mtl008 Chapter 215 is full of traps
Chapter 215 is full of traps
Seeing Wang Ergou's embarrassed look, Ma Hongxia quickly handed him a handkerchief.
Wang Ergou looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he felt less ashamed.
Little did he know that his naive and unsophisticated appearance had already caught the eye of those with ulterior motives.
In the back of the train, a man wearing a Zhongshan suit and glasses put away his newspaper, straightened his collar, and stood up as if nothing had happened.
"Excuse me," the man said in a low voice.
He weaved through the seats, clutching a soda bottle cap tightly in his hand, his expression suddenly becoming excited, and his pace quickening unconsciously.
His eagerness, coupled with his impeccable attire, made him particularly eye-catching.
Just as he passed Wang Ergou's seat, a man in a gray Zhongshan suit suddenly stood up and bumped right into him.
"Ouch!" The bespectacled man stumbled, and the soda bottle cap slipped from his hand, landing precisely at Wang Ergou's feet, revealing the words "Congratulations on winning: 10,000 yuan" inside.
"Can't you watch where you're going?" the man in gray shouted angrily.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," the bespectacled man apologized repeatedly, hurriedly trying to pick up the bottle, but the man in gray beat him to it.
"This...you've won the lottery?" The man in gray's voice suddenly rose. "But brother, you can't cash it in on this train. How about this, you transfer it to me? You know, it takes quite a while to actually get the money!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down!" The bespectacled man stamped his foot impatiently. "Give it back to me!"
"Brother, why are you so inflexible? I've already told you, you can't cash it in the car. And if you really want to, the procedures are incredibly complicated. Besides, it's not even in your name, how can you prove it's yours? It's in my hands right now!"
The man in gray stubbornly gripped the bottle.
Wang Ergou has been stunned ever since.
Ten thousand yuan! Why is it that we were both drinking soda, but I didn't get a penny and even made a fool of myself in public, while others won so much money?
He subconsciously swallowed, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two.
The two men exchanged a glance, both seeing a triumphant smile in each other's eyes. Now that their target had taken the bait, it was time to add fuel to the fire.
"Hey, how about we talk about something?" the man in gray suddenly lowered his voice. "I have this bottle cap now. If you want it back, you'll have to offer something in return, right?"
The bespectacled man looked extremely anxious upon hearing this: "How...how many do you want?"
"How about this, ten thousand is too much, I'll give you five thousand, what do you think?" The man in gray grinned, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.
"No, no," the bespectacled man waved his hands repeatedly, but his tone softened slightly. "This is ten thousand yuan! Five thousand is too little."
When Wang Ergou heard this number, his breathing became rapid.
Making five thousand just by reselling it, this deal is incredibly lucrative.
Why didn't I find the bottle cap myself?
He couldn't have been more regretful at that moment.
From beginning to end, Li Xiangyang remained a detached observer of the entire scene.
Ironically, he had seen this kind of scam on TV many times in his previous life, but he never thought he would see it in person.
If Wang Ergou hadn't been so engrossed in his act, he would have really wanted to see just how far these two con artists could go.
“I say to you two,” Li Xiangyang stood up, looking down at the two men, “that’s enough of your acting.”
The two men were taken aback, then looked Li Xiangyang up and down warily.
They didn't expect that the fish would be exposed so easily before they even took the bait.
"What do you mean by 'acting'?" the man in gray retorted. "Young man, are you out of your mind? What business is it of yours what we two brothers are having a conversation about?"
“Indeed, you two continue.” Li Xiangyang sneered. “Ergou, think about whether gold ingots could fall from the sky and happen to land in front of you. Think about how that bottle cap could just happen to fall in front of you? And think about it again, how much does a bottle of soda cost? Ten thousand yuan, how many bottles could you get for that? Could a factory produce that many in a whole year…”
Upon hearing Li Xiangyang's words, the surrounding passengers were all drawn to his words and cast curious glances at him.
Seeing Wang Ergou's increasingly grim expression, the bespectacled man and the man in gray exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of displeasure in their eyes.
Although Li Xiangyang was telling the truth, they simply refused to accept it.
The bespectacled man wore a playful smile, his expression unchanged: "Comrade, are you just jealous?"
“Exactly,” the man in gray chimed in, “someone else is lucky enough to win the lottery, and you’re making sarcastic remarks? Come on, brother, let’s talk somewhere else. Don’t pay attention to this country bumpkin.”
The two of them acted as if they couldn't wait to find a place to cash in their money, their eyes revealing their eagerness.
If Li Xiangyang hadn't reminded him beforehand, anyone who saw this would have thought it was true.
Even with Li Xiangyang's reminder, some people still had doubts, wondering if it was true or not.
Seeing this, Li Xiangyang couldn't help but admire the two actors' acting skills.
This mental fortitude must have taken countless years of training.
Only after the two swindlers had walked away did Wang Ergou realize what was happening: "Brother Xiangyang, this...this was a scam?"
“Exactly,” Li Xiangyang sighed, “This scam isn’t clever at all. A bottle of soda costs three cents, so even if the cost is one cent per bottle, how long would it take a factory to produce ten thousand bottles? Besides, the prizes are for promotion, but these days, even with nationwide advertising, will it sell?”
Ma Hongxia grasped Wang Ergou's hand: "Yes, Xiangyang is right. Even with nationwide promotion, ordinary people would be lucky to afford it once a year. They've got us figured out that we're naive and greedy."
“Yes, Er Gou,” Li Xiaoyun said, “you absolutely mustn’t take it to heart, or you’ll fall for it.”
Wang Ergou scratched his head: "Brother Xiangyang, I'm not doubting you, I just don't understand. Neither of them paid any attention to me the whole time, and they didn't let me pick it up either. Why do you think they were after me?"
"Ergou, didn't you notice that we've been getting attention ever since we got on the bus—no, to be precise, ever since we started drinking soda?"
"Because you can afford soda, it proves you have some money, and because you choked on it, you became their target."
"Think about it, what would happen if you took the bait after they put on this show in the car today?" Li Xiangyang asked.
Wang Ergou thought for a moment: "Then it must be paying for the bottle caps."
“No, you can’t come up with five thousand.” Li Xiangyang shook his head. “To make it real, they won’t budge an inch; they’re sticking to five thousand. This whole charade is bait to make you believe it’s real, so you won’t regret missing the opportunity.”
Wang Ergou nodded thoughtfully.
"After we get off the bus, guess what will happen?" Li Xiangyang continued, "Someone will definitely pretend to be from the prize redemption counter and make you watch them redeem the prize. Halfway through, they'll suddenly have a family emergency—a relative has had an accident. They urgently need cash for life-saving treatment. Since redeeming the prize takes time, they'll sell it at a low price."
"Then...what if I buy it?" Wang Ergou asked.
"That fake prize redemption clerk will definitely say it's too late today and tell you to come back tomorrow. By the time you go the next day, they'll be long gone."
"This scam seems simple, but it's actually full of traps. Think about it, why do they choose trains? Because everyone on a train is just passing through..."