Chapter 84

Luo Yaohua's English was quite good, and he exchanged a few words with the two girls. One of the girls helped him grind the ink, while the other took photos with a camera.

Luo Yaohua wrote two lines on the paper: "One world, one dream," which was also the slogan of the recently concluded Olympics.

The girl grinding the ink was very excited and said a few words to Luo Yaohua. Seeing Luo Yaohua walk to the side helplessly, the girl stepped forward, picked up the brush, and pretended to write, actually just posing for a photo.

After taking a few photos, the other girl came forward and imitated the pose to take photos as well.

Yang Bo stood to the side, watching the two girls' incorrect way of holding the brush, but did not say anything.

After taking photos for a while, the two girls finally took a group photo with Luo Yaohua.

When the two girls left, Yang Bo couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Is this how you flirt? Is this your good fortune? Why do I feel like these two didn't give Mr. Luo much face?"

Luo Yaohua had a sour look on his face, "What's wrong? At least some girls took a photo with me. Why don't you try it?"

Yang Bo shook his head, "Alright, let's not talk about it. Hurry up and tidy up, let's continue on!"

There were many shops in Liulichang, and the two of them wandered until midday. Luo Yaohua suggested going to eat roast duck, and Yang Bo immediately agreed. People in Jinling loved to eat duck, so there were roast duck shops everywhere. However, Beijing was famous for its roast duck, which made Jinling seem inferior.

Halfway through, the road was blocked, and there was a commotion ahead. Yang Bo took a look, "Hey, those are the two girls who asked for photos this morning!"

Luo Yaohua looked over and immediately judged, "They must be trying to scam someone!"

Yang Bo was a bit hesitant; he wasn't a热心人 (warm-hearted person), and Luo Yaohua didn't seem to plan on going forward either. However, the two girls arguing saw Luo Yaohua and waved at him, "Darling! Darling!"

Even if they didn't understand English, everyone knew it meant "dear." The crowd's attention immediately shifted, and the two of them couldn't leave even if they wanted to.

Luo Yaohua, with a stiff upper lip, pulled Yang Bo forward, whispering, "Brother, save me!"

Yang Bo remained calm, pushing through the crowd. He saw ceramic shards scattered on the ground and a middle-aged man in his forties standing nearby. The man's face and neck were very red, as if sunburned, and his clothes were stained with mud.

Seeing Yang Bo and Luo Yaohua approach, the middle-aged man quickly cried to Luo Yaohua, "Are you in on this with these two? Please help me explain! This brush holder is a family heirloom! My mother is over eighty and bedridden! I was counting on selling the brush holder to pay for her medical treatment!"

The middle-aged man was in tears, and since the two girls were foreigners, the crowd immediately sided with the man, pointing and criticizing the girls.

In such a situation, it was mostly a scam, but it couldn't be ruled out that it wasn't. Yang Bo said to Luo Yaohua, "Ask them what happened first!"

Luo Yaohua asked the two girls, and they seemed not to fully understand the severity of the situation, quickly explaining.

"They said they were walking backward and accidentally bumped into the man, and the brush holder broke at that moment."

Yang Bo frowned, "This is a tough one!"

Despite this, Yang Bo squatted down and carefully examined the ceramic shards.

The middle-aged man continued to explain, "This brush holder was made in the Qianlong era, very valuable. My mother's medical treatment depends on it!"

Luo Yaohua explained to the two girls, and they panicked, quickly pleading with the middle-aged man.

At this point, even if the middle-aged man let them go, the crowd wouldn't let them off.

"These two girls are too careless! They were walking backward!"

"Knocking into someone isn't a big deal, but this brush holder is worth a lot, not some fake ceramic!"

"Look at the cracks on the brush holder, the texture, it's definitely not a new ceramic!"

...

Yang Bo picked up a ceramic shard and noticed something was off. The surface of the ceramic was white, but the inner part was yellow, which couldn't possibly be from the Qianlong era. Moreover, the aura around the ceramic told him it was a simple fake!

Yang Bo casually picked up a shard and looked at the middle-aged man, "Do you work on a construction site?"

The middle-aged man nodded, "Yes, I work on a construction site. I don't have much education, but it's common sense that if you knock something over, you should compensate. It doesn't matter where you work!"

Yang Bo frowned. He just wanted to understand the man's situation and confirm if his mother was really ill. He had experienced a family member being seriously ill and naturally wanted to help.

He originally planned to see if he could help the man in some way, but the man deflected the topic, acting very smoothly, not like a typical construction worker. This made him suspicious that the man might be a professional scammer!

Yang Bo decided to test him. He raised the ceramic shard, "I think this ceramic is something you picked up from the construction site. Let's call the police to handle it!"

As soon as Yang Bo said this, the middle-aged man reacted strongly, "No, we can't call the police!"

Even the crowd opposed, "Why call the police for this? Can the police handle it better? Aren't the police biased towards foreigners?"

Yang Bo ignored the crowd and looked at the man, "How do you want to handle it?"

"Compensation, they just need to pay me 80,000 yuan, and I won't pursue this matter!" the middle-aged man said.

Yang Bo was certain the man was scamming and couldn't help but sigh, shaking his head, "Your demand is unreasonable. We all know what era this ceramic is from! The Olympics just ended, and there are many international visitors in Beijing. You're scamming foreigners, and you should be aware of the negative consequences!"

"I don't care, pay the money!" the middle-aged man insisted.

The two girls, hearing Luo Yaohua translate the demand of over ten thousand dollars, became anxious, saying a few words, but Yang Bo didn't understand any of it. His English was long gone.

The crowd also criticized Yang Bo, "Are you even Chinese? Helping foreigners at a time like this!"

"Right, calling the police, what's your relationship with that foreign woman, why are you protecting her!"

Yang Bo, hearing the gossip, couldn't help but frown, unwilling to argue further. He bent down and picked up a ceramic shard from the ground, "This is the bottom of the brush holder, with an inscription. Everyone can take a look and see if there's anything wrong with the inscription!"

The middle-aged man's face changed, as he knew the most obvious flaw in the ceramic!

The crowd didn't understand and couldn't say anything.

It was Luo Yaohua who loudly explained, "The inscription 'Made in the Qianlong era of the Great Qing' is problematic. The character '制' (made) should be in traditional Chinese, but this is in simplified!"

The crowd suddenly understood, looking at the middle-aged man, who was already trying to escape from the crowd.