Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1140: Chapter 1142 The Designed_1

The shopkeeper approached with a fawning smile and said, ”Although this vase is made of copper, it is gilded with gold, and these genuine rubies are inlaid on it. Look here, it’s been knocked askew. How am I supposed to sell it now?”

Bai Ruozhu looked over and indeed, a small leg inlaid with gemstones was skewed, looking as if it had indeed been angled from the fall.

”I’m really sorry, just tell me how much,” Bai Ruozhu said helplessly, glancing at her son.

”This vase was originally going to be sold for a thousand taels of silver, but since you didn’t do it on purpose, I’ll give you a 30% discount,” the shopkeeper said, his face so wrinkled it was as though it was all squished together with a smile.

Muyu glared over, ”A thousand taels? Why don’t you just go rob someone!”

Unfazed, the shopkeeper laughed and said, ”This customer should not say such things. This gilded ruby vase is a style not found in Danliang Country. I only managed to obtain it from the West. Just by its weight, you can tell it was not easy for me to transport it here. Moreover, this vase is an antique, and its value is inherently extraordinary.”

”You’re extorting people, can this broken thing really be worth a thousand taels of silver?” Muyu shouted, indignant.

The shopkeeper remained calm and said, ”Customer, I’ve already said that I’ll give a 30% discount.”

Bai Ruozhu frowned impatiently, ”Three hundred taels, no more nonsense, or we’re taking this to the Government Office.”

”Three hundred tails isn’t even enough to cover my cost. Madam, you can’t be unreasonable,” the shopkeeper protested, his expression changing.

Bai Ruozhu snorted coldly, ”Alright, we all have eyes. Who can’t see what’s going on here? The cost of your vase is at most fifty taels. Subtract your shipping cost, and three hundred tails is already more than fair.”

”Impossible!” the shopkeeper cried out, then continued to prattle on about how valuable the vase was and how different its antique value was.

”If you’re not selling, then forget it. You can go to the Government Office to sue us right now,” Bai Ruozhu said indifferently.

The shopkeeper’s eyes started darting around. In their line of business, maintaining good relations was paramount, and getting the Government Office involved was really not ideal. Besides...

Little Dengdeng looked around bewilderedly, first at his mother, then at the shopkeeper, not quite understanding what the adults were saying, but he knew he had caused trouble. He pushed himself closer to his mother, his little expression exceedingly cautious.

”You can’t do this, so your young master breaks something and refuses to acknowledge it? Is he not taught to take responsibility when he’s this young?” the shopkeeper protested.

Little Dengdeng jumped in fright and looked up at the angry shopkeeper, saying ”Bad!”

Bai Ruozhu’s gaze turned colder. No matter how she saw it, the shopkeeper seemed to be trying to take advantage of them, deliberately dragging her child into it.

”Suit yourself. Since we can’t agree, I’ll take my child and leave. I’ll leave a guard here to go with you to the Government Office. Whatever the officer decides we should compensate, we will honor,” Bai Ruozhu said, turning to leave.

The shopkeeper’s eyes kept whirling. Seeing how resolute Bai Ruozhu was and noticing her fine attire and the extraordinary guard she had with her, he started to worry. Would he really benefit from taking things to the Public Hall?

”Chenfeng, you go with him. When the time comes, just explain to the officer that we broke something and are willing to pay for it, but we can’t agree on the price. Let the officer decide,” Bai Ruozhu said while stealthily glancing at the shopkeeper.

If it came down to the officer’s decision, they might not even compensate three hundred taels.

As Bai Ruozhu reached the Main Gate, the shopkeeper finally chased after her and said, ”Alright, alright. We do business for profit; I really don’t want to go to court. I’ll just accept a loss.”

Bai Ruozhu scornfully glanced at him. What loss? He clearly made a nice profit, it’s just that he was too greedy.

Jianqi took out 300 taels and gave it to him, Bai Ruozhu had Muyu carry the vase, and the group left the shop.

Once the group had walked a distance away, the shopkeeper, holding the three silver banknotes, smiled smugly to himself, ”I was just worrying about how to sell that slightly flawed vase, and then someone came right to my door.”

Bai Ruozhu paused briefly in her stride, the shopkeeper not knowing of her exceptionally sharp hearing, and even less aware that his words had drifted into her ears.

Only then did Bai Ruozhu remember that the vase had been placed on the ground, and the placement also seemed off. If it were a treasured item, shouldn’t it be displayed on a counter or shelf?

It just so happened that there were rubies on that vase, and Dengdeng, at his age, was most sensitive to the color red; it was normal for him to be drawn to it.

Jianqi’s steps also faltered slightly, since he had the best martial arts skills among them, he had also caught the gist of the shopkeeper’s remarks.

”Master...” Jianqi’s eyes filled with rage as he sought Bai Ruozhu’s opinion.

Bai Ruozhu shook her head slightly, ”There will be other days.”

Jianqi made no sound, and the party walked out of the West Tile Alley. Because of this unexpected event, Bai Ruozhu didn’t feel like continuing her shopping and went back to the Bai Family residence in the horse carriage.

Upon arriving home, Lin Ping’er came over to hold Dengdeng and immediately noticed that Little Dengdeng was listless. Worried, she asked, ”What’s wrong with the child? He looks so out of sorts.”

Bai Ruozhu briefly recounted the day’s happenings, and Lin Ping’er, hugging Dengdeng sympathetically, said, ”Did you scold the child? It’s not his fault. Look how upset he is.”

Bai Ruozhu looked at her mother speechlessly, ”I haven’t even said anything yet, the child already knows he made a mistake.”

Lin Ping’er hurriedly comforted Dengdeng, ”It’s okay, it’s okay. Your mother won’t scold you. It’s okay if it’s broken; just be more careful in the future.”

”Mother, let me handle this. Don’t coddle the child too much. The other party made a mistake, but Dengdeng wasn’t entirely blameless either,” Bai Ruozhu said as she took the child from Lin Ping’er’s arms, ”I’m going to take Dengdeng back to our room to rest.”

Lin Ping’er worried that her daughter might be too strict with her grandson and was still concerned, but it wasn’t appropriate for her to chase after them and say more, so she could only start to grumble to Bai Yihong.

Bai Yihong responded cheerfully, ”Don’t worry. Ruozhu is right. Children should be taught proper reasoning from a young age. Weren’t Ruozhu and the others also brought up well from childhood and look at them now?”

Although she said this, as a grandparent, Lin Ping’er was still very worried.

Bai Ruozhu carried Dengdeng back to the yard, where Dengdeng didn’t fuss about walking on his own and clung to his mother’s neck, unwilling to let go. His pitiful little appearance made it hard to blame him for anything.

Bai Ruozhu already felt that Dengdeng had been wronged, but she remembered a story she had read in her past life. It was about a child who went to a relative’s house and spilled soda on their piano, but the adults said that the child didn’t understand and didn’t blame him. They even smiled and comforted him. However, a few days later, when the child was playing in a mall, he again spilled soda onto a very expensive piano, and later his parents were sued for 200,000 yuan...

Bai Ruozhu wasn’t sure of the story’s authenticity, nor did she pay much attention to it, but she thought that this was a lesson she needed to explain to Dengdeng.

Back in their room, Bai Ruozhu, stroking Dengdeng’s head, said, ”Mother knows you didn’t do it on purpose, but in the future, you shouldn’t touch other people’s things, especially without the owner’s permission. You’re a good child. Remember to be more mindful in the future, okay?”

Dengdeng quickly nodded, ”Mother, hugs.”

Seeing his aggrieved state, Bai Ruozhu hugged her son tenderly.