109: Online acting tricks two people

"A Trinh, let's go."

Nguyen Thi Linh smiled and tugged at the distracted Nguyen Thi Trinh.

"Oh."

Nguyen Thi Trinh, a little lost in thought, followed Nguyen Thi Linh out the door and into the beautiful red car.

Li Qinghe had originally intended to drive straight there, but then he reconsidered. Although the purpose of this visit was to resolve the issue with money, it was still Nguyen Thi Trinh's home. As a polite Dragon Country People, he felt it was appropriate to bring some gifts.

So, he first drove to the town and bought some cigarettes and alcohol at a department store. There weren't many good things for sale in town.

Li Qinghe spent one million vietnamese dong on a pile of cigarettes, alcohol, and candy, which delighted the shop owner, who was beaming with smiles.

This red car had become the talk of the town in recent days.

Ever since this car arrived, Tran Thi Bao Anh, the famous pork vendor on the street, hadn't set up her stall for days.

Many people said that Tran Thi Bao Anh was going to enjoy a life of ease with her daughter and son-in-law and no longer needed to sell pork.

Now, seeing Li Qinghe come out to buy things, the shop owner looked at the tall and robust young man, and all the small talk he had prepared got stuck in his throat.

No man as tall and strong as him had ever appeared in the entire An Lac Commune. Tran Thi Bao Anh's husband had been known as the 'Tall Guy' in town, but even his physique was very different from this young man's.

So, the shop owner, scratching his head and unable to speak, could only proactively help carry the items to the car's trunk.

He saw two young women sitting in the car; besides Tran Thi Bao Anh's eldest daughter, there was also an unfamiliar village girl.

But the owner wasn't surprised at all; for someone who could afford such a nice car, having a few extra girls in it was perfectly normal.

He smiled as he accepted the one million vietnamese dong in cash, watching Li Qinghe drive the car roaring out of town.

The shop owner walked out of his store with renewed vigor and stood at the doorway, chatting with the nearby vendors. He had a lot of thoughts he wanted to share.

Li Qinghe drove the car and, guided by Nguyen Thi Trinh, stopped in front of a wooden house.

It was a wooden house built on a foundation of two mud walls, with the walls themselves made of uneven wooden planks nailed together.

In some places, bamboo strips and plastic sheeting were used to block the rain.

On the mottled mud walls, bamboo strips mixed in with the mud could still be seen.

This was an old house; in Li Qinghe's eyes, it was no better than Nguyen Thi Linh's tin house.

The only advantage was that it was a bit more comfortable than a tin house when the sun was scorching.

Nguyen Thi Trinh's father was sitting at the doorway, smoking a water pipe.

Seeing a large car pull up to his door, he looked with some surprise at the red car that had become the talk of the village.

He wondered why it had driven to his house.

Then he saw Nguyen Thi Linh and Nguyen Thi Trinh get out of the car.

And Nguyen Thi Linh's tall man opened the trunk and began to unload a large pile of cigarettes and alcohol.

The tall figure striding over was very imposing.

Under this oppressive feeling, Nguyen Thi Trinh's father looked at the large pile of cigarettes and alcohol, and a hint of greed still appeared in his eyes.

"Dad."

Nguyen Thi Trinh called out, lowering her head.

"Uncle Chung."

Nguyen Thi Linh also called out.

Nguyen Thi Trinh's father snorted a puff of smoke from his nose.

"Uncle Chung, please come in for a moment. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

On the way, Nguyen Thi Trinh had told Li Qinghe that her father's name was Nguyen Duc Chung.

So he addressed him directly.

Li Qinghe strode over, nodded to Nguyen Thi Trinh's father, and led the way into the house.

Nguyen Duc Chung, somewhat puzzled, looked at the large pile of cigarettes, alcohol, and candy, and followed Li Qinghe into the house.

Li Qinghe glanced at the simple interior: worn-out tables and chairs, a dilapidated bed. Nguyen Thi Trinh's home didn't even have separate living room and bedroom areas.

Seeing this environment, Li Qinghe couldn't help but admire Tran Thi Bao Anh; it was truly remarkable for one woman to create the conditions they currently had.

Nguyen Duc Chung, who had followed them into the house, looked at the pile of gifts on the table, his eyes a little dazed. In all these years, no one had ever given him so many gifts at once.

Not even when he received the bride price last time had he received so many gifts.

"Uncle Chung, I'm interested in A Trinh. I'll take her back to make Rice Noodles. I'll pay back the bride price that man gave you, and give him an additional twenty million vietnamese dong as compensation."

Li Qinghe saw Nguyen Duc Chung's eyes constantly looking at the pile of gifts, so he didn't beat around the bush and directly stated his intention. When dealing with such a person, being indirect would only make things unclear.

After speaking, he placed two stacks of banknotes on the table, then pulled out another wad of money from his pocket, counted out twenty million, and slapped it on the table.

Nguyen Duc Chung's eyes became even more fixated. There was nothing else in his sight; all his attention was on the money on the table.

Seeing his loss of composure, Li Qinghe extended his hand and tapped the table twice with his knuckles.

Nguyen Duc Chung flinched, forcibly pulled his attention back, and forced a smile. He had originally wanted to say that the other party might not agree to return the bride price.

But Li Qinghe directly offered twenty million as compensation, which left him speechless to refuse.

Nguyen Duc Chung looked at the extra twenty million and started to scheme. If he only gave the other party one hundred and ten million, wouldn't he be able to pocket ten million vietnamese dong?

"A Ling's man, he's marrying a wife, but you're looking for Rice Noodles. This..."

Nguyen Duc Chung still tried to bargain.

Li Qinghe met his gaze and pulled out another one hundred million vietnamese dong, placing it on the table, along with the remaining thirty million vietnamese dong from the previous wad.

"You return the bride price to him and have him write a receipt for one hundred and twenty million vietnamese dong, signed and fingerprinted. When you come back, I'll give you another one hundred and thirty million vietnamese dong here."

"If A Trinh follows me, you'll effectively receive two hundred and thirty million vietnamese dong. Which is more worthwhile, you weigh it yourself..."

Just as Li Qinghe expected, Nguyen Duc Chung's eyes widened: "After returning the bride price, this one hundred and thirty million vietnamese dong is also mine?"

"Of course. I'm giving you so much because your family is A Ling's family's relative. If you don't agree, then pretend I didn't say anything. I'll go find other girls in the village; maybe it won't even cost two hundred million."

Li Qinghe deliberately pretended that if his family didn't agree, he would find another family, and slowly put the one hundred and thirty million vietnamese dong back into his bag.

Nguyen Thi Trinh, standing nearby, was also fooled by Li Qinghe's acting. She thought he was really going to give up on her and find other girls in the village, and couldn't help but cry out mournfully, "Dad!"

Tears streamed down her eyes, which had originally been smiling.

Nguyen Thi Linh quickly pulled her, not letting her go, otherwise, she would have rushed to Nguyen Duc Chung and knelt down.

Nguyen Thi Trinh's cry also startled Nguyen Duc Chung. Seeing Li Qinghe slowly putting away the money, this tactic of retreating to advance also fooled Nguyen Duc Chung. He quickly rushed over and hugged the money.

"I'll go return the bride price right away and have him write a receipt. You promise that when I come back, you'll give me this one hundred and thirty million, right?"

Nguyen Duc Chung held the money, looking at Li Qinghe with a hint of unease.

"I keep my word."

Li Qinghe looked calm.

Nguyen Duc Chung tremblingly found a bag to put the money in, and pushing a bicycle in the house, he prepared to leave.

"Stop. You're going to ride that? Where's the motorcycle at home?"

Li Qinghe frowned.

"Her brother rode it out to do something."

"Get in the car with me. We'll drive. How long will it take if you ride a bicycle?"

Li Qinghe didn't treat Nguyen Duc Chung as a father-in-law at all, directly ordering him around.

But interestingly, the more assertive Li Qinghe became, the more comfortable Nguyen Duc Chung felt. He meekly followed Li Qinghe out the door.