At the same time, I felt that something was off. This didn’t seem like the tone of a friendly chat; she wouldn’t even let me sit down. Did she want me to leave after I finished speaking? Clearly, she didn’t see me as a guest. And with that question, how the hell was I supposed to answer? This was like a timeless rivalry, a jealousy that had been brewing for at least half a century. I had no idea what had happened between my grandparents and her. But this Miss Huo really was quite sentimental; how could she still be thinking about it at this time?

Scratching my head and thinking hard, I finally said, “Please don’t misunderstand. I’m here regarding our business. As for my grandmother, to be honest, I haven’t seen her in a long time. After my grandfather passed away, she has been staying at home in our hometown.”

“That’s because she has poor taste and married a man with a short life,” the old lady snorted coldly. “You mentioned business; are you ready to deliver, or do you want to negotiate the price further?”

I pondered for a moment on how to respond. Should I get straight to the point or try to soften her up a bit? I thought that if this old lady really wanted to make things difficult for me, the more I talked, the longer the night would be, and once things turned sour, it would be hard to come back from that. It was better to dive straight into the main topic to appear decisive.

So I said, “Actually, that item doesn’t mean much to me. I just want to know why you would offer such a high price for it. I’m investigating something that might be related to this situation, and if you tell me, I can just—”

Before I could finish, the fat guy behind me pushed me lightly and whispered, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

I was taken aback for a moment and thought about it; that was no small sum. I had been working hard recently but hadn’t gained much, so this could be an unexpected windfall that could solve quite a few problems. At least it would cover the utility bills for my shop. I immediately changed my tune and said, “—I can deliver it to you without any charge.”

The old lady glanced at the fat guy, unsure if she had heard him, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she said, “Do you want to know what kind of house is depicted in this style of Lei?”

I nodded, “Yes, it’s quite a simple matter.”

The old lady shrank back in her chair and thought for a moment. “Alright, I can tell you, but you can’t ask me directly. You need to have your grandmother come and ask me.”

I was taken aback. What kind of situation was this? I immediately said, “Grandma, we’re not joking here. There’s no need to involve my grandmother in this matter, right?”

“Joking? You can ask around. I, Huo Xiangu, never joke when it comes to business. Your grandmother and I have been childhood friends for decades, and she hasn’t even come to see me once, holed up in that ghost town of Hangzhou. If I ask her to come see me, is that a joke?” She said seriously, “That’s how it is. You go back and discuss it with your grandmother. If she’s not willing to come forward, I suspect this matter isn’t serious. You might as well give up. Go on, if your grandmother doesn’t come, you don’t need to see me. I do like that item, but I’m not lacking in something like that.”

As soon as I heard it, I didn’t know what to do. I felt a bit frustrated, but I couldn’t get angry. I could only blame my grandfather’s mother for either cheating or causing this trouble for me. I knew very well that this old lady was not easy to deal with; she must have planned to challenge me from the start. Even her agreeing to meet me might have been for this reason.

This old lady’s teasing attitude relied on her age to pressure me. She must have been a feisty woman back in the day, exactly the type my grandfather liked. I thought about it and found myself completely at a loss in this situation. An old lady was being unreasonable in front of me—what could I do? I was so anxious that I broke out in a sweat, and my eyes involuntarily glanced at the fat guy. He gave me a signal, as if to say not to fall for her tricks, and quietly said, “If she’s being unreasonable, you can be unreasonable too. Just sit down first and talk.”

Hearing this, I also thought to myself, I might as well throw caution to the wind and not care about my face anymore. I sat down on the stool in front of the old lady. Her brows furrowed, and I felt nervous, but I refused to back down and said, “Grandma, this matter is very important to me. You can’t mess with me like this. If you keep this up, then I’ll be unreasonable too. The three of us will just follow you wherever you go. If you go home, we’ll go to your house. Anyway, wherever you go, we’ll follow.”

As I said this, I looked up to gauge her reaction, but it didn’t seem right. The old lady’s expression suddenly turned a bit ugly, and she completely ignored what I said, immediately questioning me, “Who told you to sit down? Stand up!”

I was taken aback and at a loss for words; I didn’t expect her to turn hostile. But since I had decided to be unreasonable, I wasn’t the type to back down halfway. I immediately shook my head and said, “If you don’t agree to me, I won’t stand up!”

“Ah Xue, call Xiao Zhang and Xiao Li over to drag these little rascals out!” The old lady suddenly exploded in anger.

I felt her anger was inexplicable, but as soon as she said that, the middle-aged woman and the little girl looked at us. The little girl glanced at the old lady and got up, clearly wanting to get someone. The fat guy immediately remembered his responsibilities, stepped forward, and said, “What’s the matter? My young master is sitting on your broken stool, and you still have something to say? What’s so special about this stool? Sitting on it and farting can’t smell good, can it? Old lady, this is the 21st century. The law doesn’t punish tricksters. If you want someone to chase us away, that would be inappropriate. My young master respects the elderly, and I’m really a rascal. If this escalates and we start tearing this place apart, it probably wouldn’t be good for your reputation. If you get hurt, that would be even worse, right?”

The little girl sneered and said, “You don’t understand anything. This is not a place you can just sit in. If you sit here, there will be consequences—”

The old lady suddenly waved her hand, stopping the little girl from continuing. I watched as her expression gradually softened, replaced by an indescribable look. She coldly said, “Let them sit. If they want to sit, just let them sit.”

I looked at her expression and suddenly felt an ominous premonition. I thought to myself, could there be a spring under this stool that would launch me away? Then I reconsidered, no, it shouldn’t be like this. I came here for a serious matter, so I should endure a little longer. Trying to ease the atmosphere, I said, “Grandma, I really do keep my word. Please, don’t play tricks on me. How would I know about the grievances between you and my grandmother? If my grandfather did something to wrong you, why don’t you just slap me a few times?”

The old lady didn’t look at me; she just glanced at the clock and said, “Alright, I’m a bit afraid of you, young master of the Wu family. But don’t ask me anything yet. Right now, no matter what you ask, I won’t say anything. Just sit here until four-thirty. If you can sit still, I won’t make things difficult for you.”

“Sit here?”

“Yes, just sit here. Don’t rush. I assure you won’t be bored.” The old lady said, glancing downstairs. Suddenly, we heard a ringing sound coming from below.

I suddenly had an even stronger feeling of foreboding. The old lady didn’t look at me but turned her face toward the platform downstairs. Then, the curtains of the entire building were drawn one by one, and the surroundings turned dark. The giant chandelier in the center lit up, casting a magnificent play of light and shadow. Under this light, the old furnishings, carpets, and curtains suddenly appeared very dim yet splendid.

Then, the people below began to stir. A little girl beside us exclaimed in delight and asked the old lady, “Is it starting?”

The old lady nodded, “It has begun. Just watch; today we have a good show to see.”