Chapter 166: Insulted Intelligence

Watching the middle-aged tourist sitting on the ground, crying and recounting how he was deceived to the gathering companions, Xu Maohé muttered a curse under his breath.

Though Xu Maohé was a trader, his business mainly spanned from Ice City to northern Russia; he rarely ventured south.

The world is a dangerous place, with each region having its dark side. Used to the direct and forceful approach of the north, Xu felt uneasy encountering the deceptive tactics of the south.

Seeing the anguish on Xu Maohé's face, Li Xian shook his head and smiled. He patted Xu's shoulder and said, "What's wrong, Old Xu? Upset because of the scam report?"

Unexpectedly, Xu Maohé sneered, "Upset? What nonsense! If he wasn't greedy, would he have been scammed?"

Seeing Xu's once furious expression now turned into disdain, Li Xian was puzzled. "Then why the look of frustration? It wasn't you who was scammed, after all."

"I'm damn admiring it!" Xu Maohé clenched his fists and pointed at the regretful middle-aged man on the ground. "Look at him! And he's from the south! The same shady business, but look at their methods. A fake watch, and in minutes, he's got 500 bucks. How meticulous! Compare that to the robbers on the K33K34 train—damn, too… too…"

At this point, Xu Maohé was at a loss for words.

It seems like you're sighing because of such a pathetic scam, damn it!

Li Xian's mouth twitched, and he added for Xu, who was searching for words, "Too lacking in technical skill, right?"

Xu Maohé slapped his thigh, "Yes! It's got no damn technical skill! Look, in the future, it's clear the south will have development. I've realized that nowadays, only those who use their brains will have a future."

This made Li Xian laugh.

He thought, being able to predict decades of economic trends just from a shady scam, you really are a talent!

At this moment, Li Jie had finished haggling at a nearby stall and returned with a pair of cone-shaped jeans she had been wanting. Li Xian, still impressed by the fake gold watch scam, pulled Xu Maohé and flagged down a taxi to head to the hotel.

**Afternoon.**

After settling in, Li Xian wandered around Kowloon.

According to British company law, a company's founder doesn't need to appoint a first director or have investors subscribe to shares, nor does it need to address business or debt issues to register a company. Such a company registration is essentially just a shell with nothing inside. Usually, this process only requires creating documents for directors and shareholders, which can be completed in a few hours.

Typically, law and accounting firms register numerous shell companies with generic names like "Guangyuan," "Shengfa," "Dayou," "Youshang," and then sell these shells for a fee.

So, finding such a firm and submitting basic paperwork would suffice.

The process wasn't difficult.

Li Jie and Xu Maohé had originally planned to come along, but due to unresolved issues in Bincheng, they couldn't stay long in Hong Kong. Though they intended to return, with 1997 not yet arrived, it still counted as abroad. Li Xian had Xu Maohé show Li Jie around to see the sights.

This was Li Xian's first time in Hong Kong. Language barriers and unfamiliar terrain made it difficult for him to find a firm, though he was bombarded with various massage parlors and hair salons. The women there, dressed boldly, were a far cry from the more restrained styles in the mainland.

If this had been a year ago, seeing such women wouldn't have fazed Li Xian, who had seen all kinds of adult films.

But after spending a winter in the northeast, where women were covered up except for their eyes, seeing women flaunting their legs and exposed chests made Li Xian feel as if he was seeing something new.

Sigh,

He thought to himself, "Do not indulge," and turned his gaze away from a salon girl with wavy long hair and a miniskirt.

Just then, someone brushed past him.

**Click,**

As the person squeezed by, a shiny golden object fell at his feet.

When Li Xian looked down, he was stunned.

His anger flared up instantly.

"Damn it!"

Li Xian looked at the watch on the ground, which had a large "ROLEX" inscription. His face twisted in rage.

He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

At that moment, he felt his intelligence had been gravely insulted.

---

With burning anger, Li Xian bent down and picked up the "gold watch."

Feeling its cheapness, worth only a few dozen bucks, he sighed heavily.

Seeing no one around, he nonchalantly threw the watch into the drain at his feet and took off the real watch on his wrist, clutching it in his hand.

At that moment, someone heavily patted his shoulder.

"Hey, old buddy."

The voice was somewhat hoarse. Li Xian looked up and smiled.

The person was short, wearing a baseball cap covering half his face, and a white Adidas puffer jacket. He was looking down at Li Xian. With a high nose bridge hidden in the cap's shadow, his eyes were not visible.

Li Xian stood up and took a step back. "What's up?"

"What's that in your hand? Did you pick up something black?"

Hearing the Cantonese accent, Li Xian almost burst into laughter.

Suppressing his urge to laugh, he changed his expression to one of panic and backed away, covering his hand. "No, no! Nothing! I didn't pick up anything."

Seeing his reaction, the man laughed and came closer, putting an arm around Li Xian's shoulder and casually bouncing a foot. "Haha! I saw it. It's a watch! Old buddy, hand it over."

Li Xian stepped back again, looking resistant. "Yours?"

The man shook his head. "Not mine. But it's not fake, right?"

Seeing Li Xian's silence, the man leaned in closer, whispering with a grin, "Found a treasure on the ground, asking heaven and earth is pointless. But I'm a man of honor. Since we both found it together, how about you and I split it?"

Li Xian examined the man carefully and couldn't hide his smile.

He lowered his voice. "So… how should we split it? This watch… how much is it worth?"

"Ha-ha, let me see."

The man happily patted Li Xian's shoulder and opened his hand.

When he saw the black genuine leather strap and the fine "A. Lange & Söhne" engraving on the watch, he was clearly stunned.

He examined the watch closely and looked at Li Xian with confusion. After a pause, he said, "Alright, I'll give you a hundred bucks, and the watch will be mine. How's that?"

Hearing this, Li Xian was unhappy. "No way! This watch looks valuable. A hundred bucks isn't enough. How about this—I'll give you a hundred bucks, and the watch is mine!"

The man waved his hands repeatedly. "No way, no way!"

Li Xian hesitated for a moment, then suddenly had an idea. He pointed to a pawnshop across the street. "How about we pawn it? Split the amount we get! That should work, right?"

"Okay, okay!"

Hearing Li Xian's suggestion, the man nodded eagerly.

Watching the scammer's excited reaction and seeing the exposed ankle of a girl in cone jeans, Li Xian tightly gripped the watch and smirked.

---

Today, I won't stop until I take you down!