If they don't buy, should I really go to an auction house? These antiques were acquired clandestinely. If I were to openly approach an auction house, wouldn't that alert my old man? Then perhaps I'd lose my share of the inheritance! Watching Helen and Jin Muchen head towards the door, Randy knew that if he couldn't keep them, he'd be in trouble.
"Mr. Jin, Miss Helen, please wait, don't rush to leave, shall we negotiate the price?" Randy called from behind, his tone carrying a sense of defeat. Jin Muchen and Helen showed no intention of stopping: "No need, Randy. You can easily find an auction house or other antique dealers to take your junk. But we can't guarantee what Hoffman will do when he finds out his beloved son is a thief."
"What? Mr. Jin, Helen, you can't do this!" Only now did Randy realize he was in a dilemma of his own making.
"Why can't we? Randy, you ungrateful wretch. Yesterday, you said you owed me a big favor, but today you repay me like this. Why shouldn't I act like this?" Jin Muchen released Helen abruptly and glared fiercely at Randy, while Randy couldn't even meet his eyes.
"Alright, my mistake. Fixed price, one million four hundred thousand!" Randy couldn't bring himself to look into Jin Muchen's eyes for some reason. This Chinese man was unlike any he had encountered before; his eyes were like those of a man-eating tiger, and Randy didn't have the courage to meet his gaze.
"One million." Jin Muchen made a counteroffer directly, and Randy was on the verge of tears.
"Mr. Jin, you can't do this!"
"Ninety thousand!"
"Ah..."
Jin Muchen's offer not only frightened Randy but also surprised Helen; she hadn't expected him to be so ruthless. She rushed over and grabbed Randy by the collar.
"Listen, you worthless scum. What do you think you're planning? Do you think I don't know? Yesterday, you begged me like a dog, but today you repay me like this? Now I'm willing to spend money to buy your junk, and you should be grateful. If you dare to negotiate with me again, every time you open your mouth, I'll drop the price by a hundred thousand. Sell it or not."
"Well, I think I should call Mr. Gennaro."
Helen now fully understood Jin Muchen's strategy and continued smoothly, "We should inform Mr. Gennaro. He would be happy for Mr. Randy to repay his debt as soon as possible. Besides, if these items are in Mr. Gennaro's hands, perhaps we won't need to spend much to acquire them." They then turned to leave.
By this time, Randy was on the verge of collapse. Jin Muchen's dominance was making it hard for him to breathe.
"Ninety thousand is a good price!" Helen remarked theatrically, leaving Randy with no choice.
"Alright! Deal!"
Randy's mind was a mess. Jin Muchen's dominance had disrupted all his negotiation plans, but he knew that if he didn't agree, his fate would be miserable.
With contempt, Jin Muchen looked at Randy, unwilling to shake his hand, and even insulted him to his face, "If only you had been this obedient earlier, you garbage!" This time, Randy could only pretend not to hear! Ninety thousand in cash was something Jin Muchen didn't have, but as Helen put it, this money was just a fifth of what her father spent on her eighteenth birthday party. With a few phone calls, Randy could quickly get this money from some people.
Certainly, Jin Muchen would repay Helen through other channels. After all, he had over two million US dollars stashed away in overseas accounts, and Helen surely had bank accounts in those small countries in Western Europe.
Randy brought a few suitcases and filled them with some old clothes as padding. Jin Muchen carefully packed the porcelain and jade into the suitcases, with the centerpiece being the gilt bronze incense burner. However, he didn't tell anyone about this bowl; it was best to keep such a valuable item concealed. If it weren't for these two people being so intrusive, he would have even wanted to toss the bowl into his personal space.
Randy accompanied them downstairs and saw them off in their car. In no time, two black Chevrolet Suburban SUVs pulled up from the street corner and stopped beside their car. Several burly men got out. Two accountant-looking individuals brought down two aluminum suitcases from their car and handed them to Randy. Randy didn't bother opening the suitcases to count; he knew it wasn't worth being duped over such a small amount of money. With both parties having fulfilled their obligations, they signed the sales contract under the witness of Helen's lawyer, and the transaction came to a close.
Randy took the money, his expression no longer as unpleasant. After all, with money in hand, he could continue to live it up, while Jin Muchen drove off with Helen.
"Oh, by the way, could you do me a favor?"
"What is it?"
"I'd like you to inform Gennaro that Randy now has money but refuses to pay back his debts."
Helen was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter.
"Alright, you're quite formidable. Those who offend you will surely meet a miserable end."
"That scum, he must be crushed!"
"Yes, indeed. That guy makes me feel uncomfortable too."
With that, she took out her phone, dialed a number, and made the call.
"These past few days, I really owe you a lot! Without you, the deal between Randy and me wouldn't have gone so smoothly."
Jin Muchen said to Helen as he drove, but Helen waved it off casually.
"What's the big deal? I've said before that I'll repay you for saving my life."
Jin Muchen didn't say much more because he didn't know what else to say to Helen. To be honest, his impression of Helen wasn't very good before. Although she was beautiful, the Helen he learned about from Candice was definitely a schemer; she stole her best friend's boyfriend and ignored her friend in need. Such a person's character was definitely not commendable. But after some interaction, it seemed that Helen wasn't as cold-hearted as he thought. At least she was quite nice to him, especially this time. Normally, her father would have settled her debt of gratitude for her, but she still helped him this time. If it weren't for Candice, Jin Muchen would probably have developed some affection for this girl, and maybe even a bit of a crush. But now he was Candice's boyfriend after all, so it wouldn't be right to have any thoughts about this girl. So the car fell into a strange, awkward silence; Jin Muchen didn't speak, and Helen seemed unsure how to start a conversation.
"Oh, where are you going? I'll take you back!"
Jin Muchen didn't want to roam around Manhattan in circles, so he asked directly.
"Wow! You, you're quite ruthless, aren't you? Just earlier you were thanking me, and now you want to drive me away? Remember, I did you a big favor before, but is this how you thank me?" Helen turned her head, sneering at him, and Jin Muchen was somewhat taken aback. It seemed he had been a bit too much just now.
But you said before that you owed me a big favor? How could you change so quickly...
However, he knew these words could only be kept to himself; they absolutely couldn't be said out loud. After all, understanding a woman's mind was the most difficult puzzle in the world.
"Well, it's not a big deal, really! Here, take this." Jin Muchen casually handed Helen a string of blue glass bead bracelets. This string of glass beads was also one of Randy's treasures, probably from the late Qing Dynasty.
The azure glass beads were not small, with a diameter of about one and a half centimeters. However, two of them were even larger, with a diameter of about three centimeters, and on those larger beads were embedded several beautiful yellow cat's eye stones.
Jin Muchen estimated that this string of glass beads should have been a plaything favored by the aristocrats of the late Qing Dynasty. The items were in very good condition, with perfect patina.
After being kept for so many years, it could be considered an antique. The price wasn't high; it could fetch a few tens of thousands when brought back to China. It was just right to give it to Helen as a little gift.
He had been pondering how to give it to her before, and now was the perfect opportunity to shut her up.
Sure enough, women had no resistance to such beautiful beads and stones. Upon seeing this string of sparkling glass beads, Helen exclaimed immediately.
"Wow... it's beautiful... What is this? When did you get it?"
Helen didn't bother with niceties; she just snatched the string of beads and held it in her hand, gazing at it incessantly through the car window in the sunlight.
Although she had only glanced at it, she had already fallen in love with this string of beads because it was so beautifully made.
"It's just a little trinket I got from Randy just now. I guess it's from the late Qing Dynasty, something the Chinese noble ladies and princesses liked. I thought you might like it..."
"Haha, you're absolutely right! I really love this bracelet."
As Helen spoke, she wrapped the bracelet around her wrist a few times and occasionally held it up to the sunlight for a closer look. This bracelet matched quite well with her current denim outfit.
"Is that okay now? Do you want me to take you home?"
Jin Muchen saw that Helen liked it, so he tentatively asked.
"Hehe, do you think you can just send me off with a bracelet? Of course not. How about..."
"How about what?"
"How about you treat me to a meal!"
Helen smiled with narrowed eyes, and Jin Muchen's heart skipped a beat when he saw her expression.
"Okay, what do you feel like eating?"
"I want Chinese food."
"Then let's go to Chinatown."
"No, I want to go to Flushing for authentic Chinese food!"