Chapter 62
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“I don’t know why you think coming here would help you contact him, but as you can see, he’s not here.”
Shen You’s intention to send the visitor away was quite obvious.
Since she ran a business with open doors, she couldn’t speak too harshly lest others laugh at her.
Tu Yan understood perfectly well but felt that Shen You simply didn’t want to tell her the truth.
“Miss Shen, I really have urgent business. Otherwise, could you please give me Mr. Wen’s address?”
Great Qi? How could she possibly say that?
Shen You took a deep breath and smiled. “I don’t know.”
“Miss Tu manages the ancient architecture industry sector, so you should understand better than I do that these two circles always have some connections. The customer base might even be the same group of people. While I’m not exactly a prominent figure in Jiangcheng’s antique collecting circle, I do know some people. When a professional manager can’t solve work-related issues and comes looking for me instead, aren’t you afraid that word will get out and people will question your competence?”
Throughout this speech, Shen You maintained a polite smile on her face.
When Tu Yan heard the implication that her work abilities were inadequate, her face immediately darkened.
She had come looking for Wen Zhi to salvage the contract in the first place, so this comment struck right at her sore spot.
“I don’t care what others say. I just want to handle Mr. Wen’s matter properly.”
Shen You acknowledged her work attitude. “I also just want to handle my own work properly, so please don’t disturb me.”
Tu Yan’s mouth hung slightly open as she paused for a long moment.
She knew Shen You was right. Many owners in those industries were collectors themselves, and she feared this might affect her future work.
Finally, she asked Shen You to pass along a message dryly before leaving the shop.
That very evening, Wen Zhi actually came.
He had been walking in circles at Great Qi, clockwise once, counterclockwise once, then directly pushed open the door from inside the residence and entered.
Seeing Shen You’s gritted-teeth expression, Wen Zhi, still dressed in ancient costume, looked puzzled.
Shen You said, “Please watch the VCR.”
She directly used the system to project the video of Tu Yan’s visit to the shop, displaying it before him to avoid any future claims that she had relayed the message incorrectly.
Watching the scene on the screen floating in mid-air, Wen Zhi frowned deeply, his tone turning slightly cold.
“I notified her some time ago to terminate our cooperation. A new manager has already taken over.”
At this point, he looked at Shen You. “I’ll handle this. Next time, no one will come to the shop to bother you over such matters.”
Shen You nodded and watched as he picked up his phone to send out a message.
She mentioned the arrangements for the fire-proof cloth.
But the corners of Wen Zhi’s lip merely curved as he said, “If that’s not enough, we can take the old emperor’s clothes for them to study.”
This brazen tone of robbing the emperor’s clothes!
Shen You replied, “That’s enough.”
Wen Zhi walked into the kitchen with practiced ease. Shen You had said before that he could use it freely since he paid rent and could even bring her along for meals.
When he noticed the pomegranates in the refrigerator, his expression twisted slightly. “Did you send the same pomegranates that are in Li Heng’s residence?”
“That was me.” Shen You nodded. “How do you even know about that?”
Wen Zhi turned around with a curved smile in his eyes. “As a National Preceptor who spreads heretical ideas and wields power over the court, isn’t it reasonable for me to be well-informed?”
“Was it a transaction?” Shen You vaguely guessed.
His smile deepened. “Yes, a past transaction.”
“Haven’t you noticed that Great Qi’s crown prince hasn’t had much time to come here recently? The old emperor is ill, but he can’t die yet.”
Only when Great Qi’s national fortune diminished to a certain degree would it be time for the old emperor to die.
“Sell whatever Western Region items you want to sell. My words carry more weight than the crown prince’s.”
Shen You watched him, seemingly in a good mood, and blinked in confusion.
As usual, Wen Zhi left after eating at the shop, but before leaving today, he asked if he could buy some hometown pomegranates.
Shen You directly pulled open the refrigerator door. “Take them yourself.”
Then thinking of his quality-of-life requirements, she grabbed a few leftover gloves from eating crayfish to give him. They tasted good, but peeling them would stain ones hands black.
Master Jiang flew overnight to Jiangcheng. News of a potentially priceless treasure had already reached certain people.
Before the preliminary test results were even out, someone had already contacted Shen You.
“Miss Shen, we haven’t seen each other for a while. Do you have time to join us for tea?” The voice on the phone belonged to Jiang He.
Since Shen You said she still had unfinished business at hand, Jiang He considerately arranged to meet at a teahouse next to Antique Street.
After asking who else would be there, Shen You didn’t refuse.
Jiang He personally came to the shop and brought a fine piece of agarwood.
“I heard someone wants that item in your possession.” Jiang He mentioned beforehand.
Shen You understood the situation. Given Jiang He’s hesitant manner, this probably wasn’t a good deal.
After arriving and greeting everyone, Wu Zhiyuan couldn’t help but ask.
“Even Master Jiang was alarmed. Boss Shen, what exactly is this treasure?”
With this question, everyone looked at Shen You expectantly.
“The test results aren’t out yet. It’s just some special weaving technique.”
Someone laughed and shook their head. “Boss Shen, when you say ‘some’, that’s quite modest. We wonder if you could let us feast our eyes on it as well.”
This was everyone’s real purpose for coming.
“The item isn’t with me right now. I only have a photo saved.”
After saying this, Shen You found the photo on her phone where the details weren’t particularly clear.
Of course the item was with her, but she wasn’t foolish enough to bring it out directly in a place mixed with half-unfamiliar people.
Looking at it this way didn’t reveal much, but considering that it could summon Master Jiang from the capital, the significance was certainly substantial.
Many people who wanted to contact Master Jiang for dinner couldn’t even get a meeting.
The executives from Jiang He’s auction company were among them.
“How much would Miss Shen be willing to sell this cloth for?”
The person speaking now sounded like someone from a certain cultural-thieving nation, the intonation was too similar. He had just been watching the face-changing performance below with great interest.
Shen You looked him over and replied coldly, “I won’t sell it for any amount.”
She couldn’t control others, but the items in her possession would absolutely not be sold to foreigners.
Hearing Shen You’s non-negotiable tone, the man was still unwilling to give up. He made offers and tried to persuade Shen You not to struggle against money.
When he saw that no amount of persuasion would work, he snorted coldly with obvious displeasure and left early.
After he left, Wu Zhiyuan came over to explain.
“This person has some business dealings with an executive from the auction house in other industries. He previously wanted to visit Master Jiang’s workshop to learn from him and searched for connections for a long time, but Master Jiang never relented, so he came here today.”
The implication was that Jiang He’s side had no choice either, which led to this awkward situation.
Shen You said, “I understand. Miss Jiang already gave me a heads-up.”
Seeing that Shen You didn’t hold it against them, Wu Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief and asked again, “What kind of cloth is this? Brocade?”
He had also appraised antique clothing and understood fabrics better than most.
“To be honest, I really don’t know, which is why I called people to help me look. Then they summoned Master Jiang.”
After chatting for the duration of two cups of tea, Shen You didn’t reveal much, not even mentioning the name “fire-proof cloth”.
The seasoned players present also understood that while she appeared easygoing, she wasn’t simple either. A few casual words wouldn’t extract information from her.
Of course, they weren’t only here to gather information today, but also wanted to take this opportunity to build more connections with her.
She was someone who could summon big shots, so maintaining good relations would definitely be beneficial.