Ice is not averse to deception

Sun Bing looked in the direction Wu Dayong was pointing and said with a smile, "Never mind him, he's just a liar. Let's go back."

"Huh? A scammer?" Wu Dayong was stunned.

"Yes, they even said someone left something for me to sign."

Seeing Sun Bing's proud expression as she successfully exposed the scam, Wu Dayong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

That's pretty risky.

Wu Dayong's plan was almost completely disrupted.

Back at the hotel, Sun Bing brought up the old man from earlier.

Actually, Sun Bing was quite puzzled. How could a seemingly normal old man become a conman? She even said that she would have a good talk with him next time she met him, and that he should turn over a new leaf.

Wu Dayong couldn't sit still any longer. He dragged over a stool and sat opposite Sun Bing, giving her a good lesson in ideology.

The most common scams on the market include health product sales, direct selling, and of course, common pinball games and prize traps.

Wu Dayong didn't intend to educate Sun Bing on these things; his main point was to tell Sun Bing that once a person embarks on the path of fraud, there's no turning back.

"Your desire to help him turn over a new leaf is already the beginning of being scammed. Some people scam using their intelligence, but many others prey on people like you who feel sorry for scammers. Do you understand that itself is a crime?"

Wu Dayong spoke passionately for over half an hour, leaving Sun Bing completely stunned.

Sure enough, people who have seen the world are different. Wu Dayong was able to talk about so many fraudsters' habits and thought processes, which clearly shows that he has a lot of social experience.

Wu Dayong was actually quite awkward; he was just reciting what he had learned from the book on fraud psychology to Sun Bing.

But as he continued talking, Wu Dayong began to find it very strange.

  

These words sounded less and less like they were being spoken to Sun Bing, and more like they were being spoken to oneself.

Although it took a lot of effort, Wu Dayong finally achieved his goal: Sun Bing had given up on persuading people to reform.

This, on the contrary, gave Wu Dayong a sense of honor.

Despite his current status as a fraudster, when he talks about the psychology of fraud, seeing the admiration and awe in Sun Bing's eyes, his self-esteem is indeed greatly satisfied.

He even felt a little sentimental, thinking that if he hadn't been forced by life's circumstances, he might have been more suited to be an anti-fraud advocate.

After calming Sun Bing down, Wu Dayong seized the opportunity and hurriedly left.

Knowing that Zheng Jie was near the train station, Wu Dayong quickly called to contact him, only to realize that he and Sun Bing had made a mistake. This wasn't the South Railway Station, but the North Railway Station.

It was precisely for this reason that such a huge misunderstanding occurred.

Zheng Jie was already at the North Station when Wu Dayong told him they were at the South Station. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Sun Bing. Zheng Jie had only seen photos of Sun Bing from high school and initially thought he had mistaken her for someone else, but it turned out that Sun Bing's name was indeed on her ID card.

This excitement led Sun Bing to misunderstand.

Sun Bing's perception of Zheng Jie as a swindler ironically provided convenience for Wu Dayong, at least for the time being, as he no longer needed to worry about Zheng Jie revealing the truth to Sun Bing.

How can you believe a scammer, right?

Soon, Sun Bing met Zheng Jie at a Chinese restaurant next to the train station. Wu Dayong's life experience tells him that you should talk about feelings before talking about business; if the feelings are right, things will definitely go smoothly.

Zheng Jie was about to start a conversation when they met, but Wu Dayong stopped him, served the dishes and poured the wine, and then he stood up and downed the whole thing in one gulp.

Putting everything else aside, who could refuse such a proper attitude?

However, Wu Dayong's supposedly flawless process had absolutely no effect on Zheng Jie.

"I don't drink." Zheng Jie pushed the glass away, smiled, picked up the Moutai that Wu Dayong had prepared, looked at it, and then peeled off the packaging paper in front of Wu Dayong, revealing a pinhole on the bottle.

Over the years, this bottle of aged Moutai has been a great asset to Wu Dayong, having never caused any trouble, yet it was exposed by an old lawyer.

Having his dignity shattered wasn't a big deal, after all, Wu Dayong was used to it. It was just that he didn't know how to continue in this situation.

"Zhang Defa was right after all. You can't trust what you say all the time." Zheng Jie showed no embarrassment whatsoever. Instead, he ate his food like an elder.

Wu Dayong felt as if he had been stripped naked, but in order to ease the atmosphere, he could only make a joke: "Half true, half false, isn't that how everything is? The key is to live with a clear mind, right?"

Unexpectedly, Zheng Jie didn't finish his sentence: "I didn't finish. What Zhang Defa said is true. You can't trust most of what you say, and you definitely can't trust the other half either."

At this point, Wu Dayong was completely speechless.

However, it also made things much easier. Since the other party already understood me so thoroughly, many things became much simpler.

Wu Dayong immediately pushed the braised prawns in front of Zheng Jie: "Old Zheng, how much inheritance did our godfather leave us? Give me a sneak peek so I can be prepared."

Zheng Jie smiled without saying a word. Wu Dayong realized that Zheng Jie wouldn't speak, so he tried to subtly inquire about Zhang Defa's situation.

Zhang Defa had been making ice sculptures in Harbin for a long time. Although he wasn't very famous, he could barely make a living, just like Sun Bing. But Zhang Defa was very lucky. When he came to Yanji, Yanji was planning to develop itself into the second ice city in Northeast China. In terms of both climate and urban development, Yanji was no less than Harbin.

The ice sculptor profession suddenly attracted attention, and veteran craftsmen like Zhang Defa received even greater attention.

Soon, Zhang Defa won the recognition of relevant departments with his superb skills. In recent years, he has not only completed many amazing works, but also become the person in charge of ice sculpture projects, and has been focusing on the ideal of creating a second ice city.

Now, the image of Yanji's ice sculptures has indeed deeply resonated with people, and in terms of fame, it has basically rivaled that of Harbin.

Doing anything to the extreme means immense wealth and a very high social status.

Zhang Defa's ability to achieve this level clearly indicates that he must have accumulated considerable wealth.

Thinking about this, Wu Dayong felt even more confident, convinced that this was definitely an opportunity to change his fate.

"How did Zhang Defa die?" Wu Dayong suddenly asked Zheng Jie.

"He died suddenly from overwork. He was very skilled, so the government specially arranged a training course for him to teach a group of students. You should know Zhang Defa. He was very serious about everything he did. He stayed up all night writing lecture notes and died suddenly in his office."

Zheng Jie spoke casually, as if Zhang Defa's death had not affected him much.

That's true. In a money-driven society, who cares if someone leaves? Wu Dayong thought to himself.

"Did Zhang Defa get married later?" Wu Dayong asked again.

Zheng Jie shook his head: "No, I'll be alone until I die."

"He's still as stubborn as ever. Why can't this old man understand life?" Wu Dayong sighed, as if he had just thought of something.

Zhang Defa was an eccentric.

It seems that only Wu Dayong and Sun Bing in the entire city know about his story. It is as mysterious as the inscription on a tombstone, and those who do not know it are like reading a wordless book.

No one knows when Zhang Defa came to Harbin. Some say he was a sent-down youth from the capital, from a well-off family whose parents were very powerful. However, it seems that his parents were overthrown in the struggle, and Zhang Defa, who was originally the most likely to be among the first to return to the city, has stayed in Harbin ever since.

Some say that Zhang Defa fled from Xinyang to Bingcheng during a famine, and lived a miserable life begging along the way.

Some people say that Zhang Defa was the illegitimate son of a certain leader, and was sent to the south shortly after his birth. Later, after his biological father passed away, Zhang Defa returned to Harbin.

There are many versions of Zhang Defa's story circulating among the public, but there has never been a definitive conclusion.

One thing is certain: Zhang Defa must have suffered some kind of trauma when he was young, which is why he never got married and never had children.

His whole demeanor was like that of a naughty child, seemingly unable to integrate into the adult group, which is why he ended up with Sun Bing and Wu Dayong.

Back then, Zhang Defa set up a stall outside Sun Bing's school, selling snacks and toys. Of course, he would also sell some handmade trinkets in the winter.

Sun Bing and Zhang Defa both came from poor families. Their greatest pleasure after school each day was to go to Zhang Defa's stall to see the novelties he made. Over time, the three of them gradually became friends.