Half an hour later, a neatly dressed Xia Pingan walked out of the hotel room.
Before leaving the room, Xia Pingan tidied up everything in the room. He stepped on the chair, untied the rope on the beam, and threw it into the glove box. He also collected the scattered wine bottles. If the owner of the hotel saw the broken rope hanging on the beam and the scar on his neck, who knew what the unscrupulous and bad-tempered innkeeper would do.
As for his current identity, from the moment he walked out of the door, he could only be Luo An, a destitute painter in Paris.
At this time, the hunger in his stomach became more urgent. Without food, the body would take a long time to adapt to the spiritual body, and the recovery would be very slow. This was something Xia Pingan did not want to see.
There was a kettle in the room. In the past half an hour, Xia Pingan only drank a little water.
Even this little water was quickly absorbed by Xia Pingan's body, slightly relieving his thirst. However, the hunger was still there. Xia Pingan felt that the hunger in his stomach was like a fire, and the acid in his stomach was surging up. It was unbearable.
Xia Pingan pinched his pocket. There was no money in it. The last of Luo An's money had been exchanged for wine.
At this time in Paris, it was popular to barter or trade with precious metals such as gold and silver. As for the circulating euro, its value had been greatly reduced. Some places even did not accept banknotes, but only recognized precious metals. This was because Europe was in a mess. It was said that many banks had been robbed by gangsters and gangs in the previous chaos. It was said that some people had produced a lot of fake banknotes, which were not so useful anymore.
Xia Pingan was wearing the most decent clothes he could find. The shirt inside was the linen shirt he wore when he hanged himself. Outside the shirt was a black windbreaker, which looked a little old. It should have not been dry-cleaned for a long time. Xia Pingan found an old blue scarf around his neck to cover the scar on his neck.
Creak … Creak …
When Xia Pingan walked past the slit on the stairs, it made a sound that made one's teeth ache. This sound was so ear-piercing that it was like an alarm, which made Xia Pingan's cautiousness useless.
Sure enough, when Xia Pingan walked down the stairs, he saw the owner of the hotel, Garcia, standing at the corner of the stairs with his arms crossed. He was staring at Luo An with a pair of small, greasy eyes that looked like they belonged to a merchant.
"Mr. Painter, are you finally willing to come down?" Garcia stretched out his muscular arm and opened his hand in front of Luo An. "You should pay last month's rent, right?"
"You can get the security team to take me away now and throw me to the farm for hard labor …" Xia Pingan looked at Garcia calmly. There was not a hint of panic in his eyes. Instead, there was a hint of oppression. "The result of this is that you'll lose a month's rent and gain an enemy. You'll get nothing else …"
Garcia looked at Luo An in surprise. He felt that this abject painter, who was usually so timid and careful in front of him, was acting a little strange today. He actually dared to talk to him like this.
Just as Garcia raised his eyebrows and was about to get angry, Xia Pingan's voice was heard again.
"It's not easy to make money in Paris at this time. There are not many people staying in your small hotel. I know you're also in a difficult situation. I think we should build a relationship of trust and get through this together. You continue to guard your hotel, and I'll go out today to find a way to make money to pay your rent. What do you think …?"
The hotel owner looked at Luo An suspiciously. He hesitated for a moment. "Are you really willing to go out and make money? Are you not going to peddle your lousy oil paintings that no one wants?"
These days, Luo An had been thinking of ways to survive. He had even set up a stall on the street for people to paint. However, his life was getting more and more difficult.
In the hotel owner's opinion, being a painter was absolutely useless in such a chaotic situation. It was too stupid.
"Ahem, ahem, people need to learn to change. I'm adapting to it now. Now that I can't make money by painting, I will change a job and try my best to make money to pay your rent. As long as it's a profitable job, I'm willing to try it …"
"You can't be thinking of running away just like that, right?" The innkeeper looked at Xia Pingan suspiciously.
"My belongings and those paintings are still in my room. Additionally, where could I go now? At least it's safe here. I'm not that stupid!"
Luo An looked very calm. The hotel owner finally believed in his words as he looked less solemn. "Mr. Luo An, I hope you can keep your promise. I'll wait for you here. Let's see what you can make when you come back in the evening."
"I haven't eaten anything for a day. Before I leave, please give me a sufficient amount of breakfast. Only then will I have the strength to work!" The hotel owner raised his eyebrows again. He was about to get angry. A curse was about to come out of his mouth, but he held it back in the blink of an eye. This was because Xia Pingan had already thrown the silver enamel pendant to him. "Is it okay to exchange this for a meal?"
There was also a photo of Olivier in the pendant. However, that photo was meaningless to Xia Pingan. Olivier was just a stranger who had nothing to do with him now.
The hotel owner took the pendant and checked it. He weighed it in his hand and blinked. "Silver?"
"Yes, my most beloved thing. I'll give it to you now!"
"Okay, this thing can be exchanged for a meal. Sit there and wait. I'll get you something to eat!"
The first floor of the inn was close to the street. There were a few small tables where people could drink and eat. The bar of the inn was already empty. There was no more alcohol, but there was still some food in the inn.
Xia Pingan sat and waited for a while. The hotel owner got him breakfast.
There was a piece of hard rye almond bread and a glass of milk. There was nothing else.
Xia Pingan was not picky. He took a big bite. The bread was a little hard, and there was even a little wheat bran in it. As for the milk, although it was hot, Xia Pingan knew that it had been watered down and there was no sugar in it.
But no matter what, after eating these things, although he was not full, the hunger in his stomach was not so urgent. Xia Pingan felt that his body had recovered a bit of strength, and his body felt much better.
Xia Pingan finished the bread crumbs and the last drop of watered milk in the glass. He then stood up, tidied up his clothes, and walked out of the hotel.
First, he needed to get money and food. As for Xia Ning and the others, he would consider it after he had settled down.
The street outside the hotel was a little chaotic. Remnants of buildings and garbage could be seen everywhere. Dirty water flowed in small ditches. Xia Pingan walked carefully on the street. In the civilian area, there were shops and hotels with various small signs on both sides of the street. Everyone was busy, indifferent and vigilant. Several old prostitutes exposed their thighs early in the morning and people with guns on their backs could be seen everywhere.
After walking for about a hundred meters, Xia Pingan saw the security team. More than ten young men wearing armbands and carrying rifles and submachine guns were walking in front of him. They scanned the crowd on the street, indicating their status in this residential area.
The security team was "protecting" the safety of the residential area. Therefore, the people and various businesses in the residential area would regularly "pay taxes" to the security team. In fact, they were actually paying protection fees.
When there was a security team in a place, all kinds of gangsters and criminals would not dare to make trouble at will. Therefore, the security was relatively guaranteed. Above the security team, there were various organizations in Paris. The security team was only responsible for maintaining order at the bottom level.
At this moment in Paris, even in broad daylight, the echoes of gunshots could be heard occasionally. However, everyone was used to it and was somewhat numb to it.
In fact, Xia Pingan had already thought of how to get money. Previously, Luo An had been robbed by several gangsters on a street outside the civilian area twice. Once, his glasses were broken. The security there was a bit chaotic. He was going to go fishing and rob those gangsters. Those people should have more money than him.
When they passed by the ruins of a building, Xia Pingan found a half-meter-long water pipe with a curved head and hid it in his windbreaker. His body had not fully recovered yet, so this thing was useful.
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