Jiang Long's anger was difficult to quell. After Hu Jin was dragged away, he immediately arranged for his subordinates to investigate the whereabouts of the lost antiques.
No matter how much effort it took, he was determined to recover all the lost antiques.
Then, he looked at Li Yang again and said earnestly, "Mr. Li, thank you for helping me clarify the matter of this batch of antiques. You are truly my benefactor, Jiang."
"You're too kind. I only came today to select a batch of antiques to put on shelves for sale. Now that you're here, I can rest assured. Have someone select a batch of quality antiques for me and send them to the shop. Also, calculate the money, and I'll transfer it to you now," Li Yang said casually.
"Mr. Li, how can I accept your money? You've helped me so much today, I'm grateful enough," Jiang Long said with a smile. "A batch of goods isn't worth much. Mr. Li, you can leave the rest to me; you don't need to worry about it anymore."
"How can that be? You're also a businessman. Business is business. If I don't accept this money, I won't ask for your help again in the future," Li Yang said sternly.
"This..." Jiang Long showed an embarrassed expression. To be honest, he wasn't short of money, and if this money could earn Li Yang's appreciation, it would be very worthwhile for him.
However, Li Yang didn't give him the chance, so he had to stop insisting.
After the transaction was completed, Li Yang saw that it was getting late and bid farewell to Jiang Long before leaving the antique shop.
As he walked out of the shop, Li Yang was about to return to the Tang family when a familiar voice came from an antique stall not far away: "Hey, do you know who this young lady is? I am the daughter of the Long family. How dare you swindle me?"
"Miss Long, everyone on this street knows you. But I really didn't swindle you. I really bought this item for twenty thousand, and you're only offering two thousand now. I really can't sell it. If it's not possible, perhaps you could look at other stalls?" the stall owner said with a wronged expression.
"That won't do. Anything this young lady fancies must be bought. This item is worth at most two thousand yuan. If you don't sell it today, I'll make sure you can't set up your stall here anymore!" Long Lingling threatened the stall owner with her hands on her hips, in a very arrogant manner.
The stall owner looked distressed, feeling speechless at encountering such a troublesome person.
The other stall owners beside him couldn't help but cover their mouths and chuckle. One old man said, "Old Wang, you should be content that your item caught Miss Long's eye. Last time, Miss Long took something worth a hundred thousand from me, and I didn't even ask for a cent."
"If you still want to continue setting up your stall here, you'd better obediently sell the item to Miss Long."
"Exactly. Old Wang, you really have no foresight. Miss Long allows us to set up stalls here and doesn't charge any rent for years. Look at how stingy you are, unwilling to part with an item worth a mere twenty thousand yuan?"
"You people are just enjoying the show. I'm setting up this stall to earn money to treat my granddaughter. She recently fell ill with a strange disease that cannot be cured. Now that there's medicine, it costs over a million yuan. Can you cure my granddaughter?" The stall owner angrily retorted.
For a moment, they had nothing more to say.
However, these words were heard by Long Lingling. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she looked at him seriously, asking, "Old man, is what you just said true? You're setting up this stall to treat your granddaughter?"
"It's absolutely true, Miss Long. My granddaughter is still lying in the hospital. Please take pity on me and don't bully me anymore," Old Wang said with a wronged tone.
"Alright, seeing how pitiful you are, I'll buy this for fifty thousand." Long Lingling's heart softened instantly. She took out a card and handed it to the stall owner.
"What? Fifty thousand?" Hearing this, not only Old Wang was stunned, but the other stall owners around were also very envious. So, pretending to be pitiful was effective. Miss Long was soft-hearted and couldn't stand tough tactics!
After receiving the money, the stall owner felt a bit embarrassed and quickly said, "Miss Long, although I'm short of money, I won't cheat anyone. Fifty thousand is too much."
"Not at all, not at all. As long as this young lady thinks it's worth it, it's not too much. Just take it," Long Lingling said with a shrug, unconcerned.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she took the antique and prepared to leave, the other stall owners suddenly surrounded Long Lingling, all pretending to be pitiful and begging Long Lingling to buy their antiques.
"Miss Long, my situation is even more pitiful than Old Wang's. I have a sick wife at home who needs my care. Do you have anything you like from my stall?" an uncle said with a forced wry smile.
"Are you telling the truth?" Long Lingling blinked her beautiful eyes, looking at him playfully. At the same time, she scanned the antiques on his stall, touched her chin, and picked one, saying, "I'm quite interested in this hairpin. How much is it?"
"This? This hairpin isn't expensive, only thirty thousand yuan. But since Miss Long is here today, I won't set a price. Miss Long can give whatever she thinks is appropriate," the stall owner said, deliberately squeezing out tears.
"Is that so? Alright then, I happen to have some change in my pocket. I'll buy it for thirty yuan." Long Lingling smiled, took out thirty yuan, and handed it to him, saying, "Boss, your wife is sick at home. Remember to buy two catties of meat with these thirty yuan and stew it for your wife to nourish her. As for this hairpin, I'll take it!"
"What? Miss Long, this hairpin cannot be sold for thirty yuan. I bought it for eight thousand." The stall owner instantly came to his senses and quickly tried to stop Long Lingling. But before he could catch up, Long Lingling's bodyguard stepped forward and glared fiercely at the stall owner, scaring him into silence on the spot.
If he had known this method wouldn't work, he wouldn't have tried to swindle Miss Long earlier. Now, he hadn't earned a penny and had even lost several thousand yuan. He sighed helplessly, returned to his stall, and seeing the other bosses snickering, he angrily cursed, "Damn you all! If you say one more word, I'll overturn all your stalls. No one will do business here."
"Old Liu, you were the one who wanted to swindle Miss Long, not us. If you overturn our stalls, won't you also be swindled?" Old Xu complained.
"Hmph, it's all your fault! Who was the first one to come up with this crooked idea? And I'm the one who ended up losing out. I'm never associating with you guys again." Old Liu snorted coldly and started packing up his stall alone, intending to move to another spot, too lazy to deal with them.
Long Lingling, holding the newly acquired hairpin and putting it on her head, heard Li Yang's voice from behind: "Lingling, it seems no one in the provincial capital can bully you."
"Who?" Long Lingling looked back in surprise and saw Li Yang. Her face immediately broke into a brilliant smile, and she eagerly ran over, intimately grabbing Li Yang's arm: "Li Yang, when did you come to the provincial capital? You didn't even tell me. I've missed you so much."