Qiao Mei did not bother to argue with such a person. She pointed at the rest of the jewelry in the box and said to the shopkeeper, “Please wrap these up and let me know how much it is.”
The name of the arrogant and domineering woman was Qi Ling.
Qi Ling went forward and closed the box. “This is mine. You take that off.”
Qiao Mei looked at the woman in front of her impatiently and said, “Who are you? Did you order this?”
Qiao Mei turned to the shopkeeper with a questioning look.
The shopkeeper hurriedly shook his head and said, “No, no, she didn’t order this.”
Qiao Mei turned to look at Qi Ling again.
“He said you didn’t order it. Let go,” Qiao Mei said with a frown.
When Qi Ling heard this, she panicked and shouted at Qiao Mei, “This is the jewelry my sister ordered! I’m here to collect the goods today!”
The shopkeeper started sweating when he heard that.
Such orders were not allowed nowadays, but people did it in private, just like the black market in the village. However, these were all things done under the table so no one would speak about it in public like that.
“No! Absolutely not! We don’t accept orders!” The shopkeeper hurriedly denied it.
“You! The two of you!” Qi Ling pointed at Qiao Mei and the shopkeeper, so angry that she could not speak.
“Do you believe that I can make sure that your shop can’t continue operating!” Qi Ling said as she pointed at the shopkeeper.
People who could open a shop on this street were capable in their own way. Without some connections, one would not be able to achieve anything.
The shopkeeper was not scared of Qi Ling’s threat at all. In the beginning, he had just found Qi Ling troublesome and was afraid that she would wreck the things in his shop. He had thought it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
“Ling Ling, stop fooling around here.” The woman who had kept silent stepped forward to stop Qi Ling.
She was He Mei. She had some free time today and was just accompanying Qi Ling to this place.
Qi Ling pointed at the box and asked, “How much is this?”
“Oh this, I’m not selling it,” the shopkeeper said nonchalantly as he sat in the rocking chair behind the counter.
“Hey! You! You clearly wanted to sell it to her just now! Now you say you’re not selling it!” The anger that Qi Ling just managed to suppress threatened to flare up again.
He Mei said amiably, “Old sir, just name your price. We really like it too.”
The shopkeeper was appeased by He Mei’s polite tone and said casually, “It’s 1,500 dollars.”
“What do you mean by 1,500! We agreed on 1,000 back then. How can you suddenly change your mind!” Qi Ling roared.
Qiao Mei rubbed her ears impatiently. Qi Ling’s voice was really ear-piercing.
“Alright, 1,500 dollars. I’ll take it.” Qiao Mei quickly opened her bag and took out 2,300 dollars. She did not even care about negotiating the price and just wanted to leave this place quickly.
“Including the items from before, the total is 2,300 yuan. Come, check if the amount is correct,” Qiao Mei said as she looked at the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper was a little surprised. He had just made a casual remark and did not expect this little girl to have money.
Qi Ling stood rooted to the ground in a daze. She had only brought 1,200 dollars with her when she came out. She did not expect the items to be so expensive, so she could not afford the asking price, and now she could only stand there and watch.
The Qi family looked rich from the outside but was actually not, and they needed to cozy up to the He family. Everyone in the family had to come together to pool the amount of 1,000 dollars, so it would be impossible for Qi Ling to go home and get another 1,000 dollars.
“I’m sorry, Sister Xiao Mei. I had wanted to buy it for your birthday gift. Take a look around this place and see if there is anything else you like!” Qi Ling said as she held He Mei’s hand.
Only then did Qiao Mei understand that Qi Ling had intended it as a big gift for someone.
It was already considered luxurious to buy a birthday present costing a few hundred dollars, but she had intended to give a present worth thousands. They did not seem to be relatives, so she must be trying to curry favor with the other woman.
The shopkeeper looked at the two of them with scorn in his eyes.
He Mei was so angry that her face turned green, but she still had to maintain her grace and not let others see her embarrassment.
When Qi Ling saw that He Mei was angry and refused to speak, Qi Ling thought that she was sulking because she did not manage to get the set of jewelry.
“What’s your name!” Qi Ling said.
