Chapter 128: Chapter 128: Great Sales

“Hey, miss. Want to buy some movie stills? It’s Mei Niang and Wayne Ward from *Painted Skin*.”

Adrian Hawthorne walked up to the young female student. With the air of a secret agent making a drop, he mysteriously presented two stills of the male and female leads. The student was startled at first, but her eyes lit up when she saw the photos. She had just seen *Painted Skin* a couple of days ago. Although it had scared her to death, she had been completely engrossed. She found the actress’s costumes and makeup especially beautiful.

In fact, she was planning to see the movie again with her classmates after she started school in Tristone.

“How much are these?” the young woman asked, clearly interested.

Adrian Hawthorne remained outwardly calm, but he was overjoyed inside. “Twenty cents each.”

“That’s too expensive. Can you go any lower?” The young woman gazed at the photos longingly, but the price gave her pause.

A movie ticket only cost fifteen cents, but a single photo was twenty. It was just too expensive.

“I had to get these from the south, so my cost was high,” Adrian explained. “How about this: buy three, and I’ll give them to you for fifty cents.”

Adrian Hawthorne could tell the young woman genuinely wanted them. It wasn’t that she couldn’t afford a few dimes, but that she felt it wasn’t a good deal. He had intentionally offered three for fifty cents. It might seem like he was earning ten cents less, but if the sales volume increased, his profits would naturally follow.

The young woman was tempted, but she still thought it was a bit steep. For fifty cents, she could see three movies.

“Miss, you look just like her,” Tang Xiaonan said, looking at the student with utmost sincerity and completely ignoring the girl’s round face.

The actress who played Mei Niang had a delicate, oval-shaped face.

The student touched her face, delighted. “Do I really?”

“Mhm, you do. You’re both so pretty,” Tang Xiaonan said, nodding vigorously. Her big eyes fluttered, radiating pure sincerity.

The student was even more pleased. She held up the still of Mei Niang to compare, and upon closer inspection, she had to admit there was a resemblance. Her mood soared, and she pulled out fifty cents without a second thought.

The girl chose carefully, picking out two stills of Mei Niang and one of Wayne Ward.

Other travelers were drawn over by the commotion. Some were scared off immediately when they heard the price of twenty cents per photo, but others, mostly young men and women who were quicker to embrace new trends, began to haggle.

Tang Xiaonan’s words were as sweet as honey. If she saw a woman, she’d praise her for looking like Mei Niang. If she saw a man, she’d say he looked like Wayne Ward. She coaxed them into happily parting with their money, and no one suspected for a moment that she was telling bald-faced lies.

’How could a little girl like that lie? It must mean we really are beautiful and handsome. Children have innocent eyes; they can see our true beauty.’

The number of people buying the stills grew. The previous night, Adrian Hawthorne had developed three hundred photos and given one hundred to Jim Thorne. In just two hours, the two hundred he’d brought with him were completely sold out. Almost everyone bought three at a time. People love a good bargain; three for fifty cents saved them ten cents, which was naturally a better deal than buying just one.

“What are you two doing?”

Adrian Hawthorne had just sold his last few photos and was about to head back to the movie theater to meet up with Jim Thorne when he saw a man in a station uniform striding toward them. Tang Xiaonan was terrified and immediately tried to bolt, but she forgot about the cloth sash tethering her. She only made it two steps before she was pulled up short.

Being much lighter than Adrian Hawthorne, she was naturally yanked backward, crashing right into him with a THUMP. A sharp pain shot through her nose, and tears began to stream down her face uncontrollably.

By the time the station worker reached them, he was met with the sight of a chubby little girl staring up at him, her face streaked with tears. The sight of her misty, tear-filled eyes was enough to soften even a tough man’s heart, and his tone gentled.

“What were you two selling just now?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep