Chapter 284: [284] Play the long game to catch the big fish_1

It wasn’t just Liu Ping—several other clerks in the store were also dissatisfied with Tang Feng’s handling of the situation.

Liu Ping had nearly damaged the store’s reputation and caused them all to be suspected by Tang Feng—how could they swallow this grievance so easily?

Tang Feng didn’t care about their thoughts. Seeing Liu Ping still standing there in a daze, he couldn’t help laughing and asking, “What? Don’t want to pay it back?”

“Ah no, it’s just that… it’s just that…” Liu Ping hurriedly waved his hands, not knowing what to say.

He certainly couldn’t say that he thought Tang Feng’s punishment was too lenient and that he was surprised.

Wouldn’t that be the same as begging for a stricter punishment?

As if Tang Feng could see right through his mind, he laughed, “The situation has already come to this, even if I send you to jail, what good would it do me?”

“Lucky for you, this incident hasn’t caused too much loss to the store, otherwise, even if I wanted to let you off, I wouldn’t be able to.”

Liu Ping felt relieved upon hearing his explanation.

Although Tang Feng’s explanation was somewhat far-fetched, it made sense.

Indeed, the incident had been alarming but not dangerous, and had not caused any loss to Tang Feng and the antique shop.

If Liu Ping were sent to jail, it would not benefit him or the store.

Better to just let it go and spare him.

Realizing all this, he hurriedly expressed his gratitude to Tang Feng and Qin Yanan, “Thank you, Mr. Tang, thank you, Mrs. Qin.”

“Hmph!”

Qin Yanan turned her head away, not wanting to take another glance at him.

Liu Ping didn’t hesitate any longer, hurriedly calling his wife to bring the snuff bottle to the store.

And he was off to write his resignation letter.

Those who were watching the commotion in the store left as there was no longer anything exciting to see. Most of them took off.

A small portion of them, having come already, decided to just take a look around the store.

The other clerks also returned to their posts.

Everything seemed to return to normal.

But Tang Feng knew that it was far from over.

He wasn’t overflowing with benevolence, almost getting conned to death and still returning good for evil.

He was just biding his time to catch a big fish.

If he couldn’t find a breakthrough with Liu Ping, he would let him go for now, secretly follow him afterward, and naturally trace up the vine to find the real mastermind.

After waiting for roughly half an hour, a heavily pregnant woman walked into the store.

Liu Ping hurried over to greet her, whispered a few words to her, and then took a small wooden box from her hands, turning to come over to Tang Feng and Qin Yanan.

“Mr. Tang, Mrs. Qin, this is the snuff bottle. Please verify it,” he said, handing over the wooden box.

Tang Feng took the box, opened it and glanced inside to confirm it was the genuine Qing Dynasty snuff bottle, then handed it to Qin Yanan beside him.

“Pregnant?” he asked, pointing to the woman with the bulging belly.

“Yes, six months along,” Liu Ping quickly replied with a smile plastered on his face.

“Then treat your wife well, don’t disappoint such a good woman,” Tang Feng said, standing up and patting Liu Ping on the shoulder.

“Yes, Mr. Tang,” Liu Ping’s face showed a moved expression, though it was unclear whether it was genuine or feigned.

“All right, you can go,” Tang Feng said with a wave of his hand, speaking no further.

Liu Ping and the pregnant woman expressed their thanks to both of them again before leaving together.

After they had left the store, Tang Feng turned to Qin Yanan and said, “I’ll follow them to try and expose the real culprit behind this.”

“I’ll go with you,” Qin Yanan said, hastily getting up.

Tang Feng hesitated for a moment, not sensing any danger, and eventually nodded, “Let’s go.”

Since both of their cars were too conspicuous, Tang Feng simply borrowed Ge Hui’s Honda CR-V, then he and Qin Yanan followed Liu Ping’s car from a distance.

Liu Ping was driving a Haval H6. It was clear that he lived a life of modest means.

In fact, Qin Yanan wasn’t a stingy boss—quite the contrary, she was very generous.

The lowest salary for a Ya Garden employee was over ten thousand a month.

As for Liu Ping, he was making twenty to thirty thousand a month—he shouldn’t be living so modestly.

“I’m so mad, I didn’t expect such an ingrate to appear in the store. I’ve been good enough to them, but it turns out they’re ungrateful,” Qin Yanan vented from the passenger seat, still feeling aggrieved.

“He might have his own difficulties,” Tang Feng found himself speaking up for Liu Ping.

“What difficulties could he have? It’s nothing but greed. Instead of thinking about how to improve their professional skills, they think about these crooked ways. You, as the store’s top appraiser, bear undeniable responsibility for the wrongdoing of your subordinates. I think you’ve been too lenient with them, and that’s why they are presumptuous…”

Mr. Qin began to vent all her anger on Tang Feng.

Tang Feng drew his hand across his mouth a couple of times, knowing that he had a sharp tongue. He knew she was angry, so why did he have to provoke this ticking bomb?

The rest of the journey was spent under the nonstop tirade of Qin Yanan.

After almost an hour, Liu Ping’s car finally turned into a narrow alley.

This was an area of single-story houses, which all looked quite old.

Garbage piled up on the streets.

Since the windows of Tang Feng’s car were open, a foul stench wafted in.

“Close the windows quickly,” Qin Yanan said, pinching her nose.

Tang Feng had already closed the windows without needing her reminder, taking a deep breath, “Geez, what’s with the smell here?”

Unable to help herself, Qin Yanan also complained, “Why would Liu Ping choose to live in such an environment?”

Tang Feng glanced at her, teasing, “You’re sounding a bit like ‘why don’t they eat meat paste’ here. He must be living in this place because he’s poor.”

“But that’s not possible. Liu Ping’s income is definitely not low in Zhonghai, so he shouldn’t be this poor, right?” Qin Yanan was puzzled.

For a city where the average salary was three to four thousand, Liu Ping’s monthly salary of twenty to thirty thousand was definitely considered a high income.

He might not be able to afford a top-notch mansion, but he shouldn’t have to live in a place like this.

Actually, Tang Feng was also curious about this.

They followed the car a bit longer until they saw Liu Ping’s car stop in front of a courtyard gate.

Then they saw him open the door, step out, walk around to the passenger side, and help his wife out of the car.

Tang Feng parked the car in a concealed spot and got out with Qin Yanan to follow them.