Chapter 321 - 285: Letting You Buy
Chapter 321: Chapter 285: Letting You Buy
Tang Yaxuan had stopped crying. Hearing those words, she lifted her chin, her red-rimmed eyes glancing at Xiao Man before she lowered her gaze, the corners of her lips curling into a slight smirk.
’She’d been the one sitting at the table, appreciating this jade piece the entire time, and Wu Xiaowen hadn’t said a word. Meanwhile, Xiao Man didn’t even have the right to look!’
Xiao Man caught Tang Yaxuan’s subtle movements and scoffed in disdain.
Bai Lihua shook his head slightly at Wu Xiaowen, then smiled at Xiao Man. "Of course you can look at it with us. Manman, come sit next to Xuanxuan, and I’ll explain anything you don’t understand. You must be thirsty. Here, have some tea."
He then turned to Boss Zhou. "This young lady is one of our children, too. Please bring us another pot of hot tea!"
Boss Zhou looked at Xiao Man in surprise. "Wait... you’re actually a family?"
Xiao Man said coldly, "It’s not what you think, so don’t jump to conclusions. Are you refusing my business or not? If so, I’m leaving!"
"Whoa, whoa, don’t go! Our shop has always believed that good relations bring good business, and we do our best to accommodate our customers. Please don’t be angry, young lady. Since Mr. Bai doesn’t mind, then by all means, look at it together. Be my guest!"
Xiao Man didn’t sit down. She simply took two steps closer to the table and looked at the jade sculpture. It was a jadeite flower tree, about a foot high and carved from a single piece of jade. The artist had skillfully used the material’s natural properties to evoke a summer scene of lush foliage and sparse blossoms. Nestled among the flowers and leaves were two black cicadas with white spots, along with a kingfisher, its wings spread as if about to take flight. The kingfisher’s forehead was purple... Xiao Man didn’t actually know how to appraise such things; she just thought the jade piece was beautiful. The carving was exquisite, delicate, and so lifelike. When she swept her Divine Sense over it, she could feel the Spiritual Energy surging within the jadeite.
Before Bai Lihua could explain the marvelous details of the jade piece, Xiao Man turned directly to Boss Zhou. "What’s the asking price?"
Boss Zhou glanced at Bai Lihua and Wu Xiaowen again before letting out a dry laugh. "So, the young lady has a good eye, I see. You like it too, don’t you? Don’t let the fact that it’s a replica fool you—it could truly rival the original! Just look at the quality of this jade, this craftsmanship... TSK TSK! You won’t find another piece like this in the entire country!"
"I’m asking you the price, Boss Zhou," Xiao Man said.
"Well, the list price was originally two hundred thousand, but just now, Mr. Bai..."
Bai Lihua cleared his throat, and Boss Zhou hastily corrected himself. "Comrade Bai is a good friend of one of our regulars. We just settled on a price. If Ms. Wu here wants to buy it, one hundred and fifty thousand is fine!"
"And if I buy it? How much?"
"Heh heh! Young lady, a businessman has to have integrity. We also have a first-come, first-served policy." Boss Zhou’s smile was strained, and he wore a pained, helpless expression.
Wu Xiaowen, for her part, remained silent. Tang Yaxuan watched Xiao Man with an inscrutable expression. Bai Lihua smiled. "Manman, do you really like this jade sculpture?"
Xiao Man nodded. "Yes, I want to buy it. So, are you buying it or not?"
Bai Lihua said, "It’s not easy to come up with over a hundred thousand in cash on such short notice. The boss just said he’d give us three days to get the money together. You’re just a child. Do you have that much money?"
"I don’t. My dad does!"
"You mean... Tang Qingyun?"
"Tang Qingshan. Tang Qingyun is my uncle. His salary has to support his children and pay for his wife’s shopping sprees. Where would he get that kind of money?"
Bai Lihua: "..."
Tang Yaxuan lowered her head, playing the part of a well-behaved girl. Wu Xiaowen’s cheeks flushed crimson as she glared at Xiao Man. "What are you babbling about? Tang Qingyun works in the middle of nowhere. That measly salary of his isn’t even enough for his cigarettes, who would ever rely on him?"
"Oh, so you’ve given up on relying on him!"
’No wonder she’s so brazenly out shopping with Bai Lihua, dragging her kid along to play the part of a happy family of three. Is she trying to rekindle an old flame? Poor Tang Qingyun is probably screwed. His own house is on fire—what’s he going to do?’
’Xiao Man wasn’t naive. She believed that men and women could have friendships, not just romantic relationships. But that was only possible if both people were honest with themselves and maintained a proper distance—especially if they were married. They had to be particularly mindful of boundaries. But Bai Lihua and Wu Xiaowen had clearly failed on that front. They were sitting pressed together, he was wiping her hands, and she was practically leaning on him. Even the most affectionate married couples weren’t that intimate!’
’This all rubbed Xiao Man the wrong way. She could choose to ignore Wu Xiaowen and whatever she did, but Wu Xiaowen was still Tang Qingyun’s wife and Hao Hao’s mother. Acting like this was just improper! And Bai Lihua, what was he thinking? To think Bai Junfan had the nerve to tell her the Bai and Tang families were old family friends. Old family friends, my ass! More like home-wrecking friends!’
Xiao Man was dead set on making trouble, but she didn’t realize that a calculating look had entered Wu Xiaowen’s eyes. In fact, Wu Xiaowen was now hatching a plan that involved her.
"Manman, do you really want to buy this jade piece? Since that’s the case, I’ll let you have it. Go ahead, you buy it."