Filed to story: Disdained Son-in-Law, Destined Riches >>
When he grew up in the Smith family, he was quite knowledgeable about antiques and the likes due to the constant influence and education. At a glance, he could tell that the vase was genuine and it could make up to several million in the market value.
It looked like his father-in-law was in big trouble this time.
In the VIP room, a middle-aged man said with a gloomy face, “Mr. Wilson, we bought our Yuhuchun vase at five million dollars. Since you broke it, you must compensate for it!”
The man was Raymond Cole, the manager of Vintage Deluxe.
Jacob pulled Joe to stand in front of him and said in a shaky voice, “This is my son-in-law, do you know how rich he is? Five million? He can even pay you fifty million! You guys go through the compensation thing with him! I have something to attend to, I have to go now, goodbye!”
Jacob shoved Joe into the room and ran away quickly.
Joe was in an astonishing daze. This father-in-law of his had the nerve to make him a scapegoat!
Raymond looked at Joe coldly and asked, “Sir, the bill is a total of 5.38 million. Would you like to pay by card or bank transfer?”
Joe spread his hands indifferently. “I don’t have any money.”
It wasn’t that he couldn’t afford to pay for it, but he wanted to teach his father-in-law a lesson so that he would stop asking him to come to Antique Street in the future.
“No money?” Raymond gritted his teeth indignantly. “You smashed our shop’s stuff and all you have to say to avoid trouble is ‘I don’t have any money’?”
Joe shrugged. “I don’t intend to avoid it but honestly, I don’t have money with me. Besides, I didn’t break that vase, so you can’t force me to pay.”
Raymond stomped his feet furiously. “He’s your father-in-law, isn’t he?”
Joe nodded. “Yes, he is my father-in-law, but he’s the one who broke it, not me. You go and look for whoever is responsible for the broken vase. ‘Find the real perpetrator, don’t involve their family’—have you heard of that saying before?”
Raymond’s blood was boiling, but he pondered upon what Joe had said and figured that he was right.
If the news of him asking compensation from innocent people spread out, then Vintage Deluxe’s reputation would be tarnished.
Hence, he urged his men standing at the side, “You, go and get the old man back here!”
Joe curled his lips into a silent smirk as he watched the guys chasing after the old man in a hurry.
Actually, he could simply swipe his card and get it over with, but it would be too easy for his shameless father-in-law then, wouldn’t it?
It would be better to let the old man suffer and learn his lesson rather than cleaning his ass for him. Otherwise, he might throw him into the dungeon again if he were to stumble upon such trouble in the future.
Everyone in Vintage Deluxe was dispatched to pursue Jacob. Joe was alone at the shop, so he looked at the broken vase on the floor gingerly.
The vase was about half a meter tall and it had now been broken into two halves and a pile of fragments, which was really a pity.
Suddenly, he noticed a hidden compartment at the bottom of the lower half of the vase.
He hurriedly reached in to grab it and he retrieved a small wooden box!
Never did he expect that the vase had a mysterious secret compartment in it!
The signature spatial feature of the Yuhuchun vase was that it had a small opening with a large body. The wooden box was obviously two or three times larger than the opening of the vase, so it could be concluded that the box was not stuffed in the later stage, but it was built into the vase when the vase was made!
As a result, the box had been left in the vase since the Tang Dynasty!
Putting the box carefully in his hands, he observed it first before popping the box open with a little force.
As the wooden box opened, an extreme breezy fragrance dispersed from the box and Joe felt very refreshed and soothed when he took a sniff.
Inside the wooden box was a yellowish ancient book that was no larger than the size of a palm!
Joe took out the pocket-sized book carefully and saw ‘Apocalyptic Book’ written in ancient script on the title page.
“The name is quite interesting, I wonder what is written inside.” Joe flipped the book and read its contents.
The first chapter was the ‘Medical Techniques’, which recorded a large number of cases and treatment methods.
Joe frowned curiously. He had studied medicine briefly before and knew some basic theories, but the content in the books was obviously much better and advanced than the methods used in the medical industry nowadays.
Some methods of diagnosis and treatment were unheard of even. In fact, at the end of the ‘Medical Techniques’ chapter, he saw a content about alchemy and the effect of some medications, which was beyond the imagination of today’s world.
Intrigued, Joe sat on the floor and constantly flipped the book.
As he read on, he realized that the book had covered various kinds of topics, including fortune-telling and mysterious methods such as treasure inspection and restoration. There were many other weird things written in the book.
Joe looked at it for a long time, scrutinizing each word in the book. He felt that the words were finding their ways into his brain and sticking themselves in it. His heart was thumping quickly as if it was hit by a massive wave.
He had found a treasure!
This was the ultimate treasure!
Thrilled and overjoyed, Joe quickly stuffed the Apocalyptic Book into his pocket, but the book instantly turned into powder and disappeared into thin air.
Miraculously, every word in the book was clearly imprinted in Joe’s brain.
At this moment, Jacob, who ran away like a coward, was brutally apprehended by several big and strong men and was hurled back to the shop.
Looking at his puffy and swelling cheeks, Joe figured that he must have been beaten vigorously before he was carried back here.
Joe found Jacob’s piteous look very funny and amusing.
How dare this old coot label him as a scapegoat after getting into trouble! It was outrageous! A little beating was necessary as a punishment for him to learn his lesson.
Jacob was in a particularly dreaded and shaky position right now. Due to his desperate escape earlier, he was panting profusely like a dog, trying to catch his breath.
His chubby and fragile body made it impossible for him to outrun those young people. Besides, he didn’t have the car key, how did he expect he could escape from this place?
Thus, it only took those guys a short while to catch him. His hands were tied behind his back, his face was swollen from a few slaps. It was extremely embarrassing and miserable to see.
As Jacob was taken back to the shop, Raymond, the manager, gritted his teeth in dismay and said, “Old man, do you think you can run away after smashing our things? Learn about our Vintage Deluxe’s background before you do something so stupid!”
Jacob stuttered in horror, “I didn’t mean it, the vase was too slippery…”
Raymond growled coldly, “Shut the fuck up! I’ll give you an afternoon to get your money ready. If you can’t afford it, I’ll sue you for deliberately damaging my property! The case value of five million dollars is more than enough for you to stay in prison forever!”
Jacob trembled in fright. He turned to Joe and clung on him like he was a life-saving boat. “Joe, my good son-in-law! You must help me! You can’t let them do this to me!”
Joe shrugged helplessly. “But, Dad, I don’t have that much money.”