Rebirth of the Godly Prodigal

Panda Novel

“Well,” Hong Dali asked. “I took over the shop beside yours for twenty-five thousand. How come yours is even cheaper?”

“Ah, I forgot to mention this just now.” Hao Jihao smiled even more slyly. “I still have some things in the store I have yet to return, worth about two or three thousand. Little Brother, you’ll have to take over those things too. There’s no need to collect money for it. You just have to return the items when the people come in with the money.”

By right, when people went to pawn shops, they pawned things. They would offer collateral and the pawn shop would give them money. When they redeemed their things, they would have to pay the shop and the shop would give the things they left as collateral. However, Hao Jihao said that there were things he had yet to return. That was really strange.

Tang Muxin whispered to Xue Ji, “Sister Xue Ji, is this Boss Hao getting things wrong? If someone comes in to pawn something, shouldn’t he give money and take back the money when they redeem it? How come he doesn’t want to collect money for this portion of the things?”

Xue Ji was indeed well-informed and quick-witted. In no time at all, she understood what was happening and replied in a whisper, “There must be some problems with these things. Most likely, Boss Hao realized one of these items is very valuable. He intends to take it and abscond, abandoning the rest of the things. If the person returns to redeem that item, he will have no choice but to return it.”

“Ah?” Tang Muxin was surprised. “If we buy this store, won’t we be making a big loss? What if the person wants to redeem it?”

By this time, Hong Dali had also already figured out what was happening. He smiled and asked, “Boss Hao, I feel there’s something going on here. Why don’t you just tell me the truth? If I see the receipts, I can at least decide if I should buy the shop or not. Otherwise, if you run off just like this and I end up having to compensate someone millions, I won’t be able to afford it.” He was a prodigal, but Hong Dali would not take the fall for others.

“Little brother, you are an understanding man.” Boss Hao smiled and took out a receipt. “This is the one. The owner hasn’t been back to redeem it for half a year. In actual fact, it’s already overdue. My shop is not making any money anyway, so, might as well. Hehe.” He did not finish the sentence, but what he meant was that the item was overdue and he would be profiting if he sold the item. He might as well let the shop go since it was not earning much. He could sell it, get some cash and change jobs. Everyone would be happy.

“Oh, it’s like that.” Hong Dali nodded and said, “In that case, you should give me the receipt, right?”

“Of course,” Boss Hao said. “As long as you take over the shop, this receipt and all the things that have been pawned here are all yours.”

Since there were no other issues, Hong Dali immediately agreed. “Deal. That’s settled then. Xiaoyi, process it.”

They processed all the documentation and the sale was thus finalized. Boss Hao gave the receipt to Hong Dali and then left humming. Judging from his expression, he had obviously earned a lot!

Squandered Value: 65,000! Not bad!

At this time, Hong Dali looked at the receipt carefully. It was just a +1 Energy core. He had thought it was something good…

“Good day, Boss!” In the blink of an eye, Hong Dali had become his new boss. The young man wiped the cold sweat off his head. Fortunately, he had not said anything too rude earlier. His little heart was thumping hard. “In the future, you will be my boss. If I’m lacking in any way, please have patience with me!”

“Ah, don’t worry.” Hong Dali grinned and said, “How do I address you, brother? In the future, I will need you to take care of matters in this pawn shop!”

“Don’t worry, that’s not a problem!” The young man said, “My name is Luo Qiang, please take care of me in the future!”

Speaking of which, Comrade Luo Qiang was taking a nap like usual since there was nothing to do. When he got off work, he would be able to log into the virtual world for some fun and make some money. “Professional Sniper seeking for a group. Only nine Galaxy Dollars. Seeking for love and support. Can cook and warm the bed!”

He did not expect that after his nap, his boss would have changed…

“Ah, well, boss,” Luo Qiang asked Hong Dali about his next task. “What do we need to do next?”

After all, he was working for someone and he had to be courteous and portray an appropriate attitude.

“Ah, in fact, there’s nothing much to do.” Hong Dali laughed. “If there are customers, serve them. If there are no customers, do whatever you want. Anyway, I took over this pawn shop for the purpose of squandering.”

Luo Qiang suddenly felt that today was a really peculiar day.

He had only said a few words and the pawn shop’s boss had changed, and then the new boss said that the purpose of this pawn shop was actually just for squandering his family fortune…

Did the world change so quickly? Did I transmigrate while I was sleeping?

“That, Boss,” Luo Qiang said hesitantly. “You really want to squander? A pawn shop is different from other businesses. Even if you don’t plan to earn any money, you should still give me a rough guideline. Otherwise, when people bring in just any worthless stone, do I accept it or not? If I accept it, your money is squandered, but I am afraid you will be dissatisfied. If I don’t accept it, you do not squander, but I still fear you will be dissatisfied…”

He said all of that like a tongue twister. All the nonsense he spouted while looking serious actually did make some sense.

“This is a good question!” Hong Dali nodded with satisfaction. Manager Luo Qiang was a talent, he should be wisely used. “I will give you a monthly salary of two thousand for now!”

Fang Han covered his face with his hand. “Two thousand monthly is not low…”

Luo Qiang was happily surprised. This new boss was great. His salary had increased by more than 50% in the blink of an eye. His previous pay was just 1,200…

“Well, to put it simply,” said Hong Dali as he started giving his instructions. “We obviously cannot accept just any rubbish. It’s best if we accept things like ores, raw materials, and things like that. These things are more promising. We do not want finished products like spaceships, real estate, etc.. There is no fun in accepting those. Everyone knows their value. It’s boring.”

What most other pawn shops liked to accept as collateral were real estate or spacecraft. If they could get high-quality Alien Cores, that was even better.

Real estate or Alien Cores had the best value. As long as you got the deed, you would not make a loss. Things like spaceships depreciated faster, but the pawn shop mainly earned from the derivative value of this kind of transportation. For example, you pawned a spaceship for five thousand. When you redeem it, you pay five thousand too. However, after having been in the hands of the pawnshop, the spacecraft you get back will not be the exact same one you pawned. Something would be wrong if it had not flown an additional tens of millions of kilometers!

As it turned out, Hong Dali declared that he did not want any of those things. God, why did he open a pawn shop then?

Luo Qiang gulped as he listened. He said, stunned, “Boss, we only accept things like ores or other raw material? This needs a good eye, I’m afraid I might make a mistake…”

“As long as it’s not a completely useless stone, we will take it.” It did not seem to matter to Hong Dali. “If there are things like armor or weapons, you can accept those as well. You decide on the price. After all, you are the expert!”

“I…” Luo Qiang suddenly felt like he was under a lot of pressure—what am I an expert in? This pawn shop did not usually accept things like that! However, the boss had given instructions and he still had to accept them. Luo Qiang nodded, stupefied. “O… okay…”

Fortunately, Luo Qiang quickly came around—a pawn shop boss who could open a pawn shop next to another pawn shop, and the first deal he made was to pawn the pawn shop that was next to this pawn shop was definitely not your average boss!

He must be a super prodigal boss!

When he thought about it this way, he felt very much relieved!

It seemed that this prodigal was completely hopeless. Dejected and despondent, Tang Muxin pulled Li Nianwei and headed out. “Sister Nianwei, let’s go back first. If we stay here, the prodigal is going to drive us to our graves.”

Just as they reached the doorway, a skinny, blue-skinned old man who had shifty eyes walked in with his hands behind his back. Luo Qiang, who had just got a new boss, saw that someone was coming into the shop and immediately went up to welcome him. He smiled and asked, “Uncle, what do you want to pawn?”

After the old man entered the door, he did not seem to be in a hurry to speak. Instead, he looked around and said, “Oh, nothing. I’m just taking a look.”

Luo Qiang: “…”

Who went into a pawn shop to take a look?

“That…” Luo Qiang said hesitantly. “We’re a pawn shop, not a supermarket…”

“I know that.” The old man finally stated his purpose. “Why didn’t the shopkeeper next door open his shop for business today?”

“Ah, that,” Luo Qiang said with a smile. “The shop next door has already been taken over.”

“Taken over?” The old man said in surprise, “Who took it over?”

At this time, Hong Dali started feeling curious. “I took over it. What’s the matter?”

“You took over the shop?” The old man stared. “How much did you pay?”

“Twenty-five thousand.” Hong Dali sighed and said, “I had originally planned to offer fifty thousand…”

“Twenty-five thousand…” The old man ignored the rest of what Hong Dali said and sighed. “I originally wanted to take over the shop, but was hoping to push the price down some more, so I did not make an offer. I didn’t expect you to get it. What kind of business do you plan to do after taking over the store? I was planning to open an activity center for the elderly. What about you?”

“Me?” Hong Dali perked up. “I’m going to open a pawn shop!”

“Pawn… pawn shop?!” This time, the old man was shocked. He looked around and said, “Open a pawn shop next to a pawn shop?”

Hong Dali smiled and said, “Ah, not really. I took this shop over as well…”

The old man shook his head and said, “This area is not good for anything other than opening an activity room suitable for idle people. But…” At this point, his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked Hong Dali up and down and raised his thumbs, saying, “Young man, you are bold and courageous! You dare to do things that ordinary people do not. Great! You are someone capable of great things!”

“Old Sir, you think too highly of me,” Hong Dali said with a dazzling smile. “I don’t have that kind of ability!”

“Superb!” The old man smiled quietly. “The young are to be reckoned with, the young are to be reckoned with!” After saying that, he started leaving.

Tang Muxin quickly caught up with him. She whispered, “Grandpa, you said that Hong Dali was a man capable of great things. No matter how I look at this, I cannot see any kind of future for these two shops. Why are you so full of admiration for him? Can you explain it to me?”