Li Xianren immediately became displeased, "Old witch, don't talk nonsense! I've already told you, this is Yuan blue and white porcelain, and you've all seen the certificate! Moreover, there's Yunxi Shanren's calligraphy on it, which you've all destroyed. I'm asking you for 100 million, that's a normal price!"
"Normal my foot! You're just ripping people off! If you're not happy, let's have Director Ma settle this!" Zhang Ailan immediately shouted.
Ma Jianguo had already squatted down, picked up a fragment, examined it repeatedly, and said to Li Xianren, "Mr. Li, how can you prove that this blue and white porcelain is worth 100 million?"
Li Xianren quickly replied, "That's easy. I just happened to have an appointment with Chairman Liu of the Antiques Association, Director Zhang of the Museum, and several experts from Yandu. They are all here and can all testify to the value of my Yuan blue and white porcelain!"
Ma Jianguo nodded. "I know Chairman Liu. He's an upright man and a very authoritative expert! Director Zhang is a government official, and he's incorruptible! If they say he's worth 100 million, then it's probably pretty much true!"
Without saying a word, Li Xianren ordered his men to invite Liu Zhongyi and the others over.
In fact, Liu Zhongyi, Zhang Jiefang, and others had already made preparations and rushed over immediately.
Li Xianren quickly said, "Chairman Liu, Director Zhang, you have already appraised this wine pot of mine. Now that Director Ma is here, please tell me fairly, how much is this Yuan blue and white porcelain wine pot really worth?"
Liu Zhongyi was the first to step forward and said, "This Yuan blue and white porcelain is called the Yuan blue and white octagonal ewer. It is extremely rare and precious. Conservatively speaking, it should be worth at least a thousand. At an auction, it should not be difficult to fetch twelve million!"
Zhang Ailan immediately laughed, "Hey, did you hear that? It'll only cost twelve million at the auction, and you're talking about a small goal right off the bat. Aren't you just trying to extort money from me?"
At this moment, Zhang Jiefang spoke up, "What Chairman Liu just mentioned was only the value of this teapot. However, this teapot also bears the calligraphy and painting of Yunxi Shanren, a contemporary master of calligraphy and painting! The value of Yunxi Shanren's landscape paintings is immeasurable. One of his pine and cypress paintings once fetched a sky-high price of 30 million US dollars at auction in Hong Kong! To be honest, it's already a bargain for you if Mr. Li asks for 100 million!"
"Huh?" Zhang Ailan was completely dumbfounded.
My head was buzzing. I instantly felt incredibly regretful.
If I had known this broken wine jug was so expensive, why would I have smashed it myself!
Isn't that crazy?
Ma Jianguo shook his head and said to Zhang Ailan, "Madam, you heard it too. Chairman Liu and Director Zhang are both prominent figures. They would never give false testimony to lie for Boss Li! This thing is only worth this much money. Are you going to pay or not? If you don't pay, come back with me now. Let me tell you, our conditions aren't very good. We eat cornbread every day, and the temporary housing is mixed with men and women. Many of them are rapists!"
"I'll pay! I'll pay!" Zhang Ailan was so scared that her lips trembled. Just thinking about going to that kind of environment made her feel like she was living a life worse than death.
But that's a hundred million! How could she possibly afford to pay that back!
Even if Lin Yu sends the bracelet over, it won't be nearly enough!
She could only pull her daughter along, "Xueqing..."
Lu Xueqing bit her lip. "Mom, I can't come up with a hundred million! Even though the company has that much money in its accounts, it's illegal for me to embezzle it! Do you want me to go to jail with you?"
"Ah, this..." Zhang Ailan was immediately at a loss, truly not knowing what to do.
"Hmph!" At this moment, Li Xianren snorted and said indifferently, "I see you can't afford to pay! How about this, I'll show you a way, see if that works!"
Zhang Ailan's eyes lit up, and she asked, "What approach?"
Li Xianren said calmly, "Actually, I'm a pretty generous person, and I'm not short of money! But your arrogant attitude just now really annoyed me! So I wanted to teach you a lesson!"
"How about this, you stay at my restaurant and work as a cleaner, cleaning the toilets, to pay off your debt! When your daughter brings money to redeem you, I'll let you go. What do you think?"
"What? You want me to clean the toilets?" Zhang Ailan's old face immediately twisted in dismay.
She never lifts a finger at home, so when has she ever done this kind of work?
Normally, these dirty chores are either done by Lin Yu or by his two daughters.
She's never even cleaned the toilet at home, yet you expect her to clean it for someone else?
Are you kidding me!
Li Xianren frowned: "What? You don't want to? Fine! Let's not talk about compensation for now! Director Ma, as far as I know, intentionally damaging other people's property is a criminal offense, isn't it?"
"I know that!"
At this moment, Pang Zhengming stepped forward and said gloatingly, "This is called the crime of intentional damage to property! If the amount is relatively large or there are other serious circumstances, the punishment is imprisonment for up to three years, detention, or a fine; if the amount is huge or there are other particularly serious circumstances, the punishment is imprisonment for three to seven years!"
He's a lawyer, so he knows the law by heart. This wine jug is worth a huge sum; this old witch is in deep trouble!
"What? I'll have to go to jail?" Zhang Ailan's vision went black, and she almost fainted.
Li Xianren snorted, "Of course! If you don't do this cleaning job, I'll have Director Ma arrest you right now! You can just wait to be sentenced!"
"No, no, no, I'll do it! I'll do the cleaning, okay?" Zhang Ailan was almost in tears.
It seems this calamity is destined to befall me!
I was just being nosy and had to break someone's wine jug. What bad luck!
Wang Xiuzhen was overjoyed to see her humiliated and gloated, saying, "Ailan, work hard here! I'll bring my mahjong friends to visit you when I have time!"
Zhang Ailan gritted her teeth in hatred, then suddenly remembered something and pointed at Pang Zhengming, saying, "That's right! Boss Li, I want to report this! I didn't break this wine pot by myself! I dropped it on the carpet, and it only broke in two pieces. Then he kicked it away, and that's how it broke like this!"
Pang Zhengming's smile froze instantly, and he hurriedly said, "Mr. Li, this has nothing to do with me! It was already broken at the time..."
Just as Pang Zhengming was about to explain, Liu Zhongyi suddenly spoke up, "If it had only broken in two at the beginning, there would have been a possibility of repair. Your kick was the most fatal! You bear at least half the responsibility!"
Li Xianren sneered. He knew this kid was no good either; he was just a dog lawyer defending Sun Xiaolei!
What's even more outrageous is that this kid invited Master Lin's mother-in-law and wife to dinner alone!
What are they trying to do? Steal Master Lin's thunder?
That's practically suicide!
I was just looking for a reason to teach him a lesson, and here he is, delivered right to my doorstep.
"Kid, you heard what Chairman Liu said! You're responsible for at least 50 million! I'll give you two choices: either go work for Director Ma at the sewing machine, or stay here like this old witch and work as a cleaner for me! I'll let you go when you've made enough money!"
“I…” Pang Zhengming wanted to cry.
This is ridiculous; isn't this like shooting yourself in the foot?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
