Sitting at her table, Xu Qingqing looked around but couldn't find the signature plum vase in the store. She asked the staff member who was writing down orders.
"Isn't it advertised outside that there's a Tang Dynasty plum vase? Where is it?"
The waiter explained, "Please wait a moment. Our staff has gone to get it from the safe."
"Okay." Xu Qingqing nodded.
The breakfast was quickly served. Xu Qingqing picked up a soup dumpling and took a bite. As soon as she bit into the skin, she couldn't help frowning.
The dumpling was cold and hard. It must be a leftover from last night.
How could anyone recommend such unpalatable food?
Xu Qingqing sighed. Since she had ordered it, she couldn't waste it. She had to finish it no matter how hard it was.
While she was eating, the long - awaited Tang Dynasty plum vase finally arrived. A staff member wheeled in a cart. The white plum vase was trapped inside a thick glass cover, veiled in a hazy layer.
The plum vase she had been longing for was out, but Xu Qingqing felt a bit disappointed after seeing it in full.
The texture wasn't translucent, and the color was a dull white, nothing like the plum vase she had imagined.
"Not to your liking?" Xu Yan noticed the disappointment on his sister's face.
"Yeah." Xu Qingqing nodded and stuffed the last soup dumpling into her mouth with difficulty. The fishy soup clogged her throat.
"Is it real or fake?"
Compared to Xu Qingqing, who cared more about the artistic value of the vase, Xu Yan, as a businessman, was more concerned about its worth.
Xu Qingqing stretched her neck with effort to swallow the dumpling, then took a sip of tea to wash away the taste in her mouth.
"How can I see clearly through such a thick glass cover?"
The suit - clad man who had run upstairs and hidden secretly now reappeared. He swaggered about with his hands behind his back, walking backwards as he directed the staff on where to place the vase.
"Be careful, all of you! This plum vase is an authentic Tang Dynasty antique. If you break it, you won't be able to pay for it even if you sell yourselves!"
"Yes."
The staff members who were lifting the antique off the cart held their breaths and were extremely careful, afraid that a single slip of their hands would mean a lifetime of hard work down the drain.
At this moment, an old woman brought her grandson to the restaurant for breakfast.
The old woman and the child were two meters away from the vase when the suit - clad man waved impatiently, telling the old woman to take her grandson away.
"Get out of the way! This is a precious antique. If you break it, you won't be able to afford it!"
Hearing it was a precious antique, the child became interested instead. He broke free from his grandma's hand and ran over to take a closer look.
Oh, such a country bumpkin.
The suit - clad man sneered inwardly. After the plum vase was placed in position, he took out his phone, turned his back to the vase, and took a photo with it.
"Get out of the way. Don't get in the shot. I'm going to do a safety check - in!"
Looking through his phone, the suit - clad man felt he was a bit far from the vase. He stepped backwards and shouted loudly.
The child, who had run to the glass cover out of curiosity to look at the antique, was blocked behind the suit - clad man with nowhere to go. His small body kept backing up...
The little boy was knocked down by the suit - clad man. Like a domino, the child's body knocked the glass cover askew.
"Oh no, watch out!"
Xu Qingqing saw that the antique was about to shatter. She stood up nervously, not even noticing that she had knocked over the tea beside her.
The other staff members and customers who were watching this thrilling scene also gasped.
"Watch out!"
"Manager, the glass cover is about to be knocked over!"
Hearing the shouts of others, the suit - clad man sensed something was wrong and turned around, but it was too late. The glass cover had already been knocked down by the little boy.
The glass cover fell backwards, and the plum vase inside hit the cover and shattered into pieces.
"My goodness!" The suit - clad man let out a pig - like scream and even dropped his phone on the ground.
The suit - clad man looked at the plum vase, which had been intact just now but was now in pieces, in disbelief.
He knelt down on the ground with a thud and pushed the little boy sitting on the fragments aside.
He reached out to try to save the vase, but the more he tried, the messier it got. The glass fragments and vase pieces were all mixed up, a complete mess.
"It's all your fault!" The suit - clad man angrily pointed at the scared little boy.
"You've broken our store's treasure. You're responsible!"
The little boy knew he had caused trouble and burst into tears.
The old woman on one side rushed over to hug her grandson lovingly and checked if there were any wounds on him.
"What are you shouting for? Isn't it just a vase? We'll compensate you!"
The old woman said angrily, "My grandson just sat on the fragments. Fortunately, he's not injured. Otherwise, you'll have to pay for that too!"
Hearing the old woman's nonchalant words, the suit - clad man stood up and pointed at them with a trembling hand. "Fine! You pay!"
"This is a Tang Dynasty plum vase worth millions. Can you afford it?"
The old woman was shocked by the price. Her old face was full of disbelief. "A broken vase costs that much? Who are you kidding!"
"This isn't a broken vase. It's a Tang Dynasty plum vase that our boss bought at the Gu Family Auction for a full five million!"
"It must have appreciated a lot over the years. If you don't pay, you're not going anywhere!"
The suit - clad man said angrily and then took out his walkie - talkie to call the security guards.
The old woman was at a loss. She never thought that a seemingly ordinary vase could be so expensive.
She slapped the child on the butt and wiped her tears anxiously. "Why don't you listen? You're always causing trouble!"
The little boy wailed. The shock of breaking something and the pain on his body made him cry so hard that he couldn't speak.
Xu Qingqing couldn't stand it anymore and came over to speak up for the little boy.
"You're the manager here, right? You're also half - responsible for the vase breaking just now."
"What? What does it have to do with me?"
The suit - clad man, who was on the phone, was stunned for a moment. He seemed to hear a joke and said angrily.
"He knocked it down, not me!"
Xu Qingqing testified for the little boy. "I saw that you weren't looking where you were going and kept backing up until you knocked into this child.
"This child then knocked into the vase. So shouldn't you be half - responsible too?"
"I..." The suit - clad man was stunned, and a flash of guilt crossed his eyes.
When he knocked into the little boy, the suit - clad man felt it, but he deliberately didn't move out of the way and just knocked the little boy down.
He never thought that the plum vase would also fall. Just now, he had shifted all the blame to the little boy because he didn't want to be responsible.
"I didn't!" The suit - clad man denied it and scanned the staff members, his eyes filled with warnings.
"Did any of you see me knock him down?"
The staff members all lowered their heads and said nothing.
The suit - clad man snorted and looked at Xu Qingqing with a bad attitude. "Liar!"
"You're the manager here, and they're your employees. They must be covering for you."
Xu Qingqing pointed to the surveillance camera in the corner. "But the surveillance camera won't cover for you. Let's just check and we'll know."
The old woman on one side seemed to have grasped at a life - saving straw. She wiped away her tears and loudly accused the manager.
"It was you who knocked my grandson down. You should pay for it too!"
"I'll pay then."