Xu Shu shook his head with a slight smile and said, "Alright, old sir, tell me, how much is it?"
The elderly man chuckled and said, "Talking money hurts feelings. It's fate for us to share this ride. I forgot to buy a ticket when I boarded; could you help me buy one?"
As they spoke, a conductor checking tickets in the carriage seemed to suddenly hear them, stomped over angrily, and pointed at the elderly man, saying, "You boarded without a ticket again!"
The elderly man pointed at Xu Shu and said, "Calm down, this young man will pay for me."
The conductor suspiciously looked at him, then at Xu Shu, and asked, "Are you paying for him?"
Turns out, it's just a ticket he needs, and the topic of money is merely a favor in passing. This old man is quite the character... Xu Shu smiled and nodded, "I'll pay, how much?"
The conductor took out a palm-sized abacus, clattered it for a while, and finally said, "A total of twelve thousand six hundred and eighty-two dollars, pay up."
