The journey was uneventful. The commercial van stopped in front of a teahouse, and everyone immediately got out. Then, led by a waiter, they arrived at a private room.
Inside the room sat an old man around sixty wearing a Tang suit, along with a man in his late thirties.
The old man stood and greeted Qiao Qingtai with a smile. "Old Qiao, you got here pretty quickly."
Qiao Qingtai said, "Isn't that obvious? How could I be late for something this important? But why isn't Old Qin here?"
"You know him. He cares too much about his reputation. He's in the wrong here, at least to some extent. Do you think he'd show up? Little Qin, isn't that right?" The old man smiled at the man beside him.
The man gave an awkward chuckle but said nothing more.
Judging from the way the old man addressed him and his resemblance to Qin Jin, Chu Chen figured that the man was probably Qin Jin's junior relative—perhaps even his son.
"Recognizing your mistake and correcting it is the greatest virtue. Anyway, let's drop the subject. Let me introduce you..."
With that, Qiao Qingtai introduced both sides. The old man was named Hong Xiaozhu, a fairly common rural name, while the other man was Qin Haojiang. As Chu Chen had originally guessed, he was indeed Qin Jin's son.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Qiao Qingtai asked, "Little Qin, can you explain what exactly happened?"
Qin Haojiang nodded. "Please take a look at this item first."
As he spoke, he pointed to a white-glazed ewer on the table.
The ewer had a straight mouth, a long neck, a sloping shoulder, and a ring foot. Its handle and spout both emerged from the shoulder, reflecting the characteristics of its era. The entire body was