29: Chapter 29 is plagiarized!

In the morning, Zhao Jian stood by the shore of White Lake.

Holding a bun in one hand, he tasted the five-yuan steamed bun from the scenic area to see how it truly differed from those outside.

It wasn't as delicious as the ones outside.

There were many boats on the lake; although the weather was turning cool and the holidays had ended,

the number of tourists could still keep them busy for a few more days.

The boats were just passing by, and it was expected to be quiet by noon.

According to the intel, the rolex thrown into the water was near the lakeshore.

Originally, Zhao Jian had a simple idea: use a strong magnet to pull it out.

Even if the hands became magnetized, it would only lower the price a bit.

Only after checking did he realize its material couldn't be picked up by a magnet.

Tricky.

"Young man, why are you standing here? Are you taking a boat?" A Woman carrying half a bag of mineral water bottles greeted him warmly.

Zhao Jian remembered after just one look.

It was Zhou Mancang's wife, who had once sold him a three-legged turtle.

"Big Sister, I'm not taking a boat. I dropped something in the water."

He thought the Elder Sister would at most offer a few words of comfort before leaving.

But the Big Sister was warm-hearted.

"Oh my, that'll be hard to get out. Don't be fooled by the shore; they dredge it deep every year. Don't go into the water; it's very dangerous."

Zhao Jian naturally wouldn't go into the water.

Forty thousand yuan was a lot, but not enough to risk his life for.

"Eh? Young man, do you know where it fell?"

"I know, right here." Zhao Jian pointed to a spot.

The coordinates were very precise, with an error of no more than two meters.

Looking at the spot he pointed to, the Elder Sister smiled and said:

"It doesn't look far. How about I get you a dip net to try? It's safer than going in yourself."

A dip net?

Zhao Jian's eyes lit up, and he quickly thanked her, "Thank you, Sister. I'll go back with you to get it."

With the dip net in hand, the world is mine!

He returned to the spot where he had been standing.

The Elder Sister followed him and advised, "If it's not long enough, don't force it. Check if the ground is stable before you stand on it. Safety first."

Zhao Jian nodded.

Following the Elder Sister's advice, he first stomped his feet on the shore to test the friction of the stones.

It was very solid.

Then he measured the distance with the wooden pole.

The water was no more than two meters deep, which was just enough.

With everything ready, Zhao Jian used the dip net to scoop up mud and aquatic plants from the bottom.

It wasn't particularly heavy when he first started lifting it.

Mud and debris also have buoyancy in water.

But the moment it left the water, Zhao Jian was nearly pulled down.

Fortunately, the Elder Sister was quick-handed and grabbed him.

"My goodness, you scared me to death! Don't lift it straight up; mud and water are heavy. Just drag it back once it reaches the surface."

The Elder Sister clutched her chest, quite shaken.

Zhao Jian was also feeling the aftereffects of the scare.

Following the shared experience, he systematically dragged the dip net onto the shore.

It really was effortless!

He said gratefully again, "Thank you, Big Sister. If it weren't for you, I would have fallen into the lake."

"It's nothing, it's nothing. Hurry and check if your thing is there."

There was a large amount of black silt in the dip net.

Zhao Jian didn't mind and rummaged through it.

Nothing.

He reached down to the bottom of the lake again and dragged more mud onto the shore with the dip net.

After repeating this over a dozen times, the once clear lake water had become extremely murky.

But the dip net only yielded a few snails, crucian carp, a yellow catfish, and a mobile phone.

No watch.

Had someone beaten him to it?

Zhao Jian didn't believe it.

He had been standing by the lake since early morning; even if an early bird had beaten him to it, there should have been some trace.

"Still haven't found it, Young man? We have a legend here about an Old Dragon King living in the eye of the spring at the bottom of the lake. He takes sacrifices every year. Could your watch have been taken as a sacrifice?"

The Elder Sister frowned.

This wasn't a lie.

Zhao Jian's hometown was near Xiong City, and he had heard this rumor too.

But he didn't believe in feudal superstitions.

Perhaps the current had pushed the watch to another location.

Without exact coordinates, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

He thrust the dip net into the water for one last attempt.

A large amount of black mud was dragged onto the shore.

The lake water became even murkier.

Rummaging through the silt without gloves, he suddenly felt a sharp pain.

Another yellow catfish!

Zhao Jian hated it so much he wanted to punch it!

But his hand hurt, so he let it go.

After a few quick searches, he lost patience and rinsed the dip net clean in the water.

He was about to push the silt back into the water.

Just then, the Elder Sister pointed at the silt from the last scoop and said:

"There's something quite shiny over there. Take a look at what it is."

Zhao Jian's eyes widened instantly, and he dug through the silt in the direction the Elder Sister was pointing.

Found it!

The watch was covered in mud, but it was very waterproof, and the hands inside were moving normally.

He wiped the mud off with a tissue.

He put it in his pocket.

He pushed the scooped-up silt and aquatic plants back into the lake.

"Young man, do you want these fish and the phone?"

The Elder Sister smiled somewhat sheepishly.

"Oh, I don't want those. I'll put them in the dip net and bring them back for you."

"You go about your business; I can take them back myself." Hearing Zhao Jian say he didn't want them, the Elder Sister smiled even more happily.

Back in the city area, Zhao Jian wiped the watch carefully once more.

He didn't plan on keeping it.

He had never worn accessories growing up, including watches.

At first, it was because he was poor, and later it became a habit.

He found a watch resale shop.

Actually, official stores offered higher trade-in prices.

But they required an invoice.

He didn't have one.

These second-hand resale shops were much more lenient; they didn't require an invoice or purchase records.

As long as the price was low.

The shop owner was a Young man who smiled upon seeing Zhao Jian and said, "You're here? What brand are you looking for? An Omega just came in recently; it would suit you well."

Zhao Jian didn't respond.

"You're here?" He made it sound like they were old acquaintances.

This was his first time here.

"I have a rolex. See if you'll buy it."

He took off the watch he had been wearing for less than a minute from his left wrist.

Then he turned slightly to block his left hand from view.

The resale price for a personal watch was not the same as the price for one from other sources.

Ostensibly, it was because the risks were different.

Of course, these were all just excuses to drive the price down.

Zhao Jian didn't want to give him that excuse.

The shop owner took the watch and inspected it closely.

From the brand nameplate to the strap details and the dial patterns,

he examined everything.

Confirming it was genuine, he immediately beamed, "It's authentic. I'll take it. Do you have the invoice?"

Asking was just a tactic to lower the price.

If he had the invoice, he could have gone to an official store; there would be no need to come to this small shop.

"My ex-girlfriend gave it to me for my birthday, but she didn't give me the invoice."

An ex-girlfriend was a great excuse.

The shop owner gave him an "I get it" look.

As long as it wasn't explicitly stated as stolen, robbed, or otherwise illegal, it could be resold.

As for the price...

"Without an invoice, it's difficult. I can give you twenty thousand at most."

A brand-new one sold for about 100,000. For a flawless one, an official store would offer 60,000.

The System evaluated the watch's value at 40,000.

This meant that even without an invoice, it could sell for that much on the second-hand market.

"Fifty thousand. Someone online offered fifty-three thousand. Offline, I'm just looking for a simple cash-on-the-spot deal."

As he spoke, Zhao Jian made a move to take back his rolex.

The shop owner watched his expression closely.

But Zhao Jian was expressionless.

Unable to guess his bottom line, the owner could only use his own psychological price for one last test:

"I'll give you forty thousand. Deal? That's the highest price. People online might not be serious buyers; they might trick you into shipping it and then just request a refund once they receive it."

"You have a point. Deal!"