“Mom,” Qiao Nian pulled Qin Yongmei to the side and looked at the museum employee, “We are innocent and have nothing to hide. You can investigate.”
She then gestured for the butler to hand over the set of Go.
When the man saw the sparkling Go box, he frowned in disgust.
But, he shoved back his disgust and did his job by inspecting the Go bowls and stones.
When he finished, Qin Yongmei hurried asked, “How did it go? It’s not the same set as the stolen one, right?”
The man shook his head, “No, it’s not.”
Qin Yongmei and Qiao Nian both sighed in relief.
But before the air completely left their mouth, the man continued, “How can you compare this inferior junk of a product to a national treasure?”
His tone was unpleasant as if he was furious that they dirtied the national treasure’s name.
Qin Yongmei’s face immediately turned ugly, “How could you talk to us like this? This set I purchased is no less than a national treasure. It’s made out of the highest quality of jadeite. You cannot just say it’s junk!”
The man failed to contain himself and laughed out loud. The way his lips curled was somewhat taunting.
“High-quality jadeite? You think all of us are amateurs? These stones were heavily waxed that’s why they look shiny. They don’t even contain 0.1% of the worst quality jade. These are basically polished rocks. At most, these can be sold on the streets to scam people. I wouldn’t even buy this for 2,000RMB.”
Qin Yongmei was dumbfounded, so was Qiao Nian.
Qiao Ziwen’s face dropped, “How much did you pay for this?”
Qin Yongmei slowly stuttered out, “Thirty... 30,000,000RMB. Not a cent more!”
Before Qiao Ziwen exploded in anger, Qin Yongmei quickly added, “That person must be lying! Why would they sell fake goods in a mall, inside a display? This product contains an anti-counterfeit receipt!”
The employee no longer had the patience to even fake a smile, “I have nothing against you, why would I lie? Plus, I am a qualified appraiser. I never make mistakes in my job. If you don’t believe me, you can take it to a specialized jade appraisal agency and check to see if these Go pieces are really made out of jadeite.”
Then, he no longer felt the need to stay. He faced his group of people who tagged along and said, “Let’s go.”
Qin Yongmei’s face looked like it was covered in grey dust. Qiao Zhizhuo and Meng Chunhua both looked rather displeased.
Qing Ziwen jumped out in anger, “You spent 30,000,000RMB to buy a counterfeit good! You black sheep of a woman! You think it’s easy to make money!?”
Qiao Nian quickly grabbed onto Qiao Ziwen, “Dad, don’t just yell at mom. We are not professionals. It can’t be helped that we got scammed. We will go back to the vendor we purchased this from later. Grandpa’s gathering isn’t over and you are already getting so angry. You’re putting on a show for everyone to watch!”
Even without her mentioning it, Qiao Ziwen could feel all the gazes on him.
“How do you have the audacity to talk on her behalf!” Qiao Ziwen didn’t say anything to Qiao Nian either, “Look at your cousin, now look at you. You and your mother have lost all my face!”
“Stop, stop!” Qiao Nian’s younger aunt, Qin Yonglan rushed up, “Niannian is right. They don’t study this stuff, it can’t be helped that they got scammed. After all, Niannian is only a high school student. No matter what gift she gets, she’d be spending the family money. On every exam, Niannian places in the top 3 at school and repays her grandpa using her excellent grades. I think that alone is more valuable than any gift.”
She then looked over to Qiao Zhizhuo, “Don’t you think so, Elder Qiao?”