Ye Fan, standing to the side, held his phone and quietly recorded everything happening on the scene.
The two men, after receiving a thousand yuan, quickly left the scene, muttering as they went, “This deal’s not bad at all! Damn, bought it off an old lady for 50 yuan, flipped it for a thousand, no loss… Haha!”
Their hearts are truly dark!
Ye Fan sighed to himself. Since they are all heartless, Ye Fan felt no guilt about the actions he was about to take.
No sooner had the two men left than the shop owner, Ma San, couldn’t wait to unroll the painting for another close examination.
The painting appeared vigorous and powerful, with distinct lines and profound artistic conception, signed by Daoist Wu, an image of a tiger descending the mountains… All aspects seemed quite good!
The only issue was that the painting looked too worn and lacked aesthetic appeal.
“What a pity, the craftsman who imitated this painting was too anxious and made it look too old, but it’s still not bad!”
Ma San held up the painting, ready to hang it in a prominent spot in the store.
If he encountered someone without knowledge, based on the strength of the brushwork, he could make a tidy profit without losing out.
“Boss, I’ll take this painting for fifteen hundred,” Ma San had yet to turn around when Ye Fan already appeared at the entrance of the shop, smiling at Ma San.
Ma San was stunned. Fifteen hundred yuan?
This young man had a sharp eye; Ma San had just bought it for a thousand yuan, and this guy was simply adding five hundred as a service fee?
“Handsome fellow, you’re joking, right? This is an authentic piece by Daoist Wu. It cost me a hard-to-come-by trading price of one million yuan! If you’re not buying, then please don’t cause a disturbance,” Ma San said gravely, as if he had really spent a million, “If you’re sincere about buying, I’ll give you a fair price. Three hundred thousand, and it’s yours to take!”
Ma San spoke with a pained expression, while his eyes fixated on Ye Fan, gauging his reaction.
In the antique business, it’s all about sizing up the customer.
All antique shop owners might fall short in other areas, but they are all experts at reading people.
In uttering those words, they test your reaction. If you appear well-off and the mention of three hundred thousand doesn’t seem to faze you too much, then the owner probably won’t sell for less than that price.
Unfortunately for Ma San, he encountered Ye Fan.
Ye Fan had recorded the entire transaction process between Ma San and the two men, so how could he be fooled by Ma San?
“Boss, your conscience shouldn’t be so black. Just take the service fee. But before that, you might want to have a look at something!” Ye Fan said, moving forward with a smile, and opened the video he just recorded on his phone.
The video clearly showed the transaction between Ma San and the two men, including the price!
“You…” A sharp look flashed in Ma San’s eyes as he stared intensely at Ye Fan, “What are you trying to do?”
Ma San’s reputation on this street was not good to begin with, infamous for his greed!
Although Ma San had always wanted to change his image, whenever something valuable came along, his instinct was still to take a bit more from others, and business had been slow lately.
If the video in Ye Fan’s hands were to be exposed, Ma San could pretty much forget about doing business in Cloud City.
“I just said, I’m here to buy the painting, for fifteen hundred. You get a five hundred service fee, and that’s not a bad deal for you,” Ye Fan knew the true value of the painting. Let alone a million, even ten million wouldn’t be too much to ask.
But Ma San was too greedy, and Ye Fan had come here to teach Ma San a lesson.
“You… you’re ruthless!” Ma San glared at Ye Fan, and behind him, several topless, burly men had gathered, looking at Ye Fan with hostility.
But at this moment, because Ma San was displaying the painting scroll, a crowd had also gathered around to watch.
They were all there for the spectacle!
In the antique market, what people enjoyed most was the hope of uncovering a hidden gem for themselves, or seeing someone else do so; either way, it was a joyous occasion.
“Ten thousand yuan, take the painting and let’s not say anything more!” Ma San had originally intended to have his men drive Ye Fan away.
But with so many people around, Ma San had to consider the impact, so he could only endure and patiently haggle with Ye Fan!
“Fifteen hundred yuan, you can think about it for ten seconds! With technology so advanced these days, if you get exposed, your loss won’t just be a few tens of thousands!” Ye Fan acted as if he had Ma San right where he wanted him, which really annoyed Ma San.
But he couldn’t deny that Ye Fan was right.
If Ye Fan uploaded the video online, and it just slightly fermented, then Ma San’s store could directly close down.
“You… kid, are you looking for trouble on purpose? My boss behind the scenes is Old Wolf Wu… you better think it through, if you want to buy the painting, hand over ten thousand yuan and leave with it… otherwise, if we fall out, it’s bad for everyone…”
Ma San leaned in close to Ye Fan, hissing in a low voice.
Old Wolf Wu? Your next chapter awaits on
Ye Fan was taken aback; he felt slightly guilty about confronting Ma San—but upon hearing that Old Wolf Wu was behind him, he immediately felt relieved.
Old Wolf Wu was the guy who almost killed Su Yixue’s wife, he was no good thing.
Moreover, Old Wolf Wu had already been taken care of by Xia Hao and Li Hu, and Fierce Tiger Hall had already been disbanded, yet Ma San was still flaunting Old Wolf Wu’s name to throw his weight around?
“You can try it! I’ll count down from three… 3, 2, 1…” Ye Fan showed no signs of giving in and simply started to count down.
Ye Fan’s assertiveness nearly drove Ma San mad.
The young man before him seemed familiar to Ma San, yet he couldn’t recall where he had seen him.
As Ye Fan counted down the last number, Ma San clenched his teeth hard, “Fine! You’re tough, you win!”
Ye Fan was willing to gamble, but Ma San wasn’t!
Ma San coldly stuffed the scroll into Ye Fan’s arms, “Take the money!”
Ye Fan smiled faintly, pulled out fifteen red bills from his pocket, and handed them to Ma San, “In the future, do business with some conscience!”
“I’ll remember you, lad! Better watch your back when you walk!”
Ma San, money in hand, walked towards the shop resentfully.
He had planned to make a killing off this scroll, but now he had been exposed on the spot and was left earning only a tearful five hundred yuan, sigh!
Ma San was threatening Ye Fan, who hadn’t said a word yet when suddenly a girl’s coquettish voice came from the crowd, “Handsome guy! Can you sell me that painting? I’ll offer eight million!”
Hisss!
The girl’s words instantly made everyone at the scene inhale sharply!
The scroll that just sold for fifteen hundred yuan was now being bought for eight million?
Could these two be putting on a show together?
The crowd turned their heads to look at the girl!
The girl was dressed in a long green dress with a yellow belt tied around her waist, revealing her slender figure; her exquisite curves displayed boundless charm!
“Is that Ren Xueying, the daughter of the Ren Family from Provincial City?” ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
“I heard that Miss Ren is also an antique expert, she must have her reasons for offering eight million!”
“Could we really be witnessing an incredible bargain today?”