I Got Together With the Fake Heiress - Chapter 76

Mother Wen was completely unaware of what had transpired in the dead of the night. She only felt that after a deep sleep, she was back to a state of full energy.

Breakfast was routinely settled at the hotel’s self-service buffet. While eating, the three began checking scenic spots on their phones.

“The film and television base is divided into many sections: the Qin Palace from the Qin and Han dynasties, the Forbidden City replica from the Ming and Qing dynasties, and themes for the Tang-Song era and Republican streets,” Mother Wen said, reading the attraction introduction. “Which one should we go to first?”

“If we have enough time, how about we go chronologically? Starting from Qin and Han?” Wen Yimeng suggested.

The film and television base was large. After buying tickets and walking in, they saw many people in period costumes on the streets. Some were performing at fixed posts, while others were rushing about, looking like they were temporarily stepping out from a set.

Because this film and television base was newly built, the surrounding antique buildings still looked quite new. Only a very small section of the buildings was cordoned off, prohibiting general tourists from entering.

“There are a lot of people gathered over there, so there must be a film crew shooting a scene,” Wen Yimeng said, holding a cup of freshly squeezed juice she had just bought.

“That’s a shame. According to the introduction, that was the Emperor’s sleeping quarters. Looks like we won’t be able to visit,” Wen Yunqing said, holding a lemonade with one-third sugar.

“What’s so great about the Emperor’s sleeping quarters? Let’s go see the grand hall of the Qin Palace,” Mother Wen said, not feeling any regret. It was only a small area; if they couldn’t go, they couldn’t go.

The Qin Palace Grand Hall had a large footprint, but after walking in, the three were a little disappointed. Instead of civil and military officials, the hall was filled with Hanfu clothing and photography equipment.

“Ten dollars per photo! Printed instantly! Done in one minute!”

“Eighty-eight dollars for five photos! You can choose one set of clothing for the shoot!”

There were quite a few people in the hall, and the hawkers’ calls were loud, immediately destroying the atmosphere the grand hall was meant to possess.

“The film and television base was built for profit; it can’t compare to genuinely ancient architecture,” Mother Wen commented. “But this place also has a very human touch, very lively.”

Although the environment here was slightly different from what she had imagined, it did not stop Mother Wen from spending money to have someone take photos for her. If the clothes hadn’t been worn by so many people, Mother Wen would actually have liked to try a costume change herself.

Leaving a commemorative Hanfu photo in the imitation Qin Palace was also a good option.

There was a performance item in the Qin Palace Grand Hall, which was the very famous assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang by Jing Ke. Unfortunately, the performance was only in the afternoon, and the three of them could not wait here for half a day just to watch one show.

After touring with the main flow of visitors, Wen Yunqing and the others followed the crowd out of the Qin Palace Grand Hall and arrived at the large square behind it. The crowd density decreased in the square. Apart from some catapults placed near the city wall, the rest were small vendor stalls selling various goods.

“They’re playing ring toss over there. It seems quite lively. Should we go take a look?” Wen Yimeng asked. Clearly, a bare square was not as interesting as certain entertainment facilities.

When they got closer, Wen Yimeng realized that the lively atmosphere was not because the ring toss was fun, but because the owner of the ring toss stall had gone back on his word, refusing to acknowledge the customer’s success and withholding the imitation terracotta warrior statue at the back as a prize.

“That’s the grand prize. I can only give it to you if you toss ten rings over it,” the owner said, wearing a satchel around his waist and two unused QR code collectors around his neck.

“Are you backing out? You first said one ring wasn’t enough, I had to get three. Now that I’ve gotten three, you’re telling me I need ten?” The customer was also very angry. Each ring cost two dollars, and he had spent a hundred dollars just to get three hits.

“Didn’t I say there was a prize for three hits? You can have this,” the owner said, taking out a wooden ornament, about twenty centimeters high.

“You’re deceiving me! I’m going to report you!” The customer felt cheated. How could such a crudely made wooden ornament compare to that life-sized bronze statue!

“Go ahead and report me. The rules are set by me, and the final right of interpretation is certainly in my hands,” the owner said, looking unafraid of trouble.

“Even if you call the police today, three rings will only get you this. If you have the guts, keep tossing. As long as you can get ten, I’ll give you the item you hit,” the owner said with a smile. “But let me tell you honestly, all ten of your rings must be tossed onto the head. If they land on the hand or the weapon, it doesn’t count.”

“Who sets rules like that!” The customer was furious. “You’re clearly just refusing to play fair.”

“Brother, I won’t lie to you. I bought this bronze statue for nearly ten thousand dollars. If there were no difficulty in winning it, I might as well be running a charity.” The owner said with a smile. After he mentioned the price of the bronze statue, the number of people calling him a cheat decreased slightly.

After all, one hundred dollars was really nothing compared to ten thousand dollars. Moreover, the person who had managed to hit the bronze statue was not them. Everyone had spent money and failed to win it, so wouldn’t that be more fair?

Wen Yimeng tugged at Wen Yunqing’s sleeve. “Tossing the rings onto the statue’s head, can you do that?”

Wen Yunqing looked at the diameter of the ring and the size of the statue’s head, then nodded. “Yes, the ring is quite a bit bigger than the head. Tossing it on should be quite easy.”

“Then do you want to give it a try?” Wen Yimeng asked, her eyes full of eagerness. “Then we can see if the owner will really give us the bronze statue.”

“Yimeng, do you feel that the owner’s actions are too much?” Mother Wen asked.

Wen Yimeng nodded. “Since he has set up the stall, he should be able to afford to lose a little.”

Mother Wen smiled. “That is true, but ten thousand dollars is not a small amount for the stall owner. If he can recover the loss just by being shameless, that is the most cost-effective solution for him.”

“But wouldn’t doing that completely ruin his reputation?” Wen Yimeng didn’t understand. “Isn’t reputation very important when running a business for profit?”

Mother Wen gently shook her head. “That’s correct, but it also depends on the location. For example, in a place like this, people are constantly coming and going. Most of them will only visit once or twice, so reputation has almost no effect on the stall owner. People who want to play will still come.”

“Furthermore, if there are ring toss experts, hearing such a challenge might actually make them want to try it out. As long as the challenge is unsuccessful, doesn’t that indirectly mean the stall owner is making money?”

Wen Yimeng was taken aback. She hadn’t thoroughly analyzed the owner’s behavior and intentions. She simply felt that the owner was dishonest and wanted Wen Yunqing to show him that there was always someone better, so he wouldn’t behave like this again next time.

Wen Yunqing couldn’t help but nod when she heard this. Although her mother did not handle company affairs, her business acumen was still very high.

“Yimeng, if you want to try, why don’t you go first? If you don’t succeed, then let Yunqing step in,” Mother Wen said. She had noticed that Wen Yimeng was subconsciously very reliant on Wen Yunqing.

One daughter relying on the other was not necessarily bad, but in Mother Wen’s view, both of them would eventually establish their own families. If Wen Yimeng remained this way, it would affect her say in her own household.

“I go first?” Wen Yimeng blinked. “But I’m not confident…”

“It’s alright. We’ll buy fifty rings for one hundred dollars. You throw the first forty, and you can leave the last ten for me,” Wen Yunqing said. She loved it when Wen Yimeng relied on her, but that didn’t stop her from trying to nurture her a little.

With Wen Yunqing backing her up, Wen Yimeng’s uncertainty quickly vanished. She soon figured it out: the rings were only two dollars each. If she couldn’t get it right with one hundred dollars, then she would try one thousand dollars. What was the big deal?

“Boss, give me one hundred dollars’ worth of rings,” Wen Yimeng walked up and, for once, used cash. “I heard you say just now that as long as I get ten rings onto the statue’s head, the bronze statue is mine?”

“That’s right, but pretty lady, I need to make one thing clear to you: I won’t take the rings that land on it off. All ten rings must be on the statue’s head, okay?” the owner said with a smirk.

The thickness of one ring was about five millimeters, so ten rings stacked together would be five centimeters. Although the ring looked a bit larger than the head, it was only slightly wider at the top. The rings would get stuck around the ears.

In summary, getting ten rings on could be achieved by stacking the number of rings, but making sure all ten rings remained on the statue’s head required a bit of technique and luck.

“Okay, I understand.” Wen Yimeng took ten rings from the batch and handed them to Wen Yunqing next to her. Then she began to estimate the distance and tentatively started tossing the rings.

The first three rings Wen Yimeng threw only touched the bronze statue; none landed on it.

The owner showed a slight smile. He thought a master had arrived. It seemed this one was just another person who didn’t believe in fate and wanted to try their luck.

After the first three attempts, Wen Yimeng’s accuracy improved significantly. By the seventh ring, she could reliably hit the head, and on average, one ring out of every three would land on it.

Under the increasingly nervous gaze of the owner, after exhausting forty rings, eight rings had landed firmly on the statue’s head.

“Yunqing, I’ll leave the rest to you,” Wen Yimeng let out a breath. It seemed ring toss was not as difficult as she thought.

“No, you continue,” Wen Yunqing gave all ten rings in her hand to Wen Yimeng. “I believe in you. You can do it.”

“Me?” Wen Yimeng looked at the rings in her hand, then at the bronze statue. If she averaged one successful toss out of three, she should be able to get two out of ten, right?

Wen Yimeng adjusted her breathing and continued tossing.

The first missed, the second missed, but the third one landed. She was only one ring short.

The owner couldn’t help but hold his breath as well. He had made a promise in front of so many people just now. He couldn’t go back on his word and cheat this time.

The part of the bronze statue that was exposed, already encased by nine rings, was only about three centimeters wide. The difficulty was heightened once more. In the next six rings, Wen Yimeng came close to landing it every time, but they were bounced off.

“Yunqing, you take the last one. I don’t think I can get it in,” Wen Yimeng was a little discouraged. She clearly threw them to land, so why did they bounce out?

Wen Yunqing said nothing. Instead, she stood behind her girlfriend, held her right hand with her own, and guided her through the throwing motion.

“Release,” when Wen Yunqing’s voice sounded in her ear, Wen Yimeng subconsciously let go of her hand.

Then she watched as the ring she had thrown landed steadily on the statue’s head, with an almost imperceptible wobble.

“Great! Ten rings!”

“Both of the young ladies are experts!”

“Amazing! Boss, you can’t go back on your word this time! You have to stick to your promise.”

The smile on the owner’s face became somewhat strained. “Pretty ladies, let’s negotiate. You’re probably here traveling, and this bronze statue is so big. It must be hard to take with you, right? Why don’t you sell it back to me at a discounted price? Five thousand dollars.”

Wen Yunqing did not speak but looked at Wen Yimeng with her eyes, asking her what she thought.

Wen Yimeng pondered for a moment. The owner had a point. If they really took such a large bronze statue back, the courier fee wouldn’t be cheap.

“No need, we want the bronze statue,” Mother Wen spoke up. “This is something my precious daughter won. We’ll pay whatever it takes to ship it back. It’ll be perfect for display in our family garden.”