Old Wu examined it for a while before saying, "This jade cicada is genuine. The carving and age of the jade are the basis for its value. The carving is in line with the craftsmanship level of the Han Dynasty. It's not particularly valuable, but its actual value is around 150,000. If we're talking about business etiquette, of course, the lower the better. There's no fixed standard, and many shops don't have a precise one. However, no matter what kind of business you're in, although you all have to prioritize profit, those who ultimately build a long-lasting business are those who prioritize morality and ethics!"
What Old Wu said wasn't quite clear to others, but Zhou Xuan understood it perfectly. Old Wu was essentially talking to him: doing business is like being a person. Zhou Xuan didn't look at his somewhat hesitant younger brother, Zhou Tao, but instead asked Old Wu, "Old Wu, what do you think of my brother's actions?"
Old Wu slowly shook his head and said, "Zhou Tao's actions would be intolerable to any shop owner and would be detrimental to normal business, but as a person's moral values, I think he is a very commendable person!"
"That's fine then!" Zhou Xuan waved his hand and said, "Money can never be earned enough. While making money, I also believe that morality and ethics are very important. What I mean is, we can earn less money, but we must never earn money through dishonest means. I will take responsibility for anything that happens to my brother. Besides, I don't think we should scold or punish him for this kind of thing. There are many people in trouble, and of course, we can't help everyone. But if we don't help those within our power and within our own scope, then what's the difference between us and Fatty Chi?"
Old Wu chuckled and said, "That's good that Xiao Zhou thinks so. Hehe, now I, Old Wu, can rest assured and continue working here. As for Zhou Tao's matter, hehe, that's your own business."
After thinking for a moment, he stood up and said, "How about this, little brother, I'm nominally the owner of this shop. I'll handle things at the police station. Don't worry, I know what to do. Fatty Chi can't even beat Old Man He, yet he still tries to mess with us. If he knows what's good for him and follows the rules, fine. But if he keeps trying to play dirty tricks on us, we'll make him suffer the same fate as Old Man He."
"**, it's good that you're going. Here's what we'll do. I'll call one of my students first to give him some instructions. You can go directly to the police station to pick them up. As long as they don't cause trouble, that's fine. If they do, we'll be tough on them. It'll be good for doing business in Panjiayuan in the future. As for the rules of the game, I think that playing around is legitimate, and we should still abide by them, but not rules like those of Fatty Chi."
Old Wu chuckled. "We'll break rules like Fatty Chi's. He's only got a tiny bit of influence, yet he's already acting like he owns the place!"
Zhou Xuan still gave a final instruction: "Boss, bring my dad back safely. If he's alright, that's good. But if anything happens, make sure you get justice!"
Wei Haihong had been emboldened long ago. He was in the right and had powerful backers, so why would he be afraid of such a small police station? Presumably, that's all the power that Fatty Chi has. Otherwise, how come he hasn't been able to defeat He Laosan for so many years?
Zhou Xuan then saw Old Wu walk to the side and pick up the phone to call his student. He became somewhat curious about Old Wu, noticing his calm expression and the casual way he spoke about Fatty Chi. He guessed Old Wu must have some influence. Come to think of it, Old Wu was someone who had dealings with Wei Haihong and was introduced by Brother Hong. Anyone who could connect with Brother Hong was definitely not a simple person.
If Fatty Chi were sensible, he might still be able to salvage the situation. After all, Zhou Xuan didn't want to escalate things too much. In business, harmony is key to making money; if you offend people everywhere, what kind of business can you run? It's not about acting on impulse. However, with Fatty Chi's limited understanding, he probably wouldn't grasp this point.
Zhou Xuan patted Zhou Tao on the shoulder and said gently, "Brother, don't worry. It's our own shop. We don't care if we make a profit or a loss. As long as we have a clear conscience, we'll just do it. Li Li is having difficulties. We won't profit from her. Set a price of 150,000 for her, and I'll go with you to make up the difference. Also, we won't sell this jade cicada. We'll keep it in the shop. If she wants to renew it later, we'll keep it for her."
**They left first, while Lao Wu and Zhou Cangsong stayed at the shop. Zhou Xuan and Zhou Tao took the money and went to Li Li's house.
Li Li is not from Beijing. Her parents came here ten years ago to run a fishing tackle and pet fish business. The house is rented. It's on the edge of the market, a small shop with two inner rooms. A tiny partitioned area was created in the living room using a curtain. A single bed was set up with netting to create a small room for Li Li.
Li Li's mother is only in her forties, but she looks at least in her fifties. This is all due to overwork. Her face still has a faint resemblance to Li Li's pretty appearance.
Li Li is 22 years old. After graduating from university, she returned home and learned that her father was so ill. She was heartbroken and helpless. Her parents had given her so much. Now, she would do anything to save her father.
The shop wasn't big, less than twenty square meters. Near the small entrance, there were many fishing tackle items: fishing lines, hooks, nets, and food. Inside, along both walls, were rows of fish tanks containing many different kinds of fish, the most common being goldfish.
As soon as Zhou Xuan entered the shop, his eyes were drawn to the independent glass fish tank at the far end of the left wall. What was that? The fish tank was quite large, over two meters long and one and a half meters high, making it the largest fish tank in the shop. It contained about ten fish of different species.
Zhou Xuan's gaze immediately fell on one of the grayish-red fish, which was about thirty centimeters long and had a flat mouth. It was opening and closing its mouth to drink water, and when it opened its mouth, it was quite large.
Zhou Xuan used his ice energy to determine that the fish was a hybrid of a gray arowana and a green dragonfish, a type of arowana that wasn't particularly valuable. However, Zhou Xuan wasn't interested in the arowana's identity. In fact, Zhou Xuan wasn't very familiar with fish.
What interested Zhou Xuan was a bead, about the size of a small checker glass bead, inside the gray dragon's belly!
The bead seemed to emanate a faint, active energy that stirred Zhou Xuan's icy aura. As soon as Zhou Xuan released his icy aura to probe, the shape of the fish-shaped bead appeared in his mind. Seeing that his brother seemed mesmerized by the fish, and thinking about Li Li, Zhou Tao quickly took the money bag and went inside, leaving his brother to watch the fish from outside.
The structure of that fish-shaped bead wasn't particularly unique. The bead was composed entirely of organic matter that could promote blood circulation and growth, which was somewhat similar to how Zhou Xuan used ice energy to activate the body's functions. However, Zhou Xuan's ice energy was much stronger than that bead, and the bead had no consciousness, while the other person was alive.
Zhou Xuan had never heard of such a fish-shaped pearl before, and after testing it, he felt that it could indeed activate the body, somewhat similar to his method of activating bodily functions.
Just as Zhou Xuan was observing the gray arowana, Li Li and her mother rushed out with Zhou Tao. Zhou Tao called out softly, "Brother!"
Li Li quickly called out, "Brother Zhou, please come inside and sit down. The house is too cramped."
Zhou Xuan waved his hand and said, "No need to say so much, we're all from the countryside, we're all the same!"
Li Li's mother quickly prepared the pickled vegetables. In this small living room, there was only a small dining table and a few small chairs. Further inside, on one side was Li Li's parents' room, and the front of the living room was separated by a curtain.
Zhou Tao had already handed 100,000 yuan to Li Li. Li Li and her mother never expected that after giving 50,000 yuan, she would have to give another 100,000 yuan. It was truly unimaginable.
Because Li Li had already ruined her mood at Chi Pangzi's shop and a whole bunch of other antique shops that morning, she didn't even consider selling the jade cicada at her ideal price anymore. She just wanted to get a little more. But later, she gradually realized that these shops were all in cahoots. She guessed it was all Chi Pangzi's doing. But then she went to Zhou Tao's shop and felt a distinct difference in her attitude towards the young clerk.
Unlike Fatty Chi, Zhou Tao didn't offer her a low price. Instead, he called to inquire and told her the results. In the end, he even took it upon himself to give her 50,000 yuan. Li Li then realized that this shop was fundamentally different from other shops.
Now, Zhou Tao even brought his brother along and added 100,000 yuan. Logically speaking, Li Li thought that even if her jade cicada was worth 150,000 yuan, the buyer would not buy it at that price, because there would be no profit margin if they bought it at that price.
Li Li was puzzled at the time, because if someone could do this, there must be some other purpose, but besides her body, she and her family didn't have anything else of value.
To say that someone is after your beauty and body is to overestimate yourself. With 150,000 yuan, you could find countless women more beautiful than yourself anywhere.
Next, Zhou Tao worried about her safety. He felt it was dangerous for a young woman to carry so much money, so he insisted on taking her home. After dropping her off, he left without saying a word. Only then did Li Li believe that Zhou Tao simply wanted to help her; he was just kind-hearted and had no other intentions.
Zhou Xuan smelled a strong scent of Chinese medicine in the room. He knew it was medicine for Li Li's father. Looking at the bare and simple walls, he could tell how poor this family was. He felt a pang of sadness.
This is the love and care of a family, an effort made to save the lives of a husband and father. Although it was very difficult, they persevered relentlessly.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then said to Li Li, "Li, don't worry about anything else. I know a little bit of medicine; I'll take a look at your father. I hope it can be of some help!"
Li Li was indescribably grateful to Zhou Tao and Zhou Xuan. However, as a modern college student, her thinking was at the forefront of the world. She had already found out everything about her father's illness in the past two days!
Uremia actually refers to the body's inability to produce urine through the kidneys to excrete metabolic waste and excess water, leading to a series of kidney dysfunctions. In its early stages, the disease is usually treatable, but in its later stages, it is essentially incurable. Li Li's father is currently experiencing symptoms of the late stage.
As soon as Li Li started talking about her father's illness, tears streamed down her face.
Zhou Tao stood there, somewhat at a loss. He took out a tissue from his pocket and handed it to Li Li, who took it and wiped away her tears, but the more she wiped, the more tears flowed. She choked out, "Thank you!"
Li Li was a very polite and adorable girl. Zhou Xuan had a very good impression of her. When she glanced up and saw her younger brother Zhou Tao acting awkwardly yet caring, a thought suddenly struck her: Had her brother fallen for someone? She didn't notice it when she wasn't paying attention, but once she did, Zhou Xuan immediately realized that it was indeed true; her brother's behavior was indeed a bit unusual.
Li Li didn't ask Zhou Xuan to go into the room to see her father. If even the big hospitals couldn't cure him, what use was a young man with a little medical knowledge? But she was still very grateful.
Zhou Xuan had made up his mind. His younger brother was his own brother, not an outsider. How could he not care about his brother's affairs? He looked up at Li Li and said, "Li, I heard you graduated from a university. May I ask what your major was?"
Li Li was taken aback. Although she couldn't understand why they had suddenly brought up this unrelated topic, she still answered politely, "I am an undergraduate student at Beijing Business College, majoring in Business and Financial Management."
Zhou Xuan nodded and then asked, "Did Xiao Li look for a job after graduation? Or does he already have a job?"
"Not yet!" Li Li shook her head, her faint sorrow truly pitiful. "Firstly, good jobs are hard to find, secondly, I don't have much experience, and it's very difficult for fresh graduates to find satisfactory jobs. And most importantly, there's my father's illness, which keeps me busy!"
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Xiao Li, if our store wants you to be the finance manager, would you be willing? The starting salary is five thousand a month, but it will increase if business improves in the future. We can discuss other benefits in detail. What do you think?"