"Mom, you don't need to change the subject. I know what you're thinking. You're doing all this for my future, but I absolutely will not stand by and watch you sacrifice yourself for me."
Tang Xiaoyao looked at Tang Xuejian with great seriousness and said, "I may not understand antiques, nor am I very good at business, but I will learn eventually."
"I will never be a burden, nor will I watch Mom suffer injustice here!"
"My good daughter, you've finally grown up!"
Hearing these words, Tang Xuejian was deeply moved. She gently stroked her daughter's head, a look of relief on her face.
However, even though her daughter was sensible, she couldn't solve the shop's current predicament.
Her face quickly showed worry again.
Shen Taishan then spoke sternly, "Boss Tang, I never imagined you had such an understanding and well-behaved daughter. I truly feel gratified for you."
"But you must take responsibility for the mistake you made today. You can either choose to close the shop, or you must agree to my earlier request."
"I..."
Tang Xuejian fell into hesitation once more.
Just then, Li Yang suddenly stepped forward and asked earnestly, "Aunt, where are the damaged goods? May I take a look?"
"You are..."
Tang Xuejian turned her head, only then noticing the unfamiliar face of Li Yang. At the same time, she saw Tang Xinyu.
Before Li Yang could respond, Tang Xinyu stepped forward proactively and said, "Aunt, this is my boyfriend. I brought him from Jiangcheng. His name is Li Yang."
"Li Yang? Your boyfriend?"
Tang Xuejian was deeply astonished. She hadn't expected Xinyu to have found her happiness. Seeing Li Yang's handsome appearance, she thought he was a good match for Xinyu!
From the bottom of her heart, she was happy for Tang Xinyu!
Then, remembering what Li Yang had just said, she asked curiously, "Young man, you said you wanted to look at the antiques just now. Do you also understand antiques?"
"Indeed, I know a little. Aunt, you don't need to agree to his unreasonable demands. If the accident was indeed your fault, I will compensate for the loss." Li Yang said proactively.
"How can this be?"
Tang Xuejian's face flushed. After being in the antique world for so long, she had fallen to the point where she needed a young man to compensate for her.
Meanwhile, Shen Taishan stared coldly at Li Yang, thinking to himself, "So this is Li Yang. Yun Feng called me earlier and mentioned the enemy was this kid! I didn't expect to meet him here before I went looking for him! Today is a good opportunity to deal with him!"
Coming back to his senses, Shen Taishan sneered sarcastically, "Young man, this is a matter between adults. Even if you understand antiques, you are not qualified to interfere in our affairs. You'd best step aside."
"Why should I step aside? Are you guilty, old man, and afraid I'll discover something?"
Li Yang looked at Shen Taishan with disdain. He had already seen something suspicious in Shen Taishan's sinister gaze, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Now that he had spoken, Li Yang's suspicions grew even stronger!
"Nonsense! Young people nowadays have no respect for rules. I demand you apologize to me immediately!" Shen Taishan ordered, staring sternly at Li Yang.
"I can apologize, but you'll have to wait until I've examined the antiques!"
Li Yang smiled calmly and turned back to Tang Xuejian, saying, "Aunt, where are those antiques now?"
"They are in the warehouse in the backyard," Tang Xuejian replied.
Seeing Li Yang's insistence on examining the goods, although she hadn't witnessed Li Yang's abilities, she felt that Li Yang might have seen something. Thus, she personally led Li Yang to the backyard to inspect the batch of jade.
Shen Taishan clenched his fists. The goods had not yet been moved by him, and Tang Xuejian was willing to let this kid inspect them, so he had nothing to say.
Soon, they arrived at the backyard together.
The batch of jade that had been accidentally damaged was all spread out at the entrance of the warehouse, piled up like a small mountain. However, eight out of ten pieces were shattered. At a glance, the ground was sparkling with broken fragments.
Workers were on-site sorting the undamaged jade. Although the good pieces were few, reducing some losses was still beneficial.
Tang Xuejian stopped with Li Yang and introduced, "Li Yang, these are the jade that met with an accident. Last night, while delivering goods to Old Master Shen, I was involved in a car accident, which caused a severe impact."
"The goods inside the car were also damaged as a result. The estimated loss is now over a billion."
"It's truly a shame about this jade!"
Li Yang walked closer, picked up a few pieces of jade from the ground, and examined their quality. They were indeed top-grade jade.
Tang Xinyu, upon hearing Li Yang's words, walked over and asked, "Li Yang, are there any problems with this jade? This is over a billion worth of goods. If my aunt has to compensate according to the requirements, she will not only face a huge debt but also have to close the shop."
"There are no problems with the jade itself. These are all top-quality goods with extremely high quality. But it's truly a pity that so much good jade has been shattered." Li Yang slowly stood up, shaking his head in lament.
"Then does this mean my aunt really has to compensate for these jade at the original price? We're really finished now," Tang Xinyu said despairingly.
Tang Xiaoyao, standing behind them, also felt immense sadness upon hearing Li Yang's words. She never imagined that her mother's decades of business would be completely ruined by this accident.
Tang Xuejian's brows were tightly furrowed. Every time she saw these jade, she felt distressed. She had never experienced such an accident before.
Although this accident was caused by the cargo driver being hit by someone else, the driver who caused the collision was a poor man. He had already been arrested but still had no money to compensate. Therefore, all this debt fell upon Tang Xuejian.
"Boss Tang, this kid has finished his inspection and can confirm the jade is fine. Do you have anything else to say now?" Shen Taishan thought this kid could discover something, but it seemed his skill was just so-so.
Tang Xuejian looked desperate, unsure of what to do.
Just then, Li Yang suddenly came to his senses and said with a smile, "Who told you that if the jade is fine, my aunt needs to compensate?"
"If these jade had problems before the accident, would the responsibility still be my aunt's?"
"What do you mean?"
Shen Taishan's expression suddenly changed, and he stared coldly at Li Yang, asking.
At this moment, Tang Xinyu, Tang Xuejian, and the others also turned their gaze to Li Yang.
Li Yang remained calm and explained, "Although this batch of jade is genuine, it had inherent problems. Before the accident, they were already cracked and could not withstand any collision."
"Therefore, this incident was not an accident, but a staged incident!"