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nHe Mei felt so embarrassed by Qi Ling that she regretted coming out today. In a fit of anger, she shook off Qi Ling’s hand and walked out of the shop.

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nQi Ling shouted from behind, “Wait for me, Sister Xiao Mei.”

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nQi Ling quickly followed behind. When she reached the door, she did not forget to turn around and say to Qiao Mei, “You’d better be sensible enough to send this set of jewelry over!”

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nQiao Mei smiled without saying anything.

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nThe shopkeeper found Qiao Mei to be very interesting. Even he did not dare to offend the He family, yet this young lady could still smile after doing it.

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n“Young lady, aren’t you afraid that they’ll cause trouble?” the shopkeeper asked.

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n“There’s nothing to be afraid of. I bought it with real money. What’s there to be afraid of?” Qiao Mei said with a smile.

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nThe shopkeeper also felt that what Qiao Mei said made sense. No matter how unreasonable these people were, they would not openly snatch things.

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n“I think it’s fate that brought you here. If there’s anything else you want, I’ll give it to you.” The shopkeeper stood up and looked at Qiao Mei.

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nSince he offered, Qiao Mei did not stand on ceremony. She looked around but did not see any calligraphy and paintings.

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n“Why don’t you have any calligraphy and paintings here?” Qiao Mei asked.

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nThe shopkeeper smiled helplessly. This smart little girl had realized it after all.

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nHe loved calligraphy and paintings the most in his life, and he liked all of them regardless of the artists. He would buy them for his own collection and did not sell them.

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nNow that this little girl was eyeing them, he had to take them out as promised.

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n“Tell me what kind you want. Let’s be clear, I only agree to give you one,” said the shopkeeper.

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n“I want an ancient landscape painting,” Qiao Mei said.

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nThe shopkeeper walked around the shelf behind the counter and called Qiao Mei over.

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nIt turned out that there was another room behind this shelf. It was a place for the shopkeeper to rest and he kept many calligraphy and paintings there.

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nQiao Mei looked through the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the wall one by one. In the end, she chose an inconspicuous landscape painting.

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n“I want this one!” Qiao Mei said as she looked at the shopkeeper.

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nThat painting was really quite old and could be traced back to a hundred years ago. It was not perfectly preserved, but at least 80% of it was still in good condition.

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nThe shopkeeper had no choice but to take it down and slowly roll it up. He repeatedly reminded Qiao Mei how to maintain the painting.

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n“You have to treat it well. Don’t ruin it!” the shopkeeper said.

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n“I’ll definitely treasure it and pass it down. Don’t worry,” Qiao Mei said.

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nAfter packing up the things she had bought, she prepared to make her way home. The shopkeeper did not give the painting to her because it was not valuable, but because Qiao Mei had paid the high price he had casually quoted for the jewelry.

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nThe things that one could buy with more than 2,000 dollars included more than 10 bicycles, or 15 to 16 radios, or a refrigerator, or an oversized black-and-white television.

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nQiao Mei knew that it was expensive to spend 2,000 dollars on a set of jewelry, but no one knew the value of antiques now. In the future, the value of these things could double or even increase more than tenfold.

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nSome things could even be priceless!

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nQiao Mei originally intended to give the set of jewelry to Aunt, but the longer she wore the bangle, the more she liked it. She did not feel warm when she wore it.

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nIt was like a natural air conditioner, so it was now something that she could not give anyone or sell off.

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nFor her to give it to He Mei?

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nNo way!

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nOn the way home, Qiao Mei ran into someone selling flower pots by the roadside. She casually picked out four flower pots that she thought looked good. She thought that these flower pots were being sold at a reasonable price of four dollars each.

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nShe did not feel tired even though she was carrying so many things and even felt quite refreshed. After that, she made her way home happily.

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nAt the same time, He Mei also reached home. She threw her bag on the sofa and asked gloomily, “Dad, have you checked on the matter with Qiao Mei?”

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n“Yes, I’ve checked. We’ve already gotten some clues,” He Guo said.

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nBy now, it was the third brother of the He family who was the one handling all the business matters. Now that he was older, he did not manage the family business much and just waited for the dividends every year.

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nHe Mei sat on the sofa unhappily. She was angry at the thought of what had just happened and could not wait for her plan to be implemented immediately.

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