Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Tested for a Teapot on Antique Street

Yun Zijin flipped through a few pages and quickly selected a Tang-dynasty style blouse and skirt. She chose an elegant sky-blue color.

However, she would have to wait for Wang Zhuxian’s design sketches to be ready before making a final decision.

Yun Zijin left her phone number and paid a 50,000 deposit. When she paid with her card, she remembered to use her left hand.

Although it was a drop in the bucket compared to five million, Yun Zijin would never pass up a chance to spend money for her spending task.

After leaving the tailor shop, Yun Zijin walked back to where she had parked her car.

"Yun Zijin?"

Just as Yun Zijin reached for her keys to open the car door, she heard someone call her name.

She turned and saw Xia Zhiyun.

’What rotten luck!’

"What are you doing here? What business do you have here? Do you have any idea where you are? This is no place for you!"

This area housed the Lu Group Building and was surrounded by skyscrapers filled with white-collar workers who burned the midnight oil.

The Xia family’s business, however, wasn’t on this street.

"Just wandering around."

’She couldn’t possibly tell him she’d just had coffee with the CEO of the Lu Group because she was checking out of her hotel room, could she?’

’Judging by the look on Xia Zhiyun’s face, he’d probably just think she was making it all up.’

"Jiao Jiao is being discharged from the hospital tomorrow, and the day after that is Grandpa’s 80th birthday. You’re coming with me today. I’ll have someone prepare a gown for you.

You have to attend Grandpa’s birthday banquet!"

"I’m not going."

’Yun Zijin wasn’t in the habit of setting herself up for public humiliation.’

’As if she didn’t know. To appease Xia Jiajiao, they planned to announce at the banquet that they were taking her in as an adopted daughter. That way, she would also be considered a Xia Family member, just with the status of an adopted daughter.’

’Even if she wasn’t linked to the Randomly Spend system, even if she wasn’t a billionaire, she wouldn’t want it!’

’What kind of people were they? Did they think they were cash, that everyone had to love them?’

"You are Mom and Dad’s daughter. If you don’t attend Grandpa’s birthday banquet, what do you expect all of Dijing’s high society to think of us?"

Xia Zhiyun frowned, thinking Yun Zijin was just being unreasonable.

"Grandpa? Why don’t you go ask around? Who in all of Dijing’s high society knows that I, Yun Zijin, am the Xia Family’s daughter who was swapped at birth and missing for twenty-one years?

You still have the nerve to call me the Xia family’s daughter? Since the day you found me, have you given me a single penny? Have you ever once asked how I’m doing?

How much is Xia Jiajiao’s monthly allowance? And how much have you given me? What presents do you give her for her birthday each year? And what have you given me?

All of that should have been mine! The fact that I haven’t demanded she give it all back is already me being more than generous!

Even though I didn’t grow up with you, we’re related by blood. You should at least treat us equally, shouldn’t you? Let’s not even talk about anything else, just the allowance. I hear Xia Jiajiao gets a million a month. I’m twenty-one years old, which is 252 months. At a million a month, that comes to two hundred fifty-two million. As my biological parents and my biological brother, don’t you think you should pay me back for that?"

Yun Zijin’s words completely shut down whatever Xia Zhiyun had intended to say. He opened and closed his mouth, but ultimately, nothing came out.

Xia Zhiyun didn’t dare agree to paying her over two hundred million in back allowance.

Although the Xia family was well-known in Dijing, coming up with that much cash all at once would still be quite difficult.

After all, most of their wealth was tied up in company accounts; the actual cash in their personal accounts wasn’t that substantial.

Not everyone was Yun Zijin, who had an absurdly loaded system backing her.

"Alright, that’s enough. I’ve said it many times: I am not going back to the Xia Family. From now on, when you see me, just act like you don’t know me.

I’m sick of being lectured by you people. You never raised me, so I have no idea who this ’ungrateful wretch’ you keep scolding is supposed to be."

Yun Zijin walked around Xia Zhiyun, slid into the driver’s seat of her Ice Plum Powder-colored car, and hit the gas, speeding away.

The Randomly Spend-branded security van followed close behind.

Watching the car Yun Zijin was driving, Xia Zhiyun wondered, ’When did Yun Zijin get the money to buy a Porsche?’

But before he could dwell on it, his phone rang.

He answered the phone, and Xia Jiajiao’s cloyingly sweet voice filled his ear. For the first time, Xia Zhiyun felt a wave of irritation.

Yun Zijin, of course, had no idea what happened with Xia Zhiyun after she left. Focused on spending money, she drove to Dijing’s famous Antique Street.

’Whether the items appreciated in value was secondary; her primary goal was to spend money.’

Yun Zijin parked in a nearby lot and walked onto the street, flanked by her bodyguards, Zero One through Zero Seven.

The air was filled with the constant shouts of street vendors hawking their wares, but Yun Zijin ignored them and made a beeline for the antique shops.

There were quite a few antique shops on Antique Street. After walking back and forth and comparing them for a while, Yun Zijin finally chose her destination: Jubao House.

’The name alone sounds auspicious.’

The shop was empty. Behind the counter, Yun Zijin saw only an elderly man carefully polishing an object. He glanced at her as she entered but showed no intention of helping her.

’Still,’ Yun Zijin thought after a quick glance around, ’this shop seems to have some real substance.’

"Sir, I’d like to buy a Zisha clay tea set."

Her villa at Xingyu Mansion had a tea room, but it didn’t have a tea set.

Yun Zijin didn’t normally drink tea, so she had never gotten around to furnishing it.

Today’s spending task just so happened to remind her that the tea room was still missing a proper set, which was why she was here.

At Yun Zijin’s words, the elderly man stopped polishing the object in his hands and carefully placed it in the display cabinet.

"Do you know about tea, young lady?"

Although the elderly man seemed aloof, he at least answered when spoken to.

"I won’t lie to you, sir. I don’t know much about tea. My family’s tea room just needs a set."

’The price doesn’t matter. My main goal is to spend money.’

"If you don’t know tea, there’s no reason to buy a Zisha teapot. Just grab a modern ceramic set from anywhere. That would be more than enough for you."

In other words, he was refusing to sell to her.

"Just tell me what it’ll take for you to sell it to me. Price is not an issue."

"You really want to buy it?"

The elderly man looked at Yun Zijin.

"Of course."

"If you can pass my test, I’ll sell you this Zisha tea set."

"What kind of test?"

Yun Zijin eyed the old man warily. ’I’m not that easy to fool.’

"Relax, it’s not like I’m asking you to commit a crime. You just need to watch me, learn how to brew tea, and then successfully brew a pot yourself. That’s all it takes to pass."

The elderly man led Yun Zijin to a tea room in the back of the shop. On the tea table sat a Zisha clay *Pixiu* tea pet.

The moment she saw the tea pet, Yun Zijin’s eyes lit up. ’It’s so cute!’

"If I pass the test, you have to sell me the tea set, and I want a tea pet, too!"

’Once I have the tea set, I’ll buy some tea leaves. Then, whenever I have free time, I can brew tea and nurture my tea pet.’

"Deal! I have a little golden pig over there. If you pass the test, I’ll give it to you as a gift!"

"It’s a deal!"

The elderly man began to prepare the tea, and Yun Zijin watched him intently. ’I have to admit,’ she thought, ’there’s a certain ancient charm to an antique dealer.’

Although Yun Zijin had never been exposed to the art of tea before, she was blessed with an excellent memory. She committed the old man’s entire process to memory, replicating his every move, and actually managed to brew a perfect pot of tea.

Li Bingzhen watched Yun Zijin’s brewing process, nodding to himself in approval. ’This young lady has a bit of talent after all.’