Father Lu didn't want to discuss this issue. "How would I know..."
"Then tell me, could Liu Tianjing have cheated in her first three competitions too?" Old Li's tone was hesitant.
His words made everyone start thinking.
How could a champion cheat? Could it be that she won the championships only by cheating before?
But no one responded. They all ate their meals silently.
When it came to the afternoon competition, Li Ying'er wanted Xu Qingqing to teach her some methods of antique appraisal, so she clung to Xu Qingqing and walked with her.
Old Li, Li Ying'er's grandfather, was quite unhappy about this.
A competition was a competition. What did it mean to walk together!
However, Father Lu took it easy. He patted Old Li on the shoulder. "Old Li, we've been friends for most of our lives. Competing with each other doesn't make much sense."
"Look at Old Liu's current situation. If we hadn't competed back then, his granddaughter might not have gone astray."
"You're afraid of losing to me, aren't you?" Old Li snorted, but he also somewhat agreed with Father Lu's words in his heart.
Right, they were friends. There was no need to make a mess.
Old Li pretended to be generous. "Fine. Since you're afraid of losing to me, let's not compete. I'll let you win this time."
Father Lu playfully raised his hands and bowed to Old Li. "Then I'll thank Brother Li."
Hearing Father Lu's address, Old Li shivered and got goosebumps all over his arms. He rubbed his arms and looked at Father Lu disgustedly.
"If you want to thank me, do it properly. Why call me brother? I'm younger than you!"
Xu Qingqing and Li Ying'er couldn't help but smile knowingly when they heard the conversation between these two good friends.
Along the way, Xu Qingqing taught Li Ying'er many little tricks for treasure hunting. Although they didn't find any treasures, they had a great time shopping.
The farther they walked, the fewer people there were.
But there was a rare small stall selling calligraphy and paintings surrounded by a crowd. The boss selling the paintings sat leisurely behind the stall. He didn't try to attract customers but just let the customers choose on their own.
The stall owner's indifferent attitude was quite rare in the whole street.
"Sister Qingqing, can we take a look at that stall before we leave?"
Li Ying'er hugged Xu Qingqing's arm and asked. Her round apple cheeks puffed up, pushing her glasses up high.
"Sure." Xu Qingqing readily agreed. Since they had already come this far, a few more steps didn't matter.
When they got closer, they heard the customers' praises.
"Boss Wang, the calligraphy and paintings I bought from you last time were all authentic when I had them appraised! I'm going to buy a few more this time!"
Boss Wang, sitting behind the stall, shook the teacup in his hand and said expressionlessly, "I can't let you take all the good deals. You can only buy two."
"Aw!"
The customer looked disappointed. He stared at the calligraphy and paintings intently. "Two it is. Anyway, buying from you is a good deal."
After saying that, the customer went to choose.
Hearing the conversation between the customer and Boss Wang, other passers-by couldn't help but walk over curiously to admire the calligraphy and paintings.
One of the customers asked, "Boss, do you have any calligraphy by the great artist Xu Weiguo? His cursive calligraphy is truly outstanding!"
Hearing the customer's question, Xu Qingqing pricked up her ears immediately because Xu Weiguo was her father's name.
"Of course I do." The boss casually pointed to the calligraphy on the nearby shelf. "All these calligraphies are by Xu Weiguo."
The customer was stunned when he saw the wall full of cursive calligraphy. He asked in disbelief, "There are so many. They can't be fake, can they?"
Xu Weiguo was indifferent to fame and wealth. He only wrote for fun, and the number of his works for sale was very limited.
"Me, selling fake paintings?" The boss burst out laughing as if he had heard a funny joke. His face was full of pride.
"I'm a relative of Xu Weiguo. I can get as many of his calligraphies as I want. Why would I need to sell fakes?"
The customer who had just praised Boss Wang also came over to help the boss. "You don't know, do you? Boss Wang is a relative of Xu Weiguo."
"Really?" The customer was skeptical.
"Don't joke with me. I just heard a stall owner on another stall say that he was a descendant of Empress Dowager Cixi!"
"You don't believe me? I'll show you the evidence."
Boss Wang seemed to be well-prepared. He quickly took out a photo frame from under the stall.
"Look, this is a photo of me and my uncle Xu Weiguo. I prepared it in advance to shut the mouths of you unbelievers."
At this point, Xu Qingqing's mind was a bit confused.
Wait... When did her father get a nephew she didn't know!
Seeing Boss Wang take out the photo, Xu Qingqing quickly leaned over to take a look. She almost burst out laughing when she saw the photo.
Wasn't this photo taken by her and her father in front of their house before she went abroad?
It was just that in the photo, she had been replaced by this Boss Wang.
This was too absurd. It must be a Photoshop job!
But the customers didn't know this. Seeing that Boss Wang had a photo as evidence, they thought that Boss Wang was really a relative of Xu Weiguo.
They all seemed to have discovered a huge treasure. They blindly selected the cursive calligraphy without even looking.
Hearing that there was calligraphy by Xu Weiguo for sale, Old Li's eyes lit up. He also wanted to rush up and grab some.
"You've chosen too many."
Boss Wang tapped the teacup with the teapot lid to remind him. "For the sake of fairness, each person can only buy two. I won't sell any more."
Hearing this, Old Li quickly turned around and called Father Lu. "What are you standing there for? This is Xu Weiguo's calligraphy. Come and buy some quickly!"
"Okay... You choose first."
Father Lu was stunned for a moment. He walked up to Xu Qingqing and quietly asked, "Qingqing, are these really your father's calligraphy?"
Xu Qingqing shook her head and said firmly, "Uncle Lu, these calligraphies are not written by my father, and that photo was also faked by Boss Wang with Photoshop."
Hearing this, Li Ying'er beside Xu Qingqing pricked up her ears and asked in surprise, "Sister Qingqing, is Xu Weiguo really your father?"
"Yes." Xu Qingqing scratched her head and admitted somewhat shyly.
In order not to rely on her father's influence, Xu Qingqing had never told others that her father was Xu Weiguo.
"Sister Qingqing, expose him quickly!" Seeing her grandfather choosing calligraphy, Li Ying'er quickly said.
"Okay."
Xu Qingqing walked up to the stall owner and thought about how to start. Li Ying'er also ran over and dragged her grandfather back.
"Grandpa, don't buy. These calligraphies are all fake!"
The stall owner, who had been calm before, glared at Li Ying'er when he heard her say that the calligraphies he sold were fake. His face became a bit more fierce.
"How dare you say that the calligraphies I sell are fake!"
"Xu Weiguo is my uncle. He wrote these for me personally. Take them or leave them. If you don't want them, get out of here!"
This guy kept calling Xu Weiguo his uncle. It was really disgusting.
Xu Qingqing snorted. "Uncle? How come I don't know that Xu Weiguo has a nephew surnamed Wang!"
"Humph, why should you know?" Boss Wang rolled his eyes and said impatiently.