Chapter 90

"Don't think that whatever you say, he will believe. If he didn't know beforehand that you really have a rolling bead tray, he wouldn't bother to come and see it."

Qi Xiang smiled and kindly reminded, "Of course, if he thinks my skills are not up to par and seeks another expert for authentication after leaving, he might find out that the item is fake."

"So, your time is limited. If you want to abscond with the money, this is the critical period."

Qi Xiang said with a smile, "If you wait until he realizes, you'll have no chance to escape. So you need to think carefully—whether to waste time with me or quickly bring out the real rolling bead tray, get rid of me, and then run away."

"You..." The young man's face changed, feeling that Qi Xiang had hit the nail on the head. He felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat, unable to struggle and could only submit.

After a moment of hesitation, the young man conceded, "Alright, I'll get the item, but you have to promise that once you see the real rolling bead tray, you won't make things difficult for me..."

"Sure, no problem," Qi Xiang agreed immediately.

"You'd better keep your word, or we'll both be in trouble," the young man warned again, then returned to the room to get the item.

Qi Xiang waited patiently, but after five or six minutes, he suddenly felt something was amiss.

"Damn!" Qi Xiang's heart raced, and he quickly got up and rushed to the young man's room, only to find the door locked from the inside.

"Damn!"

Qi Xiang, realizing what had happened, kicked the door open in a fit of rage. He saw the window wide open.

Outside the window in the courtyard, a ladder was propped against the wall. At that moment, a tuft of foxtail grass on the wall was swaying in the wind, as if mocking Qi Xiang's carelessness.

Qi Xiang's face turned black, and his cheeks burned with anger.

"Spending all day hunting birds, I never thought I'd be pecked in the eye by one." Qi Xiang was furious and felt extremely embarrassed. Despite his shrewdness, he had been outsmarted by a spoiled brat.

"Tripped up in a ditch, what a disgrace!"

Qi Xiang was seething, his chest heaving for a long time before he calmed down. Feeling humiliated, he couldn't bear to stay in the house any longer and immediately left.

Outside the house, he was still reluctant to give up and circled the house. Seeing the footprints outside the wall, he finally gave up.

No need to say more; the young man was clearly a habitual offender. He might have used this trick to escape from debt collectors before.

"Never thought, never thought..."

Qi Xiang's face was dark, and he was seething with anger. Despite his experience, he had been humiliated today.

He was so angry that he couldn't help but follow the footprints outside the wall, even though he knew it was futile.

Walking to the street, the footprints disappeared. The street was bustling with people, and the young man, being a local, would be hard to catch if he wanted to escape.

"This isn't over... we'll see who wins in the end!"

Qi Xiang gritted his teeth, thinking about how to get revenge.

At that moment, someone on the teahouse balcony called out, "Hey, why are you so slow? Hurry up and come up."

"What?"

Qi Xiang looked up and saw Zhu Qiao sitting by the window on the second floor. Seeing him, Qi Xiang's heart raced, and he walked into the teahouse and up the stairs without hesitation.

The second floor of the teahouse seemed to be reserved by Zhu Qiao. When Qi Xiang went up, he saw only a few people, including Zhu Qiao, drinking tea by the window.

"Why did you take so long?"

Seeing Qi Xiang, Zhu Qiao pouted, "Where were you? I wanted to give you your reward, but I couldn't find you."

"Huh?"

Qi Xiang was surprised that Zhu Qiao still remembered the reward. This showed that despite being a spoiled brat, Zhu Qiao was still quite honorable.

"Here's your money!"

Zhu Qiao threw a check and said, "Take it and go."

The check landed lightly, and Qi Xiang looked down to see that Zhu Qiao was quite knowledgeable. The check started with two digits followed by a string of zeros, totaling 200,000, one-tenth of the 2 million for the tray.

Looking at the check, Qi Xiang nudged it with his foot, making it fly up and land naturally in his palm.

"Tsk..." Zhu Qiao was surprised, "Not bad, you have some skills."

"Lord Zhu, you flatter me," Qi Xiang said, sitting next to Zhu Qiao and pouring himself a cup of tea.

Seeing this, Zhu Qiao frowned, "What are you doing? Take the money and go. I have guests to entertain and no time for you..."

"Not that," Qi Xiang placed the check on the table and sighed, "Lord, I've been thinking all the way here. I feel your money is too hot for me to take."

"How is my money too hot?" Zhu Qiao was puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"Shameful!" Qi Xiang shook his head and sighed, remaining silent.

Zhu Qiao became even more annoyed, "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't be so evasive, it's annoying."

"I said before that I don't know much about porcelain," Qi Xiang warned, "After thinking for a while, I feel that the porcelain tray might... not be real!"

"Not real?" Zhu Qiao was stunned, then shouted, "So it's fake?"

"Cough..." Qi Xiang lowered his head, looking embarrassed, "It seems so... I can't be sure."

"Ha, ha." Zhu Qiao's expression was strange, whether he was genuinely amused or laughing out of anger, his voice was thunderous, "I bought it, and now you tell me it's fake. Is that funny?"

"Of course it's funny..."

Qi Xiang lowered his head as if in repentance, but a playful smile crept onto his lips.

"A Zhu, what's real and what's fake?"

At that moment, several people appeared at the stairs, led by an elderly man with silver eyebrows and a vigorous spirit. He leaned on a light bamboo cane and walked silently.

"Uncle, you're here!"

Seeing the man, Zhu Qiao's anger vanished, and he quickly stood up to help the elderly man.

Qi Xiang's eyes sparkled, and he also stood up, respectfully calling, "Fifth Uncle Zhu, good health!"

"Oh..."

With Zhu Qiao's help, Fifth Uncle Zhu walked over. Hearing the greeting, he didn't recognize Qi Xiang but smiled kindly, "Young friend, hello!"

"Please, don't be too formal..." Qi Xiang stepped back, pulled out a chair, and said earnestly, "Fifth Uncle, please sit!"

"Don't take my job..."

Zhu Qiao glanced at Qi Xiang, clearly unhappy.

Qi Xiang ignored him and, once Fifth Uncle Zhu sat down, took charge, calling out loudly, "Waiter, change the tea. Bring the best tea in the house, don't use inferior stuff."

"That's enough." Zhu Qiao scolded, "I brought my own tea, no need to call them!"

"You should have said so earlier." Qi Xiang wasn't embarrassed but said confidently, "Hurry up, bring out the tea."

Qi Xiang's actions were not just for show; they were genuine.

He didn't know if this Fifth Uncle Zhu was Zhu Qiao's real uncle, but he knew that Fifth Uncle Zhu was a famous local figure, a well-known celebrity.

In Huzhou, one might not know the mayor's name or who the top official was, but most people had heard of Fifth Uncle Zhu.

Tea King, Zhu Hongwu!

In the entire Huzhou area, including the Taihu region, the number of people who didn't know Zhu Hongwu could be counted on one hand.

Fifth Uncle Zhu's life was legendary, worthy of a book.

Indeed, his biography had been published and was very popular. Qi Xiang had bought and read the book, considering Zhu Hongwu his idol.

Meeting his idol, it was no wonder Qi Xiang was a bit flustered.

"Young friend, don't be too formal, come and sit!"

Zhu Hongwu was very kind and smiled warmly. At his current status and with his rich and legendary life, he no longer needed to maintain a certain image and could act naturally.

"Uncle, you shouldn't be so formal with him." Zhu Qiao said angrily, "I was just trying to get rid of him."

"What's wrong?" Zhu Hongwu was surprised, "Why are you being so impolite?"

"It's his fault, he made me buy a fake item."

Zhu Qiao quickly explained, "I came to see you and prepared a gift, asking him to authenticate it. He said it was real when I bought it, but then he suddenly said he wasn't sure and it might be fake."

"You tell me, is it right to tolerate such inconsistency?"

Zhu Qiao glanced at Qi Xiang, a bit smug, showing some intelligence by explaining the situation to avoid being blamed later if Zhu Hongwu found the tray to be fake.

"What kind of tray are you talking about?" Zhu Hongwu was curious.

"This one..." Zhu Qiao gestured, "A rolling bead tray!"

"What!" Zhu Hongwu was shocked, "Is it really a rolling bead tray?"

"Cough, well..." Zhu Qiao stammered, "He said he wasn't sure, so I'm not certain."

Zhu Hongwu's heart raced, and he said eagerly, "Let me see it."

"Sure..." Zhu Qiao took the brocade box from his assistant, opened it quickly, and respectfully presented the tray to Zhu Hongwu, "Uncle, please take a look."

As soon as the tray was revealed, Zhu Hongwu stared intently at it. After a glance, a look of disappointment crossed his face, but he quickly regained his composure and said casually, "This isn't a rolling bead tray..."

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The next week was very tragic, with no recommendations, and I had to go bare to the release. The number of favorites hasn't changed much since the recommendation, so I can only rely on everyone's support. Please give me recommendations, thank you.