When the palm chapter 3

### Reunion of Brothers

One day, an old man who is taking a walk on the street in Denver stands in front of Jack’s shop. He stares at the “Reliance Pawnshop” sign for a long time and then walks into the shop. This old man is in his seventies, with a healthy complexion and full of energy. The man following him is nearly sixty, still very strong, and walks with a purpose.

The old man looks at Jack in the shop with excitement and shouts, “Jack, it’s you, Jack! Don’t you recognize me after twenty years apart?”

Jack looks up in surprise. He looks at the old man for a moment and then shouts in delight, “Brother, it really is you!”

The visitor is his sworn brother, Tom Wilson, the former owner of the famous Broadway troupe, the Starlight Troupe. This time, he has just brought the troupe to Denver. After dinner, he’s strolling on the street. He’s very puzzled when he sees the “Reliance Pawnshop” sign. When he walks in, he’s overjoyed to find his sworn brother Jack, whom he hasn’t seen for twenty years.

The reunion of old friends in a foreign place is full of emotions. Tom sees that Jack has gray hair and a dejected look. This small pawnshop is a far cry from the one in New York. He asks Jack how he ended up in this situation. Jack sighs deeply and tells Tom how Sam disguised himself as Bucktooth and extorted money from him with a severed hand twenty years ago, and how he fled to Denver with his whole family.

The man following Tom is very surprised after hearing this. He asks, “Mr. Thompson, have you ever opened that porcelain jar?”

Jack smiles bitterly and says, “It’s a dirty hand of a bandit. What’s the use of looking at it?”

Suddenly, the man kneels in front of Jack with a thud and kowtows three times. His forehead starts to bleed. He says, “Mr. Thompson, I’m sorry. I never thought that my prank back then would cause you so much suffering for twenty years.”

Jack is shocked and quickly helps the man up. The man asks if the porcelain jar is still there. Jack says, “Yes, I brought it from New York to Denver and buried it under the osmanthus tree behind the house.”

The man shouts, “Quickly dig out the jar and open it!”

Jack digs out the porcelain jar from under the osmanthus tree. When he opens it, he’s stunned. Inside the jar are fifteen gold bars arranged in the shape of a hand, and under the gold bars is a yellowed note that reads:

Jack:

I owe you a debt of gratitude and money. You refused to accept it every time. But now you’re in trouble. As your elder brother, how can I stand by and do nothing? I had to ask the magician in our troupe, Joe, to help me in this way. Now you have to accept it. Hahaha…

Your elder brother: Tom

It turns out that when Tom first brought the Starlight Troupe to New York, it was just a small local troupe, often called the “Beggar Troupe”. But Jack had a discerning eye. He always supported the troupe and often invited them to perform at his home at a high price, which helped the troupe gain a foothold in New York. Later, the bandit Sam kidnapped Tom’s daughter and demanded a ransom of $5,000. At that time, the troupe was just starting out and couldn’t afford the ransom. It was Jack who stepped forward bravely and took out $5,000 to rescue Tom’s daughter. As soon as Tom’s situation improved, he wanted to pay Jack back, but Jack firmly refused. Later, the troupe became very successful, while Jack’s Reliance Pawnshop was struggling year by year. Tom always wanted to help Jack, but Jack was a very proud man and wanted to get out of the困境 on his own.

Later, Tom was invited by a big theater in Los Angeles and left New York. As soon as he arrived in Los Angeles, he became very popular and made a lot of money. He thought about his sworn brother Jack, whose business was getting worse and worse. He was afraid that the pawnshop would close in a few years. After thinking hard for a long time, he came up with a plan. He asked Joe, the magician in the troupe, to take fifteen gold bars and pawn them to Jack in disguise, and then leave a note to hint. He thought that with these fifteen gold bars, Jack would definitely be able to get through the difficult time.

Joe is very good at magic. He has a playful nature. Originally, he planned to hide the fifteen gold bars in a hat and pawn it to Jack. But on the boat, a strong wind blew his hat away. He was also half – cooked by the heat in June. So he decided to play a prank on Jack. He bought some flour and other ingredients, locked himself in the hotel room, and made the fifteen gold bars into the shape of a hand. He then dressed up as Bucktooth, “cut off” his hand, and pawned it to Jack. And because of various reasons, Jack never opened the porcelain jar, which led to all these things.

Tom’s eyes are filled with tears. He asks Jack to look at the man beside him again. Jack takes a closer look and indeed vaguely recognizes the features of Bucktooth. The man cries and says, “Mr. Thompson, there was no Sam back then. I was the one who dressed up as Bucktooth!”

The truth is finally revealed. Jack, Tom, and Joe hug each other tightly and cry.