Of course, she was also a beauty, but compared to the innocent young girl named Xiao Jing, this approaching beauty possessed the mature allure of elegance. Her willow-leaf brows curved gently, her pupils were clear and bright, her figure was exquisitely proportioned, and her temperament was serene and graceful—she absolutely fit the aesthetic preference of most men, causing them to become unconsciously engrossed.

In this situation, although it wasn't as exaggerated as walking straight into a utility pole because of watching a beauty, the undeniable fact remained: the steps of the passersby, especially the men, involuntarily slowed down. This fully demonstrated the immense and unstoppable charm of the beauty.

However, the beauty was clearly accustomed to this treatment and paid no mind to others’ gazes. Her pair of clear, bright eyes fixed sternly on the young punk, and her voice, clear as jade, was filled with severity: “Zhi Shu, what did you just say? Say it again…”

Under the scrutiny of the crowd, especially next to the young girl, being reprimanded so harshly by the beauty, he surely felt intensely displeased, even wanting to revolt and rise up like his predecessors.

But upon meeting the beauty’s cool gaze, the courage the young punk had finally mustered instantly vanished. He meekly bent his head, muttering, “Sister, I didn't say anything.”

“Didn’t say anything?” the beauty said coldly, “Then how come I heard you talking about burying someone? Who are you planning to bury? Why don’t you just dig a pit and bury yourself?”

“Sister, you can’t scold people like that, I’m your own little brother.” The young punk complained in a low voice, a classic case of daring to be angry but not daring to speak out.

“If we weren’t related, I would have buried you long ago,” the beauty snorted, her words so fierce they actually made many male compatriots hang their heads in shame. From her appearance, one would never have guessed that such a slender, willow-like beauty was also such a tough woman.

But at this point, others vaguely understood where the young punk had learned the talk of burying people from. At any rate, the young punk lowered his head with a wronged look, his lips moving, as if muttering about officials being allowed to set fires while the common people were forbidden to light lamps.

Just then, Wang Guan’s mind flashed, and he called out softly, “Xiao Qiao?”

“Hmm?”

In an instant, the beauty looked up, her expression somewhat bewildered: “Who are you?”

“Heh heh, it really is you. You’ve changed so much after a few years. If your catchphrase for scolding hadn't remained the same, I really wouldn’t have recognized you.” Wang Guan’s face lit up with joy, and he walked over lightly. Noticing the beauty still looked confused, he prepared to remind her.

The beauty’s eyes were sharp, sensing Wang Guan was about to speak, and she immediately raised her hand to stop him: “Wait, don’t say it yet…”

“You remember, there’s no reason for me to forget.” The beauty frowned in thought, circled Wang Guan once, then suddenly reached out and brushed his hair, exclaiming with mixed surprise and joy: “I remember now, you’re Hat…”

Wang Guan smiled helplessly and corrected her, “Wang Guan.”

“A crown is a hat,” the beauty beamed, and in her elevated spirits, she radiated even more dazzling charm: “It’s really been a long time. I’ll treat you later; we must have a good chat. No refusing, or I’ll bury you.”

“It’s rare for someone to treat me; I’m delighted, how could I refuse?” Wang Guan laughed, “Oh right, there’s someone else you…”

“Qiao Yu!”

Just then, the young man beside them finally couldn't hold back and cut in directly, saying politely, “Your friend? You know I love making friends, why not introduce me?”

An ordinary person, out of courtesy, would certainly have made an introduction when hearing this, but Qiao Yu was very direct, glancing sideways: “This is my friend, why should I introduce him to you?”

In that instant, the young man’s awkwardness was beyond words, but he still smiled with great composure: “You are absolutely right, it was presumptuous of me.”

“Sister, Brother Meng is also concerned about you.”

The young punk quickly interjected, then shamelessly smiled, “Sister, he’s your friend? That’s great, can you persuade him to just sell that bowl to me?”

“What bowl?” Qiao Yu looked completely baffled.

“The bowl in his hand,” the young punk quickly said, “It’s quite nice, and it’s an antique. Xiao Jing likes it very much; I plan to buy it as a gift for her.”

“Qiao Zhi Shu, not bad, learning to buy gifts to please girls.”

Qiao Yu’s eyes held a hint of surprise. Just as the young punk showed an embarrassed smile, a fair, white hand accurately twisted his ear, followed by a thunderous torrent of reprimand: “Your family gave you the name Zhi Shu hoping you would study well and be knowledgeable and reasonable. I didn’t expect you to actually talk about burying someone over a bowl… If Grandpa found out about this, that massive iron pipe would smash your skull open.”

“Sister, stop twisting, it hurts…” Qiao Zhi Shu begged for mercy, but noticing the astonished glances of those nearby, he flushed even deeper, wishing the ground would split open for him to crawl into.

“A massive pipe?”

At this moment, Elder Yan’s eyes moved, and he said in a long, drawn-out voice, “Young lady, is your grandfather Jin Yang Qiao Si?”

“Huh, Old Sir, you know my grandfather?” Qiao Yu was startled, and her hand loosened its grip. Qiao Zhi Shu took the opportunity to break free, then turned and ran away, truly too ashamed to remain.

“Know him, of course I know him.” Elder Yan slowly stood up, leaning on his dragon-head cane, “No wonder you talk about burying people at the drop of a hat; it turns out it’s a family tradition.”

As he spoke, Elder Yan ignored the crowd, slowly walked toward a sedan, where someone naturally opened the door for him. The car then drove off, disappearing into the flow of street traffic.

Qiao Yu bit her lip lightly upon seeing this, but said nothing. Then, seemingly losing interest, she turned back and asked, “What’s your phone number?”

“Uh…” Wang Guan paused, then recited his mobile number.

Qiao Yu entered it into her phone, dialed to confirm, then smiled radiantly: “Wang Guan, I’m sorry, I have to go chase that brat. I’ll treat you to dinner later. It seems like there’s some misunderstanding between you two; I’ll make him apologize to you then.”

“It’s fine, it’s actually not much of a misunderstanding…”

Wang Guan tried to explain, but Qiao Yu stopped him.

“I know he offended you; I’ll deal with him properly later,” Qiao Yu waved her hand, “You should be in Hucheng these two days, right? If so, I’ll call you then. That’s all for now, bye-bye!”

Qiao Yu’s demeanor was marked by decisive speed. As soon as she finished speaking, she immediately chased after Qiao Zhi Shu.

“Qiao Yu, wait for me!”

Seeing this, the young man surnamed Meng glanced at Wang Guan and quickly followed.

At the same time, the few shopkeepers nearby were also a bit unclear about the situation. But it didn't matter; since Elder Yan had left and Wang Guan was about to depart, they had no reason to continue drinking tea. After exchanging greetings, they returned to their nearby shops.

In the blink of an eye, the previously bustling scene became much quieter.

Just then, Gao Dequan asked, “Wang Guan, was that woman just now your friend?”

“Sort of,” Wang Guan nodded. Just as he was about to explain the relationship between him and Qiao Yu, he suddenly realized that the youthful, pretty little girl hadn't left.

As Wang Guan wondered, the little girl actually walked over and pointed at the box holding the black Ding tea cup in his hand, her voice clear yet carrying a trace of timidity: “Can you sell that thing to me?”

Wang Guan was stunned, then smiled, “This is a very precious antique, its price is very high…”

“Twenty million!”

The little girl held up two slender fingers, her expression utterly serious, showing no sign of joking. Of course, this also made people seriously doubt whether she could distinguish between twenty million and two dollars.

So, in that instant, not only was Wang Guan shocked, but even Gao Dequan and Hao Baolai beside him were stunned silent.

“Crack!”

At the very same moment, a very luxurious car sped over and stopped beside the little girl. Then, several burly, imposing men emerged from the car.

The leading big man removed his sunglasses and first scanned the three of them—Wang Guan and the other two—with a sharp gaze before slightly bowing his head: “Miss Jing, it’s time to go back.”

The little girl nodded, then took out a small, exquisite mobile phone, quickly typed a string of numbers, and pressed it lightly. A moment later, Wang Guan’s phone rang. Apparently, when Wang Guan gave his phone number to Qiao Yu, she had secretly noted it down.

“This is my contact number.”

At this point, the little girl said crisply, “When you decide to sell the item, just call my number directly.”

With that, the little girl turned and slipped into the luxurious car. The leading big man deliberately let his gaze linger on Wang Guan for a moment before waving his team to fall in line, and they rapidly drove away, taking the little girl with them.

“That little girl is not simple,”

Not long after, Hao Baolai slowly came back to his senses and let out this sigh.

Wang Guan and Gao Dequan deeply agreed. They had initially thought she was a naive little girl who just wanted to buy the exquisitely beautiful black Ding tea cup to play with. Unexpectedly, she knew exactly what she was doing, and the price she quoted was close to the actual value of the black Ding tea cup.

In contrast, the young punk Qiao Zhi Shu was truly like a three-year-old child, probably being toyed with in the palm of the little girl’s hand without even knowing it.

“Today’s youth are truly incredible…”

Hao Baolai continued to muse. He thought about what he was doing when he was a teenager—was he herding cattle or plowing fields? If not for the arrival of the reform and opening up, he would probably still be toiling in the fields, living his life confusedly.

However, at this moment, Wang Guan had no time to ponder the little girl’s background. Instead, he was somewhat curious: “Uncle De, Elder Yan mentioned Qiao Yu’s grandfather just now, and something about a family tradition—what exactly did he mean?”

“You don’t know?” Gao Dequan was slightly surprised, yet also somewhat relieved, “It’s normal that you don’t know; your friend probably wouldn’t casually tell you about such things.”

“Jin Yang Qiao Family, Qiao Si, Fourth Master Qiao, I have heard some rumors,” Hao Baolai murmured at the same time, “Speaking of which, the history of the Qiao family can be traced back to Qiao Gui Fa of the Fucheng Public in the Jin Merchant lineage during the Qing Dynasty…”