Although the old hag who had recovered her freedom could not figure out why she had suddenly been unable to move just a moment ago and why her hand had released its grip on its own, she immediately began to wail and howl again. "Everyone, take a look! This person is bullying an old woman and outright robbing my things! Is there no justice, no rule of law left in this world..."
As luck would have it, a clueless man right on the edge actually spoke up. "Young man, aren't you going a bit too far? You're even snatching things from an old person?"
"Everyone, hurry up and call the police! Surround him, and don't let him get away..."
Hearing this, Ning Wangshu was once again laughed into a fit of anger. He glanced at the man and said coldly, "I'm robbing her things? Are you certain these are her things?"
This jade pendant on my stall is a pair with the one she tried to take! You can ask them yourselves whether this is truly their jade pendant or mine!"
The man's mouth opened, and he was momentarily at a loss for words. He had also seen that the item Ning Wangshu had just taken back from the old hag's hand was a Dragon-shaped jade pendant, while there was still a Phoenix-shaped jade pendant on the stall.
At a single glance, it was obvious they were meant to be a pair.
However, he still argued stubbornly, "Even so, you still couldn't just use force to snatch it right back out of an old person's hands! If you accidentally hurt the elderly person, can you take responsibility for it?"
Ning Wangshu sneered. "So it turns out that taking back my own property makes me the one in the wrong, is that it? Let me ask you this: this jade pendant of mine is worth one million. If this old hag damages my pendant, will you compensate me for it?"
One million?!
The man took a fright, and so did everyone else around them. They cast astonished looks at the Dragon-shaped jade pendant in Ning Wangshu's hand, clearly never expecting that such a small piece of jade would actually be worth a million!
The man stammered a couple of times. Seemingly feeling that he was losing face in front of so many people, he continued to argue defiantly, "Stop bragging! Just a broken piece of jade like that is worth a million? Who are you trying to fool? If you ask me, this pendant of yours is worth at most eight hundred or a thousand. Pah!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, the old hag acted as though she had found validation and immediately cried out, "Exactly! Just now, I merely took a look at this jade pendant, and then he opens his mouth and demands a million. Isn't that a blatant attempt to extort someone?"
"I even offered him eight hundred yuan, and not only did he refuse to sell it, but he also directly resorted to physical violence against an old woman like me. Is there any justice left in this world?"
"Everyone, come and judge for yourselves! Is this any way to do business?"
Ning Wangshu couldn't be bothered to engage in their unreasonable bickering and said indifferently, "Eight hundred or a thousand yuan? Ha, you really have some nerve! However, how much I sell my jade pendant for is my own business. Never mind a million, even if I want to sell it for ten million, it has nothing to do with you."
"If you aren't ashamed of yourselves and want to keep throwing tantrums and making a scene here, be my guest."
With that, Ning Wangshu leisurely settled back down and resumed his seat.
The onlookers finally understood the situation by now, and someone couldn't help advising, "Old lady, I think you should just leave. Since the items belong to him, it's truly his own business how much he wants to sell them for."
"If you feel you can accept the price and want to buy it, then buy it. If you think it's too expensive and don't want to buy it, then just leave. Why make such a fuss with him?"
"Exactly. Although I only have a superficial understanding of jade, I can still tell that those two jade pendants of his are definitely not cheap goods worth eight hundred or a thousand. They have to start at a hundred or eighty thousand at the very least, and several hundred thousand is entirely possible."
Another person chimed in.
Things were not like the past now; most people no longer impulsively and blindly expressed clear stances based on first impressions. After all, there were simply far too many examples of similar incidents undergoing complete reversals.
Now that the situation had been clarified, how many people would still stand on the old hag's side?
Unexpectedly, upon hearing the advice of the others, the old hag instead glared angrily and cursed, "What do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm being unreasonable and making a fuss?"
"Clearly he was the one who struck someone and bullied an old woman like me, so why are you still speaking up for him? Could it be that you're in cahoots with him and ganging up to bully an old woman?!"
Hearing this, the few people who had just spoken up fell speechless for a moment.
"Judging by you, you still seem full of vim and vigor. How did he hit you? The man merely took back his own property—you're being entirely too argumentative, old lady!"
"In my view, she is purely relying on her age to act presumptuously. This really lives up to the saying: it's not that the elderly have turned bad, but that bad people have grown old..."
"Old person, you'd better hurry up and leave. Trying to buy something that might genuinely be worth hundreds of thousands or a million for eight hundred yuan—isn't this forced buying and selling? There's no way to behave or do things like this..."
Faced with the accusations from the crowd, the old hag started wailing miserably again. "Oh heavens, is there no justice left? All of you are actually ganging up to bully an old woman! Is there any fairness left in this world? Will someone please judge this..."
Seeing this old hag start throwing another tantrum and making a scene, everyone around her couldn't help shaking their heads.
Their gazes toward Ning Wangshu even carried a hint of sympathy.
To have run into such an unreasonable and clingy old hag—he truly had suffered catastrophic bad luck!
However, Ning Wangshu paid her no mind whatsoever. With the attitude of someone watching a monkey show, he watched the old hag throw her fit...
Meanwhile.
Not far away, an elderly man was strolling through this antique market accompanied by his granddaughter.
"Oh, Grandpa, why is there such a large crowd gathered over there?"
At that moment, the old man's granddaughter saw the area ahead surrounded by people and asked in surprise.
The old man paused as well and said, "Let's go over and take a look."
"Mm, okay Grandpa!"
The girl gave a response and hurried over alongside the old man.
Because there were too many people surrounding the spot, they couldn't clearly see the situation inside. However, they soon learned a general idea from the discussions of those around them.
"Grandpa, judging by what these people are saying, that old lady over there is really being quite unreasonable. She wanted to forcefully buy a jade pendant worth hundreds of thousands or a million from someone for just eight hundred yuan."
"And when the man took the jade pendant back, she actually started throwing a tantrum and making a scene..."
The girl said.
The old man nodded slightly and said, "Still, I am rather curious what kind of jade pendant commands a price of a million!"
With that, he added, "Let's go in and take a look. If it truly is a top-grade jade pendant worth a million, we can buy it for you right away. Consider it Grandpa's gift for you entering university, haha..."
As he spoke, the old man chuckled.
Soon, the two of them squeezed into the crowd.
When the girl saw the situation in the arena and her gaze swept over Ning Wangshu sitting in front of the stall, she couldn't help freezing for a moment, then said in astonishment, "Ning Wangshu? Why is it you!"
Ning Wangshu, who had still been watching the spectacle, suddenly heard this voice and froze. He instinctively raised his head and, upon seeing the girl, was similarly somewhat surprised before breaking into a smile. "Lin Class Beauty, it's you!"
"I didn't expect to run into you here. What a coincidence..."
That girl was none other than Lin Qingzhu.
The old man by her side was naturally Lin Anguo...