A blue and white porcelain vase shattered and fell at Li Mei's feet. Her eyes were filled with panic.
"I didn't touch it, it just suddenly fell on its own!"
Li Mei looked at the words 'Qianlong Period' on the porcelain shards, and a chill ran down her spine!
"Sister, what nonsense are you talking about? You broke it, I saw it with my own eyes."
"Besides, this is a genuine piece from the Qianlong Period!"
Li Mei wanted to explain, but suddenly a short, stout man rushed out of the shop. He frowned and yelled.
"What, it's a genuine piece!"
Hearing this, Li Mei became even more flustered, a fine cold sweat breaking out on her forehead!
It's over, Er Zhu has money, but he can't afford to pay for this!
Li Mei grew more anxious the more she thought about it, almost to the point of tears!
At the same time, many passersby stopped to watch the commotion, looking at Li Mei with sympathy.
"Heh, a genuine piece?"
Just as Li Mei was about to ask Er Zhu for help, Er Zhu curled his lips, picked up the porcelain shards from the ground, a flash of spiritual light in his eyes, looking as if he could see through the man!
These porcelain shards had no spiritual light at all, yet he dared to claim it was genuine!
This guy must be trying to extort money from them because they were from the countryside!
Just as Er Zhu was about to retort, he suddenly noticed a thin silver thread tied to a table by the entrance. The thread extended from inside the shop. Although the shopkeeper had buried it underground, it couldn't escape Er Zhu's eyes!
This is outrageous!
"This blue and white porcelain vase is fake, it's worth at most five hundred yuan, and you're trying to scam us!"
Just as the short, stout man was about to demand compensation from Li Mei, Er Zhu grabbed his wrist and exposed the truth!
The short, stout man's face instantly darkened, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. He wanted to retort, but for a moment, he didn't know what to say.
How did he know!
He could tell it was fake with just one glance, did this kid have fiery golden eyes?
And the scamming, they had been doing this for over ten years, but no one had ever found out. How did he discover it!
So many questions swirled before the short, stout man's eyes, he wanted to ask but didn't know how.
"What nonsense are you spouting? Oh... I see, you just don't want to pay, so you're falsely accusing us!"
The short, stout man's eyes darted around, and he loudly exclaimed as if he had seen through everything.
"Er Zhu is right, you're just bullying us because we're from the countryside!"
Just as the short, stout man was about to continue speaking, Li Mei, who had been standing beside him, suddenly understood something, her eyes filled with anger.
She had almost been tricked by the short, stout man, and it was a good thing Er Zhu reacted quickly.
But, Er Zhu's reaction was too fast...
"Young man, what you're doing is not right. If you make a mistake, you must bear the consequences, you can't be a scoundrel!"
"Exactly, Jianbaotang has been an old shop for over twenty years, and they've always been honest!"
"Alas, as expected of country folk, their quality is low!"
...
For a moment, all the passersby began to criticize Er Zhu and Li Mei. Their indignant expressions made it seem as if Er Zhu and Li Mei had committed some heinous crime.
Li Mei's eyes turned redder. She didn't have time to consider Er Zhu's situation. She anxiously grabbed Er Zhu's arm, on the verge of tears.
On the other side, the short, stout man looked triumphantly at Er Zhu and Li Mei, a look of disdain in his eyes!
These two bumpkins dared to argue with them, what a joke!
"It's alright, Sister Mei, leave this to me."
A hint of heartache flashed in Er Zhu's eyes. He gently patted Li Mei's shoulder and picked up another shard from the ground.
"Everyone here seems to have some knowledge of antiques. Why don't we take a look and see if it's real or fake?"
Er Zhu said as he tossed the shard to a passerby. A few passersby gathered around, examining it carefully.
The short, stout man's eyes flickered with panic at this scene. These people were all experts, and if they saw something, it would be bad!
"What are you looking at? You broke the item, and I think you're trying to renege on the payment!"
The short, stout man yelled as he quickly rushed towards the crowd, but Er Zhu, not one to be trifled with, grabbed him by the collar.
"If you dare to say another word, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Just as the short, stout man was about to struggle, a cold voice suddenly came. His eyes widened with panic, and the hairs on his entire body stood on end.
He had intended to extort some money, but he had unexpectedly kicked an iron plate!
In this day and age, even bumpkins are not easy to fool?
The short, stout man looked at Er Zhu in terror. Er Zhu's cold dark eyes sent an involuntary shiver through him.
"Even if it's from a private kiln, it wouldn't be this crude. This vase is fake!"
"I think so too. Look at the seal, it's perfectly intact!"
"I didn't expect Jianbaotang to be so shoddy!"
...
At this moment, voices from the crowd emerged, and everyone looked at the short, stout man with indignation.
Anyone with a little knowledge of antiques knew that porcelain was divided into imperial and private kilns. Imperial kiln porcelain was of superior quality, while private kiln quality varied.
And the seal was an even more obvious matter.
"No, it's not what you think, actually..."
The short, stout man reacted instantly, shaking his head and trying to explain, but for a moment, he didn't know where to start.
"Xiao Linzi, what's going on here?"
Just as the crowd was about to attack, an old voice came from inside the shop.
Er Zhu turned his head and saw an old man with white hair and a gruff face slowly walking out of the room.
The old man had squinty eyes and a smile on his face. Although he looked kind and amiable, Er Zhu could tell at a glance that he was a complete swindler!
"You guys are too unethical! Putting a fake here to scam people, are you treating your customers like fools?"
"Exactly, Mr. Qian. I'll never patronize your Jianbaotang again!"
"I won't come either, what a disgrace!"
...
Just as Xiao Linzi was about to remind his boss, the crowd questioned him one after another.
Mr. Qian still smiled, but a cold glint flashed in his small eyes!
This Xiao Linzi is an idiot. He had told him to replace it with a high-quality replica long ago, but this guy refused to do it!
"I'm so sorry, everyone. It's my fault for not disciplining him properly. Xiao Linzi, from now on, you're fired!"
Mr. Qian clasped his hands together to apologize to the crowd, then angrily yelled at the short, stout man.
"Boss, you... I... he..."
Xiao Linzi was instantly stunned. He anxiously tried to explain but didn't know what to say.
The boss was sacrificing a pawn to save the king!
Damn it, if he had known this earlier, he wouldn't have denied it to the end!
"I'm truly sorry to you two. You don't need to pay for this vase, you can leave."
Seeing that Xiao Linzi remained silent, Mr. Qian smiled and bowed to Er Zhu and Li Mei, apologizing very sincerely.
Li Mei blinked, feeling that something was not quite right, but she couldn't articulate it.