Chapter 6

Jiang Xiaoyue hurriedly said, "That's right, now that I scold him, he doesn't dare to talk back... Thinking about the past, I never dared to scold him, ha..."

"This is just it. Besides, I have another use for him," Jiang Yan said with a smile.

"What other use?" Jiang Xiaoyue asked in confusion.

"Xiaoyue, you don't know, but the antique business is highly profitable," Jiang Yan said in a low voice. "If we want to get rich, we have to rely on him."

"Huh?" Jiang Xiaoyue didn't understand. Rely on him? Yang Kang? Could he really make them rich?

"Although we have taken over this antique shop, we don't have a source of goods," Jiang Yan couldn't help but sigh. Without a source of goods, his antique business couldn't continue. He couldn't go around the streets with a drum, collecting antiques, could he? Although some people would come to him seeking to sell, he was well aware of his own judgment. Ordinary items weren't easy to sell, and good items were too smartly priced by people nowadays to be sold cheaply.

If he could confirm that the items were genuine, he would accept even if they were a bit expensive. But if they were high-quality fakes passing as genuine, even his vast fortune wouldn't be enough to cover the losses. Thinking back, when Yang Chongxuan's business was huge, one painting that went wrong led to his complete ruin.

"I heard a long time ago that there were always people supplying goods to Yang Chongxuan," Jiang Yan continued. "Those people were very capable, and the items they provided were all good and cheap. I also asked Yang Chongxuan about this. Once, when he was drunk, he vaguely mentioned it, confirming that it was true. So, I kept the Yuzhenzhai sign and the original shop layout, and kept Yang Kang, waiting for those people to come."

"Huh?" Jiang Xiaoyue was surprised. "Such a thing? Then... why don't we just ask him?"

"Do you think he would tell us if we asked?" Jiang Yan shook his head. "He's not stupid. We either wait for those people to contact him or for him to be desperate and contact them to buy goods. He was recently fired, right? It's not easy to find a job in his field. Oh, right, there's a small antique exchange at Langyuan tomorrow. Take him along."

"Eh?" Jiang Xiaoyue was a bit confused.

"Can we just wait like this?" Jiang Yan said with a cold smile. "He's at the end of his rope, but he hasn't touched certain things yet. Once he does, he won't be able to resist. Once we know about Yang Chongxuan's source of goods, he won't be useful anymore. Then, Xiaoyue, if you really want to be with him, it won't be difficult."

"Dad, don't talk nonsense," Jiang Xiaoyue's face turned red instantly.

"You..." Jiang Yan laughed. "Do you think I don't know your little thoughts? You deliberately argue with him and insult him to attract his attention? But that boy is quite handsome, like a movie star—Xiaoyue, if you want to win him over, it's up to you."

"Dad, what should I do?" Jiang Xiaoyue asked hurriedly.

Jiang Yan lowered his voice and whispered a few words in her ear.

Yang Kang leaned against the wall, clenching his fists tightly, his fingernails digging into his flesh. The pain kept him exceptionally clear-headed. He really didn't know that Jiang Yan had kept him to humiliate and torture him, and then use him to find his father's source of goods.

But—He didn't know his father's source of goods either. His father never mentioned it, even until his death. Why?

Perhaps, because the antique business led to his father's ruin, he didn't want him to follow in his footsteps. That must be it. After all, his father never talked about his business, hoping he would find a job and live a peaceful life, avoiding the same fate.

But, if there was a chance, could he really give up? If the Taiyin Baojian really gave him the ability to identify treasures, there would be no risk of being fooled—likewise, this secret must never be revealed to anyone.

Tomorrow, the antique exchange at Langyuan... perhaps it's an opportunity, a turning point...

The next day, Yang Kang didn't go out, as it wouldn't help. At lunchtime, Jiang Xiaoyue broke her usual routine and invited him to eat together, specifically instructing him not to go out in the evening and to go to the Langyuan antique exchange with her.

Yang Kang had wanted to go anyway, so he readily agreed. After lunch, he returned to the storage room for a nap, waking up at four in the afternoon. Bored, he started flipping through the book of the great leader's sayings he had bought a few days ago. The storage room was too hot, and the only light was dim, so he moved a stool to the entrance of Yuzhenzhai to read.

"Hey, Yang Kang, what book are you reading?" Jiang Xiaoyue, seeing the English text, felt dizzy and asked. Yesterday, Jiang Yan had specifically instructed her to pay attention to Yang Kang.

"Um... I bought it at a street stall a few days ago," Yang Kang said, deliberately handing the book to her. He had no idea that Jiang Xiaoyue secretly liked him. How could that be possible? From childhood, Jiang Xiaoyue and her brother Jiang Shanghua had always been at odds with him, and they had argued a lot.

He knew he was good-looking. As a child, everyone praised his good looks, saying he looked like his mother. In high school, when his family was wealthy, he was handsome and had excellent grades, receiving countless love letters from girls who admired him. In college, he had dated two female classmates, one of whom he dated for a year before breaking up.

College relationships were often unreliable, so when the girl broke up with him, although he was reluctant, he agreed and even wished her well. Yes, his first girlfriend was very beautiful, the history department's beauty. Perhaps because she was so beautiful, she was somewhat lazy and had a bad temper. Yang Kang found that pleasing her was exhausting, so he didn't mind the breakup.

After breaking up with his first girlfriend, he focused on his studies. However, because of his good looks, many female classmates were interested in him.

His second girlfriend, Cao Nan, wasn't particularly beautiful but was gentle and considerate, and Yang Kang liked her very much. He even took her home twice to meet his father, who didn't object and even joked that if her parents didn't mind, they could get married after graduation, as he was looking forward to having a grandson.

However, before he could graduate, their family suffered a sudden change. Cao Nan gradually became distant, and on the third day after his father's death, she sent him a text message with only two words: "Breakup."