Chapter 125: I Hear You Want to Bribe Me

Back then, the old district was facing demolition and redevelopment, forcing Di Hanqing and Zhou Qinhua to close their hot pot restaurant and relocate. At that time, many merchants in the old district were unwilling to move, seemingly forgetting that they were merely tenants, not property owners. The demolition company was actually quite conscientious; not only did they compensate the property owners, but they also provided the merchants with a fair amount of severance. Later, Jiang Yingying found a way to secure a plot of land from Jiang Tianxiang, and she managed to relocate all these merchants together. Today, that commercial area has developed quite well, single-handedly revitalizing an entire business district.

However, Qin Tian did not expect to run into the elderly couple, Di Hanqing and Zhou Qinhua, here today. Moreover, it appeared they were in trouble.

"Look at this thing—it couldn't have been cheap. Now that you've smashed it, tell me, what are you going to do when my employer comes to settle this with me?"

The man across from them, who looked like a mover, was grabbing Di Hanqing's arm, refusing to let him leave.

"This... this..." Di Hanqing was at a loss. He carefully recalled the moment; he had just been walking normally when he suddenly heard a loud crash nearby. Immediately after, he was grabbed, and then he saw the shards scattered all over the ground.

"What’s going on? What’s going on?" Just then, the owner of the house walked out, wearing a bathrobe. "My vase! My vase! How did it shatter?"

"I told you to be careful! To be careful! Do you have any idea how expensive this vase was? It’s an antique! It’s worth a million!" The owner wailed in agony. The way he beat his chest and stomped his feet would have truly elicited sympathy from anyone.

"A... a... a million?" Upon hearing these words, Di Hanqing’s eyes rolled back, and he nearly fainted on the spot.

"This vase... it’s worth a million?" Zhou Qinhua’s eyes widened in shock and fear.

"A million? I’d give you two million for it! I’d buy as many as you could get me!" the owner shouted.

"Then how much is it exactly?" Zhou Qinhua asked subconsciously.

"Eight million! An antique of this caliber is a rare treasure in this world!" The owner held up eight fingers.

"Eight million? That expensive?" Zhou Qinhua gasped. Even if they sold their hot pot restaurant, they wouldn't be able to scrape together eight million!

"What are we to do?" Di Hanqing paced anxiously, wondering why such a miserable thing had to happen the moment they stepped out.

Qin Tian frowned slightly, sensing that something was amiss. For the transport of such a valuable item, one would surely hire a professional moving company using specialized equipment, yet the men present were burly, unrefined, and looked more like street thugs. If the item were truly that valuable, they would have certainly paid a high price for professionals and proper gear. Qin Tian scanned the area and found no tools at all—not even a piece of foam padding! This meant these people had been moving an eight-million-dollar vase with their bare hands.

Would anyone treat an eight-million-dollar item so carelessly? Unless the owner was someone who didn't care about money, there was definitely something fishy going on.

Qin Tian walked over, crouched down, and picked up a shard of the vase to examine it closely.

"Big guy!" Shen Xiaoqing tried to pull Qin Tian back. It was better not to get involved in such messy affairs; eight million was not a small sum, and it wasn't worth getting dragged into this.

"It’s you!" The elderly couple, Di Hanqing and Zhou Qinhua, recognized Qin Tian.

"Uncle, Auntie, what a coincidence," Qin Tian smiled, lifting the shard to examine it further. He wasn't an expert, but he knew enough to see that the vase didn't look like an antique.

"What era is this vase from?" Qin Tian asked, holding up the fragment toward the owner.

"The Zhou Dynasty!" the owner said proudly, as if showing off his ability to acquire such a treasure.

"Hmm, well, as far as the Zhou Dynasty goes, it is indeed possible that porcelain existed then. But!" Qin Tian’s tone shifted. That "but" was sharp, the kind that often turns a situation around.

"But what?" the owner demanded.

"Did the Zhou Dynasty have plaster? This stuff likely didn't appear until after the Song Dynasty," Qin Tian said calmly.

The owner froze. Plaster? He hadn't noticed that detail—who would look at such things?

"Calling a mass-produced modern vase an antique to extort people—that’s going a bit too far, don't you think?" Qin Tian said dryly.

"So it's extortion!"
"I was wondering how a vase could be that expensive. So it’s not a real antique, it’s a fake!"
The onlookers began to point fingers at the owner.

"Don't you dare spout nonsense! How am I extorting anyone? I spent eight million to acquire this vase! It’s worth that much!" The owner retorted immediately.

"I’m not talking about the price of your vase. Even a rock can be sold for a high price if you spin a good enough story. If you want to say it’s worth eight million, I have no opinion. What I’m saying is that you’ve staged a deliberate scam. What a great show you’ve put on!" Qin Tian said with a playful smirk.

The owner’s expression flickered, and the movers also turned their heads, their faces changing.

"Who are you calling a scammer? I was just watching TV in my house when I heard a loud crash, and then I saw my vase like this. I’m heartbroken, and you’re accusing me of staging a scam? Do you have no humanity? No sense of justice? No respect for the law?" The owner launched into a string of grievances.

"I remember now! I didn't even touch the vase! I just walked past it, and I didn't feel like I hit anything at all!" With Qin Tian’s prompt, Di Hanqing realized what was happening—he really was being framed! Di Hanqing thought to himself how close he had come to disaster; if Qin Tian hadn't arrived, they might have been forced to swallow this loss. Eight million? They would have been ruined!

"You're lying! When I was moving things, you were the one who bumped into me!" the mover quickly insisted.

"Which moving company are you from? I’ll give them a call and ask," Qin Tian asked coolly.

"I am... I..." The mover immediately began to stutter. Watching the man stammer, many in the crowd became convinced that this was indeed a scam.

"Kid, don't ruin my business! If you back off, I'll give you half of what we get!" The owner moved close to Qin Tian and whispered through gritted teeth. He hadn't seen the interaction between Di Hanqing and Qin Tian, so he didn't know they were acquaintances; otherwise, he wouldn't have been stupid enough to try and bribe him.

Qin Tian wore a playful expression. Losing his cool already? He was even trying to bribe him! But was Qin Tian someone who could be bribed so easily? A smirk played on his lips. Since that was the case, he wouldn't mind making a little extra money.

"I hear you want to bribe me? Then let’s talk," Qin Tian said in a low voice.