The middle-aged man speaking was thin and short, barely reaching 1.6 meters. His shiny, sparse hair was tied back, making him appear quite neat. In his hands, two polished walnuts clicked as he rubbed them.
Hearing Hu San speak, Erli He glanced behind Hu San.
Ye Kunlun, Qian Rourou, and Liu Meng followed closely.
Upon seeing Ye Kunlun, his gaze flickered slightly before quickly regaining composure. When he saw Qian Rourou and Liu Meng, his face broke into a smile, "Oh my, could this be Miss Qian Rourou, the apple of Billionaire Qian's eye?"
Qian Rourou was surprised that Erli He recognized her. She nodded and replied, "I am Qian Rourou."
"I am Erli He, the second-in-command of this Wanbao Zhai," Erli He said with a broad smile. "Miss Qian, are you looking for an antique?"
Qian Rourou glanced at Ye Kunlun and replied to Erli He, "My grandfather is celebrating his seventieth birthday, and I plan to give him a gift. I'll pick something out first."
"Please, come in." Erli He was quite polite to Qian Rourou.
Hu San smiled and followed behind. Erli He glanced at him without saying anything.
"Why is Wanbao Zhai so quiet?" Qian Rourou asked as she entered the first floor, not seeing a single person.
Erli He looked a bit embarrassed and glanced at Hu San. Hu San quickly explained with a smile, "Miss Qian might not know, but the items in our Wanbao Zhai are not affordable for ordinary people. As the saying goes, 'It might be quiet for three years, but one opening can sustain for three more!'"
Erli He chimed in, "Exactly."
Ye Kunlun scanned the surroundings and sneered, "I suspect it's because Wanbao Zhai is all name and no substance?"
"What do you mean by that?" Erli He did not seem offended. Instead, he was very courteous to Ye Kunlun.
"While the items on this floor are old, they aren't particularly good pieces," Ye Kunlun stated bluntly. He found nothing on the first floor that caught his eye.
Qian Rourou, upon hearing Ye Kunlun's words, was slightly displeased. She quickly said, "Second Master, I heard from Hu San that you just received a new batch of goods. Why not show them to us?"
Erli He glanced at Hu San and then smiled at Qian Rourou, "That batch of new goods hasn't been fully processed yet, I'm afraid..."
"Are they here? If so, take us to see them," Ye Kunlun interrupted Erli He.
Erli He pondered for a moment and then nodded, "Please, the three of you, come upstairs."
Just then, footsteps were heard from outside the door. Erli He looked towards the entrance and was surprised again. Then, he smiled and went to greet them, "Ah, it's Young Master Qiao. Today, my Wanbao Zhai is truly honored, with several distinguished guests arriving. Young Master Qiao, please come in quickly."
"Oh? Who else has arrived?" Qiao Song's gaze went past Erli He, looking inside. Seeing Qian Rourou, Qiao Song's face lit up with a smile. He quickly walked into the first floor, "Rourou, I didn't expect you to be at Wanbao Zhai. It seems we had the same idea. I was also thinking of picking out an antique for Grandpa Qian."
"Yes, what a coincidence." Qian Rourou replied indifferently. She truly hadn't expected to run into Qiao Song here.
"Qiao Song, I saw you were quite drunk last night. Are you alright?" Liu Meng's tone was much gentler than Qian Rourou's.
"That bit of alcohol is nothing to me," Qiao Song smiled. His gaze fell on Ye Kunlun, with a hint of sharpness in his eyes. He asked with a smile, "Rourou, is this your friend?"
"Mr. Ye, this is Qiao Song, my university classmate," Qian Rourou introduced to Ye Kunlun.
Ye Kunlun seemed not to hear and walked directly towards the stairs. Seeing this, Qiao Song's expression turned cold. Qian Rourou, knowing Ye Kunlun's personality, didn't say anything and quickly followed.
"Qiao Song, let's go upstairs and take a look together." Liu Meng called out to Qiao Song.
Erli He also chuckled heartily, "Young Master Qiao, let's take a look upstairs together. The good stuff is all upstairs."
The third floor was much smaller than the first two, with only a row of wooden shelves displaying about a dozen items. Ye Kunlun glanced at them and lost interest, his gaze landing on a corner. Two master craftsmen were carefully cleaning something, placing jars and bottles one by one beside them. Ye Kunlun walked towards the corner.
Qian Rourou followed. She had invited Ye Kunlun today to help her choose something. If Ye Kunlun didn't like something, she naturally wouldn't like it either.
"Rourou, what do you think of this bronze Zun?" Qiao Song's eyes lit up as he looked at a palm-sized bronze Zun on the wooden shelf, calling out to Qian Rourou. Qian Rourou glanced at it, finding the patterns exquisite and noting some patina, suggesting it was quite old.
"Young Master Qiao has sharp eyes. this bronze Zun has an extraordinary origin," Erli He introduced with a smile.
"How much is it?" Qiao Song asked. Erli He held up a palm.
"Five million?" Qiao Song was taken aback. He felt the item was a bit cheap and might not be suitable to gift.
"Heh heh." Erli He chuckled awkwardly. "Young Master Qiao is such a joker. This bronze Zun is fifty million!" For Qiao Song, five million was not expensive, but fifty million was indeed not cheap. No matter how he looked at it, this bronze Zun didn't seem worth fifty million.
"Young Master Qiao can check. Last year in Hong Kong, an identical bronze Zun sold for eighty million. Fifty million is our friendly price at Wanbao Zhai," Erli He replied with a smile.
"Rourou, do you think Grandpa Qian will like it?" Qiao Song asked Qian Rourou.
Qian Rourou replied, "Fifty million is too expensive. Even if Grandpa likes it, he might not accept it. Please choose something else."
"Hahaha." Qiao Song burst into laughter, feeling pleased. "As long as Grandpa Qian likes it, Second Master, please help me pack this item."
"Certainly, Young Master Qiao truly knows his stuff." Erli He was also in a good mood and quickly had someone pack the bronze Zun for Qiao Song.
Qian Rourou didn't say anything further. She knew Qiao Song was not short of money, and what he wanted to buy had nothing to do with her. Qian Rourou walked towards Ye Kunlun.
At this moment, Ye Kunlun was watching the two master craftsmen clean a lump of mud, inside which something was enclosed. It was still unknown what it was. However, Ye Kunlun detected a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy from within.
Erli He, Qiao Song, and Hu San also gathered around.
"Alas," one of the master craftsmen sighed. "Second Master, there isn't much of value in this batch of goods. And we don't even know what this last item is." As he spoke, the two quickly cleaned off the mud, revealing a dark, black object, a bell made of an unknown material, seemingly missing its clapper.
"This bell has a good appearance, but it's missing its clapper, so it's incomplete." The master craftsman sighed again. Erli He's expression was also a bit grim, as this batch of goods had cost a considerable sum.
"Thank you for your hard work, masters." Erli He said, then looked somewhat awkwardly at Qian Rourou and Ye Kunlun, "My apologies to both of you."
"Pick one," Ye Kunlun suddenly said to Qian Rourou. Qian Rourou was startled.
Qiao Song, however, chimed in with sarcasm, "Didn't you hear what was just said? There are hardly any valuable items here!!"