48: I think I received counterfeit money.
Chen Kai set two alarms with the same ringtone as an incoming call; one set to go off in ten minutes, and the other in twelve minutes.
Only then did he tuck his phone away and walk into the supermarket as if nothing were amiss.
Upon entering the supermarket, Chen Kai noticed the sparsely stocked shelves; the entire store was only thirty or forty square meters, not very large at all.
It was just one of those supermarkets located downstairs in a residential building, not some big store.
He glanced at the location of the Counter and saw a girl who looked like a college student, her eyes revealing a hint of clear-eyed stupidity, sitting next to the Counter playing on her phone.
He walked into the store nonchalantly, took a few bottles of red bull from the refrigerator, and grabbed a bottle of Nestlé coffee as well.
Using his free hand, he pulled out his phone to check the time; the alarm was set for three minutes later.
He continued to wander around the store, picked up two cups of instant noodles from the shelf, and held them in his arms.
Seeing that the alarm would go off in two minutes, he walked slowly to the Counter.
It was called a Counter, but it was really just a small stand welded together from iron frames and glass, with a few popular brands of cigarettes displayed inside the glass Counter.
"Please help me check out."
Chen Kai put on an anxious expression, constantly checking his phone.
"Oh, okay. Please wait a moment."
The Cashier put down her phone and tore a bag off the stack of plastic bags hanging behind her.
She then reached for a calculator kept inside a large iron box on the Counter.
"Six times four is twenty-four yuan, plus four, plus four, plus five..."
The sound of the calculator reached his ears. He looked down at his phone, and the moment the alarm went off, he deliberately waited a few seconds before answering the "alarm."
"Hello? I know. I'm buying things right now, I'll be at the gathering place soon.
What? Everyone has to pay twenty yuan each? Can't you just pay it?"
Chen Kai said this with feigned surprise, while catching a glimpse of the clear-eyed Cashier pricking up her ears to eavesdrop.
He couldn't help but chuckle inwardly; at this age, gossip is at its peak, and they will listen to anything, even if it's not actually gossip.
Seeing that the Cashier noticed this, he couldn't help but raise his voice a little.
"They don't accept WeChat or Alipay? Only cash? And they don't accept one-hundred-yuan notes? Everyone has to pay twenty yuan? Can't we pay for the tickets together? What kind of crappy place did you find?"
"Fine, I got it. Let me ask if there's a Bank nearby and see if they can exchange it."
Chen Kai twitched his lips speechlessly, holding his phone and making a gesture as if hanging up.
He glanced at the Cashier again; the latter looked like a primary school student caught cheating, immediately looking away as if nothing had happened, her acting was very poor.
"How much for all this?"
"Sixty-seven in total. You can scan me."
"Hmm, is there a Bank near here? I'm in a rush to exchange some money."
Chen Kai put on an awkward expression and asked with a smile.
"Ah... I haven't been working here long, but I think there's a slow Bank about two hundred meters to the right at the intersection."
The Cashier said this with a bit of social anxiety, standing up and pointing him in the direction.
Chen Kai chuckled, leisurely put the red bull into the plastic bag, and thanked her.
"Thanks."
He wasn't panicked at all; if it were far, he would have an excuse to ask her to exchange it directly, and if the Bank were close like this, the second alarm would come into play.
Before he had finished putting the red bull into the bag, the second alarm went off.
He immediately put on an impatient expression and answered the "alarm."
"Hello? Didn't I say I'd be there soon?"
"The boss is still rushing you? You're all waiting outside? They won't let you in without paying? I'm speechless. Fine, I got it. I'll be there soon. Luckily I'm buying things and there's a kind-hearted, beautiful Cashier here; I'll ask her later if she can exchange some money."
Chen Kai hung up the "alarm" helplessly and looked kindly at the young Cashier.
"Um, the place where we're having our gathering requires a twenty-yuan entrance fee, and they only take twenty-yuan notes. The Bank is a bit far and I'd have to queue to exchange money. Do you think you could help me out?"
"The main thing is I don't have time to go to the Bank. I'll scan your WeChat, could you exchange some twenty-yuan cash for me? I won't let you help for nothing; I'll scan an extra twenty-eight point eight for you to buy a milk tea. Thanks."
Chen Kai feigned embarrassment, and without waiting for the Cashier to agree, he scanned the code directly. "See how many twenty-yuan bills you have, I'll take them all."
The Cashier was already a bit socially anxious; even without the offer of milk tea, she would have agreed, and besides, what clear-eyed, work-study college student could refuse a cup of iced milk tea?
"Let me check for you, wait a moment."
The Cashier took the iron biscuit box out of the glass Counter, opened the lid, and saw that the box was mostly empty with very few banknotes inside.
She took all the money out of the box; there were mostly green one-yuan bills, and hardly any brown notes, which were tucked between the ten and fifty-yuan bills.
The Cashier counted them and showed an embarrassed expression. "Sorry, I only have six twenty-yuan bills. People don't really spend cash nowadays; these few bills were spent by Old Women and old men."
Chen Kai nodded in understanding; he had already spotted the twenty-yuan brown six harmonies tower tucked in the stack of banknotes.
"Alright, then please help me exchange them. Six bills, right? Plus the sixty-seven, that's one hundred and eighty-seven in total. I'll scan you."
"Give me your personal QR code, and I'll scan for a cup of milk tea separately."
Chen Kai smiled, watching as the Cashier took the brown banknotes out of the stack and put the rest of the money back into the iron box.
He scanned the Cashier's payment code and paid the twenty-eight yuan readily.
Exchanging eighty-something for sixteen thousand, worth it!
"Thanks. Let me count them for you."
The young Cashier held the six bills in her hand, and when she counted to the third one, she suddenly discovered a twenty-yuan note that didn't look quite right.
Chen Kai clearly noticed this as well and deliberately put on an urgent appearance.
"It's okay, no need to count. I trust you."
"Just give me the money; my colleagues are still waiting for me."
Just then, the Cashier shook her head firmly. "No, Brother, how about I refund you twenty..."
She pulled that brown six harmonies tower out from the six twenty-yuan bills.
She held the money up with both hands and examined it under the light again and again.
Chen Kai's heart tightened instantly. Did she see something wrong?
Damn! Am I not going to get my hands on it?
"What's wrong?"
"I... I... I think I received a piece of counterfeit money... This twenty seems to be fake..."
The Cashier was obviously a bit flustered; in her memory, this had been given to her by an Old Woman who lived alone.
She had bought a bag of eggs and even given the Old Woman eight yuan in change.
If this was fake... she would have to compensate her boss twenty yuan, and the milk tea would be gone...
"Fake? Let me see?"
Chen Kai suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she didn't figure it out, it would be fine.