Looking at the man's appearance, Jiang Yaojie couldn't help but feel worried. He hesitated for a moment but still followed him. The man seemed to be completely drunk, and he was staggering as he walked.
Seeing the man's state, the people around him all huddled to the side in unease, whispering and pointing amongst themselves.
"Tsk, is this Shen Qianhe?"
"No way! He's a famous porcelain merchant, how could he do this!"
"Hey, I think it really is him. I was lucky enough to meet Shen Qianhe once."
Whispers reached Jiang Yaojie's ears, and he shuddered. He turned to look at the crowd and rushed to the side of two men, who were startled by his sudden appearance.
They all looked at Jiang Yaojie with cautious eyes. "What...what are you doing!"
Jiang Yaojie bowed to the two men, his attitude somewhat apologetic, and said, "I'm sorry I startled you two. I'd like to ask, is the person you were just discussing named Shen Qianhe?"
Asked this question, the two men became even more wary. They looked Jiang Yaojie up and down countless times, asking, "Who are you? Does who we're discussing have anything to do with you?"
"Brothers, please don't misunderstand. I'm just a small porcelain merchant. I just wanted to curry favor with Mr. Shen!" Jiang Yaojie said, deliberately adopting an even more humble demeanor.
The two men glanced at Jiang Yaojie and, sensing he wasn't a bad guy, kindly advised, "Young man, judging from your accent, you're not a local, are you? You're lucky to have met us. You'd better not provoke Mr. Chen with the porcelain!"
Their words startled Jiang Yaojie, but he still tried to maintain a calm expression and asked with a puzzled look, "Brothers, what do you mean by this?"
"Ah, young man, I can only say you're unlucky! It seems Mr. Shen has been..."
"Ahem... Ah Lie, don't say things you shouldn't. Mr. Shen's family and business are not something we can discuss casually!"
Ah Lie's incessant chatter annoyed the man next to him, who quickly frowned and tried to stop him. Ah Lie, realizing he had spoken too much, stuck out his tongue, covered his mouth, and said to Jiang Yaojie, "Young man, I can't say more. Just listen to us and don't offend Mr. Shen."
With that, the two of them strode away and disappeared from Jiang Yaojie's sight.
Jiang Yaojie was conflicted. He didn't know whether to turn around and tell his mother about Shen Qianhe, or to follow the drunken Shen Qianhe. He stood in the crowd, thinking it over and over, and finally ran in the direction where Shen Qianhe had disappeared.
Fortunately, Shen Qianhe had drunk too much and was unsteady on her feet. Before long, Jiang Yaojie spotted Shen Qianhe swaying back and forth in the crowd.
"Watch out!" Shen Qianhe stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Jiang Yaojie immediately rushed to Shen Qianhe's side and helped her up.
"Oh, it's you, little brother!" Shen Qianhe said indistinctly, his eyes blurry with drunkenness.
Jiang Yaojie felt nauseous from the strong smell of alcohol. He frowned and said in a low voice, "Where do you live? Let me take you home."
"Where do I live? Oh... where do I live again?" Shen Qianhe scratched his head in confusion, thinking.
Suddenly his gaze turned cold, and he patted Jiang Yaojie on the shoulder, saying, "Come on, young man!"
Without saying a word, she dragged Jiang Yaojie in the opposite direction, and the two of them arrived at the inn where Jiang Yaojie and Jiang Ling were staying.
Shen Qianhe led Jiang Yaojie to her room. Jiang Yaojie stood somewhat awkwardly at the door, his eyes glancing at Shen Qianhe's seat every now and then.
With a "crash," Jiang Yaojie looked up sharply and saw that Shen Qianhe had smashed the wine pot in his hand to pieces, and now he had put on a fierce and menacing expression.
Seeing Shen Qianhe's expression, Jiang Yaojie's heart skipped a beat. "He's not going to beat me up, is he?" Jiang Yaojie wondered as he wandered around looking for an opportunity to escape.
"You! Come here!" Shen Qianhe's tone was very forceful, which made Jiang Yaojie tremble all over.
His legs trembled as he moved his weak steps to Shen Qianhe's side.
"Open it!" Shen Qianhe said, pointing to the ten enormous boxes placed in the room.
"Okay...okay..." Jiang Yaojie said, his face pale and his lips trembling.
With trembling hands, Jiang Yaojie opened all the boxes in front of him. What he found inside stunned him. The ten boxes were filled with exquisitely crafted porcelain pieces, but all of them had irregular cracks.
"Smash them!"
While Jiang Yaojie was still in a daze, Shen Qianhe placed a hammer on Jiang Yaojie's finger and pointed at the porcelain, saying with a pained expression.
"What?" Jiang Yaojie stared in astonishment, his mouth agape so wide it could fit an ostrich egg.
"Smash them! Waaah, I, Shen Qianhe, deserve to die! I'm sorry to my family, I'm sorry to my partners!" With that, Shen Qianhe covered her face and cried bitterly.
Taking advantage of Shen Qianhe's pain, Jiang Yaojie rushed out with a hammer. Shen Qianhe's voice faded into the distance behind Jiang Yaojie, who quickly returned to his room.
Jiang Ling didn't know when she returned. She was startled to see Jiang Yaojie panting and carrying a hammer.
"Yaojie, what's wrong?" Jiang Ling carefully walked to Jiang Yaojie's side, slowly pulled the hammer that Jiang Yaojie was holding tightly out of his hand, placed it far away, and asked.
"Mother...I...I..." Jiang Yaojie leaned against the door, panting and sweating profusely.
Jiang Ling quickly grabbed a towel from the side and gently wiped the sweat from Jiang Yaojie's face. After helping Jiang Yaojie sit down in a chair, she continued to ask, "Yaojie, take a break and tell me slowly!"
Jiang Yaojie, panting heavily, drank all the tea in the teapot before saying to Jiang Ling, "Mother, I've found Shen Qianhe!"
"What? You...you said you know about Shen Qianhe?" Jiang Ling looked at Jiang Yaojie in surprise.
Jiang Yaojie nodded, pointed in the direction of Shen Qianhe's room, and then told Jiang Ling everything that had just happened.
Jiang Ling was somewhat surprised to hear this. It turned out that Shen Qianhe had been held up by trouble and that was why he hadn't gone back.
"Yaojie, you said those porcelain pieces all have cracks?" Jiang Ling asked, pondering what Jiang Yaojie had just said.
“Yes! Mother, I opened those big boxes myself. All the porcelain on them was cracked. All of that porcelain is definitely ruined!” Jiang Ling said.
"Hmm? Why do you think it's all over?" Jiang Ling asked Jiang Yaojie, somewhat puzzled.
“Mother, isn’t that simple? Putting aside everything else, just take porcelain bowls and cups as an example. They’re definitely meant for holding water. Who would buy broken ones as containers?” Jiang Yaojie blurted out.
After listening, Jiang Ling shook her head, frowned, and thought for a while before saying to Jiang Yaojie, "Yaojie, I think these porcelain pieces aren't broken, but rather a new type of porcelain!"
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