Faced with the old lady's praise, Xu Qingqing replied modestly, "Oh, no. It's just that the necklace itself is really beautiful during the restoration process."
Hearing Xu Qingqing's compliment on the necklace, the old lady's best friend said with a smile, "Isn't it beautiful? I'm planning to leave it to my granddaughter - in - law. May I ask if you're married, Miss Xu?"
"I already have two kids," Xu Qingqing said with a smile.
"Wow!" one of them exclaimed, "You're so young but already have two kids!"
"Being a mom must be really tough, right?" the other one added.
"It's okay. My two kids are quite obedient."
Xu Qingqing chatted with the two old ladies for a while about daily trivia. Then the two of them paid 400,000 yuan readily.
After seeing them off, Xu Qingqing looked at Lu Qi, who was polishing an antique. Remembering what the old lady had said, she asked, "Is there also a restoration shop at the east end of the street?"
Lu Qi stopped his hand that was polishing the antique and clicked his tongue. "How do you know about that?"
"I heard it from those two old ladies just now."
"There is indeed an antique shop, but their restoration skills are not very good. They even regard us as a thorn in their side and often come to our shop to poach customers."
Lu Qi reminded her, "If you ever meet their clerks in the future, stay away from them."
Xu Qingqing gave a soft "oh" to show that she understood. "Okay."
Just then, a middle - aged man in a suit, looking gentle and refined, rushed in.
Seeing the two chatting, he took out a yellow cloth - wrapped package from his bosom.
"Hello. May I ask if you restore antiques here?"
Xu Qingqing and Lu Qi glanced at each other. They had just seen off the last customer, and now a new one came so soon.
"Sure. What do you want to restore?" Lu Qi stepped forward with a smile to receive him.
"This is a vase from my home. It was broken into pieces by my son. I'd like to have it restored."
"I see." Lu Qi took the cloth - wrapped package and spread it on the counter.
It was a plain green vase that had been broken into four pieces.
Xu Qingqing didn't find any relevant records in the system. It should be a modern - made item, not a valuable antique.
Moreover, all the broken parts were large pieces without any debris, so it would be very easy to restore.
"We can restore it," Lu Qi looked at the middle - aged man. "May I know your name, sir?"
The middle - aged man seemed a bit cautious. "My name is Huang Liwei."
The middle - aged man looked at Xu Qingqing, who was pure and beautiful, with a pair of eyes like blooming peach petals in spring.
He finally understood why Lu Chuanbai had become so distracted for a woman.
"Okay, Mr. Huang. What's your budget?" Lu Qi was thinking in his mind about how to raise the price for such an easy - to - restore item.
Lu Qi poured two glasses of water for them.
"One million yuan, how about that?" Huang Liwei looked honest, but he was very generous. He directly showed a finger.
Lu Qi, who was about to raise the price, was so shocked that he spurted out a mouthful of water.
One... one million yuan!
He had seen customers bargaining the price down, but he had never seen anyone bargaining the price up!
Asking for one million yuan right away. Was this guy a scammer?
"Mr. Huang... isn't your price a bit too unreasonable..." Xu Qingqing was also shocked.
Restoring Huang Liwei's vase would cost at most 50,000 yuan!
Unexpectedly, Huang Liwei took out his bank card from his bosom. "Can I pay by card in your shop? I can pay a 500,000 - yuan deposit first."
"Ah?"
This sentence immediately dispelled Lu Qi's suspicion that Huang Liwei was a scammer.
Even if he was a scammer, he should pay at the end. A 500,000 - yuan deposit was already a huge profit for him.
Xu Qingqing didn't want to rip off the customer so badly. She smiled and gently reminded, "Mr. Huang, this vase is quite easy to restore. And it's not an antique from a long - ago era. It's really easy to fix..."
She had put it very gently, which actually meant: Your vase is easy to restore. You don't need to spend so much money.
But Huang Liwei seemed not to understand. He directly handed the card to Lu Qi. "Please go and swipe the card. The password is six sixes."
As a profit - seeking businessman, Lu Qi didn't have as kind a heart as Xu Qingqing. He took the bank card with a big smile, swiped 500,000 yuan, and then handed it back to Huang Liwei with both hands.
"Mr. Huang, I've swiped 500,000 yuan. I'll inform you when the vase is restored, and then you can pay the remaining 500,000 yuan."
"Okay." Huang Liwei took back his bank card, took out his phone, and said to Xu Qingqing, "Let's add each other on WeChat. I also have a few other antiques that are broken. I'll send them here next time."
Lu Qi quickly pushed Xu Qingqing forward. "Hurry up and add him. Mr. Huang is waiting."
Why does he want to add me on WeChat?
Xu Qingqing glared at Lu Qi, but she felt embarrassed to directly refuse, so she added Huang Liwei on WeChat.
"Okay."
After adding on WeChat, Huang Liwei turned around and left. Lu Qi respectfully saw him off. "Mr. Huang, thank you for patronizing our business."
It was an understatement to say it was patronizing the business. He was clearly sending money to the antique shop.
Hahaha. Even if he split this money with Xu Qingqing, he could still get 500,000 yuan. It was so easy to get 500,000 yuan without any loss!
Hahaha!
Lu Qi squinted his eyes and smiled like a fox that had stolen some fishy food.
"No need to see me off. I can leave by myself." Huang Liwei refused Lu Qi's offer.
He walked until he reached the end of the street. A black Bentley was waiting for him by the roadside.
The car door opened, and Huang Liwei got in and respectfully reported to the person inside.
"General Manager Lu, I've already sent the antique to Miss Xu Qingqing's hands and paid a 500,000 - yuan deposit as you instructed."
"Okay. Thank you for your trouble," Lu Chuanbai nodded, and then called Lu Qi.
He wanted to tell Lu Qi not to take the money he shouldn't.
Lu Qi was lying in a rocking chair, staring at the 500,000 - yuan transfer notice and smiling when he received Lu Chuanbai's call. He looked up and scanned the shop.
Xu Qingqing had already taken the broken vase back to the workshop to restore it and was not at the front desk.
Lu Qi drawled, "General Manager Lu, why do you have time to call me?"
"Did you enjoy making 500,000 yuan?"
Lu Chuanbai said indifferently.
"How do you know I made 500,000 yuan?" Lu Qi suddenly sat up from the rocking chair. Sensing something was wrong, he thought of something and said, "Lu Chuanbai, Mr. Huang was sent by you, wasn't he!"
"Yes, I sent him," Lu Qi said straightforwardly. "This money is for Qingqing. You're not allowed to take a single cent."
"Ha?"
Hearing that the money he thought was his was going to slip away, Lu Qi disagreed.
He wouldn't do it if he couldn't get a single cent!
"At least split it 20 - 80. If it all goes to Xu Qingqing, you don't want her to get suspicious, do you?"
"Moreover, Xu Qingqing comes to work here every day. I can still say some good words for you in front of her. 200,000 yuan is really worth it for some good words!"
Lu Qi advised Lu Chuanbai earnestly.
Lu Chuanbai thought Lu Qi made sense. "Okay, 20 - 80 split then."
It didn't matter. He could just ask Huang Liwei to send a few more broken vases.
"Okay! Deal!"
After Lu Chuanbai hung up the phone, he looked at Huang Liwei sitting beside him. "Didn't the Gu family send several porcelain items? Break a few of them and send them to the antique shop for restoration."