum. But the stuff we received isn't even worth fifty yuan. That's why I don't dare to see your sister-in-law. I came to the store yesterday."

I finally understood why he sounded down on the phone.

Yan Fengwei took another sip of his drink and said bitterly, "If this were just a rip-off, I'd accept it. But the worst part is, I got scammed!"

"How did you get scammed?" Xiao Shen asked three times.

Yan Fengwei rubbed his eyes: "What they showed me was the real thing, but they switched it when I received it. I was blind to trust them; I knew it was counterfeit just to make more money. Now I can't even call the police."

I could only shake my head.

He had told me before that "ghost goods" are items stolen from ancient tombs by tomb raiders. Tomb raiding is illegal, so these items generally don't circulate in the market and can only be bought and sold through intermediaries. Low-value items are fine, but if they are high-value, both buying and selling them are illegal.

"Don't just drink, I have two things here, take a look."

I stopped Yan Fengwei from raising his wine glass, took the backpack, and pulled out four bronze mirrors that looked almost identical.

After a moment of surprise, Yan Fengwei said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "Damn, are you doing wholesale?"

I pointed at Xiao Shen San and couldn't help but laugh, "This is what he did. He saw that it was a scam, and I wanted to take them down. I told him to buy fakes, and our Third Master really went all out, buying four from a street stall!"

Yan Fengwei's eyes lit up: "I understand now. So the scammers failed to swindle you, but instead made you switch the items? Is that right?"

I nodded.

Yan Fengwei's eyes were red. "Tell me what happened. I've been fooled once, so I need to be more careful and not let anyone trick me again!"

I recounted the entire process, from when I first met the woman until I was asked to authenticate a bronze mirror at her shop.

Yan Fengwei was clearly confused. "Did I not understand, or did you not explain clearly? You didn't spend a single penny from beginning to end, so what are they trying to achieve by going through all this trouble?"

I clinked glasses with him: "Brother, they're not trying to swindle my money, they're trying to swindle yours."

I suspect Yan Fengwei has been drinking a lot these days, and his mind is clearly not as sharp as before; he still says he doesn't understand what I mean.

I had no choice but to explain to him:
"The women selling things, the old men buying things, the bamboo pole, the glasses guy, and the burly, simple-minded guy who's been secretly following them are all in cahoots."

Before I even entered the store, they tried to trick me, just to get me involved. Think about it, if we didn't know each other, wouldn't you assume I was the owner of the items?

I gave you a real bronze mirror, saying it was for you to authenticate. If it's truly valuable, shouldn't you try to buy it?

Yan Fengwei slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "It's another damn trick!"

I nodded: "If you see something good and want to buy it, then they've achieved their goal. It's a cash-on-delivery transaction; the money is real, but the goods are fake once they're in your hands. Even if it's not counterfeit, you can call the police, but you'll definitely think I'm a scammer. The police might investigate me, but I'm completely clueless; what can they possibly find out?"

Yan Fengwei let out a long sigh, "These bastards, they're all monkeys in disguise. You can't guard against them all."

"Actually, they didn't do their job well; their skills aren't that high. Otherwise, they wouldn't have teamed up to cheat people like this. If you ask me, these scoundrels haven't even graduated yet."

The words came from my mouth, but they were Lü Xin's arguments.

I picked out two bronze mirrors from the four and placed them in front of Yan Fengwei.

Yan Fengwei picked up a piece of paper, his expression shifting between light and dark for a moment, then he pursed his lips and said:

“In the early Republic of China period, a model imitating the Western Han Dynasty was only worth a few thousand.”

Then he picked up the other side and stared at it for a full minute.

He looked at it for another five or six minutes before carefully putting down the bronze mirror, taking off his gloves, and clinking his wine glass against mine.
"Thanks, brother, you saved my life."

"Is this thing real? From the Western Han Dynasty?"

"Tsk, if it were from the Western Han Dynasty, it wouldn't just be a matter of money! It would have to stay in a museum!"

Yan Fengwei finished his drink, grinned, and said, "A Yuan Dynasty replica, genuine and top-notch, worth at least tens of thousands."

My eyelids twitched suddenly, and I muttered, "These swindlers are the same ones who scammed you before."

Yan Fengwei was taken aback: "How did you know?"

"To pull off this kind of switcheroo trick, you need to have real stuff in your hands. One item is worth over 200,000 yuan, another is worth over 100,000 yuan... Are there many swindlers with that kind of 'capability'? Besides, you've already been swindled out of 260,000 yuan, and you can't call the police, so you have to find a way to make up for your losses. If you see real stuff, wouldn't you want to buy it? If you get anxious and upset, you'll fall for the switcheroo trick again!"

As I recounted the story, I couldn't help but gasp in shock.

Yan Fengwei has already been scammed out of 260,000 yuan. If he were to be scammed out of another 100,000 yuan, not to mention the money, the psychological impact alone would be unbearable.

He might not commit suicide for money, but two blows in a row will most likely break his will. How can he do business again? It's tantamount to taking his life!
"Stop saying anything!"

Yan Fengwei choked up as he said, "From this day forward, you are my own brother!"

"Put the wine glass down first."

I pointed to the bronze mirror he looked at first, "It's true that this is a replica from the Republic of China era, but there might be a hidden layer inside."

Yan Fengwei's eyes darted around, he picked up the bronze mirror, tapped it with his finger, looked at me, and said with shining eyes:
"Dude, you've really struck it rich!"

Do you know what's inside?

Yan Fengwei said, "Judging from the sound, it's copper."

I scoffed, "What the hell does that matter?"

"Don't be like that. If it were gold or silver, it wouldn't be worth much. But if it's bronze, then you can't estimate its price."

I smiled and said, "If you say it's valuable, then I'll sell it to you. I don't need much; the scammer asked for five thousand, so just give me five thousand."

(End of this chapter)