Xie Jingrong looked at him and replied calmly. "I don't think that this plant is over 200 years old. If that was the case, he wouldn't have waited until today to have it delivered to me. Moreover, I don't need it any more."
A plant over 200 years old was precious for sure. County Magistrate Qiao would have definitely not waited, instead, he would have come to the hotel the moment he found it.
He should stay away from this man as far away as possible. He already had one 500 years old plant with him. What was the point of having another one that was less impactful?
Startled, Yuezheng Xiao responded. "Really? But… can he really lie to us? The Xie Family would definitely hire someone to test the plant!"
Xie Jingrong immediately countered. "So what? He is not an expert, and maybe when he gets to know that he has got a wrong confirmation, he would prepare an expensive present and come to the Xie Family, telling us that he was cheated as well…"
"How horrible are people in the official field!"
Xie Jingrong smiled, as he tapped the table. That was why he never intended to take any more imperial examination, after he made it to the Recommended Man level.
There was more than one person in the Xie Family who could become active in the industry.
On the other side, Officer Qiao, who had been waiting, was dumbfounded.
Young Master Xie's servant did not smile but showed a very distant look. He rode away the moment he returned the stuff.
Officer Qiao felt really humiliated. He lectured Strategist Lu with a blackened face, and then turned to Madame Qiao.
Madame Qiao was taken aback as well.
"This… can't be possible! How can one turn down a friendly gesture? You offered the present so generously. How could Young Master have done that? It is so badly-mannered!"
Officer Qiao was annoyed too. "Young Master Xie is really ill-mannered… I should have delivered the present personally!"
If he had gone there personally, Young Master Xie would not have returned the present, right?
But there was nothing else he could do apart from complaining at this moment.
He was blaming Young Master Xie for not being able to understand the situation.
Officer Qiao sighed and was annoyed too. He asked with a slight feeling of jealousy. "Who on earth found the 500 years old Chinese fleeceflower root and stole the favor from me?"
Madame Qiao felt annoyed too. "If you want to know about this, carry out a thorough investigation! Young Master Xie must have offered them a great deal of money. Those narrow-sighted people might not have seen so much money before and would definitely show it off! No one would be able to conceal the secret of finding such an aged Chinese fleeceflower root for long! It is easy to find the culprit this way."
Officer Qiao thought for a while and nodded. "Yes, I should definitely look into it!"
He should find out the culprit first, and maybe he could make use of that person to establish a relationship with the Xie Family.
Officer Qiao passed on the order to Strategist Lu.
Strategist Lu took it as a way to compensate for his faults. He bragged that he was definitely going to find out the person within three days' time.
He also believed that it would be so easy to figure it out. Anyone granted with such an amount of money would surely show off across the whole village!
He could just ask the policemen from the governmental offices to ask around.
Three days passed, but there was no news about any such gains.
There was not a single trace of that mysterious person.
Strategist Lu, who had no way to go, had to report that back to Officer Qiao!
Officer Qiao was so irritated. How could he have failed at such a minor mission? He asked his own men to ask around but the result was the same…