Chapter 88

Hearing the quarrel of the family members, Lin Qiangsheng immediately rushed to the commotion. Upon seeing the scene, it was indeed a few family members of the delegation he had brought in, who were arguing with the mall's cashier.

Lin Qiangsheng quickly approached and asked the family member, "What's going on?"

The female family member, seeing him, said emotionally, "This cashier says I used counterfeit money!"

Lin Qiangsheng looked at the female family member and Song Hui's wife, and immediately understood. The two must have found a household appliance they liked and decided to buy it, but encountered a problem when paying.

Song Hui's wife, surnamed Cheng, looked awkwardly at Lin Qiangsheng and said, "Comrade, we just wanted to buy a Japanese TV, but she said we used counterfeit money!"

Lin Qiangsheng took the 100-dollar bill, felt it, and examined it carefully. His eyes narrowed; there was no doubt, it was definitely counterfeit! Cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

Putting down the bill, Lin Qiangsheng looked at the female cashier and said with what he thought was his sweetest and most charming smile, "I'm very sorry for the trouble my compatriot has caused you! Let me pay with my card, Miss!" He casually handed over his MasterCard.

The female cashier angrily said, "You used counterfeit money and won't admit it! How unreasonable!"

"We are also victims! I'm very sorry! Please forgive us!" Lin Qiangsheng apologized sincerely, with a very serious attitude.

Seeing his good attitude, the female cashier finally took the bank card and swiped it forcefully on the machine.

After paying, Lin Qiangsheng handed the receipt to the female family member and turned to leave.

The female family member and Ms. Cheng looked at each other and caught up with Lin Qiangsheng. They walked to a corner. Lin Qiangsheng turned and asked, "What happened? This money is definitely counterfeit! If they report it to the police, you'll be in trouble!"

The female family member took the dollar bill and said in surprise, "I exchanged this at home! How can it be counterfeit?"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "Keep this money and don't show it again!"

The female family member looked at Lin Qiangsheng with a puzzled expression. She thought about the 2000 dollars she still had and became at a loss.

Lin Qiangsheng thought to himself that it was fortunate he had exchanged foreign currency at a money changer in Hong Kong; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to explain it.

He immediately found the other family members and checked their money. After a careful comparison, Lin Qiangsheng was stunned; the delegation members had a significant amount of counterfeit money!

Lin Qiangsheng gathered everyone to return to the hotel and carefully examined the money together.

The family members had a total of 2200 dollars in counterfeit money. The person with the most had half of their money as counterfeit, totaling 1300 dollars! Half of it was exchanged in Hong Kong, meaning she had received counterfeit money in China!

"How can this be?! I don't believe it, you must have made a mistake!" the family member immediately shouted.

Everyone silently looked at the hysterical female family member, understanding her situation, as this was likely all their savings! It might even include money from relatives!

The female family member, in a frenzy, clutched the money and shouted, "I'll go to the bank and ask! One question will tell if the money is real or fake, you're lying to me!"

Lin Qiangsheng said quietly, "The bank will report these counterfeit bills to the police, and you'll go to jail! Don't go!"

The female family member cried out and suddenly lost her strength, sitting on the ground and sobbing.

"Big Sister Yu! Don't cry, there must be a way!" Lin Qiangsheng's mother, Xu Hongmei, consoled her, pulling the woman up, and everyone else also comforted her.

Lin Qiangsheng looked at her and then at everyone in the room. The family members included those from the provincial industrial system, water and electricity, commerce, agriculture, and the provincial planning commission and foreign economic and trade commission. The crying woman was the wife of the deputy director of the provincial foreign economic and trade commission, Yu Weihua.

Lin Qiangsheng looked up and said to Yu Weihua, "Aunt Yu, let me take this money from you!"

He then turned to everyone and said, "I'll take all the counterfeit money from the aunts! You can't use this counterfeit money abroad; it will cause trouble with the local police!"

Everyone in the room looked at Lin Qiangsheng in shock. An aunt said, "Comrade, are you really going to exchange real money for us? Why?"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "I have a way to spend it, Aunt, don't worry."

Xu Hongmei looked at her son in shock, and Gong Ya also looked at Lin Qiangsheng in surprise.

Lin Qiangsheng calmly held the 2200 counterfeit dollars in his hand, then counted out 2200 real dollars from his bag and placed them on the bed. He looked at everyone and said, "Don't worry, I'm not doing something foolish! I really can spend it!"

Yu Weihua, now realizing the situation, called out, "Xiao Lin, take this money back! Over 2000 dollars in counterfeit money, how will you spend it?!"

Everyone chimed in, "Yes, comrade! This is abroad, if you get caught by the police, it will cause an international incident!"

Lin Qiangsheng waved his hand and smiled, "Since Director Gong asked me to take care of everyone, I will take care of you! Fortunately, an aunt used counterfeit money today, and the cashier didn't report it! Otherwise, we would have caused an international incident today!"

Everyone laughed at his light-hearted tone. The female family member who had returned with the TV said, laughing, "That's right! I just realized! Xiao Lin, you even paid for the TV for me! This color TV is yours, you take it!"

Everyone laughed, and someone said, "Will they like what you bought? You might as well just return the money!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "Aunt, keep the TV. We just bought one at home, so we don't need another one this time." He then left the room.

Everyone looked at each other, unsure what to do with the money.

Xu Hongmei, seeing everyone's dilemma, sighed and said, "Since my son says he can spend the money, you should keep it!"

Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "Sister Lin, we will remember your son's kindness! Don't worry, we'll return the money when we get back to China!"

Xu Hongmei smiled and nodded, then left the room. Gong Ya, holding her hands, silently followed.

"Xiao Ya, do you think my son is foolish?" Xu Hongmei asked Gong Ya.

Gong Ya thought for a moment, shook her head, and then nodded, saying, "Not foolish, but not entirely smart either! I believe Qiangsheng can spend it!"

Xu Hongmei smiled and pulled Gong Ya closer, praising her, "Daughter, you're so good! If I had a daughter as lovely and considerate as you, it would be great!"

Gong Ya laughed, "Aunt, don't you have a daughter? I've seen her, and she's very good too!"

Xu Hongmei smiled and nodded, then led Gong Ya back to the room.

Seeing his mother come in, Lin Qiangsheng said, "Mom, I booked another room. You and Dad can rest here tonight. We'll all sleep well!"

Xu Hongmei immediately scolded, "Is that how you spend money? Wasting money!"

Lin Qiangsheng shook his head and left the room with his suitcase.

Xu Hongmei looked angrily at her son's back and turned to Gong Ya, "You saw that! My children are all like this! So selfish and not considerate at all!"

Gong Ya consoled her, "Aunt Hongmei, don't be angry! Boys are like this, right? I read in a book that this is a physiological rebellious phase!"

Xu Hongmei was taken aback and said, "Yes, there is such a saying! But... my son seems a bit different!"