Chapter 74

At this moment, Zhu Shen seemed to be like a piece of chewing gum, clinging to the old man without letting go.

The old man was annoyed and said irritably, "Xiao Zhu, one must be down-to-earth and not always harbor unrealistic fantasies. The clay teapot you mentioned, I hope it’s real, and I wish I knew how to make it..."

"After all, from the sound of it, it’s a treasure. If it were made, selling it for three to five million wouldn’t be a problem."

The old man sighed, "That would be a highly profitable business. If I knew how to make such a teapot, I would definitely make tens of thousands and sell them exclusively, ensuring a life of no worries for generations."

"Such a treasure, no matter how many you make, would never lack a market. If I really knew how to make it, why would I hide it?"

The old man said helplessly, "In ancient times, if someone possessed such a skill, they would fear persecution and wouldn’t dare to reveal it easily. But now, in a society governed by law, with patent protection, what do I have to fear?"

"Anyone who has such a skill would definitely apply for a patent, start a factory, and develop it on a grand scale, hoping the whole world would know. How could they possibly hide it?"

The old man shook his head, "So, Xiao Zhu, don’t have unrealistic fantasies. If you want to custom-order a traditional purple clay teapot, no matter how many requirements you have, I can help you. But don’t dream about the clay teapot."

The old man’s words were reasonable and convincing.

Qixiang, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but nod in agreement. He even secretly laughed, thinking that Zhu Shen had bought a tampered purple clay teapot and lost face in front of Zhu Qiao.

Now, Zhu Shen naturally wanted to save face. He had heard about the clay teapot from somewhere and hurriedly sought help from a master like Old Qin. However, the result disappointed him.

"Really, there is a clay teapot, why don’t you believe it?" Zhu Shen, not giving up, continued to nag.

The old man sat down, poured a cup of wine for Qixiang, and raised his head upon hearing this, "You say you have physical evidence. Show it to me, and I’ll believe it’s real."

"The physical evidence isn’t in my hands," Zhu Shen said, somewhat embarrassed.

"Then that’s it. Words alone are not enough to make me believe," the old man shook his head, put down the cup, and stood up, "Young Master Zhu, it seems I won’t be able to enjoy your banquet today."

"Leaving, leaving, going back to eat my own."

The old man, with his hands behind his back, left the room gracefully, his long robe fluttering, looking dignified. Zhu Shen didn’t stop him but sat down gloomily, picked up the wine bottle, and took a swig to drown his sorrows.

"Really gone, aren’t you going to try to keep him?" Qixiang kindly reminded.

"What’s the point of keeping him if he doesn’t know how to make the clay teapot?" Zhu Shen said with a sneer, "What kind of pottery master, just a show-off, a fake reputation."

Qixiang frowned and said tactfully, "You can’t say that. After all, there are no undeserved reputations. Especially for craftsmen, they earn their living with their skilled hands. If their work is bad and their reputation poor, they would have been out of business long ago."

"Hmph!"

Zhu Shen didn’t speak, his attitude dismissive.

Qixiang’s heart stirred and asked, "Young Master Zhu, are you so sure that the clay teapot exists because you’ve seen it with your own eyes?"

"…I haven’t seen the physical object, but…" Zhu Shen hesitated, then changed his words, "Anyway, the world is vast, and there are always things beyond common knowledge. It’s very normal for ordinary people not to have heard of them."

"That old man, I thought he would have heard some rumors in the industry. Who knew he would be so stubborn and conservative…"

Zhu Shen criticized harshly, extremely disappointed and angry.

Qixiang was deep in thought. At this moment, his phone rang. He took it out and smiled, "Young Master Zhu, Tian Shi and the others are here."

"Coming now, it’s already late!" Zhu Shen said irritably, "The guest has left, what use is he?"

"Whether he’s useful or not, you should still meet him," Qixiang shrugged, "Otherwise, he’ll think I lied to him."

"Come, come, call him up," Zhu Shen said indifferently, "Meeting is fine, at least we’ll get to know each other. Treating you to a meal and playing for a few days isn’t a big deal…"

"Alright, I’ll go out and bring them in."

Qixiang nodded, didn’t answer the call, and walked straight to the boat’s exterior. He saw a huge warship slowly approaching the painting boat.

On the warship, Tian Shi and Hai Gongzi stood in the wind, maintaining a calm exterior despite their inner anxiety.

However, upon seeing Qixiang, Hai Gongzi couldn’t help but call out, "Mr. Qi, is this the place?"

"Yes, this is the place. He’s waiting for you inside," Qixiang waved, "Come quickly."

Hai Gongzi and Tian Shi exchanged a glance, turned to the nearby small boat prepared by others, and rowed it to the painting boat.

Once on the deck of the painting boat, Tian Shi said sternly, "Mr. Qi, I hope you haven’t lied to us."

"Mr. Tian, you’re overthinking it. Lying to you wouldn’t benefit me," Qixiang smiled, "You should think about how to thank me if this is true."

"As long as we find the person smoothly, we’ll owe you a favor," Hai Gongzi said, but his eyes were full of suspicion.

Mainly because this was too coincidental. Qixiang only learned they were looking for Tao Zhugong yesterday, and today he said he had found the person. The speed was too fast, truly suspicious.

However, no matter how suspicious, they still decided to come and verify, rather than miss any hope. After all, they had been searching for several days without any leads. If it were true, it would be a pleasant surprise. If it were false…

Tian Shi glanced at Qixiang, someone would pay for his foolishness.

"I hope your favor isn’t just empty words!"

Qixiang smiled slightly and led the two into the boat, quickly arriving at a room with soft music.

The three of them walked around the screen and saw Zhu Shen drinking alone. For a moment, they looked at each other, eyes wide, the atmosphere somewhat strange.

Suddenly, Hai Gongzi whispered, "Chrysanthemum Pig?"

"Bang!"

In an instant, Zhu Shen slapped the table and shouted angrily, "I’m the God of Wealth, Tao Zhugong… who are you, scum? Blackmail me again, and I’ll kick your ass…"

Hai Gongzi, instead of being angry, was delighted. This catchphrase was so familiar.

"He’s Lord Hai," Tian Shi said, his eyes fixed on Zhu Shen’s face, closely watching his reaction.

"What?" Zhu Shen was surprised, then laughed, "Hai Dafu is actually a fat white guy, truly unexpected. So shameless, still claiming to be handsome…"

The information matched…

Hai Gongzi was overjoyed, but his face was dark, "Chrysanthemum Pig, black forever!"

"Get lost!"

Zhu Shen slapped the table and laughed, "I thought only Tian Shi came, didn’t expect you, Dafu, to be here too. Come, come, sit, drink…"

This was probably what a netizen meeting looked like.

Qixiang watched coldly, able to see that Hai Gongzi and Zhu Shen were quite familiar. However, Zhu Shen and Tian Shi were only acquaintances, not very close.

So, at the table, Hai Gongzi and Zhu Shen laughed and chatted, quickly becoming close and enthusiastic.

After a subtle probing, Hai Gongzi was 100% sure that Zhu Shen was indeed the Tao Zhugong they had been searching for.

At an appropriate moment, Hai Gongzi found a gap and exchanged glances with Tian Shi, then smiled, "You call yourself the God of Wealth Tao Zhugong, why are you so stingy?"

"What stingy?" Zhu Shen was confused.

"We came from far away, we’re guests," Hai Gongzi tapped the table and indicated, "Do you treat guests like this, with only wine and no dishes?"

"Oh…" Zhu Shen scratched his head, "The dishes aren’t ready yet."

As he spoke, Zhu Shen was about to get up to instruct the chef on the painting boat to start cooking, but was stopped by Hai Gongzi.

Hai Gongzi glanced at Tian Shi and smiled, "Why rush? With this great chef here, why bother others?"

"This…" Zhu Shen blinked, then suddenly remembered, "Right, Tian Shi, your cooking is said to be the best in the world, I haven’t tasted it yet. How about… showing off your skills?"

"Sure," Tian Shi nodded, then looked around and shook his head, "But my utensils are on the boat, I need to go get them…"

"Get them? Why not go together?" Hai Gongzi pulled Zhu Shen up, smiling, "Come, bring the wine, let’s visit our boat."

Zhu Shen nodded happily, not forgetting to remind, "Right, he just caught a big fish, bring it along…"

"Hmm?"

Hai Gongzi and Tian Shi immediately looked at Qixiang, both somewhat troubled. Finding Tao Zhugong was too exciting, they almost forgot about this troublesome guy.

"Long heard of Daoist Tian’s excellent cooking, mind if I join as a food lover?" Qixiang smiled, implying that he would turn against them if they tried to exclude him.

"Ouch…"

Tian Shi felt a toothache. He wasn’t afraid of a confrontation, but he couldn’t immediately turn against someone he owed a favor to. That would be too heartless.

Reluctantly, he said, "If Daoist Qi wishes to come, it’s my honor…"

"Can’t refuse, thanks!"

Qixiang was satisfied, tactfully not provoking Tian Shi further, and quickened his pace, following Hai Gongzi and Zhu Shen to Tian Shi’s warship.

Upon seeing the warship, Zhu Shen was slightly surprised, "You guys really built a Sui-Tang warship?"

"It’s just the exterior, the interior is modern turbine-driven," Hai Gongzi said casually, "Ours is still small. I know someone who has built a full-scale five-toothed warship…"

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