The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

"Don't worry, Mr. Shen, the quality of our pearls is absolutely guaranteed. They have both national and EU quality certifications, and we frequently export overseas," Wang Cheng assured him, patting his chest.

"That's not the most important thing. I mainly look at the quality and price. This time I'm just testing the waters. If the price is right, we might be able to cooperate long-term in the future." Shen Lian flicked his cigarette ash.

"Brother Shen, don't worry. We'll definitely give you the best price. Have a seat, we'll discuss it outside. Hehe!" After saying that, Wang Cheng winked at his daughter, then led the others out.

"Brother Shen, come on, have another cup. This tea is a premium one that the boss asked a friend to get for us." Wang Xiaoyuan had no choice but to bite the bullet and come over to greet him. She felt a little uncomfortable, as she didn't think Shen Lian was a good person.

"You still call me Brother Shen, but your dad just called me Little Brother Shen. Hehe! Call me Uncle and let me hear it." Shen Lian chuckled mischievously.

"Hmph, he's him, and I'm me! You're not much older than me, yet you act like you're the elder?" Wang Xiaoyuan said resentfully, her head bowed. She was incredibly annoyed; this Shen Lian was not only lecherous but also liked to take advantage of people.

"Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Tell me about your jewelry! How much did it cost? If it's suitable, I'll take it all." Seeing the girl nervously fidgeting with her fingers, Shen Lian was afraid she would cry if he continued teasing her.

"Really?" Wang Xiaoyuan immediately perked up when her work was mentioned.

"Thank you, Brother Shen! The design concepts for these works come from...blah blah blah..."

"Alright, I know you're amazing, your work is fantastic, otherwise I wouldn't be interested, right? So, just tell me your price!" Shen Lian covered his head; women always talk so much. Her little mouth kept chattering away.

"This, Brother Shen. These small items are made with silver, so you can give them two thousand each. Let's say five thousand each for these few! And for the two biggest ones, you can give them ten thousand, um, fifteen thousand each!" Wang Xiaoyuan looked at Shen Lian expectantly, barely daring to breathe.

"It's so cheap, you're not getting ripped off, are you?" Shen Lian's words made Wang Xiaoyuan grit her teeth. She should have asked for a higher price.

This is completely at cost price; it doesn't even include her design and labor costs. The main problem is that it's been sitting in her hands for too long, and she's desperate to sell it.

Shen Lian could tell what was going on just by looking at her expression; "Hahaha, you quoted too low a price! You said it yourself."

Take this necklace in front of me, made of gold and strung with ten top-quality beads, each over one centimeter in diameter. The asking price would definitely be no less than 50,000.

"So, all these twenty-eight items together cost 135,000. I won't cheat you, I'll give you 150,000, okay?" Shen Lian said, amused by her annoyed expression.

"Ah! Okay, thank you, Brother Shen." Wang Xiaoyuan was overjoyed upon hearing this. This guy doesn't seem so bad after all.

"Give me the payment code!" Shen Lian shook his head, took out his phone, and immediately transferred the money to her.

Just as Wang Xiaoyuan was jumping for joy, Wang Cheng and the others walked in.

"Dad, Brother Shen bought all my jewelry. It cost 150,000 yuan in total!" Wang Xiaoyuan couldn't help but boast.

"Oh! You silly girl, you've suffered a huge loss and you're still happy here!" Wang Cheng shook his head. Of course he knew how much his daughter's jewelry was worth. "Fine, let her be happy for a while!"

"Brother Shen, we've discussed it. We'll give you eighty-one beads between 0.8 and 1.2 centimeters. And for the top-quality round beads above 1.2 centimeters, we'll give you six hundred each. What do you think?"

Shen Lian paused for a moment; their prices weren't high, and they even offered some discounts. He just wondered about the quality.

"Okay, we'll go with the price you mentioned. But the quality has to be guaranteed. You know I'm an exporter, and those foreigners are very strict."

"Brother Shen, don't worry. We export frequently, and we guarantee to select according to EU standards for you. As for the quantity?" The men stared intently at Shen Lian.

"Let's start with 50,000 of the medium-grade ones! And 2,000 of the top-grade ones." Shen Lian calculated and decided to take 5 million pearls first. He had other uses for the remaining money.

"Great! No problem!" Wang Cheng was overjoyed. With this order, everyone could relax a bit.

“Brother Cheng, I don’t need the large portion. How about you give me 20,000 for the medium portion? I’m almost starving. I haven’t paid the rent yet, and I can’t even pay the workers’ wages.” A man next to Wang Cheng immediately said.

"Third brother, everyone's family is of average means. You've already taken half, what about the rest of us? These days, even landlords don't have surplus grain! My loan is due soon."

"Exactly, exactly. Everyone needs money these days. Why should you get half?"

Before Wang Cheng could speak, his brothers immediately started arguing.

Actually, these people may look like fishermen, but they are quite wealthy. It's just that the current economic situation is bad, and they are short of cash flow.

"Brother Shen, please excuse my embarrassment. Business is tough these days, everyone's struggling. Sigh!" Wang Cheng said awkwardly.

"Mr. Wang, I understand. But don't worry, if your pearls are really of good quality, I'll come back in two months. I'm confident I can secure the stock you have."

"Great! Thank you, Brother Shen." Wang Cheng nodded gratefully.

"Alright, stop arguing. The shares will be split equally among the five of us. The large-sized ones will get 400 beads each, the medium-sized ones will get 10,000 beads each, and I know you're having a tough time, so I'll give you 5,000 beads of my share."

Wang Cheng clapped his hands and announced the distribution plan, displaying the air of a leader.

Everyone had no objections. "Great, Brother Cheng is so generous." "Thank you, Boss!" The guy called Third Brother quickly took out his cigarettes and started sharing.

Wang Xiaoyuan rolled her eyes. Her father was good in every way, except he loved empty fame. She was the one who brought in this order, so logically, if not all of it, her family should at least get the lion's share.

Well! Because of what he did, our family ended up getting the smallest share. I wonder how my mom will scold him when we get home! Sigh!

“You all heard what Brother Shen just said. This is our first collaboration. There are even bigger orders coming up! You all need to go back and keep an eye on the beads and sift them again. Anyone who dares to use inferior materials will be banned from my business.”

"Okay, no problem!" The group took their leave.

"Brother Shen, we still have some time. Why don't you come to my house for a visit and take a look at my farm?"

"Hmph, Dad, I bet you're just putting on a brave face to avoid getting scolded by Mom when you get home. That's why you invited Brother Shen over!" Wang Xiaoyuan bluntly exposed her father's scheme.

"What nonsense are you spouting, girl? When have I ever been afraid of your mother! I'm just helping them out because they're having some financial difficulties right now. We're all from the same village, so I thought I'd give them a piece of my mind. If your mother dares to cause trouble, I'll teach her a lesson!"

Wang Xiaoyuan rolled her eyes again. With Shen Lian here, she couldn't very well expose her father's past.